The first two Monday nights in February. Four rival schools--Harvard, Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern--four anxious hockey teams, four tense hockey games: one winner, three losers. A hockey cathedral, Boston Garden, which first opened its doors to the sport when Calvin Coolidge was in the White House, rattled by the din of 15,000 fanatics and an occasional passing Green Line hulk outside. Blizzard optional. The Beanpot.

Ask someone who grew up in the area what it means to play in the Beanpot. He'll grope for words, maybe mumble something about "pride" or "electricity in the air." Then, a pause. As a kid, he played street hockey every day in sub-freezing weather, using the curbs for boards and garbage cans or a Rube Goldberg wooden contraption for a net; made his parents wake up at four in the morning to shuttle him to some dingy arena when ice time is cheaper and the Pee Wee team can practice; stared transfixed as Bobby Orr led the Bruins to glory.

And every February..two trips to the Garden. "It's the Beanpot," he says finally. "You know. What can you say?"

Dave Burke of Harvard grew up that way. "I dreamed about playing in the Beanpot all my life," he said this week, recalling that he had attended the tournament every year with his family "as far back as I can remember." Recruited heavily by local colleges and lured with free Beanpot tickets ("the seats got better and better"), Burke nonetheless decided to go to Notre Dame, which he "really dug." In fact, he had already completed the initial acceptance.

But then Harvard coach Billy Cleary started dangling the prospect of playing in the Beanpot instead of just watching it. Did Burke really want to spend four years in South Bend, Indiana, where the word "Beanpot" draws a blank stare instead of glazed eyes? He did not. "I'd sacrifice almost anything just to win a Beanpot," the sophomore center says now.

Burke is not alone. The 28th Beanpot Tournament gets underway tonight with Northeastern shooting for the moon (B.U.) at 6 p.m., followed by this season's number one college hockey phenomenon, B.C., against a youthful but determined Harvard squad in the showcase contest at nine. The performances of the four traditional rivals so far this season run the gamut from the East's best (B.C.) to worst (Northeastern), but you can throw those out now. Grabbing the beans doesn't involve standings or records.

For one thing, unlike last year, the games won't count in ECAC Division One competition. But more than that, the Beanpot is (to borrow an oft-used phrase) "a season in itself." Two quick wins at the Garden transcend any number of embarassing disasters in Ithaca, Potsdam or Hanover. Conversely, failing to uphold a reputation as number one in the Beanpot puts a damper on even the most successful of years.

When all is said and done in college hockey in these parts, it's the Beanpot parts, it's the Beanpot that sticks in the memory of player and fan alike. Each team faces essentially the same challenge: rise to the occasion or fall short.

A year ago, Harvard and Boston College went into the tourney hoping to gain some respect in the midst of disappointing seasons. Harvard accomplished this by giving B.U. a scare opening night, leading 2-1 after two periods before dropping a tense 4-2 decision. Then the Crimson finished the year in singularly mediocre fashion.

Not so Boston College. Stung by academic suspensions, three top seniors--forward Joe Mullen, defenseman Joe Augustine and goalie Paul Skidmore--Len Ceglarski's crew had plummeted in the year's first half. The Beanpot offered a chance to turn things around; B.C. did by upsetting Northeastern, 7-2, then pushing B.U. to the brink in one of the tourney's most exciting finals ever. While they just missed out on a playoff berth, the revitalized Eagles finished the schedule strongly, grabbing seven out of nine Division One contests, including a 5-3 grudge match win over B.U.

And when the 1978-80 season started, B.C. didn't stop. After an inauspicious 5-4 overtime loss to Ohio State (hardly a hockey powerhouse), the Eagles ripped through the first ten weeks with only one loss in ECAC play to gain a secure position atop the Eastern Division and a third-place national ranking. An 8-6 upset by Dartmouth last Wednesday ended B.C.'s eight-game winning streak, but the squad is flying.

Credit for the B.C. resurgence goes to a balanced offensive attack, the leadership of captain Steve Barger, steady goaltending from Doug Ellis and the poised demeanor of a team that doesn't panic and relies on consistency and depth to overcome weaker clubs even when lacking intensity.

While the defense, hurt early on by injuries to senior Charlie Antetomaso and sophomore Tom Wright (who have since returned), has been a question mark at times, Eagle forwards have shown great proficiency. With 141 goals in 22 games (against 72 for opponents), B.C. averages more than six tallies per contest. The big period for the Eagles all year has been the second, reflecting an ability to take a close game and break it wide open.

Unlike the past four years, when all eyes focused on Joe Mullen's imposing talent, there are a number of forwards on whom B.C. now counts to supply firepower. The Eagle most likely to succeed tonight would be Bill Army, in his last Beanpot on the way to finishing a distinguished college career. The senior center from East Providence, R.I. casts spells with his stickhandling and conjures unexpected opportunities with his passing: a master playmaker. Second on the squad in scoring so far with ten goals and 17 assists (all statistics as of 1/31/80) in 19 contests, Army has notched 145 points (54 goals, 91 assists) in 107 games over three-and-a-half seasons.

His linemates, Lee Blossom and captain Barger, are no slouches either. A freshman left wing on a team dominated by upperclassmen, Blossom (14-10-24) has rocketed to the upper eschelons of the B.C. scoring stats. Barger, the dark horse choice for captain, is steady at right wing, but most team members point to his off-ice leadership qualities as a key to the team's success. As a walk-on freshman year, Barger spent a year with the subvarsity before seeing duty on the top squad as a penalty-killer the last two seasons.