By Chris Estrada
If we have learned anything this week, it’s that life can change in an instant.
Like a pendulum that never stops, we can go from happiness to sadness and back in the blink of an eye. We should always expect the unexpected.
But we couldn’t do that recently, could we? We were ready to hail another New England Patriots championship. And after that, we would celebrate the true rebirth of Husky hockey. After two decades, this was the year that Northeastern would re-claim the Beanpot.
Everything was set. In just three years, Greg Cronin had whipped the Huskies into a lean, mean machine. The team was coming off a strong victory over UMass and was planted firmly in the top 20 nationally. And with this edition of the Beanpot, the annual torture of a BC-versus-BU final would come to an end as both teams were forced to square off in the semifinals.
This was it. That famous trophy was coming to Huntington Avenue. And boy, we were ready to rub it in people’s faces.
If we have learned anything this week, it’s that life can change in an instant.
In the midst of brimming confidence, we saw a dynasty go to hell. And in the midst of brimming confidence, we saw the most anticipated Beanpot in recent memory turn into another piece of Husky failure.
“Representing Northeastern, I want to apologize to our fans who waited in line for six hours to watch this game,” a somber Cronin said after Harvard stunned his squad, 3-1, on Monday at TD Banknorth Garden. “We were unable to give too much to get excited about. We had over 3,000 people in the building and I want to apologize to them.”
Like the first moments of Super Bowl XLII, there was a sinking feeling at the start of Monday’s contest. The Crimson’s speed and ability to win fights for the puck in the corners caught Northeastern off-guard. It took just 2 minutes and nine seconds for Harvard’s Mike Dufault to set the tone as he took a centering pass from Jon Pelle in front of the net and smashed the biscuit past sophomore goalie Brad Thiessen to give his team the lead.
Just minutes later, Thiessen was besieged again. Jimmy Taylor couldn’t leave his first attempt alone when he saw the puck hadn’t been cleared by the NU defense and with several whacks eventually got it past Thiessen at 6:29. Only 32 seconds elapsed before Paul Rogers completed the terrible trilogy by finishing what teammate Alex Meintel started and scoring on the rebound.
From there, Harvard turned back everything the Huskies could muster. With the momentum threatening to turn in NU’s favor after Ryan Ginand’s goal with 28 seconds left in the second, the Crimson shut down any chance of a comeback with superb defense. Killing off the Husky power play twice in the third, they left NU with an 0-for-6 tally on the man advantage.
But more than anything, it was that three-goal barrage that effectively saw the Huskies out of the Beanpot yet again.
“They beat us off the wall,” Cronin said. “It’s a game of one-on-one battle and they were able to spin off of checks and there was some hesitation.”
In times like this, it’s wise to think about the big picture. My roommate and I watched ESPN Monday and saw them anoint Eli Manning a god-king. My companion noted that he had been a Pats fan when they were winning three games a year. This wouldn’t bother him much.
Three years ago, Northeastern hockey was a joke. Now, the program thrives. And they’re far from done in Hockey East; just five points out of first place heading into Merrimack tomorrow.
But even with that small comfort, this loss still hurts. This was going to be the year of the Beanpot for the Huskies. Just as we thought 2008 was going to be the year of perfection for the Patriots.
All of those signs of confidence and hope … all of them gone in seemingly the blink of an eye.
If we have learned anything this week, it’s that life can change in an instant.
