1997 Hockey East men's ice hockey tournament explained

Year:1997
Conference:Hockey East
Gender:Men's
Dates:March 6–15, 1997
Teams:8
Finalarena:Fleet Center
Finalcity:Boston, Massachusetts
Champions:Boston University[1]
Titlecount:5th
Coach:Jack Parker[2]
Coachcount:5th
Mvp:Michel Larocque[3]
Mvpteam:Boston University
Prevseason Year:1996
Prevseason Link:1996 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Nextseason Year:1998
Nextseason Link:1998 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

The 1997 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 13th Tournament in the history of the conference. It was played between March 6 and March 15, 1997. Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were played at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts, the home venue of the NHL's Boston Bruins. By winning the tournament, Boston University received the Hockey East's automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

Format

The tournament featured three rounds of play. The team that finishes ninth in the conference is not eligible for tournament play. In the first round, the first and eighth seeds, the second and seventh seeds, the third seed and sixth seeds, and the fourth seed and fifth seeds played a best-of-three with the winner advancing to the semifinals. In the semifinals, the highest and lowest seeds and second-highest and second-lowest seeds play a single elimination game, with the winners advancing to the championship game and the losers meeting in a third-place game. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

Conference standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against

Bracket

[4] Teams are reseeded after the quarterfinalsNote: * denotes overtime period(s)

Quarterfinals

(4) Merrimack vs. (5) Boston College

Semifinals

(2) New Hampshire vs. (5) Boston College

Third Place

(5) Boston College vs. (6) Massachusetts-Lowell

Championship

(1) Boston University vs. (2) New Hampshire

Tournament awards

All-Tournament Team

* Tournament MVP(s)]]

[5]

External links

]

Notes and References

  1. News: Boston University Men's Team History. 2014-05-19.
  2. News: Jack Parker Year-by-Year Coaching Record. 2014-05-19.
  3. News: Hockey East Awards. College Hockey Historical Archive. 2014-05-19.
  4. News: Hockey East Tournament. College Hockey Historical Archive. 2014-05-19.
  5. News: 2013-14 Hockey East Media Guide. Hockey East. 2014-05-19.