UConn vs. Boston University (March 20)
UConn wasn’t exactly a favorite in Hockey East.
The Hockey East Preseason Coaches’ Poll projected the Huskies (22-11-4, 12-8-4 HEA) to finish as the eighth-best team in the conference, out of the eleven participating teams. They only received 47 points in the voting, which paled in comparison to Boston University’s 99 points and second place ranking in the poll.
Regardless, the Huskies were the most recent example of a tournament wide narrative thus far, every team has a chance to win in March. Led by Joey Muldowney’s third hat trick of the season, the Huskies took down the Terriers (21-13-2, 14-8-2 HEA), 5-2.
UConn did not control the entire game. BU grabbed an early lead halfway through the first period when Quinn Hutson scored his 21st goal of the year on an assist from his brother, Cole. The Terrier lead held through the end of the first period.
Then came the second. And with it came the Huskies.
Tristan Fraser scored 59 seconds into the period, tying the game. Ryan Tattle scored just under two minutes after that, giving UConn the lead and the momentum. Six minutes later, Muldowney registered his first of three goals.
Muldowney’s 26 and 27th goals of the year represented the dagger, the latter being an empty net goal. BU’s Kamil Bednarek added a 4-on-4 goal with 10 seconds remaining.
Northeastern vs. Maine (March 20)
The 2024-2025 regular season was not one to remember for the Northeastern. The Huskies (14-20-3, 7-14-3 HEA) represented one of this year’s underachievers in Hockey East.
Still, head coach Jerry Keefe and company had managed to catch fire at the right time, winning their first two matches in the Hockey East tournament, including a mammoth upset of No. 1 Boston College.
Maine, however, has represented Hockey East royalty this year. The Black Bears (24-7-6, 13-5-6 HEA) were consistently a top five team in the NCAA’s national rankings, finishing the regular season at No. 4.
If Northeastern’s run thus far had proven anything, it’s that they would not go down without a thrilling fight. They gave the TD Garden crowd a show, dragging Maine into two overtimes before eventually running out of luck, losing 4-3.
Maine Senior Owen Fowler achieved every hockey player’s dream to start this game. He opened the game’s scoring in the first period, then doubled his team’s lead with his 10th goal of the year in the second.
The Huskies responded quickly. Northeastern’s Dylan Hyrckowian scored a power play goal less than two minutes later. With 49 seconds left in the second, recent NHL call-up Cam Lund netted the tying goal, sending the two teams to a tied third period.
Andy Moore’s first goal of the year at 4:29 into the third period truly started to make the Huskies believe. The lead held for just under nine minutes, when Maine’s Luke Antonacci scored his second goal of the year. This goal eventually sent the game to overtime.
As this tournament has previously demonstrated, one overtime was not enough. In the second overtime, senior Nolan Renwick ended Northeastern’s dream run and punched the Black Bears’ ticket to the finals.
Championship: UConn vs. Maine (March 21)
Maine head coach Ben Barr had a clear grievance with his team, despite making it to the tournament final.
“I thought as soon as we went down 3-2, the game changed,” Barr said. “Now, why do we go down 3-2 after being [ahead] 2-0? That’s a problem.”
It is a direct reference to the fact that, in its matchup the day before against Northeastern, the team gained a two-goal lead, only to blow it. In Friday’s final, Maine gave itself an opportunity to right this wrong.
It has been 21 years since the Black Bears have called their hockey program the best of the Hockey East, and for UConn, it has yet to earn that privilege. Both teams were more than hungry and eager for this game.
Maine came out with the hot hand. They had once again given themselves a 2-0 lead on goals from Lynden Breen and Josh Nadeau, whose goal came off a rare assist from goaltender Albin Boija.
The second period started relatively quiet. It took over three quarters of the period for either team to score, but it was the Black Bears who extended their lead to three in the second period. Harrison Scott earned the credit for this goal on an assist from David Breazeale.
UConn finished the period scoreless. The Huskies trailed 3-0 going into the third period.
While the third period ended up with the most goals of any of the three, only two players scored. For UConn, junior Tabor Heaslip snuck a shot past Boija, which was answered by former UMass Minuteman Taylor Makar six minutes later. The two repeated this exchange as Heaslip scored at 14:41, and Makar iced the game with an empty net goal four minutes later.
By a final score of 5-2, the Maine Black Bears won the 2024-25 Hockey East Championship. This is their first Hockey East title since 2004.
What’s Next?
The Hockey East field will wait for the announcement of seeding for the 2024-25 NCAA Ice Hockey National tournament. The Maine Black Bears have secured a spot with the Hockey East championship title.
Boston College, Boston University, UConn, Providence and Massachusetts will be included in the 16-team field despite losing in the conference tournament. These teams will learn their seeding and game location during the selection show on Sunday, March 23 at 3 p.m. The show can be watched live on ESPNU.
Matt Kotfila can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X at @mattkotfila.
