# 2023–24 Hockey East men's season

The 2023–24 Hockey East men's season was the 40th season of play for Hockey East and took place during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The season began on October 7, 2023, and concluded with the national championship on April 13, 2024.

## Coaches

Vermont fired Todd Woodcroft after an investigation revealed that he had sent improper text to a female undergraduate. Because the school did not have the time to perform a full coaching search, Steve Wiedler was promoted to interim head coach for this season while the rest of the staff remained in place.

### Records

| Team | Head coach | Season at school | Record at school | Hockey East record |
| Boston College | Greg Brown | 2 | 14–16–6 | 8–11–5 |
| Boston University | Jay Pandolfo | 2 | 29–11–0 | 18–6–0 |
| Connecticut | Mike Cavanaugh | 11 | 143–163–36 | 73–80–18 |
| Maine | Ben Barr | 3 | 22–38–9 | 14–28–6 |
| Massachusetts | Greg Carvel | 8 | 129–105–17 | 77–73–14 |
| Massachusetts Lowell | Norm Bazin | 13 | 254–145–39 | 149–97–32 |
| Merrimack | Scott Borek | 6 | 63–86–10 | 45–62–8 |
| New Hampshire | Michael Souza | 6 | 58–84–20 | 36–65–16 |
| Northeastern | Jerry Keefe | 3 | 42–26–6 | 29–15–4 |
| Providence | Nate Leaman | 13 | 241–150–58 | 143–100–40 |
| Vermont | Steve Wiedler | 1 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 |

## Standings

2023–24 Hockey East Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #2 Boston College †* | 24 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 61 | 105 | 56 | 41 | 34 | 6 | 1 | 183 | 89 |
| #3 Boston University | 24 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 57 | 104 | 53 | 40 | 28 | 10 | 2 | 163 | 97 |
| #10 Maine | 24 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 76 | 67 | 37 | 23 | 12 | 2 | 119 | 94 |
| #16 Providence | 24 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 37 | 66 | 58 | 35 | 18 | 13 | 4 | 100 | 83 |
| #13 Massachusetts | 24 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 57 | 62 | 37 | 20 | 14 | 3 | 108 | 105 |
| #20 New Hampshire | 24 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 69 | 56 | 36 | 20 | 15 | 1 | 106 | 90 |
| Northeastern | 24 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 65 | 71 | 36 | 17 | 16 | 3 | 113 | 97 |
| Connecticut | 24 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 49 | 77 | 36 | 15 | 19 | 2 | 90 | 105 |
| Vermont | 24 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 26 | 52 | 81 | 35 | 13 | 19 | 3 | 87 | 106 |
| Merrimack | 24 | 6 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 62 | 85 | 35 | 13 | 21 | 1 | 98 | 114 |
| Massachusetts Lowell | 24 | 4 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 39 | 78 | 36 | 8 | 24 | 4 | 72 | 113 |
| Championship: March 23, 2024 † indicates regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion (Lamoriello Trophy) Rankings: USCHO Division I Men's Poll ||||||||||||||||||

## Non-Conference record

Hockey East had a tremendous season in non-conference play. The league as a whole did not have a losing record against any other conference but was particularly strong against ECAC Hockey (its primary opponent). Only one of the eleven league members (Massachusetts Lowell) had a losing record against non-conference foes while the rest had winning marks. Seven Hockey East members had at least a .700 winning percentage in non-league games, which gave the conference a huge boost in the PairWise rankings.

### Regular season record

| Team | Atlantic Hockey | Big Ten | CCHA | ECAC Hockey | Independent | NCHC | Total |
| Boston College | 0–0–0 | 3–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 4–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–1–0 | 8–1–0 |
| Boston University | 1–0–0 | 1–1–0 | 0–0–0 | 2–1–0 | 0–0–0 | 1–1–0 | 5–3–0 |
| Connecticut | 1–2–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 4–2–1 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 5–4–1 |
| Maine | 2–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 6–1–1 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 8–1–1 |
| Massachusetts | 1–0–0 | 1–1–0 | 2–0–0 | 1–1–1 | 2–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 7–2–1 |
| Massachusetts Lowell | 0–3–1 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 3–0–0 | 1–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 4–5–1 |
| Merrimack | 3–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 3–1–0 | 1–2–0 | 0–0–0 | 7–3–0 |
| New Hampshire | 2–2–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 5–1–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 7–3–0 |
| Northeastern | 1–0–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–0–0 | 3–0–2 | 1–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 6–1–2 |
| Providence | 0–0–0 | 1–1–0 | 0–0–0 | 2–0–0 | 3–2–0 | 1–0–0 | 7–3–0 |
| Vermont | 0–1–0 | 0–0–0 | 2–0–0 | 2–3–0 | 2–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 6–4–0 |
| Overall | 11–8–0 | 6–4–0 | 4–0–0 | 35–10–5 | 11–5–0 | 3–3–0 | 60–30–5 |

## Statistics
### Leading scorers

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Class | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Macklin Celebrini | Freshman | Boston University | 23 | 23 | 21 | 44 |
| Will Smith | Freshman | Boston College | 24 | 13 | 30 | 43 |
| Cutter Gauthier | Sophomore | Boston College | 24 | 25 | 16 | 40 |
| Gabe Perreault | Freshman | Boston College | 20 | 10 | 26 | 36 |
| Ryan Leonard | Freshman | Boston College | 24 | 19 | 16 | 35 |
| Lane Hutson | Sophomore | Boston University | 24 | 6 | 28 | 34 |
| Bradly Nadeau | Freshman | Maine | 24 | 12 | 19 | 31 |
| Josh Nadeau | Freshman | Maine | 24 | 11 | 19 | 30 |
| Jeremy Wilmer | Sophomore | Boston University | 23 | 5 | 21 | 26 |
| Quinn Hutson | Sophomore | Boston University | 24 | 15 | 10 | 25 |

### Leading goaltenders

Minimum 1/3 of team's minutes played in conference games. GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Class | Team | GP | Min | W | L | T | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
| Jakob Hellsten | Junior | New Hampshire | 21 | 1252:47 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 43 | 4 | .908 | 2.06 |
| Mathieu Caron | Junior | Boston University | 24 | 1430:51 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 51 | 2 | .924 | 2.14 |
| Jacob Fowler | Freshman | Boston College | 23 | 1366:07 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 50 | 2 | .925 | 2.20 |
| Albin Boija | Freshman | Maine | 14 | 784:48 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 29 | 1 | .909 | 2.22 |
| Henry Welsch | Senior | Massachusetts Lowell | 15 | 872:57 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 34 | 1 | .913 | 2.34 |

## Conference tournament

Teams are reseeded after the Opening Round and Quarterfinals
| Opening Round March 13 | Opening Round March 13 | Opening Round March 13 | Quarterfinals March 16 | Quarterfinals March 16 | Quarterfinals March 16 | Semifinals March 22 | Semifinals March 22 | Semifinals March 22 | Championship March 23 | Championship March 23 | Championship March 23 |
| | | | 1 | Boston College | 5 | | | | | | |
| 6 | New Hampshire | 1 | 8 | Connecticut | 4 | | | | | | |
| 11 | Massachusetts Lowell | 0 | | | | 1 | Boston College | 8 | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | Massachusetts | 1 | | | |
| | | | 2 | Boston University | 4 | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Northeastern | 2 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 1 | Boston College | 6 |
| | | | | | | | | | 2 | Boston University | 2 |
| | | | 3 | Maine | 5 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Northeastern | 4 | 6 | New Hampshire | 0 | | | | | | |
| 10 | Merrimack | 0 | | | | 2 | Boston University | 4 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Maine | 1 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Providence | 1 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Connecticut | 4 | 5 | Massachusetts | 3 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Vermont | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

## Ranking
### USCHO

| Team | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Final |
| Boston College | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Boston University | 1 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Connecticut | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Maine | NR | NR | NR | NR | 20 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 10 |
| Massachusetts | NR | NR | NR | 19 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Massachusetts Lowell | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Merrimack | 14 | 15 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| New Hampshire | NR | NR | NR | NR | 15 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 20 |
| Northeastern | 19 | 19 | 16 | 18 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Providence | 18 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Vermont | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |

### USA Hockey

| Team | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | Final |
| Boston College | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Boston University | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Connecticut | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Maine | NR | NR | NR | NR | 20 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 11 |
| Massachusetts | NR | NR | NR | 19 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
| Massachusetts Lowell | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Merrimack | 12 | 13 | NR | 20 | 20 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| New Hampshire | NR | NR | NR | NR | 16 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| Northeastern | 18 | 19 | 16 | 17 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | 20 | NR | NR | NR | 20 | NR | NR | NR | NR |
| Providence | 20 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Vermont | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |

### Pairwise

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | Final |
| Boston College | 13 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Boston University | 13 | 44 | 39 | 22 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Connecticut | 10 | 22 | 25 | 28 | 43 | 42 | 36 | 35 | 35 | 34 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 21 | 25 | 22 | 24 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 24 |
| Maine | 32 | 46 | 36 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 20 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 13 |
| Massachusetts Lowell | 11 | 41 | 15 | 13 | 16 | 23 | 24 | 29 | 30 | 37 | 38 | 35 | 35 | 34 | 36 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 37 | 37 | 40 | 40 | 41 |
| Merrimack | 32 | 54 | 13 | 9 | 30 | 29 | 31 | 26 | 25 | 32 | 26 | 26 | 23 | 26 | 30 | 33 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 34 | 33 | 35 |
| New Hampshire | 32 | 28 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| Northeastern | 32 | 35 | 18 | 36 | 34 | 31 | 40 | 34 | 27 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 23 | 28 | 24 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| Providence | 16 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 15 |
| Vermont | 32 | 6 | 24 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 23 | 23 | 35 | 26 | 32 | 31 | 31 | 29 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 29 | 27 | 32 | 32 | 33 |
Note: teams ranked in the top-10 automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament. Teams ranked 11-16 can qualify based upon conference tournament results.

## Awards
### NCAA

| Award | Recipient |
| Hobey Baker Award | Macklin Celebrini, Boston University |
| Spencer Penrose Award | Greg Brown, Boston College |
| Tim Taylor Award | Macklin Celebrini, Boston University |
| AHCA All-American Teams ||
| East First Team | Position |
| Jacob Fowler, Boston College | G |
| Lane Hutson, Boston University | D |
| Ryan Ufko, Massachusetts | D |
| Macklin Celebrini, Boston University | F |
| Cutter Gauthier, Boston College | F |
| Will Smith, Boston College | F |
| East Second Team | Position |
| Ryan Leonard, Boston College | F |
| Gabe Perreault, Boston College | F |
| NCAA All-Tournament team ||
| Will Smith, Boston College | F |

### Hockey East

| Award | Award | Recipient |
| Player of the Year | Player of the Year | Macklin Celebrini, Boston University |
| Best Defensive Forward | Best Defensive Forward | Justin Hryckowian, Northeastern |
| Best Defensive Defenseman | Best Defensive Defenseman | Cade Webber, Boston University |
| Rookie of the Year | Rookie of the Year | Macklin Celebrini, Boston University |
| Goaltending Champion | Goaltending Champion | Jacob Fowler, Boston College |
| Len Ceglarski Award | Ryan Ufko, Massachusetts |
| Len Ceglarski Award | Eamon Powell, Boston College |
| Three Stars Award | Three Stars Award | Macklin Celebrini, Boston University |
| Scoring Champion | Scoring Champion | Macklin Celebrini, Boston University |
| Charlie Holt Team Sportsmanship Award | Charlie Holt Team Sportsmanship Award | Northeastern |
| Bob Kullen Award (Coach of the Year) | Bob Kullen Award (Coach of the Year) | Greg Brown, Boston College |
| William Flynn Tournament Most Valuable Player | William Flynn Tournament Most Valuable Player | Will Smith, Boston College |
| All-Hockey East Teams |||
| First Team | Position | Second Team |
| Jacob Fowler, Boston College | G | Michael Hrabal, Massachusetts |
| Lane Hutson, Boston University | D | Eamon Powell, Boston College |
| Ryan Ufko, Massachusetts | D | Tom Willander, Boston University |
| Macklin Celebrini, Boston University | F | Ryan Leonard, Boston College |
| Cutter Gauthier, Boston College | F | Bradly Nadeau, Maine |
| Will Smith, Boston College | F | Gabe Perreault, Boston College |
| Third Team | Position | Rookie Team |
| Mathieu Caron, Boston University | G | Jacob Fowler, Boston College |
| Alex Gagne, New Hampshire | D | |
| Scott Morrow, Massachusetts | D | |
| Alex Campbell, Northeastern | F | Macklin Celebrini, Boston University |
| Justin Hryckowian, Northeastern | F | Ryan Leonard, Boston College |
| Josh Nadeau, Maine | F | Bradly Nadeau, Maine |
| | F | Gabe Perreault, Boston College |
| | F | Will Smith, Boston College |
| Hockey East All-Tournament Team |||
| Jacob Fowler, Boston College | G |
| Eamon Powell, Boston College | D |
| Lane Hutson, Boston University | D |
| Will Smith, Boston College | F |
| Gabe Perreault, Boston College | F |
| Macklin Celebrini, Boston University | F |

## 2024 NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | College | NHL team |
| 1 | 1 | Macklin Celebrini | Boston University | San Jose Sharks |
| 1 | 19 | Trevor Connelly $^†$ | Providence | Vegas Golden Knights |
| 1 | 20 | Cole Eiserman $^†$ | Boston University | New York Islanders |
| 1 | 25 | Dean Letourneau $^†$ | Boston College | Boston Bruins |
| 2 | 43 | Cole Hutson $^†$ | Boston University | Washington Capitals |
| 2 | 49 | Mikhail Yegorov $^†$ | Boston University | New Jersey Devils |
| 2 | 55 | Teddy Stiga $^†$ | Boston College | Nashville Predators |
| 2 | 61 | Kamil Bednarik $^†$ | Boston University | New York Islanders |
| 2 | 65 | Will Skahan $^†$ | Boston College | Utah Hockey Club |
| 3 | 67 | John Mustard $^†$ | Providence | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 3 | 78 | Logan Sawyer $^†$ | Providence | Montreal Canadiens |
| 3 | 92 | Jack Pridham $^†$ | Boston University | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 4 | 116 | Christian Kirsch $^†$ | Massachusetts | San Jose Sharks |
| 7 | 195 | Joseph Connor $^†$ | Northeastern | Tampa Bay Lightning |
† incoming freshman