2005 Beanpot tournament preview

The 53^rd annual Beanpot Tournament drops the puck beginning on Monday, February 7^th and concludes on Monday, February 14^th at the FleetCenter in Boston. The tournament is one of the top regular season tournaments that features four Boston-area teams: Boston College, Boston University, Harvard and Northeastern vying for the coveted Beanpot Trophy. The Boston College Eagles will be looking to successfully defend their Beanpot Championship and make it their 14^th title.

This year’s tournament features 32 NHL prospects representing 16 NHL teams. The San Jose Sharks will have the most representation with six players and is the only NHL team to feature at least one prospect on all four team rosters. The New York Rangers is second with three prospects. In addition to drafted players, the tournament features four players appearing on the NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Term rankings for the 2005 NHL Draft. Among the schools, Boston University has the most NHL prospects on their roster with 11, followed by Boston College and Harvard with nine each and Northeastern with three.

Below is look at each team and how each stack up in the opening match-ups. Unless otherwise noted, all statistics are current as of February 5^th.

Boston College

The defending Beanpot Champions are currently the hottest team in the nation. The Eagles are coming off a 2-2 tie at Providence on Friday night at Schneider Arena, extending their undefeated streak to 14 games. Senior defenseman Andrew Alberts (BOS) scored both Boston College goals. Freshman sensation Cory Schneider (VAN) went the distance, stopping 27 of 29 Friars shots to keep his undefeated record intact at 8-0-4. Boston College will bring one of the nation’s stingiest defenses into the tournament. The Eagles team defense ranks second in the nation, surrendering an average of 1.64 goals per game. The Eagles also possess the nation’s top penalty-killing unit (89.8 percent). The outstanding goaltending tandem of Schneider and senior Matti Kaltiainen (BOS) both rank in the top five in the nation in goals against average. Schneider has a 1.77 GAA, which ranks fifth, while Kaltiainen’s 1.43 GAA ranks second.

Boston College will meet their Commonwealth Avenue archrival Boston University in the second of the two opening matches of the tournament. This will be the final time during the regular season this year that the two teams will meet. In the three previous meetings, the Eagles posted a 2-1 record against the Terriers. In the most recent meetings, a home and home series back on January 14^th and 15^th, the Eagles swept the Terriers 6-3 and 2-0 respectively.

Junior Patrick Eaves (OTT), an early candidate for the Hobey Baker award, leads the Eagles in points (36), goals (14), assists (22), shots (124) and plus/minus (+20). One of the Eagles most improved players this season is towering sophomore Brian Boyle (LA). Boyle ranks fourth on the team in points with 16, and is second in goals with 11. He also leads the Eagles in power play goals with eight. The Eagles feature two freshmen that appear on the NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Term rankings in diminutive speedster Dan Bertram and outstanding two-way defenseman Mike Brennan. Bertram is ranked 32^nd, while Brennan is ranked 133^rd among all North American skaters. Bertram leads all Boston College rookies with 11 points (seven goals, five assists). Brennan, who is usually partner with the senior Alberts, has played in all 25 game for Boston College this season, posting five points (one goal, four assists) and leads all rookies in plus/minus (+11).

Boston University

The Terriers have won the Beanpot Tournament more than any other team in its history. The last time Boston University won this tournament was two years ago in 2003. They will look to reclaim it this year and make it their 26^th tournament championship. Boston University comes into the tournament undefeated in their last three outings (2-0-1). The Terriers are coming off a 4-4 tie versus UMass-Lowell at Agganis Arena on Friday night behind junior David Van der Gulik’s (CGY) first career hat trick. They currently sit fourth in the Hockey East standings.

One of the biggest reasons for the Terriers success this season can be attributed to the outstanding goaltending of sophomore John Curry. He sports a 12-7-1 record with a 1.98 goals against average and a .922 save percentage. He had one of his best performances of the season back on October 31^st when he stopped 31 of 32 shots to lead BU to a 2-1 victory over Maine. His performance also earned him Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Another area where the Terriers have gotten excellent production is from their freshmen. While Chris Bourque (WSH) was the biggest story coming into the season, it has been the sensational play of Peter MacArthur that has been the equally big story at Boston University this year. The dynamic MacArthur, who is an early candidate for Hockey East Rookie of the Year, co-leads all Hockey East rookies in scoring with 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists). Of his 11 goals, four have come on the power play and two have come shorthanded. MacArthur appears on the NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Term Rankings (ranked 120^th among all North American skaters). Terriers freshmen have accounted for nearly 30 percent of all the team’s points with MacArthur and Bourque leading the way.

With the departure of top scorers such as Ryan Whitney and Ken Magowan, junior John Laliberte (VAN) has picked up some of the offensive slack and has become one of the most improved players for Boston University this season. He leads the team in scoring with 23 points (8 goals, 15 assists).

Harvard University

The Crimson are the lone non-Hockey East team in the tournament. They will be seeking their first Beanpot Championship since 1993. Harvard will meet Northeastern in the first of the two opening matches of the tournament. This will be the first and only regular season meeting this year between the two teams. The Crimson will be looking to avenge last year’s consolation game loss. They lost to the Huskies 3-1. Harvard is currently riding a five game winning streak and brings one of the best team defenses in the nation into the tournament. Harvard has the third best team defense in the nation, allowing an average of 1.95 goals per game. Another area that the Crimson have been quite effective this season is on the power play. They bring the fifth best power play unit into the tournament that has an efficiency rating of 23.7 percent.

Harvard is coming off a heart-stopping 2-1 win over Ivy League rival Dartmouth at the Bright Center on Friday night. Sophomore defenseman Dylan Reese (NYR) notched the game-winning goal with less than a minute left in regulation. Senior Dov Grumet-Morris (PHI) went the distance, stopping 31 of 32 shots for the win. Harvard currently sits tied with Colgate in second place in the standings in the very hotly contested ECACHL race. Grumet-Morris has been a big part of the Crimson’s success this season. He sports a 12-4-2 record that includes two shutouts. Grumet-Morris currently ranks second in the nation in save percentage (.943), fourth in goals against average (1.71) and 12^th in winning percentage (.772).

While Harvard is not a consistently high scoring team, they are getting production from just about everyone on their roster. Two players whose play has stood out this season are senior Andrew Lederman and freshman Jon Pelle. Lederman is enjoying perhaps the best season of his collegiate career. He ranks second on the team in scoring with 17 points (six goals, 11 assists). Pelle leads all Crimson rookies with 15 points (six goals, nine assists). Another area where the Crimson has gotten some outstanding production, both on and off the scoresheet, is from the blueline. Harvard is the only team in the tournament whose entire regular defensive corps are all NHL prospects. Sophomore Dylan Reese (NYR), who is usually paired with senior Ryan Lannon (PIT), leads all Crimson defensemen in scoring with 13 points (six goals, seven assists). Senior Noah Welch (PIT) and junior Peter Hafner (FLA) make up the Crimson’s outstanding top blueline tandem, while a pair of San Jose Sharks prospects in junior Tom Walsh and freshman David McDonald round out the Crimson’s defensive pairings. With the exception of McDonald, all of the defensemen have posted a goal this season.

Northeastern University

The Huskies have made some great improvements in their overall play this season and as a result they will make this year’s Beanpot Tournament a real dog fight. They have had some success against ranked opponents already this season. Their season opening upset of the Michigan Wolverines in the Lefty McFadden Tournament took the college hockey world by surprise. In addition to Michigan, Northeastern has also posted wins over Colgate and Maine. The Huskies have also posted ties against UMass-Lowell and North Dakota. Northeastern will be looking to win their first Beanpot championship since 1988.

The Huskies are coming off a 2-1 win over UMass on Thursday night at Matthews Arena behind two-point efforts by the top line tandem of senior Jason Guerriero and junior Mike Morris (SJ). Guerriero currently leads Northeastern in scoring with 34 points (12 goals, 22 assists). Morris leads the Huskies in goals with 13 and is second on the team in points with 26. He also leads the team in power play goals with six. Freshman Josh Robertson (WSH) leads all Northeastern rookies in scoring with eight points (four goals, four assists). The Northeastern player to watch in this tournament is sophomore defenseman Steve Birnstill. Birnstill, who appears on the NHL Central Scouting’s Mid-Term Rankings (ranked 115^th among North American skaters), is an excellent skating, offensive-minded defenseman. He leads all Huskies defensemen in scoring with 11 points (two goals, nine assists).

The Huskies currently sport a 10-13-4 record and sit in sixth place in the Hockey East standings. One of the reasons behind Northeastern’s success this season has been the superb goaltending of senior Keni Gibson. He sports a 10-12-4 record that includes one shutout. He has also posted a 2.46 goals against average and .918 save percentage. Gibson, who has become the workhorse of the Huskies playing in 26 of 27 games, ranks fifth in the nation in minutes played with 1564:04. He has already been named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week three times, including last weekend for his excellent performance versus Maine.

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