The third installment of the Battle of Commonwealth Ave. will take place at a neutral facility on Causeway Street.

No. 1 ranked Boston College (19-4-1, 12-3-1) will engage No. 3 Boston University (17-7-1, 12-4-1) in the nightcap (8) of the 71st annual Beanpot Hockey Tournament twinbill on Monday at the TD Garden.

Defending champion Northeastern (11-12-2, 6-11-0) will take on Harvard (4-13-3, 4-8-3) in the opener (5) in a rematch of last year’s championship game. The Huskies prevailed 2-2, 1-0 in the first Beanpot final determined by a shootout. All games in the Beanpot are non-league even though three of the four teams are from Hockey East.

The Eagles replaced BU at the top of the USCHO rankings after completing a weekend series sweep against the Terriers in late January.  BC went into the series ranked No. 2 and it was the first time the two programs met as the top two teams in the nation. BC won the opener 4-1 with two empty-net goals at Conte Forum and prevailed 4-3 at Agganis Arena.

“I think it is the same pressure,” said BU coach Jay Pandolfo. “I don’t see any different pressure and obviously the result wasn’t there for us but overall, I thought we handled ourselves pretty well.

“Of course, we want the opportunity to play them again and hopefully end up on the right side of it. But I don’t think our group feels any different. The atmosphere was pretty special and it was great for college hockey and great for our guys to experience. But sure, we were disappointed that we didn’t get the results we wanted to get.”

The catalyst of the BC sweep was goaltender Jacob Fowler, a 6-2, 214-pound, freshman from Melbourne, Fla. The Montreal Canadians’ third-round pick recorded 58 saves over the two games. On the season, Fowler has made 24 starts with 2.21 goals against average and a .925 save percentage.

First-line center Cutter Gauthier is an accomplished sniper who leads BC with 21 goals. But the storyline of the Eagles’ offense this season has been the club’s second line which is comprised of three freshmen first-round selections from the 2023 NHL SuperDraft. The trio were also members of the U.S. Team that capture the gold medal at the IIHF World Junior Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, in January.

Center Will Smith (Lexington) was taken fourth by the Sharks, right wing Ryan Leaonard (Amherst) was selected by the Capitals with the eighth pick while the Rangers grabbed left wing Gabe Perrault with the 23rd pick. Over the course of 24 games, they have combined for 38 goals, 69 assists and 107 points.

“This is their first Beanpot and two of them are local kids so they have been watching it as they were growing up,” said BC coach Greg Brown. “But in general, they are very excited to play hockey and they have smiles on their faces every day in practice.

“The excitement level is the least of our worries with that line. They embrace every chance they get to play games and the Beanpot I am sure is something they have all been looking forward to.”

While Northeastern takes up the rear with eight Beanpot titles since 1952, the Huskies have enjoyed a mini-dynasty having won four of the last five. NU was expected to repeat in 2021 when the tournament was cancelled due to the pandemic. BU won in 2022 and leads the field with 30 championships followed by BC (20) and Harvard (11). Harvard’s last win was in 2017 and BC in 2016.

NU struggled early in the season due to a rash of injuries but have enjoyed a resurgence, winning four straight that included a 4-3 overtime win against BU on Jan. 30 and a 6-3 beatdown of No. 6 Maine on Friday night. NU coach Jerry Keefe feels he has an experienced and confident pack of hounds headed into the Beanpot.

“It is all about playing to our identity,” said Keefe. “We have guys in that room that have won multiple Beanpots and from an experience standpoint that is important.

“It gives you a little confidence knowing that guys in that room have done it before and they know what it takes win a Beanpot. The other part is the expectations, going into the tournament expecting to win and not hoping to win.”

Harvard is the outlier program of the Beanpot quartet. The Crimson are one of the six Ivy League schools that compete in the ECAC, a conference dominated by reigning national champion Quinnipiac.

Harvard’s Ted Donato, the Dean of Beanpot coaches, has seen his young team struggle this season and hopes a Beanpot victory can spark a turnaround for the stretch run to the ECAC playoffs.

“We have been really challenged health-wise throughout the year and continue to be,” said Donato. “We have a lot of young guys who have made great improvement this year.

“I think we have built some confidence over the last few weekends and I think we are improving but not necessarily at the rate we want.”