AMESBURY, Mass. - The Hockey East Association today announced the field for the 2022 Hockey East Men’s Tournament presented by Mortgage Network. A full schedule can be found below.
The Tournament returns to an all-in format after a two-year departure. Seeds six, seven, and eight will host seeds 11, 10, and nine, respectively, in the Opening Round on Wednesday, March 9. After a reseeding, the top three seeds will host the winners of the Opening Round while the four seed will host the five seed in the Quarterfinals on Saturday, March 12. For the first time since 2019, the Hockey East Men’s Championship Semifinals and Final will return to the TD Garden in Boston on March 18-19, 2022.
The Opening Round begins Wednesday, March 9 as No. 6 Merrimack (18-14-1/13-11-0 HE) draws a home tilt with No. 11 Maine (7-21-4/5-17-2 HE). The Warriors went 2-1-0 against Maine in the 2021-22 regular season, falling in overtime in one game before picking up two shutouts against the Black Bears to close the season series. Maine holds an all-time record of 6-3 over Merrimack in the Hockey East Tournament, having met most recently in the 2014 Opening Round.
No. 7 seed Providence (21-13-2/12-11-1 HE) hosts No. 10 Vermont (8-24-2/6-16-2 HE) at Schneider Arena on Wednesday, the fourth time this year the two programs will clash after the Friars swept a 3-0-0 series against the Catamounts. It will mark the first time that Providence and Vermont have met in the Hockey East Tournament. Providence has appeared in the semifinals in six of the last 10 years, while Vermont looks to return to TD Garden for the first time since 2015 and advance in the postseason for the first time since 2017.
No. 8 Boston College (14-17-5/9-12-3 HE) earned a date with No. 9 New Hampshire (14-18-1/8-15-1 HE) for the 11th time in the Hockey East Tournament, most recently in the 2021 Quarterfinals, a 3-2 Eagles’ win. The Wildcats won both of the regular-season outings between the squads in a home-and-home set on Jan. 14-15. Boston College is 9-3 all-time in the postseason against New Hampshire.
One quarterfinal is already set, as No. 4 UConn (18-15-0/14-10-0 HE) will welcome No. 5 Boston University (19-12-3/13-8-3 HE) to the XL Center on Saturday, March 12. The programs split a weekend series on Oct. 8-9, the road team winning each outing, before BU earned an overtime win at UConn on Jan. 14. It will be the second all-time postseason meeting between the Huskies and Terriers after 2018 quarterfinal sweep by Boston University. UConn is searching for its first Hockey East Tournament win (0-9) in its sixth playoff appearance.
Top-seeded Northeastern (24-11-1/15-8-1 HE) claims the Hockey East Regular Season crown for the first time in program history and awaits the lowest advancing seed from the Opening Round. The Huskies last won the Lamoriello Trophy as Hockey East Tournament champions in 2019.
No. 2 Massachusetts (19-12-2/14-8-2 HE) enters the Hockey East Tournament as the second seed for the first time ever. It is just the second time the Minutemen have finished higher than third in the Army ROTC Hockey East Standings The defending Hockey East and national champions boast a 17-27 all-time record in the Hockey East Tournament and are 5-1 since 2019.
No. 3 UMass Lowell (20-9-3/15-8-1 HE) earned the third seed for the first time ever. The River Hawks have appeared in six of the last eight championship games, winning three times (2013, 2014, 2017).
The Hockey East semifinals are set tentatively set for 4:00pm and 7:30pm on Friday, March 18 at TD Garden in Boston, while the 37th championship game will be played Saturday, March 19 at 7:00pm. Tickets are available via TicketMaster.com.
The winner of the Hockey East Men’s Tournament presented by Mortgage Network will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament and have a chance to reach the 2022 NCAA Frozen Four held in Boston at TD Garden. The Massachusetts Minutemen are the defending Hockey East Tournament and NCAA Champions, while the Providence Friars claimed the NCAA crown in 2015 when the Frozen Four was last hosted in Boston.
Wednesday, March 9
#11 Maine at #6 Merrimack - 7pm
#10 Vermont at #7 Providence - 7pm (NESN+)
#9 New Hampshire at #8 Boston College - 7pm (NESN)
Saturday, March 12
#5 Boston University at #4 UConn - 4:30pm
TBD at #3 UMass Lowell - 4:30pm (NESN+)
TBD at #2 Massachusetts - 7pm
TBD at #1 Northeastern - 7:30pm (NESN+)
Friday, March 18
Semifinal #1 - 4pm (NESN)
Semifinal #2 - 7:30pm (NESN+)
Saturday, March 19
37th Hockey East Men's Championship - 7pm (NESN)
