#1 Northeastern vs. #8 Vermont
- Best-of-three quarterfinal action kicks off Thursday afternoon on NESN when #1 Northeastern host #8 Vermont for the second consecutive year in the Hockey East Tournament. Last time the two met in the playoffs, the Huskies advanced after two games and ultimately went on to win the 2019 Hockey East Tournament and their second consecutive Bertagna Trophy.
- In its most recent outing, nationally ranked #4 Northeastern shutout Merrimack in a two game series, 3-0 and 3-0, to close out their regular season run. Defensive Player of the Week, junior Aerin Frankel (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.), made a combined 46 saves against the Warriors and finished the regular season with 10 shutouts, the first Hockey East goaltender to do so since the 2015-16 season. Frankel was also named a Top-10 Patty Kazmaier Award finalist alongside teammate, sophomore forward, Alina Mueller (Winterthur, Switzerland.)
- So far this season, Northeastern is 3-0-0 against UVM.
- The two squads hold the top two defensive scoring leaders. Huskies' junior Skylar Fontaine (East Greenwich, R.I.) totaled 28 points (10g, 18a) and Catamounts' sophomore Maude Poulin-Labelle (Sherbrooke, Qué.) is tied for second with 20 points (7g, 13a.)
#2 Boston University vs. #7 Maine
- #2 Boston University hosts #7 Maine in a best-of-three series at Walter Brown. The two met in the 2018 Quarterfinals when Black Bears' then-sophomore Tereza Vanišová (Strakonice, Czech Republic) scored an overtime goal to advanced Maine to the semifinals for the first time in program history.
- Nationally ranked #8 Terriers are coming off a weekend sweep over UConn when Player of the Week, senior forward, Sammy Davis (Pembroke, Mass.) led the league with four points. In game one, Davis potted a goal and added two helpers in a 6-2 win over the Huskies before the senior extended her eight-game point streak with an assist on senior forward Natasza Tarnowski's (Embrun, Ont.) goal in a 3-1 win.
- The Black Bears final regular season game ended in a draw 2-2 draw at Vermont. Sophomore forward Līga Miljone (Rīga, Latvia) picked up her 21st point of the season and is now tied for 11th in the conference scoring leaders.
#3 Providence College vs. #6 New Hampshire
- Both #3 Providence and #6 New Hampshire enter the playoffs with momentum as both teams recorded wins to close out the regular season. The Friars swept Holy Cross and clinched home ice for the quarterfinals, while the Wildcats downed Boston College, 5-1, in Durham.
- Wildcats senior defenseman Tori Howran (Bancroft, Ont.) led her team in points with three assists as she contributed to the first, fourth and fifth tallies of the afternoon.
- For the second week in a row Providence received votes in the national polls and freshman defenseman Lauren DeBlois (Lewiston, Maine) picked up Pro Ambitions Rookie of Week honor. Her two points over the weekend led all league freshmen and included a game-winning goal (1g, 1a) to conclude the Friars' regular season.
- Providence holds a 2-1-0 record this season over New Hampshire. The two face each other in the post-season for the first time since the 2013 tournament when Providence advanced to the semifinals, moving past the Wildcats in a 5-4 overtime victory.
#4 Boston College vs. #5 UConn
- Just two points separated #4 Boston College from #5 UConn after the regular season concluded over this weekend, with both teams dropping their final contest of the year.
- The two have a recent history in the playoffs as they just last year in the quarterfinals. Boston College advanced to the semifinals in two games after passing the Huskies, 4-1 and 5-4 in overtime. Overall, BC holds a 4-1-0 record over UConn in tournament play.
- The Eagles have been featured in five of the last six Hockey East Championship games, most recently winning the Bertagna Trophy in 2016 and 2017. The lone title game without the Eagles came in 2018 when seventh-seed UConn toppled top-seeded BC in the 2018 semifinal, 4-2.
- So far this season UConn holds a winning record over the Eagles, 2-1-0. Both Huskies victories came in November when Boston College was nationally ranked.
- Over the weekend, Boston College was led by rookie forward Hannah Bilka (Coppell, Texas), who notched her 22nd assist of the season leading all rookies in the league.
- UConn's senior goaltender and Connecticut-native Morgan Fisher (Vernon, Conn.) picked up 45 saves in a two-game series against nationally ranked Boston University.
