Women's Hockey East Weekend Preview
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15th Annual Women's Hockey East Championship will be played at Walter Brown Arena this weekend

No. 1 Boston College vs. No. 5 Vermont - Sat. 3/4 at Walter Brown Arena

- After starting their quarterfinal series Thursday and getting two shutouts behind the goaltending of junior Katie Burt (Lynn, Mass.), the Boston College Eagles advanced to the WHEA semifinals before any other team had started an opening series. In Providence, after a game one loss to the Friars, the Vermont Catamounts put up 10 goals in the following two games to earn a trip to Walter Brown Arena this weekend.

- This will be Boston College's 11th semifinals appearance, most recently battling UConn in a 4-2 victory last year before going on to claim the Hockey East crown for the second time in program's history. This will be Vermont's second trip to the semifinals, last appearing in 2014 when BC took a win, 3-1.

- Statistically, this will be a matchup of two of the top goaltenders in the league in both goals against average and save percentage. Burt posted a 1.59 GAA (1st) and .928 save percentage (3rd) in the regular season, while Litchfield posted a 2.04 GAA (2nd) and a .931 (2nd) save percentage.

- Vermont attacked the net in the opening round, putting up 14 goals across three games. Sophomore forward Alyssa Gorecki (Monee, Ill.) had multi-point games each night, totaling three goals and three assists with a two-goal performance in the final game of the series. Senior goaltender Madison Litchfield (Williston, Vt.) was between the pipes in all three games, kicking out 83 pucks and compiling a .912 save percentage. Freshman forward Eve-Audrey Picard (Longueuil, Que.) netted four goals and tallied two assists in the series with PC, adding to her 17 points (8g, 9a) in the regular season.

- Burt backstopped both wins against Merrimack in BC's opening round, allowing zero goals on 48 shots. After ending her regular season with a .928 save percentage, 15 wins, and four shutouts to her credit. Junior defenseman Megan Keller (Farmington Hills, Mich.) scored in each game, and added two assists on Thursday on the way to BC's 4-0 win. For her part this year, Keller was named the league's top defenseman in 2016-17 and topped all league skaters with 21 assists across 20 games, averaging just over an assist per game.

- Boston College and Vermont have only met once in the WHEA playoffs, when they clashed in the 2014 semifinals. During the regular season this year, the Eagles swept the Catamounts 3-0-0, including a 3-2 overtime game.


No. 2 Northeastern vs. No. 3 Boston University - Sat 3/4 at Walter Brown Arena

- After a thrilling 3-2 overtime win in Matthews, the Northeastern Huskies advanced to the championship weekend with a two-game sweep of UConn in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, at the site of the 15th Annual Women's Hockey East Championship, the Boston University Terriers bounced back from a game one loss to knock off UNH in three games.

- Northeastern returns to the semifinals for the sixth straight year, and the eighth time in the program's history. This will be Boston University's 10th straight semifinals, and 10th appearance overall. For the fourth time in a row, the Huskies and the Terriers will face off in the penultimate round of the WHEA Tournament, as Boston University looks to keep a perfect record and advance to the program's sixth straight Hockey East Championship Game. Northeastern seeks to advance to the program's third championship game and first since 2013.

- The Terriers boast the Women's Hockey East's scoring champion, junior forward Victoria Bach (Milton, Ont.). Bach tallied 35 points in 23 games, netting the puck 19 times and adding 16 helpers on her way to the scoring crown. Senior forward Mary Parker (Milton, Mass.), who joined the Terriers after playing for Harvard, had 12 goals and 14 assists in her 23 games, including a run with 10 goals in nine games from Nov. 5 to Dec. 2, including three game winners.

- Northeastern's attack rolls with the combination of junior forward Denisa Krizova (Horni Cerekev, Czech Republic) and sophomore goalie Brittany Bugalski (Boynton Beach, Fla.). Krizova led Northeastern skaters with 44 points (18g, 26a) this season to finish second in overall scoring. She put away the game winner in overtime against UConn to send the Huskies to the semifinals. Bugalski backstopped 13 Husky wins in Hockey East this season, posting two shutouts. She was steady between the pipes all season long, compiling a 2.27 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. In the UConn series Bugalski kicked out 53 and had a GAA of 1.91.

- Northeastern took the season series against Boston University, 2-1-0, but the Terriers skated away with a win in the most recent meeting. All-time across all playoff series, Boston University is 5-1 against Northeastern.


15th Annual Women's Hockey East Championship - Sun. 3/5 at Walter Brown Arena

- Last year's Championship was held at Merrimack College and featured #1 Boston College and #3 Boston University. The Eagles took the crown with a 5-0 shutout. Boston College is seeking the program's third Hockey East title and second straight. The Eagles have a 2-4 record in the championship, and a 16-9-0 record overall in the playoffs.

- Northeastern aims for the first Hockey East crown in program history. The Huskies have been to two championship games prior, defeated once by Boston College and once by Boston University. Overall NU is 11-10-0 in the playoffs.

- Boston University looks to claim the program's sixth title and is 5-1 all-time in championship games. BU holds a league best record of 22-6-0 in the playoffs.

- Vermont returns to the semifinals for the second time, searching for its Hockey East title game appearance.