Beanpot 2013: BC defeats Northeastern for 4th consecutive Pot

After jumping out to a 4-1 lead after two periods, Boston College had to weather the storm before prevailing 6-3 in the 61st edition of the Beanpot finals.

The key to the win for BC was a four-goal explosion in the final 9:03 of the second period. It had been a scoreless first period and a half before BC's skill would come to the forefront.

Bill Arnold blasted a shot into the back of the net to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead at the 10:53 mark of the 2nd period. Kevin Hayes came into the zone and patiently waited, drawing NU goalie Chris Rawlings and the defense's attention before passing the puck over to the waiting Arnold.

Shortly thereafter, BC extended its lead when star sophomore Johnny Gaudreau found an opening and jammed one into the back of the net off a broken play. It was Gaudreau's 14th of the season.

Northeastern would answer back at 15:04 of the period when freshman Kevin Roy scored on a nice shot where he used the defenseman as a screen. Vinny Saponari and Dax Lauwers were credited with the assists.

Roy had a great chance just over a minute later when he had a breakaway, but his backhand effort was gloved by BC senior goaltender Parker Milner.

Just after NU had a few more quality chances, the Eagles regained the two goal lead when Patrick Brown tipped in an Isaac McLeod shot from the point. Quinn Smith continued his good play in the tournament with the secondary assist.

The Eagles would go up by three when Steven Whitney found the puck to the right of Rawlings after a juicy rebound. The senior from Reading, MA would deposit it into the cage for his 18th goal of the season with time almost expiring in the second.

Just 11 seconds into the third period, Kevin Roy scored on a wrist shot that beat BC goaltender Parker Milner short side up top. The quick score gave NU hope after falling behind by three after two periods.

Just over three minutes later, on a power play, Northeastern cut the lead to just one goal when Braden Pimm deflected a Vinny Saponari one-timer into the back of the net. With the game back in question, the Huskies had plenty of excellent opportunities, but could not find the equalizer.

Johnny Gaudreau gave BC a two-goal lead again when he scored his second of the game at the mark. The goal came after a poor decision by NU defender Dax Lauwers to not step up and play the puck.

Pat Mullane added an empty net goal, assisted by Johnny Gaudreau and Milner. Gaudreau and Whitney each had three points for the Eagles.

BC senior goaltender Parker Milner won the Eberle Award as the most outstanding goaltender of the tournament. The senior from Pittsburgh has emerged as one of the elite goaltenders in the country after primarily backing up John Muse his first two seasons at the Heights. Milner became the 12th BC goaltender to win the award.

The Most Valuable Player went to Northeastern freshman Kevin Roy who had five goals on the tournament, including the hat trick in the first round. The Anaheim Ducks prospect scored the first five of the six goals in the tournament for the Huskies. Roy became the first MVP from a losing team since BU goaltender Sean Fields won in 2004. The Lac-Beauport, Quebec native also became the seventh freshman to win the award since 2000 and the fifth Huskies player to win.

The Beanpot title for BC was the 18th in school history. It was also the fourth consecutive Beanpot title for BC, marking the first time in school history that a senior class never lost in the tournament. Following the game, Pittsburgh native Patrick Wey spoke of not knowing much about the event prior to getting to BC, but being so awestruck by the crowd his freshman year. Fellow seniors Steven Whitney and Pat Mullane talked about how special it was to go 8-0 and their appreciation for giving the freshman class its first trophy. Jerry York summed it up by saying how proud he was of his club, but especially his seniors following the contest.

Boston College returns to action Friday night when they travel to North Andover to play Merrimack before hosting New Hampshire on Sunday. Northeastern hosts Vermont for a pair in a series that could help decide the final playoff spot.

Jeff Cox covers college hockey for SBNation. Follow him on twitter @JeffCoxSBNation.