With a memorable and star-studded Hockey East regular season in the books, it’s time for the playoffs.
The league’s 40th season concludes with the opening round and quarterfinal games on Wednesday and Saturday, all of which lead into the following Championship Weekend at TD Garden.
While Boston College, Boston University and Maine have been three of the nation’s best teams all season long, the quality and depth of the league has been incredible. Upsets in the postseason are certainly not out of the realm of possibility.
With that said, here’s a look at each of the upset-minded Hockey East programs that will look to play spoiler in the coming week and how such a result could come to be.
1.) Providence (18-12-4)
The Friars are the No. 4 seed and host on Saturday with a trip to the Garden on the line, but they will be looking for revenge after UMass swept two one-goal games in November. Nate Leaman credited the late-season surge of Bruins prospect Philip Svedeback as a key reason for his team’s run to the semifinal round as a freshman last year, so he’ll look to rise to that occasion again despite the ups and downs of his season. There hasn’t been the all-star offensive player that Providence often boasts, but it’s a deep group as nine players behind leading scorer Chase Yoder (11 goals) have lit the lamp at least five times. Eleven different players have scored game-winners. Come playoff time, it helps that big goals can come from a number of places.
2.) Massachusetts (19-12-3)
Two years removed from back-to-back Hockey East championships, the Minutemen received a bye from the opening round but were forced to the road on Saturday after being swept last weekend in Maine. Junior defensemen Scott Morrow (Darien, Conn.) and Ryan Ufko are known commodities and went through the championship battles as freshmen, but this first-year class has been a key to success that will have to continue. It starts with Michael Hrabal in goal and moves to the team’s two 12-goal scorers in Jack Musa and Aydar Suniev. There’s also Bruins prospect Dans Locmelis, who has turned into a key center. Coaches often say that freshmen aren’t freshmen at this time of year. Greg Carvel needs his to prove that statement again.
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3.) New Hampshire (19-14-1)
While back-to-back shutouts of UMass Lowell have the Wildcats in a confident place, it has been their best overall season in 11 years. At No. 18 in the PairWise, though, Mike Souza’s team will likely have to stack up a few wins in order to continue into the NCAA tournament. Freshman Ryan Conmy ranks just outside the top-15 in league scoring, but his effort as a 31-point man is just one piece of evidence of the program’s growth. The development of senior Liam Devlin (Needham, Mass.) and a strong defense corps led by junior Alex Gagne (Bedford, N.H.) have been key, as has North Dakota transfer Jakob Hellsten running with the goaltending job. This complete group has plenty of motivation to keep making noise.
4.) Northeastern (16-15-3)
Some of the best hockey of late has been played by the Huskies, who lost just three of their final 13 regular-season games — beating both Maine and BU twice and capturing a Beanpot title in the midst — after going just 2-11-0 to start Hockey East play. Senior captain Justin Hryckowian and standout sophomore defenseman Hunter McDonald were both injured earlier in the season, but have returned to give the team a confidence that is needed in do-or-die games. Those are the types of games ahead as Jerry Keefe’s club is on the outside of the NCAA picture at No. 19 in the PairWise. Freshman Cameron Whitehead’s play in goal has kept the team steady through it all.
5.) Connecticut (14-18-2)
Scoring has been a struggle for the Huskies for most of the season, as their 2.41 goals per game sit at the bottom of Hockey East. However, could they have turned a corner at the right time with outputs of four and five goals within their last three games? The team’s momentum is positive, especially since sophomore star Matthew Wood has a hat trick and five total goals over that span after being held to just one goal in his previous 15 games. The Huskies go as Wood does, but sophomore Arsenii Sergeev has nabbed the two recent wins in goal and will surely play a key role down the stretch should Mike Cavanaugh choose to ride one hand.
6.) Vermont (13-18-3)
A good start would surely help the Catamounts in Wednesday’s rematch with UConn, which was a 5-1 winner in last Thursday’s final regular-season meeting. First-year coach Steve Wiedler’s team has done well with the lead, earning 10 of its 13 wins when scoring first and holding a 12-1-0 record when leading after two periods. Vermont has a 20-point scorer for the first time since 2018-19 in sophomore Jens Richards. A playoff run would be a great culmination to this season of growth for the boys from Burlington, who have already eclipsed their win total of each of the past six years.
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7.) Merrimack (13-20-1)
The Warriors’ roster had the look of a repeat Hockey East contender on paper, but it has been a disappointing winter in North Andover as significant injuries have forced coach Scott Borek to shuffle the deck all the way through the season. The good news is that senior Alex Jefferies (Lunenburg, Mass.) — who has averaged over a point per game when he’s been in this year — returned for last Saturday’s regular-season finale against Boston College. While a fully healthy lineup won’t be an option, Jefferies and the Warriors are hungry for more and come armed with the experience of last winter’s run to the conference title game.
8.) UMass Lowell (8-23-4)
The River Hawks drew a tough first-round assignment against a New Hampshire team that it was just swept by last weekend. Could the third time be the charm? A stout defensive effort will likely be necessary for Norm Bazin’s club to get the job done. Senior Henry Welsch has been strong of late with three or fewer goals allowed in six of his last seven games, but that hasn’t been enough as the team’s 7.6 shooting percentage is the lowest in the country and its 1.63 goals per game in league play is also a low. Only four Lowell players have scored more than five goals, and junior Owen Cole is the lone to hit 10.
