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Lots of coaches like playing the underdog card. As he leads his Northeastern Huskies into the Beanpot, which begins Monday at Boston's FleetCenter, Bruce Crowder doesn't have much choice.

The only unranked team in the field, Northeastern also has history against it, having won just four Beanpots in the 52 years of the tournament. But there's reason for optimism coming from Matthews Arena.

"We have the opportunity to go in and play the underdog role," Crowder said. "Talking to the team (this week), we know we've had a tough schedule, but we've come out and competed well in really every game but two to this point."

As a result the Huskies -- last-place finishers in Hockey East last year -- stand at 9-13-4 overall (5-8-3 in the league). It's not a sparkling record, but not one riddled with bad losses, either.

In fact, Northeastern hasn't lost a game to a team outside of this week's top 15 since October 19. Essentially, the Huskies are beating who they should beat. If they can take that a step further the next two Mondays, Northeastern hopes it can serve as a springboard for future success. Boston University has followed that formula for years.

"There's no doubt that having success in the Beanpot is going to keep your confidence up heading into the rest of the league schedule," said Crowder.

Leading the way are a trio of seniors who have played in back-to-back Beanpot consolation games.

"(Forward) Jason Guerriero is having a career year," said Crowder. "He's a guy who's really unsung in Hockey East, even though he's up there with the league scoring leaders. (Goaltender) Keni Gibson has been fantastic all year. There have been some games where he has really kept us in it. And Tim Judy, defensively, has really helped. Nobody competes as hard as he does."

For a look at why the Huskies are underdogs, here's a look at the strengths of the other three Beanpot teams:

Boston College
The Eagles have such an array of offensive talent, they've actually distinguished themselves as a defensive team this year.

Doesn't make sense? Consider this: the Eagles have the puck so much -- they average 36.7 shots on goal per game -- that opponents rarely seem to gain possession, much less get a good shot on the quality goaltending tandem of Matti Kaltiainen and Cory Schneider.

"They certainly know how to generate quality chances," said Massachusetts coach Don Cahoon, whose team was swept by BC last weekend. "They've sort of struggled to score goals, but once they start going in, they'll score a lot."

Boston University
The Terriers have been among the surprise teams in Division I this season, and a big reason lies in what's new.

A new rink, the gorgeous Agganis Arena, has energized the program. A new goalie, John Curry, has admirably filled the skates of the graduated Sean Fields. And new additions Peter MacArthur and Chris Bourque, to name two, have generated offense.

Curry was injured last week against Merrimack, however. It may be time for something old to help the Terriers -- the program's Beanpot magic under Jack Parker, who has coached 17 Beanpot champions and played on three more.

Harvard
With wins earlier in the season against Boston College, Boston University, Maine and Cornell, the makeup of this Harvard team is such that it won't crumble against elite competition.

Harvard's senior class has never played for a Beanpot title, and the Crimson are focused on changing that this year.

"We've played in three consolation games in the last three years and there's no excuse," senior defenseman Ryan Lannon said. "We've had teams that should've advanced and there's definitely a sense of urgency this year. It's the last go for us."

Weekend watch

Every weekend includes a series or two that must be watched. Of course, the preferred viewing is in a seat inside the arena. Can't make it in person, turn on the TV. Plans for the evening? Break out the TiVo. Games we'd pay to watch on satellite Minnesota at Wisconsin Fri., 8 p.m. ET (FSN) Sat., 8 p.m. ET (FSN) If you don't have a ticket, you'll need a TV to see this Border Battle series, which is sold out in the 15,000-plus-seat Kohl Center. The two teams enter heading in opposite directions, with Wisconsin winning six straight and Minnesota struggling at 3-6-0 in its last nine. A big reason for the Gophers' difficulty has been a lack of production from its first line, which carried the team for the first half of the season. Danny Irmen and Ryan Potulny hope these rivalry games will put them back on the scoring pace they enjoyed early in the year. Series we'd pay to watch in person Colgate at Cornell Sat., 7 p.m. ET The top two teams in the ECACHL play a home-and-home series this weekend that could help decide the regular-season title if one team can manage a sweep. If we had to pick one of the two to attend, it would have to be in Ithaca, where Lynah Rink's atmosphere is second to none. Cornell has taken full advantage of that fan support this year after posting a .500 record at home in 2003-04.

News and notes
For much, much more on this year's Beanpot and the tournament's history, visit the Beanpot page on Harvard's official athletic site: www.gocrimson/beanpot.

This could be considered college hockey's version of rivalry week. Michigan and Michigan State play in the CCHA, once in Ann Arbor and once at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena. Minnesota and Wisconsin will play two games in Madison, and Maine visits New Hampshire for two. Finally, Army hosts Canada's Royal Military College in a rivalry started by Gen. Douglas MacArthur more than 80 years ago.

Instant replay, allowed on an experimental basis this year in just two rinks -- at Denver and at Colorado College -- played a wacky role in the end of a game last weekend. When Alaska Anchorage goaltender Nathan Lawson made an apparent save on a Denver shot in overtime, play continued for a while before a whistle. At that point, referee Todd Anderson had a look on the video monitor in the penalty box and determined that Jeff Drummond's shot had crossed the goal line, giving the Pioneers a not-too-sudden victory.

Massachusetts has learned that high-scoring forward Matt Anderson, lost earlier in the year to an ankle injury, will not be able to return this season as originally hoped. It's another setback after a winless January for the Minutemen.

"It challenges everybody," said coach Don Cahoon, whose team has suffered a rash of other injuries as well. "The biggest factor is obviously confidence, and it affects everyone's confidence -- even the coaches."

Three WCHA teams have only four conference losses -- Colorado College, Denver and Wisconsin -- which provides the makings for a great MacNaughton Cup race. Just as intriguing, however, may be the race for the fifth and final home-ice spot for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth are currently tied for fifth with 21 points in the conference, while Minnesota has a slight edge (24 points), but is just 3-6-0 in its last nine games.

If you turn the calendar back one year, you would find a Brown team that was poised to win the regular-season title. Once February came around, the Bears stumbled home and needed a win in the final game to get a top-four spot in the standings and home ice for the quarterfinals.

There's no fear of another February collapse from Brown coach Roger Grillo because of the solid defense and the team's ability to get scoring from a variety of sources. Eight Bears have double-digit point totals through just 20 games.

"We're in a much different spot," he said, heading into this weekend's home series with Dartmouth and Vermont. "Last year we struggled with the pressure and anxiety a little bit. This is a dramatically different team emotionally and physically," he said.

Future watch

The play of Colton Fretter has been a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing year for Michigan State. The junior Atlanta Thrashers draft pick leads the team and stands eighth in the CCHA in scoring with 29 points in 25 games, including a team-high 14 goals. Fretter, whose previous career high for points in a season was 22 as a freshman, was a healthy scratch for the Spartans' opening game of the season, but responded with two goals in his first opportunity. As MSU prepares for a two-game set with Michigan this week, they'll look to Fretter for leadership and timely offense -- he had the overtime game-winning goal the last time the two teams met, at the Great Lakes Invitational.

Back-to-back splits the past two weekends for Michigan have left what once seemed a foregone conclusion -- a Wolverine CCHA title -- very much in doubt. With eight games remaining, Michigan holds a three-point lead over Ohio State. The Wolverines have a slightly more challenging schedule the rest of the way; both teams have just three regular-season home games remaining.

Vermont's trip to Brown is the Catamounts' only game of the weekend after a decisive sweep of Rensselaer and Union last week. The wins gave UVM 15 on the year, the most since the Martin St. Louis-led team in 1996-97.

It's not showing up in statistics or records, but American International coach Gary Wright believes things are improving in Springfield, Mass. "We're disappointed in our record, certainly, but by the same token, we're more competitive than we've been in a while," he said. The Yellow Jackets' schedule has made it hard for them to get in a flow. They played just 11 games before Christmas, including just four back-to-backs. In the New Year, they have 19 regular-season games scheduled, but still only five back-to-backs.

Connecticut will officially dedicate the Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum during the first intermission of Saturday's game against Sacred Heart. Freitas, who played hockey for the Huskies and graduated in 1981, now is the president and CEO of Frank Crystal and Company, an insurance brokerage firm in New York. The rink opened in 1998. UConn students will be admitted free to Saturday's game, and the first 1,000 fans will receive complimentary T-shirts. Other contests and freebies also are planned.

Bemidji State had some tough luck at North Dakota last weekend, squandering a 3-0 lead Friday and a 1-0 lead Saturday in an eventual tie and loss, respectively. Leading scorer Andrew Murray (thigh bruise) didn't play in the series, and is questionable for this weekend against Wayne State.

ESPN.com's college hockey notebook is compiled by the staff of insidecollegehockey.com, an ESPN.com associate.