# 1996 Hockey East men's ice hockey tournament

The 1996 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 12th tournament in the history of the conference. It was played between March 7 and March 16, 1996. Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were, for the first time, played at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts, the home venue of the NHL's Boston Bruins. By winning the tournament, Providence received the Hockey East's automatic bid to the 1996 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 1996 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

## Conference standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SW = Shootout Wins; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against
1995–96 Hockey East standingsvte :
| | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Conference | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall |
| | GP | W | L | T | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| Boston University† | 24 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 90 | 132 | 79 | 40 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 236 | 125 |
| Massachusetts–Lowell | 24 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 85 | 114 | 96 | 40 | 26 | 10 | 4 | 200 | 156 |
| Maine | 24 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 80 | 102 | 75 | 39 | 26 | 9 | 4 | 164 | 112 |
| Providence* | 24 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 66 | 83 | 83 | 39 | 21 | 15 | 3 | 142 | 135 |
| Boston College | 24 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 65 | 89 | 102 | 36 | 16 | 17 | 3 | 126 | 147 |
| New Hampshire | 24 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 49 | 99 | 103 | 34 | 12 | 18 | 4 | 139 | 150 |
| Northeastern | 24 | 6 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 45 | 79 | 93 | 36 | 10 | 21 | 5 | 118 | 145 |
| Massachusetts | 24 | 4 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 36 | 81 | 120 | 35 | 10 | 19 | 6 | 119 | 161 |
| Merrimack | 24 | 4 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 83 | 111 | 34 | 10 | 19 | 5 | 123 | 130 |
| Championship: Providence † 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 7–9 | Quarterfinals March 7–9 | Quarterfinals March 7–9 | Quarterfinals March 7–9 | Quarterfinals March 7–9 | | | Semifinals March 15 | Semifinals March 15 | Semifinals March 15 | Championship March 16 | Championship March 16 | Championship March 16 |
| 1 | Boston University | 5 | 14 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Massachusetts | 2 | 1 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Massachusetts | 2 | 1 | — | | | 1 | Boston University | 4 | | | |
| | | | | | | | 4 | Providence | 5 | | | |
| 2 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 7 | 4 | — | | | 4 | Providence | 5 | | | |
| 7 | Northeastern | 3 | 3 | — | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Northeastern | 3 | 3 | — | | | | | | 3 | Maine | 2 |
| (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 | Maine | 2 |
| (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 | Providence | 3 |
| 3 | Maine | 4 | 8 | — | | | | | | | | | 4 | Providence | 3 |
| 6 | New Hampshire | 2 | 4 | — | | | | | |
| 6 | New Hampshire | 2 | 4 | — | | | 2 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 2 | Third Place | Third Place | Third Place |
| | | | | | | | 3 | Maine | 5 |
| 4 | Providence | 5 | 4 | — | | | 3 | Maine | 5 | 1 | Boston University | 7 |
| 5 | Boston College | 2 | 2 | — | | | | | | 2 | Massachusetts-Lowell | 3 |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

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

* Boston University won series 2–0

#### (2) Massachusetts-Lowell vs. (7) Northeastern

* Massachusetts-Lowell won series 2–0

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

* Maine won series 2–0

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

* Providence won series 2–0

### Championship
#### (3) Maine vs. (4) Providence
## Tournament awards
### All-Tournament Team

* F Joe Hulbig* (Providence)
* F Mike Ornicioli (Providence)
* F Jay Pandolfo (Boston University)
* D Justin Gould (Providence)
* D Jeff Tory (Maine)
* G Dan Dennis (Providence)
* Tournament MVP(s)