Men’s Beanpot ready to take center stage at TD Garden after one-year hiatus - The Boston Globe
After taking a year off, the men’s Beanpot is back.
The first two Mondays in February will again feature Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, and Northeastern battling for bragging rights at TD Garden.
Last year, the tournament was canceled for the first time in its 69-year history because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Making this year’s tournament unique is that each of the four schools will be missing key players, with at least one from each team competing in the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
BC has three players competing in China. Forwards Marc McLaughlin (18 goals and six assists) and Jack McBain (13-11—24) are the Eagles’ top scorers. Defenseman Drew Helleson joins McLaughlin on Team USA, while McBain will skate for Canada.
Two of Harvard’s top scorers are on loan to Team USA: Forwards Nick Abruzzese (5-16—21) and Sean Farrell (8-11—19). Northeastern and BU will be without their top goalies. Devon Levi, who will represent Canada, has nine shutouts in 24 starts for the Huskies, going 16-7-1 with a .948 save percentage and a 1.55 goals-against average. BU’s Drew Commesso (.915, 2.48) is 12-8-3 and is suiting up for Team USA.
While none of the teams will have its full complement of players, there will be plenty of talent on the ice for Monday’s first round.
BU (14-10-3) and Harvard (12-7-2) will play the early game (5 p.m.), and both enter with plenty of momentum. The Terriers are 10-1-1 in their last 12 games, and have recorded at least 1 point in their last 13 Hockey East contests. Sophomore goalie Vinny Duplessis had 27 saves in Friday night’s 4-0 win over Maine, and coach Albie O’Connell said he’ll get the nod against Harvard.