by Jashvina Shah and Jane McNally/CHN Reporters
Hockey East is poised to get six teams into the NCAA Tournament. Theoretically that could be more if Northeastern or Massachusetts-Lowell won the HEA Tournament, though those are probably longshots. Northeastern was the only lower seed to win a play-in game Wednesday, after it topped Merrimack in double OT.
No. 1 Boston College (26-6-2/18-4-2 HE) vs. No. 9 Northeastern (13-19-2/7-14-3 HE)
Boston College, after finishing first in the conference, earned a first-round bye. These teams have met three times this year, with the latest resulting in an 8-2 win for the Eagles during the Beanpot. Northeastern did defeat the Eagles at BC in November.
The Eagles have an all-around strong team from goaltending out and have lost just eight games this season, five of them against Hockey East teams. While BC is extremely hard to beat, the Eagles did suffer back-to-back losses in February.
Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard, two marquee returners from last year’s team that made the national championship game, have led this offense with 46 points each. BC has a potent offense that can score in a heartbeat. But BC is also extremely hard to score against. The Eagles allow just 1.7 goals per game, thanks largely to Jacob Fowler’s efforts in net. He ranks amongst the national leaders with a .941 save percentage, and is currently second overall in our Hobey Tracker.
While the Huskies have their strengths, they have struggled to find wins this season. Eight of their 13 wins have happened in the second half of the season, and the Huskies have been able to skate in close games against some of Hockey East’s top teams.
Without last year’s leading scorer, Justin Hryckowian, Northeastern’s offense has slowed slightly. Jack Williams leads the team with 38 points. Goaltender Cameron Whitehead is in his second season as a starter with a .905 save percentage.
No. 3 Boston University (20-12-2/14-8-2 HE) vs. No 6 UMass (20-12-5/10-9-5 EH)
BU and UMass last met in December, when they skated to a split. While the Terriers earned a first-round bye, the Minutemen advance to the quarterfinals after beating Vermont in the opening round of the Hockey East playoffs.
“We’ve been much better since the first half,” BU coach Jay…
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