The 2023 Hockey East championship is set with the Boston University Terriers taking on the Merrimack College Warriors on Saturday night at TD Garden.
Both teams needed extra hockey in the semifinals Friday with BU taking down the Friars in overtime and Merrimack sending UMass Lowell home in double-overtime.
BU-Providence was scoreless until late in the third, with both teams having plenty of scoring chances but got stonewalled by the goalies. The Friars drew first blood with 7:35 left in the game on a Bennett Schimek goal but Dylan Petersen made it a 1-1 game five minutes later.
Providence did a good job not allowing BU to get a lot of shots on net with the Terriers only having eight through two periods.
The game remained 1-1 at the end of 60 minutes and it was Quinn Hutson who punched BU’s ticket to the championship game.
Merrimack and UMass Lowell needed double OT to decide the winner and the game did not lack entertainment. A fast-paced first period was highlighted by both goalies and helped keep it a scoreless game after 20 minutes.
Much like the BU-Providence game, Merrimack and the River Hawks remained scoreless until the third period when the Warriors struck first with Jordan Seyfert putting his team up 1-0. UMass Lowell netted the equalizer with 31 seconds left to force OT.
But after an extra 20 minutes the game still remained scoreless but Matt Copponi sent Merrimack to the final with a goal on the wide-open net.
This will be the Warriors’ first Hockey East final in 12 years, while BU will go for its 10th Hockey East title. The Warriors beat the Terriers twice this season. It’s sure to be a battle between the two teams and the goalies will be tasked with trying to stop offenses that aren’t afraid to shoot the puck.
Merrimack and BU boast multiple double-digit goal scorers on their rosters, and for seniors like Terriers’ Matt Brown and Wilmer Skoog, they certainly will want to add another accolade to their collegiate résumé before it comes to an end.
Saturday’s Hockey East final will air on NESN with puck drop set for 7 p.m. ET.
