Hockey East Playoff Picture: The Final Night
Posted by: Scott McLaughlinWith one night to go in the Hockey East regular season, we know the eight teams that will be in the playoffs. The league title, the last home ice spot, and seeding are still up for grabs, though. Here is a breakdown of where each team stands entering its final game of the season.
Boston College (37 points)
-hosts Vermont.
-had already clinched home ice for the quarterfinals before this weekend.
-clinched a share of the regular-season title with Friday’s 5-1 win over Vermont.
-can clinch the one seed with a win or tie, or a loss and a BU loss or tie.
Boston University (35 points)
-travels to Northeastern.
-had already clinched home ice before this weekend.
-can clinch one of the top two seeds with a win or tie, or a loss and a Lowell loss or tie.
-can clinch a share of the regular-season title and the one seed with a win and a BC loss.
Massachusetts-Lowell (33 points)
-hosts Providence.
-clinched home ice with Friday’s 5-1 win over Providence.
-clinched one of the top three seeds with the win combined with Merrimack’s loss.
-was eliminated from regular-season title contention with BC’s win.
-can clinch the two seed with a win and a BU loss.
Maine (30 points)
-hosts UNH.
-can clinch home ice with a win, or a tie and a Merrimack loss or tie, or a loss and a Merrimack loss.
-is locked into the four or five seed.
-will play Merrimack in the quarterfinals.
Merrimack (29 points)
-hosts UMass.
-can clinch home ice with a win and a Maine loss or tie, or a tie and Maine loss.
-is locked into the four or five seed.
-will play Maine in the quarterfinals.
New Hampshire (24 points)
-travels to Maine.
-is locked into the six or seven seed.
-can clinch the six seed with a win or tie, or a loss and a Providence loss or tie.
Providence (23 points)
-travels to Lowell.
-clinched a playoff spot with Northeastern’s loss.
-can clinch the six seed with a win and a UNH loss.
-can clinch the seven seed with a tie, or a loss and a UMass loss or tie.
Massachusetts (22 points)
-travels to Merrimack.
-clinched a playoff spot with Friday’s 5-1 win over Merrimack combined with Northeastern’s loss and BC’s win.
-is locked into the seven or eight seed.
-can clinch the seven seed with a win and a Providence loss.
Northeastern (20 points)
-hosts BU.
-was eliminated from playoff contention with Friday’s 5-2 loss to BU combined with UMass’ win and BC’s win.
Vermont (7 points)
-travels to BC.
-had already been eliminated from playoff contention before this weekend.