Cole Hutson and Mikhail Yegorov lead standouts at 2025 Beanpot Tournament

BOSTON – The first night of the Beanpot Tournament was anticlimactic. 

The second not so much.

The two favored teams, No. 8 Boston University and No. 1 Boston College, cruised to wins in the semifinals by a combined score of 15-3, and there wasn't much time in either game when it felt like they weren't in control.

From a prospects perspective, it makes sense. They are loaded with drafted players, including several from the first round, have 17-year-olds good enough to play their draft years at the NCAA level, and plenty of high-end undrafted talent as well.

But that all set up a third Battle of Comm Ave. of the season, the first in the Beanpot final since 2016, and it was as tense, physical, fun, packed with drama, and a little bit nasty as anyone could have wanted.

The Eagles opened up a 1-0 lead and controlled much of the early going, before the Terriers scored twice in 70 seconds early in the second period to flip the game on its head. What followed was a furious 35 minutes of hockey, as both teams got to 30 shots before the end of the second period, and traded high-danger scoring chances, big hits, and penalties for the remainder of the game.

In the end, BU pulled away on a Cole Eiserman goal — his 16th of the season — late in the third period to earn its 32nd Beanpot title, with a 4-1 win over its archrivals. New goalie Mikhail Yegorov, in just his fifth game since coming to BU less than a month ago, made 43 saves.

"If you watch the first 15 minutes of that game, we were under siege," said BU coach Jay Pandolfo, who won two Beanpots as a player and now one behind the bench. "For whatever reason, it took us a while to find our legs and (Yegorov) held us in the game only down 1-0 after one. And then we found our legs. We started playing our game, and started playing the way we need to play to have success. This whole year, you know, it's been inconsistent. We've had some ups and downs, but this group, they're resilient and they respond. They're a competitive bunch of guys and I'm just so proud of them. I'm really happy for them."

The following players stood out the most for their respective teams:

Boston University

Cole Hutson, freshman, LD (selected 43rd overall in 2024 by Washington)

3-2—5, 8 SOG in 42:00 played

An MVP performance from Cole Hutson headlined BU's 32nd Beanpot championship, and he was certainly dazzling throughout.

It was an easy start to the tournament for Hutson. Or at least, he made it look easy, continuing his strong play basically since Day 1 of the season. Two goals, two secondary assists, and five shots on goal. It was the sixth time this season he put up five-plus shots and his second four-point game.

Both goals resulted from him simply driving the net down the wing, with one going in off a Harvard defender, and the second, on the power play, a quick shot through the five-hole.

And he wasn't done. In the championship game, he scored BU's second goal, the game-winner, on a nasty shot no goalie in the world had a chance of stopping.

Along with older brothers Quinn, who had the primary assist on BU's game-winner in the opener, and Lane of the Montreal Canadiens, Hutson is continuing the family tradition of looking really damn good in the Beanpot. Not only did he lead the tournament in scoring, he was also a plus-7.

"He can control the game, even from our end," Pandolfo said. "He possesses the puck very well, he sees the ice very well. 

When he gets wheeling around the offensive zone, he's shifty, he's hard to contain, he sees the ice, he knows where the guys are gonna be, and that's what he's really good at. He's similar to Lane. They really control the pace of the game when they have the puck on their stick, and (in the semifinal) he was excellent. He said he had a bad penalty, I didn't even think it was a bad penalty. … He does respond very well after things like that. He's really competitive."

Brandon Svoboda, freshman, C (selected 71st overall in 2023 by San Jose)

1-1—2, 5 SOG in 24:41 played

The Terriers mostly use Brandon Svoboda in a defensive role lower in the lineup, but it was a play on the offensive end that sparked the Terriers.

Breaking down the right wing, he roofed it for his fifth goal of the season early in the second period. BU scored again 1:10 later, and suddenly the game was totally flipped in the Terriers' favor.

"He plays a really good role for us," Pandolfo said. "He's a big body, he can really skate. 

He's been excellent on the penalty kill, excellent on faceoffs. I know he'd like to produce a little bit more offensively, so it was great to see him get rewarded with that goal. Very similar to what he did for Team USA at the World Junior Championships. Very similar role, he chipped in some huge goals for them there and he did that for us tonight. 

He's the one that jump started the momentum we had in the second period with that huge goal."

Svoboda is one of the first forwards over the boards on the PK, he went 6 for 9 at the dot in the championship, blocked a couple of shots, and he made a number of key defensive plays in the early going when BC really had its legs.

Mikhail Yegorov, freshman, G (selected 49th overall in 2024 by New Jersey)

2 wins, 69 saves on 71 shots (.972)

In just the third and fifth college games of his career, Yegorov continues to impress, albeit without much flash. Harvard wasn't able to test him very frequently last week (he stopped 26 of 27 and didn't allow a 5-on-5 goal).

But the final was his second game against BC in just five career starts — a trial by fire if ever there was one — and while his won-lost record isn't overwhelmingly positive, the quality of his play certainly has been. He turned aside 43 of 44, and probably should have been the MVP because he had the third-highest save percentage in a single Beanpot, but that's life I guess.

"He has a confidence and belief in himself," Pandolfo said. "He's certainly not from around here, so I don't think he gets caught up in the moment; I think he enjoys the moment. Putting him in that second night against BC. 

I knew that was gonna be a really good environment for him to get his, you know, a taste of what this is all about. and he performed an excellent he's been very good for us. … (In the semifinal against Harvard), they had some quality chances and he was right there. He made some of the saves look easy, so he's just a confident kid. He reads the play really well."

Based on his play to date, you would never know this kid didn't play a second of college hockey until late January.

Boston College

Jacob Fowler, sophomore, G (selected 69th overall in 2023 by Montreal)

1 win, 68 saves on 73 shots (.932)

For the second straight season, Jacob Fowler continues to rack up superlative wins, making spectacular saves when needed but mostly getting opposing shooters to hit him in the chest. The Eagles often make it relatively easy for him to see shots, and he rises to the occasion with remarkable frequency and, perhaps more important, consistency. The championship game was the first time he gave up three-plus goals (albeit on 42 shots) in nine games.

"We try and play as well as we can in front of him, but when we've had breakdowns, he's been incredibly consistent and reliable for us, so I thought there were a few saves, especially early in the game," BC coach Greg Brown said after BC's first game. "But keeping the moment and keeping the lead, I think those were huge. … 

He gives us a chance to win. His consistency is really impressive."

Indeed, over the course of nearly two full seasons, you can count his poor showings on one hand, and it's gotten to the point where he simply has to be in the Hobey Baker conversation. There's just not really much more to say.

Aram Minnetian, sophomore, RD (selected 125th overall in 2023 by Dallas)

1-1—2, 4 SOG in 45:11 played

In a game that was already turning into a runaway, Aram Minnetian scored his second goal of the season to cap a two-point second period. That was his third multi-point game of the season.

When he was on the ice, BC mostly controlled the play and kept Northeastern away from Fowler. Playing a do-it-all role, he was a major contributor all 200 feet of the ice.

"Aram's a horse. He doesn't get tired," Brown said. "He's a really outstanding defender. You see him contribute to the offense as well, because he's got a nice skill set, but he does a fantastic job of playing against the top lines on the other teams. 

He closes so quickly, he's powerful, like he can separate guys from pucks and then (make) plays, so he does so many things for us. He's the first one over the boards, a lot of times, on the penalty kill and this year he's added getting some power-play time to his game. So he's developed very well for us and he's a big part of our defensive corps."

Ryan Leonard, sophomore, RW (selected 9th overall in 2024 by Washington)

1-3—4, 5 SOG in 39:53 played

Ryan Leonard continues his Hobey-caliber play in this tournament, posting a goal and two assists in the semifinal before picking up a primary helper in a final loss.

The superlatives at this point are almost pointless. Everyone knows how good he is, and has been since he arrived on campus, and surely the Washington Capitals are counting down the days until they can add him to the roster at the conclusion of this college season.

In addition to the production, it actually could have been even better for Leonard, as he also created (but was denied on) on a few breakaway attempts in the first game.

If he's not the most consistently dangerous offensive player in the country, there can't be more than a couple guys, max, ahead of him on the list. He just keeps showing why.

Gabe Perreault, sophomore, LW (selected 23rd overall in 2023 by New York Rangers)

1-2—3, 6 SOG in 40:16 played

As far as the scoresheet goes, Gabe Perreault wasn't hugely impactful in the opener against Northeastern, being held without even a shot on goal, but he picked up a couple primary assists late in a game that was already a blowout. But he clearly sought to make up for it in the championship, even with BC forced to juggle some lines due to an injury to Oskar Jellvik. He scored the opening goal, finishing into a wide-open net on a beautiful cross-ice pass from Leonard. The two forwards kept up the assault, each putting six shots on goal to share the BC lead, but couldn't solve Yegorov a second time.

Perreault has now gotten on the scoresheet in four straight games (3-2—5) and is sixth in the nation in overall point production and ninth in points per game (36 in 27).

Harvard

Mason Langenbrunner, junior, RD (selected 151st overall in 2020 by Boston)

2-0—2, 4 SOG, 38:05 played

Mason Langenbrunner entered Monday's Beanpot consolation game with just four career goals in 88 games, and tacked 50 percent onto that total with a pair of second-period power-play strikes.

Harvard likes to dole out its ice time pretty evenly, so Langenbrunner's nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game ranked second on the team behind only Ian Moore, the team's clear No. 1.

"Kinda nice getting two," Langenbrunner said. "I don't think I've score two goals in a game since I was in, like, bantam, so that's always fun. … Personally, I think there's been some growth (in my game), but still a lot of games left and a lot of season."

Casey Severo, junior, C (undrafted free agent)

2-1—3, 6 SOG in 38:15 played

In his junior year, first-line center Casey Severo has nearly doubled his goal production from the previous two seasons, including scoring the opening goal in the semifinal against BU.

It was a quick rebound goal on the power play early in the first period, and that's pretty typical of how he's come to lead the Crimson in goalscoring this season.

"He goes to the front of the net," Harvard coach Ted Donato said. "The majority of his goals are all within 10 feet of the net. The two guys on his line right now can make plays in space and can make plays off the rush, but Casey really goes to the hard areas of the ice and scores some important goals."

Severo added a goal and an assist in the consolation game, en route to a 4-3 win over Northeastern. All four of those goals were on the power play; Harvard only had nine on the man advantage for the whole season coming into the game.

Northeastern

Jackson Dorrington, junior, LD (selected 176th overall in 2022 by Vancouver, traded to New York Rangers in JT Miller trade)

0-2—2, 3 SOG in 49:31 played

One of just two Husky defensemen with a multi-point Beanpot, Jackson Dorrington picked up an assist in both games, both of which were losing efforts.

Playing on the second pair, Dorrington was reliable throughout the tournament, coming in with a plus-1 rating despite his team giving up 12 goals in the tournament.

He helped set up the opening goal in the consolation game, and then had a bigger task in the second game as NU stalwart Vinny Borgesi, who usually plays 27ish minutes a night, was held out of the lineup due to injury. Dorrington saw his ice time jump from just over 20 minutes in the opener to a whopping 29:10 in the consolation.

"Jackson stepped up," said Northeastern coach Jerry Keefe. "He's a leader. He's definitely a guy we rely on to be a shutdown D, does a lot of little things for this team. Blocks shots, he's hard to play against. He's a terrific kid and I think this game just keeps getting better or better."

Christophe Tellier, graduate student, RW (undrafted free agent)

1-1—2, 4 SOG in 32:15 played

Christophe Tellier was a key depth player for Quinnipiac in its recent successful seasons, including a national championship in 2023. Transferring to Northeastern this season, his role is much the same, and he helped the Huskies claw most of the way back from a couple of two-goal deficits with a goal and an assist in the second period, both at 5-on-5. Defensively responsible and still dangerous, he's a menace in the low slot (where he scored on a bit of a chaotic goal).