The 1997 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 13th tournament in the history of the conference. It was played between March 6 and March 15, 1997. Quarterfinal games were played at home team campus sites, while the final four games were played at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts, the home venue of the NHL's Boston Bruins. By winning the tournament, Boston University received the Hockey East's automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

Format The tournament featured three rounds of play. The team that finishes ninth in the conference is not eligible for tournament play. In the first round, the first and eighth seeds, the second and seventh seeds, the third seed and sixth seeds, and the fourth seed and fifth seeds played a best-of-three with the winner advancing to the semifinals. In the semifinals, the highest and lowest seeds and second-highest and second-lowest seeds play a single elimination game, with the winners advancing to the championship game and the losers meeting in a third-place game. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

Conference standings Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against

Bracket

Teams are reseeded after the quarterfinals

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Quarterfinals (1) Boston University vs. (8) Northeastern

(2) New Hampshire vs. (7) Massachusetts

(3) Providence vs. (6) Massachusetts-Lowell

(4) Merrimack vs. (5) Boston College

Semifinals (1) Boston University vs. (6) Massachusetts-Lowell

(2) New Hampshire vs. (5) Boston College

Third Place (5) Boston College vs. (6) Massachusetts-Lowell

Championship (1) Boston University vs. (2) New Hampshire

Tournament awards All-Tournament Team F Shawn Bates (Boston University) F Chris Bell (Massachusetts-Lowell) F Mark Mowers (New Hampshire) D Shane Johnson (Boston University) D Chris Kelleher (Boston University) G Michel Larocque* (Boston University) * Tournament MVP(s)

References

External links Hockey East Online