Eagles Are Prepared For Yet Another Beanpot Title Game

In an all too familiar matchup, Comm. Ave. rivals No. 5 Boston College and No. 1 Boston University are set to meet tonight in the 60th annual Beanpot Championship at TD Garden. This will be the 41st time the two teams have met each other in the Beanpot, and the 21st time they have faced off in the championship game. The Terriers currently hold a 12-8 series lead in the championship. The Eagles are looking for their third straight Beanpot title.

The two teams have already faced off three times this regular season, with the Terriers holding a 2-1 series lead.

The Eagles were unable to stop a strong offensive attack from their rivals, as they were routed 5-0 in the first contest and lost 5-3 in the second, despite outshooting the Terriers 45-15. Both of these losses were at home. Freshman forward Johnny Gaudreau says that having the opportunity to play BU in the Beanpot final will definitely be exciting, as the team looks to redeem its two losses.

"After them coming in here, beating us both times here, in front of our fans, it's not fun," he said. "We want to get them back, and hopefully bring the Beanpot back here."

Since that early season struggle, BC has reemerged as a powerful squad. In the Beanpot semifinal against Northeastern, the Eagles came out with a full team effort to crush the Huskies, 7-1. The team continued this play with a convincing 6-1 victory over Hockey East opponent Vermont.

Head coach Jerry York credits this success to the team's hard work and focus.

"I think a number of factors have made an impact," he said. "Overall, we're just playing better hockey. Our energy level has been so much better for this past month of the season. It even started up at Maine when we lost two games. I still thought we had good energy, and had two well-played games there. Now, we're really starting to just get stronger in a lot of different areas. And offense is certainly one of them."

Gaudreau, who scored two goals in each of his last two games, reiterated that there has definitely been an increase in the team's energy.

"It's a lot higher," he said. "Ever since that weekend when we came off of the sweep from UNH two weekends ago, our energy has been through the roof. It's been showing in every single game we've been playing. We just need to keep that momentum throughout the rest of the year."

Gaudreau, who now has 13 goals and 11 assists on the season, has been a bright spot for the Eagles. He was one of three players, along with Paul Carey and Steven Whitney, to score two goals in the Beanpot semifinal game. He also lit up the Wildcats on Friday, scoring another two goals. Junior Chris Kreider also scored twice.

"Playing with Pat Mullane and Paul Carey is probably where most of my confidence is coming from," Gaudreau said. "I'm playing with two veterans in Patty and Paul who have been in the Beanpot before, and have done well in the Beanpot, too. It's awesome to play with them, and have the chance to win one with them, too."

York credits Gaudreau for continuing to work through the season, and maintaining his composure despite being a freshman.

"He started really fast, and played very well early," he said. "Then he hit a wall that a lot of freshmen do. His attitude through it, and his work ethic stayed the same. He has good work habits, and he really stayed with it. He's really taken another step in his game. It's difficult for any freshman to come in, and maintain that over the year. With that little lull he had, he still worked hard, and now he's back on his game."

Another player who has turned up his game after a difficult first half is junior goaltender Parker Milner. He has currently won his last four starts, and has only given up two goals in his last two games.

York says that his continued success will be essential for the Eagles tonight.

"He needs to continue to play a solid game as far as positional play, angles, and just his confidence level," he said. "Everything is going on an upbeat path for him. Similar to what Johnny Gaudreau's going through. And that really helps our club when Parker's sharp like this."

While the team has definitely increased its confidence this month, the players are still aware that they need to remain focused on the game ahead, and avoid making the mistakes they made earlier in the season. The biggest thing, according to Gaudreau, will be turnovers.

"Probably less turnovers at the blue line," he said. "Before UNH, we had a rough patch. We started making some careless mistakes, and coach has looked at video and seen some of that. Ever since then, we've had less turnovers, and been scoring more, and playing better in the defensive zone. We have to keep that going."

York echoed this idea of not being careless, and remaining composed as a team.

"I think our ability to stay disciplined on the big stage. It's an important game for us. We're playing for a trophy, and we're playing our archrival. I think discipline and doing the small things well, because when you do that generally big things happen."