CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – No. 8/8 Harvard (15-6-1, 13-4-0 ECAC Hockey) takes on Boston College (9-10-6, 5-7-5 Hockey East) at TD Garden in the opening game of the 70th Beanpot on Monday night (Feb. 6, 5 p.m.) on NESN. Harvard enters the Beanpot with a 7-3 mark in its last 10 games since the start of 2023 and is coming off of a 3-0 defeat to No. 2/2 Quinnipiac last Friday night (Feb. 3) at Bright-Landry Hockey Center.
WHAT TO KNOW
- Monday's meeting between Harvard and Boston College is the 46th in the history of the Beanpot Tournament, with BC owning a 30-14-1 mark in Beanpot contests.
- Harvard and BC last met in the Beanpot in last year's consolation game on Feb. 14, 2022, with the two teams skating to a 3-3 tie. Harvard trailed 3-1 heading into the third period of that contest, but Alex Gaffney and Jack Donato scored third period goals for the Crimson to help Harvard rally for the tie. Derek Mullahy made 26 saves in net, as Harvard outshot BC 35-29 for the night.
- Harvard is seeking to return to the Beanpot championship for the first time since winning the tournament in 2017, when the Crimson beat Northeastern, 4-3, in the opening round, then topped BU, 6-3 to clinch its first Beanpot since 1993. Harvard has won the Beanpot 11 times in program history.
- Harvard and BC will meet for the first time this season after meeting twice in 2021-22. The Crimson finished 1-0-1 against BC last year. The two teams are 3-3-2 in their last eight games against each other. BC leads the all-time series 77-48-7. Harvard is seeking its first Beanpot win against BC since a 5-4 (OT) win in the consolation game on Feb. 12, 2018.
- Sophomore forward Matthew Coronato and junior forwards Sean Farrell and Alex Laferriere are Harvard's nominees for the Hobey Baker Award. Farrell leads Harvard in scoring with 34 points (12-22-34) and is third in the nation in points per game (1.55). Coronato leads the team with 14 goals, and has 25 points (14-11-25) on the year as Farrell's linemate, including eight goals in his last 11 games. Laferriere is second on the team in scoring with 27 points (13-14-27). Harvard has had four winners of college hockey's most prestigious award (T-2nd amongst all schools) - Jimmy Vesey (2016), Lane MacDonald (1989), Scott Fusco (1986), and Mark Fusco (1983).
- Senior defenseman Henry Thrun is one of the nation's top all-around defensemen. Thrun is 4th among all NCAA defensemen in per game scoring (1.05 points per game, with 23 points (5-18-23) in 22 contests. He has been particularly strong of late with nine points (2-7-9) in his last six games with a +8 rating. He became the 11th blue-liner in program history to earn All-America honors - a Second Team AHCA All-American - after posting a 7-25-32 line with a plus-12 rating in 2021-22. A two-way defenseman, Thrun entered the year with the ninth most assists (43) among all returning d-men in college hockey and the 12th-most points (53).
- Harvard leads the nation with five overtime wins this season and is 5-1-1 overall in games that have progressed to 3-on-3 overtime. Harvard has picked up OT wins at RPI (W, 3-2 - Nov. 11), at Cornell (W, 2-1 - Dec. 2), at Princeton (W, 4-3 - Jan. 6), at Yale (W, 3-2 - Jan. 20), and vs. Colgate (W, 5-4 - Jan. 27).
UP NEXT
Harvard will return to ECAC Hockey play on Friday night (Feb. 10) with a trip to Dartmouth for an 8 p.m. contest on ESPN+.
