By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
With all the talk about brackets going on, I thought I'd join in the fun, though not in the classic March Madness sense. The Hockey East tournament starts up tomorrow and I'm here to break down how this tourney will shape up.
First, lets' take a look at my bracket:
First, let's take a look at the Quarterfinal matchups. I did this at the beginning of the week, but let's go into a little more detail.
No. 1 New Hampshire vs. No. 8 Vermont
UNH won the season series against UVM, 2-0-1, and has not lost to a Hockey East team at home in 18-straight contests (14-0-4) dating back to last season. That said, the Catamounts took the Wildcats to overtime in both ends of the series at the Whit on February 19 and 20. Vermont needs to win this series to have any shot at the national tournament and the only reason they have any shot at all is because they have early-season wins over top-ranked Denver, No. 6 Yale and No. 14 Minnesota-Duluth. Since then things haven't gone well as they have gone 5-6-5 since beating M-D in the Catamont Cup in the beginning of January. UNH still has a shot to get in without going deep in the tournament, but winning this series would go a long way towards guaranteeing a spot.
Projected results: UNH wins series, 2-1 (W, 3-1; L, 4-3 OT; W, 4-2)
No. 4 Maine at No. 5 UMass-Lowell
Lowell was in an absolute tailspin, picking up just six of a possible 20 points at one point, but salvaged the season with a 3-0-2 record over the remaining games. Maine went from a team that had a shot at the No. 2 seed to a team that was really lucky to capture home ice after going 2-6-0 over the Black Bears' last eight games. The two teams actually both ended the regular season tied with Boston University with 28 points, but Maine and BU won the conference wins tiebreaker vs. Lowell, 13-12, and BU won the head-to-head tiebreaker with Maine, giving the teams their seeding. Maine holds the head-to-head advantage over Lowell, but the Bears have problems, mostly stemming from goaltending. Scott Darling was suspended after missing the final two games of the regular season and there are reports he's getting treated for alcohol-related issues. His replacement didn't fare well in the two contests against UMass at home, getting chased in both, allowing four goals on 17 shots in the first and two goals on five shots in the second.
Projected results: UMass-Lowell wins series, 2-0 (W, 5-2; W, 4-3)
No. 3 Boston University vs. No. 6 Merrimack
Merrimack had an impressive end of the season, going 6-2-2 over its last 10 games and all but the last two were meaningful games against teams fighting for the postseason. What was most impressive was the 3-1-1 mark on the road over that span. Before that, Merrimack had been dismal on the road with an 0-12-0 record. But has Merrimack really turned the corner? Probably not. And facing BU at the Aganis Arena, where the Terriers are 8-3-2 is probably where the ride ends for the Warriors.
Projected results: BU wins series, 2-1 (L, 4-3; W, 5-1; W, 3-2)
No. 2 Boston College vs. No. 7 UMass
The Eagles are the only team in the conference to record 20 wins this year and while they fell short of winning the regular season title, they are the best team in Hockey East, ranked fourth in the nation. Throw on top of that the fact that they have completely dominated the Mass Attack this season, going 3-0-0, and things don't look good for the Minutemen. The wins include a 7-1 drubbing at the Mullins Center that could have been far worse. I can attest to that. I was there. I was also there for the 3-1 win the Eagles had over the Minutemen and again, it could have been far worse. Bottom line, UMass has one of the best scorers in the country, but little else. Boston College has more speed, better stick handling, better goaltending and defense and is just plain more talented.
Projected results: BC wins series, 2-0 (W, 4-1; W, 3-1)
That will pit UMass-Lowell against UNH against each other and will open another chapter in the story of the Battle of Comm. Ave in the Semifinals.
No. 1 UNH vs. No. 5 UMass-Lowell
This is where things can get bad for the Wildcats. UNH was a sub-.500 team away from their Olympic-sized ice sheet in Durham, going 7-9-2. UNH plays a wide-open style of hockey and when the play is more bunched, the team has a hard time. Lowell and UNH skated to a 1-1-1 mark during the regular season. It's an interesting matchup that pits one of the best scoring teams in Hockey East against the top team in scoring defense.
Projected result: UNH wins, 4-2
No. 2 Boston College vs. No. 3 Boston University
What can be said about this rivalry that hasn't already been said? Pretty much everything is pretty well documented. They split the season series, 2-2-0. The Eagles and Terriers split the first two games, then BU captured the Frozen Fenway game by a score of 3-2 after dominating most of the game and BC captured the Beanpot. 4-3, in a game it dominated most of the way. BU's style of play makes them a formidable opponent for the Eagles, who rely on their defense to create offense. BC's transition game is what makes them tough, especially against attacking teams like UMass and UNH. But teams like BU that like to control the zone and use their defensemen to cycle the puck instead of just attacking the net find more success against the Eagles. Still, BC has been one of the best teams in the nation and the power play could be a major part of this game. BU has racked up the second-most penalty minutes in the league and Boston College has the best special teams in Hockey East.
Projected result: Boston College wins, 2-1
That brings us back to where we were a week ago - with UNH and BC playing for a Hockey East title.
No. 1 UNH vs. No. 2 Boston College
BC has dominated the play between the two squads. The record for the three-game regular-season series is in favor of the Eagles just 0-1-2 with a one-point difference in points scored, but both ties required third-period comebacks by the Wildcats, including a 3-goal effort to capture the regular season crown. Still, it should be interesting with two young teams (four seniors on each side) vying for the title.
Projected result: Boston College wins, 5-3
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