Pairings for the 2018 Hockey East Tournament are set after the conclusion of the regular season Saturday evening. The top five teams in the Hockey East standings receive a bye and will be off next weekend awaiting the quarterfinals. Both the opening round and the quarterfinals are best-of-three series. No. 6 Maine will host No....
Pairings for the 2018 Hockey East Tournament are set after the conclusion of the regular season Saturday evening. The top five teams in the Hockey East standings receive a bye and will be off next weekend awaiting the quarterfinals. Both the opening round and the quarterfinals are best-of-three series.
No. 6 Maine will host No. 11 New Hampshire in a clash of two of the most heated rivals in college hockey. The Black Bears and Wildcats haven't faced each other in the post-season since the 2001-02 season. The series starts Friday at Alfond Arena in Orono.
No. 10 Merrimack will travel down Rte. 495 to face No. 7 UMass Lowell. The River Hawks are the defending Hockey East Tournament champion. The two teams split a home-and-home series during the final weekend of the regular season. Merrimack won, 4-1, at Lawler Rink before UMass Lowell returned the favor with a 5-0 victory on Tsongas Center ice. Friday will be game one.
No. 8 Massachusetts will entertain No. 9 Vermont at the Mullins Center. It is the first time the Minutemen are hosting a playoff game since the 2006-07 season. Unlike the other two series, this one gets underway Thursday night in Amherst.
The top five teams are all off until the following weekend. Hockey East Regular Season Champion Boston College is the top seed and will face the lowest remaining seed in the quarterfinals. Northeastern overtook Providence for the second seed thanks to a sweep of New Hampshire on the final weekend of the regular season. No. 4 Boston University and No. 5 Connecticut will play at Agganis Arena in the only quarterfinal series that is already set.
