ECH Hockey East Semifinals Recap
BY ARIANA OTTRANDO — MARCH 21ST, 2025
There’s no doubt that Hockey East has been the hardest conference in college hockey this season, holding a whopping six of the top 16 teams currently in the Pairwise—or half of the conference (six out of 12). Therefore, the feat of “2025 Hockey East Champion” is a tall task and especially impressive.
The fact that the reigning HE champion No. 1 Boston College didn’t even make the Semifinals at TD Garden is the best evidence of this, with an upset by Northeastern University to become the first No. 9 seed to make the Semifinals and also the lowest seed to beat a No. 1 seed in the quarterfinals. Of the four contenders—Boston University, Northeastern University, University of Connecticut, and University of Maine—all except Northeastern have already clinched at-large bids for the NCAA tournament in St. Louis.
No. 7/8 University of Connecticut took on No. 8/7 Boston University at 4 p.m., and No. 4/5 University of Maine battled it out with RV Northeastern for the late slot at 7:30 p.m.
BU vs UConn
Coming into the game, BU was the favorite with a 1-1 record against UConn thus far this season. And the first period certainly matched those expectations.
Although UConn outshot BU by double, eight to four, in the opening frame, it was special teams that gave BU the slight edge on the scoreboard. Thanks to some brotherly chemistry, the Terriers were leading 1-0 after 20 minutes with a powerplay goal by Quinn Hutson, assisted by Cole Hutson, while UConn was 0/2 on its own man advantages—including the latter that carried over into period two.
“I like the way we played in the first period,” said UConn head coach Mike Cavanaugh. “We’re down one [to] nothing, but our theme in the locker room between periods was [to] stay with it—don’t get bored of doing what works.”
However, the tides quickly turned for BU when UConn found the equalizer 0:59 seconds into the second frame, still riding on the PP momentum. Tristan Fraser put away his own rebound, after swatting at the puck for a third time in front, to get the Huskies in the game.
📸: Ariana Ottrando
From then on, it was a UConn showcase, with the Huskies leading 3-1 by 8:42 of the middle frame. The second tally came from Ryan Tattle off a breakaway, finishing five-hole on BU’s 6’5’’ goaltender Mikhail Yegorov, and the third by UConn’s leading goal-scorer Joey Muldowney with a backhand beauty from behind the red line, also netting his own rebound.
“The goalie robbed me on the first one, to be honest, but I was just making the second effort … just trying to get it in the net,” said Muldowney.
BU put more pucks on net in period two—10 to UConn’s 13, for a 40-minute total of 21-14 UConn—but nothing of substance to deter UConn’s rhythm headed into the second intermission.
On their make-or-break second, and final, powerplay opportunity of the night, the Terriers were robbed by UConn freshman goaltender Callum Tung to keep it a 3-1 game.
Instead, just five minutes into the final frame, the Huskies took advantage of another turnover in BU’s D-zone to increase the deficit to three. Off a two-on-one, Jake Richard found Muldowney on the backdoor, who then tipped it home for a 4-1 lead.
“I think that [our confidence] just builds from game to game,” said Richard. “Being in these big game situations and learning from each and every one … We have undoubted belief throughout every game, and it’s only rising.”
With desperation setting in, BU pulled Yegorov for the extra attacker with 5:30 remaining in regulation. The Terriers didn’t get on the board again until 19:50 after Muldowney had already sealed the deal with the ENG for his 27th goal of the season, maintaining that three-goal lead for the Huskies in hattrick fashion for a final score of 5-2 UConn.
📸: Ariana Ottrando
“[We were] out-competed, out-battled for every puck … [UConn] wanted it a heck of a lot more than we did,” said BU’s head coach Jay Pandolfo. “They deserved everything they got, and we deserved everything we got tonight. Credit to them.”
The Huskies won two out of three periods and never let BU back in the game, securing their ticket to the Hockey East Finals for the first time since 2022 and seeking their first ever conference title since joining the conference in 2014.
“My goal when I came here, I remember saying that I didn’t want to build a “.com”—I wanted to build a blue chip company,” said Cavanaugh. “I don’t know if we’re there yet, but we’re trending that way.”
Maine vs Northeastern
Considering the standings and Maine’s 3-0 record over Northeastern this season, one being a shootout, nobody could’ve predicted the battle that these teams would put up in their Semifinals matchup.
Both the Black Bears and NU Huskies had good looks to start off—with one and two man-advantages for the period, respectively—but NU’s sophomore goaltender Cameron Whitehead could only hold off Maine’s offense for so long after 14 saves in the opening 11 minutes of play.
Maine’s Owen Fowler turned a Northeastern O-zone turnover into the Bears’ leading notch, with a five-hole goal at 14:02, and Maine headed into first intermission sitting on a one-goal lead. Shots on goal (SOG) after 20 was 17-10, in favor of Maine.
It seemed to be “lights out” for Northeastern when Maine’s Fowler scored yet again just two minutes into the second period for a 2-0 game, but the Huskies found their footing on their third powerplay opportunity in the following minutes. Dylan Hryckowian and NU’s first PP unit capitalized with a gritty first goal, finishing the rebound to cut Maine’s deficit to one at 4:01.
Backed by NU’s Whitehead and Hobey Baker nominee Cam Lund in the closing minutes of period two, NU was able to both kill off a second Maine PP and find the equalizer to go into the final frame tied up at two. Off an odd-man rush with under a minute to go, Jackson Dorrington fed Lund his 18th goal of the season and the Huskies went into second intermission with a newfound confidence and totally different set of circumstances for period three.
📸: Ariana Ottrando
And it didn’t stop there. Momentum continued rolling for NU and the Huskies took their first lead of the game 4:29 into period three with Maine-native Andy Moore’s first career goal. Moore punched a rebound off his backhand to make it a 3-2 game, this time with the 4th line getting rewarded for its efforts.
“[Moore] is one of the most well-respected guys in that room. He’s a leader on our team,” said Northeastern head coach Jerry Keefe. “That gave our team such a big boost too to get the lead. I know the guys were excited for him, he earned it.”
After three unanswered goals by Northeastern, Maine was due for a response and it came at 12:44 with a goal by Luke Antonacci. The Black Bears won the faceoff clean back to the junior in the high slot and the puck deflected in for a tied game, yet again, at three.
“I thought as soon as we went down 3-2, the game changed,” said Maine’s head coach Ben Barr. “Why do we have to go down 3-2 after we’re up 2-0? It’s a problem … We have an ability to really put the pressure on when we’re working. That speaks to the character and passion they have for [the game] in the locker room.”
📸: Ariana Ottrando
Maine drew a fourth PP with seven to play in regulation, but NU held on—allowing only one SOG and going 4/4 on the PK—to send the game to overtime. Shots on goal for the period finished at 14-5 Maine and 39-24 through sixty minutes.
Both teams were visibly gassed by the latter half of the extra period, but they played smart defense to land a second overtime period—making it NU’s second double overtime game in this Hockey East playoffs, after beating Merrimack in the opening round. The Black Bears dominated O-zone possession to put up 11 shots to the Huskies’ seven, for a grand total of 50-31 Maine.
It was looking like a third overtime period approaching, with quality chances on both ends, but Maine’s Nolan Renwick called game with 8:58 remaining of OT2, officially ending Northeastern’s season and chance at cracking the NCAA tournament. Charlie Russell threw the puck cross-crease and found Renwick on the back post for the tip-in, for a final score of 4-3 Maine. NU challenged for a major penalty, but the goal stood—sending Maine to its first Hockey East Final since 2012.
“You get deep into second overtime, we figured it was going to be a greasy goal to end there,” said Renwick. “I just went and parked myself at the side of the net. [Russell] saw me, and he threw it to that back post. I was lucky it went off me.”
57 saves for Whitehead through approximately 91 minutes was good enough for 3rd most saves in a Semifinal game, and 12th most all-time in the tournament. Taking both Merrimack and Maine to double OT, and upsetting No. 1 Boston College in regulation as the No. 9 seed are note-worthy accomplishments that Northeastern can take away from this season looking forward.
“I just can’t say how proud I am of this group,” said Keefe. “I’m proud of the sacrifices guys made to do whatever they could … [Whitehead] gave us a chance to win here in overtime throughout the playoffs. I thought we played our best hockey right there at the end, so he obviously led the way in the net.”
So, how does a team reset and recover coming off a double OT game to do it all again the next night?
“Just sticking to our normal process, a little bit of extra hydration,” said Renwick. “I’m not worried about our team’s energy tomorrow, we’re going to bring it.”
It comes down to the UConn Huskies and the Maine Black Bears facing off for the Lamoriello Trophy tonight and striving for their first and sixth Hockey East titles, respectively, in program history. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. at TD Garden.
