# 2008 Hockey East men's ice hockey tournament

The 2008 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was played between March 14 and March 22, 2008 at campus locations and at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. By winning the tournament, Boston College was awarded the Lamoriello Trophy and an automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

## Format

The tournament featured three rounds of play. The teams that finish below eighth in the conference are 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 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

## Regular season standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against
2007–08 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 |
| #6 New Hampshire† | 27 | 19 | 5 | 3 | 41 | 84 | 54 | 38 | 25 | 10 | 3 | 132 | 94 |
| Boston University | 27 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 33 | 97 | 72 | 40 | 19 | 17 | 4 | 135 | 117 |
| Vermont | 27 | 13 | 9 | 5 | 31 | 67 | 78 | 39 | 17 | 15 | 7 | 88 | 106 |
| #1 Boston College* | 27 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 29 | 82 | 67 | 44 | 25 | 11 | 8 | 160 | 101 |
| Providence | 27 | 11 | 11 | 5 | 27 | 66 | 66 | 36 | 14 | 17 | 5 | 91 | 99 |
| Northeastern | 27 | 12 | 13 | 2 | 26 | 73 | 80 | 37 | 16 | 18 | 3 | 92 | 105 |
| Massachusetts–Lowell | 27 | 10 | 13 | 4 | 24 | 70 | 76 | 37 | 16 | 17 | 4 | 100 | 96 |
| Massachusetts | 27 | 9 | 13 | 5 | 23 | 73 | 71 | 36 | 14 | 16 | 6 | 98 | 97 |
| Maine | 27 | 9 | 15 | 3 | 21 | 59 | 73 | 34 | 13 | 18 | 3 | 77 | 92 |
| Merrimack | 27 | 6 | 18 | 3 | 15 | 48 | 82 | 34 | 12 | 18 | 4 | 71 | 93 |
| Championship: Boston College † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Final rankings: USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Top 15 Poll |||||||||||||||

## Bracket

| Quarterfinals March 14–16 | Quarterfinals March 14–16 | Quarterfinals March 14–16 | Quarterfinals March 14–16 | Quarterfinals March 14–16 | | | Semifinals March 21 | Semifinals March 21 | Semifinals March 21 | Championship March 22 | Championship March 22 | Championship March 22 |
| 1 | New Hampshire | 4 | 7 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Massachusetts | 1 | 2 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Massachusetts | 1 | 2 | — | | | 1 | New Hampshire | 4 | | | |
| | | | | | | | 4 | Boston College | 5*** | | | |
| 2 | Boston University | 5 | 1 | 4 | | | 4 | Boston College | 5*** | | | |
| 7 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 3 | 4 | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 3 | 4 | 2 | | | | | | 3 | Vermont | 0 |
| (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) | 3 | Vermont | 0 |
| (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) | 4 | Boston College | 4 |
| 3 | Vermont | 1 | 1 | 4 | | | | | | | | | 4 | Boston College | 4 |
| 6 | Northeastern | 0 | 2* | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Northeastern | 0 | 2* | 1 | | | 2 | Boston University | 1 | | | |
| | | | | | | | 3 | Vermont | 3 | | | |
| 4 | Boston College | 5 | 5 | — | | | 3 | Vermont | 3 | | | |
| 5 | Providence | 1 | 1 | — | | | | | | | | |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

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

* New Hampshire won series 2–0

#### (2) Boston University vs. (7) Massachusetts-Lowell

* Boston University won series 2–1

#### (3) Vermont vs. (6) Northeastern

* Vermont won series 2–1

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

* Boston College won series 2–0

### Championship
#### (3) Vermont vs. (4) Boston College
## Tournament awards
### All-Tournament Team

* F Bobby Butler (New Hampshire)
* F Benn Ferriero (Boston College)
* F Nathan Gerbe* (Boston College)
* D Michael Brennan (Boston College)
* D Carl Sneep (Boston College)
* G John Muse (Boston College)
* Tournament MVP(s)