Hockey East Tournament: Eagles, Terriers Set To Battle For Crown

BOSTON — The stage is set for the Hockey East Championship game. The No. 2 Boston University Terriers will take on the No. 1 Boston College Eagles in the Battle of Comm Ave on Causeway.

For the third time in Hockey East history, the Eagles and Terriers will meet in the title game. In the previous two meetings, BU came out on top 9-4 in 1996 and 2-1 in an overtime winner in 2006. This season, the Eagles have won two of the three meetings between the two teams, with their only loss coming during the semifinal of the Beanpot on Jan. 5.

Cutter Gauthier, who recorded a goal and two assists in the Eagles’ semifinal blowout win over the Minutemen, was thrilled to finally capture a win at TD Garden.

“When you play in a historic building it’s a pretty cool feeling,” Gauthier told reporters. “Obviously, I’ve been on the opposite end of some of those games and those losses, but it feels great to have a full 60 minutes with our group and get the win today.”

Even though the Eagles have steamrolled through the regular season, Will Smith is not taking for granted how hard it is to win in the Hockey East conference.

“Honestly, just the whole year, the league is so tough,” Smith said. “We’ve already played UMass twice before today, and each game was a battle. So, I think the No. 1 seed is nice, but we talked about it’s a new season now, single elimination. We’re going at every game like we’re not the No. 1 seed, so we got to battle every night.”

The Terriers are the defending Hockey East champions, but their path to the final was tighter than the Eagles.

Although BU beat the Maine Black Bears 4-1, the Terriers were outshot 33-18 in the contest.

“It’s obviously a big win for us,” Terriers head coach Jay Pandolfo said after the game. “We get to go to the finals here and have an opportunity to defend the Hockey East championship.

“I don’t know if we were at our best tonight. Give Maine credit, they did a heck of a job. They got on top of you in the neutral zone. Their (defensemen) pinch all the time. We just had a little bit of trouble advancing pucks and we didn’t have enough sustained offensive zone pressure.”

The Terriers capitalized on the power play and they got outstanding goaltending between the pipes. BU tallied two power-play goals, and Mathieu Caron made 32 saves in net.

“At the end of the day, our power play was very good and our goaltender was excellent,” Pandolfo said. “At the end, we hung on there and we did a good job of not giving them too many quality chances and when they had, Caron was excellent.

More notes from Friday’s Hockey East semifinal action:

— Despite being eliminated from the Hockey East Tournament, the Black Bears will still play in the NCAA Hockey Tournament beginning on March 28. Maine’s head coach Ben Barr said since the seedings have not been set, he doesn’t know what region the Black Bears will be playing in.

“If it’s (in the) East it makes it easier for us,” Barr told reporters. “But if it’s out west, it’s all planes, trains and automobiles a little bit, depending on what day we leave. I guess it all depends on where we play and what day.

— The Minutemen may still earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament with Denver defeating St. Cloud in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinals. Massachusetts head coach Greg Carvel knows his team needs to play better if they have the chance to advance.

“Against that team (the Eagles), you better be at your best, and we were a long way from it tonight right from the start,” Carvel told reporters. “… It didn’t feel like our group tonight much at all. BC is a tremendous team. Such a high offensive powerhouse and we didn’t manage the puck very well. Not a lot of poise with the puck.”

— The Eagles’ eight unanswered goals in the first game set a record for the most consecutive goals in a Hockey East semifinal game. Maine still holds the record for the biggest goal differential with their 16-0 win over UMass-Lowell in 1990.

— BC is riding an 11-game winning streak heading into the title game. It is the longest streak since the Minutemen rattled off 14 straight to win the National title in the 2020-21 season.

— The Terriers are the defending Hockey East champions, defeating Merrimack in the title game in 2023. The Eagles are returning to the final for the first time since 2019. BC last won the Hockey East championship in 2012.

— The Hockey East Championship game between the Eagles and Terriers is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET at TD Garden and you can watch the game on NESN.