Crimson to play for 'Pot

The Buffalo Sabres will have at least one prospect in the Beanpot final, as Alex Biega and the Harvard Crimson sat on their first period jump to surprise #14 Northeastern, 3-1. Harvard advances to the Beanpot final for the first time in a decade, and hasn't taken the trophy home since 1993. With 31 shots through the first two periods, Harvard was outshot 7-2 in the third. The Huskies held play, but couldn't get another goal on the board. Biega led the Crimson charge, finishing a +3 with four shots on goal. The Montreal native now has one goal, eight assists, and is +1 in 21 games this season. Boston College, the team that all non-Eagles fans seem to hate, faces off against B-line rival Boston University in just a few minutes. NCAA top-scorer Nathan Gerbe (1.54 ppg) of Boston College is the featured player in tonght's closer at TD Banknorth Garden. Fellow Sabres prospect Andrew Orpik will see key minutes for the Eagles as an energy line banger.

Harvard leads 3-1 after two

In a year when #14 Northeastern has a chance at capitalizing on underachieving Boston-area teams, the Huskies find themselves trailing Alex Biega and Harvard 3-1 after forty minutes in the opening game of the 2008 Beanpot. The 2006 fifth-round pick, Biega has been on the ice for all three Crimson goals while collecting three shots on net. A first-round rematch of the last three finals between Boston College and Boston University follows at 8:00.

Schedule for week of 2/4 - 2/10

With the DEL and SEL on hiatus until February 12th, and the OHL taking a breather for their All-Star break, there are just 27 games on the Sabres prospect slate this week. Games To Watch This week features the opening round of Boston's famous Beanpot tournament, played between D1 programs Harvard, Northeastern, Boston College, and Boston University. Alex Biega and the Crimson will kick things off with a Monday night battle against Northeastern. The Huskies have beaten the Crimson in every first-round match-up since 1996. In the same span, Harvard is just 4-20 in Beanpot games. BC juniors Nathan Gerbe and Andrew Orpik have never hoisted the Beanpot trophy, losing in the finals to Boston University in their two outings. They will have a chance to knock off the Terriers, winners of the past three titles, during Monday's capper. BU and BC have won the last fourteen tourneys between them, and face each other in the first round due to an annual rotating schedule. Ideally, both Boston College and Harvard will earn victories this week, giving the Sabres three prospects in the raucous finale next Monday. Other Notes The Rochester Americans will look to start their first winning streak in quite a while when they host I-90 rival Syracuse on Wednesday. Chris Butler and the Denver Pioneers will return to Magness after a disappointing weekend of losses in Mankato to take on Minnesota. After a hard-fought win against Camrose this past week, Brad Eidsness and the Okotoks Oilers will face the team they're trying to catch in the South Division standings two times in the next seven days. The AJHL clubs will swap home-ice on Tuesday and Sunday. Monday (2/4) Northeastern vs. Harvard Boston College vs. Boston University Tuesday (2/5) Camrose at Okotoks Wednesday (2/6) Gatineau at Victoriaville Syracuse at Rochester Boras at Nykopings Thursday (2/7) Kingston at Niagara Friday (2/8) Michigan State at Northern Michigan Minnesota at Denver Harvard at Union Alaska at Bowling Green Colgate at St. Lawrence Waterloo at Sioux Falls Niagara at London Baie-Comeau at St. John's Saturday (2/9) San Antonio at Rochester Cornell at St. Lawrence Alaska at Bowling Green Minnesota at Denver Michigan State at Northern Michigan Quebec at Gatineau Baie-Comeau at St. John's Omaha at Waterloo Drayton Valley at Okotoks Sunday (2/10) Grand Rapids at Rochester Mississauga/St. Mike's at Niagara Okotoks at Camrose