Beanpot: Fitzgerald's OT winner lifts Eagles past Harvard

BOSTON -- Ryan Fitzgerald's overtime tally lifted Boston College to a 3-2 overtime victory in the consolation game of the 63rd annual Beanpot Tournament on Monday night at the TD Garden.

The Boston Bruins draft pick scored right off a face-off following a Crimson icing call. Destry Straight and Ian McCoshen assisted on the goal that came 1:16 into the extra session.

Matthew Gaudreau, the younger brother of the 2014 Hobey Baker Award winner Johnny Gaudreau, tied the game at two with 11:20 left in regulation. The sophomore backhanded home a loose puck after Teddy Doherty redirected a Steve Santini point shot.

Trailing 1-0 midway through the second period Harvard scored two goals 1:42 apart to take a 2-1 lead over BC. New Jersey Devils prospect Alexander Kerfoot scored at the 9:23 mark followed by a Sean Malone power play tally with 8:55 to play in the middle frame.

Alex Tuch's goal with 4:54 left in the first period gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead heading into the locker room for the first intermission. The first round pick of the Minnesota Wild in the 2014 NHL Draft scored as he drove the net.

Harvard controlled large stretches of the game, but Boston College sophomore goaltender Thatcher Demko, a Vancouver Canucks prospect, stopped 33 shots for his 17th victory of the season. Minnesota Wild draft pick Steve Michalek made 24 saves in the losing effort for the Crimson.

The Eagles (19-10-3) averted disaster with the victory. A loss could have dropped Jerry York's team seven spots in the all-important Pairwise Rankings. It would have sent them plummeting to the bubble, but instead BC will enter this upcoming weekend's series at Notre Dame in the top 10 of the Pairwise.

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Jeff Cox covers college, junior, high school and prep hockey, NCAA recruiting and NHL Draft prospects. Follow him on Twitter @JeffCoxSports.