The NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament kicked off Friday, but it was a disappointing day for several Hockey East schools.
No. 4 seed Northeastern kicked off its first appearance in the tourney since 2009 following a historic 20-1-2 late-season run that ended with them winning the Hockey East tournament. The Huskies got off to a quick start, too, as freshman Nolan Stevens potted the first goal of the game just 3:07 into the first.
But Northeastern’s Cinderella run was cut short soon after, as No. 1 North Dakota scored five unanswered goals en route to an eventual 6-2 win.
Things went slightly better for No. 3 Notre Dame, who took No. 2 Michigan to overtime before falling.
Defending national champion and No. 1 seed Providence also suffered an extra-time loss, falling to No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth 2-1 in double OT.
Providence’s previous game came as a triple-overtime loss to UMass Lowell in the Hockey East Tournament semfinal last week.
Lowell and Boston University will look to advance in their tournament openers on Saturday, while Boston College faces Harvard on Friday night.
UPDATE (11:45 p.m. ET): Boston College was the sole Hockey East school to advance Friday, taking down Harvard 4-1.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
