Category: Hockey East

Hockey East category only shows posts related to the Hockey East conference.

Posted on Posted in Atlantic Hockey, Augustana Vikings, Big Ten, Boston College Eagles, Boston University Terriers, CCHA, Clarkson Golden Knights, Colgate Raiders, Denver Pioneers, ECAC, Hockey East, Michigan Wolverines, NCHC, Ohio State Buckeyes, Robert Morris Colonials, Wisconsin Badgers
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The content of this recap is also available in the 2020s page of our U.S. College Hockey History section of the site.

The 2023-24 season saw the return of Robert Morris to Division I men’s and women’s hockey. The program had been on hiatus since the end of the 2020-21 season. The university announced it was eliminating both hockey programs May 26, 2021, just months after the women’s team won its conference title. The school reversed the decision December 17, 2021, due in large part to the efforts from the hockey community, students, alumni, and men’s head coach, Derek Schooley, to raise funds to revive the program.

For the fourth season in a row, a new school added Division I men’s hockey. On October 5, 2021, Augustana University formally announced a new Division I hockey program to begin play in the 2023-24 season. The following May the CCHA announced Augustana would be its ninth conference member. The Vikings would start off with two seasons of a transitional schedule followed by a full schedule beginning in the 2025-26 season. Augustana’s first game was in Madison, Wisconsin, against the Badgers October 7, 2023. It was official: Augustana was the first Division I hockey team from the state of South Dakota.

The 2024 men’s Frozen Four included four college hockey blue bloods with a combined 96 Frozen Fours and 28 NCAA titles between them heading into the final weekend of the season. It was the 11th time Minnesota hosted a men’s Frozen Four and seventh time in Saint Paul. Denver defeated Boston University 2-1 in overtime in the first semifinal game. It was the first time these teams played one another in the Frozen Four since 1971. Boston College faced Michigan in the nightcap. These two teams met in the semifinals of the very first national tournament in 1948. Michigan won the game 76 years ago by a score of 6-4 but the Eagles would win this contest 4-0. This set the stage for the first championship game to be played between Boston College and Denver. The two teams have been around since 1917 and 1949, respectively, yet had never met in the championship game until 2024. In this final game of the season, Denver shut out Boston College 2-0 to put the Pioneers in the sole Division I championship lead with its 10th NCAA title. With Denver’s win, this was the third Minnesota city where the Pioneers were crowned NCAA champions (Minneapolis in 1958, Duluth in 1969, and Saint Paul in 2024). Of the 11 times Minnesota hosted the men’s Frozen Four, only one Eastern team has won (Harvard in 1989). This also meant the first time the Xcel Energy Center has hosted a Frozen Four where a team not based in Minnesota won. Previous teams to win the championship trophy at the arena include Minnesota in 2002 and Minnesota Duluth in both 2011 and 2019.

Seventeen-year-old freshman phenom Macklin Celebrini of Boston University won the 2024 Hobey Baker Award and became the youngest player to do so. Celebrini was the fourth freshman to win it and second in a row. In his freshman season, he broke the record for most college goals by a 17-year old with 32. He also added 32 assists. Celebrini was the first freshman to record at least 30 goals and 30 assists in the same season since 2005-06.

The Women’s Frozen Four took place in Durham, New Hampshire, for the fourth time. A Minnesota-based team was crowned champion at the Whittemore Center in each of the three previous title games New Hampshire hosted. The field in 2024 ensured that wouldn’t happen this time. Two teams represented the WCHA and two represented the ECAC. The championship game became an all-WCHA affair after Ohio State defeated Clarkson 4-1 and Wisconsin defeated Colgate 3-1 in the semifinals. It was the Buckeyes third title game in a row. This set the stage for the first championship rematch since 2007-2008 when Wisconsin met Minnesota Duluth back to back. The 2024 title game was scoreless until Joy Dunne of Ohio State netted a goal a little over halfway through the third period. The Buckeyes held on to win 1-0 and secured the program’s second NCAA title in three seasons. This was the 21st women’s hockey championship for the WCHA.

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In Division III men’s hockey, the Dubuque Spartans debuted in Dubuque, Iowa. This marked the first NCAA hockey program based in the state of Iowa. In the national tournament, Hobart defeated Curry College 4-3 in 4OT within the quarterfinals to win the second longest Division III men’s hockey game of all time. Curry College may have lost the game but its goalie, Shane Soderwall, made 98 saves to tie the all-time record for most saves in a game. This overtime thriller propelled the Hobart Statesman throughout the playoffs and ultimately to the program’s second NCAA title in a row after Hobart defeated Trinity 2-0 in the championship game in Hartford, Connecticut.

In Division III women’s hockey, the Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons won its first NCAA hockey championship in impressive fashion. The Falcons finished the season undefeated at 31-0-0 and set the Division III women’s hockey record for most wins in a season.

Posted on Posted in Boston College Eagles, Denver Pioneers, Hockey East, NCHC
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Four teams participated in the first NCAA men’s hockey tournament to take place in Duluth, Minnesota. The 21st iteration of the tournament was held in 1968 at the Duluth Arena Auditorium; home of the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. The semifinals at the time were played on separate nights. The first night of the tournament on March 14 saw the number one seed in the West, Denver, take on the number two seed in the East, Boston College. Both teams were looking to bring another hockey championship trophy back home to campus. At the time, Denver had last won an NCAA title in 1960. That tournament was held in Minneapolis and was the first one to be played outside of Colorado. Boston College had previously won the second-ever tournament in 1949 and finished runner-up in 1965.

The Pioneers defeated the Eagles 4-1 in front of the crowd in Duluth and went on to face North Dakota in the championship game two nights later. Denver shut out North Dakota 4-0 in the title game and earned its fourth championship trophy. It was the second Minnesota city where Denver had won a championship with both being at North Dakota’s expense. Flash forward fifty-six years to the present day. Denver and Boston College are set to face off in the NCAA tournament once again; this time in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It will be the first time the two will meet in the championship game. If the Pioneers are victorious, the program will jump ahead of Michigan in all-time NCAA hockey championships. If Boston College wins, it will be the program’s sixth NCAA hockey championship, putting it in a tie for third place with Wisconsin.

Photo Credit: Kynewisbok Yearbook, Vol. 70, 1968

Posted on Posted in Big Ten, Boston College Eagles, Hockey East, Michigan Wolverines
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By the time the December 1987 series between Michigan and Boston College rolled around, it had been nearly 39 years since the two teams first met in the inaugural NCAA tournament semifinals in 1948. Throughout that time span, the Wolverines and Eagles had faced off five times in a combination of NCAA tournament and regular season games. Michigan had yet to lose a game to the Eagles.

Boston College traveled to Ann Arbor in December 1987 for just the second time ever; the first being in January 1980. The Wolverines took care of business with a score of 6-2 in the opening game of the non-conference series. The following game needed an extra period of hockey in order to decide the winner. Michigan scored the overtime goal and defeated Boston College 5-4, ensuring the team’s perfect record against the East Coast team remained intact.

These two teams will share the ice in the second Frozen Four semifinal in Saint Paul this Thursday. Both programs have come a long way since that first NCAA tournament. Boston College has indeed defeated Michigan since 1987. In fact, a big win for the program was the victory over Michigan in the 2004 regional final that sent the Eagles to the Frozen Four. The Wolverines are tied for the Division I men’s lead with nine NCAA titles while Boston College has five. This will be Michigan’s 41st NCAA tournament appearance and 28th Frozen Four; both NCAA records. The Eagles are second with 26 Frozen Four appearances. For two programs that share this much history in the sport, it’s only fitting they will face one another on the national stage yet again.

Photo Credit: “Bryan Deasley, UM Hockey, 1987/88; BL019271.” In the digital collection Art Images for College Teaching. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhl/x-bl019271/bl019271. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 04, 2024.

Posted on Posted in Boston University Terriers, Denver Pioneers, Hockey East, NCHC
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At the onset of the inaugural Hockey East season in 1984, the conference announced it scheduled four inter-league crossover games against WCHA teams. Boston University hosted Denver that season and both games were decided in overtime. The two teams would end up playing one another every season after that up through the 1990-91 season. The Terriers and Pioneers were no strangers to one another before this crossover. The teams had played two previous regular season series in the early 1980s. More notably, the first two games in the all-time series occurred on neutral ice in the NCAA tournament beginning with the 1960 national semifinals. Denver defeated Boston University 6-4 and later won the program’s second NCAA title after defeating Michigan Tech.

The January 1986 crossover series took place in Denver. The Pioneers won the first night 5-4. The Terriers earned a series split after a 3-1 win in the following game. Throughout the 14 games the teams played in the 80s, the teams were evenly matched throughout the decade with a 6-6-2 series record. These two teams will once again meet on neutral ice in the first semifinal game on Thursday. The winner will face another hockey blue blood in either Michigan or Boston University. Denver is currently tied with Michigan for the NCAA lead with nine championship trophies which ups the ante. Boston University has won five NCAA men’s hockey titles in its history. The Terriers last won the title in 2009 while Denver is looking for its second championship trophy in three years. Denver is also looking to win an NCAA championship in its third Minnesota city (1960 in Minneapolis and 1968 in Duluth). A lot of history between these programs with more history to be made this week.

Photo Credit: Digital Collections at DU

Posted on Posted in Big Ten, Boston College Eagles, Hockey East, Michigan State Spartans
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Heading into the 2006-07 season, the Michigan State Spartans men’s hockey team had high hopes. The reigning CCHA Tournament champions had narrowly missed out on the 2006 Frozen Four – losing by one goal to Maine in the Regional Final. The same could be said for the Boston College Eagles. The 2006 team lost in the NCAA championship game the year before to Wisconsin and the Eagles hoped to avenge that loss the following season.

The Spartans received an at-large bid as the three seed in the Midwest Region of the 2007 NCAA Tournament after losing in the semifinal of the CCHA Tournament. Boston College, on the other hand, won its Hockey East Tournament and was the two seed in the Northeast Region. The two teams made it to the 2007 championship game in St. Louis after impressive NCAA tournament wins.

The title game came down to the final minute as the teams were deadlocked 1-1 since halfway through the third period. A three-on-one breakaway for the Spartans resulted in a near-miss. But the team capitalized in the Boston College zone as Justin Abdelkader scored the game-winning goal with just 18.9 seconds left in regulation. Michigan State would score an empty net goal with two seconds left to seal it. This was the third NCAA hockey championship for Michigan State and first since 1986. It was the second title game loss in a row for Boston College. The Eagles perseverance would pay off in 2008. The third time was the charm as the Eagles defeated Notre Dame in the 2008 NCAA championship game.

The Eagles will play host to the Spartans this week in Chestnut Hill. Boston College has been victorious in the three games the teams have played since the 2007 title game. However, Michigan State holds the all-time series lead 16-9-1 dating back to December 1958.

Posted on Posted in Hockey East, Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks, Merrimack Warriors
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The Massachusetts Lowell and Merrimack men’s hockey programs both currently reside within Hockey East. The River Hawks and Warriors have been members since the 1980s yet the rivalry between the two Massachusetts schools predates Division I. In 1981 the two teams were Division II hockey schools and faced off in the ECAC 2 championship game. Massachusetts Lowell had been a member of ECAC 2 since 1968 while Merrimack had joined at the onset in 1964.

Several years earlier, Merrimack won the inaugural Division II national championship in 1978. Massachusetts Lowell won the following season in 1979. The two teams played in the Third Place game in 1980 with Massachusetts Lowell coming out on top in a high scoring affair 8-7. These two successful – and familiar – Division II foes met on the ice again in 1981 for another playoff game.

The Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks were known as the Lowell Chiefs at the time. The school changed its nickname in 1991 when it joined the University of Massachusetts system. The 1981 ECAC 2 championship game was played March 7, 1981, and it turned out to be a high scoring affair. Lowell outlasted Merrimack 6-4. It was the program’s second conference title in three years and the 14th win in a row at the time. In fact, the team never lost another game that season and ended up winning the Division II national championship. Lowell defended its title by completing the feat the following season as well and even defeated Merrimack in the semifinals en route to the second trophy in a row. Lowell made the leap to Division I hockey prior to the 1983-84 season and Merrimack did so later in the decade prior to the 1989-90 season. Both joined Hockey East and continue to be a part of the conference to this day.

The River Hawks and Warriors will meet this weekend in the Hockey East semifinals at TD Garden in Boston. It is the first Hockey East semifinals appearance for Merrimack since 2011. UMass Lowell made the semifinals last season. The River Hawks have won the Hockey East tournament three times (2013, 2014, 2017) while Merrimack is in search of its first Hockey East tournament title.

Photo Credit: 1981 Lowell Sojourn Yearbook

Posted on Posted in Connecticut Huskies, Hockey East
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The first season the University of Connecticut officially fielded a hockey team was 1960-61. The first game in program history took place at Harvard against the Crimson JV team. The Huskies lost 7-3 but it wasn’t too surprising since the team only practiced several times before the first game and did not have a hockey rink of their own. The Huskies would play all games on the road throughout this inaugural season. In fact, it would be several seasons before the Huskies would host a hockey game. The first program win for UConn was the second game of the 1960-61 season when the Huskies defeated Fort Devens 4-3. UConn would end up with a respectable 4-6-1 record in the program’s first season. The highlight of the season was a 7-4 win over MIT followed by an 8-7 victory over American International to end the season. The Huskies had three goal scorers in double digits in 1960-61. John Dello Stritto led the team with 20 points (12 goals, 8 assists).

UConn joined the ECAC the following season. From there, the UConn program didn’t sit still for long. The Huskies made the move to ECAC 2 in 1963 (to be classified later as Division II in 1973). When ECAC 2 was split into two conferences in 1984, UConn became a part of ECAC East and moved to Division III along with the conference. The Huskies made the jump back to Division I hockey prior to the 1998 season as one of the founding members of the new Metro Atlantic Athletic Association (MAAC) hockey conference. Then five years later UConn was one of the teams that left the MAAC to start the Atlantic Hockey Association in 2003. The Huskies stayed in that conference until 2014 when the program moved to Hockey East, where the team resides today.

The Huskies won the program’s first-ever Hockey East postseason game last weekend in a 3-1 victory over Boston University. UConn will be heading to the Hockey East semifinals for the first time and will face Northeastern at TD Garden in Boston this Friday, March 18.

Photo Credit: Connecticut Huskies 1960-61 team photo from the University of Connecticut Nutmeg Yearbook, 1961.

Posted on Posted in Boston University Terriers, Hockey East, Northeastern Huskies
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The 53rd Beanpot took place February 2005 between the same four men’s hockey teams that had participated since the first tournament in 1952. At the time, the Boston College Eagles were the reigning Beanpot champions after defeating Boston University the previous February by a score of 2-1 in overtime. It was the Eagles 13th Beanpot title. The 2005 tournament was held in the arena currently known as TD Garden. However, it was known as YourGarden in 2005 when it was in naming-rights limbo after FleetCenter and before TD Garden.

The early game on Monday, February 7, was between Northeastern and Harvard. The crowd got its money’s worth from the get-go when it took two overtimes for Northeastern to defeat the Crimson 2-1. The nightcap saw Boston University defeat the Eagles 3-1 setting up a Northeastern versus Boston College Beanpot title game.

The Huskies brought a 10-13-4 record into the Beanpot. The Terriers had a winning record of 15-10-2 at the time. Boston University had previously defeated Northeastern 3-1 earlier in the season on January 7. A sellout crowd was on hand for the Beanpot final between the two Boston schools. Boston University scored twice in the first period but Northeastern chipped away with a goal in each of the final two periods. At the end of regulation, the score was tied 2-2. The game was decided a little more than 14 minutes into overtime when Chris Bourque (son of Ray Bourque) scored to clinch the Beanpot for Boston University.

It was the third time in four years and ninth time in eleven that the Terriers had won the men’s Beanpot. It also marked the 24th time in 39 years. A truly incredible Beanpot run for Boston University. In the above photo, Boston University players mob Bourque and celebrate the Beanpot championship.

Exactly seventeen years later on February 14, the same two teams will meet in the 69th men’s Beanpot final at TD Garden. As the reigning three-time Beanpot champions, Northeastern will be looking to four-peat. Boston University will look to win the Beanpot for the first time since 2015.

Posted on Posted in Boston College Eagles, Hockey East, Northeastern Huskies
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The first Beanpot tournament took place the weekend after Christmas in December 1952. At the time it was called the New England Invitational Tournament and included the same four Boston-based teams that participate today. The single-elimination men’s tournament is now split between the first two Mondays in February and is a spectacle of Boston college hockey. All four teams have had success within the tournament but one of them took a little bit longer than the others to capture its first Beanpot trophy.

Heading into the 1980 Beanpot, Northeastern had a record of just 3-11-0. However, the team had impressively beaten Maine 9-3 in the game leading up to the tournament. The previous Beanpot in 1979 saw the Huskies win the consolation game against Harvard 5-4. At the time, Northeastern had yet to capture the Beanpot trophy. The three other teams had their time in the spotlight. Harvard won the inaugural tournament in 1952. Boston College won the next Beanpot that took place in 1954. Boston University won its first Beanpot trophy in 1958. Northeastern had only participated in the championship game twice before 1980 and had finished last in the tournament 18 times. The team was due.

The schedule for the opening round included Northeastern versus Boston University and Harvard versus Boston College. The first game on Monday, February 4 went into overtime. Northeastern found the back of the net in the extra frame and defeated Boston University 6-5. The second game of the day saw Boston College defeat Harvard 4-3 setting up the Huskies and the Eagles in the championship game February 11 to see who the kings of college hockey in Boston would be.

The championship game took place after Harvard downed Boston University 7-4 in the consolation game. Boston College came into the Beanpot with a 17-4-1 record and was two seasons removed from a national runner-up finish. The title game was one for the ages as it went to overtime to determine the champion. It didn’t take long. At two minutes and 47 seconds into overtime, Wayne Turner scored for the Huskies to clinch Northeastern’s first Beanpot championship with a 5-4 victory. The program’s first Beanpot title in the 28th tournament caused some people to call it the most memorable moment in the history of Northeastern sports. The game was only one of seven losses throughout the season for Boston College.

Fast forward to 2022 and the script has been flipped. There was no Beanpot played in 2021 marking it as the first calendar year where the tournament didn’t take place since 1953. However, Northeastern is the reigning champions. In fact, the Huskies are the reigning three-peat champions having won in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Northeastern is still fourth in terms of the number of first place Beanpot finishes with seven. But the Huskies are narrowing the gap. The opening game of the 2022 tournament will see Boston University face Harvard February 7. The nightcap is a rematch of the 1980 Beanpot championship game when Boston College and Northeastern go toe to toe.

To read additional detail about Beanpot history, view our historical write up that covered U.S. college hockey in the 1950s.

In the featured photo, Wayne Turner celebrates his Beanpot-clinching goal in overtime of the 1980 Beanpot championship game. This historic goal for the program earned him the nickname Wayne “Beanpot” Turner.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Jet Commercial Photographers, Northeastern University Photograph collection, at the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections.

Posted on Posted in Boston University Terriers, Cornell Big Red, ECAC, Hockey East
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On November 25, 2017, Boston University and Cornell met at Madison Square Garden for the sixth edition of Red Hot Hockey. The Red Hot Hockey event was introduced in 2007 when two long-time rivals squared off in New York City’s famous arena. The inaugural game drew 18,200 fans and was considered a success. Members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team were on hand to watch Boston University defeat Cornell. The two programs decided to make a series out of it. After this first game, the Terriers and Big Red have met every odd numbered year the weekend after Thanksgiving in Madison Square Garden in a series known as Red Hot Hockey.

After the first five editions of Red Hot Hockey, Boston University was undefeated with a record of 3-0-2. This changed in 2017. The Big Red jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a goal from Beau Starrett with less than five minutes remaining in the first period. Cornell extended the lead on a goal from Trevor Yates less than seven minutes into the second frame. Then just a little more than two minutes later, Alec McCrea scored a power-play goal to put the Big Red up 3-0. Boston University scored in the third period before Cornell could really pull away. It was a power-play goal from Dante Fabbro less than five minutes into the period. Cornell answered back when freshman Tristan Mullin scored his first collegiate goal. The Terriers would score two more goals by Chad Krys and Patrick Harper but it wasn’t enough. The Big Red held on to the 4-3 win and captured the program’s first Red Hot Hockey win and, with it, the Kelley-Harkness Cup.

In the above photo, Boston University’s Jordan Greenway skates around Cornell’s Brendan Smith during the first period of the 2017 Red Hot Hockey game at Madison Square Garden.

The two red-clad teams will meet for the eighth installment of Red Hot Hockey this weekend on November 27. Cornell is on a two-game Red Hot Hockey winning streak after registering the series’ first shut out in 2019. The game will once again take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. For two programs that have a storied history of playing against one another since 1925, the Red Hot Hockey series adds an extra kick to this rivalry every two years.