{"id":62813,"date":"2015-02-26T12:00:47","date_gmt":"2015-02-26T18:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=62813"},"modified":"2015-02-26T11:17:57","modified_gmt":"2015-02-26T17:17:57","slug":"playoff-previews-hockey-east-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2015\/02\/26\/playoff-previews-hockey-east-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Playoff previews: Hockey East women"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Players<\/a>
BU’s Sarah Lefort is a key to the Terriers’ offense. (Melissa Wade)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s conference tournament time.<\/p>\n

Two weeks, three rounds, and four conference champions will be determined. More so than any previous year, a wide variety of narratives could unfold in most of the leagues. Let’s scratch the surface of what a few of those might be.<\/p>\n

No. 1 Boston College versus Providence<\/strong>
\nPostseason history:<\/strong> The Eagles defeated the Friars 3-2 in overtime in a semifinal in 2011.<\/p>\n

Boston College Eagles<\/strong>
\nRecord:<\/strong> 30-1-2
\nImpact players:<\/strong> I could probably just insert a link to the whole roster, but they have both the country’s highest scoring player in Alex Carpenter and defenseman in Emily Pfalzer.
\nHurdles to overcome:<\/strong> Traditionally, BC doesn’t seem to be at its best in the league tourney, winning the event only once, four years ago.
\nWhy they will advance:<\/strong> The Eagles have the nation’s top offense, while Providence ranks 32nd defensively.
\nWhy the Eagles will win the Hockey East tournament:<\/strong> BC went undefeated against this field in 22 games, so it is unlikely that anyone will stop them over the next four contests.<\/p>\n

Providence Friars<\/strong>
\nRecord:<\/strong> 6-23-4
\nImpact players:<\/strong> Providence has some nice senior forwards, Beth Hanrahan, Haley Frade, and Brooke Simpson.
\nHurdles to overcome:<\/strong> The best time to face the top team in the country is probably not while on an eight-game losing skid.
\nWhy they will advance:<\/strong> PC isn’t as big of an underdog as Bye — or maybe that’s not true.
\nWhy the Friars will win the Hockey East tournament:<\/strong> Last season was the first year they didn’t reach the semifinals of Hockey East, so many of the Friars remember better days.<\/p>\n

No. 2 Boston University versus Vermont<\/strong>
\nPostseason history:<\/strong> The two teams meet in the playoffs for the first time.<\/p>\n

Boston University Terriers<\/strong>
\nRecord:<\/strong> 21-8-3
\nImpact players:<\/strong> The Terriers have two of the country’s premier players, and they’ve put up nearly identical scoring lines with Sarah Lefort (22-21-43) and Marie-Philip Poulin (21-21-42)
\nHurdles to overcome:<\/strong> BU can be very ordinary at times.
\nWhy they will advance:<\/strong> While there were more favorable first-round opponents than Vermont, BU should manage just fine.
\nWhy the Terriers will win the Hockey East tournament:<\/strong> Brian Durocher has them playing their best every year at tournament time.<\/p>\n

Vermont Catamounts<\/strong>
\nRecord:<\/strong> 15-17-2
\nImpact players:<\/strong> Dayna Colang outscored more-heralded teammates Amanda Pelkey and Brittany Zuback.
\nHurdles to overcome:<\/strong> Vermont has yielded a lot of goals, including nine in the last game versus the Terriers.
\nWhy they will advance:<\/strong> They shut BU out a month ago; now they just have to remember how they did it.
\nWhy the Catamounts will win the Hockey East tournament:<\/strong> As much as this may seem like a mismatch, BU has just six more overall wins than does UVM; the second round is where a miracle will be needed.<\/p>\n

No. 3 Northeastern versus New Hampshire<\/strong>
\nPostseason history:<\/strong> New Hampshire defeated Northeastern 5-0 in the semifinals in 2004.<\/p>\n

Northeastern Huskies<\/strong>
\nRecord:<\/strong> 12-15-5
\nImpact players:<\/strong> Kendall Coyne seems to have found a running mate in freshman Denisa Krížová.
\nHurdles to overcome:<\/strong> After season-ending injuries to Hayley Scamurra and Paige Savage, production up front isn’t very deep.
\nWhy they will advance:<\/strong> When Chloé Desjardins is at the top of her game, Northeastern can beat anyone — or at least, almost anyone.
\nWhy the Huskies will win the Hockey East tournament:<\/strong> They have come so close to making the NCAA field a number of times in recent years, so it would be fitting that they do so now when nobody expects it.<\/p>\n

New Hampshire Wildcats<\/strong>
\nRecord:<\/strong> 9-21-3
\nImpact players:<\/strong> Point production drops off quite sharply after sophomore Jonna Curtis.
\nHurdles to overcome:<\/strong> A matchup with Maine would likely have suited UNH much better.
\nWhy they will advance:<\/strong> The Wildcats have been better of late and are on a 5-5-2 stretch.
\nWhy the Wildcats will win the Hockey East tournament:<\/strong> They’ve done it as many times as any other program.<\/p>\n

No. 4 Maine versus Connecticut<\/strong>
\nPostseason history:<\/strong> This is the first playoff meeting.<\/p>\n

Maine Black Bears<\/strong>
\nRecord:<\/strong> 10-18-3
\nImpact players:<\/strong> Senior Meghann Treacy in net gives Maine a chance every time out.
\nHurdles to overcome:<\/strong> Only RIT’s power play converted at a lower rate.
\nWhy they will advance:<\/strong> If before the season Maine was offered the possibility of a home-ice playoff series versus a team that didn’t reach double digits in wins, it would have jumped at the chance.
\nWhy the Black Bears will win the Hockey East tournament:<\/strong> Maine might fare better if the league champ was determined by popular vote.<\/p>\n

Connecticut Huskies<\/strong>
\nRecord:<\/strong> 9-17-8
\nImpact players:<\/strong> Leah Lum has made a difference on the blue line as a rookie, and senior Sarah MacDonnell leads the team in scoring with 28 points.
\nHurdles to overcome:<\/strong> It’s a strange situation to be opening the playoffs on the road in the same building where you swept a series the week before.
\nWhy they will advance:<\/strong> Their first opponent has only one more win than they do.
\nWhy the Huskies will win the Hockey East tournament:<\/strong> The Huskies path to a championship would figure to get easier if there is at least one other upset winner in Hockey East’s first round.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arlan Marttila previews the Hockey East women’s playoffs. The big question: can anybody stop Boston College?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPlayoff previews: Hockey East women - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Arlan Marttila previews the Hockey East women's playoffs. 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