The top two teams in men’s Hockey East are down to their final few games to see who will capture the regular season conference title.
Currently, the #1 team in the country Boston College is also the top team in Hockey East. The Eagles (24-6-1 overall, 16-4-1) have 47 league points, and has a five point lead over Maine (42 pts- 19-6-5, 11-4-5), and a seven point lead over Boston University (40 pts- 18-12-2, 12-8-2). The Terriers cannot win the regular season title, but can move ahead of the Black Bears for second heading into postseason if they win their final two games and Maine stumbles over their final four contests. A tiebreaker would go to Maine based off head to head in the regular season, as the Black Bears went 1-0-1 vs Boston University in a home series back in November. A stumble by Boston College and a strong finish by Maine could see the Black Bears capturing the top spot. The Eagles won the season series 2-0.
Here are the final few games for each team to finish the regular season:
1. Boston College 47 points (3 games left)- vs UNH February 28th and March 1st, vs Merrimack March 8th
2. Maine 42 points (4 games left)- vs Vermont February 28th and March 1st, at UMass March 7th and March 8th
3. Boston University 40 points (2 games left)- vs Providence March 6th, at Vermont March 8th
Maine has already locked in a home playoff game, as they’ll host a quarterfinal with a time and opponent to be determined on Saturday, March 15th at Alfond Arena in Orono. The Black Bears have also about locked up a second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, as they’re currently 4th in the pairwise rankings which emulates the regional seedings (Top 16 make it).