Come Monday, Super Bowl XLIX and the region's first major snowstorm will be behind us. Which means it's Beanpot time in Boston.
The 63rd edition of this classic parochial hockey showcase will have Boston University squaring off against Harvard in the early game, and defending champ Boston College taking on Northeastern in a rematch of last year's final in the nightcap.
That lineup alone reinforces Boston's contrarian nature. In most instances, a game between the No. 2 and No. 4 team in the nation would be your headliner. Not at the Beanpot.
No. 4 Harvard, with wins already this season over No. 2 Boston University and No. 15 Boston College, has shown it has the ability to be the first team without the name "Boston" to take home the Beanpot in two decades. To get to the championship tilt on Feb. 9, the Crimson will need to knock off the Terriers for a second time this season, and that could prove no small feat.
Here's a quick look at the combatants:
Boston University (15-4-4; 10-2-2 HE)
What a difference a year can make. Last year, the Terriers came limping into the Beanpot with only three league wins, and promptly got bounced by Boston College in the opening round. This year, BU is sitting atop Hockey East, with the league's top three scorers -- freshman phenom Jack Eichel (36 points), junior Danny O'Regan (28), and senior Evan Rodriguez (28). By comparison, last year's anemic squad didn't have a single player with double-digit goals by the first Monday in February.
That gives hope for a BU squad that, in times gone by, considered a Beanpot crown a birthright (the Terriers have won a record 29 titles, but none in the past five years). Translation? No one on the current squad has hoisted the cherished pot. If they're to win this year, they'll likely do it by pushing the pace. Dave Quinn's BU offense comes in waves, with the Terriers currently ranked fourth in the country with 34.4 per game, and ninth in team scoring, with 3.39 goals per game.
That high-powered offense has taken some pressure off junior goaltender Matt O'Connor (1.91 goals against average and .937 save percentage, the latter tied for fourth in the nation). The Terriers' team defense (2.00 goals per game) is also good for fourth in the country. That stout defense will be tested by a Harvard squad that's already squeaked out a 3-2 win against the Terriers, in BU's own building, in November.
The Terriers, looking for their first Beanpot crown since 2009 (the year they won their last national championship), have made the final only once in the last four years. Clearly, Quinn's primary objective is to make sure his team isn't looking past Harvard.
Harvard University (12-4-2; 8-3-2 ECAC)
Coach Ted Donato's Crimson squad is enjoying a renaissance almost on par with Boston University. In fact, Harvard is undefeated against Hockey East competition this season, notching a 4-2 win over No. 10 UMass-Lowell in November in addition to victories over the Terriers and Boston College. They'll need to keep that record intact if they're to capture the school's 11th Beanpot crown, and first since 1993. But they know now that they can do it.
Like BU, Harvard is getting it done with offense. The Crimson's 3.72 goals per game, led by Jimmy Vesey (30 points) and Kyle Criscuolo (26), is tops in the country, as is their power-play percentage, which is humming along at a 25 percent clip. Criscuolo, in fact, registered two goals against the Terriers in Harvard's 3-2 win. BU, which is rarely afraid to mix it up, will need to play smart and stay out of the box.
On the other end, Harvard has surrendered only 39 goals in 18 games, good for third in the country, and a team goals-against average of 2.14 (6th in the nation). Senior goaltender Steve Michalek, who has bounced back from suspension his sophomore year to show the promise that made him a draft pick of the Minnesota Wild, leads Harvard with a 2.12 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage. Michalek came up huge against BU earlier this season, recording 40 saves in that 3-2 win. Given that BU will be motivated by the revenge factor, Michalek will need to be just as sharp on Monday.
Harvard hasn't made the title game since 2008, when the Crimson lost a heartbreaker to BC, 6-5, in overtime. It is the only time during Donato's tenure as head coach that Harvard has reached the championship game.
Boston College (15-8-2; 8-5-2 Hockey East)
The defending champs, for five years running, come into the 2015 edition of the Beanpot with a decidedly different look. Last year's top line of Johnny Gaudreau (who put in an appearance at the NHL All-Star Game last weekend), Kevin Hayes and Bill Arnold is long gone, downgrading the BC's offense from "high-test" to merely "regular." The Eagles are ranked 16th in the nation in scoring (3.00 goals a game), and the current squad is scoring by committee. Last year, Gaudreau came into the Beanpot with 23 goals and 51 points. This year, BC's top scorer is Adam Gilmour (7 goals, 19 points). Sophomores Ryan Fitzgerald and Chris Calnan are the top goal scorers, with 12 and 11 respectively. That's a fairly precipitous drop.
As a result, there's more pressure on the defense. This is where the Eagles shine. Captain Mike Matheson leads a top-notch set of blueliners including Teddy Doherty, Noah Hanifin, Steve Santini, Ian McCoshen and Scott Savage. Not only can these D-men apply lock-down defense, but they can also chip in offensively. They may need to.
Sophomore goaltender Thatcher Demko (2.08 GAA, .928 save percentage) will also need to come up big if the Eagles are to bring their 20th Beanpot crown back to Chestnut Hill. But Demko, who also represented his country earlier this season at the World Junior Championships, has shown he can handle pressure. And never, ever discount the role of head coach Jerry York (28-12 in Beanpot competition since 1985) and his uncanny ability to push the right buttons when a trophy is on the line.
Northeastern University (10-11-4; 6-7-2 HE)
Last year's runner-up has had an uneven season to date, coming into the Beanpot just under .500, with five fewer wins than at the same time last year. Perhaps more importantly, the Huntington Hounds managed to collect only one of a potential four points in two recent games against the Eagles (gaining a 1-1 tie at home, before losing the next night, 4-2, at BC). They'll need to break through Monday to have any chance at the school's fifth Beanpot crown, and first since 1988.
Unlike Monday's early game between BU and Harvard, the BC-Northeastern game is shaping up as more of a defensive struggle. Former Beanpot MVP Kevin Roy is having a solid junior year (11 goals, 15 assists, 26 points) to lead the Huskies, and Mike Szmatula (10 goals) and Dalen Hedges (5 goals, 23 points) have also chipped in. But overall, Jim Madigan's squad is having trouble finding the back of the net this season, ranking 39th in the country with 2.48 goals per game.
In goal, senior Clay Witt and sophomore Derick Roy (Kevin's younger brother) have nearly identical stats (roughly 2.70 GAA, .910 save percentage) while virtually splitting the first 26 games. Those aren't embarrassing numbers, by any measure, but they're not exceptional, either. Last year, for example, Witt came into the Beanpot with a 2.04 GAA, and a .943 save percentage.
Whichever goaltender gets the start Monday will need to bring his "A" game, combined with a total team effort, to ensure Northeastern gets back to the championship game. The Huskies have made the Beanpot finals three of the past four years. The one time they didn't, in 2012, they got throttled by BC, 7-1. Madigan might make use of that motivational nugget.
