BBS Awards: Jack Eichel wins Agganis-Flutie Award for College Athlete of the Year

The Boston Blood Sox Awards (or Bloodies) are awarded for great success and/or pitiful failure in the 2014-15 sports year.

In years past, this was known the Doug Flutie Award. I think with BU freshman hockey player Jack Eichel winning it, it's a perfect time to add Harry Agganis' name to this honor. Agganis was an All-American quarterback at BU, and also played baseball and basketball. He was drafted by the Browns in 1952, but decided to play baseball for the Red Sox instead. He died tragically in 1955 at the age of 26.

BU's hockey arena is named after Harry Agganis, and that's where Jack Eichel dominated Hockey East opponents in the 2014-15 season. In 40 games he scored 26 goals and added 41 assists. He won the Hobey Baker (college hockey's Heisman), becoming only the second freshman to do so. He was also drafted 2nd overall in in the NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres.

Not a bad freshman year. My freshman year was all about D.P. Dough calzones and playing Madden.

If you're not busy from 4-7, watch USA vs. Canada in the World Juniors

It's New Year's Eve and you're probably busy buying liquor, making resolutions, and watching college football, but if you have some free time between 4 in the afternoon and 7 at night, then put on NHL Network and watch Team USA play Team Canada in the World Juniors.

Every player on Team Canada has been drafted by an NHL team, except for the 2 who aren't yet old enough to be drafted. That's how good they are.

How often do we in the US see our sports teams playing the role of David against Goliath? How often are we the plucky underdogs, fighting against all the odds, against a mighty opponent who seems almost unbeatable? Sure, we're massive underdogs in soccer. But in that sport we don't have much of a chance to win. We struggle with Ghana and Mexico. Beating giants like Germany and Spain and Brazil is nearly impossible. But in hockey, we're the underdogs, but we still have a legit chance. We can actually beat Canada.

This is a group stage game. Both Team USA and Team Canada have clinched advancement into the elimination rounds of the 2015 World Juniors. So what's on the line is pride. Two top hockey rivals fighting for pride, holding back nothing because there's nothing to lose. That's a recipe for high quality sports entertainment.

The winner of this game wins Group A and gets a top seed in the quarterfinals. The loser finishes second.

More importantly, the winner will have beaten the loser. In this rivalry, that's serious motivation.

So, if you have some free time from 4 to 7, turn to NHL Network and watch a bunch of young Americans play against a bunch of young Canadians in front of a bunch of older drunk Canadian fans.

If you like hockey, this is as pure and as competitive and as spirited as it gets. No fights, no contracts, no holding back, just a bunch of kids playing for national pride on an international stage.

Happy New Year.

Boston Should Bid to Host the World Juniors in 2018

Yesterday Finland beat host and tournament favorite Sweden 3-2 in overtime to win the 2014 World Juniors. It was Finland's first medal in the competition since 2006, when a young Tuukka Rask carried the Finns to a bronze medal

If you don't know what the World Juniors are, it's an Olympic/World Cup style hockey tournament with national teams competing against each other. It's held annually in late December and early January, and all the players are under 20. It's sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).

The US is going to host the tournament in 2018, and I think the City of Boston should make a serious bid to be the host city.

Boston hosted the World Juniors in 1996 (Jarome Iginla led the competition in scoring and won gold with Canada), and it didn't go well. It was poorly attended. Probably because it was spread out across Massachusetts, not concentrated in Boston. Games were played in Marlborough, Amherst, Springfield, and Worcester. And the finals were played at Boston College, not at the brand new Fleet Center.

Three important things have changed since 1996:

1. The tournament has streamlined its format and now typically only two venues are used (example: Toronto and Montreal will use their NHL rinks when they jointly host the 2015 World Juniors). Boston could use the TD Garden and BU's Agganis Arena. Those are both within the heart of the City, both easily accessible.

2. In the 2000s Boston has once again become a hockey city. Not just with the success of the Bruins, but with the rise in popularity of high school and college hockey. Just look at what we do with Fenway Park this time of year. We turn it into a hockey rink. BC and BU have combined to win 5 NCAA titles in the 2000s. Hockey East, centered in Boston, has become one of the most powerful conferences in college hockey (9 Hockey East players were on Team USA's roster in Sweden).

3. The World Juniors has become a bigger and more well-known event. The US has hosted twice since the 1996 tournament (in Buffalo in 2011 and Grand Forks, ND in 2005) and both were well attended. The tournament being broadcast on TSN in Canada and the NHL Network in the US has contributed to its growth in popularity and prestige. I wouldn't be surprised if by 2018 (or sooner) NBC Sports buys the US broadcast rights.

The tournament would be a good event for Boston to host. No new facilities need to be built, no highways need to be expanded, no dams need to be blown up, no forests need to be torn down. What's required is a hockey rink with lots of seats (TD Garden) and one with a medium number of seats (BU's Agganis Arena is state of the art, holds 6,000, and is right on the Green Line). You also need rinks for teams to practice at (Walter Brown Arena at BU, Matthews Arena at Northeastern, Conte Forum at BC, Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Lawler Arena at Merrimack College). Boston already has the facilities and infrastructure in place to pull off this event.

And Boston is already host to several notable hockey tournaments: the Super 8 high school championship, the Beanpot, and the Hockey East Tournament. The Garden will also host the Frozen Four in 2015.

New England college hockey players have always been a strong part of Team USA in this competition. Team USA had 7 New England college players (and an 8th committed to play at BU) on their roster for the 2014 World Juniors. There were 5 New England natives on the roster.

The event would draw tourists. Thousands of Canadians fly across the world for this tournament. They'll come to Boston, see the City, go out to eat, have a good time. So will friends, family, and fans from Sweden, Russia, Finland, and the rest of the US.

And I'm sure Frozen Fenway would see a boost in attendance. The Canadians that attend the World Juniors are clinically diagnosed hockey addicts. They'll go to Fenway to see some college hockey while they're in town.

The only inconvenience would be to the Bruins and Celtics. They would have to play extended road trips while the tournament occupies the Garden. The 2014 World Juniors started on December 26th and ended on January 5th.

At the same time the Garden, owned by Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, would be able to open its gates to thousands of concessions buying fans, even with its two teams playing elsewhere. And Agganis Arena is always seeking additional events. They just hosted 22 Disney on Ice performances. The secondary rink in Malmö hosted 14 games for the 2014 World Juniors.

In 2011 Buffalo averaged 10,635 fans per game. For 31 games. How many between period Molsons is that? How many hot dogs and sodas? How many lunches and dinners will be consumed at the bars and restaurants off Causeway Street and on Comm Ave? How many additional tours of the Sam Adams Brewery will there be? (On a trip to Toronto, I learned that Sam Adams is one of the few American beers that Canadians respect)

Other US cities that want to host include Pittsburgh and Tampa. I think Boston is a better city than those two places, and a better hockey town. It's certainly a better hockey town than Tampa.

This is a great annual tournament, and I think Boston would be a great place for it to be held.

BC Splits Weekend Series With BU

BC coach Jerry York could have tied and broken the all-time wins record for college hockey coaches this weekend. It would have required beating BU twice, and beating BU coach Jack Parker, who is #3 on the all-time wins list. That's a tall order.

BC lost 4-2 on BU's ice Friday night in a chippy, physical game. Saturday night at BC, the Eagles won 5-2 and made sure their coach was able to at least celebrate tying Ron Mason's win record on home ice.

Boston College won thanks to their Power Play. They scored 4 times with a man advantage, and amassed a 4-1 lead after 2 periods. Their 5th goal was the only goal of the game by either team to be scored even-strengthed.

BC's leading scorer Johnny Gaudreau didn't have a point in the 5-2 win. His teammates had to step up on offense and they did. Bill Arnold scored twice. Kevin Whitney had 3 assists. Defensemen Michael Matheson and Teddy Doherty each scored Power Play goals.

Johnny Gaudreau has been driving BC's success this season. But they need offense from other sources to step up when he and his line cool off.

Jerry York will likely break the wins record on the road. The Eagles are in Providence Friday night, then play a tournament in Minnesota.

And despite being 9-2-0 in Hockey East, BC is only 1 point ahead of UNH. And UNH has a game in hand. Those teams meet on January 11th.

Photo:
Rich Gagnon

Bruins Draft Recap

Before I start, I want to thank EliteProspects.com for being such a comprehensive and easy to use resource for this post.

With all that happened this weekend in sports, you can be forgiven for overlooking the NHL Draft. And as a Bruins fan, even I was a bit disinterested. After back-to-back drafts with premium picks, the B's would be selecting a very ho hum 24th.

The Bruins, however, made an interesting selection with their uninteresting pick. They took Malcolm Subban, a 6' 1" 188 pound 18 year old currently playing for the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League. Three things make this pick interesting.

#1, Malcolm Subban is a goalie. Which means we get to mention Tim Thomas. And he wears the number 30.

#2, Malcolm Subban has an older brother named PK Subban, an easy to hate defenseman on the Montreal Canadiens. This guy:

#3, He also has a younger brother named Jordan, so he is Malcom in the Middle. He's also Malcolm S. This guy is a blogger's dream come true.

Subban had a 2.50 GAA with Belleville in 39 games last season. He had a save percentage of .923. Considering his age, and how much time it will take him to learn the position, I seriously doubt Tim Thomas leaving the Bruins had anything to do with this selection. And just because the Bruins got him doesn't mean their long-term plans for Rask have changed.

You're not going to get an instantly impactful player with the 24th pick. This guy has talent, room to improve, and could one day be a good NHL goalie. He'll likely stay in the OHL, get some playoff and national team experience (he played 5 games for Canada in the 2011 Under-18 World Junior Championship, Canada finished 4th), and in a few years he'll contend for a spot on the Bruins' depth chart.

The Bruins also traded the rights to restricted free agent Benoit Pouliot to Tampa Bay in exchange for Michel Ouellet and a 5th round pick.

I was never a fan of Benoit Pouliot. He just didn't fit in. He scored 16 goals, had 16 assists, but he never really seemed like a Bruin. He wasn't particularly physical, he wasn't a talented scorer, and he made more mistakes with the puck than most of the other forwards. He was a restricted free agent and I'm not upset that he's gone.

Michel Ouellet isn't an improvement though. He's 30 years old and hasn't played in the NHL since 2008. In the last three years he's played in Virginia, Germany, and Switzerland. Don't expect to see him play in Boston.

In the 3rd round, the Bruins selected Matthew Grzelcyk, a native of Charlestown, MA. He turned 18 in January. He's a 170 pound 5' 9" defenseman. He'll be playing at BU next season, where Coach Jack Parker turns regular defensemen into puck movers and scorers.

In the 5th round, the B's took Seth Griffith, a 19 year old center out of the OHL. He's 5' 9" and 180 pounds and plays for the London Knights. He's a scorer. In 68 games for London last season, he scored 45 goals and added 40 assists. In 19 playoff games he had 10 goals and 13 assists. The word on him is that he doesn't amaze you with talent, but he gets results.

Later in the 5th round, the Bruins made their only European selection. And it was an English winger. Cody Payne is from London, England but plays Juniors in Plymouth of the OHL. He's 18 years old, 6' 2" and 200 pounds. And he does this (he's in white and red):

In the 6th round, the Bruins selected Matthew Benning of the Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. He's 18 years old, 6' 0", and 216 pounds. That's a good frame for a defenseman. He's also able to score once and awhile and accumulate penalty minutes. His father and uncle both had lengthy NHL careers.

With their final pick in the 7th round, the B's took Colton Hargrove (who I think needs to be called Colton Hargrove III with a name like that). He turned 20 yesterday, he's 6' 1" and 215 pounds. He's from Dallas and played left-wing for the Fargo Force of the USHL. He'll be playing for Western Michigan this upcoming season. He scored 16 goals in 54 games last year, and earned 140 penalty minutes. Impressive.

So that's the Bruins' draft. Not spectacular, but there's some potential future Bruins there. Subban could get to Providence in 2 years. Grzelcyk should develop well at BU, where some quality NHL talent has recently been produced. Griffith can score. Payne can fight. Benning can hit. Hargrove can sit in the penalty box.

I like it.

NCAA Hockey Preview: West Region

The West Region begins play in St. Paul, Minnesota on Saturday. This looks to be the toughest region in the 16 team tournament. North Dakota, Minnesota, and BU have combined for 17 NCAA titles. And Western Michigan are no slouches. They were 2nd in the CCHA regular season, and gave the Michigan Wolverines a good fight in the CCHA title game.

Saturday 1:30pm
#1 North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. #4 Western Michigan Broncos

North Dakota didn't have an impressive regular season. They struggled to beat good teams, even at home, where they have one of the best home ice advantages in the country. Then they exploded in the WCHA tournament. Western Michigan did well in the CCHA tournament, so these teams can both play elimination hockey. I have a gut feeling WMU pulls off the upset, but my brain is reminding me that St. Paul is North Dakota's second home, they play very well there, so I think North Dakota wins a close one, 4-3.

Saturday 5:00pm
#2 Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. #3 Boston University Terriers

Minnesota won 20 games in the WCHA. No small achievement. BU's season was a roller coaster on the ice and off it. They've shown some character in their victories, and an ability to unravel in their losses. You really don't know which BU team will show up. It's very tough to pick against Minnesota in Minnesota. Golden Gophers win 3-1.

That would give an all WCHA Regional Final of North Dakota vs. Minnesota. These rivals have already met 5 times. Minnesota won 3 of those games. For that reason, I think they'll win their fourth and advance to Tampa Bay.

The West region final is Sunday at 5:30pm on ESPNU.

Hockey East Semifinals Preview

Tonight at the Garden, the other March Madness continues with the Hockey East semifinals.

5:00pm - NESN/NBC Sports
#1 BOSTON COLLEGE vs. #7 PROVIDENCE COLLEGE
The Friars surprised UMass-Lowell last weekend to advance to their first Hockey East semifinals since 2001. however, BC has won 13 straight games. Two of those came against Providence (3-0, then 7-0). The Eagles are on fire. Their power play is clicking, and goalie Parker Milner has found a groove. BC will advance to their 3rd straight Hockey East Final, their 6th in the last 7 years.

8:00pm - NESN/NBC Sports
#3 BOSTON UNIVERSITY vs. #4 MAINE
It's hard to pick against BU after their dramatic series against UNH. The Terriers have had so much self-inflicted adversity this season, but they've managed to persevere. Maine beat BU at Agganis twice in late January, but the Black Bears' season has been defined by inconsistency. I think BU grinds out a tough win, possibly in OT.

That would set up a classic BU/BC final. BU won the regular season series 2-1, but BC won the Beanpot. And as well as BC is playing right now, they'll be tough to stop. BC will win their 11th Hockey East Tournament Championship.

The Final will be Saturday night at 8:00pm, on NESN locally and NBC Sports nationally.

Hockey East Quarterfinals

BC grinded out two very physical games against UMass, winning their 12th and 13th straight games. BC also now has a 10 game winning streak in this tournament. The Minutemen are big and can skate, which forced BC to play out of their comfort level. UMass tried to keep the game along the boards, but they lacked the finishing touches on scoring chances. BC beat them 2-1 then 3-2. BC is in the semifinals for the 8th straight year.

BU needed 11 periods plus 8 minutes to beat UNH in a series that twice went into Double OT. It was a marathon series with 228 minutes of grueling hockey played. Kieran Millan made 68 saves in Game 3. At one point the Terriers were down 4-1, they tied it at 4-4 and the 3rd, and Alex Chiasson won it in the 2nd OT. The series was just the latest in a long series of dramatic events for the BU hockey program this season.

Maine likely eliminated Merrimack from the NCAA Tournament by beating them 2 of 3 up in Orono. The NCAAs only have 11 at-large bids and right now Merrimack is ranked 17th in the PairWise Comparison Rating. Maine solidified their standing, but could use a win against BU to really feel safe.

Providence advanced to the Hockey East semifinals for the first time since 2001 by upsetting UMass-Lowell. The Friars ended the regular season with two losses to UML, but were able to beat them Thursday and Sunday night. They'll play BC, who they lost to twice before losing to UMass-Lowell twice.

The semifinal round will be played Friday night at the TD Garden. The games will be on NESN.

5:00pm - #1 Boston College vs. #7 Providence
8:00pm - #2 Boston University vs. #4 Maine

The Championship game will be played Saturday at 8:00pm.

Also, Harvard beat Yale two out of three to advance to the ECAC semifinals in Atlantic City. They'll play Cornell on Friday.

Hockey East Tournament Preview

The other March Madness is upon us. The Hockey East tournament starts tonight. The first round is a best of three series played at the superior seed's rink. Next Friday the semifinals will be played at the Garden, and the final will be played Saturday night. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic NCAA berth. And bubble teams like Maine and Merrimack might need that to get into the big tournament. Here are the pairings for this weekend's quarterfinal series:

#1 BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES vs.. #8 UMASS MINUTEMEN

UMass won the season series against BC 2-1. But they last played January 13th. BC is 12-2-0 since that meeting. They've won 11 in a row and are getting hot at precisely the right time. They've outscored their opponents 48-13 in those 11 wins. They're winning hard games like the Beanpot Final against BU and they're crushing weaker teams like Providence (outscored them 10-0 in two games) and Vermont (outscored them 9-1 in two games). BC will destroy UMass.

#2 UMASS-LOWELL RIVERHAWKS vs. #7 PROVIDENCE FRIARS
These teams played a home-and-home series to end the regular season. They could conceivably play 5 straight games against each other. But I don't think it will go that far. One of the reasons UMass-Lowell was able to earn the #2 seed was because they swept PC in that weekend series. Umass-Lowell isn't an amazing team, but they take care of business and win the games they should win. They'll beat Providence.

#3 BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS vs. #6 NEW HAMPSHIRE WILDCATS

BU has had an interesting season. They beat BC in the season series but lost to them in the Beanpot. Entering last weekend, they had a chance to win the Hockey East regular season title, then fell to 3rd when they lost to Northeastern. And they've lost multiple players due to sexual assault allegations. They're 6-6 in their last 12 games, and two of those victories were against lowly Vermont. Even though UNH is hardly red hot right now, I have a feeling like the Wildcats will squeak out a 3 game upset.

#4 MAINE BLACK BEARS vs. #5 MERRIMACK WARRIORS
These teams have the most to play for in the tournament. Right now Maine appears to be in the NCAA tournament. And Merrimack is just on the outside. Maine can't afford setbacks and Merrimack needs to impress in this tournament to advance to the next one. Maine beat BC and bU twice this year, but was 0-2-1 against Merrimack. Even though the game is up in Orono, I have to give the edge to Merrimack, even though the warriors have struggled down the stretch. MC in 3.

I really can't see BC losing in this tournament. They're red hot, they have experience in big games, and goalie Parker Milner has been playing excellent in his last 12 starts (12-0-0, 14 goals allowed, .955 SV%).

Televised games:
Friday 7:30pm - NBC Sports - BC vs. UMass
Saturday 4:00pm - NESN - BU vs. UNH

The semifinals will be on NESN next Friday, as well on the finals next Saturday.

BC Wins 3rd Straight Beanpot

This is the start of "Trophy Season." The Hockey East tournament starts in just under a month. The NCAA tourney follows shortly thereafter. This is the beginning of the important part of the season. It's when games are must-win. And for the 3rd year in a row and the 17th time ever, BC won the Beanpot. With 6.4 seconds left in the first OT period.

It was a classic game. Six of the last 9 Beanpot finals have gone into OT. And these two teams are likely to meet again in the Hockey East tourney, and could very well go deep in the NCAA tournament. Fun fact: the 9 times a team from Boston has won the NCAA Championship, they won the Beanpot just a few weeks earlier.

BC has finally figured out their goaltending situation. Parker Milner has won 6 straight starts, and allowed only 10 goals in that stretch. BC isn't as explosive as they've been in years past, buy last night we saw their sound defensive play. They make good decisions with the puck and have an excellent Penalty Killing unit. And when their Power Play shows up, they're very tough to beat.

BU, for their part, also looked good. Millan is an excellent, experienced goalie. BU can play physical. They just need to stay out of the penalty box.

Photo Credit:
Jim Davis/Boston Globe

Notre Dame to Hockey East

BC and Notre Dame will now be rivals on the ice, not just the gridiron. The Fighting Irish have announced that they'll be leaving the CCHA and joining Hockey East starting in the 2013-14 season. Notre Dame will be the 11th member of the conference, joining BC, BU, UNH, Maine, Vermont, Northeastern, Merrimack, UMass, UMass-Lowell, and Providence.

This isn't much of a surprise, as Notre Dame's current home - the Central Collegiate Hockey Association - has been under siege since the Big Ten decided to form its own hockey conference. The Big Ten will take 3 teams from CCHA for the 2013-14 season.

Also in 2013-14, the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference will start play. This group took Miami (OH) from the CCHA. While the CCHA still had 7 teams remaining after the Big Ten and NCHA made their moves, Notre Dame was the only big program left. The Irish would have been playing against schools like Ferris State, Alaska, and Northern Michigan.

And with the influx of TV money (thanks to there being 100,000 channels these days), Notre Dame would have been left in the dust.

Now the Irish are part of an elite conference (Hockey East teams have 11 NCAA titles and 67 Frozen Four appearances), they'll be playing perennially ranked teams like BU, BC, and UNH. Hockey East already has a TV deal with NESN, and with CBS College Sports Network.

The move is good for Hockey East, as the Irish are an up and coming program. And obviously Notre Dame has a lot of fans all over the country. Even though South Bend is a long way from Orono, Maine, the Irish should be well-supported on their road trips. And of course, Notre Dame will help encourage more televised games. There's even a rumor that NBC (or one of its partners) will be interested in broadcasting Irish hockey.

I wouldn't be shocked if Hockey East went after a 12th team, or even more. ECAC schools like Union and RPI are candidates. And if UConn ever invested scholarships into its men's program, they'd be the most likely to join. UConn's women's team is already a Hockey East member.

But even with just 11 teams, Hockey East remains one of the premier leagues in a sport that is changing much like college football is changing.

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.

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.