# 1998 Hockey East men's ice hockey tournament

The 1998 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 14th tournament in the history of the conference. It was played between March 12 and March 21, 1998. 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 College received the Hockey East's automatic bid to the 1998 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 1998 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
1997–98 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 |
| Boston University† | 24 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 38 | 95 | 52 | 38 | 28 | 8 | 2 | 155 | 86 |
| Boston College* | 24 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 34 | 107 | 78 | 42 | 28 | 9 | 5 | 191 | 123 |
| New Hampshire | 24 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 31 | 104 | 62 | 38 | 25 | 12 | 1 | 163 | 102 |
| Northeastern | 24 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 29 | 77 | 78 | 39 | 21 | 15 | 3 | 125 | 133 |
| Massachusetts–Lowell | 24 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 25 | 88 | 89 | 36 | 16 | 17 | 3 | 126 | 124 |
| Maine | 24 | 10 | 11 | 3 | 23 | 98 | 89 | 36 | 17 | 15 | 4 | 145 | 121 |
| Providence | 24 | 9 | 13 | 2 | 20 | 65 | 82 | 36 | 15 | 18 | 3 | 110 | 125 |
| Merrimack | 24 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 8 | 78 | 128 | 38 | 11 | 26 | 1 | 141 | 185 |
| Massachusetts | 24 | 3 | 19 | 2 | 8 | 62 | 116 | 33 | 6 | 24 | 3 | 78 | 141 |
| Championship: Boston College † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Final rankings: USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Coaches Poll Top 10 Poll |||||||||||||||

## Bracket

Teams are reseeded after the quarterfinals
| Quarterfinals March 12–15 | Quarterfinals March 12–15 | Quarterfinals March 12–15 | Quarterfinals March 12–15 | Quarterfinals March 12–15 | | | Semifinals March 20 | Semifinals March 20 | Semifinals March 20 | Championship March 21 | Championship March 21 | Championship March 21 |
| 1 | Boston University | 1 | 6 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Merrimack | 4 | 5 | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Merrimack | 4 | 5 | 5 | | | 2 | Boston College | 7 | | | |
| | | | | | | | 8 | Merrimack | 2 | | | |
| 2 | Boston College | 4 | 6 | — | | | 8 | Merrimack | 2 | | | |
| 7 | Providence | 3 | 3 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Providence | 3 | 3 | — | | | | | | 2 | Boston College | 3 |
| (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) | 2 | Boston College | 3 |
| (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) | 6 | Maine | 2 |
| 3 | New Hampshire | 2 | 3 | — | | | | | | | | | 6 | Maine | 2 |
| 6 | Maine | 3** | 5 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Maine | 3** | 5 | — | | | 5 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 2 | | | |
| | | | | | | | 6 | Maine | 6 | | | |
| 4 | Northeastern | 2 | 3 | 1 | | | 6 | Maine | 6 | | | |
| 5 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 8 | 2 | 5 | | | | | | | | |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

### Quarterfinals
#### (1) Boston University vs. (8) Merrimack

* Merrimack won series 2–1

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

* Boston College won series 2–0

#### (3) New Hampshire vs. (6) Maine

* Maine won series 2–0

#### (4) Northeastern vs. (5) Massachusetts-Lowell

* Massachusetts-Lowell won series 2–1

### Championship
#### (2) Boston College vs. (6) Maine
## Tournament awards
### All-Tournament Team

* F Jeff Farkas (Boston College)
* F Steve Kariya (Maine)
* F Marty Reasoner* (Boston College)
* D Mike Mottau (Boston College)
* D Darrel Scoville (Boston College)
* G Alfie Michaud (Maine)
* Tournament MVP(s)