BOSTON — The top ranked high school hockey player in America. A first round NHL draft choice. A gold medalist with Team USA at last month's World Junior Hockey championships.
And now, you can add Beanpot champion to the ever-growing hockey resume of 18-year-old Boston College freshman Chris Kreider.
The Boxford native scored the night's most electrifying goal, a spectacular rush up ice that finished with a backhand flourish as he and the Boston College Eagles held on to defeat arch rival Boston University, 4-3, to win the 58th annual Beanpot title in front of 17,565 fans at the TD Garden.
"Winning this is everything to me," said Kreider. "I grew up watching the Beanpot and going to games, so to win it is the absolute most amazing feeling. This is right up there with winning the World Junior tournament."
Leaving the penalty box after serving two minutes for a hitting from behind infraction, Kreider spun back into the neutral zone and gathered an up-ice pass from linemate Jimmy Hayes. Gathering the puck and racing towards the left wing boards, Kreider used his tremendous speed to accelerate and, at full speed, deked his way around BU first-year defender Max Nicastro with a nifty outside-inside move.
Now cutting towards the net, Kreider went left to right across the crease before tucking a beautiful backhand shot past goalie Kieran Millan's left skate. The goal, just 13 seconds after his penalty had ended, gave his Eagles a 3-1 lead with 4:12 left in the middle stanza.
"I get a hard time for that move (he scored on), because it almost never works," Kreider said with a smile. "I don't know why I even tried it. You can call it instinct; I call it luck."
Kreider became the second North Shore player in four years to score the game-winning goal in the Beanpot final; BU's Brian McGuirk of Danvers beat BC goaltender Cory Schneider of Marblehead in overtime to give the Terriers a 2-1 win in 2007.
"I thought it was a great play by a freshman forward, and a not-so-great play by a freshman defenseman," Jack Parker, the Boston University coach, surmised. "It was a terrific play by Kreider, and a tough play for our defenseman.
"I thought the play he made on the goalie was actually better than the one he made on the defenseman. It was a terrific individual effort."
Kreider must be getting used to throwing his gloves off and joining his teammates in a wild celebration; it's the second time in a little over a month he's done so. He's going to have to get used to TV reporters and cameramen clamoring for his attention, too, as was the case on-ice after last night's triumphant win.
"It was a little nerve wracking," said of facing that media throng. "I just wanted my (Beanpot championship) hat."
Boston College head coach Jerry York, noting that his team had a lot of freshmen and sophomores who had never won a trophy at this level, also praised Kreider's goal that helped win this 250th battle between the two city schools.
"I thought that goal and the (David) Warsofsky goal (for BU) were both highlight goals. I'd be surprised if they weren't on ESPN's Top 10 (today)," York said. "Chris has terrific speed, and his stick skills are getting better. He has very quick hands."
To say that Kreider has started to get comfortable with the college game would be a huge understatement. In his past five games dating back to Jan. 22, the 6-foot-2 left wing has scored five goals (3 of those against BU), giving him seven for the season. That includes a goal in his first-ever Beanpot game, a 6-0 triumph over Harvard last Monday night.
"I think I'm playing with much more confidence," said the 2006-07 Salem News High School Player of the Year while a sophomore at Masconomet Regional. "I'm hitting more and being more physical, and I'm more comfortable in the corners. I feel like I'm now able to slow things down, give myself time and space on plays and not rush things.
"Getting more playing time (in games) helps, too. I didn't play as many games (in a season) coming from prep school as some of my teammates who were used to longer seasons (playing junior hockey). It took some time to get used to, but now I feel like I'm into a good routine. I'm locked into it now; it comes naturally after a while."
The New York Rangers' top pick in last summer's NHL Draft nearly nabbed a second goal last night, but his attempt at swatting a rebound out of the air in front of Millan midway through the third period just missed.
"Hopefully, we can use this win as a catalyst for the rest of the season," said Kreider.
