Playoff hockey is a different beast.
No matter what happens in the five months leading up to the Hockey East tournament, it feels like anything can happen once it arrives, as teams go all-out for a title in the middle of March.
Sometimes it’s a hot netminder, sometimes it’s the birth of a new star and sometimes it’s a good coach. Above all, it’s often teams that get hot at the right time that embark on deep playoff runs.
With the start of the quarterfinals in sight, we take a look at how the eight teams projected to make it in are doing ahead of the two-week stretch of do-or-die tournament hockey.
Boston College
Regular season champions, 2 games left
You won’t find a hotter team going into the postseason than BC right now. Riding a seven-game win streak, the Eagles (23-8-1 overall, 16-6-0 Hockey East) are soaring into the tournament as the No. 1 seed after locking up their 17th regular-season championship Saturday night.
Simply put, BC, ranked No. 4 nationally, is the most imposing threat for any team entering the March tournament. It has the second-best defense in Hockey East, backed by freshman netminder Spencer Knight, and a long list of high-powered scorers to make a very legitimate run at the conference crown.
Massachusetts
28 points, 1 game left
It’s been a bumpy season for the Minutemen (20-11-2 overall, 13-8-2 Hockey East), but even with the depleted roster, they’re still alive, ranked No. 9 nationally and surviving day by day, or as coach Greg Carvel put it, “doing it with smoke and mirrors.” After missing four games, Mitchell Chaffee is slated to return to the lineup, which will boost the second-ranked offense and NCAA leading goal scorer, junior John Leonard (Amherst, Mass.).
If there’s one area that might burn the Minutemen, it’s the man advantage. With the conference’s 10th-ranked power play, they hope to get it going without it hurting momentum.
UMass Lowell
27 points, 1 game left
The River Hawks (17-10-6 overall, 11-7-5 Hockey East) can lock up the No. 3 tournament seed with a win or a tie against UConn on Friday, but it’s easier said than done against a red-hot opponent. Either way, the No. 12 team nationally is in the tournament and has its best shot of making it past the quarterfinals since winning it all in 2017. Plus, they’re starting to play some solid hockey at just the right time.
Backed by senior Tyler Wall between the pipes and its explosive trio of freshman Matt Brown, Carl Berglund and freshman Andre Lee doing the scoring up front, UML has a great shot at making its mark on the tournament, especially if it manages to host the first round at the Tsongas Center.
Maine
25 points, 1 game left
The Black Bears (17-11-5 overall, 11-9-3 Hockey East) are ranked No. 15 nationally and also already guaranteed a playoff spot. With one game left, they don’t control their own destiny, but a win over PC on Friday would put them in the best spot possible. If that happens and UML beats UConn, they’d grab the final home seed.
With Hockey East’s top goalie, junior Jeremy Swayman, leading the conference’s third-ranked defense and penalty kill, Maine has a shot at a first-round win, especially if its seniors continue scoring. The possibility of not hosting a home series hurts them, as the Black Bears are 12-1-3 in Orono, but they’re a hot team nonetheless, and coach Red Gendron’s team should not be taken lightly.
Connecticut
26 points, 1 game left
The Huskies (15-14-4 overall, 12-9-2 Hockey East) are turning it on at the right time and are guaranteed a playoff spot, which could be anywhere between the third and sixth seed. Hosting a series at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn., is the best-case scenario for UConn, which, after missing the playoffs altogether last year, has still yet to secure a Hockey East tournament win since it joined the conference in 2014.
After going 6-2 in February, the Huskies flew up in the standings and are streaking into the tournament with nothing to lose. A big team with size, speed and scorers that’s knocked off several top teams as of late, each week they look more and more like a postseason contender.
Boston University
23 points, 2 games left
With their positioning in the tournament still not solidified, the Terriers (12-12-8 overall, 9-8-5 Hockey East) have two games left, both against Northeastern. Depending on how the final series of the regular season unfolds, they could land anywhere between the four seed and out of contention altogether.
If the Terriers get in, which is probable, don’t sleep on BU. Losers of three straight, they’ve had a bit of an up-and-down second half with shaky goaltending, but with a handful of young talent such as freshman Trevor Zegras, and veterans David Farrance and Patrick Harper (New Canaan, Conn.), the Terriers still pose a threat, and they have one of Hockey East’s top offenses and power plays to prove it.
Providence
23 points, 1 game left
After an explosive start to the year, the Friars (16-11-6 overall, 10-10-3 Hockey East) have fallen by the wayside in the last month, going 3-6-1 in their last 10 games. With just one game to play, against Maine, a win would put them in fifth or sixth place, but a loss would drop them down even more. They are ranked No. 18 in the country.
Although they’re one of the coldest teams going into the tournament, it’s still hard to count the Friars out. With the conference’s top scorers in sophomore Tyce Thompson (Milford, Conn.) and NCAA point-leader Jack Dugan, it’s a hard group to contain no matter what their recent record looks like.
Northeastern
21 points, 2 games left
The Huskies (17-12-3 overall, 10-11-1 Hockey East) have been in free-fall mode since sophomore Tyler Madden went down with an injury on Feb. 14. After sweeping UML the same weekend, they’ve lost four straight – the last two against last-place Vermont – and dropped down to eighth place. They are ranked No. 16 nationally.
With a point up on UNH and two games to go, a Huskies sweep over BU would guarantee their spot in the tournament as the fifth or sixth seed. But even if they don’t sweep the Terriers and manage to get in as one of the final two seeds, it’s hard to say they’ll be an easy first-round out.
ON THE BUBBLE
New Hampshire
20 points, 2 games left
The only way the Wildcats (15-14-3 overall, 9-11-2 Hockey East) can possibly make the tournament is as the final seed, and a tough road lies ahead to make even that happen as they face BC twice to close out the regular season, needing at least one win and several outside factors to go their way.
Winless in four of their last five, Playoff Status has them at an 11 percent chance to make it into contention. They’ll need a lot to go right this weekend, and beyond, if they want to beat the odds.
Liam Flaherty can be reached at lflaherty24@gmail.com and on Twitter @_LiamFlaherty.
