General
- Boston College and Northeastern will be meeting to decide the Beanpot title for the fourth time in the tournament's 61-year history and for the second time in three years.
- The Eagles have won two of the previous three meetings against the Huskies in the tournament, including a 7-6 overtime thriller (capped off by Jimmy Hayes' game-winner) in 2011 title game. In addition, BC won two of the three contests between the teams in Hockey East play, including a 9-3 drubbing at Matthews Arena on Jan. 19.
- As each were defeated in the first round, Boston University and Harvard will meet in the consolation - also for the second time in three seasons - on Feb. 11 at 4:30 p.m.
- Current senior Danny Biega and Michael Del Mauro ‘11 scored in the final five minutes of regulation as the Crimson staged a memorable comeback to capture third place in the 2011 tournament with a 5-4 consolation win, knocking the Terriers to their first fourth-place finish in the Beanpot since 1980.
Northeastern 3, Boston University 2
- With the win, the Huskies will be appearing in the Beanpot title game for only the 15th time in history, but have clinched at least second place for the third time in four years. Another win for NU next Monday would mark its first title in the tournament since 1988.
- Freshman Kevin Roy posted all the offense the Huskies would need, scoring three goals for his first-career hat trick. Roy is the first Husky since Mike Ryan to score a hat trick in the tournament as he turned the trick in the 2002 semifinals against Harvard.
- Roy is the first freshman to score the opening goal of a Beanpot since Boston College's Brock Bradford on Feb. 6, 2006 in a 5-2 win over Northeastern. Fellow Eagle Krys Kolanos was the last rookie prior to Roy to post three goals in a 'Pot game, doing so on Feb. 7, 2000.
- Roy also extended his point streak to four games, marking the third time this season the Montreal, Quebec native has recorded a point in four straight games. He has posted five goals and seven points in that stretch.
- The Huskies blocked 19 of BU's 68 total shot attempts in the contest, including 15 over the first 40 minutes.
- Entering the game, senior Robbie Vrolyk - a Boylston, Mass. native - was the lone current Husky with a goal in his Beanpot career, but was held off the scoresheet for the fourth game in a row this year.
- Because of the loss, BU's seniors were unable to avoid being the first class at the school since 1965 to graduate without winning a Beanpot title.
- BU has fallen short of the finals for the second time in three years, but has reached the championship on all but four occasions (previously 1994, 2008, and 2011) since 1984.
- Half of BU's four points in the game came from Massachusetts native freshmen as Danny O'Regan (Needham) and Matt Grzelcyk (Charlestown) found the scoresheet in their first twirl on TD Garden.
- It also broke a 15-game Terrier winning streak against Northeastern in the tournament, dating back to the Huskies' last title on Feb. 8, 1988. That streak was the longest between any two opponents in the Beanpot's 61-year history.
- Of this year's senior class, only Ryan Ruikka will graduate from BU with a title as he was a freshman on the 2008-09 squad that captured the school's last championship, defeating NU.
- With the victory, head coach Jim Madigan became the first NU head coach to lead the Huskies to a first-round Beanpot win in his second year behind the bench. Previous NU head coaches were 0-7 in the first round during their second campaign at the helm.
- The NU win was the first Beanpot contest without a power-play goal since Harvard's 3-1 win over the Huskies in the semifinals on Feb. 4, 2008.
Boston College 4, Harvard 1
- Despite junior Raphael Girard posted his second-highest save total (42) this season, the Crimson dropped their tenth-straight Beanpot game to the Eagles - a streak that dates back to the first round of the 1998 tournament.
- The Eagles' six seniors will seek to complete a Beanpot title sweep with one more win as they have yet to drop a contest in the tournament, having won each of the six contests they have played in, including all three titles against archrival BU.
- With the win, BC extended its Beanpot win streak against the Crimson to ten games, dating back to the 1999 consolation game. The Eagles have also won eight games in a row in the all-time series with HU, dating back to a road loss on Nov. 7, 2006.
- Sophomore Quinn Smith doubled his season-to-date output with two more goals in the contest, both coming in less than a 20-minute span. His goal in a 4-1 win over Vermont on Feb. 1 was the game-winner for the Eagles as well.
- Senior Parker Milner improved to 3-0 all-time in Beanpot games and will seek to clinch his second tournament title in as many years as he also posted victories over Northeastern and BU last season.
- BC senior Steven Whitney scored in the final period for his seventh goal in the last six games. The Reading, Mass. native leads all Eagles in career Beanpot scoring with five strikes.
- Sophomore Johnny Gaudreau, the nation's leader with 19 assists and 31 points, was held off the scoresheet for just the fourth time this year. He posted four points in last year's tournament to win Most Valuable Player honors.
- Harvard's leading scorer Jimmy Vesey, a rookie from North Reading, was also held from the point column.
- Harvard senior Danny Biega scored his first goal of the season at 9:17 of the third period and remains the current team's leading scorer in their Beanpot careers.
- BC continued a streak of 18 straight periods with a goal against the Crimson as they beat Girard in each of the three. Dov Grumet-Morris was the last HU netminder to hold the Eagles scoreless in a period, doing so in the first period of the 2005 consolation game.
- The Eagles set a clear season-high with 46 shots on goal in the game, including 30 over the first and third periods. 29 of BC's 79 total attempts came in the middle stanza. Harvard was held below nine shots in each frame for a game total of 20 on goal.
- Before the game, BC head coach Jerry York was inducted into the Beanpot Hall of Fame, becoming the 13th former Eagle to be recognized with the honor. In addition to coaching his alma mater to six titles, he also helped the team to the 1965 title.
Joshua Kummins covers Hockey East for SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKummins.