This Week in Hockey East: TD Garden excitement awaits conference’s final four with ‘good atmosphere’ looming this weekend

When Massachusetts senior forward Anthony Del Gaizo said he hopes his team will eventually play on a “bigger stage” than the one it will play on this weekend, he wasn’t speaking literally. This weekend’s Hockey East men’s semifinals and final will be held at TD Garden, home of the NHL’s Boston Bruins and the biggest … Read more

Hockey East announces trio of all-star teams for 2021-22 season with Northeastern placing three players on first team

Hockey East announced Friday its 2021-22 men’s all-star teams as voted by the league’s 11 head coaches. First-Team All-Stars G: Devon Levi, Northeastern D: Jordan Harris, Northeastern D: Scott Morrow, Massachusetts F: Aidan McDonough, Northeastern F: Bobby Trivigno, Massachusetts * F: Ryan Tverberg, UConn Second Team All-Stars G: Owen Savory, UMass Lowell D: Declan Carlile, … Read more

Hockey East unveils eight-player 2021-22 all-rookie team, plus six individual awards

Hockey East announced Wednesday the 2021-22 all-rookie team and six other season-long awards as voted by the men’s league’s 11 head coaches. ALL-ROOKIE TEAM G: Devon Levi, Northeastern * D: Ty Gallagher, Boston University D: Scott Morrow, Massachusetts * D: Ryan Ufko, Massachusetts D: David Breazeale, Maine F: Matt Crasa, UMass Lowell F: Justin Hryckowian, … Read more

This Week in Hockey East: Few teams can breathe easy with 2022 postseason beginning in earnest

With the single-elimination Hockey East tournament set to begin Wednesday, there’s only one absolute certainty — one team will win it, hoist the Lamoriello Trophy at TD Garden on March 19, and earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. And while it’s unthinkable that Hockey East will wind up with the tournament winner … Read more

Hockey East issues one-game suspensions to Boston College’s Kuntar, UMass Lowell’s Meehan for separate on-ice penalties from Jan. 21 games

Hockey East announced Saturday that Boston College sophomore forward Trevor Kuntar has been suspended for one game stemming from an incident at 16:34 of the third period on Friday, January 21 against Providence. Kuntar was given a major penalty for contact to the head and a game misconduct on the play. Kuntar will miss the … Read more

More COVID-19 woes: RPI’s weekend games at Harvard, Dartmouth postponed; Bentley-UMass Lowell home-and-home series also postponed

Two more men’s hockey series have been postponed this weekend due to COVID-19 protocols. The Rensselaer men’s hockey team was slated to travel to Harvard and Dartmouth for ECAC Hockey games on Friday and Saturday nights, but the program is now paused for an undetermined amount of time. The Engineers will now travel to Dartmouth … Read more

Friendship Four tournament returning to Belfast in 2022, with UMass, UMass Lowell, Quinnipiac, Dartmouth slated to play

The Friendship Four hockey tournament will return to Belfast, Northern Ireland in November 2022 after what will be a three-year absence due to COVID restrictions. Joining UMass and UMass Lowell will be Quinnipiac and Dartmouth. Taking place at The SSE Arena, Belfast on November 25-26, 2022, the tournament, organized by the Odyssey Trust, will bring … Read more

This Week in Hockey East: Conference coaches express mixed feelings on 3-on-3 overtime, shootout format

With about one-third of the regular season in the books, Hockey East teams have played seven overtime games. Two of those contests — both of which occurred last weekend — remained tied after five minutes of 3-on-3 overtime, requiring a shootout (Massachusetts won at Boston University on Friday, while Vermont beat New Hampshire the following … Read more

This Week in Hockey East: UMass Lowell looking to make some noise this weekend vs. Northeastern, Boston College

A quirk in the Hockey East schedule will bring two teams to Lowell, Mass., this weekend, and with it, a chance for the 20th ranked UMass Lowell men’s hockey team to inch its way further up the USCHO.com poll. The River Hawks (4-1-2, 2-0-0 Hockey East) host No. 17 Northeastern (7-3-0, 4-2-0) visits the Tsongas … Read more

This Week in Hockey East: UConn wraps up seven-game road grind with weekend series at Maine

A stretch of seven consecutive games played on enemy ice would be a challenge for any team, but goalie Darion Hanson of the Connecticut men’s hockey team chooses to focus on the positive. Long bus rides together and hanging out in the hotel with teammates have been valuable bonding experiences for him and his teammates, … Read more

This Week in Hockey East: Constant improvement mantra guides Vermont into upcoming series vs. Boston College

Vermont’s record (0-4-0) indicates a struggling men’s hockey team. The game scores tell a different story — one of a club that has been competitive in every game. Scan the Catamounts’ schedule so far and one will find a pair of one-goal losses and, perhaps more importantly, no blowouts or embarrassments. The mentality of constant … Read more

This Week in Hockey East: Internal goalie competition can only help Merrimack, according to Borek

Don’t call it a goalie controversy. Because Merrimack coach Scott Borek doesn’t see it that way. With sophomore Zachary Borgiel and freshman Hugo Ollas sharing time between the pipes so far this season for the Warriors (2-2-0, 0-1-0 Hockey East), Borek said competition at the position can only be a positive for his club. “I … Read more

UMass Lowell-LIU series scheduled for Oct. 15-16 postponed due to COVID protocols

The UMass Lowell homecoming weekend series against LIU, originally scheduled for this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 15-16, has been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols within the Sharks’ program. The two-game set has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 3 and Friday, Feb. 25 at the Tsongas Center. The River Hawks will still celebrate homecoming with a … Read more

Hockey East 2021-22 Season Preview: UMass seeks to repeat as conference, national champs, but road back won’t be easy

The only thing that will keep Hockey East fans on the edge of their seats this season will be the action on the ice. At least that’s the hope of commissioner Steve Metcalf and the league’s 11 coaches. That fans will even be in the building after a year playing in empty arenas has generated … Read more

Hockey East announces single-elimination tournament format for men’s, women’s postseason in 2022

Hockey East has announced that a new postseason tournament format for the men’s and women’s leagues will be used beginning in 2022. All 11 men’s programs and all 10 women’s programs will compete in a single-elimination postseason tournament for the Lamoriello Trophy and the Bertagna trophy, respectively. “This new format for the Hockey East tournament … Read more

HOCKEY EAST CHAMPIONSHIP: Gaudet nets lone goal to lift UMass over UMass Lowell to claim first-ever conference championship

The most unique of seasons and most unique of circumstances might as well have set the stage for the most unique of champions.

At their home Mullins Arena, UMass took its first ever Hockey East championship, a 1-0 victory over upstart UMass Lowell. It was the fourth time ever a team took the title by a 1-0 score.