Monday’s game against Harvard will mean the first time in six years that Northeastern students have to attend the consolation game in the final round of the Beanpot.
Last week’s brutal loss to No. 1 Boston College spelt the end of the Huskies’ hopes for a three-peat championship, with eight different Eagles’ skaters sounding the horn through TD Garden in the span of sixty minutes. On Northeastern’s part, Ben Poitras managed to register his first NCAA goal from a tip off of Jackson Dorrington’s shot, and Dylan Hryckowian got on the board late into the third with his 13th goal of the season. To the Doghouse’s disappointment, NU’s offense was otherwise futile against BC’s defense and one of the top goaltenders in the NCAA, Jacob Fowler, who boasts a goals against average of 1.650.
Northeastern’s record this season has been a tough pill to swallow — sitting at 9-13-3 overall after the most recent loss. The team has dropped four places in the NCAA Pairwise rankings from the 20th spot they occupied last week, and for seasoned players like Jack Williams and Cam Lund who have never experienced a season without the Beanpot coming back to Huntington Ave, one has to suspect it hasn’t been a happy week back at Matthews Arena.
Mercifully, Harvard lost to No. 9 Boston University earlier on Monday in a similar manner, with the final scoreboard reading 7-1. Whereas Northeastern’s lack of points was not for lack of trying — their 30 SOG only fell short of BC’s by one — Harvard’s offense only put up 27 shots against BU’s 38. Although the Crimson opened up the game’s scoring in the sixth minute, they never found their way past Terrier freshman Mikhail Yegorov in the remaining 54.
Looking forward to the final round, both matchups appear rather evenly matched —big winners competing for the pot, and the losers for redemption.
Historically, Northeastern’s record against Harvard has been a positive one, standing at a comfortable 21-12-1. Last year’s Beanpot semifinal was the most recent Huskies win, thanks to a third period goal from Justin Hryckowian and an overtime snipe by Gunnarwolfe Fontaine. That being said, Harvard was operating at an even worse record last season than their current 7-13-2 and still pushed the Huskies into overtime.
If there’s one thing to be certain about as Feb. 10 approaches, it is that both the Huskies and the Crimson will be tightening up their defensive shores in practice all week.
Rookie netminder Ben Charette boasted a .926 SV% through 11 games before the matchup against BU and now stands at a .910. Similarly, Cameron Whitehead — the 2024 Beanpot Eberly Award Recipient — fell from a .915 SV% through 24 games to a .908. Although both players underperformed on Monday, with Harvard head coach Ted Donato replacing Charette with junior Aku Koskenvuo after a five-goal second period, defensive support was fickle against two teams in which it needed to be its strongest.
Northeastern will find the most trouble when it comes to Harvard’s line depth. Whereas NU’s roster only boasts five players with four or more goals, Harvard has seven skaters who have performed at a better clip.
Freshman Mick Thompson is a force to be reckoned with, tied for the roster lead with 15 points on the season alongside junior forward Joe Miller. Thompson currently leads the ECAC in rookie scoring with 11 points over 14 conference games.
Casey Severo, the Crimson’s lone scorer last Monday, is +5 over the past 21 games and boasts a shooting percentage of .220 — beating out Hryckowian’s Northeastern-leading .188 in 24 games. Harvard also has Matthew Morden and Ben MacDonald, the skaters who got the Crimson on the board last February against the Huskies. The team has the talent, they only need the opportunities.
Opportunities that, if the Huskies play their cards right, will never come. According to their stats this season, the area in which the Crimson falter time and time again is in their shot generation. Northeastern has six players with more than 50 shots — the highest being Lund at a hefty 120 in 25 matches— whereas Harvard’s Ian Moore, a senior defender with only two goals, is the only skater that comes close at 50 through 21 games.
With some added pressure to Harvard’s already underproducing offense, NU could easily turn their losing streak around and enter the last stage of the season on a positive note. Additionally, considering the opponents Northeastern plays following the Beanpot consolation (namely top-20 opponents UMass-Lowell, BU, UConn, and Providence) a win here could help propel them to more success than they’ve seen in the last few months.
And while Huntington Ave may not be seeing the men’s Beanpot trophy this time around, at least there’s another game on TD Garden ice to look forward to.
WRBB will provide live coverage from TD Garden of the Beanpot Consolation Game on Monday, Feb. 10. Daisy Roberts and Matty Wasserman will be live starting before puck drop, which is currently scheduled for 4:30 p.m.