There are plenty of good rivalries in college sports. Texas-Oklahoma. Alabama-Auburn. North Carolina-Duke.
But if Monday night’s men’s Beanpot final between Northeastern and Boston University was any indication, there’s no rivalry quite like the that between two elite private schools located about a mile away from one another in Boston meeting on the ice — all with annual bragging rights on the line.
The scene inside TD Garden was like the most intense Spider-Man meme you’d ever seen. Both schools’ supporters were decked out in a lot of red, cheering for their respective dog-themed team and hurling insults at their doppelgangers from across the Fenway.
Some of the highlights included a sign from a Northeastern supporter that read “BU has New Jersey energy” (which, unless you’re really into Bon Jovi or the Sopranos, can only be read as an indictment) and one from a BU fan that mocked Northeastern with a classic “No one cares about your co-op” message. It was all good clean fun, minus the cheers that weren’t fit for print or broadcast.
some good signs on the TD Garden jumbotron tonight:
— Esteban Bustillos (@E_Bustillos4) February 15, 2022
"BU has New Jersey energy" from a Northeastern supporter-IDK what exactly it means, but I respect the insult vibes, 8/10
"No one cares about your co-op" from a BU fan-classic, deadly, 7/10
It all made for a perfect scene for two hungry fanbases of teams that hadn’t played in the Beanpot since 2020 because of COVID. And in a thrilling rematch of that year’s final, which the Huskies won 5-4 in double overtime, the Terriers got their revenge with a nail-biting 1-0 victory.
For three periods, neither side could find the back of the net. But, even though the Terriers weren’t hitting, they were consistently taking shots throughout the game, taking 29 shots to Northeastern’s 19. That tenacity paid off when sophomore forward and Beanpot MVP Dylan Peterson hit the game-clinching shot with just over two-and-a-half minutes left in the third period.
“I mean, it feels great, there's really no other way to describe it,” he said after the game. “I mean, I've never experienced the Beanpot before, but I'm really excited just to experience the next couple of days.”
This was the first Beanpot title as a head coach for BU’s Albie O’Connell. But he was humble in the victory after the contest.
“For me, I'm just excited we won the hockey game,” he said. “I'm excited for the fans, I'm excited for the band who was banging hard up there tonight. So, I'm happy for the guys.”
Northeastern head coach Jerry Keefe was blunt in his assessment of what happened to his side.
“The better team tonight won,” he said. “We didn’t’ deserve to win that game. I’m not sure why we didn’t play well, but we didn’t. But you don’t play well in big games, you usually don’t win ‘em.”
BU takes the 69th Beanpot, 1-0 over Northeastern in a thriller. That's one happy group of players. pic.twitter.com/m1SfLfU2IH
— Esteban Bustillos (@E_Bustillos4) February 15, 2022
There was a lot on the line for both squads. Northeastern was looking for its fourth-straight Beanpot title, while BU was looking to secure the Terriers' first Beanpot crown since 2015. With their win, BU moves to 31 Beanpot titles, the most ever.
After the game ended, Northeastern’s student section had an unusually quiet exit as the Terrier faithful basked in the glory of their squad’s victory.
But the funny thing about the Beanpot is that, after three hours of malice, a whole lot of those fans from opposite sides probably had to hop on the T together to go home.
Hopefully, it was an awkward few minutes on the Green Line between two fan bases that are maybe a little more similar than either side is really comfortable admitting.
