As expected, the Hockey East Octofinals didn't offer up too many surprises. The only lower ranked team to win a series was #9 Vermont, who swept #8 UConn. Everything else was straight chalk, and only one series went three games. With Merrimack's 2-1 home win over UNH on Sunday night, the field was set for the Hockey East quarterfinals.
Boston College, as the tournament's #1 seed, will take on the lowest remaining seed, #9 Vermont.
This is, of course, a rematch of last year's Hockey East quarterfinals, in which Vermont stunned BC in three games, winning two straight to knock the Eagles out of the Hockey East tournament. BC has tripped up at this stage two years in a row, and will be seeking their first trip to TD Garden for the Hockey East semifinals since 2013 (which is truly stunning).
The Eagles swept the regular season series against Vermont this year, winning a pair of games at Gutterson Fieldhouse in February.
Here's your full Hockey East quarterfinal schedule...
#1 Boston College vs. #9 Vermont
Game 1>> Friday, 7 PM
Game 2>> Saturday, 7 PM
Game 3, if necessary>> Sunday, 4 PM
BC won regular season series 2-0
#2 Providence vs. #7 Merrimack
Game 1>> Friday, 7 PM
Game 2>> Saturday, 7 PM
Game 3, if necessary>> Sunday, 7 PM
PC won regular season series 2-0
#3 Notre Dame vs. #6 Northeastern
Game 1>> Friday, 7:35 PM
Game 2>> Saturday, 7:05 PM
Game 3, if necessary>> Sunday, 7:05 PM
ND won regular season series 1-0-1
#4 UMass Lowell vs. #5 BU
Game 1>> Friday, 7:15 PM
Game 2>> Saturday, 7 PM
Game 3, if necessary>> Sunday, 4 PM
Regular season series split 1-1
The Northeastern/ND and UML/BU series are expected to be particularly fascinating. The red hot Huskies, who have only lost once in calendar year 2016, are looking to extend their season as they try to make a miracle run to the NCAAs, and have every opportunity to do it against a Notre Dame team that has been unimpressive against top teams. Is NU a top team?
Lowell and BU is a matchup of two tournament bound teams to determine who gets to go to the Garden; it'll also potentially determine who gets a 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.
The puck drops around Hockey East on Friday night.