Boston College Wins Beanpot... Again

Part of me was hoping #11 Northeastern would win their first Beanpot in 26 years. It would be refreshing for someone besides BU or BC to win. At the same time, another part of me wanted to see #1 ranked Boston College continue their streak of sheer dominance. BC hasn't lost since November 29th, a 15 game stretch with 14 wins and 1 tie.

BC came out on top, winning the game 4-1, but it was much closer than the final score suggests. It was 1-1 until 14 and a half minutes into the 3rd, when BC's Patrick Brown deflected a puck past Northeastern goalie Clay Witt. Johnny Gaudreau added an empty-netter, his 25th goal of the season. Gaudreau had an assist on BC's first goal, extending his point-streak to an unbelievable 24 games. Brown scored again with 50 seconds left.

However the goalies were the story of the game. In this tournament of Boston hockey, a goalie from California (BC's Thatcher Demko) outdueled one from Florida (NU's Witt). Although Witt might have had the more impressive performance, stopping 36 shots and giving his underdog Huskies (pun intended) a chance to topple the best team in the country. Demko stopped 29 of 30 shots, improving his record to 11-1-2. Demko, a freshman, is poised to be BC's next great goalie.

There's nobody on the BC roster that knows what it's like to lose a Beanpot game. This is their 5th straight title. Also this season they've won the Three Rivers Classic in Pittsburgh, beat Notre Dame at Fenway Park, and now have three more objectives in sight:

#1: Win Hockey East's regular season title
#2: Win the Hockey East tournament
#3: Win the National Championship

They're well on their way to the first remaining objective. They have a 7-point lead in the standings with 5 games remaining. If BC beats Vermont twice this weekend, they'll clinch the regular season title.

BC hockey is everything that BC basketball and football have tried and failed to be in the last 5 years.

Photo Credit:
RichImagesPhotography.com

HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT*

The other March Madness continues in Boston as four teams remain in the Hockey East tourney. Two have NCAA at-large bids locked up, a third probably does, and the fourth needs to play their way in by winning twice this weekend. The semifinals start today at 5, and the finals are tomorrow at 7 (and I believe will be broadcast on NESN tape delayed).

#1 BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES vs. #6 NORTHEASTERN HUSKIES

A rematch of the Beanpot final. NU has played BC well this year. BC needed overtime in that 7-6 Beanpot game. Then they met a few days later and tied 7-7. Then Northeastern beat them 2-1. But it's hard to pick against BC in what I call "Trophy Games" (Beanpot, Hockey East tournament and NCAA tournament games). The Eagles have won 14 straight of those, dating back to March of 2009.

BC wins 6-4 in a close fought, high paced game.

#2 UNH WILDCATDS vs. #4 MERRIMACK WARRIORS
Merrimack beat UNH twice, and are the upstart surprise of Hockey East. They've struggled on the road, but it will be interesting to see how they perform on neutral ice. UNH had a brilliant regular season, but they're sort of like the snow on the ground. Overwhelming in January and February. Melting away in March.

I think Merrimack wins 3-2.

And BC wins the final.

HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

The OTHER March Madness kicks off tonight and continues all weekend. Hockey East could send anywhere from 2 to perhaps 4 or 5 teams to the NCAA tournament. Regular season champs BC and runners up UNH are all but assured a spot in the 16 team NCAA field, while upstart Merrimack will likely join them. BU has an outside chance, and Maine are the long shots. Those bubble teams can make a difference in this tournament, and of course winning the tournament earns an automatic bid.

Here are the first round pairings. They'll play a best of 3 series at the superior seed's home rink. The winners will be re-seeded for the semifinals next weekend at The Garden in Boston.

#1 BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES vs. #8 UMASS MINUTEMEN

BC wins trophies. Since 2007, they've won 2 National Championships, 3 Hockey East Tournament Championships, and 3 Beanpots. But this was the first time since 2005 that they've won the Hockey East regular season title. BC beat UMass three times this year, and are on a completely different level. They score 3.9 goals per game, and kill 87.6% of their penalties. BC should sweep this in 2.

#2 UNH WILDCATS vs. #8 VERMONT CATAMOUNTS
UNH lost the regular season title to BC in the final weekend, and have a reputation for choking in March. Fortunately for them, Vermont is not a very good team. The Catamounts won 8 games all season. UNH beat them twice and tied them once. UNH sohuld handle them in 2 games.

#3 BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS vs. #6 NORTHEASTERN HUSKIES
BU needs to go deep in this tournament to make the NCAA field. To do that, they have to get past old rival Northeastern. These teams split a home-and-home last weekend, and all three of their games were determined by 1 goal margins. NU started the season poorly (1-7-3), but gradually turned things around. Northeastern struggled down the stretch, though they held their own against BC and UNH. Northeastern wins in 3 very close games.

#4 MERRIMACK WARRIORS vs. #5 MAINE BLACK BEARS
At the moment, Merrimack would be in the NCAA tournament. But they can cement a spot by winning this series. They beat BC twice early in the season, they beat UNH twice in February. They also lost two blowout games to Maine. They're excellent at home (12-2-1), and mediocre on the road (10-6-3). Thankfully for them, this series will be in Andover. Merrimack will sweep this in 2.

That would set-up a semi-final of #1 BC vs. #6 Northeastern, and #2 UNH vs. #4 Merrimack. I'd take BC and Merrimack to win and meet in the finals, with BC taking the title.

BC 7, NORTHEASTERN 6 (OT)

For the 5th time in the last 8 years, the Beanpot was decided with a walk-off OT goal. And for the 18th straight time, the trophy will remain on Comm Ave. Although it very nearly went to Huntington last night.

I'm a BC fan, but was hoping to see Northeastern pull off the upset. The Eagles are 1st in Hockey East, #1 in the country, have won 3 of the last 4 Beanpots, et cetera. The Huskies are 6th in Hockey East, with an 8-8-5 conference record, they're unranked, and haven't won a Beanpot since the Berlin Wall came down. It's hard not to root for the plucky underdog.

You do have to sit back and look at how good BC is, though. They didn't play a very good game defensively. They made some stupid mistakes early, especially in the penalty department. They're penalty-killing was uncharacteristically feeble (they entered with a 91% PK rate, yet allowed 2 power-play goals). And goalie John Muse was Swiss cheese, only stopping 21 of 27 shots.

But they overcame all that. They're so relentlessly skilled. All 12 forwards can skate, pass, and shoot. I hope the Bruins front office saw this game and took a few notes.

The winner of the Beanpot has gone on to be NCAA Champions for 3 straight years now. BC has a very good chance to make it 4.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

BEANPOT PREVIEW

It's that time of year again. And the four college hockey teams of Boston will meet for the 59th time to determine which is best. And once again, the Eagles of BC and the Terriers of BU are the favorites.

BU and BC have won every Beanpot since 1993, and even though they'll be meeting in the opening round, that trend will likely continue. BC stands as the #1 team in the country, and BU is no slouch at 14th.

BC is averaging 4.8 games per game, which is simply ridiculous. And with goaltender John Muse, who has a few NCAA Championships under his belt, it's hard to pick against them. BC has defeated BU twice already. They won 9-5 at Agganis Arena, then 5-2 at Conte Forum. That being said, this is BU's tournament. So don't expect a blowout.

I do think BC will win, though. They're ridiculously deep. They roll so many quality lines, and everyone skates with speed. That speed draws penalties, which lets their Power Play dominate the game. It's just a perfect formula for college hockey. BC is gunning for National Championship #5, and that road starts in the Beanpot. For the last 3 years, the Beanpot winner has gone on to win the NCAA title.

In the early game today, Northeastern plays Harvard. NU has taken a step back this season, but Harvard's taken more than a few. The Crimson are 4-17, with those 4 wins coming against RPI, St. Lawrence, Army, and Colgate. Northeastern's 8-11-6 record is hardly impressive, but they're much better than Harvard.

So I predict BC beats BU 4-2. Northeastern beats Harvard 3-0. Then BC beats Northeastern 5-1, winning their 16th Beanpot.

HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT BEGINS FRIDAY

Now I know that not many people care about hockey, and even fewer people care about college hockey. But it's my blog, and I like college hockey; the OTHER March Madness.

Here's a bracket for the Hockey East Tournament. For the first round, it's a best of 3 series played at the home ice of the better seed. The semi-finals and final are played at TD BankNorth Garden. #1 UNH hosts #8 UMass at the Whittemore Center in Durham. #2 BU hosts #7 UMass-Lowell at Agganis Arena. #3 Vermont hosts #6 Northeastern. And #4 Boston College hosts #5 Providence College at the Conte Forum.

I'll be at the BC/PC games, working as an usher.



Source:
Hockey East