BOSTON (AP) — Kevin Shattenkirk made the pass that set up the winning goal in Boston University’s amazing comeback in last year’s NCAA championship game.

His immediate goal for this season is for the Terriers to just have a winning record.

Less than 10 months after they rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the final minute of regulation to beat Miami (Ohio) 4-3 for the title, the Terriers are 8-11-3. They have one game left before the 58th annual Beanpot hockey tournament, a local tradition that brings out passionate fans from the four Boston-area schools involved.

BU has won 29 Beanpot championships, including 12 of the last 15. Boston College has 14 tournament titles, Harvard 10 and Northeastern four.

“The Beanpot means so much to our school and so much to our team,” Terriers captain Shattenkirk, a senior defenseman, said Wednesday. “We know how much momentum we can gain from doing well in this tournament. We’ve seen it before. BC did it when they won their championship a couple of years ago.”

BC, the only one of the four teams with a winning record, will face Harvard before BU meets Northeastern in Monday night’s opening round. The championship and consolation games are scheduled for the following Monday.

How did BU fall so far, from tops in the nation to tied for sixth in the 10-team Hockey East?

Start with the loss of eight players from the championship team to graduation or pro hockey. Then add a group that failed to reach its potential when it went 4-9-3 before improving in January with a 4-2 record.

“It’s been a challenge,” said Jack Parker of his 37th season as BU coach. “It would have been tough to take even if we didn’t win the national championship last year.

“If the season ended right now, we would say to ourselves, ‘we had a much better team than we showed. What happened?’ That’s what I’ve been concerned about. We’re still trying to figure out what happened.”

BU’s troubles could provide an opening for Northeastern in the first round, a rematch of last year’s Beanpot final won by the Terriers 5-2.

“There’s no carryover” from that tournament, Northeastern coach Greg Cronin said. “We lost seven guys to graduation and then we had three guys that went out with season-ending injuries, so there’s 10 guys that are gone. There’s a big chunk of your team missing. So whatever substance we had from last year’s tournament is absent.”

Cronin’s Huskies are 10-11-1 and last won the Beanpot in 1988. Harvard has won its last three games but is just 5-10-3 and last won the tournament in 1993.

Might BU finally be vulnerable in the event it’s dominated?

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Harvard coach Ted Donato said. “I think they’re one of the more talented teams in the country. They’re still the defending national champions.

“BC, record-wise, certainly would come in as the favorite,” he said. “Every team is looking at it as a springboard to have success at the end of the season … BU wants to put their foot down and say, ‘not so fast here.’ ”

Parker said “it’s anybody’s tournament” more than it’s been in any of his other 36 seasons as BU’s coach. BC may have the best record at 12-8-2, but its coach, Jerry York, agrees.

“That gives us all a chance to think that the next step is going to bring us closer to where we want to get to,” he said.

Shattenkirk and the Terriers hope the Beanpot will provide a sharp turnaround in a season much different than the one that ended when he set up Colby Cohen’s goal that gave BU its fifth national championship last April.

“We definitely have that kind of never-let-down type of spirit and that was key last year,” Shattenkirk said. “We have to have that desperate mentality a little more, and I think the Beanpot will bring the best out of us.”

Copy the Story Link