It’ll be UConn and UMass in the 2021-22 Hockey East Championship following Friday’s semifinal action at TD Garden.
UConn advanced by topping No. 1 seed Northeastern, 4-1, in the opening semifinal game, while Massachusetts bested UMass Lowell, 3-1 in the nightcap.
Here’s how it all went down:
UConn 4, Northeastern 1
The victors never trailed, going up 1-0 midway through the first period.
Northeastern got its lone goal minutes later, but UConn capitalized at 13:47 of the second period when Roman Kinal logged the eventual winner.
UConn netminder Darion Hansen finished with 24 saves, while Northeastern goalie Devon Levi — the Hockey East Goaltender of the Year and a Hobey Baker Award finalist — stopped 33 shots for Northeastern.
UConn, a relative newcomer to Hockey East (having joined in 2014-15), had never won a conference tournament game prior to its two victories in this set. Now, it will look for a tournament title — and its first appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Massachusetts 3, UMass Lowell 1
Garret Wait put Massachusetts up in the first period, then Bobby Trivigno — the Hockey East Player of the Year — scored the eventual winner to give Massachusetts a 2-0 lead with less than six minutes in the first period.
Matt Crasa got UMass Lowell on the board late in the second period, but the River Hawks couldn’t battle back and allowed another goal to Massachusetts in the third.
Massachusetts now will look to win back-to-back Hockey East titles — and begin its quest for a second consecutive national title.
The Hockey East championship game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday at TD Garden. You can watch it live on NESN.
