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The annual Beanpot tournament of four of the best Boston hockey schools began on Monday as the Boston College Eagles faced the Harvard Crimson and the Boston University Terriers took on the Northeastern Huskies. There were plenty of Boston Bruins prospects in the contests, and they found success early.
Just 90 seconds into the first game, Bruins draftee Ryan Fitzgerald found his brother, Casey, for the first goal of the game to give BC a 1-0 lead. The Bruins' Fitzgerald landed himself an assist. Fitzgerald was a fourth round pick to the Bruins in the 2013 NHL draft.
Ryan Donato, a second round draft pick of the Bruins in 2014, scored the first goal for the Crimson in the first period when he was open in the slot and scored on a wrister past BC goalie Thatcher Demko. It was his sixth goal of the season.
Wiley Sherman, a defensive prospect for the Bruins out of Harvard, played a strong game for the Crimson to aid his goaltender, Merrick Madsen, who came up with some big saves especially early in the game.
Northeastern played Matt Bening as their only Bruins prospect as they took the ice in the late game on Monday night against Boston University. BU came into the game with center Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson and defenseman (and Terriers captain) Matt Grzelcyk touted as two of the top college prospects for the Bruins.
Forsbacka-Karlsson and Grzelcyk got off five and four shots respectively, and both had plenty of scoring chances. JFK also blocked a key shot on an odd-man-rush from Northeastern late in the second period.
Next week in the final game of the Beanpot, JFK and Grzelcyk will faceoff against Fitzgerald of Boston College, while both Harvard players, Sherman and Donato, face Northeastern for the consolation game.