Editor's note: This season marks the 25th anniversary of the Hockey East Tournament, and in celebration of the quarter-century mark, we have ranked the 24 championship games from 1985-2008. From now until this year's championship game, we will count down the most memorable championships in Hockey East history.
18. 2005: Boston College 3, UNH 1
No team in the 2004-2005 season established itself as dominant in Hockey East. Boston College won the regular-season title, finishing a point ahead of Boston University and New Hampshire. In the semifinals, BC was pushed to the limit by fourth-seeded Maine but prevailed in double overtime with a 2-1 victory.
In the finals, the Eagles took care of No. 3 seed UNH with a 3-1 win to earn their sixth Hockey East Championship. Hingham, Mass., native Brian Boyle took home tournament MVP honors before going on to play for the AHL's Manchester Monarchs and NHL's Los Angeles Kings. Goaltender Cory Schneider posted an all-time Hockey East Tournament best .86 goals against average.
17. 1997: Boston University 4, UNH 2
A junior forward from Connecticut by the name of Chris Drury led the Terriers to their fifth Hockey East Championship. Drury, who led Hockey East with 27 goals and 41 points, and the top-ranked Terriers took on the No. 2 UNH Wildcats in the finals, winning 4-2.
Goaltender Michel Larocque was named tournament MVP after leading the conference in goals against average all season (2.57). The Terriers made up most of the All-Tournament Team, with defensemen Shane Johnson and Chris Kelleher joining forward Shawn Bates and Larocque.
16. 2007: Boston College 5, UNH 2
There was nobody that could beat BC in 2007. In fact, nobody could even close.
BC went 4-0 in the tournament, outscoring opponents 21-5 in the process. In the finals, the Eagles built a four-goal lead early in the third period and coasted to a 5-2 win to secure their seventh Hockey East Championship – the most all-time.
Four of the six members of the All-Tournament Team came from BC: goalie Cory Schneider, defenseman Brian Boyle and forwards Benn Ferriero and tournament MVP Brock Bradford.
Schneider ended his career with the lowest goals against average in tournament history (1.27 from 2004-2007). Though the win was technically an upset on paper, the top-seeded Wildcats could not get in the way of the streaking Eagles, whose run ended with a national championship loss to Michigan State.
15. 2001: Boston College 5, Providence 3
In a Hockey East crop that featured a number of future NHL players, the top-seeded Eagles crushed the competition, going 4-0 and outscoring opponents 16-5. Future Bruin Chuck Kobasew was named tournament MVP.
Kobasew, playing alongside Brian Gionta, was part of the powerful offense, while goaltender Scott Clemmensen ended his career with the most wins in tournament history with 15.
The Eagles went on to the NCAA tournament, where they were equally as impressive. BC beat Maine, Michigan and North Dakota on its way to winning its first national championship since 1949.
14. 1995: Boston University 3, Providence 2
The Terriers were far from dominant in their Hockey East run in '95, but they might have been saving their best work for the NCAA Tournament.
Led by future NHL tough guy Mike Grier and speedster Shawn Bates, BU dominated the national field, beating Maine 6-2 in the title game to win the school's fourth national championship. In the Hockey East finals, BU faced a Cinderella Providence team, which had beaten No. 3 UNH in overtime and walloped No. 1 Maine 7-3 in the semifinals. Their improbable streak was halted by BU when the Terriers won 3-2.
13. 1998: Boston College 3, Maine 2
When the eighth-seeded Merrimack Warriors knocked off top-ranked BU in the quarterfinals, there's no doubt that spirits were running high in North Andover. Then the Warriors hit a brick wall known as the Boston College Eagles.
BC ended Merrimack's championship hopes with a 7-2 thumping at the Fleetcenter in the semifinals. Led by Brian Gionta's season-best 22 goals and tournament MVP Marty Reasoner, the Eagles edged No. 6 Maine 3-2 in the finals to win the tournament. The Eagles didn't stop there, again cruising past the competition on their way to the national title game, where they lost a heartbreaker in overtime to Michigan.
