1996 Hockey East men's ice hockey tournament

Last updated

The 1996 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 12th tournament in the history of the conference. It was played between March 7 and March 16, 1996. Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were, for the first time, played at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts, the home venue of the NHL's Boston Bruins. By winning the tournament, Providence received the Hockey East's automatic bid to the 1996 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

Contents

Format

The tournament featured three rounds of play. The team that finishes ninth in the conference is not eligible for tournament play. In the first round, the first and eighth seeds, the second and seventh seeds, the third seed and sixth seeds, and the fourth seed and fifth seeds played a best-of-three with the winner advancing to the semifinals. In the semifinals, the highest and lowest seeds and second-highest and second-lowest seeds play a single elimination game, with the winners advancing to the championship game and the losers meeting in a third-place game. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the 1996 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

Conference standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SW = Shootout Wins; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against

ConferenceOverall
GPWLTSWPTSGFGAGPWLTGFGA
Boston University24175219013279403073236125
Massachusetts–Lowell 241662185114964026104200156
Maine 24146428010275392694164112
Providence*24129306683833921153142135
Boston College 2412102165891023616173126147
New Hampshire 248124149991033412184139150
Northeastern 24613554579933610215118145
Massachusetts 244166436811203510196119161
Merrimack 244182024831113410195123130
Championship: Providence
indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion
Final rankings: USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Coaches Poll Top 10 Poll

Bracket

[4] Teams are reseeded after the quarterfinals

Quarterfinals
March 7–9
Semifinals
March 15
Championship
March 16
           
1Boston University514
8 Massachusetts 2 1
1 Boston University 4
4Providence5
2Massachusetts-Lowell74
7 Northeastern 3 3
3 Maine 2
(Pairings are reseeded after the first round)
4Providence3
3Maine48
6 New Hampshire 2 4
2 Massachusetts-Lowell 2 Third Place
3Maine5
4Providence541Boston University7
5 Boston College 2 2 2 Massachusetts-Lowell 3

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Quarterfinals

(1) Boston University vs. (8) Massachusetts

March 8Boston University5 – 2Massachusetts Walter Brown Arena
March 9Boston University14 – 1Massachusetts Walter Brown Arena
Boston University won series 2–0

(2) Massachusetts-Lowell vs. (7) Northeastern

March 8Massachusetts-Lowell7 – 3Northeastern Tully Forum
March 9Massachusetts-Lowell4 – 3Northeastern Tully Forum
Massachusetts-Lowell won series 2–0

(3) Maine vs. (6) New Hampshire

March 7Maine4 – 2New Hampshire Alfond Arena
March 8Maine8 – 4New Hampshire Alfond Arena
Maine won series 2–0

(4) Providence vs. (5) Boston College

March 7Providence5 – 2Boston College Schneider Arena
March 8Providence4 – 2Boston College Schneider Arena
Providence won series 2–0

Semifinals

(1) Boston University vs. (4) Providence

March 15Boston University4 – 5Providence Fleet Center

(2) Massachusetts-Lowell vs. (3) Maine

March 15Massachusetts-Lowell2 – 5Maine Fleet Center

Third Place

(1) Boston University vs. (2) Massachusetts-Lowell

March 16Boston University7 – 3Massachusetts-Lowell Fleet Center

Championship

(3) Maine vs. (4) Providence

March 16Maine2 – 3Providence Fleet Center

Tournament awards

All-Tournament Team

* Tournament MVP(s)

[5]

References

  1. "Providence Men's Team History" . Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  2. "Paul Pooley Year-by-Year Coaching Record" . Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  3. "Hockey East Awards". College Hockey Historical Archive. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  4. "Hockey East Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archive. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  5. "2013-14 Hockey East Media Guide". Hockey East. Retrieved May 19, 2014.