BOSTON -- Brendan van Riemsdyk scored the tie-breaking goal, Craig Pantano stopped 27 shots and two-time defending champion Northeastern beat Harvard 3-1 in the opening round of the 68th Beanpot on Monday night.

The Huskies (15-7-2) have never won three straight Beanpot titles but will try for it next Monday night against the winner of the other opening round game between longtime rivals Boston University and Boston College. That game was played later Monday.

"It's emotionally draining," Northeastern coach Jim Madigan said. "Guys don't sleep well the night before. ... For all our seniors, this is our last kick at the can, so we want to have a lasting image for them."

Northeastern has six titles, the least of the four schools and far behind BU's 30 and BC's 20. Harvard has won 11, its last in 2017.

"I know it's going to be a big thing all week long because we haven't done that," said Madigan, a 1986 Northeastern grad, of getting three in a row. "I was fortunate to be on the 1984 and '85 teams that won it back-to-back."

Northeastern, ranked No. 13 in the nation, took a 2-1 lead in the final half-minute of the second period when Grant Jozefek sent a pass from the right corner out front to van Riemsdyk, where he redirected it from the top of the crease past the stick of goalie Mitchell Gibson inside the right post. The goal stood after a lengthy video review to see if the play was onside.

"It was a good play by their guy. He threw it kind of blind at the edge of the crease," Harvard coach Ted Donato said. "It was a lack of communication leaving the net-front open."

Van Riemsdyk is the younger brother of NHL veterans, James, a forward for the Flyers, and Trevor, a defenseman for the Hurricanes.

Ryan Shea scored an empty-netter with 51 seconds left.

"It kind of caught edge a little bit, it was going left and right," Shea said of his clearing shot that rolled into the net. "Once it went in, I was like, 'Here we go. We're going back to the championship.'"

The teams had traded first-period power-play goals. Jack Drury gave 16th-ranked Harvard (10-7-4) a 1-0 edge 5:17 into the game before Zach Solow tied it just over seven minutes later.

The Huskies survived being shorthanded two players for nearly two minutes early in the third. Pantano made a nice blocker stop on defenseman Reilly Walsh's bid from in close. Walsh also hit a post.

Gibson made 21 saves.

The annual tournament features the four local Boston-area Division I college programs, which are located within a few miles of each other, and is played the first two Monday nights in February. The tourney, often well-attended by draft scouts, has seen some of its best performances come from players who've moved onto the NHL.

As is the tradition, all four school bands combined with thousands of students to fill student sections around TD Garden, home of the Bruins and Celtics.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.