History
The first Beanpot was contested at Boston Arena in December 1952. No tournament was played during the 1953 calendar year. The next two tournaments were held in January (1954 and 1955). All subsequent Beanpot games have been played in February (except 1978; see below).
The second through 43rd Beanpots (1954 through 1995) were held at the old Boston Garden. Since 1996, the Beanpot has been held at the Garden's replacement, currently called the TD Garden. The competition generally takes place on the first and second Mondays in February.
The 1978 Beanpot has taken a mythic place in Boston sports lore, as several hundred fans were stuck in the Garden for several days after the Blizzard of 1978 dumped more than two feet of snow during the night of the first round games. The championship and consolation games were moved to Wednesday, March 1.
Every championship game to date has featured either Boston College or Boston University, or both — Harvard and Northeastern have never met in the Beanpot final. (By contrast, Harvard and Northeastern have historically dominated the Women's Beanpot.)
Boston College dominated the early days of the Beanpot, winning 8 titles in the first 13 years, while Harvard took four and BU just one. But since 1966, the Boston University Terriers have won 28 Beanpots in 47 years.
The beginning of BU's Beanpot dominance was also the first year on the ice for Jack Parker. Parker won titles in each of the three years he played for the Terriers, and since taking over as head coach in 1973-74 Parker has won 21 more championships.
Northeastern, the only Beanpot team that has never won an NCAA hockey title, failed to win a Beanpot until 1980, when an overtime goal by Wayne Turner against Boston College gave the Huskies a win. Turner's wrist shot has often been called the most important goal in Northeastern history, and is generally considered the marquee sporting moment for the university. It is also known as the "Shot Heard Round the Beanpot". Right now, Turner is Director of Operations of the Human Resources Department at MIT.
Northeastern won three more titles in the 1980s, but has failed to capture the Beanpot since 1988. The Huskies came close to winning their fifth title in 2005 when they rallied from a 2-0 goal deficit to tie BU, but fell in overtime when Chris Bourque - son of former Boston Bruin Ray Bourque - scored the winning goal.
The 2007 Beanpot took place February 5 and February 12. On February 5, Boston University beat Northeastern 4-0 while Boston College beat Harvard 3-1. On February 12, Northeastern defeated Harvard 3-1 in the Consolation Game and Boston University defeated Boston College 2-1 in OT of the Championship Game. This win gave BU its 28th Beanpot title, more than the other three schools combined.
The 2008 tournament took place February 4 and February 11. On February 4, Harvard beat Northeastern and Boston College beat Boston University in overtime. On February 11, Boston College beat Harvard in overtime, 6-5.
The opening round of the 2009 tournament took place February 2. BU beat Harvard 4-3 after Harvard went up 2-0. Harvard scored what would have been the game-tying goal after regulation had expired, resulting in a BU victory. In the second game, Northeastern crushed BC 6-1. BU and Northeastern entered the Beanpot Championship on February 9 as the #1 and #2 ranked teams in the country in the USA Today Men's Hockey Poll, making the 2009 Championship arguably one of the most anticipated Beanpot games ever played. BU won the game 5-2 thanks to 3 shorthanded goals.
In the opening round of the 2010 tournament that took place February 1. BC beat Harvard 6-0. In the second game, BU beat Northeastern 2-1. BC and BU faced off on February 8 in the Championship game. BC beat BU 4-3 with a highlight goal scored by Chris Kreider earning the 15th Beanpot title for Boston College. John Muse earned both the Eberly Trophy and Beanpot MVP honors, stopping 64-of-67 shots (.955) in the two-game tournament to become the first BC goalie since Greg Taylor in 1994 to capture both honors.
In the opening round of the 2011 tournament that took place February 7. Northeastern beat Harvard 4-0. In the second game, BC beat BU in overtime 3-2. BC and Northeastern faced off on February 14 in the championship game. BC won 7-6 in overtime with junior forward Jimmy Hayes netting the game-winner and sophomore Chris Kreider winning the tournament MVP earning the 16th Beanpot title for Boston College. The Eagles, have won consecutive Beanpot crowns for the first time since winning three straight from 1963-65.
In the opening round of the 2012 tournament that took place February 6. Boston University beat Harvard 3-1. In the second game, BC crushed Northeastern 7-1. BC and BU faced off on February 13 in the championship game. BC won 3-2 in overtime with sophomore forward Bill Arnold netting the game-winner with 6.4 seconds left and freshman forward Johnny Gaudreau winning the tournament MVP earning the 17th Beanpot title for Boston College. The Eagles, have won three consecutive Beanpot crowns for the 1st time since winning three straight from 1963-65.
Read more about this topic: Beanpot (ice Hockey)
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