A banner season for Division 1 men’s college hockey in New England has reached the NCAA Tournament stage.
It was a memorable Selection Sunday for local fans, as eight of the 16 teams in the bracket come from the region, including a pair of No. 1 seeds. A record-tying six Hockey East teams, one from ECAC Hockey and one from Atlantic Hockey are now four wins away from a national championship.
Within our home region, SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H., will host regional round action on the road to the Frozen Four in St. Louis. Four teams will also converge on Allentown, Pa., Fargo, N.D., and Toledo, Ohio.
Now that the bracket is announced, here is how each New England team can chart a course to a championship.
Boston College (26-7-2, PairWise No. 1)
Why they could go on a run: Much like last season, the Eagles are loaded with future NHL talents, led by the 44-goal, 94-point duo of Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) and Gabe Perreault up front, and have the rock-solid backbone of their sophomore classmate Jacob Fowler — the owner of a .940 save percentage and seven shutouts — in goal. A major reason why fifth-year senior captain and defenseman Eamon Powell, the aforementioned stars and others returned to the Heights instead of pursuing their pro options was for this opportunity to chase the national championship that eluded them against Denver last April. Add in taking a Beanpot defeat to archrival Boston University last month and bowing out of the Hockey East playoffs in the quarterfinal round against Northeastern last Saturday, and the motivating factor is even greater for the group entering its second straight NCAA run under coach Greg Brown.
What’s next: Manchester Regional — Semifinal: 2 p.m. Friday vs. Bentley (23-14-2)
Maine (24-7-6, PairWise No. 3)
Why they could go on a run: The Black Bears took yet another program-building step under fourth-year coach Ben Barr last weekend, winning their first Hockey East championship since 2004 and advancing to NCAAs for the second straight year following a 12-year absence. Maine generates a league-leading 34.9 shots per game while allowing the second-fewest shots (25.5) and fewest goals (1.9) on sophomore goaltender Albin Boija. Championship Weekend at TD Garden, which began with a double-overtime semifinal against Northeastern, showed off the team’s all-around strength and the development of key players like Taylor Makar and Owen Fowler (Tewksbury, Mass.), who both transferred in from other Hockey East programs this season and have a combined 28 goals. Fellow in-conference transfer Frank Djurasevic and junior classmate Brandon Holt lead an active defense corps in front of Boija, whose 1.76 goals-against is second among league goaltenders.
What’s next: Allentown Regional — Semifinal: 8:30 p.m. Friday vs. Penn State (20-13-4)
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Connecticut (22-11-4, PairWise No. 6)
Why they could go on a run: Surprisingly, this is UConn’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament and they enter off a bad night against Maine in the Hockey East championship. But if head coach Mike Cavanaugh’s team can play like they did against Providence and Boston University in the Hockey East quarters and semis, they’ll be fine. Three Huskies have at least 15 goals — including the program’s Division 1 single-season record holder in sophomore Joey Muldowney (28) — but the lineup is deep and the leadership of fifth-years John Spetz and Hudson Schandor has brought the group far. Their power play is much improved from a season ago (23.7 percent) and nine shorthanded goals make them a threat in all situations. Freshman Callum Tung and New Hampshire transfer Tyler Muszelik have been a formidable goaltending tandem after the position was a question mark following Ethan Haider’s graduation and Arsenii Sergeev’s transfer to Penn State.
What’s next: Allentown Regional — Semifinal: 5 p.m. Friday vs. Quinnipiac (24-11-2)
Boston University (21-13-2, PairWise No. 7)
Why they could go on a run: The Terriers are another reigning Frozen Four participant looking for revenge following Hockey East playoff disappointment, suffering a dominant semifinal loss to UConn that coach Jay Pandolfo described as a “good old fashioned (butt)-kicking.” His roster, though, has a strong mix of youth — Cole Hutson is the program’s third straight Rookie of the Year — and experience from last year’s run as led by co-captains Shane Lachance (Andover, Mass.) and Ryan Greene. In late January, the arrival of Mikhail Yegorov gave the Terriers a new top man in net who ranked third nationally in save percentage (.937) before last weekend. Like every year with BU, there is no shortage of star power (13 NHL prospects are tops among New England teams), but putting it all together has led to some of the inconsistencies.
What’s next: Toledo Regional — Semifinal: 2 p.m. Thursday vs. Ohio State (24-13-2)
Providence (21-10-5, PairWise No. 8)
Why they could go on a run: The Friars had a week off following a Hockey East quarterfinal loss, but another strong body of work earned a No. 2 seed in the national bracket and a date with reigning national champion Denver. Behind graduate Logan Will (23 points), the team’s next five leading scorers are freshmen or sophomores — a testament to the work of coach Nate Leaman and his staff. That group doesn’t even include first-round draft pick Trevor Connelly, who skates with fifth-year stalwart Nick Poisson on the opposite wing. Will is also a key piece to the Friars’ league-best faceoff game (55.4 percent). With All-Hockey East defender Guillaume Richard anchoring the back end and Bruins prospect Philip Svedeback tending goal, Providence has protected leads incredibly well throughout the season, losing for the first time when scoring first in its last game (14-1-3).
What’s next: Manchester Regional — Semifinal: 5:30 p.m. Friday vs. Denver (29-11-1)
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Massachusetts (20-13-5, PairWise No. 11)
Why they could go on a run: The Minutemen were an overtime goal away from playing at TD Garden last weekend, and despite spending the first semester at or around .500, coach Greg Carvel was confident that his team was capable of reaching this point for the second straight season and sixth overall. A 5-1-3 run down the stretch in Hockey East play before a quarterfinal loss to Boston University proved him right. The hard, structured game that UMass has played successfully in recent years remains a hallmark, but junior Cole O’Hara’s emergence with 22 goals and 51 points provides a true top threat and others like Aydar Suniev and Jack Musa have elevated their offensive game. The Minutemen are young on defense but have continually improved, and sophomore goaltender Michael Hrabal has played some of his best hockey allowing no more than three goals in his last 10 games.
What’s next: Fargo Regional — Semifinal: 8:30 p.m. Thursday vs. Minnesota (25-10-4)
Quinnipiac (24-11-2, PairWise No. 12)
Why they could go on a run: New year, same Quinnipiac. Despite rostering nine freshmen and five incoming transfers — including leading scorers Jack Ricketts (20 goals) and Jeremy Wilmer (29 points) from Holy Cross and Boston University, respectively — the Bobcats had to answer more questions than they have in recent years. The end was the same: an ECAC-best fifth-straight regular-season championship, but a semifinal loss to eventual champ Cornell in Lake Placid. Elite special teams, including graduate Travis Treloar and sophomore Andon Cerbone (Stamford, Conn.) pacing a nation-leading 29.9 percent power play, is certainly a leading reason to keep believing.
What’s next: Allentown Regional — Semifinal: 5 p.m. Friday vs. Connecticut (22-11-4)
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Bentley (23-14-2, PairWise No. 22)
Why they could go on a run: Talk about a resilient bunch. In only Andy Jones’ second year as head coach, the Falcons overcame an early 2-0 deficit to beat top-seeded Holy Cross 6-3 and finish a perfect five-game run to their first-ever Atlantic Hockey championship on Saturday. This is no pushover. Much like the UMass Lowell teams that Jones was a part of, they have incredible depth (nine goal scorers in the playoffs, including River Hawk transfer Nik Armstrong-Kingkade with two in the title game) and defensive structure (league-leading 2.1 goals allowed per game). Junior goaltender Connor Hasley has been incredible to the tune of a 1.95 goals-against, earning 11 of his 21 wins by shutout. The Northfield Mount Hermon grad has pitched three during the playoffs.
What’s next: Manchester Regional — Semifinal: 2 p.m. Friday vs. Boston College (26-7-2)
