Last Updated 1:23 AM, February 14, 2023
Patrick Donnelly | NCAA.com

No. 16 Northeastern beats No. 9 Harvard in shootout to win 2023 men's Beanpot championship

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6:17 am, February 14, 2023

No. 16 Northeastern wins fourth men's Beanpot title in five tries 🏆

For the first time ever, Northeastern and Harvard met in the Beanpot championship.

For the first time ever, the Beanpot championship was decided in a shootout.

For the fourth time in five tournaments and eighth time ever, Northeastern won the Beanpot.

Captain Aidan McDonough came through in the clutch again with the deciding goal in the bottom of the second round of the shootout, and goaltender Devon Levi stood tall once more when he denied Alex Laferriere, sending the crowd into a frenzy as Huskies skaters flooded the ice in celebration. Levi also saved Matthew Coronato and Sean Farrell’s chances in the Crimson’s first two chances.

It was No. 9 Harvard’s second loss when leading at any point during a game this season (13-2-1).

After a scoreless first period, Gunnarwolfe Fontaine broke the stalemate when he jammed in the rebound off Sam Colangelo’s shot from range just 1:27 into the second.

HISTORY: Click or tap here for everything you need to know about the men's Beanpot tournament

Harvard (17-6-2, 14-4-0 ECAC) answered just over a minute later when Matthew Coronato capitalized on the power play with a one-timer at the left circle off a smooth tic-tac-toe passing sequence. He added another just before the midway point of the period when he dove for a rebound to the right of the crease for his fourth goal of the tournament and a 2-1 lead.

In the third, Fontaine came through again for the No. 16 Huskies (14-10-5, 11-5-3 HEA) about five minutes in when he backhanded Jayden Struble’s cross-crease feed into the yawning cage.

Both goaltenders came up big down the stretch as Mitchell Gibson (27 saves) made timely stops in overtime, and Levi (32 saves) matched him at every opportunity.

Levi went on to earn MVP as well as the Eberly Trophy, awarded to the tournament’s best goaltender, marking the fifth straight time an NU goalie earned the award.

3:20 am, February 14, 2023

😱 No. 16 Northeastern clinches Beanpot championship over No. 9 Harvard in shootout

No. 16 Northeastern defeats No. 9 Harvard 3-2 in a shootout at the 2023 Beanpot championship.

Senior forward Aidan McDonough helped seal the victory for the Huskies, tallying his twentieth goal of the season in a big way.

To finish it off, Northeastern's Devon Levi held it down between the pipes, denying Alex Laferriere and the Harvard Crimson from winning the Beanpot championship.

3:12 am, February 14, 2023

END OT: Shootout 🏒 up next in Beanpot championship

Harvard and Northeastern remain tied as overtime comes to an end.

A shootout will decide the winner of the Beanpot championship.

 

2:54 am, February 14, 2023

END 3RD: Overtime 😅 Huskies and Crimson tied 2-2 after 3rd period

Thanks to a third period goal from Northeastern's Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, the Huskies and Crimson are headed to overtime at the Beanpot championship. 

Five minutes of three-on-three overtime action at TD Garden is underway.

2:33 am, February 14, 2023

GOAL! 🚨 Northeastern ties it | 3rd – 15:03

It's Gunnarwolfe Fontaine again, burying the puck on the doorstep with a backhand to tie it, 2-2, with about 15 minutes to go in regulation. 

2:15 am, February 14, 2023

END 2ND: Harvard leads by 1️⃣

The Crimson take a 2-1 lead into the room after 40 minutes.

Northeastern got on the board first, thanks to Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, but Matthew Coronato scored twice for Harvard in short order to give the Crimson the lead.

Shots on goal are 18-5, Harvard.

1:53 am, February 14, 2023

GOAL! 🚨 Crimson take the lead | 2nd – 11:08

Harvard takes a 2-1 lead as Coronato picks up his second of the night right in front. 

The Crimson are 13-1-1 when leading at any point in a game this season. 

1:37 am, February 14, 2023

GOAL! 🚨 Harvard evens it up | 2nd – 17:02

The Crimson get it right back as Matthew Coronato picks up his 17th of the season on the power play with a one-timer at the far post off a slick tic-tac-toe passing sequence. It's his third goal of the Beanpot.

 

1:34 am, February 14, 2023

GOAL! 🚨 Huskies open the scoring | 2nd – 18:33

Gunnarwolfe Fontaine opens the scoring with his eighth of the season just 1:27 into the second period.

Fontaine buried a rebound in front off a shot from distance.

 

1:25 am, February 14, 2023

END 1ST: No score between the Crimson and Huskies 😮‍💨

After a high-paced, back-and-forth opening 20 minutes, there's no score between Harvard and Northeastern in the Beanpot final.

Shots on goal are 12-7, Harvard.

12:44 am, February 14, 2023

The game is on 👀

We're underway in the 70th men's Beanpot championship between Harvard and Northeastern. 

12:20 am, February 14, 2023

Harvard and Northeastern drop the puck shortly 🍿

We're just about 20 minutes from puck-drop when the No. 9 Crimson and the No. 16 Huskies will battle it out for the Beanpot.

It's the first time ever in the 70-year history of the Beanpot that Harvard and Northeastern have met in the final.

Here are tonight's lineups:

5:37 pm, February 10, 2023

How to watch the men's Beanpot championship 📺

Monday's Beanpot final is the standalone college hockey action across the nation as the historic and perennially nail-biting tournament kicks off a busy week.

Here's how to keep up with the action:

Harvard University vs. Northeastern:

Boston University vs. Boston College:

NEED TO KNOW: Click or tap here for a comprehensive 2023 men's Beanpot preview

5:36 pm, February 10, 2023

How Harvard and Northeastern got here 📝

It's not often that the early semifinal is the most dramatic of the night, but that's what we got last Monday.

The Crimson made light work of the Eagles early on in the first game but had to withstand a massive push in the third period to come away with the win, 4-3 in overtime. 

Harvard got to work early, putting one past Mitch Benson that was eventually waived off, but stuck with it as Marek Hejduk scored on an odd-man rush with a slick top-shelf finish midway through the first. From there, the Crimson kept up the offense as a Mike Posma deflection to get BC on the board was bookended by two Matthew Coronato power play goals, each off one-time blasts from the left circle. 

In the third, the Eagles went for broke, outshooting Harvard 22-2 in the period. They finally broke through Gibson for a second time when Nikita Nesterenko danced through the defense on a smooth individual effort with five minutes to go in regulation. Then Cutter Gauthier tied it, 3-3, with 1:31 left on the clock.

In a back-and-forth overtime, it was Hejduk coming up with the heroics, finishing a one-timer on a 2-on-1 counter rush with Alex Laferriere with 1.5 seconds. 

In the nightcap, Northeastern took advantage of a sluggish BU start and a clutch performance from Devon Levi late to take the 3-1 win, avenging last year's championship defeat. 

Aidan McDonough got it started with six minutes left in the first, picking the top-left corner from the left circle off of some pretty passing from the Huskies. Jakov Novak doubled the lead just 1:48 into the second when he cashed in on the doorstep. 

As the Terriers pressed, Matt Brown got them on the board with the goalie pulled with 1:51 left, but it was no use. Levi stood tall as he stopped 25 shots through the final two periods, including 15 of 16 in the third, and Hunter McDonald added his first career goal via the empty net with 30 seconds left.