Beanpot

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality. Discussion of this nomination can be found on the talk page.

The Beanpot refers primarily to a college men's ice hockey tournament among four major college hockey schools of the Boston, Massachusetts area, held annually since the 1952-53 season. The 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.

Contents 1 Format 2 History 3 Other Beanpots 4 Championship game results 5 Beanpot Finishes 6 Team Records 7 Championship game goals scored 8 Streaks and Statistics 9 See also

[edit] Format

The competitors are:

• Boston College (28-time finalists, 13-time winners; last championship in 2004)
• Boston University (46-time finalists, 28-time winners; last championship in 2007)
• Harvard University (24-time finalists, 10-time winners; last championship in 1993)
• Northeastern University (12-time finalists, 4-time winners; last championship in 1988)

The tournament lasts two rounds, with first-round opponents being rotated from year to year. The second round features the consolation game between the two teams that lose in the first round, and the championship game between the victors. In recent years the existence of the consolation game has been criticized as meaningless, with some looking to turn the final round into a doubleheader with the Women's Beanpot Championship game. The tradition of the tournament has won out each time, allowing all four teams to know exactly how they match up with each other every year.

In addition to the tournament trophy, two individual awards are given out each year. The Eberly Trophy goes to the best goaltender (according to save percentage) while the Beanpot MVP is awarded to tournament's most valuable player.

[edit] 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 Banknorth Garden. The competition generally takes place on the first and second Mondays in 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. 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. BU and BC, which have two of the nation's top ranked[1] college hockey programs, are rivals and the Beanpot provides a stage for them to settle their annual feud.

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 27 Beanpots in 42 years, including 11 of the past 13.

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 20 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 against Boston College gave the Huskies a win. 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.

The tournament will be televised by NESN through at least 2011, under a television deal announced in October 2006.[2]

[edit] Other Beanpots

The success of the men's ice hockey tournament has spawned "Beanpot" tournaments in other sports, including women's ice hockey, baseball (with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst replacing Boston University, which dropped many men's sports in 1996 to comply with Title IX regulations, for the event), softball, men's and women's soccer, and cycling. The final round of the baseball Beanpot is played at Fenway Park.

There are also many non-athletic events attached to the Beanpot. These typically occur the same time of year as the hockey beanpot. There is a Concert Band Beanpot, Business Beanpot, Beanpot of Comedy, and a Rice and Beanpot burrito-eating contest, sponsored by Qdoba. The Concert Band Beanpot and Beanpot of Comedy are non-competitive events.

The Concert Band Beanpot and Rice and Beanpot participants are the same schools as the men's hockey tournament. The Beanpot of Comedy, hosted by Northeastern University, features sketch and improvisational comedy groups from different schools each year. Past participants have included Boston College, Boston University, Salem State College, and Tufts University. The Business Beanpot participants are Babson College, Boston University, Bentley College, Northeastern University, and Suffolk University. Northeastern University has won nine of the eleven Business Beanpots since 1996, and has taken the top 2 spots 3 times. The most recent 1-2 sweep for Northeastern was in 2007.

[edit] Championship game results

Nine Beanpot championship games have required overtime (indicated by †), although none have gone to multiple overtimes. All championship games have been played in February except where noted by D, J or M (December, January or March). Results of each Beanpot game ever played are listed separately.

Year	Winning Team		Losing Team
1952-53 (D)	Harvard	7	Boston University	4
1953-54 (J)	Boston College	4	Harvard	1
1954-55 †	Harvard	5	Boston College	4
1955-56	Boston College	4	Harvard	2
1956-57 †	Boston College	5	Boston University	4
1957-58	Boston University	9	Northeastern	3
1958-59	Boston College	7	Boston University	4
1959-60	Harvard	3	Boston University	2
1960-61	Boston College	4	Harvard	2
1961-62	Harvard	5	Boston University	0
1962-63	Boston College	3	Harvard	1
1963-64	Boston College	6	Boston University	5
1964-65	Boston College	5	Boston University	4
1965-66	Boston University	9	Harvard	2
1966-67	Boston University	4	Northeastern	0
1967-68	Boston University	4	Harvard	1
1968-69	Harvard	5	Boston University	3
1969-70	Boston University	5	Boston College	4
1970-71	Boston University	4	Harvard	1
1971-72	Boston University	4	Harvard	1
1972-73	Boston University	4	Boston College	1
1973-74	Harvard	5	Boston University	4
1974-75	Boston University	7	Harvard	2
1975-76	Boston College	6	Boston University	3
1976-77	Harvard	4	Boston University	3
1977-78 (M)	Boston University	7	Harvard	1
1978-79	Boston University	4	Boston College	3
1979-80 †	Northeastern	5	Boston College	4
1980-81	Harvard	2	Boston College	0
1981-82	Boston University	3	Boston College	1
1982-83	Boston College	8	Northeastern	2
1983-84	Northeastern	5	Boston University	2
1984-85	Northeastern	4	Boston University	2
1985-86	Boston University	4	Boston College	1
1986-87 †	Boston University	4	Northeastern	3
1987-88	Northeastern	6	Boston University	3
1988-89	Harvard	9	Boston University	6
1989-90	Boston University	8	Harvard	2
1990-91	Boston University	8	Boston College	4
1991-92	Boston University	5	Harvard	2
1992-93	Harvard	4	Boston University	2
1993-94 †	Boston College	2	Harvard	1
1994-95	Boston University	5	Boston College	1
1995-96	Boston University	11	Northeastern	4
1996-97	Boston University	4	Boston College	2
1997-98 †	Boston University	2	Harvard	1
1998-99	Boston University	4	Northeastern	2
1999-00	Boston University	4	Boston College	1
2000-01	Boston College	5	Boston University	3
2001-02	Boston University	5	Northeastern	3
2002-03	Boston University	3	Boston College	2
2003-04 †	Boston College	2	Boston University	1
2004-05 †	Boston University	3	Northeastern	2
2005-06	Boston University	3	Boston College	2
2006-07 †	Boston University	2	Boston College	1

Source: Game information obtained from Beanpot official site

[edit] Beanpot Finishes

Through 2007 Beanpot

School	1st Place	2nd Place	3rd Place	4th Place
Boston University	28	18	6	3
Boston College	13	15	21	6
Harvard	10	14	13	18
Northeastern	4	8	15	28

[edit] Team Records

Through 2007 Beanpot

School	Won	Lost	Win Pct	GF	GA
Boston University	80	30	.727	528	344
Boston College	62	48	.564	463	402
Harvard	47	63	.427	416	444
Northeastern	31	79	.282	346	563

[edit] Championship game goals scored

Through 2007 Beanpot

School	Championships	Appearances	Goals
Boston College	13	28	92
Boston University	28	46	194
Harvard	10	24	69
Northeastern	4	12	39
Total	55	110	391

Source: Goals scored information obtained from Beanpot official site

[edit] Streaks and Statistics

• The 2007 tournament was the lowest scoring Beanpot in history. The four teams combined for just 15 goals.

• Since the tournament moved to the TD Banknorth Garden in 1996, Harvard is 4-20.

• Northeastern has not defeated either Boston College or Boston University since defeating the Eagles in the 1993 consolation game.

• Boston University has beaten Boston College in 18 of their last 21 meetings.

[edit] See also

• Beanpot Tournament
• Boston College Eagles
• Boston University Terriers
• Northeastern University Huskies
• Harvard University Crimson