BOSTON -- If you were at TD Garden on Monday night, based on the crowd, you may have thought you were about to see the Boston Bruins take the ice.
But alas, it actually was the return of the Beanpot.
The annual college hockey tournament between Boston College, Northeastern, Boston University and Harvard was cancelled in 2021 due to COVID-19, but returned in full force Monday for the first time in two years. The Women's Beanpot also returned with electrifying performances on Feb. 1.
Fans from all four schools poured into TD Garden and the atmosphere was electric. Chants -- both clean and explicit -- rained down all night from the rafters to the point where you couldn't hear the person next to you speak. Whether winning or losing, the crowd's energy never depleted, almost like they were trying to make enough noise to make up for last year.
Hockey-wise, it was a great night at TD Garden. Boston University came out on top over Harvard in the first semifinal matchup of the day by a score of 4-3. Northeastern took Game 2 in an electric affair downing Boston College 3-1 to put themselves in position to win their fourth straight title.
While Boston University and Northeastern were winners on the ice Monday, the college hockey world collectively earned a win with the return of the Beanpot.
"I think there certainly was a lot of appreciation and gratitude to even have the chance play in the Beanpot this year," Harvard head coach Ted Donato said. "Obviously last year was a tough one for everyone. I think it made this year even more special. I think guys had a great perspective and appreciation and gratitude for the opportunity to be back.
Boston University head coach Albie O'Connell furthered the sentiment.
"It was great excitement from our group and Harvard, obviously it was a hard-fought game," O'Connell said. "The crowd was pretty lively, it was great. It was really great to see and it's nice to be back. The pressure was real... It was fun and nice to be on the right side of it."
No matter what happens the rest of the way, the 2022 tournament already is a success.
Here are other notes from Monday's Beanpot games:
-- Boston University is looking for its first Beanpot title since 2015, despite now advancing to the championship in six of the last seven tournaments. BU sits atop the Beanpot standings with 30 titles to their name, followed by Boston College with 20, Harvard with 11 and Northeastern rounding out the group with seven.
-- Northeastern has had the opposite luck of Boston University and is looking for their fourth straight Beanpot title. The Huskies won their fifth title in school history in 2018 and have done nothing but win since.
-- BU forward Matt Brown entered the Beanpot after his mother died on Jan. 30. Somehow still mustered up the strength to chip in a goal for the Terriers in their win over Harvard.
"He’s a passionate guy," O’Connell said. "He probably has a heavy heart right now, but I think he’s probably looking up, thinking about his mother when he’s scoring goals."
-- Gunnarwolfe Fontaine was a star for the Huskies in their win over Boston College. Fontaine played a role in both of the squad's goals netting the first goal of the game and tallying an assist on Sam Colangelo's second period finish.
"I thought he was outstanding all night," Huskies head coach Jerry Keefe said. "I thought Gunnar had a really, really good game for us. He was determined tonight. I loved how hard he came back into the middle of the rink. He was physical. There was no way he wasn't going to put that in the net tonight.
-- Northeastern's win over Boston College on Monday night was the squad's first victory over the Eagles since March 23, 2019.
The Huskies' entered Monday's semifinal losers of five straight against Boston College, including most recently on Oct. 15 at Conte Forum. Northeastern's all-time record improved to 37-81-11 against the Eagles.
-- Northeastern and Boston University will hit the ice Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m. ET at TD Garden with the Beanpot on the line. Boston College and Harvard will play in the consolation game at 4 p.m. ET for third place.
