The final four teams left standing in the Hockey East Men’s Tournament will square off on Friday in the semifinals at TD Garden in Boston for a chance to advance to Saturday’s championship game.
Semifinal matchups/team capsules:
#1 seed/#1 in nation Boston College (29-5-1) vs #5 seed/#13 UMass (20-12-3), Friday 4 p.m.
BC vs UMass in regular season- 2-0 in favor of the Eagles, 5-1 at UMass February 16 and 6-4 at BC on February 18
Boston College-
Goals per game- 4.4/allowed- 2.3
Powerplay- 39-146, 26.7%/ppg allowed- 13-126, 10.3%
Shorthanded goals- 7/allowed- 1
Team penalties per game average in minutes- 9.2
Faceoffs won/lost- won 50.4%
Win streak- 10, last game won 5-4 vs UConn in the quarterfinals
Last Hockey East Championship- 2012 over Maine 4-1
Key Players
Freshman forward Will Smith 18 goals, 40 assists
Sophomore forward Cutter Gauthier 32 goals, 20 assists
Freshman forward Gabe Perreault 15 goals, 35 assists
Freshman forward Ryan Leonard 26 goals, 23 assists
Sophomore forward Oskar Jellvik 12 goals, 23 assists
Freshman goaltender Jacob Fowler 27-5-1, 2.23 goals against average, .923 save percentage, two shutouts
Head Coach- Greg Brown (2nd season)
UMass-
Goals per game 3.0/allowed- 2.7
Powerplay- 24-119, 20.2%/ppg allowed- 26-116, 22.4%
Shorthanded goals- 4/allowed- 2
Team penalties per game in minutes- 3.8
Faceoffs won/lost- won 50.8%
Win streak- 1, last game won 3-1 at Providence in quarterfinals
Last Hockey East Championship 2022, 2-1 over UConn (overtime)
Key Players-
Freshman forward Jack Musa 12 goals, 17 assists
Junior defenseman Scott Morrow six goals, 23 assists
Junior defenseman Ryan Ufko 10 goals, 16 assists
Freshman forward Aydar Suniev 12 goals, 12 assists
Junior forward Ryan Lautenbach 10 goals, 13 assists
Junior forward Lucas Mercuri seven goals, 16 assists
Freshman goaltender Michael Hrabal 16-9-1, 2.40 goals against average, .918 save percentage, two shutouts
Head Coach- Greg Carvel (8th season)
#2 seed/#2 in nation Boston University (25-8-2) vs #3 seed/#7 Maine (23-10-2), Friday 7:30 p.m.
BU vs Maine in regular season- 2-0 in favor of the Terriers at BU, 3-2 November 17 and 5-4 November 18
Boston University-
Goals per game 4.1/allowed- 2.3
Powerplay- 38-135, 28.1%/ppg allowed- 22-125, 17.6%
Shorthanded goals- 3/allowed- 2
Team penalties per game in minutes- 11.6
Faceoffs won/lost- won 51.5%
Win streak- 6, last game won 4-2 over Northeastern in quarterfinals
Last Hockey East Championship- 2023 (defending champion), 3-2 in overtime over Merrimack
Key Players-
Freshman forward Macklin Celebrini 30 goals, 25 assists
Sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson 12 goals, 32 assists
Sophomore forward Jeremy Wilmer six goals, 30 assists
Sophomore forward Quinn Hutson 17 goals, 16 assists
Sophomore forward Ryan Greene nine goals, 22 assists
Junior goaltender Mathieu Caron 25-8-2, 2.29 goals against average, .917 save percentage, two shutouts
Head Coach- Jay Pandolfo (second season)
Maine-
Goals per game- 3.3/allowed- 2.5
Powerplay- 27-125, 21.6%/ppg allowed- 24-130, 18.5%
Shorthanded goals- 6/allowed- 2
Team penalties per game in minutes- 9.0
Faceoffs won/lost- won 52.0%
Win streak- 4, last game won 5-0 over UNH in quarterfinals
Last Hockey East Championship- 2004, 2-1 over UMass (triple overtime)
Key Players-
Freshman forward Bradly Nadeau 19 goals, 26 assists
Freshman forward Josh Nadeau 18 goals, 27 assists
Senior forward Lynden Breen eight goals, 21 assists
Junior forward Harrison Scott 14 goals, 12 assists
Senior forward Donovan Villeneuve-Houle nine goals, 14 assists
Sophomore forward Thomas Freel six goals, 16 assists
Sophomore defenseman Brandon Chabrier six goals, 15 assists
Freshman goaltender Albin Boija 10-5-1, 1.94 goals against average, .921 save percentage, two shutouts
Head Coach- Ben Barr (third season)
The 39th annual Hockey East Championship game pits the two semifinal winners on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Written by Chris Lessner
