If there ever was a time for Boston University to snap their streak without a Beanpot title, it’s 2022.
Of the four Beanpot teams, BU currently holds the longest championship-less streak. Their last win came in 2015 in the Matt Grzelcyk game, but since then that trophy has eluded them.
It’s not because they haven’t gotten close. It’s been painstaking how close they’ve come, actually. In all but one of the Beanpots since 2015, they’ve reached the final but lost.
The Terriers enter this tournament in a good spot, though. They’re right there with Northeastern in terms of talent, and the regression of Boston College means that BU might be a good bet. BU will face Harvard in the semifinal, marking the first matchup this season between the two teams.
In 2020 when the Beanpot was last held, the Terriers were young and inexperienced. They showed impressive resolve to get to the final, where Trevor Zegras nearly pushed them through but a controversial penalty in overtime sank them.
But that group, which has a bitter taste in its mouth that has lingered two years, now are all juniors and seniors. Wilmer Skoog has blossomed into a gifted playmaker who can do the goal-scoring himself when needed. Robert Mastrosimone (9-9-18 this season) is another one of those players who was a freshman in 2020 and has grown into a key contributor.
It also helps that Chicago Blackhawks draftee Drew Commesso has been nails in net. He boasts a .915 save percentage this season, which has allowed Albie O’Connell to start the sophomore between the pipes pretty much every game.
Northeastern is eyeing its fourth straight Beanpot, and should be the favorite to win the tournament. But entering the tournament as the team to beat means basically nothing, and if there’s a team equipped to put a stop to the Huskies’ reign, it just might be this group of Terriers.
