"My first Beanpot was probably when I was four or five years old with my dad. It was really special growing up in this area because you see how the father/son relationship really comes together around Beanpot time. For me to be playing with my dad there watching is special and my family around.

"So I am looking forward to this year's Beanpot. It should be very exciting and I think that all four teams are very competitive. It is going to be a hard-fought battle on both nights. Our team is really starting to play well and gel together as a team. Our win/loss record hasn't been exactly what we like, but we're excited about the way things are going. We're looking forward to a great Beanpot. Bring on the Huskies."

Northeastern--Rick Schuhwerk

"I am also a local kid and I probably saw my first Beanpot when I was about ten. I had the luxury of growing up watching players like Tony Amonte and Marty McGinnis and great players like that. It is a great privilege to go to a school like Northeastern. The Beanpot, I feel, is probably one of the biggest tournaments in the country. It is all about tradition and school spirit. I am very excited to play for it. I want to thank the Beanpot committee and Northeastern for bringing me here for this experience and I wish everyone the best of luck."

Boston University--Bill Pierce

"The team is real excited for the Beanpot. It has been a goal all year. We played Harvard earlier and we had a good game against them, but hopefully we'll get by them and get to the finals again. Good luck to all the teams."

BU--Jack Parker

"It's a pleasure to be back here in my 24th Beanpot as a hockey coach. I've been coming to Beanpot luncheons since 1966 so I can associate quite a bit with this tournament and it's always a highlight. This is the most important tournament that our schools play during the year. I believe that the Beanpot will continue to be the premiere tournament for all four schools.

As far as Harvard and BU are concerned, let me speak first not as an expert, but as an observer of Harvard University. We played them earlier in the year. I fully agree with [Harvard coach Ronn Tomassoni's] assessment of his own club. When we played them earlier, it was certainly not a 5-1 game. I can remember I saw [Harvard athletic director Bill Cleary] two days later and I said, 'Boy, that club is going to be real good the second half of the year.' Because they're solid in goal, their experienced and talented defense will hold them in good stead with any team they play against. All they had to do was wait for their freshman and sophomore forwards to grow up a little bit and folks, it looks like they've grown up pretty quickly right now."