The annual Beanpot luncheon was held yesterday at Legend's restaurant in the FleetCenter. All four teams competing in the tournament--Harvard, Boston University, Boston College and Northeastern--were represented by their coaches and senior players. The luncheon is an opportunity for the Boston media to interview the coaches and team members. Each coach and captain gave a brief speech assessing their team's season to date, while the captains commented upon the personal importance of the Beanpot and their memories of the tournament. The following are excerpts from those speeches.

Harvard--Ashlin Halfnight

"I'll keep this short. Unlike a lot of the guys here, I didn't grow up in the Boston area. I was watching Major junior and not college hockey, Memorial Cup instead of the Beanpot and the Toronto Argonauts, not the Patriots.

"My first memory of the Beanpot, perhaps appropriatly, is a strange one. I was watching TV with my dad one night and we had it on a channel that was showing a tournament and to tell you the truth I don't even remember who was playing, but we recognized a few of the names so we just sat down and started watching it. Problem was, Toronto really didn't get the channel and so you could imagine that the game was a bit hard to follow. So needless to say, my first Beanpot experience left me with a bit of a headache.

"Once I got down here, it didn't take long before the importance of this tournament was made clear to me. I know all the players in here can speak for the fact that when you step on the ice for the first Beanpot game there is a special energy everywhere. I've played a number of college hockey tournaments and the history and tradition of this one definitely endows the tournament each year with a special importance.

"It has been suggested that the town stops for two Mondays consecutively in February and the four teams here become the focus of this city's attention. This year we were definitely in danger of being overrun by a flood of Super Bowl victory parties, but seeing that those have been canceled everyone will be looking our way again.

"I think that the fact that so many people take the time to come out and support us, is a great thing for all four schools and also for college hockey in general.

"Personally, I have been here for three and a half years and I have seen the importance of the tournament, but I have yet to win it. I know that Joey [Craigen] and Marco [Ferrari] and I will be making our last bids this year and we're looking forward to good things. I'd just like to wish all four teams good luck in the tournament and the remainder of the season."

Harvard--Ronn Tomassoni

"It's been a good team and I have enjoyed coaching them. They are very energized and willing to learn. We have only three seniors and all three have done an outstanding job in the leadership department. We have been involved in an awful lot of close games throughout the season and we have been a resilient bunch. One of the main reasons that we have been so resilient has really been because of the leadership of the three seniors.... Where we have struggled is the offensive department. We have only scored something like 2.55 goals a game, but it just doesn't leave much room at the end of the night. As I said earlier, we are a team which is getting better every time out and is gaining confidence from an offensive point of view.

"BU is a great team and they are certainly, in my opinion, the measuring stick when it comes to the Beanpot or even when it comes to the national scene.

"I have a great deal of respect for Jack and his staff and program. I think that it is one of the best kept secrets in college athletics. Hockey doesn't get anywhere near the publicity of basketball and football. I was over there watching BU play BC a week or so back and looking at the banners, I don't think that people realize what they have done. Not just over time, but recently. I think that they have been to the national Final Four six of seven or seven of eight and that is quite a tribute.

"They have done a great job and we certainly know that we will have our hands full playing against a great team, but we're a young team and that brings a lot of enthusiasm too and I think that our kids are looking forward to the opportunity to play BU.

"We respect them, but we don't fear them. I think that we can play with them. I think that we can beat them. If you're going to win a Beanpot, you have to go through BU. We get a chance to play them on the first night and we're looking forward to it and I think that it will be a good hockey game."

Boston College--Joe Harney