No. 1 New Hampshire (16-11-7, 15-6-6 Hockey East) vs. No. 8 Vermont (15-12-7, 9-11-7) — The Wildcats, who earned their third regular-season title in four seasons, are looking to reverse their all-too-familiar pattern of underachieving in the postseason. The good news for the Wildcats is they were almost flawless on home ice, earning a 9-0-4 mark against league foes. Although UNH was third in the league in scoring (3.41 goals per game), the power play was ninth out of 10 teams with just a 16.9 percent success rate. However, there are many factors in UNH’s favor, chief among them league scoring leader Bobby Butler (41 points) and goaltender Brian Foster (15-11-7, .906 save percentage, 3.06 goals-against average). The Catamounts, who made it to the Frozen Four last season, didn’t beat UNH in the regular season (0-2-1).
No. 2 Boston College (21-10-3, 16-8-3) vs. No. 7 Massachusetts (18-16-0, 13-14-0) — The Eagles were strong at home, earning a 12-2-0 mark this season. They finished tied with Maine for the top-scoring team in the league, averaging 3.71 goals. The combination of Joe Whitney, Brian Gibbons, and Cam Atkinson has been light’s out. Their scoring defense was second only to UMass-Lowell (2.41 goals allowed). BC was the best penalty-killing squad in the league with an 86.1 percent success rate. UMass had the lowest penalty-killing rate in the league at 77.5 percent. Coach Don Cahoon said the Minutemen have been much better recently, particularly with the return of Doug Kublin. One benefit of having help in that area is relief for dependable defenseman Justin Braun.
No. 3 Boston University (16-15-3, 13-12-2) vs. No. 6 Merrimack (15-17-2, 12-13-2) — The defending national champion has been a Jekyll and Hyde team most of the season. The first semester was nothing short of dreadful. The second semester has been a significant turnaround, particularly the play of goaltender Kieran Millan. The Terriers finished fourth in the league in scoring (3.32 goals) but ninth in defense (3.35 goals). History doesn’t favor the Warriors in this matchup. They are 1-17-0 vs. BU over the last six seasons. However, coach Mark Dennehy’s squad, which earned the school’s first playoff berth since 2004, has been in playoff mode for the last several weekends and is hoping to ride that momentum in this series. One outstanding weapon the Warriors have is freshman Stephane Da Costa, who scored 44 points in 31 games.
No. 4 Maine (16-15-3, 13-12-2) vs. No. 5 UMass-Lowell (18-14-4, 12-11-4) — The Black Bears were dealt a serious blow when sophomore goaltender Scott Darling was suspended indefinitely for violating team rules. But they are confident they have the tools to beat the dangerous River Hawks. One of those tools is a best-in-the-nation power play, which has scored at a 29.5 percent clip. Gustav Nyquist leads the Black Bears — and the nation — with 56 points and 38 assists. He had at least 1 point in 29 of 34 games. The River Hawks have never beaten the Black Bears in postseason play (0-12-0). But coach Blaise MacDonald’s squad enters the game riding a five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2). Senior forward Kory Falite has had an excellent season with 33 points and the team has two strong goalies in Carter Hutton and Nevin Hamilton.
This article was taken from the Boston Globe. I just added the nice pictures.
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