Are you nervous yet?
College hockey’s greatest rivalry. The Battle of Commonwealth Avenue. The Green Line Rivalry. All of that history, showcased on college hockey’s biggest stage.
Whatever you want to call it, the hockey rivalry between Boston College and Boston University is unparalleled in the sport. These two schools, just four miles apart on the same street in Boston, have a shared history that’s unlike any other in college hockey. They’ve played against each other since both programs were founded in 1917-18, they’ve played for the Beanpot since 1952, and they have met at least twice every year since 1949. And despite that long history, the all-time series between the two is separated by just single-digits, with BU (140–134–21) leading BC by just 6 games.
This series isn’t great just because of it’s long-standing history, though. It’s been great because these two schools, so closely intertwined, have been in the top class of college hockey for most of their existences. Both programs are in the top-4 in all-time wins in college hockey history, with BC (1714 all-time wins) at #3 and BU (1667) at #4, trailing only Minnesota and Michigan. Both programs have won five national championships and are tied for fifth-place across the nation for trophies, trailing just Denver (9), Michigan (9), North Dakota (8), Wisconsin (6), and tying with Minnesota (5). Both programs had two of the winningest head coaches of all time in Jerry York and Jack Parker. Both programs have produced countless Olympians and NHL stars. BC and BU have essentially defined college hockey in the Northeast for a century.
And now, in the 2024 Frozen Four, the two schools find themselves on opposite sides of the bracket. If #1 Boston College defeats Michigan and #2 Boston University defeats Denver in the national semifinals next Thursday, we would see a national championship game on Saturday that adds a huge chapter to the most storied rivalry in the sport’s history.
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The History
Boston University was seen as the “big brother” for long stretches of this rivalry. The Terriers had a long dominant stretch in which they racked up three national championships from 1971 to 1978, including a victory over Boston College in the 1978 national championship game. BU then took that success again into the 1990s where they made 7 Frozen Four appearances and took home a national championship in 1995. That era also featured the longest-ever win streak in the rivalry, when BU won 12 straight games against Boston College from 1992 to 1995. The Terriers also dominated the Beanpot in that era, winning 7 Beanpot trophies in the 1970s and another 8 trophies in the 1990s. BU was a bonafide Blue Blood, while their archrival BC was a high-quality program that just couldn’t get the job done when it mattered most.
Boston College took home their first natty in 1949 before BU got their first, but it wasn’t very smooth sailing from there. Despite being one of college hockey’s top programs overall, the Eagles couldn’t finish the job again for another 52 years. Between their first two national championships in 1949 and 2001, BC made 19 NCAA tournament appearances, 14 Frozen Four appearances, and 4 national title game appearances, all without ever taking home the trophy.
But things changed, of course, at the turn of the century. Head coach Jerry York, after revitalizing the program in the late 1990s, led Boston College on a run that only a handful of programs have produced and nobody else has replicated in the 21st century. BC appeared in 7 Frozen Fours, appeared in 6 national title games, and won four national championships within 12 seasons from 2001 to 2012. With iconic players like Brian Gionta and even Hobey Baker winners like Mike Mottau and Johnny Gaudreau, the 2000s and early 2010s were a golden age of Boston College hockey. The Eagles also won 6 Beanpots in this stretch, plus their 2012 national championship victory launched them into a tie with BU with 5 natties each, after the Terriers also took home a title in 2009.
Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images
What does all of this mean for 2024?
We’re in a new era of college hockey and a new era of this rivalry. Both programs struggled for a good part of the 2010s after their 2009, 2010, and 2012 national championships. Jack Parker retired in 2013 and BU lost a heartbreaking national championship game in Boston to Providence College in 2015. Since then, the Terriers have had some good seasons but never one where they really threatened national championship contention until recently.
After their big win in 2012, BC never reached another national title game even after making the Frozen Four in 2014 and 2016. They won a few more Beanpot trophies in 2013, 2014, and 2016, but have yet to win one in the eight years since then. Jerry York followed Parker in retirement in 2022, with his former assistant Greg Brown taking over the reins of the BC program. And in that short time, this rivalry has been renewed.
Last year, Boston University got going on their program revitalization a year earlier than BC did. New head coach Jay Pandolfo, who played for the Terriers during a dominant stretch from 1992 to 1996, immediately led his program to their first Frozen Four in the eight years since their crushing loss to PC. BU fell to Minnesota in the 2023 national semifinal game, but it was a marked improvement for the program that he took over in a very short time. Now, in 2024, Boston University is the #2 team in the country led by Lane Hutson and Macklin Celebrini, who is a future first-overall NHL Draft selection, and they have a great shot to bring home a sixth national title for the Terriers.
But who’s #1, you may ask? It’s none other than the Boston College Eagles. Greg Brown took over his program in 2022, just like Pandolfo, but it was a much rougher start for him. The team was coming off of a mediocre sub-.500 season in Jerry York’s final year and Brown struggled to improve that record in 2022-23, though freshman Cutter Gauthier was a standout scorer and it took two overtimes before the Eagles were eliminated in the 2023 Hockey East quarterfinals. Everything changed this season, though, with the arrival of the “Kid Line.”
Three first-round NHL Draft picks, including the highest-ever selection for a BC player, arrived on campus as freshmen in the fall of 2023. Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, and Gabe Perreault, who all played together for the US National Team Development Program, added their electric offense to a team that already featured a dynamic scorer in Gauthier. The top two lines for the Eagles immediately became the most productive lines in all of college hockey, with all four players ranking in the top-6 nationally in total points. Add in top-notch freshman goaltender Jacob Fowler, who is a top-3 finalist for the Richter Award, in front of a vastly improved defense led by senior captain Eamon Powell, and you get one of the best teams in college hockey history. BC won more Hockey East games this season than any team since 1992-93 Maine, who are widely considered a contender for the best college hockey team ever.
If these two programs meet in the 2024 national championship game, sparks will fly. They’ve already met four times this season and three times as the #1 and #2 teams in the country, with BC taking home a Hockey East championship trophy in the process. These are two of the greatest teams ever assembled for both of these programs, and they are on a direct collision course for the trophy that matters most. A national title game match-up already happened once in 1978, but those teams weren’t quite on the historic level like the ones we’re seeing in 2024. And if their previous match-ups this season are anything to go by, Boston College has a great chance for permanent bragging rights over their archrival.