Stop us if you’ve heard that one before.
The Hockey East powers have had their share of success in the 60-year history of the Beanpot, but the Eagles or Terriers don’t always walk away the champions. In fact, some of the wins that belong to Harvard and Northeastern are among the tournament’s most exciting moments.
We’ve counted down the top moments from 60-41 and 40-21 so far, and now, we reveal final 20 moments.
20. New Conference, New Champs
Goaltender Tim Marshall leads Northeastern to a 4-2 victory over Boston University in 1985, and the Huskies become the first team from the newly formed Hockey East to win the Beanpot.
19. The 1980s
Northeastern won the Beanpot Championship four times over a 10-year stretch, winning in 1980, ’84, ’85 and ’88. However, Northeastern hasn’t won a title since 1988.
18. Hello New Friend
The Beanpot said goodbye to the Boston Garden, and said hello to its new home, the Fleet Center. Attendance went up by 3,000 and the Beanpot finals have sold out every year, with the exception of 2001.
17. Hometown Hero
Led by former eventual Bruins forward Bob Sweeney, Boston College won its 10th Beanpot championship with an 8-2 win over Northeastern in 1983.
16. The 1970s
Led by coach Jack Parker, who took over in 1973, Boston University utterly dominated Beanpot play this decade. Appearing in all 10 championship games, the Terriers took home seven Beanpot championships.
15. Borque Loves Boston
Chris Bourque, son of Bruins legend Ray Bourque, netted a game winner for BU over Northeastern in the 2005 championship thriller. After Northeastern tied it late, Bourque’s goal off a redirect continued the Huskies’ title drought.
14. 7th Isn’t Heaven
Boston College defeats BU, denying the Terriers a seventh straight title. The Eagles got the first three goals in the game and stopped a late Terriers rally. MVP Krys Kolanos had a goal and an assist in the 2001 title game.
13. Streaking Into the Record Books
In 1973, Boston University won its fourth consecutive Beanpot Championship. The four-game win streak was the longest ever until BU won six straight from 1995 to 2000.
12. Now that’s the way to score
Joe Cavanagh is the tournament’s all-time leading scorer with a line of 7-12-19, including leading all scorers with a 3-5-8 line as the Crimson won the 1969 title.
11. First to Ten
Boston University won its 10th overall Beanpot championship in 1978, becoming the first team to reach 10 Beanpot victories.
10. Points Leader
Bill Cleary established the single-tournament Beanpot scoring record (7-4-11) that still stands today in leading the Crimson to the 1955 Beanpot title. His shorthanded, overtime, game-winning goal against Boston College in the ’55 final is arguably the most legendary goal in tournament history.
9. Good-bye, Garden
The Boston Garden hosted its last Beanpot tournament in 1995 when BU defeated BC 5-1. The Garden held 42 Beanpot tourneys and was the site to classic matchups over the years. The doors would close to make way for the Fleet Center.
8. Terrier Time
BU crushes BC 5-1 for the first of six straight Beanpot titles. MVP Ken Rausch, scored two goals as BU dominated from start to finish. Derek Herlofsky was strong in net, winning the Heberly award in the 1995 Beanpot finals.
In the second ever Beanpot finals, players heard crickets as only 711 fans were in attendance for the championship game in 1953.
6. John Kelley Soar
John “Snooks” Kelley led Boston College to eight of the first 13 Beanpot titles, including winning three consecutive titles from 1963-65, which marked the first time a school won three championships in a row.
5. Harvard Crimson Win First Beanpot
During the first ever Beanpot championship in 1952, Harvard defeated Boston University 7-4 to take home the title.
4. Start of a Dynasty
The 1975 Beanpot Championship was Jack Parker’s first Beanpot championship. Little did he known that there would be 20 more where that came from.
3. The Blizzard of ’78
Thanks to the infamous Blizzard of ’78 and its 2 feet of snow, the Beanpot championship and consolation games were moved to March where Olympic gold medalist and national hero Jack O’Callahan, battled Harvard to win the MVP Award.
2. Let The Games Begin
Hockey Hall of Famer Herb Gallagher founds ‘Boston Hockey Invitational’ with Walter Brown. This tournament was renamed the Beanpot and Gallagher went on to coach Northeastern in the Tournaments first three years starting in 1952.
1. I Have A Dream
Walter Brown was the visionary who realized, when more than one of Boston’s four major colleges were on the ice at the same time, attendance soared; thus, the idea for the Beanpot was born after observing local teams.
