Beanpot Preview: All You Need To Know About 71st Tournament

Trophy season for the college hockey powers in the city of Boston always starts in early February with a chance to win the Beanpot.

The 71st rendition of the iconic tournament begins Monday at TD Garden with Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern and Harvard taking the ice for semifinal action. There’s plenty of star-studded talent between the four schools as they look to seize a trophy and the city’s bragging rights.

Here’s everything you need to know about the semifinal matchups and both contests can be watched on NESN.

Northeastern (11-12-2) vs. Harvard (4-13-3), 5 p.m. ET
It’s been Northeastern’s tournament as of late with the Huskies winning four out of the last five Beanpots, including going to a shootout to top Harvard for the title last year.

The Huskies are hitting their stride at just the right time with Northeastern having won four straight contests, including victories over No. 3 BU and sixth-ranked Maine, heading into the Beanpot. Northeastern’s offense has been in top gear over that stretch, scoring at least four goals in each win.

Ted Donato’s squad hasn’t strung many wins together this season, but three out of their four victories have come in the new year. The Crimson may have a very underwhelming record, but there’s no motivation quite like getting a chance to exact revenge on the Huskies and get a step closer to hoisting the Beanpot trophy.

“As a coach, you realize that this is a special opportunity for these guys, you want them to come together and you want them to have that opportunity to share in a Beanpot title, and have that to look back on and watch the Beanpot very proudly some day,” Donato said.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Jack Williams, Northeastern: The 5-foot-11, 185-pound sophomore forward brings a balanced approach to his game. He leads the Huskies with 30 points coming off 14 goals and 16 assists. Williams rides a four-game point streak into the Beanpot.

Ryan Healey, Harvard: The Hull, Mass. native has no problem generating offense out of Harvard’s defensive zone. The sophomore defenseman has a team-high 11 assists to go along with eight goals for 19 points, which is tied for the top mark on the Crimson with Joe Miller. Only four defensemen in the country had more points than Healey in the month of January.

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Boston College (19-4-1) vs. Boston University (17-7-1), 8 p.m.
The archrivals meet for the third time in 11 days. The Eagles swept the highly anticipated home-and-home series at the end of January when the Terriers were ranked first in the nation.

The two wins over BU solidified BC’s standing as the top team in the country. The Eagles certainly come in as the favorite to win the Beanpot for the 21st time in program history and for the first time since 2016.

“So many things go into winning, there’s 1,000 things you have to do right from being disciplined to being good on faceoffs, to all the details,” BC head coach Greg Brown said on what it will take to come out on top in the Beanpot. “You have to pay attention to all those. You can’t go out and try and win the game every shift. You have to play smart and play within yourself and manage your emotions. And if you do all those things, then hopefully you’ll have a chance.”

BC will look to bring their high-flying offense with them, which scores 4.21 goals per game, good for third-best in the country. And it isn’t one player carrying the offensive load for BC. Led by a decorated freshman class along with sophomore sensation Cutter Gauthier, who is on a 14-game-point streak and is tied for the most goals in the country with 21, the Eagles boast four players who have notched 30 points already on the campaign.

The Terriers have the firepower to stay with the Eagles, though. Sophomore defenseman Lane Huston, who was an All-American last season, can create offense whenever the puck is on his stick and has netted 10 goals and 22 assists for 32 points this season.

If BU can get over this hump that BC has presented this season, the Terriers would be in prime position to capture their 32nd Beanpot title, which leads all schools.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Macklin Celebrini, BU: This won’t be the first time hearing Celebrini’s name. The dynamic freshman forward, who is the youngest player in college hockey, is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick at the NHL Entry Draft in June. The 6-foot, 190-pound forward is the go-to offensive option for the Terriers, having scored 19 goals and added 18 assists for 37 points on the season.

Gabe Perreault, BC: The Eagles have two freshmen (Will Smith and Ryan Leonard) who were top 10 picks in the 2023 NHL Draft, but Perreault, who was taken a little later in the first round at No. 23 overall by the New York Rangers, is having just as good of a season, if not better than his standout linemates. Perreault has scored 10 goals, but does an even better job setting up Smith and Leonard by dishing out 29 assists to give him a team-high 39 points.