Two hours before the long-awaited showdown between Harvard and Boston University, another hockey game will be played at the Boston Garden.

Two hours before the second-and fourth-ranked teams in the country battle for Bean honors and all the accolades that go with them, two struggling squads meet each other in a game that has escaped the endless hype.

Two hours before the final, Boston College and Northeastern, the teams victimized by the Terriers and the Crimson in the first round of the Beanpot, face off against each other in the consolation game.

Everyone knows there isn't much consolation in winning third place, but the Eagles and Huskies will fight it out nevertheless, playing not so much for fame but for less shame.

Both BC (8-15-4 overall, 5-9-2 Hockey East) and Northeastern (8-16-1 overall, 5-12-1 Hockey East) have had difficulty winning all year and probably had some inkling going into the Beanpot that they would be facing each other in the early game.

Northeastern has lost 13 of its last 16 games this season and goes into its match tonight with a seven-game losing streak around its neck.

Despite having all those L's in the record book, Huskies Coach Ben Smith '68 remained upbeat about tonight's matchup.

"We've been having a tough time," Smith said. "We've been working hard but haven't been able to get things going. I hope our seniors will be able to lead us out of this quagmire [tonight]."

In his first year as Eagles head coach, Steve Cedorchuck has also found the ice of eastern hockey to be rather slippery.

The Eagles have suffered numerous injuries to key players such as sophomore goalie Josh Singlewald and have dropped five of their last seven contests.

Singlewald could not play in the Eagles' 8-2 loss to BU in the opening round of the Beanpot, but did start two nights ago against Merrimack and will most likely be in goal tonight.

With Singlewald back, BC edged Merrimack 5-4 in a game that also saw five different Eagle players score.

BC has played Northeastern twice this season, tying the Huskies 2-2 in the first game and winning the second 4-1.

Smith said the Huskies have never really recovered from that first game against the Eagles.

"We led 2-1 with seven seconds to go, and [BC] tied the game with three seconds left. Our confidence really suffered from that point on," Smith said.

The Huskies have the chance to exact revenge from the Eagles but must watch BC's leading scorers junior John Joyce (10 goals, 23 assists, 33 points) and Co-Captain Mark Beran (11 goals, 16 assists, 27 points).

Northeastern's senior forwards, Jay Schiavo, Sebastian Le Plante and Dino Grossi also must step up against the Eagles.

And after the contest, the Huskies and the Eagles may become part of the crowd watching the Other game.

Smith, who graduated from Harvard and coached for the Terriers, said he was especially interested in the Harvard-BU matchup.

NU

Head coach:

Ben Smith, 2nd season

Captain:

Chris Foy

Record: 8-16-1 Overall; 5-12-1 Hockey East

'91 Record: 15-20-0; 6-15-0 HEA

Colors: Red and black

Nickname: The Huskies

Leading Scorers: Dino Grossl (12-12-14), Jay Schiavo (10-14-24), Jordan Shields (11-13-24).

BC

Head coach: Steve Cedorchuk, 1st season

Capatains: Marc Beran and Ron Pascucci

Records: 8-15-4 Overall; 5-9-2 HEA

'91 Record: 14-18-3; 9-10-2 HEA

Colors: Maroon and gold

Nickname: The Eag1es

Leading Scorers: John Joyce (10-23-33), Marc Beran (11-16-27), Jack Callahan (13-10-23)

"I've got friends on both sides," Smith said. "I go back along way with [BU goalie] Scott Cashman and I know Teddy Drury pretty well. It'll be an emotional game for me."

You ain't the only one it'll be emotional for, Coach.