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.

Billy O'Dwyer of South Boston, the team's leading scorer with 14 goals and 15 assists for 29 points, centers for linemates Mike Ewanouski (9-16-25) on the right and Brian Burns on left.

Based on past experience, fans and Harvard defensemen should watch for the O'Dwyer combination if things get tight in the late going. Against the Terriers January 18, probably the biggest game of the regular season for the Eagles, O'Dwyer evened the score at six apiece with just a few minutes left in regulation. Then Ewanouski popped home a loose puck in overtime for B.C.'s first win ever at Walter Brown Arena. "I really enjoyed that," Ewanouski said recently, admitting that "the effect was beginning to wear off" two weeks after the fact. You can bet B.U. still smarts.

So, for that matter, does Harvard. Billy Cleary's skaters remember well the 6-2 decision they dropped to B.C. January 9, a game closer than the final score and representative of both the strengths that have bolstered and the problems that have plagued the Crimson.

First the positive. "We're not a big team," says Cleary, "and we're not a physical team, but we're a scrappy team and a gutsy team." During the first period, Harvard dominated play through sheer hard work, digging in the corners, forechecking and back-checking with authority, willing to spend 30 seconds fighting for a loose puck in order to set up an opportunity, rather than trying all game long for a picturesque goal. The Eagles were caught off guard, and showed it. Yet...

...the score after one period was 2-2. Harvard had nothing to show for probably one of the best periods it played all year; B.C., though taken aback by the aggressiveness of their opposition, adjusted accordingly and eventually wore Harvard down. A frustrating evening for the Crimson. Cleary: "We just haven't capitalized on the opportunities. We've had good opportunities--I don't mean shots from the blue line or from behind the net, but real opportunities to score...."

The elusive goal, the failure to convert pressure into something that shows up on the scorecard, leaves a nagging anxiety even with a team, like Harvard, that is unified and confident of its own abilities. "That's the frustration," commented one player, "you never know whether things are going to click or not."

But if the Crimson doesn't always win--it stands at 4-10-1 overall, a more competitive 4-7-1 in ECAC. One--they are consistently interesting. Last year, a hodge-podge selection of weary veterans and green youngsters charted separate paths both on and off the ice, sliding, stumbling and skidding to a monotonously miserable 7-18-1 record (5-16-1 ECAC), the worst since Harvard hockey began in 1896. "The team didn't stick together," says sophomore goalie Wade Lau, expected to start tonight. "Some guys got to the point where they came into the locker room before a game wondering how many goals we were going to lose by. When you accept losing, you're not going to win very often."

Then came this year. At first, the most obvious shift was geographical rather than attitudinal: after a year of playing the interloper at B.U.'s Brown Arena, it was return of the native time as the newly renovated Alexander H. Bright Hockey Center (formerly Watson Rink) opened for business. But the change became apparent in other ways. The old guard, or most of it, had graduated (and standout defenseman Jackie Hughes went out for the U.S. Olympic Team). A corps of hungry freshmen took its place. The 1979-80 version of Harvard hockey is the youngest ever, with ten first-year men (including three of the top four scorers) on the squad. Only four seniors--co-captains Graham Carter (forward-defense) and John Hynes (goalie) among them--remain.

At its best this season--and there have been high points, like freshman left wing Dave Connors scoring with 45 seconds left in overtime to vanquish B.U., 4-3, December 5 and a team effort overcoming the University of New Hampshire, 4-1, six days later--the Crimson can play with anyone. In molding and directing the energies of his youthful squad, Cleary must perform the hockey equivalent of a delicately controlled fusion reaction. "This is one of the best years I've ever had coaching," says the former Harvard, Beanpot and Olympic star. "I've never had so much fun. The kids have been great, super."

Yes, the "kids" are alright. One freshman, defenseman Mark Fusco, leads the team in points with 17 (eight goals, nine assists), while another, opportunistic right winger Greg Olson (9-5-14) heads the goals department. Other freshmen--particularly Jim Turner (4-11-15), the smooth left wing from Melrose who joins Olson and sophomore center Mike Watson (4-8-12) on the Crimson's second line--have also carved niches for themselves.

In addition to the Watson-Turner-Olson connection, two other lines have remained relatively stable. On line one, Burke (5-11-16) centers for junior right wing Tom Murray, one of the squad's best stickhandlers, and freshman Greg Britz, who replaced junior Rick Benson in late December. Coach Cleary may decide to shift Britz before tonight's game. Freshman wingers Derek Malmquist and Connors will likely join playmaking junior center Bob McDonald. Look for Neil Sheehy, freshman brother of former NHLer Tim, to throw his weight around on a fourth line.

For keeping the puck out of Harvard's net, Mitch Olson (Greg's brother) qualifies as Harvard's only true "defensive defenseman." Fusco, on the other hand, has solidified his hold on the right point of the Crimson power play with his booming slap-shots, and has been urged to give his game more balance.

Finally, Wade Lau makes his Beanpot debut tonight. Like B.C.'s Doug Ellis, Lau uses a loose style that relies more on instinct than form. Between the twines for all but two Harvard contests, he has kept the Crimson in many games, but has also let in some inopportune goals. His performances aginst B.U. and Vermont show that he reacts well to pressure, a necessary trait for any effective Beanpot competitor.

But somehow, playing a big game against Vermont or even B.U. doesn't compare with the Beanpot. The setting and the occasion elevate and magnify the strengths, weaknesses and importance of people and events. So it is with the Beanpot--imagine your midterm rescheduled to the Taj Majal. Both Harvard, winner of seven Beanpots, and B.C., which has won nine, feel due for another.

In a few hours, one team will start wating for a week from tonight, the other for a year from tonight. Like any game, Harvard vs. Boston College could be a blow-out, 6-2 or 8-1, the result never in doubt. But it could also be one of those Beanpot classics they'll talk about when the next generation of Burkes and Laus and O'Dwyers and Antetomasos meet on Garden ice on the first two Mondays in February. As nine o'clock approaches, all the ingredients are there--except perhaps the snow. But remember, the blizzard was optional.CrimsonNevin I. ShalitHarvard's JIM TURNER