No. 8 Merrimack vs. No. 1 Boston College - Thurs. 2/23, Fri. 2/24, Sun. 2/26* at BC
- The Merrimack College Warriors (11-20-3/7-17-0 WHEA) claimed a berth in the 15th Annual Women's Hockey East Tournament thanks to a 3-2 win over Vermont in the final game of the season. With the eighth seed, Merrimack will face the defending WHEA Champions and top-seeded Boston College Eagles (23-5- 5/17-4-3 WHEA) in the quarterfinals.
- In the Warriors' final game, freshman goaltender Lea-Kristine Demers (Repentigny, Que.) kicked out 48 of 50 shots faced to secure two critical points to push the Warriors into playoff position.
- The Eagles enter the league postseason for the 12th time, including the fourth as the No. 1 seed. Last season, Boston College earned the Bertagna Trophy and its second league championship when they took down the Boston University Terriers at Merrimack College. The Eagles are 6-1 all-time in the quarterfinals.
- Boston College has never lost to Merrimack in the two seasons since the Warriors entered Hockey East, owning a perfect 6-0-0 record. Historically, No. 1 seeds are also a perfect 6-0 against No. 8 seeds in WHEA Tournament play.
No. 7 UConn vs. No. 2 Northeastern - Fri. 2/24, Sat. 2/25, Sun. 2/26* at NU
- The UConn Huskies (14-16-4/9-13-2 WHEA) travel to Boston for a playoff series with the Northeastern Huskies (19-11-3/14-8-2 WHEA). Northeastern is 2-1 all-time in playoff series with UConn, last meeting in February of 2014 when NU took a 2-1 quarterfinals win to advance.
- Entering play as the seven seed for the first time, UConn as now appeared seeded in every position except for No. 1 in tournament history. No other team has matched that feat.
- Northeastern claims the No. 2 seed for the second straight year. Northeastern owns a 7-3 all-time record in WHEA quarterfinal play, most recently taking down Vermont, 2-1, in last year's three-game series.
- This season Northeastern was 3-0-0 against UConn, including two road wins. The two last met in Boston on Jan. 21, when NU took a 5-3 win.
No. 6 New Hampshire vs. No. 3 Boston University - Fri. 2/24, Sat. 2/25, Sun. 2/26* at BU
- The No. 6 New Hampshire Wildcats (13-17-2/11-11-2 WHEA) and the No. 3 Boston University Terriers (17-10-6/12-8-4 WHEA) clash in the postseason for third time in program history. UNH was the only team BU swept, 3-0-0, during the regular season.
- Between the two teams are nine Women's Hockey East Championship titles. Each program has won four titles in a row in their history, including UNH's run from 2006-09 and the Terriers run from 2012-15.
- In tournament history, UNH has twice allowed zero goals throughout the entire playoffs (2006, 2008). UNH last appeared as the No. 6 seed in 2015 and all-time the Wildcats are 1-3 when seeded sixth, and are 1-7 all time when appearing in the quarterfinal round.
- The Terriers will appear as the No. 3 seed for the second season in a row. BU is 10-3 all time as the No. 3 seed and 9-1 in the quarterfinals. Last season BU advanced to its fifth straight title game last year, but fell to BC, 5-0.
No. 5 Vermont vs. No. 4 Providence - Fri. 2/24, Sat. 2/25, Sun. 2/26* at PC
- Providence Head Coach Bob Deraney enters the WHEA playoffs a record 15th time, owning the all-time regular season wins record in league play. His Friars (16-15-3/11-10-3 WHEA) have not yet faced the fifth seeded Vermont Catamounts (13-12-9/9-8-7 WHEA) in the WHEA Tournament.
- Providence is the only Women's Hockey East team to have appeared in every postseason tournament since the league's inaugural season and captured the first three WHEA championships. This will be the Friars' third appearance as the No. 4 seed, and last advanced to the semifinals in 2013.
- The Catamounts first time being seeded fifth, continuing a three-year seeding improvement (seventh in 2015, sixth in 2016). Vermont's best seeding came in 2014, when it secured the fourth seed and moved into the semifinals. In quarterfinal play, Vermont is 2-5 all time.
- The regular season series between the two programs ended 1-0-2, as Providence grabbed the only win back on Nov. 12.
*If Necessary