Television:
From College Hockey News
From 1980 to 1994, all four Beanpot schools won the historic February tournament at least twice. Although the tournament's attendance and television ratings are currently as strong as they've ever been, that 15-year span is considered the Beanpot's golden age, largely because of the parity.
Since then, there has been very little parity. The last 19 Beanpots have been won by either Boston University or Boston College; Harvard last won in 1993, Northeastern in 1988.
That's not to say recent tournaments haven't been exciting. BC has won the last three — just the second time in the tournament's 61-year history that someone other than BU has three-peated — but the last two required overtime in the championship game. Jimmy Hayes scored the winner in a 7-6 victory over Northeastern in 2011, while Bill Arnold played the role of hero in last year's 3-2 win over BU.
BU and BC are the favorites to meet in the championship game again this year, but they're certainly not locks to get there. Both have struggled in the second half of the season; the Terriers are 3-5-1 since winter break, while the Eagles are 4-5-1. Still, if those two bring their A-games, there shouldn't be much suspense in Monday's opening round. The question is whether or not Northeastern and Harvard can make them pay if they don't.
Northeastern (7-13-3) vs. Boston University (13-10-1) — Monday, 5 p.m.
The answer in this matchup is yes, Northeastern can definitely make the Terriers pay if they have an off night. We know this because it just happened two weekends ago, when the Huskies went into Agganis Arena and handed BU a 6-5 loss. Northeastern took a 5-2 lead into the third, but the Terriers came storming back and scored three times in the first seven minutes of the period. That set the stage for former Terrier Vinny Saponari to exact some revenge on the team that dismissed him three years ago, as he scored with 2:03 left in regulation to give Northeastern the win.
That game highlighted two disturbing trends — BU's deteriorating defense and Northeastern's inability to hold a lead. The Terriers have already allowed four or more goals five times in the second half after doing so just four times the whole first half. Following a three-point series against Providence last weekend, coach Jack Parker said he felt his team had turned a corner and figured some things out defensively. Then the Terriers came out and gave up five goals against Massachusetts on Friday, undoing any progress they had made in one fell swoop.
The Huskies still managed to beat BU despite blowing a three-goal lead, but they weren't as fortunate last weekend against Massachusetts-Lowell. They led 4-2 in the third period of Friday's game, but wound up settling for a 4-4 tie. Then they saw a 4-1 third-period lead turn into a 5-4 loss on Saturday. The Huskies lost 3-1 to New Hampshire in their most recent game, dropping them to 2-6-2 since Dec. 1.
"Since January 1, we've played some real good games," said Northeastern coach Jim Madigan. "We have not managed games well late in games, in the third period. So we have to do a much better job of doing that. Managing games meaning creating momentum for ourselves, not taking penalties at inopportune times, not playing tight, playing relaxed and just finishing out games."
If the Huskies are going to end their 25-year Beanpot drought, they're going to need their defense and goaltending to be better than it's been most of the season. Chris Rawlings is expected to get the start in net. He's coming off a decent game against UNH, but his save percentage since Dec. 1 is just .892.
In front of him, the young defensive corps has been mistake-prone all season. Making matters worse is the recent loss of top defenseman Drew Ellement, who is out at least a month with a lower body injury. That leaves Northeastern without a single upperclassman on the blue line.
Up front, the Huskies are led by freshman phenom Kevin Roy, who leads the country in rookie scoring with 27 points. Saponari, who has a five-game point streak, and Cody Ferriero, who just had a seven-game streak snapped, are the team's second and third leading scorers. Ludwig Karlsson, who led the team in points last year, returned to the lineup on Friday after missing six games due to injury.
While Northeastern and Harvard have the most notable Beanpot droughts, the Terriers are looking to end one of their own. If they don't win the Beanpot this year, their senior class would be the first to leave BU without one since 1965.
"It's definitely been hard not winning the past few years," said senior assistant captain Ryan Ruikka, who was actually a redshirt freshman the last time BU won in 2009. "We've definitely had our chances, especially last year going to overtime. We just didn't capitalize. It does add pressure for us, because this senior class hasn't won a Beanpot. That's a huge deal. It's certainly something we really want to win."
One of those seniors is captain Wade Megan, who leads the team in goals with 12. The Terriers have also received important contributions from sophomores Cason Hohmann and Evan Rodrigues, both of whom have taken huge strides after underwhelming freshman seasons. Freshman Danny O'Regan, whose father Tom was the Beanpot MVP for BU in 1982, has posted 22 points, including 11 in his last seven games.
BU has gotten offensive contributions from its defense as well. Matt Grzelcyk, Garrett Noonan and Alexx Privitera all have double-digit point totals. Freshman Matt O'Connor is expected to start in goal. After a great start to the season, O'Connor has posted a worrisome .872 save percentage since Dec. 1.
Campus Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Enrollment: 20,749
Conference: Hockey East
Beanpot Championships Won: 4, last won in 1988
Coach: Jim Madigan
| # | Player Name | Pos. | Class |
| 1 | Derick Roy | Goalie | Freshman |
| 2 | Drew Ellement | Defense | Senior |
| 3 | Josh Manson | Defense | Sophomore |
| 4 | Dan Cornell | Defense | Sophomore |
| 5 | Jake Hoefler | Defense | Junior |
| 6 | Mike Gunn | Defense | Freshman |
| 7 | Mike McMurtry | Forward | Freshman |
| 8 | Adam Reid | Forward | Sophomore |
| 9 | Garrett Vermeersch | Forward | Senior |
| 12 | Steve Morra | Forward | Senior |
| 14 | Braden Pimm | Forward | Junior |
| 15 | Kevin Roy | Forward | Freshman |
| 16 | Ryan Belonger | Forward | Freshman |
| 17 | Torin Snydeman | Forward | Junior (Redshirted) |
| 19 | Ben Oskroba | Defense | Sophomore |
| 21 | Zak Stone | Forward | Junior |
| 23 | Colton Saucerman | Defense | Freshman |
| 31 | Clay Witt | Goalie | Junior |
| 37 | Chris Rawlings | Goalie | Senior |
| 44 | Dax Lauwers | Defense | Sophomore |
| 45 | Ludwig Karlsson (A) | Forward | Sophomore |
| 46 | Bryan Mountain | Goalie | Senior |
| 47 | Dustin Darou | Defense | Freshman |
| 61 | Jarrett Fennell | Defense | Freshman |
| 74 | Vinny Saponari © | Forward | Senior |
| 79 | Cody Ferriero | Forward | Junior |
| 91 | Robbie Vrolyk (A) | Forward | Senior |
Campus Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Enrollment: 30,823
Conference: Hockey East
Beanpot Championships Won: 29, last won in 2009
Coach: Jack Parker
| # | Player Name | Pos. | Class |
| 1 | Anthony Moccia | Goalie | Junior |
| 2 | Ryan Ruikka (A) | Defense | Senior |
| 3 | Ahti Oksanen | Defense | Freshman |
| 4 | Patrick MacGregor | Defense | Freshman |
| 5 | Matt Grzelcyk | Defense | Freshman |
| 6 | Alexx Privitera | Defense | Sophomore |
| 7 | Cason Hohmann | Defense | Sophomore |
| 8 | Ben Rosen | Forward-Defense | Senior |
| 10 | Danny O’Regan | Forward | Freshman |
| 11 | Mike Moran | Forward | Freshman |
| 13 | Garrett Noonan | Defense | Junior |
| 14 | Jake Moscatel | Forward-Defense | Senior |
| 15 | Ryan Santana | Forward | Senior |
| 16 | Sam Kurker | Forward | Freshman |
| 17 | Evan Rodrigues | Forward | Sophomore |
| 18 | Wade Megan © | Forward | Senior |
| 19 | Matt Nieto | Forward | Junior |
| 20 | Matt Ronan | Forward-Defense | Junior |
| 21 | Sean Escobedo | Defense | Senior |
| 23 | Matt Lane | Forward | Freshman |
| 28 | Sahir Gill | Forward | Junior |
| 29 | Matt O’Connor | Goalie | Freshman |
| 31 | Sean Maguire | Goalie | Freshman |
