BOSTON — Clay Anderson, Tyler Moy and Luke Esposito scored in the third period and No. 4 Harvard held on to beat Northeastern 4-3 in the semifinal of the 65th annual Beanpot tournament on Monday night.
The Crimson (16-5-2) are seeking their 11th tourney title and first since 1993. They will face the winner of the late game Monday night between defending champion Boston College and Boston University.
With many in the local sports landscape still beaming over the Patriots’ historic comeback for their fifth Super Bowl title, greater Boston’s four local Division 1 collegiate hockey programs took center stage for the night in the annual tourney that takes place at TD Garden on the first two Mondays in February.
Harvard is unbeaten in its last six games, going 5-0-1 to climb in the national rankings.
BU has captured the Beanpot 30 times and BC 20, including six of the last seven.
Adam Gaudette had two goals for Northeastern (11-12-5), which hasn’t won the tournament since 1988 and has just four titles overall.
As has been the case for the last dozen or so years, turnout was light for the first semifinal game, and the echoes of sticks hitting pucks reverberated around a roughly third-full building.
Anderson made it 2-1 by firing a slap shot between Ryan Ruck’s pads from the left point for a power-play score at 6:39. Esposito’s goal came short-handed, making it 4-1 just under six minutes later.
NU sliced it to 4-3 on Gaudette’s second goal with 1:33 to play, but Harvard held on.
Nolan Stevens’ power-play goal had cut it to 4-2.
Harvard broke a scoreless tie on Alexander Kerfoot’s goal midway into the second period. The center stopped an attempted clearing pass at the point and made a seemingly harmless dump-in shot on goal that slipped past Ruck.
NU tied it at 1 on Gaudette’s power-play goal late in the period. Dylan Sikura hit the left post and the puck caromed near the right circle to Zach Aston-Reese, who fired a shot that was stopped by goalie Merrick Madsen before Gaudette scored on the rebound.
Madsen had 27 saves. Ruck 25.
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