While sweating out the move into your new dorm room this weekend, the heat and humidity probably pushed thoughts of upcoming winter to a distant corner of your mind. The thought of winter is usually met with a groan among these parts. But in Boston, the snowy season isn’t all bad, especially since it inevitably means that yet another hockey season is upon us. And here at Boston University, it’s all about hockey season. Whether you realized it or not, when you signed up to attend BU last spring you stepped into one of the nation’s most storied collegiate hockey programs, known as much for its team’s dominance on the ice as well as for its devoted fans. The men’s ice hockey team owns the only four national championships ever won by BU Athletics. The Terriers won their first two in 1971 and 1972, the third in 1978 and the most recent in 1995. They have also established their place in the national rankings with 20 Frozen Four appearances and 11 conference tournament championships between their time in the ECACHL and Hockey East. BU boasts four players – Jim Craig, Mike Eruzione, Jack O’Callahan and Dave Silk – who claimed national glory in the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” victory against the Soviet hockey squad at the Lake Placid Olympics. Countless others were Terriers before becoming NHL stars, including Rick DiPietro, Chris Drury and Keith Tkachuk. And through it all, BU’s had Jack Parker, whose 762 victories since becoming head coach in 1973 rank second all time in college hockey history. Although the national championships are the crème de la crème of any athletic program in Boston’s collegiate hockey scene, there’s one other tournament of ultimate importance: the Beanpot. BU dominates the Beanpot tournament, so much so that the annual competition at TD Banknorth Garden on the first two Mondays in February are known to locals as the BU Invitational. The Beanpot is a four-team battle for Boston’s bragging rights among BU, Boston College, Northeastern University and Harvard College. Although other teams have come and won, no team rises in the Beanpot the way BU does. Even in sub-par seasons for the Terriers, a Beanpot victory is always within their grasp. The Terriers have skated away with 28 of 55 Beanpots, more than half of every ‘Pot ever played. To put that into proper perspective, the three other teams <<
