It’s almost Beanpot time.
The first two Mondays of February mean only one thing for New England hockey fans, as the 71st edition of the men’s tournament takes center stage at TD Garden beginning on Feb. 5.
In this coming week’s semifinal round, defending champion Northeastern takes on Harvard, while No. 1 Boston College takes on arch-rival Boston University in a rematch of a Hockey East series played just last weekend. The winners and losers of the two semifinal games will face off a week later on Feb. 12.
All four Beanpot teams are chock full of players who honed their craft locally at the prep level en route to playing college hockey. Of course, many of those players are native to New England as well.
New England Hockey Journal highlights the former New England prep standouts who will be skating on Garden ice in the coming weeks. Northeastern’s roster boasts 14, the most among Beanpot teams.