Men’s Hockey: No. 3 BU has Beanpot title in its sights against Northeastern

Featured image by Jacob Ireland

By Alexa Podalsky

Boston University men’s hockey (19-7-1, 13-4-1 HEA) escaped their three-game losing streak and is approaching the Beanpot Final at an unprecedented speed after crushing Merrimack with a 7-1 win. On Monday night, they’ll hope to beat the Northeastern University Huskies (12-12-2, 6-11-0 HEA) at TD Garden to continue their streak as they approach the playoffs. 

“Northeastern’s played us very tough. They make it difficult on us,” coach Jay Pandolfo said after his squad’s 7-1 win on Friday. 

The Terriers fell to the Huskies in overtime during their last matchup in January, which was partially due to a lack of discipline according to Pandolfo. The team is still struggling with minimizing their penalties during their wins, recording one 30 seconds into the Beanpot semifinals against No. 1 BC and four during their victory against Merrimack.

“I thought when we played them last game there were pockets of the game we played the game very well, but there were other parts we weren’t playing our game,” Pandolfo said. 

Northeastern earned their spot in the finals after beating Harvard in a 3-2 overtime decision. Senior forward Gunnarwolfe Fontaine scored the game-winning goal and was a force that contributed to Northeastern’s Beanpot win in 2023.

Boston University currently has 30 Beanpot wins, with Northeastern having eight, the least out of the four competitors. However, Northeastern has won four titles since 2018 and remains the only Beanpot team to never win an NCAA hockey title. 

Freshman forward Jack Harvey recorded his first two collegiate goals within 30 seconds of each other against Merrimack, and head coach Jay Pandolfo said he is distancing himself from a game-by-game decision. 

“He’s making it very easy for me to make sure he’s out there and he’s playing for us because he’s helping us win hockey games,” Pandolfo said. After describing him as a “good fit with Macklin”, he will likely play alongside Celebrini again on Monday. 

The Terriers face off against the Beanpot reigning champions, Northeastern University, on Monday, Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+ and NESN.