It has been described and elaborated on for years that the Hockey East is the deepest conference top to bottom in the country and that it is anyone's tournament. This is debatable on several levels but in recent years the tournament has belonged to either BU or BC. This year however teams like Merrimack, UMass Lowell, Maine and UMass Amherst are all dangerous and have as good a chance of winning as they every have.
My guess from watching the teams this year is that Boston College is probably the best team overall but it is my too small a margin to guarentee them tournament favorites as single elimination in the semi's and championship games make it even harder to predict.
I honestly believe that no. 8 UVM has just as good a chance to win as no. 1 UNH. Here is my prediction however just for fun.
UNH v. UVM 2-1 series
BC v. UMass Amherst 2-0 series
BU v. Merrimack 2-1 series
Maine v. UMass Lowell 2-1 series
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UNH v. BU
BC v. UML
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BC v. BU
I think BU has a good shot because of three reasons. 1. I am a BU fan and admit to being impartial. 2. They need to win to have an NCAA berth so they will be extra motivated and 3. They have more talent and experience than Merrimack and UNH and have shown they can beat BC. However, I think you can make an argument for each team winning the tournament this year.
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