The Beanpot Tournament is a great tradition for all four schools involved every year.
But things felt a little different at TD Garden last February. There was a buzz, unlike any year in recent memory, after Northeastern beat Hockey East rival Boston University and broke its 30-year championship drought.
Last year’s Beanpot victory finally put the Huskies on equal footing with the Terriers, Boston College and Harvard in the tournament for Boston’s collegiate hockey bragging rights for the first time since 1988 when eighth-year head coach Jim Madigan (Milton, Mass.) served as an assistant under the legendary Fern Flaman. Hobey Baker Award winner Adam Gaudette (Braintree, Mass.) was the star for last season’s Huskies, who finished with 23 wins and made the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years.
Since then-senior captain Nolan Stevens raised the ’Pot high on Feb. 12, 2018, everything has been different for the Huskies. Gaudette signed with the Vancouver Canucks and their ace linemate Dylan Sikura graduated and joined the Chicago Blackhawks, meaning that the 2018-19 squad would take on quite a different feel.
