WAKEFIELD, Mass. - The Hockey East Association has announced the pairings and star t times for the semifinal round of 2017 Hockey East Tournament at TD Garden in Boston. Top-seeded UMass Lowell will clash with the fourth-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 17 while #2 Boston University and #3 Boston College renew their rivalry at 8 p.m. Both semifinals and the championship game will be shown live on the New England Sports Network and ESPN3.
#1 UMass Lowell (24-10-3/14-7-1 HEA) moves into the semifinals for the fifth straight season to meet #4 Notre Dame (21-10-5/12-6-4 HEA) for the third time in the four years Notre Dame has skated in Hockey East. The River Hawks, who have appeared in the Hockey East Tournament title game for the last four years in a row, moved past #10 New Hampshire in the lone three-game quarterfinal series, pumping in eight goals in the decisive Game 3. The Irish downed #5 Providence in straight games, 5-0 and 5-2, to move out of the quarterfinal round of postseason play for the first time since 2014. That year, UMass Lowell knocked the Irish out of the semifinals, 4-0, en route to win - ning the first Hockey East Tournament title in program history. The River Hawks also won a three-game quarterfinal series with Notre Dame in 2015.
#2 Boston University (23-10-3/13-6-3 HEA) faces off with #3 Boston College (20-14-4/13-6-3 HEA) in the 23rd semi - final appearance for each school after the Terriers and Eagles both swept their quarterfinal series. Boston Univer - sity claimed victory in two come-from-behind wins, downing #8 Northeastern, 3-2, in overtime in Game 1 before earning a 3-2 triumph in regulation time in Game 2. The Eagles' offense exploded in two games over #6 Vermont, scoring 14 goals in two games to take 7-0 and 7-4 wins from the Catamounts. The two historic programs have not met in the playoffs since the 2013 semifinals, a 6-3 Boston University win. The Eagles boast the most Hockey East Tournament titles in league history, wearing the crown 11 times in 16 trips to the championship game, while the Terriers eight championships in 11 appearances is the next highest total. All-time in the Hockey East postseason, Boston University owns a 9-3-0 record over Boston College, including a 3-1 mark in the semifinals.
The winners will advance to the 2017 Hockey East Tournament title game at TD Garden on Saturday, March 18. Tickets are now on sale at the TD Garden Box Office. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000.
ABOUT HOCKEY EAST: The Hockey East Association is a 12-team Division I college men's hockey conference founded in 1984 and a nine team Division I women's league which began play in 2002-03. The men's league has won nine NCAA championships in the past 23 years. Since 1999, Hockey East has won seven NCAA Championships with 15 NCAA Championship Game appearances, while placing 25 teams in the Frozen Four and 60 teams in the NCAA Tournament during that time.