BOSTON - Chris Kreider has never lost a college hockey game at TD Garden. From the middle of the second period on in last night's 60th annual Beanpot semifinals, there was absolutely no chance of that changing.
The No. 5 ranked Boston College hockey club dismantled Northeastern, 7-1, to advance to next Monday's Beanpot final against archrival Boston University (a 3-1 winner over Harvard in yesterday's other semifinal).
"There were a lot of smiles playing here," said Kreider. "It's a hockey game, but (this atmosphere) always brings out the energy."
Kreider, a junior right winger from Boxford, is now 5-0 in Beanpot games, with his Eagles having won the last two championships. He's also a collective 9-0 at TD Garden, including back-to-back Hockey East titles.
Though the 6-foot-3, 225-pound power forward is the Eagles' leading scorer with 16 goals and 30 points, the maroon-and-gold didn't need him last night.
Freshman Johnny Gaudreau and junior Steve Whitney both had two goals and three points and Paul Carey scored two goals to lead BC's onslaught, which was punctuated by two second period shorthanded goals.
Ranking third in Hockey East in scoring, Kreider has already set career highs in goals and points. His five-point outburst helped the Eagles overcome a pesky New Hampshire team with a sweep last weekend, but despite that the Boxford native doesn't need to carry BC's offensive, as evidenced by last night's destruction of Northeastern.
"To be honest, I don't feel a lot of pressure to score to begin with," said Kreider, the 19th pick of the 2009 NHL entry draft by the New York Rangers.
"When we have all three lines firing, that's how we have success."
The Eagles (17-10-1) had little trouble with a Northeastern team they also beat, 2-1, at Fenway Park less than one month ago on Jan. 14.
Kreider had the game-winning goal, shorthanded, that cold night on Yawkey Way, but his contributions last night in the Beanpot weren't on the scoresheet. Instead, Kreider played the body, with three hits in the first period alone, helping to wear down the Huskies and make room for his teammates.
"That's something I've added consciously," Kreider said of his physical play. "We're not the biggest team around, so we need everybody hitting and that's something I've tried to do on a consistent basis."
Kreider, who ranked No. 20 nationally in scoring, played with an edge last night. He took two minor penalties, produced three shots on goal and saw action in every situation: power play, penalty kill and even strength.
Next week, Kreider would like nothing better than to take a third consecutive Beanpot. The Most Valuable Player of last year's tournament has four goals and five points in five career Beanpot games - all wins - but knows he won't need a hat trick for his Eagles to take a victory lap with one of college hockey's most cherished trophies.
"When you get secondary and tertiary scoring, that's when you're going to have success," he said. "We haven't always had that this year, so hopefully we can continue to play like this."
