WAKEFIELD, Mass. – The Hockey East Association has announced the pairings for 2016 Hockey East Tournament semifinals, to be played Friday (March 18) at TD Garden in Boston. No. 1 Boston College will battle No. 6 Northeastern at 8 p.m. while No. 2 Providence and No. 4 UMass Lowell will square off at 5 p.m. for the chance to advance to the championship game. The winners earn the right to compete for the Lamoriello Trophy and the 2016 Hockey East Tournament title Saturday (March 19) at 7 p.m.

No. 1 Boston College (15-2-5 HEA), the 2015-16 Hockey East regular season co-champion, advances to the TD Garden for the first time since 2013 in its 22nd appearance in the semifinals. After claiming its fourth regular season title in six years (2010-11, '11-12, '13-14, '15-16), Boston College looks to win the Lamoriello Trophy for the first time since 2012. The Eagles have won a league-best 11 tournament titles, nine of which have come under current head coach Jerry York, and are 16-5 in semifinal tilts all-time. No. 6 Northeastern enters the Hockey East semifinals as one of the hottest teams in the NCAA, carrying an 18-1-2 record in its last 21 contests and riding an 11-game win streak. The Huskies have appeared in just one title game in program history, winning the Hockey East postseason tournament in 1988, and carry a 1-7 record in the semifinal round. Overall, Boston College boasts a 6-1-0 record against Northeastern in the postseason, including a 2-0 mark in the semifinals (1987, 2011). During the regular season, the Eagles took three of four points from the Huskies, as the squads skated to a 3-3 stalemate Dec. 5, 2015 before BC took a 4-3 decision the next day. Those two contests were the final games before Northeastern began its 18-1-2 streak Dec. 19, 2015 against Michigan State.

No. 2 Providence (16-3-3 HEA) skates in to the semifinals seeking its first Hockey East championship since 1996. The Friars finished the regular season as conference co-champions, earning a share of the crown for the first time in program history. Providence last appeared at TD Garden in the Hockey East semifinals in 2014, and has moved onto the final weekend four times in the last five seasons, but has not competed in the championship contest since 2001. No. 4 UMass Lowell (12-6-4 HEA) returns to the TD Garden for the fourth consecutive season. The River Hawks have appeared in the championship contest in each of the last three years, capturing two tournament titles, in 2013 and 2014. Historically, the Friars and River Hawks have played each other nine times previously in the postseason, with UMass Lowell owning a 5-3-1 record including a victory in the only semifinal meeting in 2013. In two regular season tilts during the 2015-16 campaign, Providence and UMass Lowell split a home-and-home series, Jan. 22-23. The home team took two points in each game, the Friars earning a 4-2 win at Schneider Arena before UMass Lowell rebounded with a 3-1 win at the Tsongas Center.

The winners of the semifinal sets will advance to the 32nd annual Hockey East Tournament Championship slated for Saturday (March 19) at 7 p.m. Across New England, the New England Sports Network will produce and air the Hockey East championship weekend from TD Garden once again. The first semifinal game, Providence vs. UMass Lowell, will be shown on NESN in its entirety beginning at 5 p.m., while the second semifinal, Boston College vs. Northeastern, begins at 8 p.m. on NESN and NESNplus before moving exclusively to NESNplus at 9 p.m. The title game is set to be played at 7 p.m. Saturday night and shown on NESN. Across the country, NBCSN will also air all three games as part of over eight hours of coverage of the tournament on the weekend. Tickets for the 2016 Hockey East Championship Tournament at the TD Garden are on sale now at the TD Garden Box Office. Tickets can also be purchased on line at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000.