The Beanpot

As I sit here waiting for my liquid exhaust gaskets to dry, my mind wanders, again, to Monday. The Huskies will be playing #1 Boston College for the Beanpot trophy, a prize which has not seen Huntington Avenue since 1988.

It seems only natural that Northeastern should make the championship game for only the second time in the last six years, with my graduation taking me from Boston back to Los Angeles and away from the noise and competition at the Garden. Regardless, Northeastern seems dedicated to maintaining alumni relations through the Beanpot, allowing me to throw a Beanpot viewing party in Santa Monica with funding from the school for food and a box of NU swag. While watching the game, here are some things to keep in mind:

• The last championship game which featured Northeastern was a close game until, trailing 3-2, the Huskies gave up consecutive shorthanded goals on the same power play to the Terriers of Boston University, cementing another year of Beanpot frustration and failure. Perhaps one of the most predictable and saddening losses of my time at NU, the game reinforced Brad Thiessen's disturbing tendency to implode in critical games.
  
• Northeastern has beaten a #1 ranked Boston College team recently, opening their stellar 2008-2009 season with a 4-3 victory over BC.
  
• The Huskies have improved their record almost entirely on the back of sophomore goalie Chris Rawlings. Despite nearly always looking like he has no idea what he's doing, Rawlings is only one shutout short of the Northeastern record and is drawing attention from NHL scouts.
  
• Current BC forward Chris Kreider scored one of the most impressive college goals I have ever seen.
• BC goalie John Muse is nicknamed "Moose." In addition to the Moose script across the bottom of his mask, he also has a moose silhouette on his backplate. I have a hard time thinking of a less athletic animal than a moose.
• The Boston Garden, replaced by the Fleetcenter (now TD Garden) in 1996, has never seen a Beanpot victory by Harvard or Northeastern. The last Harvard championship came 3 years before the Garden was closed. The likelihood of Harvard breaking this streak this year is 0. Same for next year.
  
• Northeastern lost in the title game in my senior year of high school, 3-2 in overtime to BU. The player who scored for BU was subsequently dismissed from the school for not going to class. It is unlikely he attended class before the Beanpot, either.
  
• The consolation game of the Beanpot is a meaningless game which should not be played. I have watched 4 of these consolation games. Northeastern has played in 45 of these, possibly more, as counting that high is outside my math capabilities these days.

Go Huskies.