BOSTON — The Beanpot always is a special event for Massachusetts. kids, and for those getting one last shot at the title, 2020 will be bittersweet.
Take Northeastern University, the back-to-back champs of the four-team tournament. Their captain, Ryan Shea, is a Milton native and one of 14 Huskies from the Commonwealth. Of those 14, four, Shea included, are seniors.
So when the puck drops Monday at TD Garden to kick off the annual competition, it could be the last time some of those area kids get a shot to hoist the Beanpot.
For Shea, the Beanpot has been in the fabric of his family his entire life.
“It’s a dream come true for me,” Shea said at Monday’s Beanpot Media Day. “I grew up 15 minutes south of Boston, and my dad played for BC, so the Beanpot has been in my family since I first started skating. But we have (14) Mass. guys on our team and they can say it just as well as I can, it’s pretty special.”
The 2020 Beanpot kicks off Monday, with Harvard and Northeastern playing at 5 p.m. ET, followed by Boston College and Boston University.
