Familiar foes ready to face off
For much of the offseason, fans eagerly awaited the release of the 2023-24 men’s college hockey schedule to see when Boston College and Boston University would meet for the first time.
But they did not have to wait to find out whether the teams would meet in the Beanpot. The matchups rotate, and this year it will be BC-BU in the first round.
After having to wait almost four months for the first matchup, the teams will square off Monday for the third time in 11 days when they take the TD Garden ice for the nightcap (8 p.m.) of the 71st men’s Beanpot.
The Eagles swept the homeand-home series Jan. 26-27 to take over the No. 1 spot in the PairWise rankings, the system used by the NCAA selection committee to determine the tournament field. BU dropped two spots to third.
Some fans have been lamenting that BC (19-4-1) and BU (17-7-1) have to meet in the first round, but both squads seem happy to pick up where they left off after BC’s 4-3 win at Agganis Arena.
“I think it’s good to have another opportunity,” said BU coach Jay Pandolfo. “Hopefully we can come out on the right side of it.”
The Terriers followed the BC series with an overtime loss Tuesday at Northeastern, but bounced back Friday with a 6-3 win at UNH behind a pair of two-goal performances from Nick Zabaneh and Westwood native Jack Hughes.
BC extended its winning streak to five with a 6-1 win Friday at UMass Lowell on a pair of goals from Cutter Gauthier and Gabe Perreault’s goal and two assists. Gauthier is tied for the lead nationally with 21 goals, while Perreault is third in points with 39.
Five of the top 12 in points per game will be on the ice, three from BC — Perreault (1.62), Lexington’s Will Smith (1.54), and Gauthier (1.42); and two from BU — Macklin Celebrini (1.61) and Lane Hutson (1.39).
The teams combined to sweep Hockey East’s monthly awards for January, with Smith named Player of the Month after tallying 12 points in six games, while teammate Jacob Fowler won five of six games to be named Goaltender of the Month. Celebrini was named the top rookie after posting eight goals and two assists in seven games, and Hutson’s two goals and nine assists earned him Defender of the Month.
Northeastern (11-12-2) and Harvard (4-13-3) will kick things off in the opener (5 p.m.) in a rematch of last year’s championship game that was won by the Huskies in a shootout, a process that still irks both coaches.
“I don’t know how much I can say,” said Northeastern coach Jerry Keefe. “I personally don’t like the shootout. It worked out for us last year, but I’d rather see us settle that in a five-on-five overtime.”
Harvard coach Ted Donato, whose squad will be going for its first title since 2017, agreed.
“It was such a great game,” said Donato. “I wasn’t a huge fan of the shootout, and that’s not to take any credit away from a great Northeastern championship, but it just felt a little anticlimactic to have it end in that way. It was odd.”
Both teams appear to be getting healthy at the right time. Northeastern enters on a fourgame winning streak, following up the win over BU with a 6-3 win over a Maine squad that sits fourth in the PairWise.
Sophomore Jack Williams leads NU with 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists), 27 of which have come since Thanksgiving. Alex Campbell, a senior transfer from Clarkson, is second with 27 points for a Huskies squad that is the only team to beat BC, BU, and Maine. Keefe is certain there will be no letdown.
“I’m not worried about our guys,” said Keefe. “They’re going to be up for that game against Harvard. They’ve got a lot of respect for Harvard. They’ve had their share of injuries too, and if you look at their lineup, they’re still a talented lineup.”
Friday’s 2-1 loss at defending national champ Quinnipiac shows how far Harvard has come since losing, 6-0, at home to the Bobcats on Nov. 4. The game marked the return of junior defenseman Ian Moore, who was injured against BC on Nov. 26.
Sophomore Ryan Healey, a native of Hull, was named the ECAC Defender of the Month for January after posting 10 points in eight games. Classmate Joe Miller had five goals and seven assists and was named the conference’s Forward of the Month.
“I think we’ve kind of realized what it takes to win games,” said Moore, who grew up in Concord and attended St. Mark’s. “Every night, you need to bring your best game in order to have a chance for success, and I think that’s something we’re trying to work on.”