BU, NU Start Weeklong Clash in Beanpot Final
February 22, 2015 | Men's Ice Hockey
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BOSTON - Aiming for its first Beanpot title since 2009, the No. 2/3 Boston University men's ice hockey team takes on Northeastern in the tournament's 63rd title game on Monday (Feb. 23) at 7:30 p.m. The contest will be broadcast on NESN and TSN.
Beginning with Monday's Beanpot tilt, the Terriers and Huskies will face off three times in six days to close the regular season.
The crosstown rivals are a combined 22-5-7 since Dec. 5. BU, however, is on a season-worst three-game winless streak, remaining one win shy of the 20-win mark.
While in search of their 30th Beanpot crown, the Terriers have had to endure their worst stretch in the history of the tournament, as they have dropped eight of their past 10 Beanpot contests. BU's win over Harvard snapped a five-game losing streak in the Beanpot, which was its longest ever.
BU is looking to hoist its first championship trophy of any kind since the 2010 IceBreaker in St. Louis. The Terriers have clinched a share of the Hockey East regular-season title and need just one point next weekend against Northeastern to win it outright.
Monday's title game features the nation's top two scorers since the calendar turned to 2015. BU senior Evan Rodrigues leads the way with 27 points (9g, 18a) while NU junior Kevin Roy has 23 (11g, 12a). BU's Jack Eichel is one of five players tied for third in scoring since the new year, as the freshman has 22 points (8g, 14a) during the span.
The Terriers are playing in the Beanpot title game for the 27th time in the past 32 years. The last time BU and Northeastern met with the Beanpot on the line was the Terriers' last title in 2009, when they posted a 5-2 win thanks to a three-point night by Colin Wilson and a standout performance by tournament MVP Nick Bonino. Northeastern is aiming for its first Beanpot crown since 1988 when they earned a 6-3 victory over BU.
BU is 31-8 (.795) in its 39 meetings with Northeastern at the Beanpot, and has won eight of the 11 meetings in the championship game.
This will be the 222nd meeting between the Terriers and Huskies since they first took to the ice together during the 1930-31 season. The only team BU has played more games against is Boston College (268).
BU holds a 156-57-8 (.724) advantage including wins in the past four meetings. The Terriers are 21-6-4 against Northeastern in regular-season meetings since the start of the 2005-06 campaign.
BU is 11-1-0 against the Huskies in games at TD Garden. The only blemish came in their last meeting in the building in the 2013 Beanpot semifinals.
Junior Danny O'Regan (5g, 4a) and senior Evan Rodrigues (4g, 5a) each have nine points against Northeastern in their careers.
Northeastern had a nation-best nine-game unbeaten streak (8-0-1) snapped in a 6-3 loss at Maine on Saturday. That streak was the exact opposite of a season-opening 0-8-1 winless streak, as the Huskies have impressively recovered to put themselves in the national picture.
Roy leads the Huskies this season in points (39) and goals (16). He and sophomore Dalen Hedges each have a team-high 23 assists. Sophomore Mike Szmatula has added 26 points on 12 goals and 14 assists. Classmate Matt Benning is one of only six defensemen in the country to have more than 20 assists this season.
Senior Clay Witt and sophomore Derick Roy have shared the Huskies' goal this season. Witt holds the edge in both goals-against average (2.60 - 2.76) and save percentage (.910 - .908).
Jim Madigan is in his fourth season at the helm of his alma mater and has a record of 56-63-17.
The Terriers' top line of Eichel, O'Regan and Rodrigues has totaled 60 points (22g, 38a) in the 12 full games they have skated together. All three rank in the top 14 nationally in points per game as Eichel is first at 1.69, Rodrigues is fourth at 1.43 and O'Regan is 14th at 1.20.
With one more point, Eichel will become the first Terrier to reach the 50-point mark in a season since Wilson (55) and Bonino (50) did so as sophomores on the 2008-09 NCAA championship squad.
