By Cate Ewald, Contributing Writer

The Beanpot is an annual hockey tournament that dates back to 1952, and the men’s competition in particular is one of the most iconic and popular college hockey tournaments in Boston. Because the arena is filled with both students and regular fans, the event is a great representation of the rivalry between Boston schools. The Beanpot has been held at TD Garden since TD Garden’s construction in 1996, but it was previously hosted by Boston Arena (now Matthews Arena, owned by Northeastern) and the old Boston Garden. Four college teams participate: Boston University (BU), Boston College (BC), Harvard, and Northeastern. On the first Monday in February, the teams face off in a semifinal round, and the matchups rotate each year. A week later, the two winners play each other for the championship while the losers play a consolation game. 

This year, the first round was BC vs. Northeastern and BU vs. Harvard. Both BC and BU dominated, winning 8-2 and 7-1, respectively. From the tournament’s beginning to 2023, the final matchup has featured BC or BU. BC have the most wins with 31, while BU has 20 wins. Northeastern, however, has won the past two Beanpots. Casey Carlisle ’25 said she was rooting for Northeastern this year because “they have lots of players from Massachusetts. This makes them a local favorite with homegrown talent, and it’s always exciting to support players who represent the local community.”

Going into this year’s tournament, BC (20-4-1) ranks number one in Hockey East, which would be the equivalent of the Eastern Independent League. Out of 11 teams, BU (15-9-1) is third, while Northeastern (9-13-3) is ninth. Harvard (7-12-2) is in a different league, the Eastern College Athletic Conference, ranking sixth out of 12 teams. BU and Harvard faced off once this season, on October 19. The game was tied 2-2 before BU won in a shootout. BU and BC played against each other twice, first at BU on January 24 and then at BC on January 25. BC won both games by scores of 6-2 and 2-0. BC and Northeastern split their two games in November, and BC beat Harvard 3-1 on January 14. 

BC and BU, in particular, have been dominant, both against fellow Beanpot schools and in general. Both schools have had several players who won gold medals for the U.S. in the U-20 World Juniors Championship during winter break. These players included Teddy Stiga (BC), Drew Fortescue (BC), Brandon Svoboda (BU), Ryan Leonard (BC and captain of the World Juniors team), James Hagens (BC), Aram Minnetian (BC), Cole Hutson (BU), Gabe Perreault (BC), and Cole Eiserman (BU). Maddie Cheng ’25, captain of Winsor Varsity Ice Hockey, said she is “not exactly sure who to root for—I’m more there for the vibe. It is so fun and exciting, and everyone is so into it. I love the BC-BU rivalry, because who doesn’t?” Indeed, given both teams’ star power, the final matchup this year was BC vs. BU. While the game remained close in the first and second periods, BU went on to win the championship 4-1. The combination of this storied hockey rivalry with the recent successes of Northeastern and Harvard made for an exciting 2025 Beanpot tournament and promises strong competition in the ones to come.☐ 

Harvard vs. BU semifinal, photo from Julia Bae