Beanpot
The
Beanpot refers primarily to a renowned college men's
ice hockey tournament between four major college hockey schools of the
Boston, Massachusetts area, held first in
1952 and yearly since
1954. The success of the men's ice hockey tournament has spawned "Beanpot" tournaments in other sports, including women's ice hockey, baseball, softball, and men's and women's soccer. The prestigious tournament gives the winner bragging rights over its cross-town rivals, and the quest for this highly-sought after trophy is contested in front of frantic crowds from all four schools in annual sellouts.
The yearly competitors are:
*
Boston College (27-time finalists, 13-time winners; last championship in
2004)
*
Boston University (44-time finalists, 27-time winners; last championship in
2006)
*
Harvard University (24-time finalists, 10-time winners; last championship in
1993)
*
Northeastern University (11-time finalists, 4-time winners; last championship in
1988)
The first Beanpot was contested at
Boston Arena. From the second annual Beanpot through
1995, it was held at the old
Boston Garden. Since
1996, the Beanpot has been held at the Garden's replacement, currently called the
TD Banknorth Garden. The competition generally takes place on the first and second Mondays in the month of February, and often draws the largest crowds of the college hockey season outside of the
Frozen Four.
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.
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. BU and BC, which have two of the nation's finest college hockey programs, are the bitterest of rivals and the Beanpot provides a pressure-packed stage for them to settle their annual feud.
The
2006 Beanpot took place
February 6 and
February 13. Boston University defeated Boston College 3-2 in the championship game, for their 27th Beanpot title. BU has now won exactly half of the Beanpot tournaments, as many as the other three competitors combined.
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 26 Beanpots in 41 years, including 10 of the past 12.
Boston University has also won four national championships in hockey, more than Boston College, Harvard and Northeastern combined. BC has won two national titles, in 1949 and 2001, while Harvard won in 1989. BU won national titles in 1971, 1972, 1978 and 1995.
The beginning of BU's incredible Beanpot dominance was also the first year on the ice for Jack Parker, the most successful figure in the Beanpot's storied history. Parker won titles in all three years he played for the Terriers, and since taking over as head coach in the early 70s Parker has won 19 more championships, easily the best of any coach.
The struggle to unseat BU as Beanpot kings is the theme of the Beanpot in most years, but the tournament's greatest story came from the ultimate underdogs - the Northeastern Huskies. The only Beanpot team that has never won an NCAA hockey title, Northeastern also failed to win a Beanpot until 1980, when an overtime goal against Boston College gave the Huskies perhaps the most thrilling and unexpected victory in Beanpot history.
Northeastern won three more titles in the 1980s, but has failed to capture the 'Pot 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 legendary
Boston Bruin Ray Bourque - scored the winning goal.
† Overtime
*
Boston College Eagles*
Boston University Terriers*The
Philadelphia Big 5, a somewhat-similar basketball rivalry in
Philadelphia
