Eagles Aim for 16th Beanpot Title

It may have felt like a championship ending last Monday night when the BC Eagles derailed the BU Terriers in overtime, but there is still work to be done if Jerry York and Boston College want to bring their 16th Beanpot title back to the Heights at Chestnut Hill.

Tonight, the Eagles will square off with the Northeastern Huskies in the championship round of the 59th annual Beanpot tournament at the TD Garden. The Eagles are the #1 ranked team in the nation and the Huskies are in the bottom half of the Hockey East standings, but no game can be taken lightly in a tournament with such tradition and pride at stake.

In fact, the last time these two teams met in a Beanpot game, Northeastern blasted BC 6-1 in the first round of the 2009 tourney. The Huskies, led by goaltender Chris Rawlings and top scorers Wade MacLeod and Tyler McNeely, will be searching for their 5th Beanpot championship and their first since, remarkably, 1988. The last time BC and NU met in the championship game was a whopping 28 years ago.

For BC, the key will be getting the puck past Rawlings, who sports an impressive .935 saves percentage despite a .500 win-loss record. Rawlings' .935 is second in Hockey East to only the Eagles' John Muse, who brings a .937 saves percentage into the action. He's the type of goaltender who can steal a game for an under-performing Huskies squad, so Boston College will need to have their offense clicking early to establish their dominance and avoid a monumental upset in pursuit of their 16th title.

Win or lose, the players (and fans alike) will leave the Beanpot each year with unforgettable memories and unparalleled levels of pride for their respective universities. Let's just hope the Superfans have a happy train ride home rather than a silent one.