Fourth-year Northeastern student Owen Welch walked into the student section at TD Garden Monday night wearing a black Huskies hockey jersey and carrying two “DogHouse” flags. 

Welch was ready to do his part to turn the Garden into Northeastern’s famous cheering section at Matthews Arena for the 70th Beanpot tournament semifinal match between the Huskies and the Boston University Terriers.

With the support of its loyal fan base, Northeastern rolled to a 3-1 win.  

“I love this tournament,” Welch said. “I love hearing that wall of noise. It’s awesome. I love to hear the student body get behind the team.”

Welch, who grew up in the Boston area and was attending his 14th Beanpot, said he has talked to the coaches and the players and they tell him the enthusiastic students make a big difference.

Northeastern students were on their feet right off the first puck drop cheering and shouting. 

Husky fans erupted when captain Aidan McDonough put Northeastern on top, 1-0, at the 14:00-mark of the first period. Then they shook the building again in the second when Jakov Novak put the Huskies ahead 2-0.

The “DogHouse,” which stretched around 11 sections of the TD Garden balcony and outnumbered opponents’ fans, counted down the last seconds of every penalty kill and roared with each Northeastern check. The power play chorus loudly spelled out S-H-O-T-S and the crowd hailed every dynamic save by Devon Levi. 

Brianna Watts, a fourth-year student who plays clarinet in the pep band, said Northeastern’s fans get fired up on the balcony of the arena. The band tries to read the crowd, she said, and the fans react well to the music.

Husky fans are always the most boisterous at the Beanpot, said Carly Monson, a fourth-year student from Connecticut attending her third Beanpot.

“Northeastern fans are the best,” Monson said. “We always have the loudest section.”

Class of 1993 graduate Bill Connolly said he waited three decades to see his first Beanpot victory, and that 2018 victory was sweet. Monday night, he was eager for another great event, and confident the team would compete and the fans would show support.

“The student section always dominates the stands,” Connolly said.

The student section in the TD Garden was not the only place packed with Northeastern fans for the Beanpot. Students gather at the Curry Center on the Boston Campus and on the Bay Area campus in the San Francisco area.

Northeastern alumni gathered at 10 watch parties across the country: Queens, New York City, San Diego, New Jersey, West Palm Beach, Denver, Sarasota, San Jose, Chicago and Washington, D.C./Arlington, Virginia.

Nick Beek, a 2012 graduate now working in the Washington, D.C., area as assistant director of congressional policy and grassroots advocacy for the American Academy of Dermatology Association, said there was a “full house” for the  watch party at Crystal City Sports Pub in Arlington. 

“In spirit it’s like the DogHouse but we can’t capture the same atmosphere,” Beek said. 

“It’s nice to have that camaraderie. There’s definitely a lot of the same spirit.”

Husky fans Monday night said they were eager for a rematch with Boston University, which defeated Northeastern in the Beanpot final last year. 

The pep band felt so confident holding a 2-0 lead with about 12 minutes to go in the third period it played the unofficial theme song of NU hockey: “Stacy’s Mom.” The band only plays the song if the team is winning in the third, said Claire Bohlig, a fifth-year student and clarinet player in the pep band.

“‘Stacy’s Mom’ is so much fun,” Monson said. “It’s always been our song.”

Mark Conti is managing editor of Northeastern Global News. Follow him on Twitter @markconti11