Men's Weekly Release: Massachusetts Wins First Hockey East Tournament Title

HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES

Massachusetts won the first Hockey East Tournament title in program history on Saturday, claiming a 1-0 victory over sister school UMass Lowell. Junior goaltender Filip Lindberg (Espoo, Finland) pitched a 16-save shutout, just the seventh blank sheet in finals history, to backbone the Minutemen to the Lamoriello Trophy. Bobby Trivigno (Setauket, N.Y.) was named MVP of the Hockey East Tournament after leading the tournament in scoring with two goals and six points in just three games. Senior captain Jake Gaudet (Ottawa, Ont.) scored the lone goal of the game.

Saturday’s title game was played at the Mullins Center in Amherst, the first time since 1990 that the Hockey East Championship game was not played at the Boston Garden or TD Garden.

Three Hockey East teams were selected to the NCAA Tournament field: Boston College, Boston University, and Massachusetts as the league’s automatic qualifier. Boston College earned the number two overall seed and the top spot in the Albany regional. The Terriers join the Eagles as the number three seed in New York’s capital, while the Minutemen skate in Bridgeport, Connecticut as the number two seed in that region.

UMass Lowell stormed back to topple top-seed Boston College in Wednesday’s semifinal in Chestnut Hill. Down 4-1 more than halfway through the third period, Matt Brown (Wood Ridge, N.J.) scored 12 minutes into the second overtime to cap a pair of late game comebacks. Matt Boldy (Millis, Mass.), on BC’s second power play of the contest, set up captain Marc McLaughlin (North Billerica, Mass.) with 2:07 left in regulation to give the Eagles a brief 5-4 edge. Then with the goalie out for an extra attacker, the River Hawks rallied yet again 41 seconds later to force overtime. It was defenseman Anthony Baxter (Oakville, Ont.) tallying his second of the game and third of the season, all in the playoffs, with a low bullet from the blue line. Brown then scored in the second extra frame to claim victory.

ARMY ROTC HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Bobby Trivigno - Massachusetts

Bobby Trivigno (Setauket, N.Y.) was named MVP of the Hockey East Tournament after leading the tournament in scoring with two goals and six points in just three games. His performance included three points in the semifinals to help the Minutemen capture their first-ever Lamoriello Trophy.

PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Josh Lopina - Massachusetts

Josh Lopina (Minooka, Ill.) scored a goal and added an assist on the game-winning tally in Massachusetts’s 5-2 semifinal victory over Providence. He finished with a plus-six rating in three Hockey East Tournament games.

HOCKEY EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Filip Lindberg - Massachusetts

Filip Lindberg (Espoo, Finland) pitched a 16-save shutout in the Hockey East Championship Game, just the seventh blank sheet in title tilt history, to backbone the Minutemen to their first-ever Lamoriello Trophy. He was named to the Steve Nazro All-Tournament Team for his efforts, allowing just three goals in his team’s three-game tournament run.

HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS

Matt Boldy, BC (So., F; Millis, Mass.) Dished out four assists, the most ever in a semifinal game, in a 6-5 double-overtime setback to UMass Lowell.

Alex Newhook, BC (So., F; St. John’s, New.) Lit the Hockey East Tournament on fire, racking up six points (3g, 3a) in two games, including two goals and three assists in the semifinals. His five points in a single semifinal were the most of any player in history.

Zac Jones, UMass (So., D; Glen Allen, Va.) Named to the 2021 Steve Nazro All-Tournament Team after scoring two goals and adding an assist to help UMass to its first Hockey East Tournament title. He scored the game-winning goal in a quarterfinal win over Northeastern and dished out the winning score in the semifinal win over Providence.

Jake Gaudet, UMass (Sr., F; Ottawa, Ont.) Scored the lone goal of the 2021 Hockey East Championship game to deliver Massachusetts a 1-0 victory and its first-ever Lamoriello Trophy. He was named to the 2021 Steve Nazro All-Tournament Team.

Matt Brown, UML (So., F; Wood Ridge, N.J.) Netted two game-winning goals in the Hockey East Tournament and was named to the 2021 Steve Nazro All-Tournament Team. In total, he scored four goals and five points in four Hockey East Tournament tilts, including a double-overtime winner in the semifinals at Boston College.

Anthony Baxter, UML (Sr., D; Oakville, Ont.) Named to the 2021 Steve Nazro All-Tournament Team after scoring three goals and adding a game-winning assist across four games for the River Hawks. He scored twice at Boston College at crucial junctures, including the game-tying goal to force overtime with just 1:26 left in the third period. His first goal of the semifinal came 21 seconds after Boston College took a 3-0 lead to keep UMass Lowell alive.