The Greatest Rivalry Tournament in College Hockey
By Sasha Abrams
Monday marks the start of the 70th annual Beanpot.
“You don’t really have to get your guys up for this type of game or environment,” BU Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said.
For the last 70 years, Boston University, Harvard, Boston College and Northeastern have faced each other on two Mondays during the winter to compete for the Beanpot trophy and bragging rights over the colleges of Boston.
“It’s a lot of fun to see the fans going back and forth,” Pandolfo said. “That’s what makes the Beanpot; four different schools there and four different student bodies, and they get excited and emotional about it, and it can give your team a lift for sure.”
BU is defending the title this year, after shutting out Northeastern 1-0 in last year’s final. Both BU and Northeastern will have their starting netminders back after missing last year’s tournament as they represented their countries in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.
“We know no matter what we play against, no matter who we play with, we’re just going to bring our best game plan and we’re just gonna get the outcome we hope we get,” senior forward Matt Brown said.
BU’s former head coach Jack Parker holds the record for most wins of a coach with 21, while also winning the trophy three straight years as a player. Harvard’s forward Joe Cavanagh has the most career points in Beanpot history, with 19 from 1969-71.
“It’s always big. Being a part of this program, the expectations were that we’ve had some pretty good success in the Beanpot and to be part of as coach, you look forward to it,” Pandolfo said. “It’s a lot of fun. Every year you go in hoping to win and so it’s the same mindset this year.”
BU has taken home the Beanpot more times than any other school with 31 wins. The Eagles are next with 20 wins, followed by Harvard with 11 and Northeastern with seven. The tournament’s final round has never taken place without Boston University or Boston College in the running, as Northeastern and Harvard have never met in the finals.
“We have a lot of seniors and upperclassmen, so I think that’s gonna help the underclassmen understand what the Beanpot is all about and make sure they’re dialed in the way we need everyone to be,” senior forward Wilmer Skoog said.
The tournament starts Monday, with Boston College and Harvard battling it out in the semifinals at 5 p.m. They’ll be followed by Northeastern and Boston University, who will start the late semifinal matchup at 8 p.m. From there, the two semifinal losers will meet in a consolation game on Feb. 13 at 4:30 p.m., while the winners will face off in the championship game at 7:30.
Featured Image: “BU Sasquatch,” otherwise known as Brian Zive (CAS ’94), waves the BU flag in the Dog Pound. Jacob Ireland/WTBU Sports