WAKEFIELD, Mass. - The Hockey East Association has announced the pairings for the best-of-three quarterfinal round of the 2020 Women's Hockey East championship tournament. Playoff games begin Thursday (Feb. 27.) A full schedule can be found in the attached release.
Hockey East regular-season champion and No. 1 Northeastern (28-4-2/24-3-0 HEAW) will play host to No. 8 Vermont (10-16-8/7-14-6 HEAW) at Matthews Arena as the Huskies earn hosting duties for the eighth time in a row dating back to 2013. The same two teams clashed in the 2019 quarterfinals, a Husky sweep. The Huskies claimed the regular season crown for the third time in program history, their second in a row, in 2019-20 after also winning back-to-back Bertagna Trophies as Hockey East Tournament champions in 2018 and 2019. Northeastern has advanced to the semifinals each year since 2011. Vermont secured a spot in the playoffs to claim its eighth all-time Tournament appearance. It marks just the third time these two programs have faced in the playoffs, after a 2013 quarterfinal match up that ended in a 5-1 Northeastern win. During the regular season, Northeastern swept Vermont, 3-0-0.
No. 2 Boston University (24-6-4/18-6-3 HEAW) welcomes No. 7 Maine (13-13-8/9-11-7 HEAW) to Walter Brown Arena to begin their best-of-three series on Friday. The Terriers have earned their highest seed since 2015, when they also rode into the Tournament as the second seed. Boston University and Maine have met just once before in the Hockey East Tournament, a 2018 quarterfinal series that saw the Black Bears advance to the semifinals, 2-1. During the 2019-20 regular season, the Terriers took a 2-0-1 record over Maine.
No. 3 Providence (18-12-4/15-10-2 HEAW) will entertain No. 6 New Hampshire (16-14-4/12-12-3 WHEA) at Schneider Arena in a clash of two of the most historic programs in Hockey East history. The Friars and Wildcats have played six previous playoff games, including four times in the championship game. Each team has won two titles at the expense of the other, while the all-time playoff series is tied, 3-3. The programs have not met in the playoffs since 2013. During the regular season, Providence took a 2-1-0 record over New Hampshire.
No. 4 Boston College (16-4-3/14-11-2 HEAW) draws No. 5 UConn (16-16-2/13-12-2 HEAW) to Conte Forum. The Eagles hold a 4-1 record over UConn in the playoffs all time, including a 2-0 sweep in the 2019 quarterfinals. The lone UConn win came in the 2018 semifinals, when the seventh-seed Huskies knocked off the top-seeded Eagles. During the regular season, UConn earned a 2-1-0 mark over Boston College, including a 2-1 road win on Nov. 22.
ABOUT THE WOMEN'S HOCKEY EAST ASSOCIATION: The Women's Hockey East Association is a 10-team Division-I college hockey conference which began play in 2002-2003, with offices based in Wakefield, Mass. Member schools include Boston College, Boston University, University of Connecticut, College of the Holy Cross, University of Maine, Merrimack College, University of New Hampshire, Northeastern University, Providence College and University of Vermont. The league also sponsors an 11-team men's league which began play in 1984.
