When Massachusetts senior forward Anthony Del Gaizo said he hopes his team will eventually play on a “bigger stage” than the one it will play on this weekend, he wasn’t speaking literally.
This weekend’s Hockey East men’s semifinals and final will be held at TD Garden, home of the NHL’s Boston Bruins and the biggest hockey stage in New England. But if the second-seeded Minutemen hope to repeat as NCAA national champions, they’ll have to return to Boston in three weeks for the Frozen Four.
Same arena, but a much bigger spotlight awaits should any of this weekend’s semifinalists be fortunate enough to reach the Frozen Four.
That’s why Del Gaizo and the Minutemen (20-12-2, 15-8-2 Hockey East) are trying to take an even-keeled approach to playing for the conference title starting Friday night vs. 3-seed UMass Lowell (21-9-3, 16-8-1).
“We have a lot of experience on the team (playing) a lot of big games so we’re just looking at this one as another game,” Del Gaizo said. “Hopefully, we’ll have even bigger stages down the line this year. Most of these games against UMass Lowell are pretty tight.”
Indeed. Only two regulation goals separated the clubs in three meetings this season — UMass won 3-2 twice in regulation (at home Dec. 4 and in Lowell Jan. 30), while Lowell won a 1-0 shootout after the teams skated to a 4-4 tie (Dec. 3 in Lowell).
Now the teams take their show to Boston for a 7:30 p.m. matchup, following the semifinal matchup between top-seed Northeastern (26-11-1, 16-8-1) and No. 4 Connecticut (19-15-0, 15-10-0).
This year marks the first time in the history of Hockey East that the men’s semifinals will not feature at least one of the league’s original “big four” of Boston College, Boston University, Maine or New Hampshire.
But even with familiar jerseys missing, certainly the tournament’s return to Boston for the first time since 2019 is cause for celebration. There’s a general consensus that a packed Garden will provide an atmosphere fitting of a semifinal field featuring the top four finishers in the league standings.
“Both fans come and show up for both teams, and we think it’s going to be a good atmosphere,” Del Gaizo said. “We just have to be prepared for that. There’s going to be a lot of people there and we can’t let that affect our game.”
The tournament was canceled in 2020 due to the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and in 2021, the Minutemen beat Lowell in the final 1-0 inside UMass’ empty home rink.
UMass coach Greg Carvel said the rematch aspect, plus the intra-state rivalry, will only add to what he hopes is an exciting atmosphere Friday night.
“I think it’s going to be awesome,” Carvel said. “I hope the place is full and everybody in there is from the state of Massachusetts, cheering for one state school or the other. Two teams that have become rivals, and I think it’s great.”
This will be Lowell’s first trip to the Garden since 2017, when the top-seeded River Hawks beat Notre Dame 5-1 and BC 3-2 for the program’s second tournament title.
“Giving these kids an opportunity to play at the Garden is a big deal,” Lowell coach Norm Bazin said. “For some, it’s going to be the highlight of their career.
“The Garden is just special because it’s the Garden. To get an opportunity to play there means you’re one of the best four teams in the conference. And you’re playing for a championship and you’re still in it.”
Del Gaizo quotes courtesy of Nathan Strauss
