Men's Hockey Beanpot Starts Tonight at Fleet

Boston's top four men's ice hockey teams descending upon the same arena for two glorious nights of competition can only mean one thing--the Beanpot has arrived.

Under the numerous Stanley Cup Championship banners and the retired numbers of Bruin legends, the Harvard men's ice hockey team (6-9, 6-5-1 ECAC) takes the ice at the Fleet Center tonight in hopes of capturing the Beanpot and the de facto title of the best team in Boston.

This year, the 45th anniversary of the tournament, marks the 45th time Harvard will compete against Boston College, Boston University and Northeastern. All four teams match up fairly well and have a chance of bringing home the trophy.

"We are obviously very excited," said senior forward Henry Higdon. "One of the great things about playing hockey here are these upcoming games."

The format is very simple. Each team has a game tonight. The two winners square off next Monday for the championship; the losers play a consolation game for third place. All the games occur at the Fleet Center.

Harvard opens the tournament at 9 p.m. against Boston College. The Eagles enter this game on a roll. Ranked 6th in the nation by USA Today, they have dropped only one game in 1998--a 9-3 loss by UNH. The Eagles still stand atop the Hockey East division tied with BU (though UNH may have eclipsed them by game-time).

Boston College has a very well balanced squad which is especially strong up front. The forwards can generate offense in a hurry, as evidenced by consecutive beatings of Providence, 8-0 and 6-0. They can be especially lethal on the power play which is ranked 2nd in the nation.

The Crimson will have to focus especially on their captain, Marty Reasoner. Reasoner, a Hobey Baker candidate, leads the Eagles with 26 points (15g 11a) and eight goals in his last 10 games. B.C. has only dropped two games in which their captain scored for them.

This daunting task does not appear to faze the Crimson though.

"We know they have a very good team." Higdon said. "However, if we focus on what we've been taught--staying out of the box, congesting the neutral zone, we should come out on top."

Harvard's confidence may not be unwarranted.

The Crimson has played two intense games against B.C. this year. The first was a heartbreaking 4-3 OT loss in which Harvard saw a 3-1 lead slip away. Over Christmas break, the two teams skated to a wild 6-6 tie in the consolation game of the Badger showdown.

"Everyone is excited to play them, "said sophomore forward Brett Chodorow. "After the first two games, we are anxious to get another crack at them."

"We definitely have played them tough. Hopefully it is our turn to come out on top," said freshman forward Steve Moore.

The Crimson may also be battling the schedule tonight as well as B.C. Due to exams, Harvard has not played a game since Jan. 10. It remains to be seen how the long layoff will affect them.

"I don't think the break will hurt at all," Higdon said. "We have had a chance to heal nagging injuries and get fresh legs."

While the time off may have cured the many bumps and bruises that come with hockey, Harvard may still be without two of their top players.

Junior forward Craig Adams will sit out this game and it is questionable if sophomore goaltender J.R. Prestifilippo will be recovered enough from mononucleosis play.

More important than physical preparedness will be the Crimson's mental discipline. Harvard needs to play with intensity for the full sixty minutes, a feat that has eluded them all year.

"I think we have used this break to get ready," Moore said. "We hope to go out and produce like a well-oiled machine."

The season for the Crimson has been marred by inconsistency. As the team gears up for the stretch run, bringing home the school's first Beanpot since 1993 would be the perfect way to open it.

"We have been up and down all year and the Beanpot is a great opportunity to get going," said Chodorow.

Everything hinges upon the Crimson's performance tonight. This means focusing completely on B.C. and not on any future matchups, including a potential final against B.U., who plays Northeastern in the early game.

"We realize you cannot reach the finals until we get this one," Higdon said. "We think this is our chance, we just have to go out and grab it."