Snowbound in ’78

Thirty years later, the memories of a Beanpot blizzard are still vivid

COLLEGE HOCKEY. Through the blur of the Blizzard of ’78 lay the spirit of the era, particularly with the Beanpot.

Good times were had amid a snowstorm that crippled a city and froze the most sacred college hockey tournament in the country. Now, players and coaches alike are looking at the 30-year anniversary of the most famous nor’easter in New England history in the same two ways: how could that have been so long ago, and, boy, did we make the best of a bad situation.

The storm swooped in during the first night of the Beanpot, causing a mass exodus from the Boston Garden as Northeastern ousted Harvard and Boston University routed Boston College. Afterwards, as the snow made it too difficult to drive up Comm. Ave., the Terriers’ team bus stopped at Marsh Chapel, right across the street from The Dugout, a popular bar for the BU hockey crowd.

“It was really snowing like crazy, and the reports were going to be worse than they thought,” said Brian Durocher, the goalie and co-captain of the 1978 Terriers.

“It was a mess when we were trying to drive home, a foot on the ground or maybe more than that. Fortunately, we had come up with a win, and we were happy going up Comm. Ave., as slow as we were going. We were wondering if we would be able to stop at (The Dugout), a place we used to go once in awhile.”

As legend has it, by the time the Terriers walked out of the bar — about 5:30 a.m., Durocher estimated — the snow was gone and so were the ’70s.

But the week wore on and the blizzard mercilessly continued, dumping about four and a half feet of snow on the area. Cars were left abandoned on highways, people were trapped at work, about 1,000 fans who stuck through the storm to watch both semifinal games at the Garden remained in the building for days and the Beanpot final was put on hold until March for the first time in the tournament’s history.

“It’s interesting how the Beanpot was smack in the middle of it there,” said Durocher, whose Terriers won the title that year. “That was a long night and a crazy storm that I don’t think we’ll see again for awhile. Hey, it’s New England. It’s winter. There are snowstorms that are going to paralyze you for a little while.

“But nothing like this.”