Roth Regatta

Boston is a town that takes its’ hockey very seriously. In addition to the NHL’s Boston Bruins, Boston fans get to feast on some excellent college hockey from the teams of Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, and Northeastern. So it should come as no surprise that starting in 1952 a college hockey tournament was created to crown the best men’s college hockey team in Boston. And so the Beanpot Hockey Tournament was born.

For the record books, the first Beanpot in 1952 was won by H

arvard, but BU has gone on to dominate the event with 29 Beanpot titles. The second most is BC’s 15. The most recent Beanpot champs are the BC Eagles who won the 2010 Beanpot. Northeastern, with 4 Beanpot titles, is looking for their first title since 1988.

But that is only half the story. Boston is a town where women also play hockey. So starting in 1979 the women’s hockey teams of the same schools got into the action and have ever since annually played to determine the best women’s hockey

team in Boston.

Also for the record books, Northeastern won the first in 1979 and has the most Beanpot titles with 14. Harvard won the most recent, 2010, Beanpot title. BC has won three titles starting with their first win in 2006. BU has only 1 title won back in 1981. To be complete, Brown University also has one Beanpot title to their credit. They competed and won in 1993, a year when BU did not play.

The 2011 Beanpot

The 2011 Beanpot will be contested starting in the second week of Febru

ary, as has become the tradition. The men face-off in round one at the TD Garden in Boston on Tuesday, February 7. The women face-off the following night, February 8 at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill. Round one for both pits Harvard against Northeastern and BC against BU.

The consolation game (for the losers of round one) and championship game (for the winners of round one) are played the following week. The men face-off on Tuesday, February 14 and the women on Wednesday February 15. For the victors, they are the best hockey teams in Boston for a year – until next February…

To learn more about the Beanpot see the Beanpot Hockey Tournament website.