FOR ALL THE BEANS: Dream night for Hayes brothers

BC wins 2011 Beanpot : Jimmy Hayes celebrates his OT goal with teammate Patch Alber. AP photoBC wins 2011 Beanpot : Jimmy Hayes celebrates his OT goal with teammate Patch Alber. AP photoIt’s every Dorchester youth hockey player’s dream: Lacing up the skates, hitting the ice at the Garden, playing in the Beanpot. And, of course, scoring the game-winning goal then hoisting the trophy high.

Well, for the Hayes brothers of Westglow Street that dream came true on Monday night.

Jimmy Hayes, a 6-foot-5 junior forward for Boston College, tucked in his team’s seventh and decisive goal in overtime against a valiant Northeastern squad to lift the Eagles to their third Beanpot championship in four years. His younger brother Kevin, who had notched a first-period assist of his own during the epic game against the Huskies, watched the big goal from the bench.

“Jimmy deserved it,” Kevin, a freshman on track for a bigger role on the ice at the Heights, told the Reporter. “All year he has just improved in all aspects of the game and he was finally rewarded with such a big goal.”

Of the Beanpot finale, Kevin said, “It didn’t matter who got the points; it doesn’t matter in any game. That is why our team has been so successful this year. No one cares about who scores and who gets the points. It is a real nice recipe for success.”

The Huskies – on the hunt for their first Beanpot trophy since 1988 – fought hard against the heavily favored Eagles. There were 6 ties and 6 lead changes, and at the end of regulation play, the score was 6-6.

There were 18 penalties called on the teams who kept up a busy pace throughout the contest. Northeastern won the special teams contest, notching two power play goals on five tries against the top penalty-killing team in the country. They also netted the only short-handed goal made against B.C. so far this season.

In the overtime period, Jimmy stepped up, after assisting teammate and tournament MVP Chris Kreider on BC’s sixth goal in the third period. Kreider returned the favor six minutes into OT when he threw the puck at the Northeastern net near where Jimmy was waiting for his opportunity against goalie Chris Rawlings. A second later, the puck was loose in the crease and Jimmy shoved it home, then started his dive across the ice.

“As a kid growing up I would always dream of scoring big goals and the Beanpot was always one of those scenarios,” he told the Reporter the next day. “It was a dream come true to have the opportunity to score such a big goal for my teammates. It was an amazing feeling.”

Jimmy said the win was all the more special because he shared it with his brother.

“Winning trophies is a thing I have always loved to do and to share the experience with my little brother is even that much more incredible,” he said. “We have always dreamt of playing with one another and to win championships with one another and this was truly great. I am glad he got the experience of playing in a huge game and know how hard it is to win these big trophies.”

With Jimmy getting his second Beanpot championship and Kevin grabbing his first, the Westglow Street boys are hoping to keep the momentum going through the national championship tournament. They hope, too, that history will repeat itself; the last two times the Eagles won the Beanpot, they also won the NCAA finals.

But before all that, there’s a season to finish. Their next opponent? Northeastern, tomorrow night at BC’s Conte Forum.

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