# 1997 Hockey East men's ice hockey tournament

The 1997 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 13th Tournament in the history of the conference. It was played between March 6 and March 15, 1997. 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 University received the Hockey East's automatic bid to the 1997 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 winners advancing to the championship game and the losers meeting in a third-place game. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the 1997 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
1996–97 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 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 116 | 71 | 41 | 26 | 9 | 6 | 178 | 115 |
| New Hampshire† | 24 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 36 | 130 | 76 | 39 | 28 | 11 | 0 | 204 | 129 |
| Maine^ | 24 | 16 | 7 | 1 | 33 | 120 | 76 | 35 | 24 | 10 | 1 | 162 | 109 |
| Providence | 24 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 25 | 101 | 88 | 36 | 15 | 20 | 1 | 141 | 137 |
| Merrimack | 24 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 24 | 88 | 98 | 36 | 15 | 19 | 2 | 127 | 146 |
| Boston College | 24 | 9 | 12 | 3 | 21 | 96 | 112 | 38 | 15 | 19 | 4 | 145 | 170 |
| Massachusetts–Lowell | 24 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 19 | 83 | 113 | 38 | 15 | 21 | 2 | 126 | 163 |
| Massachusetts | 24 | 7 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 69 | 117 | 35 | 12 | 23 | 0 | 119 | 167 |
| Northeastern | 24 | 3 | 19 | 2 | 8 | 66 | 118 | 36 | 8 | 25 | 3 | 103 | 160 |
| Championship: Boston University † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion ^ Maine was ineligible for the post season due to NCAA investigations Final rankings: USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Coaches Poll Top 10 Poll |||||||||||||||

## Bracket

Teams are reseeded after the quarterfinals
| 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 | Boston University | 6 | 7 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Northeastern | 2 | 1 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Northeastern | 2 | 1 | — | | | 1 | Boston University | 3 | | | |
| | | | | | | | 6 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 2 | | | |
| 2 | New Hampshire | 5 | 8 | — | | | 6 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 2 | | | |
| 7 | Massachusetts | 1 | 2 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Massachusetts | 1 | 2 | — | | | | | | 1 | Boston University | 4 |
| (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 | Boston University | 4 |
| (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 | New Hampshire | 2 |
| 3 | Providence | 2 | 5 | — | | | | | | | | | 2 | New Hampshire | 2 |
| 6 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 6 | 6 | — | | | | | |
| 6 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 6 | 6 | — | | | 2 | New Hampshire | 4 | Third Place | Third Place | Third Place |
| | | | | | | | 5 | Boston College | 0 |
| 4 | Merrimack | 6 | 3 | — | | | 5 | Boston College | 0 | 5 | Boston College | 2* |
| 5 | Boston College | 7 | 5 | — | | | | | | 6 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 2 |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

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

* Boston University won series 2–0

#### (2) New Hampshire vs. (7) Massachusetts

* New Hampshire won series 2–0

#### (3) Providence vs. (6) Massachusetts-Lowell

* Massachusetts-Lowell won series 2–0

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

* Boston College won series 2–0

### Championship
#### (1) Boston University vs. (2) New Hampshire
## Tournament awards
### All-Tournament Team

* F Shawn Bates (Boston University)
* F Chris Bell (Massachusetts-Lowell)
* F Mark Mowers (New Hampshire)
* D Shane Johnson (Boston University)
* D Chris Kelleher (Boston University)
* G Michel Larocque* (Boston University)
* Tournament MVP(s)