# 2003 Hockey East men's ice hockey tournament

The 2003 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 19th Tournament in the history of the conference. It was played between March 6 and March 17, 2003. 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 New Hampshire received the Hockey East's automatic bid to the 2003 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 winner advancing to the championship game. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the 2003 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
2002–03 Hockey East standingsvte :
| | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #3 New Hampshire†* | 24 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 34 | 84 | 55 | 42 | 28 | 8 | 6 | 156 | 96 |
| #8 Boston College† | 24 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 34 | 97 | 55 | 39 | 24 | 11 | 4 | 149 | 97 |
| #9 Maine | 24 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 32 | 81 | 61 | 39 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 140 | 91 |
| Providence | 24 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 27 | 76 | 71 | 36 | 19 | 14 | 3 | 126 | 104 |
| #7 Boston University | 24 | 13 | 10 | 1 | 27 | 78 | 66 | 42 | 25 | 14 | 3 | 143 | 112 |
| Massachusetts | 24 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 20 | 60 | 80 | 37 | 19 | 17 | 1 | 119 | 125 |
| Merrimack | 24 | 7 | 13 | 4 | 18 | 59 | 80 | 36 | 12 | 18 | 6 | 92 | 116 |
| Massachusetts–Lowell | 24 | 4 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 63 | 95 | 36 | 11 | 20 | 5 | 110 | 142 |
| Northeastern | 24 | 5 | 17 | 2 | 12 | 54 | 89 | 34 | 10 | 21 | 3 | 83 | 115 |
| Championship: New Hampshire † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Final rankings: USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Poll Top 15 Poll |||||||||||||||

## Bracket

| Quarterfinals March 6–8 | Quarterfinals March 6–8 | Quarterfinals March 6–8 | Quarterfinals March 6–8 | Quarterfinals March 6–8 | | | Semifinals March 14 | Semifinals March 14 | Semifinals March 14 | Championship March 15 | Championship March 15 | Championship March 15 |
| 1 | New Hampshire | 8 | 8 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 4 | 4 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 4 | 4 | — | | | 1 | New Hampshire | 5 | | | |
| | | | | | | | 6 | Massachusetts | 4 | | | |
| 2 | Boston College | 4 | 2 | — | | | 6 | Massachusetts | 4 | | | |
| 7 | Merrimack | 1 | 1 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Merrimack | 1 | 1 | — | | | | | | 1 | New Hampshire | 1* |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 1 | New Hampshire | 1* |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 5 | Boston University | 0 |
| 3 | Maine | 3 | 2 | – | | | | | | | | | 5 | Boston University | 0 |
| 6 | Massachusetts | 5 | 4 | – | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Massachusetts | 5 | 4 | – | | | 2 | Boston College | 5 | | | |
| | | | | | | | 5 | Boston University | 6** | | | |
| 4 | Providence | 4 | 1 | – | | | 5 | Boston University | 6** | | | |
| 5 | Boston University | 5* | 7 | – | | | | | | | | |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

### Quarterfinals
#### (1) New Hampshire vs. (8) Massachusetts-Lowell

* New Hampshire won series 2–0

#### (2) Boston College vs. (7) Merrimack

* Boston College won series 2–0

#### (3) Maine vs. (6) Massachusetts

* Massachusetts won series 2–0

#### (4) Providence vs. (5) Boston University

* Boston University won series 2–0

### Championship
#### (1) New Hampshire vs. (5) Boston University
## Tournament awards
### All-Tournament Team

* F Justin Maiser (Boston University)
* F Steve Saviano (New Hampshire)
* F Stephen Werner (Massachusetts)
* D Garrett Stafford (New Hampshire)
* D Thomas Pöck (Massachusetts)
* G Sean Fields* (Boston University)
* Tournament MVP(s)

### Tournament Three Stars

* 3 Stephen Werner (Massachusetts)
* 2 Steve Saviano (New Hampshire)
* 1 Sean Fields (Boston University)