February is for hockey in Boston, and the 2015 Beanpot championship figures to be a thrilling one between Boston University and Northeastern.The Beanpot started in 1952 as an annual tournament between Boston College, Boston University, Harvard and Northeastern. The title game in the 63rd version of this event will pit a Northeastern program looking for a fifth championship and first since 1988 against a Boston team that has the most-ever Beanpot titles at 29.The Terriers last won the Beanpot in 2009.Here is a look at the key information for the Feb. 23 showdown between the Terriers and Huskies.Beanpot 2015 ChampionshipMatchup: Boston University Terriers vs. Northeastern HuskiesDate: Monday, Feb. 23Location: TD Garden, BostonTime: 7:30 p.m. ETTV: NESN/TSN 2Live Stream Coverage: Live radio stream coverage available through the individual schools. Boston's is available here, and Northeastern's is available here.PreviewBoston holds a commanding 156-57-8 all-time lead in the series against Northeasternalthough Northeastern did knock off the Terriers in the 2013 Beanpot semis. Boston also holds a 31-8 advantage over Northeastern in the Beanpot and has beaten the Huskies in 15 of the past 16 tries.However, unranked Northeastern already has one Beanpot upset under its belt after knocking off No. 11 Boston College 3-2 with a game-winning goal with 1:34 remaining in the game. The victory was Northeastern's fifth in a row and also represented an end to Boston College's attempt for six Beanpot titles in a row.Northeastern's balanced offensive attack was on full display in Friday's comeback win over Massachusetts as well when five different players found the back of the net in the 5-3 victory. The Huskies controlled the final two periods and outshot Massachusetts 31-14 in the last 40 minutes.Northeastern athletic director Peter Roby discussed what a victory on Monday would mean to the team, via Jake Reiser of Boston.com:Our team is playing some of its best hockey of the season to date, and has received unwavering support for the fans and alumni throughout the season. I look forward to watching our student-athletes compete against nationally ranked teams who are all playing at a very high level. It has been a long time since the Huskies raised the championship trophy, and nothing would give me more satisfaction than to see our loyal fans cheering for our team after winning the Beanpot.The problem for the Huskies is their opponent.No. 3 Boston knocked off No. 6 Harvard 4-3 in double overtime in what proved to be the longest game in the history of the Beanpot. Incredibly, it was Boston's first win over Harvard in five attempts.The Terriers are also coming off an impressive 5-2 win over UMass Lowell and have won six in a row to stretch their record to 18-4-4. Boston is third nationally in goals per game and eighth in the country in goals allowed per game (as of Monday morning). Goalie Matt O'Connor is also 10th in the country in goals against average.GoNU.com had a scouting report for this Boston squad that does a little bit of everything:Jack Eichel is the driving force behind the Terriers' offensive success. The freshman has a nation-leading 43 points on the season, averaging better than 1.7 per contest. In 25 games, he has 15 goals and 28 helpers. Along with Eichel, Evan Rodrigues has been stellar for BU this season. He is third in the nation with 40 points on 12 goals, including a hat trick on Friday night, and 28 assists.Ultimately, Boston is playing too good of hockey behind a powerful offense and a stifling defense. That's not even mentioning the fact that the Terriers have completely dominated the Huskies in recent matchups.The Huskies will stay in this game and keep it competitive, but we are talking about a Terriers squad that is in the top 10 in both scoring per game and goals against per game. The combination of that offense with O'Connor in the goal will be too much for Northeastern over the course of the full three periods.Boston will add to its illustrious Beanpot history.Prediction: Boston 4, Northeastern 2Follow me on Twitter:Follow @ScottPolacek
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