BOSTON--As the Boston University men's hockey team skated off the ice for the second intermission in last night's opening round Beanpot game against Boston College, Terrier Coach Jack Parker breathed a sigh of relief.

Parker's squad had just barely survived a second-period onslaught by its cross-town and Hockey East rival, during which the Eagles quickly erased a 3-0 deficit with three goals in just over four minutes. And, as the intermission thwarted B.C.'s momentum, B.U. reached its seventh-straight Beanpot Final, 4-3, on a goal by forward Ed Ronan.

"We kept our composure out there," B.U. forward Joe Sacco said. "We didn't get too riled up when they scored three goals in a row."

While B.U. goalie and Beanpot rookie Scott Cashman had plenty of reason to get riled up, the freshman sensation was all poise. The Hockey East's leading goalie stopped 23 shots on the evening, shutting the Eagles (17-9-1) out in the final period to preserve the B.U. win.

"We've been in a lot of one-goal hockey games," Cashman said. "Luckily, we socred the one in the third period to win the game."

Dog Meat

With the victory, the Terriers (14-10-2) earned the right to play Harvard in next Monday night's game. The Crimson beat Northeastern, 5-4, in last night's other opening round game.

The Terriers opened the scoring early on a power play after B.C. forward Bill Nolan was called for hooking. B.U. defender Phil von Stefenelli fired a slapshot from the right blue line past Eagles goalie Sandy Galuppo.

While both squads traded opportunities for most of the period, Cashman and Galuppo kept the puck out of the twines. Then, B.U. forward Shawn McEachern gave his squad a 2-0 lead going into the first intermission, knocking in a rebound of linemate Tony Amonte's shot.

After a scoreless first 10 minutes of the second period, B.U. blue-liner Alexandre Legault made the score 3-0 with a slapshot. With the goal, it looked as if the Hockey East third place Terriers were going to walk away with the game.

H-E-M Line

"The first line of theirs is absolutely fabulous," said Parker, referring to B.C.'s prolific H-E-M line of Scott Heinze, David Emma and Marty McInnis, "but if we can keep it in there end, they can't score."

But, as history as shown, no lead is safe in the Beanpot. B.C. began its three-goal rally just over a minute later, when defender Schaf Hauser sent a slow, high shot from the left blue line over Cashman's right shoulder. With six minutes left in the period, Eagles forward Bill Guerin brought his team within one, rerouting a blue-line shot from teammate Ron Pascucci.

While a penalty on B.C. center David Pergola left the Eagles one man down, junior David Emma stole the puck from B.U. defender Peter Ahola just 10 seconds into the power play, breaking away for a one-on-one against Cashman. Emma pushed the puck over Cashman's left shoulder for a shorthanded goal that tied the game.

"They turned it into fourth gear and really came at us," Parker said. "We were fortunate to go into the locker room tied, 3-3."