HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES
Massachusetts repeated as Hockey East Men’s Tournament Champions, toppling UMass Lowell, 3-1, in the semifinals and earning a 2-1 overtime victory over UConn in the title contest.
The Minutemen become the first to repeat as champions since UMass Lowell in 2013 and 2014. Bobby Trivigno was named the MVP of the Hockey East playoff for the second straight season, joining River Hawks goaltender Connor Hellebuyck as only the second player to ever win the Bill Flynn Award twice.
UConn appeared in the Hockey East title game for the first time in program history. Vladislav Firstov and John Spetz were named to the Steze Nazro All Tournament Team, while goaltender Darion Hanson was the runner up for the MVP.
Three Hockey East teams will compete in the NCAA Tournament, including UMass, UMass Lowell, and Northeastern. The selections bring Hockey East’s total representation in the national tournament to 121 teams over the history of the conference, more than any other league over that span.
Massachusetts and Northeastern will both compete in the Worcester
Regional while UMass Lowell travels to Loveland, Colorado. All three
Hockey East semifinalists are vying for the opportunity to return to
TD Garden for the 2022 Frozen Four, which will be hosted by Hockey East on April 7 & 9.
HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Bobby Trivigno - Massachusetts
Bobby Trivigno (Sr., F; Setauket, N.Y.) was named to the Hockey
East All-Tournament Team and was the Tournament MVP for a second-straight year after helping UMass to back-to-back Hockey East
Tournament titles with a three-point weekend on two goals and an
assist. Scored the game winner in Friday’s 3-1 Semifinal victory on
Friday vs. UMass Lowell and followed up by factoring in both goals
in Saturday’s championship, tying the score at 1-1 with his 20th goal
of the year and setting up the game winner in overtime for his 48th
point of the season.
PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Chase Bradley - UConn
Chase Bradley (Fr., F; St. Louis, Mo.) dished out two assists,
racked up five shots on goal, and finished with a plus-three rating in
two games during the Hockey East Championship weekend at TD
Garden. Bradley’s helpers came on the first two goals in UConn’s
4-1 semifinal win, assisting the Huskies into the Hockey East title
game for the first time in program history.
HOCKEY EAST DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Aaron Bohlinger - Massachusetts
Aaron Bohlinger (So., D: Walden, N.Y.) scored the game-winning
goal in overtime to deliver UMass its second consecutive Hockey
East Tournament crown. Bohlinger finished the weekend with a plus-two rating, one shot on goal, one game-winning goal.
HOCKEY EAST GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK
Matt Murray - Massachusetts
Matt Murray (Gr., G; St. Albert, Alta.) was named to the Hockey East
All-Tournament Team after stopping 41 of 43 shots for a .953 save
percentage and let up just two goals in 123:06 of game action for a
0.98 goals against average for the week, helping UMass to its second straight Hockey East Tournament title. He earned two victories
to move his total to 21 on the year, breaking his own UMass record
of 20, set in 2018-19. He had 22 saves in Friday’s 3-1 semifinal victory and followed up with 19 stops in a 2-1 overtime win over UConn
in the Hockey East Championship.
HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS
Darion Hanson, UConn (Gr., G; Bethel, Minn.) Allowed only three goals and stopped 55 shots in two outings last weekend, lifting UConn to the Hockey East title game for the first time in program history. Hanson finished second in the voting for the Hockey East Tournament MVP, having stopped 93 shots in three playoff games.
Vladislav Firstov, UConn (Jr., F; Yaroslavl, Russia) Named to the Steve Nazro All-Tournament Team, Firstov scored two goals last weekend in the Hockey East Championship weekend. Both of his strikes opened the game’s scoring. He finished with a goal in all three of UConn’s Hockey East Tournament games.
John Spetz, UConn (So., D; Oak Ridge, N.J.) Named to the Steve Nazro All-Tournament Team, Spetz assisted on the lone UConn goal in the Hockey East title game. In two games last weekend, he fired six shots on net and finished with a plus-two rating.
Colin Felix, UMass (Sr., D; Ocean City, N.J.) Joining his teammates on the Steve Nazro All-Tournament Team, Felix assisted on the game-tying goal in the Hockey East title game.
Garrett Wait, UMass (Sr., F; Edina, Minn.) Was named to the Steve Nazro All-Tournament Team after scoring a goal and adding an assist in two games at TD Garden last weekend. He fired five shots on net and finished with a plus-three rating.
