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Here is the updated Hockey East playoff picture after Boston College hockey's 5-1 victory over Vermont.
| Rk. | Team | GP | Record | Pts. | Max | PS | Remaining Opponents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston College Eagles * # | 26 | 18-7-1 | 37 | 39 | 1-2 | Vermont |
| 2 | Boston University Terriers * # | 26 | 17-8-1 | 35 | 37 | 1-3 | at Northeastern |
| 3 | UMass-Lowell River Hawks * # | 26 | 16-9-1 | 33 | 35 | 2-3 | Providence |
| 4 | Maine Black Bears * | 26 | 14-10-2 | 30 | 32 | 4-5 | New Hampshire |
| 5 | Merrimack Warriors * | 26 | 12-9-5 | 29 | 31 | 4-5 | UMass |
| 6 | New Hampshire Wildcats * | 26 | 11-13-2 | 24 | 26 | 6-7 | at Maine |
| 7 | Providence Friars * | 26 | 10-13-3 | 23 | 25 | 6-8 | at UMass-Lowell |
| 8 | Massachusetts Minutemen * | 26 | 9-13-4 | 22 | 24 | 7-8 | at Merrimack |
| 9 | Northeastern Huskies E | 26 | 8-14-4 | 20 | 22 | 9 | Boston University |
| 10 | Vermont Catamounts E | 26 | 3-22-1 | 7 | 9 | 10 | at Boston College |
* cliched playoff berth; # clinched home ice for quarterfinals; (PS) possible finish, E eliminated
BC has now clinched at least a share of the Hockey East regular season title and is two points clear of Boston University for the title. If the Eagles manage a point tonight against Vermont, BC will have captured its 12th Hockey East regular season title in program history and back-to-back titles for the first time since 2004-05.
Should BU beat Northeastern on the road tonight and BC lose to Vermont, it would be the Terriers that come away with the regular season title and the top seed by virtue of their 2-1-0 head-to-head record against the Eagles.
With a UMass-Lowell victory over Providence combined with a BU loss to Northeastern, the River Hawks can claim the no. 2 seed. Both the River Hawks and Terriers would finish with 35 points, but UML owns the head-to-head tiebreaker with their 2-1-0 record against BU.
Maine and Merrimack go into the final night of the regular season battling for the fourth and final home ice spot.
New Hampshire needs to manage at least a point tonight to lock themselves into the no. 6 seed over Providence. UMass can only jump PC at this point to grab the no. 7 seed which, frankly would be a welcome outcome for BC. The Eagles swept the regular season series with PC this season (3-0-0), have won 11 consecutive meetings and are unbeaten in their last 15 games against the Friars (13-0-2). On the other hand, UMass surprisingly took the season series from BC this year with a 2-1-0 record.
If the season ended today, here is what the Hockey East quarterfinals would be:
No. 1 Boston College vs. No. 8 Massachusetts (UMass won the regular season series 2-1-0)
No. 2 Boston University vs. No. 7 Providence (BU 2-1-0)
No. 3 UMass-Lowell vs. No. 6 New Hampshire (UML 2-1-0)
No. 4 Maine vs. No. 5 Merrimack (MC 2-0-1)
Go Eagles!