Hockey East Playoff Matchups Announced

With the conclusion of the regular season, the Hockey East playoff matchups have been determined - and mercifully, without the use of any tiebreakers. Boston College’s 4-3 win over UNH on Saturday night gave them first place in the conference, while Northeastern’s 4-3 win over Boston University ensured that they’ll be heading right back to Agganis Arena to face the Terriers in the quarterfinals. Maine - which swept Merrimack in Orono by a composite score of 11-1 just a week ago - will face the Warriors at Lawler Arena and Vermont will return to the Whittemore Center, where last year it ousted homestanding UNH in the opening round of the playoffs.

(8) UMass at (1) Boston College
Boston College swept the season series, winning two games at the Mullins Center and a third at home against the Minutemen. Cam Atkinson has a team-high six points (1-5=6) against UMass, and John Muse was in net for all three BC wins. 

(5) Maine at (4) Merrimack
After losing 7-1 at Lawler Arena in early January, the Black Bears welcomed Mark Dennehy’s team back to Maine by beating them handily, 4-0 and 7-1 just last weekend. Chris Barton (1-3=4) leads the Warriors in scoring against Maine this year, while Gustav Nyquist (1-4=5) leads Maine, but there are three Black Bears that have registered four points against Joe Cannata, who’s been suddenly fallible in the last two weeks of the season. In 160 minutes against Merrimack, Dan Sullivan has allowed five goals, four of them coming in the January game. Cannata has allowed 10 goals in 135:55 against Maine.

(6) Northeastern at (3) Boston University
Since the 2009 Beanpot, every game between the Terriers and the Huskies has ended in a tie or in a one-goal differential. Clay Witt has been on the decisive end of two games against BU this season, going 1-1 with a .915 save percentage. Anthony Bitetto (0-3=3) leads the Huskies in scoring against Kieran Millan (2-1-0) and the Terriers, while Charlie Coyle (1-4=5) leads BU in scoring against their neighborhood rivals. 

(7) Vermont at (2) New Hampshire
UNH seems to have had Vermont’s number this year, going 2-0-1 with a 5-1 and 6-1 victory. Paul Thompson (3-3=6) and Mike Sislo (0-6=6) lead the Wildcats in scoring against Keven Snedden’s squad, and  Tobias Nilson-Roos (2-0=2) leads the Catamounts in scoring. Matt Di Girolamo has been in net for each - and every - game for UNH this season, posting a .941 save percentage against Vermont.

Names in the sand: the aftermath of the Beanpot

When all was said and done at TD Garden Monday night, it had much less to do with the fact that BU finished last for the first time in 31 years and that BC won their third title in four years than it did with how they did it.

The divide between the Comm Ave rivals has become more and more apparent in recent years, with BU's 2009 Beanpot and National Championship wins seeming more and more like blips on the radar, writes Ryan Durling of SBNation Boston. And as much as we at Sieves like to bash BU, it's all done in good fun; Hockey East has gotten to where it is because of BC-BU and to not acknowledge that fact is akin to ignoring the ice on the rink.

That said, if there's truth to the rumors that Jack Parker may be on the outs at BU, either because of his struggles on the bench or his medical concerns off of it, it would be a devastating blow to a conference that he's been one of the faces of over the past quarter-century. It would be equally as devastating to the Terriers, whom Durling points out would lose all kinds of recruits who come to BU just to play for Parker. But mostly, it would be devastating for Parker, a coach who's given his life to the game and continues to be one of the strongest, if not most candid, backers of the game and what it means to growing men and women who play it.

There is, undoubtedly, a rivalry between Parker and BC bench boss Jerry York, and both men seem as if they could coach until their final day - and maybe even beyond then - but to think that either of those final days may arrive sooner than later is an arrow through the heart of college hockey, its fans and anyone who's been touched by the sport at any point in time.

If Jack Parker truly is battling medical conditions beyond his control, it's our hope that he learns from Marc Savard and steps away before any more trauma can ensue. He's one of the best ambassadors the game has ever known, and while it's always great to win hockey games, it's better to win at life.