Two Boston powerhouse college hockey programs are on a collision course with national implications.
Standing in their way are a hungry pair of New England state universities with the spoiler gene programed into their hockey DNA.
Four teams ranked nationally from No. 1 to No. 13 in the USCHO poll — all with 20 or more wins — will find their way to the TD Garden on Friday for the 39th Hockey East Tournament semifinals.
This could be the strongest Hockey East Final Four ever assembled in terms of national rankings in the storied history of the tournament.
No. 1 ranked and top-seeded Boston College (29-5-1, 20-3-1) will engage No. 13 and fifth-seed UMass (20-12-3, 12-10-2) in the opener at 4 p.m.
The No. 2 ranked, second-seeded and defending champion Boston University Terriers (25-8-2, 18-4-2) will face off against No. 7 ranked and third-seeded Maine (23-10-2, 14-9-1) in the nightcap at 7:30. The final will be played on Saturday night (7:30) at the Garden.
BC and BU are tied with 27 semifinal appearances. BC is first with 11 Hockey East tournament titles, but the Eagles haven’t won since 2012. The Terriers are second with 10, Maine has five and UMass has two.
“I don’t know the exact history of some of the other Final Fours that have taken place, but saying that, this is definitely a strong field,” said BU second-year coach Jay Pandolfo. “BC has been one basically the second half of the year the whole time and Maine has been in the top 10 all year long.
“UMass pretty much as well so, yeah, it is a great Final Four here for Hockey East. It should be exciting and should be a lot of fun.”
BU was ranked No. 1 and BC was No. 2 going into the most anticipated home and home weekend series in years. BC took the first match 4-1 at home on Jan. 26 and the rematch 4-3 the following night at Agganis Arena.
BC took over the top spot and stayed there despite a 4-3 loss to BU in the Beanpot semifinal at the Garden on Feb. 5. The spoiler tag could also apply to the Northeastern Huskies who knocked off the Terriers 4-3 in overtime in the Beanpot championship game.
Since losing in the Beanpot final, BU has gone 6-0-1, including a 4-2 win over the Huskies in the Hockey East quarterfinals. After falling to BU in the Beanpot semis, BC went 10-0 down the stretch, including a home-and home-series sweep of UMass.
“It was a very good league this year,” said BC coach Greg Brown, the Hockey East Coach of the Year. “I’m not going to compare us to other leagues, I just know Hockey East was extremely competitive this year.
“There were no easy games, every one was a rock fight and you do the best you can. We are fortunate to be where we are. Every league likes to say they are the best and I would say we are at least as good as the other leagues. I guess that’s decided in the end by who is in the best spot.”
The other barometer used to measure the collective strength of this Final Four are the players on the four rosters. Boston College has 14 NHL draft picks, with four taken in the first round, three of whom are freshmen on the same line.
BC has a USA Hockey-record seven players from the gold medal-winning U.S. team that competed in the IIHF World Junior Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden. They are forwards Cutter Gauthier, Gabe Perreault, Will Smith and Ryan Leonard, defensemen Drew Fortescue and Aram Minnetian, and goalie Jacob Fowler.
BU has 14 NHL draft picks, including defenseman Tom Willander, who was taken 11th overall by Vancouver in 2023. Freshman center Macklin Celebrini, a 17-year-old from Vancouver, B.C, is expected to be the first player taken in the 2024 NHL Draft. Celebrini was named Hockey East Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. The last BU player to cop both awards was Jack Eichel of Chelmsford in 2015.
The three Terriers who competed in the IIHF World Junior Championships are sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson (U.S.), Willander (Sweden) and Celebrini (Canada). Macklin, Hutson, Gauthier and Smith are among the Top 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award.
UMass has 13 NHL draft picks, with two taken in the second round. Maine’s only draft pick is freshman forward Bradly Nadeau, who was taken in the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2023.
“It tells you all four rosters are really deep,” said Pandolfo. “I think it also says a lot about where college hockey is right now.
“There is a lot of talent in college hockey. It’s a great development path and you see guys moving on from this level having success in the National Hockey League, so it’s great to see. I think college hockey is in a great spot right now.”
BU swept Maine with a pair of one-goal victories at home on Nov. 17 and 18, but the Black Bears recovered to remain a top 10 team for most of the season. Pandolfo expects a tough game in a great atmosphere.
“You work all year to get opportunities like this and this is the fun part when you are competing for a championship,” said Pandolfo. “I know our guys are excited and looking forward to it and it is a great environment playing in the TD Garden.”
Brown has a healthy respect for the program Minutemen coach Greg Carvel has built over the last decade. UMass advanced to the Hockey East semifinals with a 3-1 quarterfinal victory over No. 4 seed Providence College at Schneider Arena, a boneyard venue where visiting teams come to die in the postseason. The Minutemen were rewarded for their victory by moving up three places in the USCHO rankings.
“We had two very tight games with them awhile ago,” said Brown. “We watched their tape against Providence and they were outstanding so we know we are in for a real fight.”
BC and BU have each won five national championships, Maine has two and UMass one.