| 1996 Hockey East Men's ice hockey tournament | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 7–16, 1996 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Finals site | Fleet Center Boston, Massachusetts |
| Champions | Providence [1] (2nd title) |
| Winning coach | Paul Pooley [2] (1st title) |
| MVP | Joe Hulbig [3] (Providence) |
Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments | |
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.
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.
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SW = Shootout Wins; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against
| Conference | Overall | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| Boston University† | 24 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 90 | 132 | 79 | 40 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 236 | 125 | |
| Massachusetts–Lowell | 24 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 85 | 114 | 96 | 40 | 26 | 10 | 4 | 200 | 156 | |
| Maine | 24 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 80 | 102 | 75 | 39 | 26 | 9 | 4 | 164 | 112 | |
| Providence* | 24 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 66 | 83 | 83 | 39 | 21 | 15 | 3 | 142 | 135 | |
| Boston College | 24 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 65 | 89 | 102 | 36 | 16 | 17 | 3 | 126 | 147 | |
| New Hampshire | 24 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 49 | 99 | 103 | 34 | 12 | 18 | 4 | 139 | 150 | |
| Northeastern | 24 | 6 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 45 | 79 | 93 | 36 | 10 | 21 | 5 | 118 | 145 | |
| Massachusetts | 24 | 4 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 36 | 81 | 120 | 35 | 10 | 19 | 6 | 119 | 161 | |
| Merrimack | 24 | 4 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 83 | 111 | 34 | 10 | 19 | 5 | 123 | 130 | |
| Championship: Providence † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Final rankings: USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Coaches Poll Top 10 Poll | |||||||||||||||
[4] Teams are reseeded after the quarterfinals
| Quarterfinals March 7–9 | Semifinals March 15 | Championship March 16 | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Boston University | 5 | 14 | — | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Massachusetts | 2 | 1 | — | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Boston University | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Providence | 5 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 7 | 4 | — | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Northeastern | 3 | 3 | — | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Maine | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Providence | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Maine | 4 | 8 | — | ||||||||||||
| 6 | New Hampshire | 2 | 4 | — | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 2 | Third Place | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Maine | 5 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Providence | 5 | 4 | — | 1 | Boston University | 7 | |||||||||
| 5 | Boston College | 2 | 2 | — | 2 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 3 | |||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
| March 8 | Boston University | 5 – 2 | Massachusetts | Walter Brown Arena | ||||
| March 9 | Boston University | 14 – 1 | Massachusetts | Walter Brown Arena | ||||
| Boston University won series 2–0 | |
| March 8 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 7 – 3 | Northeastern | Tully Forum | ||||
| March 9 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 4 – 3 | Northeastern | Tully Forum | ||||
| Massachusetts-Lowell won series 2–0 | |
| March 7 | Maine | 4 – 2 | New Hampshire | Alfond Arena | ||||
| March 8 | Maine | 8 – 4 | New Hampshire | Alfond Arena | ||||
| Maine won series 2–0 | |
| March 7 | Providence | 5 – 2 | Boston College | Schneider Arena | ||||
| March 8 | Providence | 4 – 2 | Boston College | Schneider Arena | ||||
| Providence won series 2–0 | |
| March 15 | Boston University | 4 – 5 | Providence | Fleet Center | ||||
| March 15 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 2 – 5 | Maine | Fleet Center | ||||
| March 16 | Boston University | 7 – 3 | Massachusetts-Lowell | Fleet Center | ||||
| March 16 | Maine | 2 – 3 | Providence | Fleet Center | ||||
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