BC 7, Northeastern 6 (OT)

For the 5th time in the last 8 years, the Beanpot was decided with a walk-off OT goal. And for the 18th straight time, the trophy will remain on Comm Ave. Although it very nearly went to Huntington last night.

I'm a BC fan, but was hoping to see Northeastern pull off the upset. The Eagles are 1st in Hockey East, #1 in the country, have won 3 of the last 4 Beanpots, et cetera. The Huskies are 6th in Hockey East, with an 8-8-5 conference record, they're unranked, and haven't won a Beanpot since the Berlin Wall came down. It's hard not to root for the plucky underdog.

You do have to sit back and look at how good BC is, though. They didn't play a very good game defensively. They made some stupid mistakes early, especially in the penalty department. They're penalty-killing was uncharacteristically feeble (they entered with a 91% PK rate, yet allowed 2 power-play goals). And goalie John Muse was Swiss cheese, only stopping 21 of 27 shots.

But they overcame all that. They're so relentlessly skilled. All 12 forwards can skate, pass, and shoot. I hope the Bruins front office saw this game and took a few notes.

The winner of the Beanpot has gone on to be NCAA Champions for 3 straight years now. BC has a very good chance to make it 4.

-The Commodore

Beanpot Preview

It's that time of year again. And the four college hockey teams of Boston will meet for the 59th time to determine which is best. And once again, the Eagles of BC and the Terriers of BU are the favorites.

BU and BC have won every Beanpot since 1993, and even though they'll be meeting in the opening round, that trend will likely continue. BC stands as the #1 team in the country, and BU is no slouch at 14th.

BC is averaging 4.8 games per game, which is simply ridiculous. And with goaltender John Muse, who has a few NCAA Championships under his belt, it's hard to pick against them. BC has defeated BU twice already. They won 9-5 at Agganis Arena, then 5-2 at Conte Forum. That being said, this is BU's tournament. So don't expect a blowout.

I do think BC will win, though. They're ridiculously deep. They roll so many quality lines, and everyone skates with speed. That speed draws penalties, which lets their Power Play dominate the game. It's just a perfect formula for college hockey. BC is gunning for National Championship #5, and that road starts in the Beanpot. For the last 3 years, the Beanpot winner has gone on to win the NCAA title.

In the early game today, Northeastern plays Harvard. NU has taken a step back this season, but Harvard's taken more than a few. The Crimson are 4-17, with those 4 wins coming against RPI, St. Lawrence, Army, and Colgate. Northeastern's 8-11-6 record is hardly impressive, but they're much better than Harvard.

So I predict BC beats BU 4-2. Northeastern beats Harvard 3-0. Then BC beats Northeastern 5-1, winning their 16th Beanpot.

-The Commodore

Beanpot: BC 4, BU 3

Well I was right about the score (4-3), just wrong about the victor. The BC Eagles rode a 3 goal 2nd period, and sustained a valiant 3rd period comeback bid on their way to the 15th Beanpot title in program history.

BC was simply too fast and too accurate with the puck for BU. It's really that simple. The Eagles' depth, and the fact that they put 5 forwards out on power plays really gives them unbelievable quick-strike capability. That's probably why they're 3rd in goals per game in the country at 3.8. That's why they've scored 22 goals in their last 4 games.

As Jack Parker quips, the Beanpot ushers in "Trophy Season." It kicks off the stretch run of the season with a bang. And in the last two years, it's catapulted two eventual National Champions.

For BU, their season is now a salvage operation. Tied for 5th in Hockey East, and below .500 they have little hope of making the NCAAs (they'd need to win the HE Conference Tournament).

For BC, they're riding a 4 game win streak. They're scoring goals, and getting solid goaltending from John Muse (who won Beanpot MVP, and is now 5-1 in the competition). If they matchup with the right teams, they could be Frozen Four candidates.

This goal was sick:



-The Commodore

Beanpot Semifinals

There's simply nothing like The Beanpot. An intracity college hockey tournament that the term "bragging rights," doesn't do justice. The winner is crowned the King of Boston Hockey.

#14 BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES 6, HARVARD CRIMSON 0
BC utilized their speed to take advantage of some early Harvard penalties. The Eagles scored their first with a man advantage. Then 18 seconds into the 2nd period, BC scored a crushing 4-on-4 goal.

After that, it was just a matter of time. Harvard collected themselves, but BC was simply too fast up front. Harvard never really got a chance to probe the vulnerable BC defensemen, thanks to turnovers and solid neutral zone play.

Harvard amassed 48 penalty minutes. Their average had been 8 coming into Monday night.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS 2, NORTHEASTERN HUSKIES 1
Coming into Monday night, BU was 0-9-0 when scoring less than 3 goals in a game. It's been a disappointing season for the defending Beanpot/HockeyEast/National Champions. 10-11-3 overall, 7-9-2 in conference play, and 6th in the standings. But this is always BU's tournament to lose. And for the 46th time, BU is in the Beanpot Championship game.

BU was more disciplined than their Back Bay rivals. Northeastern got a bit too creative on offense in the 3rd, after tying the game 1-1. BU's Alex Chiasson took advantage during a 2-on-1 breakaway, and BU held on in a frantic final 2 minutes.

So it's BU vs. BC in the finals, for the 20th time. The last two Beanpot winners, the last two Hockey East Champs, the last two Beanpot Champs. Can you say, "There can be only one?"



-The Commodore

Beanpot Preview

#1 Boston University faces #3 Northeastern. BU has the most Beanpots (28), Northeastern has the fewest (4). Northeastern hasn't won the title since 1988. They beat the Terriers that year. But they've lost 4 straight title games since then. They lost all 4 to BU.

These teams faced each other in November, with BU winning convincingly, 3-0. But since then, Northeastern has turned it on. NU goalie Brad Thiessen made 45 saves against BC in the opening round, and is arguably the best netminder in Hockey East.

But this is BU's tournament. BU has beaten a laundry list of good teams already this year. North Dakota, Michigan State, Denver, Northeastern, UNH, BC. I think they have more depth than the Huskies, and they'll be more poised in the big game.

BU 3, Northeastern 2.

-The Commodore

BU 4, Harvard 3, then Northeastern 6, BC 1

Early in the afternoon, Boston University was promoted to the #1 ranking in the country, then they almost lost to 5-11-4 Harvard. The Crimson took a 2-0 lead. Nick Bonino spearheaded BU's rally with 2 goals in the 2nd period. The Terriers took a 3-2 lead midway through the 3rd, but Harvard equalized with a power play score.

With 1:46 left, BU's Jason Lawrence scored a power play goal to give BU the lead. Harvard pulled their goalie and threatened to tie it up again. The Crimson nearly scored a buzzer beating goal, but the puck crossed the goal-line about a second after the clock hit 0.

The #3 Northeastern Huskies followed the drama with perhaps their most convincing win of the season, a 6-1 drubbing of #12 Boston College. These teams played a close contest earlier in the year, and the 1st period looked like it would be more of the same. NU had a slim 2-1 lead, and a 9-8 advantage in shots.

The 2nd period saw a complete meltdown by the BC Eagles, specifically goalie John Muse. His misadventures in playing the puck away from the net resulted in two Northeastern goals. BC lost its composure, allowing 3 goals in the period. The game was essentially over. But BC continued to pepper Northeastern goalie Brad Thiessen. Thiessen finished with 45 saves of 46 shots.

So now BU faces Northeastern in a potential preview of a Hockey East Tournament final, and maybe even an NCAA final.

-The Commodore

Beanpot Preview

First Monday of February = Beanpot. It's that simple.

Game 1:

5:00 PM - #2 Boston University vs. Harvard

For anyone who thinks 4-11-3 Harvard is a pushover, ask last year's Northeastern team, who fell to the Crimson in the opening round. BU won't make the same mistake. The Terriers dominate this one, even though the scoreboard won't really reflect it. 3-1 BU win.

Game 2:

8:00 PM - #3 Northeastern vs. #11 Boston College

NU barely beat BC in a close 4-3 contest back in October. The Huskies have an impressive record at 17-5-2, and an exciting team, but they have yet to convince me. They lost 3-0 to #2 BU, lost 5-3 to #9 Princeton, lost 3-2 to #5 Minnesota, split two home games with #6 Vermont, and went 1-1-1 against #13 UNH. They're the Ohio State football team of college hockey. They beat everybody but the top teams. I think BC takes this one late, possible in OT. 4-3 Eagles.

Championship Prediction:

#2 Boston University vs. #11 Boston College

The classic battle. The Duke-UNC of hockey. The Battle of Comm Ave. The Green Line Rivalry. Of the 56 Beanpots awarded, BU has half (28), and BC has a quarter (14). BU and BC tied 1-1 in their first meeting, but the Terriers have had the edge in their other two, winning 3-1 on Chestnut Hill and 5-2 in Agganis Arena. BU has also beaten #3 Northeastern, #12 North Dakota, #8 Michigan, and #13 UNH (twice). BU 4, BC 2.

-The Commodore

BC vs. Harvard Bean Pot Final

Ok, so I figured that I would give a little overview of the Bean Pot finals which took place Monday night. A little background with these two teams: To start off…Harvard “the underdogs” beat Northeastern (who didn’t show up to play.) Harvard has some smart players, I mean anyone that plays hockey at Harvard I’m going to assume gets in the 1500 range on their SAT’s and fuck it, if hockey doesn’t bring them to the NHL, well they can make millions somewhere else. Anyway, Harvard’s defense came to play in this tournament and their effort was there from the moment they stepped on the ice. Let me also say, Harvard has not won a Bean Pot since 93’, yea that’s a long time. As for the Eagles, they started this tourney going into OT with the BU losers, who I just hate for no reason what so ever, I suppose I’m just a BC hockey fan. The BC/BU game went into overtime and BC picked up the trash in front of the goal to head to the final ring versus the Crimson. BC has some great underclassmen that always step up for this tourney. In the finals, BC went up real quick against the smart kids, but Harvard fought back netting 5 goals against BC, who let me remind you went to the National championship game last year. The game ended quickly when BC got a scrappy goal off a rebound in front of a wide open net. BC won this game because they simply wanted it more. They controlled the puck throughout the OT and proved they were the better team. BC’s captain Ben Ferriero has had some magic up his sleeve over the season thus far with 10 goals, 29 points in 27 games, damn good if u ask me. Of coarse now we need to see who takes home the national championship because that’s all that really matters.

Lanen