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Mikhail Yegorov, No. 9 BU upsets No. 1 BC to claim 32nd Beanpot titleÂ
"I feel like our group knows we can play with the best in college hockey, and we proved that again tonight.”
It’s been a hectic couple of months for BU freshman goalie Mikhail Yegorov.
On Jan. 10, the 18-year-old netminder was over 1,400 miles away from Boston — playing for the Omaha Lancers of the USHL.
Less than two weeks later, he was officially added to the Terriers’ roster, serving as additional reinforcement in net for BU ahead of the second half of their 2024-25 campaign.
His first start? A road matchup against the top-ranked BC Eagles at Conte Forum on Jan. 25.
His fifth career appearance in scarlet and white? A rematch against the No. 1 Boston College on Monday night — with a Beanpot championship on the line.
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“It was a little wild,” Yegorov acknowledged. “But yeah, I finally ended up here. It included everything — starting from being in classes back in Omaha and going to [the] Bahamas to get my visa. No, I’m serious.
“And being on the road trip with guys right away and playing against BC … It was a lot, but I really appreciate that they have such a trust [in me].”
And on Monday night at TD Garden, the freshman netminder rewarded said trust with some sought-after hardware.
In the first Beanpot final showdown between the No. 1 Eagles and No. 9 Terriers in nine years, Yegorov stood tall in net — turning aside 43 of the 44 shots that came his way to help lift Boston University to its 32nd Beanpot title in franchise history.
As Yegorov stemmed the tide against a flurry of BC shots in the early going, the Terriers erased a one-goal deficit in the second period — with a pair of tallies just 1:10 apart from freshmen Brandon Svoboda and Cole Hutson giving BU the lead for good in an eventual 4-1 victory.
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Hutson, who recorded three goals and two assists over two Beanpot victories over Harvard and BC, took home tournament MVP honors.
Yegorov was named the recipient of the Eberly Award — handed to the goalie with the best save percentage in the tournament. Yegorov turned aside 69 of 71 shots in his two Beanpot outings — with that .972 save percentage standing as the third-highest mark in the tournament’s 72-year history.
“He does not get caught up in the moment. He enjoys the moment. He thrives in the moment. And that’s what he’s done for us here,” BU head coach Jay Pandolfo said of Yegorov. “You know, first college game at BC against the number one team in the country.
“And he ends up giving up a goal, basically off the first shot he faces off a rebound, and then shuts the door after that. And then this environment, first Beanpot game against Harvard, comes up huge for us. And then in this environment tonight — he’s very calm in there. … I can’t say enough great things about him. He’s been awesome for us in a very short time.”
Monday marked the 23rd meeting between the Eagles and Terriers in the Beanpot final, with BU now holding a 13-10 edge.
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Behind Yegorov’s play in net and a stingy defensive effort over the final 40 minutes of play, the Terriers snapped the Eagles’ nine-game win streak — denying Boston College its first Beanpot title since 2016.
“We got beat by a good hockey team tonight,” BC head coach Greg Brown acknowledged.
The Eagles — starved for a chance to give their seniors that Beanpot title — showcased some of that urgency in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Past the midway point of the first period, BC was outshooting the Terriers 16-2.
That suffocating salvo of shots against Yegorov eventually led to the Eagles breaking the ice with 13:47 left in the first — with BC’s potent top line sending a sea of maroon and gold into a frenzy in the upper balcony.
Hobey Baker candidate Ryan Leonard capitalized after an icing by the Terriers, with the skilled winger hitting linemate Gabe Perreault with a slick backdoor feed that gave BC a 1-0 advantage.
The Eagles held onto that one-goal cushion entering the first intermission — with the top-ranked squad boasting a 16-9 advantage in shots.
It could have been even more lopsided had it not been for the play of Yegorov, who turned aside several Grade-A scoring chances throughout those 20 minutes.
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“If you watched the first 15 minutes of that game, we were under siege,” Pandolfo said. “For whatever reason, it took us a while to find our legs, and this big fella right here [Yegorov] held us in the game.
“We were only down 1-0 after one — and then we found our legs and we started playing our game and started playing the way we need to play to have success.”
With Yegorov keeping the Terriers off the ropes, BU bounced back with a dogged effort in the second period.
A costly drop pass from the Eagles in transition gave the Terriers the opportunity they needed to pounce. That skittering led to a 2-on-1 rush for BU, with Svoboda snapping a shot over BC goalie Jacob Fowler’s shoulder to knot the game up at 1-1.
Just 1:10 later, the Terriers secured a lead it would not relinquish.
As the Terriers continued to tilt the ice in their favor, Hutson capped off a sustained offensive-zone possession by finding twine. After sophomore defenseman Tom Willander corralled a puck before it crossed over the blue line, he fed the puck over to Hutson — who promptly wristed it past Fowler to make it a 2-1 game.
Both Jacob Fowler (40 saves) and Yegorov withstood several haymakers as both powerhouse programs traded chances — with the Terriers landing a whopping 21 shots on goal over those 20 minutes in the second period.
The Eagles landed 16 shots of their own in the second, while also being granted three looks on the power play.
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The penalty kill has been an area of weakness for the Terriers this season (74.7 percent), but the shorthanded Terriers didn’t budge against a potent BC power play — closing out the first 40 minutes with 21 blocked shots.
Despite BC’s dominant edge in shots in the early going, the Eagles only held a 32-30 edge in shots on goal entering the final period of play.
“The first goal really gave us energy,” Hutson said. “And I think we kind of took over the game after we got that little energy boost and took advantage of it,” Hutson said. “I think every O-zone draw we had, we got pucks to the net.
“We were hoping — maybe we got a little lucky — and got one past [Fowler]. He’s an unreal goalie, and it takes 40 shots to beat him.”
The Terriers tightened the screws defensively in the third period as they nursed that one-goal advantage as former Terriers (and Calder Trophy candidates) Macklin Celebrini and Lane Hutson helped lead the cheers at the Terriers’ student section.
The Terriers finally gave themselves some breathing room with 6:08 remaining, as Newburyport’s Cole Eiserman beat Fowler five-hole on a breakaway chance to make it a 3-1 game. Sophomore defenseman Gavin McCarthy added an empty-netter tally at 18:18 to ice the game for good.
“I was just so happy for our players — the way that we played in the first period and then not to get rattled and not quit— to find a way to get back in the game,” Pandolfo noted. “So I was just so proud of them. … We all know that BC is the number-one team in the country for a reason.
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“They’re a really good hockey team, and I think tonight we show that we can play with them. … I feel like our group knows we can play with the best in college hockey, and we proved that again tonight.”
It’s been an up-and-down season for the Terriers (16-10-1). But the arrival of Yegorov and the lift provided by adding another Beanpot to the trophy case should give BU plenty of momentum going into the postseason.
As for the Eagles, Brown stressed that the evident pain in BC’s locker room will be channeled into an appropriate response as the calendar flips to March.
“They were upset in the locker room, especially the guys — the ones [where] it was their last shot at it. They wanted it a lot,” Brown said. “BU played a little better than us tonight. You feel bad for those guys, but we can still do some things this season.”
Before the Eagles and Terriers took to the ice, Northeastern and Harvard battled in the consolation game earlier on Monday evening — with the Crimson coming away with a 4-3 victory.
Harvard (8-13-2) made the most of an undisciplined showing from the Huskies (9-14-3), who were whistled for six penalties during the game.
Harvard entered Monday’s game with just nine power-play goals on the year, but broke through by scoring four goals on those six power-play bids against the Huskies.
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After Harvard erased a 1-0 Huskies lead with a power-play tally at 16:27 in the first, Bruins prospect Mason Langenbrunner broke through in the middle frame.
The fifth-round pick (No. 151 overall, 2020) by Boston capitalized on the man advantage in the second — scoring a pair of power-play goals at 0:56 and 14:01, respectively, to pad the Crimson’s lead to 4-2.
First multi-goal game for Mason Langenbrunner and it happened to be on Causeway Street ⬇️
— Harvard Men’s Hockey (@HarvardMHockey) February 10, 2025
📺NESN Nation
💻https://t.co/FibzYuBqOg
📊 https://t.co/rNBgg5ak09#GoCrimson | #OneCrimson pic.twitter.com/UYcAg7R6ya
It marked the first time in the junior defenseman’s collegiate career that he’s scored two goals in a single game.
Huskies junior forward Jack Williams found the back of the net twice, with his second tally making it a 4-3 game with just 1:04 left in the second period.
Harvard had another opportunity to pad its lead in the third period when NU’s Joaquim Lemay was assessed a game misconduct and a five-minute major penalty for cross-checking — but the Crimson could not push a puck past Northeastern netminder Quentin Sigurdson for the knockout punch.
But Northeastern could not secure the equalizer against Harvard freshman goalie Ben Charette (23 saves) down the other end of the ice, with the Crimson holding on for the win.
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