BOSTON - - A pair of 18-win squads from Commonwealth Ave. will take their rivalry to Causeway St. on Monday when No. 3 Boston University faces No. 7 Boston College in the semifinals of the 65th Beanpot.
The game will be broadcast live on NESN and TSN2 and is set to start at 8 p.m. following the first semifinal between No. 4/5 Harvard and Northeastern.
In last year's Beanpot title game, the Eagles posted a 1-0 overtime victory over the Terriers. BU (30) and BC (20) have combined for 50 of the 64 Beanpot titles and are the only teams who have raised the trophy since Harvard's win in 1993.
Exactly four weeks ago, BU completed a home-and-home sweep of the Eagles with scores of 2-1 and 3-0. Those results allowed BU to post seven January wins for the first time since the 2008-09 NCAA title season. If the Terriers defeat BC on Monday, it would mark the first regular-season sweep of their archrival since the 1994-95 campaign.
65th BEANPOT
• This is the 65th annual Beanpot Tournament, which debuted in the 1952-53 season. The Beanpot spent its inaugural year at Boston Arena (now Matthews Arena), followed by a 42-year stint at the old Boston Garden. It's now in its 22nd season at TD Garden.
• The Terriers have won nearly half (30) of the previous 64 Beanpot tournaments.
• After winning the Beanpot just once in the '50s, BU has won it 29 times in the last 51 years, including 13 of the past 22. The second-most successful school in the tournament is BC, which has won the coveted trophy 20 times. Next is Harvard with 10 titles, while Northeastern has lifted the Beanpot just four times.
ALL-TIME BEANPOT RECORD
• The Terriers come into this year's tournament with an all-time record of 88-40 (.688). They are 27-16 (.628) against Boston College, 28-16 (.636) against Harvard and 33-8 (.805) versus Northeastern.
TITLE BY DECADES
• The Terriers won the Beanpot seven times last decade (2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009) before ending a six-year drought in 2015.
• BU's most successful decade was the '90s, when it won eight (1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999).
• Prior to that, BU won it three times in the '80s (1982, 1986, 1987), seven times in the '70s (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1978, 1979), three times in the '60s (1966, 1967, 1968) and once in the '50s (1958).
A TRIP TO THE FINALS
• A win over the Eagles in this year's first-round match-up would send the Terriers to the Beanpot title game for the 29th time in the last 34 years.
• The Terriers hold the record for consecutive finals appearances at 16 (1964-79).
• Since 1984, the only other years BU didn't reach the final were in 1994, 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2014.
• Even more amazing is that BU has been in the title game in 45 of the last 53 years and 51 times in the 64-year history of the tournament.
• The Terriers have won the title 30 times, have 21 second-place finishes, seven third-place finishes and six fourth-place finishes.
• Half of BU's six last-place finishes have come in the past six years.
CURRENT TERRIERS IN THE BEANPOT
• Fourteen current BU skaters have played in at least one Beanpot.
• Junior Nikolas Olsson, who will miss this year's Beanpot due to injury, leads all current Terriers in points (3) and assists (2) and is one of three that has scored a goal.
AT THE GARDEN
• The Terriers come into this year's Beanpot with a 42-24-0 record (.636) at TD Garden.
• They are 30-12 (.714) in the Beanpot, having won the 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2015 tournaments played there, while they finished second in 2001, 2004, 2010, 2012 and 2016, third in 2008 and fourth in 2011, 2013 and 2014. Eight of the 12 losses were against BC.
• They are an even 11-11 in the Hockey East playoffs at TD Garden and 1-1 in the Frozen Four.
SERIES HISTORY
• The Comm. Ave. rivals have met 272 times and the Terriers lead the series, 132-122-18 (.518).
• The Terriers will look to snap a six-game Beanpot skid against the Eagles.
• No other opponent has appeared on BU's schedule more often. Northeastern is the next closest, having faced the Terriers 229 times since the 1930-31 season.
• BU's first season of hockey was 1917-18 and played its lone game that year against BC.
• The two teams have played 41 overtime games and BC holds a 15-9-17 edge.
• The Terriers have 10 of the 19 shutouts in the series history.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
• Boston College sits atop the Hockey East standings with a 13-3-1 record (27 points) but is 5-6-1 in non-conference play.
• The Eagles, who strung together a 10-game unbeaten streak (9-0-1) in the first semester, are 8-7-1 since then.
• The Eagles have a plus-96 shot differential in the first period but are minus-12 in the third.
• Senior Matt Gaudreau leads the squad in points (26) and assists (20) while sophomore Colin White has 23 points, including a team-best 13 goals.
• Senior Austin Cangelosi (11g,11a) and sophomore Christopher Brown (7g, 15a) have 22 points each while senior Ryan Fitzgerald (7g, 14a) has added 21.
• Freshman Joseph Woll, who earned a gold medal with Team USA at World Juniors along with White and sophomore Casey Fitzgerald, has made 23 starts in goal and boasts a .921 save percentage and a 2.47 goals-against average.
TERRIERS TAKE DOWN EAGLES WITH SWEEP
• Last month, the Terriers earned a home-and-home sweep of archrival Boston College for the first time since the 2001-02 season
• BU posted a 2-1 home win on Jan. 13 followed by a 3-0 shutout victory at Conte Forum three days later.
• Freshman Jake Oettinger stopped 66 of 67 shots in the series, including a 34-save shutout on Monday, to help the Terriers become the first team to sweep a full Hockey East regular-season series from the Eagles since UNH in 2007-08.
• Freshman Clayton Keller broke a 1-1 tie at the 7:10 mark of the second stanza in the opener.
• Sophomore Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson scored in each game, including the first goal on Friday.
• The Terriers scored on all three of their power plays in the road win.
• Freshman Patrick Curry potted a power-play goal with one second remaining in a BC penalty at 7:26 of the middle period and that was the game's only goal until the final minute of play.
COMM AVE MISC.
• The teams have combined for just nine goals (BU has a 6-3 advantage) over the course of the past four meetings with BU allowing a single goal in three in addition to a shutout.
• This marks the first time in nearly 84 years that BU has held BC to fewer than two goals in four straight meetings.
• After a 5-0 shutout win on Feb. 29, 1928, the Terriers won both meetings the following season by a score of 4-1. When they resumed play four seasons later, BU earned a 5-1 win on Feb. 16, 1933.
• In the past seven meetings, BU has been called for more penalties in five of them while the penalties were even in the other two.
SECOND-HALF SUCCESS
• The Terriers are 10-2-0 in their past 12 games and their recent eight-game win streak was their longest since one of the same length at the end of the 2014-15 season.
WHO'S HOT?
• Freshman Clayton Keller has 24 points (10g, 14a) during his current 14-game point streak, which matches Jack Eichel's longest and is the best by a Terrier since Jay Pandolfo had at least a point in 15 straight contests during the 1995-96 season.
• Sophomore Jordan Greenway has 11 points (1g, 10a) over his past 12 games, which included an eight-game point streak.
• Sophomore Bobo Carpenter has had a hand in the game-winning goal in six of BU's past nine wins (2g, 4a).
• Sophomore Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson put together a seven-game point streak to kick off January with seven goals and four assists during the stretch.
KELLER GOES NATIONAL
• Freshman Clayton Keller was honored Friday for his efforts during the month of January, earning HCA National Rookie of the Month after collecting his second consecutive Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Month accolade.
• Keller tallied 11 points on five goals and six assists during January to lead the Terriers to a 7-2 record during the month.
• His output included two game-winning goals, a shorthanded tally and 39 shots on goal over the nine games.
