Harvard and BU: A Beanpot Matchup for the Ages

It's Monday.

As the world wakes up slowly and rubs Friday and Saturday night out of its eyes, it may not realize what today really is.

Because this is no ordinary Monday.

Today is not the usual start of that seemingly endless trek towards the weekend.

This is the second Monday in February, and to all college hockey fans in Boston that means one thing: the Beanpot Championship.

And in this, the 41st Beanpot Tournament, it also means the matchup to end all matchups--the Crimson against the Terriers, skating, scraping, and clawing for that chance to hold the silver plated Beanpot in the air for all to see.

But there is even more on the line than the sought after 'Pot. With the Crimson's recent loss to RPI, Harvard and BU are also battling over the right to the second spot in the East behind Maine. And that ranking may mean the difference between a first-round bye and an extra trip to Michigan (and Detroit, of all places) come NCAA Tournament time.

Harvard (14-2-1 overall, 13-1-1 ECAC) is ranked second in the nation. BU (19-5-2 overall, 13-4-1 East) is ranked fourth.

'In the past, BU has been better than us. This year we know we're better. We're going into this game thinking BU can't beat us.'

Lou Body

The Crimson has lost two Beanpot finals to BU in the last three years. The Terriers have won the last three titles in their quest for something no one else has ever done: four consecutive Beanpot championships.

BU Head Coach Jack Parker has collected a record 10 'Pots. Harvard Coach Ronn Tomassoni is still looking for his first as head coach.

The Terriers and the Crimson have already met once earlier this season, and BU won that game at home 4-3.

Both teams have Hobey Baker candidates. Harvard has Captain Ted Drury and BU has Co-Captain David Sacco.

Both teams have four lines of forwards that can skate rings around most other squads.

Both teams want the Bean-pot. Badly.

Harvard, however, suffered its first ECAC loss two nights ago when it relinquished a 3-0 lead to Rensselaer in Troy, N.Y.

The Terriers, on the other hand, scored a 4-0 victory over New Hampshire in their last game.

But the history, the records, the jungle of numbers that leads to nothing but overinflated and suffocating hype won't help answer the question on everyone's mind.

Who's going to win the game tonight?

"In the past, BU has been better than us," junior Lou Body said. "This year, we know we're better. We're going into the game thinking BU can't beat us."

The Crimson looked sluggish against RPI, committing ill-timed penalties and turnovers and succumbing to a fired-up Engineer team at home.

But Body said the loss may serve as a motivational tool that will give Harvard the edge.

"We took in it on the chin against RPI," Body said. "But the loss has just wetted our whistles even more. We don't like the taste of losing, and if we fire on all cylinders, there isn't a team that can beat us."

With the return of sophomore Steve Martins, who scored a goal against RPI, and junior Derek Maguire on defense, the Crimson is poised to win the Beanpot as expected.

In its last two games, however, Harvard did not "fire on all cylinders," and hasn't shaken off that post-exam time funk. An outbreak of the flu has also slowed the Crimson this week.

The problem is that the Terriers won't be too sympathetic about Harvard's trouble with sickness. With BU fans whipping the Garden into a frenzy and Parker on the sidelines conjuring up the Causeway spirits like Prospero, the Terriers will do everything in their power to humiliate the Crimson.

"Our focus has been to transform the Garden into our rink," Crimson senior Matt Mallgrave said.

To make the Garden Harvard's rink, the Crimson must stop the speedy BU forwards and find a way to crack Terrier goalie Scott Cashman's code.

Cashman has won the Beanpot's Eberly Award as the Tournament's top netminder twice in the last three years and is going for his third this season. If he wins, he will be the first goalie in Beanpot history to receive the award three times.

Cashman has an 8-1-0 record and boasts a .927 save percentage and a 2.38 goals-against-average. He is 16-7 in tournament play.

On offense, the Terriers have six forwards with over 20 points on the season, including leading scorer Sacco (13 goals, 22 assists, 35 points).

Harvard will not only have to stop Sacco and Co. but will also have to reignite its own offense, which was held scoreless for a period and half against RPI.

"That was Friday night, this is Monday night," Drury said. "We're going to focus on what we have to do to win games."

And if there is one game worth focusing on it's this game on this Monday.

HARVARD

Head coach: Ronn Tomassoni, 3rd season

Captain: Ted Druty

Record: 14-2-1 Overall; 13-1-1 ECAC

'91 Record: 14-7-6; 13-3-6 ECAC

Colora: Crimson and white

Niokname: The Crimson

Leading Soorers: TedDruty (14-25-39), Matt Mallgrave (17-5-22), Brian Farrell (8-13-21).

BOSTON UNIVERSITY

Head coach: Jack Parker, 19th season

Captains: Kevin O'Sullivan and David Sacco

Record: 19-5-2 Overall; 13-4-1 Hockey East

'91 Record: 22-8-4; 10-7-4 ECAC

Colors: Scarlet and white

Niokname: The Terriers

Leading Soorers: David Sacco (13-22.35), Jay Pandolfo (7-17-24).