The 69th annual Beanpot tournament kicks off Feb. 5 with a doubleheader, as Boston’s men’s college hockey powers will duel it out at TD Garden.
Harvard will face Northeastern at 5 p.m. ET, followed by Boston College playing Boston University at 8 p.m. The winning teams from Monday’s game will play in the championship on Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The consolation game will be played prior to the title game, at 4:30 p.m.
The Beanpot tournament has been an exciting gathering for fans and students over the years. The tournament’s rich tradition has created some bitter rivalries and thrilling action. There have been lots of memorable moments — as well as impressive talent in Boston since the start of the Beanpot tournament. Below we break down some notable numbers you should know about the Beanpot tournament history.
1952
We have to take it back to the start first. The inaugural Beanpot tournament took place in 1952 with Harvard defeating BU 7-4. The attendance for the final was 3,382. That number has since grown tremendously, with 15,702 in the crowd to see Boston College defeat BU 1-0 in overtime in 2016.
30
Is the number of Beanpot titles BU has won, the most of any school. The Terriers have had a long history of success in the tournament. The Terriers won their 10th Beanpot title in 1978, becoming the first team to reach 10 Beanpot victories. Currently, Boston College has 20 titles, while Harvard holds 11 and Northeastern seven.
3
Is the number of different arenas the Beanpot tournament has been played in. The first was in Boston Arena, which is now named the Matthews Arena and serves as the home ice for Northeastern. The second-ever Beanpot tournament in 1954 was at the Boston Garden, where it was played until the arena was replaced by the Fleet Center, which is now TD Garden, in the ’90s.
19
Is the most number of points by one player in Beanpot history. Joe Cavanagh, who played forward for Harvard from 1969-1971, is still No. 1 in the record books for most career points in the Beanpot. He tallied a total of seven goals and 12 assists in only six games, as opposed to the eight games that some student-athletes get to participate in. He also won the tournament’s MVP in 1969 and was inducted in the USA Hockey Hall of Fame in 1994.
63
Is the most number of saves made in one game thanks to Steve Michalek of Harvard. Despite the goaltender’s great effort, the Crimson fell to Boston, 4-3, in double overtime in 2015.
15
Is the fewest number of goals ever scored in a Beanpot tournament. This happened back in 2007. However, the most goals ever scored between the four games was 46 in 1973. That year also holds the record for the game with the most scoring by two teams in one game, as Boston College’s nine goals and Northeastern’s eight combined for 17. Two teams also scored 17 goals in the same game in 1974 and 1978.
5
Is the most goals scored by one player in a Beanpot game, and three players have done just that — interestingly all against Northeastern. Harvard’s Bill Cleary in 1955, BC’s Ed Sullivan in 1961 and the Eagles’ Mike Powers in 1973 pulled off the feat. Cleary also holds the record for most goals scored in a period when he tallied four against Northeastern in 1955 and most goals in a tournament with seven in 1955.
1980
Is the first year Northeastern won the Beanpot title when the Huskies defeated Boston College 5-4 in overtime. It took Northeastern 27 years to finally get its first title, which was all thanks to a goal by Wayne Turner. Northeastern won its fourth title in 1988, then, after a 30-year drought, claimed its fifth title in 2018. It carries a three-year championship streak into this year’s tournament.
6
That is how many consecutive titles Boston University won from 1995-2000. Boston College ended the Terriers streak in 2001 when the Eagles defeated BU 5-3. The Terriers regained the title in 2002 and 2003 before falling to Boston College in 2004. They last won in 2015.
24
That’s how many times Jack Parker was a winner at the Beanpot. He won three straight trophies as a player in 1966-1968 for Boston University and then led the Terriers to victories 21 times as their coach — his last title was in 2009. In 2013, Parker retired after 40 years of coaching.
105
Marks the number of games during which Boston University enjoyed the record for longest team scoring streak from 1963-2016. If you were wondering, that’s 500 goals (we counted).
