Defending Champs Set to Begin Quest for 27th Beanpot
February 5, 2006 | Men's Ice Hockey
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BOSTON - The No. 8/10 Boston University men's ice hockey team (15-8-2, 13-6-1 HE) will vie for its 27th title in the 54th Beanpot Tournament beginning in the first round versus No. 20 Harvard University (12-8-2, 9-7-1 ECACHL) on Mon., Feb. 6, at 8:00 p.m. Fans who do not have a seat in the TD Banknorth Garden for the game can head to GameOn! Sports Cafe at Fenway Park to see all the action live.
BU is currently riding a national-best eight-game win streak, most recently beating UMass Lowell, top-ranked Boston College and Massachusetts. Harvard, on the other hand, has just two wins in its last six outings and is coming off a overtime win at Brown and a weekend split with Rensselaer and Union.
During the first 53 years of the tournament, the defending Beanpot Champion Terriers have won it an unparalleled 26 times, the most recent coming last year when they skated to a 2-1 win over Boston College in the opening round and then a 3-2 overtime victory over Northeastern in the title game.
After winning the Beanpot just once in the 50s and three times in the 60s, BU has won it 22 times in the last 36 years, including nine of the last 11. The next most successful school in the tournament is BC, which has only won the coveted trophy half as many times as BU (13). Next is Harvard with 10 titles, and finally Northeastern has lifted the Pot o’ Beans just four times and not since 1988.
A win over the Crimson in this year’s first-round match-up would send the Terriers to the Beanpot title game for the 12th consecutive year and 22nd time in the last 23 years. Since 1984, the only year BU didn’t reach the finals was in 1994 when they were defeated by Harvard, 4-2, in the opening round. Even more amazing is that BU has been in the title game in 38 of the last 42 years and 44 times in the 53-year history of the tournament. The Terriers have won the title 26 times, have 18 second-place finishes, six third-place finishes and three fourth-place finishes. The last year they finished fourth was in 1980, while they haven’t finished worst than second in the last 11 years.
The Terriers come into this year’s tournament with an all-time record of 76-30 (.717). They are 25-10 (.714) vs. Boston College, 24-13 (.649) vs. Harvard, and 27-7 (.794) vs. Northeastern.
BU and Harvard have squared off 136 times in one of the Terriers’ longest-running rivalries, and BU holds the edge, 69-61-6 (.529). The only teams BU has played more games against have been Boston College (230), Northeastern (188), Providence (148) and New Hampshire (142). Of the above, the only rivalry that is older is BC, as the Eagles and Terriers first played during the 1917-18 season. The two teams have played 17 overtime games in the 136-game rivalry, and Harvard holds the edge, 7-5-5 (.559). BU’s longest win streak is eight games from Feb. 3, 1964 through March 7, 1967, while Harvard’s is 11 games from Jan. 26, 1927 through Dec. 16, 1937. There have been 12 shutouts in the series history, and each team has six to its credit.
This will mark the 35th time since 1953 that the Terriers and Crimson will be meeting in the Beanpot, and BU holds the advantage, 24-13 (.649). The last time the two teams met was on Feb. 3, 2003 in the first round, when the Terriers posted a 2-1 victory and went on to win the title the following week. In first-round play, BU is 14-4 (.778) versus Harvard, with the Terriers’ last semifinal loss to the Crimson coming on Feb. 7, 1994.
ON THE AIR:
Television: NESN (434-DISH Network, 623-DIRECTV), Tom Caron (play-by-play), Don Sweeney (color), Bob Beers (arena reporter), Eric Frede (studio analyst) and Andy Brickley (studio analyst)
Radio: WTTT (1150 AM, goterriers.com), Bernie Corbett (play-by-play) and Tom Ryan (color)
Student Radio: WTBU (89.3 FM, 640 AM, wtburadio.org), Mark Mirlocca (play-by-play) and Brian Bourque (color)
To purchase tickets for Terrier home games, or for more information, click here or visit the Ticket Office at 925 Commonwealth Avenue, Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., or call 617-353-GOBU (4628).
