How Beanpot final could impact NCAA men’s hockey bubble watch

While the biggest prize in college hockey clearly is the national championship trophy, in one corner of the sport’s landscape, that accolade has a rival: the Beanpot.

The 72nd tournament, which features Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern and Harvard, concludes Monday at TD Garden with BC facing BU in the championship game (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+).

Both teams are ranked in the top 10 in the country (BC is No. 1, BU is No. 8 in the most recent polls), but even in years when the Beanpot doesn’t have national implications of that magnitude, the energy, desire and hatred boil over for the schools and their fans.

This year’s final has a different twist, however. Nine of the players — six from BC, three from BU — were teammates at the IIHF World Junior Championship, where they won the gold medal for Team USA in January. At least one member of the Eagles or Terriers scored or assisted on all but one of the 37 goals the U.S. scored in the tournament.

Any friendships will be on hold Monday night.

“It’s just understanding that you can’t have any friends out there,” BC freshman James Hagens told the Boston Globe last month. “You might play with them for a while. They might be your best buddies, but you just have to understand it’s a hockey game, and you have to go out there and win.”

BU’s Cole Eiserman expressed similar sentiments. “You battle with those guys, get close to those guys, but I think we’re all competitive guys,” he told the Globe. “We want to win for our own school.”

The teams met in a home-and-home series in January, with BC sweeping by scores of 6-2 and 2-0. But BU will gladly accept those results in exchange for a trophy-lifting win Monday night. The Terriers last won the Beanpot in 2022, while BC’s most recent championship was in 2016. Northeastern has won five of the last six tournaments.

While Monday’s game will not count in the Hockey East standings, conference races are heating up around the country as the selection of the NCAA tournament field nears.

The NCAA field includes the winners of the six conference tournaments — Atlantic, Big Ten, CCHA, ECAC, Hockey East and NCHC — and 10 at-large teams based on the PairWise rankings.

Conference tournament championship games are scheduled for March 22, with the NCAA tournament selections to be announced March 23. Regionals will be held March 27-30, with the Frozen Four on April 10 and 12 in St. Louis. Every NCAA tournament game, including the selection show, will be on ESPN networks and streamed on ESPN+.

Here’s a look at where the NCAA field stands, with teams listed in order of the PairWise rankings as of Feb. 9.

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Frozen Four or bust

The head of the class this season, these teams are odds-on favorites to make it to St. Louis.

No. 1 Boston College

Record: 21-4-1, 13-3-1 Hockey East

Last week’s results: Beat Northeastern 8-2; won at New Hampshire 4-2

Key games: Feb. 10 vs. BU (Beanpot championship)

No. 2 Michigan State

Record: 22-5-3, 13-4-3 Big Ten

Last week’s results: Lost to Michigan 2-1; beat Michigan 6-1

Key games: Feb. 21-22 vs. Penn State

No. 3 Minnesota

Record: 21-6-3, 12-4-2 Big Ten

Last week’s results: Did not play

Key games: Feb. 14-15 at Michigan; Feb. 21-22 vs. Ohio State

Safe and sound

These teams are all but assured a spot in the NCAA field as either a conference champion or via an at-large spot.

No. 4 Maine

Record: 18-5-4, 10-3-4 Hockey East

Last week’s results: Tied at Providence 3-3; won at Providence 1-0 (OT)

Key games: Feb. 21 at UConn; March 7-8 at UMass

No. 5 Western Michigan

Record: 20-5-1, 13-2-1 NCHC

Last week’s results: Beat St. Cloud State 4-0 and 6-1

Key games: Feb. 14-15 vs. Omaha; Feb. 21-22 at Arizona State

No. 6 Providence

Record: 16-7-5, 6-6-5 Hockey East

Last week’s results: Tied Maine 3-3; lost to Maine 1-0 (OT)

Key games: Feb. 14-15 home-and-home vs. BU; Feb. 22 vs. UMass-Lowell

No. 7 Ohio State

Record: 18-8-2, 11-6-1 Big Ten

Last week’s results: Won at Notre Dame 5-1 and 5-1

Key games: Feb. 21-22 at Minnesota; Feb. 27-28 vs. Michigan

No. 8 UConn

Record: 15-10-3, 8-8-3 Hockey East

Last week’s results: Lost to UMass 5-4; beat UMass-Lowell 5-4 (OT)

Key games: Feb. 21 vs. Maine; Feb. 25 vs. BU

No. 9 Denver

Record: 20-7-1, 9-6-1 NCHC

Last week’s results: Won at Arizona State 5-4 (OT); lost at Arizona State 6-5 (OT)

Key games: Feb. 14-15 vs. North Dakota; March 7-8 home-and-home vs. Colorado College

No. 10 Boston University

Record: 15-10-1, 10-6-1 Hockey East

Last week’s results: Beat Harvard 7-1; lost at Merrimack 2-1 (OT)

Key games: Feb. 10 vs. BC (Beanpot championship); Feb. 14-15 home-and-home vs. Providence

In the field — for now

UMass-Lowell has slipped a few notches with three losses in four games, while Michigan and Arizona State improved their standing this past weekend with splits against Michigan State and Denver, respectively.

No. 11 UMass-Lowell

Record: 14-10-3, 7-8-2 Hockey East

Last week’s results: Lost to Vermont 5-3; lost at UConn 5-4 (OT)

Key games: Feb. 22 at Providence; Feb. 27-March 1 home-and-home vs. UMass

No. 12 Michigan

Record: 16-12-2, 10-9-1 Big Ten

Last week’s results: Won at Michigan State 2-1; lost to Michigan State 6-1

Key games: Feb. 14-15 vs. Minnesota; Feb. 27-28 at Ohio State

No. 13 Arizona State

Record: 17-10-1, 12-6-0 NCHC

Last week’s results: Lost to Denver 5-4 (OT); beat Denver 6-5 (OT)

Key games: Feb. 21-22 vs. Western Michigan; Feb. 28-March 1 at Omaha

One-bid league champs

It’s looking more and more likely we’ll have three one-bid leagues — the ECAC, CCHA and Atlantic. Quinnipiac and Minnesota State are on the fringes of the at-large bubble, but if they fail to win their conference tournaments, the losses along the way seem likely to dash their at-large hopes.

Quinnipiac leads a tight ECAC race, with the top five teams within five points of each other, while Minnesota State has a solid hold on first place in the CCHA. So we’re penciling the Bobcats and Mavericks in the NCAA field for now.

In the Atlantic, Sacred Heart, Holy Cross and Bentley are within one point of each other in the league standings — although Holy Cross and Bentley have played two fewer games than Sacred Heart — and are bunched together in the PairWise. We gave the nod to the Crusaders, who are one spot ahead of Bentley in the PairWise, but as with the other three leagues in this group, it will all come down to the conference tournament.

Quinnipiac

Record: 17-9-2, 11-4-1 ECAC (No. 15 in PairWise)

Last week’s results: Beat St. Lawrence 6-1; lost to Clarkson 3-2 (OT)

Key games: Feb. 14 at Union; Feb. 28 at Clarkson

Minnesota State

Record: 20-8-2, 15-5-2 CCHA (No. 17 in PairWise)

Last week’s results: Beat Augustana 4-1 and 2-1

Key games: Feb. 21-22 at Lake Superior State

Holy Cross

Record: 17-11-2, 16-4-2 Atlantic (No. 30 in PairWise)

Last week’s results: Won at RIT 9-2 and 3-0

Key games: Feb. 20 vs. Bentley; Feb. 24 vs. AIC

On the bubble

Assuming there will be three conference champions outside of the top 16 in PairWise, teams below No. 13 will be out of luck in terms of grabbing an at-large NCAA bid. But the standings in this range are very tight, with positions changing with almost every result. These teams will have opportunities for key wins to gain critical PairWise capital, but the margin for error is slim.

No. 14 UMass