This could be a big year for New England in the NCAA men's hockey tournament. It certainly was last season.
In 2023, both Quinnipiac and Boston University made the Frozen Four. BU fell to then-No. 1 Minnesota in the semifinals. Quinnipiac won the national championship, after taking down the Gophers, 3-2, in overtime.
There were four New England teams in the big dance last year. This season, there are five.
Two of those are No. 1 seeds — Boston College, the No. 1 overall seed, and Boston University, the No. 2. Quinnipiac is back looking to defend its title. Maine and UMass are also in.
So, how do we think things will go?
It's been a big month for predictions. Evan Marinofsky and Patrick Donnelly predicted the New England prep hockey playoffs, as well as each result on MIAA championship day.
Marinofsky went 13-8 in his boys prep playoff predictions. He was hot until championship day when he went 0-for-3. He made up for it, however, going 3-1 with MIAA picks. Donnelly was on fire in the girls prep playoffs, going 14-3, while going 1-1 for the MIAA championships.
Will their success translate to the NCAA Tournament? Let's find out.
