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.
While the Hockey East title race is most important, the Beanpot is special. It is an annual goal, and one that the Huskies achieved for the second consecutive year and sixth time in program history back on Feb. 11.
“This was an opportunity to differentiate ourselves from the rest of the Northeastern teams by winning back to back, for this team to be the benchmark and the team that others at Northeastern will chase,” said Madigan, who played on the last Huskies clubs to win two straight titles in 1984 and 1985. “This group of seniors has now won two Beanpot championships, a Hockey East championship, (been to) two NCAAs and counting. That’s a pretty good run, and there’s still some time left.”
Madigan’s roster includes seven seniors. UMass transfer Austin Plevy, Patrick Schule and Walpole, Mass., native Lincoln Griffin scored in the 4-2 title victory over Boston College. Few players, though, can have as great an impact on their team as captain Eric Williams has for Northeastern.
Williams has not missed a game during his entire Northeastern career as the Beanpot finale marked his 153rd consecutive appearance. The defenseman from Newmarket, Ont., broke the program record for consecutive games in the following weekend’s Hockey East series sweep against Vermont and was on pace to break Wade MacLeod’s program record of 149 career games played, set in 2011.
Madigan knows how special this championship is for a heart-and-soul player like Williams, who also has logged 11 points this season, reaching double digits during each campaign of his steady career.
“I was fortunate to win this tournament as a senior, and you remember it a little bit more than if you were a freshman, sophomore or junior,” the coach said. “It’s always a great feeling, but it’s a special, special feeling for those guys who are graduating.”
For Williams, it did mean a lot and it means even more now that he’s tasted both ends of the spectrum. The Huskies were forced to the consolation game during each of his first two seasons before he helped to turn that fate around as a junior and a senior.
Last year was about getting the monkey off Northeastern’s back, but winning the Beanpot has now become a realistic expectation after banking back-to-back titles.
“Not having won it in so long, there was obviously some pressure there, but I think everyone in the locker room coming into the tournament every year was so eager to be the first team to break that streak,” said Williams. “Being able to do that last year really made us want to experience the feeling again this year and every year going forward. Every guy in this locker room wanted it as much as possible. It’s incredible.
“I wish I could play in this tournament every year until the day I die, because it’s that much fun.”
As much as winning any tournament is about sending the seniors out on the highest of notes, the Beanpot means the most to Massachusetts natives.
Griffin, who was teammates with Gaudette at Thayer Academy as well as Northeastern, is one of 10 Huskies who call the Bay State home. Seeing Gaudette score a hat trick to pace last year’s victory and then raising the Beanpot together only fueled the fire for this season and getting to have the experience again. He broke an 11-game scoring drought with a goal in the title game.
“It’s like the Stanley Cup for the local guys,” Griffin said of the 67-year-old tournament. “It’s incredible for us, but even the guys who aren’t local understand the history and tradition because everyone talks about it so much. Winning the Beanpot was a dream come true, but doing it back to back with these guys is surreal.”
Like Williams, Griffin’s work might not always be rewarded on the scoresheet, but both of the veterans personify the hard-working brand of hockey for which Northeastern teams have long been known.
“He led the way blocking shots, showing second effort low in our ‘D’ zone. And he’s been that way all year long,” Madigan said of Griffin. “He and the other seniors have taken an ownership, particularly during the last month when we’ve been struggling a little bit with consistency. His play is dictated on the ice, and he lets his actions speak for themselves.”
This Beanpot was Reading, Mass., native Matt Thomson’s first and it ended with him posting his first collegiate point with an assist on Schule’s second-period goal. The title game was only his eighth appearance of the season.
Thomson has watched the tournament for years growing up and while enjoying a standout career at Massachusetts public powerhouse Reading High School, so skating on the Garden ice and hoisting the Beanpot are lifetime memories. But this one was really for the seniors whose efforts don’t go unnoticed throughout the rest of the Northeastern locker room and set the course for this season.
“Those guys just battle every day in practice and pass it down to us. We pick that energy up and just feed off it,” Thomson said of the veteran class. “When we need a kick in the butt they’ll give us a kick in the butt, but they also let us know when we need to take a breath and settle things down. They’ve been through it all. We’re just learning from them.”
The Huskies, who had five players score their six goals over the two-game tournament, blocked 20 shots in the championship game, playing hard in front of sophomore Cayden Primeau, the Most Valuable Player who stopped 59 of the 62 shots he faced in the Beanpot.
Without “The Big Three” leading the offense, developing a new identity has been crucial to this team’s success and led the Huskies right back into the thick of the Hockey East race. The Beanpot is in the books, but the Huskies have their sights set on more.
“We know our identity as a team is different than last year because everyone has to contribute each and every night,” said Griffin. “This was just one championship for us, but we’ve got two more. That’s what we’re focused on now.”
“There’s no better tournament in college hockey, but I want this to be a springboard,” Madigan said, looking ahead to the rest of the season. “This isn’t defining our season. We’ve got a lot more quality hockey left and a lot of good tournaments still to come.”
