Harvard 4, NU 3: The first semifinal of the 2017 Beanpot was close throughout, but the No. 4 Harvard Crimson held off a late Northeastern rally to win 4-3.

Harvard and Northeastern played to a scoreless draw after 20 minutes before both sides found the back of the net in the second period. The No. 4 Crimson scored three straight goals to open the third period, but the Huskies wouldn’t go away, scoring twice in the final 6:29 to make Harvard sweat.

With the win, Harvard improved to 16-5-2 and clinched its first trip to the Beanpot final since 2008. Northeastern dropped to 11-12-5 with the loss.

Third period, 0:49, Harvard 4, NU 3: Northeastern calls a timeout.

Third period, 1:33, Harvard 4, NU 3: The goal is confirmed, as Adam Gaudette gets credit for this second goal of the night.

Third period, 1:33, Harvard 4, NU 3: Everyone for Northeastern was in the crease and the puck apparently crossed the line. The play is under review.

Good luck finding the puck pic.twitter.com/7E1vhgnZ5A — Jashvina Shah (@icehockeystick) February 7, 2017

Third period, 2:30, Harvard 4, NU 2: Northeastern empties its net in an attempt to get two late scores.

Third period, 3:53, Harvard 4, NU 2: Both teams are given penalties — Northeastern’s Zach Aston-Reese for cross-checking and Harvard’s Alexander Kerfoot for embellishment.

Third period, 6:29, Harvard 4, NU 2: The Huskies got a power-play goal from Nolan Stevens, who was camped in front of the net and poked it by Merrick Madsen after a rocket from Zach Aston-Reese was sent toward the net.

Third period, 7:35, Harvard 4, NU 1: Harvard’s John Marino is sent to the box for holding.

Third period, 7:42, Harvard 4, NU 1: The Crimson turned Northeastern over and got a short-handed goal on the counter attack from Luke Esposito.

Check out Esposito's ninth goal of the season! #GoCrimson pic.twitter.com/u6vr1KUndP — Harvard Men's Hockey (@Harvard_Hockey) February 7, 2017

Third period, 9:32, Harvard 3, NU 1: Harvard’s Wiley Sherman is sent to the box for cross-checking.

Third period, 10:00, Harvard 3, NU 1: The Crimson were hacking at the puck in Ryan Rusk’s crease and after review, they determined that Tyler Moy scored.

It's a 3-1 game at TD Garden! Tyler Moy gets his 12th goal of the season! #GoCrimson #Beanpot pic.twitter.com/M3zzAFBHoJ — Harvard Men's Hockey (@Harvard_Hockey) February 7, 2017

Third period, 12:21, Harvard 2, NU 1: The Huskies’ penalty kill turned away multiple opportunities, but the Crimson finally broke through when defenseman Clay Anderson found the back of the net with a shot from the high slot, his second tally of the season.

Third period, 14:10, Harvard 1, NU 1: Northeastern’s Sam Kurker is sent to the box for slashing. The Crimson go on the power play.

Third period, 16;48, Harvard 1, NU 1: Zach Aston-Reese launched a wrist shot at Merrick Madsen, but he gloved it. The Huskies are controlling play early in the final period.

End second period, Harvard 1, NU 1: Harvard controlled the play for most of the second period, but the Huskies tied it up with the late power play goal from Adam Gaudette. There are 20 minutes left to decide the first 2017 Beanpot semifinal.

Second period, 1:52, Harvard 1, NU 1: Northeastern went on the power play after Harvard’s Jake Horton got called for interference and scored in seven seconds. Garret Cockerill sent a shot from the point off the post. Zach Aston-Reese then got a stick on the rebound, sliding it to Adam Gaudette, who put home the shot to tie the game.

Big goal, bigger celly. Gauds has the boys fired up here at TD Garden. #GoNU pic.twitter.com/XhghCGSPW0 — Northeastern MHKY (@GoNUmhockey) February 6, 2017

Second period, 3:01, Harvard 1, NU 0: The Crimson own a 12-5 advantage in shots on goal so far in the second period.

Second period, 6:10, Harvard 1, NU 0: Harvard’s Viktor Dombrovskiy sent the puck toward the net from the blue line, and Alexander Kerfoot deflected it past Ryan Ruck to give the Crimson the 1-0 lead.

GOAL! Harvard's up 1-0 with just under 6 minutes to go in the second period #GoCrimson pic.twitter.com/QdiyYtuik2 — Harvard Men's Hockey (@Harvard_Hockey) February 6, 2017

Second period, 9:03, NU 0, Harvard 0: The Crimson had another close opportunity, but Ryan Ruck has been hard to crack so far.

Second period, 10:00, NU 0, Harvard 0: Alexander Kerfoot had a 1-on-1 against Ryan Ruck, but the netminder made his 11th save of the night. With Ruck on his back, Northeastern defenseman Garret Cockerill blocked what would have been a sure goal.

Second period, 11:30, NU 0, Harvard 0: The Huskies’ Matt Filipe had a good look at the net, but Merrick Madsen made the glove save.

Second period, 11:55, NU 0, Harvard 0: The Crimson went on the power play after Northeastern’s Patrick Schule was sent to the box, but the Huskies killed it off.

Second period, 14:10, NU 0, Harvard 0: Northeastern controlled the puck in its offensive zone for a while, and defenseman Eric Williams had a shot to get the Huskies on the board but was once again stonewalled by Merrick Madsen.

Second period, 16:47, NU 0, Harvard 0: The Crimson were on the attack again, as defenseman Jacob Olson sent a blistering shot toward Ryan Ruck, but the Huskies netminder squeezed it.

Second period, 18:18, NU 0, Harvard 0: Harvard’s Nathan Krusko had a good look after the Huskies turned the puck over in their defensive zone, but the shot went high.

End first period, NU 0, Harvard 0: Northeastern’s Sam Kurker had an opportunity from the slot with five seconds left in the period, but Madsen made a pad save to keep the game scoreless. The Huskies have a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal after one period. Both teams had one power-play opportunity in the opening 20 minutes.

Both teams attempted 14 shots in the opening 20 minutes. Northeastern blocked six shots while Harvard only deflected three. The second period will be underway in four minutes.

First period, 1:35, NU 0, Harvard 0: Nolan Stevens had another opportunity for Northeastern, but this time his attempt sailed high over the net and off the boards.

First period, 4:00, NU 0, Harvard 0: Harvard’s Alexander Kerfoot tried to sneak one past Huskies goalie Ryan Ruck, but he lost the puck and it easily was covered.

First period, 5:37, NU 0, Harvard 0: The Crimson go on the power play, as Northeastern’s Jeremy Davies is sent to the box for cross-checking.

First period, 6:26, NU 0, Harvard 0: Another shot for the Huskies is sent away by Merrick Madsen, as Dylan Sikura’s wrist shot is sent back.

First period, 9:51, NU 0, Harvard 0: We still are scoreless at the latest TV timeout. The Huskies have had the two best opportunities so far, but Merrick Madsen has been up to the challenge.

First period, 12:47, NU 0, Harvard 0: Good transition hockey gives Northeastern a scoring opportunity, but Merrick Madsen turns away Northeastern senior Brendan Collier. No score at the first TV timeout.

First period, 14:01, NU 0, Harvard 0: The Crimson kill off the penalty and currently have a 4-1 advantage in shots after six minutes.

First period, 16:50, NU 0, Harvard 0: Harvard senior Luke Esposito is assessed a two-minute minor for cross-checking.

First period, 19:14, NU 0, Harvard 0: Nolan Stevens has the first shot of the game for Northeastern, but it is turned away by Harvard netminder Merrick Madsen.

BOSTON — Welcome to the 2017 Beanpot from TD Garden, where NESN.com has you covered throughout the 65th annual tournament.

Harvard and Northeastern get us started at 5 p.m. ET. Here are the projected lines for both squads.

The Harvard Crimson come into the contest ranked fourth in the country, while the Northeastern Huskies come in with an 11-11-5 record.

Make sure to keep it right here for live updates, analysis and highlights throughout the 2017 Beanpot.

Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images