It's the most fun time of the year in the Division 1 men's college hockey season.
While Hockey East still has a weekend of regular-season action to be played between Thursday and Saturday, New England-based teams in both Atlantic Hockey and ECAC Hockey are getting their postseason journeys underway.
Games over the coming weeks will have plenty of meaning even outside of surviving and advancing. Especially in the ultra-tight Hockey East race, every game will carry significant weight when it comes to PairWise.
Here are some of the key storylines that we'll be watching as the postseason gets underway and continues throughout the upcoming weeks in March.
1. Competitive PairWise picture
Boston College has marked off one box on the “Trophy Season” checklist, locking up its 18th Hockey East regular-season championship with a 12th straight league win in last Sunday’s 1-0 shutout of New Hampshire. The Eagles will soon turn their focus to a playoff run, which is nearly certain to include being the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament.
According to Playoff Status, BC has a 97 percent chance to see its name on the top left corner of the bracket as the No. 1 overall seed — regardless of whether it clinches the Lamoriello Trophy as Hockey East champions for the 12th time — when the national tournament field is released on March 24.
It will be a busy month for New England teams looking to solidify their tournament place, with Providence, R.I., and Springfield, Mass., as two possible regional destinations. Beyond the talent-loaded Eagles, Boston University, Quinnipiac, Maine, Providence, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Northeastern rank inside the top 20 of the PairWise rankings.
Regardless of how it all shakes out, Hockey East appears poised for a strong qualifying contingent in the NCAA tournament. Only two Hockey East teams made the tournament last season and three the year before.
UP IN THE AIR: Biggest questions facing every Hockey East team
2. Super star power
It has been said often throughout this season, but the amount of talent on display in New England has been staggering.
The BC lineup includes four of the nation’s top seven point scorers in Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.), sophomore Cutter Gauthier whose 31 goals are tops, and freshmen Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.). Rookie classmate Jacob Fowler has a .924 save percentage that ranks fifth nationally among goaltenders. Perreault has amassed 50 points despite missing the last three games due to injury.
Elsewhere, BU star and likely No. 1 overall draft pick Macklin Celebrini is second nationally to Gauthier in goals (26), and sophomore teammate Lane Hutson is the second-leading scorer among defensemen. Quinnipiac junior Collin Graf (Lincoln, Mass.) is behind the aforementioned BC group with an ECAC-leading 46 points. The local class of touted freshmen continues with Bradly and Josh Nadeau, who are both a point shy of 40 for Maine.
How the awards races shake out remains to be seen, but players at local schools will certainly be a part of the conversations.
3. Hockey East surprise?
The Eagles and Terriers have jockeyed for position at the forefront of the national picture for much of the year, but the ultra-competitive Hockey East race could mean some surprises will be in store come the postseason with the likes of New Hampshire and Vermont climbing the standings.
Two of the first three years of the league’s current single-elimination playoff format have included one opening-round and two quarterfinal upsets apiece, with the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds both being denied trips to TD Garden for Championship Weekend last year.
FINAL PREP BRACKETS: Elite 8 | Large School | Small School
Who could be in line to pull an upset this year? Freshman Cameron Whitehead’s play in net (.916 save percentage) has helped Northeastern go on a 9-3-0 run that includes the Beanpot title and clinching a first-round playoff home game next Wednesday. The Huskies’ big-game experience could be a big help, too.
4. Young Big Green finish strong
While Quinnipiac finished with its fourth straight Cleary Cup as the ECAC Hockey regular-season champions, fourth-year coach Reid Cashman has quietly been putting Dartmouth back on the map.
The Big Green clinched fourth place and a first-round playoff bye for the first time since 2011 after gaining points in their last seven games (5-0-2). Last weekend’s sweep of Brown and Yale ensured that Cashman’s club would move directly into the quarterfinal round.
Young players turning a corner at the right time has been crucial to this team’s success. The scoring chart is topped by four underclassmen, including sophomores Luke Haymes and Cooper Flinton who combined for 32 goals. Haymes was ECAC Hockey’s Player of the Month in February, scoring nine of his 17 goals during the month.
Should the Big Green win its quarterfinal series in two weeks and advance to Championship Weekend in Lake Placid, it would be the program’s first appearance on that stage in eight years.
While the Bobcats and Big Green earned byes, No. 8 Harvard hosts No. 9 Princeton, No. 10 Yale visits No. 7 St. Lawrence and No. 11 Brown heads to No. 6 Union in this weekend’s single-game quarterfinal matchups.
NEPSAC PLAYOFFS: Top boys prep performers from the NEPSAC postseason
5. March of the Crusaders?
If last year is any indication, Holy Cross is certainly capable of making some Atlantic Hockey magic happen.
The Crusaders went 5-3-0 down the stretch to finish seventh before upsetting top-two seeds American International and RIT en route to a conference title game appearance a season ago. However, coach Bill Riga’s (Westborough, Mass.) latest club is a true contender and not a Cinderella.
Standing in the way of star junior Liam McLinskey and his teammates in the quarterfinal round this weekend is Canisius, which ended last year’s magical run and claimed the league crown. The Crusaders are a No. 2 seed this time around, having won eight of 10 to clinch their best regular-season finish since 2016.
McLinskey scored a league-record nine of his 21 goals last postseason. As for this year, the former Quinnipiac transfer is riding a 10-game point streak and has become the eighth-ever Crusader to reach the 40-point mark, while senior Jack Ricketts is second in the conference with 18 goals.
The other upcoming Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal series involving local clubs are No. 5 American International at No. 4 Air Force and No. 3 Sacred Heart hosting No. 7 Niagara.
