2023 Men's Beanpot Primer

Men's ice hockey players celebrating a goal

Photo by: Matt Woolverton

February 5, 2023 | Men's Ice Hockey

by Scott Weighart, GoTerriers.com

On Monday night, the Boston University men's ice hockey team will take the ice at TD Garden in front of a delirious sellout crowd for the 70^th annual Beanpot Hockey Tournament. Whether in person or on television, this may be the first BU hockey game that some of you watch this season - or maybe ever!

Honestly, it doesn't matter if you're new to the event or if you have seen it for decades. There is nothing quite like it. This is the unofficial championship of the four Division I college hockey programs in the immediate Boston area: BU, archrival Boston College, Harvard and Northeastern. If you were so inclined, you could drive by all four schools' home rinks in a 10-mile trip. When all four programs face off on the Boston Bruins' home rink over the first two Mondays in February, it's about as exciting as college hockey can get prior to the postseason.

The Terriers have owned this tournament for long stretches of the 70 years, hoisting the Beanpot trophy 31 times out of 69 tournaments, more than any of the four schools by a wide margin. During one exceptional stretch from 1995 to 2000, BU won it six times in a row. As you might expect, the Terriers did it when they also won the national championship in 1995. However, they also found a way to win it in 1999, when the team finished 14-20-3.

More recently, the tournament has been less one-sided. Over the last six years, all four schools have won the Beanpot at least once. While Northeastern has won it the least over the history of the tournament, the Huskies won it three years in a row from 2018-2020. So even though the Terriers are the defending champions, anything can happen.

What can you expect this year? BU is No. 3 in both national polls and has the best record coming into the February classic at 20-6-0. That said, three of the four teams are having good or great seasons. Harvard is No. 8 in the country, while Northeastern is ranked 20th. Boston College has been hovering above and below the .500 mark, thanks in part to a BU sweep last weekend. That said, any program would say it's at least a pretty good year if they do no more than win the Beanpot, so you will see some highly motivated skaters on Monday night.

The four teams rotate in terms of who plays who the first week. This year, Harvard and BC play the early game at 5 p.m., while BU and Northeastern are scheduled to face off at 8 p.m. The winners advance to the high-stakes final the following Monday at 7:30 p.m., while the losers play a consolation game that afternoon.

If you're watching on TV or in person, you might find it helpful to know what to watch for from this year's BU team. With that in mind, here's an introduction - or a review -of the Terrier lineup.

TOP FORWARD LINE

Left wing Matt Brown is the team's leading scorer with 12 goals and 25 assists for 37 points in 26 games. Not only does he lead BU in points, but he leads all of Hockey East in that category. He is one of three Terriers nominated for the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in men's college hockey. Brown is a smaller, skilled player whose summer conditioning has made him an explosive skater on top of being one of the team's top threats to score a goal or set one up.
Right wing Devin Kaplan is a nice contrast to Brown, as he is a big, physical power forward in the Terrier tradition of a Brady Tkachuk or Jordan Greenway. Just a freshman, he has really come on as a scorer and offensive force in the last couple of months, most recently finding the back of the net in Friday's 5-3 win at Maine.
Center Wilmer Skoog is a Swedish native with a nice blend of Brown's skill and Kaplan's physicality. Watch for his trademark of twirling his stick before faceoffs and at other moments, as if he's winding up for action. He is an agitating player who can annoy opponents with his tenacity and aggressiveness. He also has scored several "lacrosse goals," scooping the puck off the ice with his stick before lifting it over the shoulder of an unsuspecting goalie from behind the net.

SECOND FORWARD LINE

Left wing Luke Tuch is the brother of Alex Tuch, now playing for the NHL's Buffalo Sabres. He has played well of late, averaging a point per game in the Terriers' last five wins, including three games with a goal. One challenge for opponents is that Tuch is one of many players who is capable of having a big night.
Right wing Dylan Peterson has played on all four forward lines this year. He may have found a home on the second line, as he had a goal and three assists in last weekend's BC sweep. Most significantly, perhaps, he scored the only goal in BU's thrilling 1-0 win in last year's Beanpot, giving the team their first championship since 2015.
Center Jay O'Brien has been one of the team's top scorers since transferring from Providence a few years back. He has had an excellent January with two goals and eight assists in seven games. If opponents try to key on the top line, this group can dominate, as they did in the home win over BC.

THIRD FORWARD LINE

Freshman left wing Jeremy Wilmer is another of BU's many smaller, highly skilled and more electrifying players. Four straight games with a goal as part of a six-game point streak is likely boosting his confidence, and it would not be surprising to see him and this all-freshman third line make some noise on the next two Mondays.
Right wing Quinn Hutson is another first-year player worth watching as a true sniper. While his season stats are similar to Wilmer's, he shoots the puck much more often. His quick-release shots have found the corners of the net nine times.
Center Ryan Greene rounds out the line of first-year players. Former head coach Jack Parker told me that Greene is one of his favorite players to watch this year, probably because everyone describes him as a great two-way center, excelling on both ends of the rink. He has quietly put up 22 points in 24 games with playmaking skills that help him tee up his linemates.

FOURTH FORWARD LINE

On many college teams, the fourth line is not much of a factor. Not so for BU. Left wing Jamie Armstrong set up Peterson's lone goal in last year's Beanpot final and is a key penalty killer on top of being a guy who can add points at pivotal moments. Armstrong didn't play at Maine on Friday, and sophomore Brian Carrabes filled in.
Sam Stevens is another fantastic role player who is thriving as the fourth-line center. He is an energetic skater and forechecker, and you almost always will see him as the first forward on the ice when the team needs to kill a penalty. Six goals and five assists is a nice total for someone in this slot.
Right wing Nick Zabaneh is one of the fastest skaters on the team. In addition to making him another effective penalty killer, his speed means that he gets a good number of scoring opportunities, and they have been resulting in goals more frequently since December.

DEFENSEMEN
The defensive pairings can vary from one game to the next, so I will just list all of them individually here:

Senior captain Domenick Fensore is the second of the team's Hobey Baker nominees and one of the most exciting players to watch. At just 5-foot-9, he is relatively small as defensemen goes, but that can be more of an asset than a liability. His signature strength is his skating ability—backwards, forwards, and sideways. He missed the BC series due to injury but had an assist in his return to the lineup at Maine. Watch for his thrilling rushes up the ice and all around the offensive zone.
Freshman Lane Hutson is the third of the team's Hobey Baker nominees and the younger brother of forward Quinn Hutson. Just recently, The Athletic named him as the top prospect of the Montreal Canadiens. Like Fensore, Hutson is smaller in stature as well as incredibly fun to watch. He routinely fakes out defenders with his ability to change directions, sometimes literally skating circles around opponents. Even though it's his first year in college hockey, Hutson has piled up an eye-popping total of nine goals and 26 assists for 35 points in 25 games, including a career-high four assists at Maine on Friday.
Sophomore Ty Gallagher is another quality defenseman who is perhaps unfairly overshadowed by his flashy teammates. Gallagher is also offensive mind with an accurate shot. He had a huge game just over a week ago with two goals and two assists in the Friday win over BC.
Senior Case McCarthy is another reliable two-way defenseman who gets tons of ice time as a result. He's a good passer with a strong slap shot, which can set up teammates for rebounds, or as was the case at BC, find the back of the net. He was not in the lineup at Maine on Friday night and remains day-to-day.
Despite standing 6-foot-7, Cade Webber might be the most underrated player on the Terriers. On a team with many flashy blueliners who can give opponents fits on offense, Webber is an excellent defensive defenseman who leads the team with 58 blocked shots. It's not unusual to see him play the whole two minutes of a penalty kill. His size and physicality are an important compliment to players like Fensore and Hutson.
While those five defensemen get the bulk of the minutes, senior John Copeland is a nice story. He only dressed for one game over his first two seasons but has worked hard to become another reliable and consistent defensive defenseman over his junior and senior years.
Freshman Lachlan Getz, sophomore Jack Page, senior Sean Driscoll and junior Thomas Jarman have also played a handful of games this season. Getz has seen the most action. At least one of them will probably dress on Monday, and they all have done fine in limited action.

GOALTENDER

Drew Commesso is having a great year. A draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks and one of the goalies on the most recent U.S. Olympic team, Commesso might be easy to overlook given how much offensive firepower BU has this season. What might be less obvious is how many games in which Commesso made several fantastic saves early in a tight game, preventing BU from falling far behind or keeping the game even. For example, if you saw the 6-3 score in the recent win over BC, you might think that Commesso's goaltending was not much of a factor. The reality was that it took the Terriers a good while to break that game open, and Commesso was big early on. He also gave up two meaningless goals when it was already 6-1. He is a very reliable netminder who should be a big factor in the Beanpot.
Vinny Duplessis has been an excellent backup goaltender over his three years, playing at a high level when Commesso has been unavailable due to injury or, as was the case last year during the Beanpot, playing in the Olympics. Duplessis turned in a performance for the ages last year, posting a 19-save shutout in the championship game against Northeastern. He is unlikely to play Monday night, but Terrier fans are always comfortable with him in net.

So that's the rundown on roster. Now get ready to watch one of the best and most historic college hockey events. Oh, and if you're going on Monday night, bear in mind that it is also one of the loudest. That will be especially true on Monday night, as the Northeastern and BU students are the loudest - and traditionally located on the same end.

With a healthy blend of speed, skill, finesse, and physicality, BU will see if it can get another Beanpot championship streak going. Sometimes, as they say, history repeats.