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5 things to know heading into the Men’s Beanpot
Northeastern is on a hot streak in recent years, but BC is the favorite this winter.
Boston hockey bragging rights are on the line once again, as the Dunkin’ Men’s Beanpot comes to TD Garden in early February.
Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, and Northeastern will compete in the coming weeks. Here’s what you need to know:
The schedule
The action begins with Harvard vs. Northeastern on Monday, Feb. 5, at 5 p.m. Next, Boston University and Boston College will meet in the other semifinal at 8 p.m.
The losers will clash in the consolation game Monday, Feb. 12, at 4:30 p.m., then the winners will meet in the championship game at 7:30 p.m.
NESN will air each game and deliver live coverage of the 71st annual tournament. Tickets can be found at Ticketmaster.com.
The history
Boston University has won 31 titles, with its last crown coming in 2022.
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Boston College has won 20, most recently prevailing in 2016.
Harvard has ended up on top 11 times, with its last triumph coming in 2017.
Northeastern has earned eight titles, including last year. The Huskies have won four of the last five.
Each of the last three championship games has been decided either in a shootout or by one goal.
The matchups
The Eagles won six of seven titles from 2010-2016, but they’ve made the championship game just once since.
This year, they’re off to a 19-4-1 start and are currently No. 1 in the nation after beating now-No. 3 Boston University (17-7-1) twice in late January. This will be their third matchup in the last 11 days.
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The Huskies are currently 11-12-2, but they’ve won four straight – including a 4-3 victory over BU last Tuesday.
The Crimson are 4-13-3, and they lost, 4-1, to BC earlier this season. Northeastern and Harvard met in the championship game last year, with the Huskies prevailing in a shootout.
Don’t be surprised if the BC-BU has a championship feel. The winner will be favored moving forward, but don’t sleep on Northeastern in the title game if it prevails over Harvard.
The stars
Cutter Gauthier leads the Eagles with 21 goals and is riding a career-best 14-game point streak. Gabe Perreault is first with 29 assists and 39 points, and Jacob Fowler boasts a .925 save percentage. Will Smith became the highest draft pick in program history (fourth overall to the San Jose Sharks) last year.
Macklin Celebrini, a 17-year-old freshman center who has a chance to go first overall in the NHL Draft, has scored 19 goals for BU. Lane Hutson has 22 assists, and Mathieu Caron has a .912 save percentage.
For Northeastern, Jack Williams is first with 30 points. He and Alex Campbell have 14 goals apiece, Vinny Borgesi has 19 assists, and Cameron Whitehead has a .911 save percentage.
Harvard leans on Joe Miller and Ryan Healey (19 points apiece), and Derek Mullahy (.892) and Aku Koskenvuo (.911) have both seen extended time in net.
The local products
Harvard has eight players from Massachusetts: Ian Moore (Concord, St. Mark’s), Philip Tresca (Newton, The Rivers School), Healey (Hull), Luke Khozozian (Weston, Belmont Hill), Michael Callow (Boston, St. Sebastian’s), Ben MacDonald (Weston, Noble & Greenough), Tommy Lyons (Walpole, St. Sebastian’s), and Derek Mullahy (Scituate, Dexter Southfield).
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Northeastern has 11: Connor Hopkins (Malden, Belmont Hill), Nolan Hayes (Milton, Thayer Academy), Jackson Dorrington (North Reading, Cushing Academy), Patrick Dawson (Medway, Westminster Prep), Cam Lund (Bridgewater, Cushing), Michael Fisher (Westborough, St. Mark’s), Braden Doyle (Lynnfield, Lawrence Academy), Billy Norcross (Lynn, Cushing), Matt DeMelis (Hingham, Northeast Generals), Kyle Furey (Marblehead, Malden Catholic), and Anthony Messuri (Arlington).
BU has six: Tristan Amonte (Norwell, Thayer), Mick Frechette (Weston, Dexter Southfield), Shane Lachance (Andover), Doug Grimes (Brookline), Jack Hughes (Westwood), and Nick Howard (Burlington).
BC also has six: Nolan Joyce (Westwood, St. Sebastian’s), Smith (Lexington), Ryan Leonard (Amherst), Will Vote (Arlington, Dexter Southfield), Connor Joyce (Westwood, St. Sebastian’s), and Timmy Delay (Hingham, St. Sebastian’s).
Who do you think will win the 2024 Beanpot tournament?
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