The 2024–25 Hockey East men's season was the 41st season of play for Hockey East and took place during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The season began on October 4, 2024, and concluded on April 12, 2025 with Boston University losing in the national championship game.
Coaches Records Team Head coach Season at school Record at school Hockey East recordBoston College 3 48–22–7 28–14–6Boston University 3 57–21–2 36–10–2Connecticut 12 158–182–38 82–94–19Maine 4 45–50–11 28–37–7Massachusetts 9 149–119–20 89–83–16Massachusetts Lowell 14 262–169–41 153–114–35Merrimack 7 76–107–11 51–78–9New Hampshire 7 78–99–21 48–76–17Northeastern 4 59–42–9 38–29–5Providence 14 259–163–62 154–109–44Vermont 2 13–19–3 7–14–3
Standings
Non-Conference record For the season, Hockey East had an outstanding performance in non-conference play. Just one member team (Merrimack) had a losing record against other leagues while most won above 70% of their games. The conference had few games versus both the Big Ten and CCHA, which resulted in a losing record in the combined matches. Against all other opponents, however, Hockey East was a juggernaut. The massive advantage that the conference enjoyed in their win total enabled Hockey East to place many of its member teams in the top 16 of the PairWise throughout the year. At one point, eight teams were in a position to make the NCAA tournament but the conference still had a tremendous season by receiving five at-large bids, tying the record for most by any conference for one tournament. The last time that had occurred was also by Hockey East in 2016.
Regular season record Team TotalBoston College 1–0–0 1–1–0 0–0–0 2–0–0 0–0–0 3–0–0 7–1–0Boston University 1–0–0 1–2–0 0–0–0 2–1–0 0–0–0 1–1–0 5–4–0Connecticut 2–1–0 0–1–0 0–0–0 4–0–0 2–0–0 0–0–0 8–2–0Maine 1–1–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 4–0–0 2–0–0 1–1–0 8–2–0Massachusetts 6–1–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 1–1–0 2–0–0 0–1–0 9–3–0Massachusetts Lowell 1–0–0 0–0–0 1–0–0 3–0–1 0–1–0 2–1–0 7–2–1Merrimack 1–0–0 0–0–0 1–1–0 1–2–0 1–3–0 0–0–0 4–6–0New Hampshire 3–0–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 4–1–1 1–0–0 0–0–0 8–1–1Northeastern 1–0–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 2–1–0 2–0–0 0–2–0 5–3–0Providence 0–0–0 0–0–0 0–0–0 4–0–0 1–0–0 4–1–0 9–1–0Vermont 1–0–0 0–0–0 0–1–1 3–2–0 1–1–0 0–0–0 5–4–1Overall 18–3–0 2–4–0 2–2–1 30–8–2 12–5–0 11–7–0 75–29–3
Statistics Leading scorers GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points Player Class Team GP G A Pts Sophomore 24 25 12 37 Graduate 24 8 25 33 Junior 22 16 16 32 Sophomore 24 9 22 31 Junior 24 13 16 29 Freshman 24 8 21 29 Sophomore 24 15 11 26 Sophomore 19 10 15 25 Junior 24 8 16 24 Junior 23 12 11 23 Junior 24 11 12 23
Leading goaltenders Minimum 1/3 of team's minutes played in conference games. GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average Player Class Team GP Min W L T GA SO SV% GAA Sophomore 22 1290:19 16 3 2 34 5 .945 1.58 Sophomore 24 1460:08 13 5 6 43 2 .933 1.77 Freshman 10 573:32 5 4 1 19 1 .926 1.99 Freshman 10 609:54 6 3 1 21 0 .936 2.07 Sophomore 22 1282:17 9 8 5 49 2 .929 2.29
Conference tournament
NCAA tournament
Regional semifinals
Game summaryThe game started with BC being able to get the puck in deep while the Falcons could barely get over the blueline. While neither team was able to establish any real zone time, the Eagles were able to get several shots on Connor Hasley in the first few minutes. On one such exchange around the 4-minute mark, Hasley was unable to freeze the puck but got a lucky break when the ref lost sight of the puck and blew the whistle erroneously. Around the same time, Ryan Leonard ran into Hasley after being knocked down and the two forced the net off its moorings. On a later play, Hasley was able to push the net out of place with his leg, continuing an issue that the ice crew had been dealing with since before the start of the match. The game was paused for several minutes to give the maintenance team time to try and reset the pegs. On the ensuing play, Bentley appeared to commit two separate infractions, at least according to the BC faithful, but the referees disagreed. With the Eagles unable to buy a questionable call, Boston College started trying to push Bentley around after the whistle to see if they could goad one of the Falcons into making a mistake. While BC attempted to plant that seed, they persisted with the offensive pressure. The Eagles were able to tilt the ice towards the Falcons' end and set up in the offensive zone and besieged Hasley for several minutes in the middle of the period. A further potential Bentley penalty went uncalled by the referees who appeared to have decided to just let the two teams play. In spite of the lack of power plays, BC led in shots 10–0 halfway through the period. Bentley got a break when BC committed an icing call, giving the Falcons their first offensive zone draw of the game with 9 minutes to play. BC won the faceoff but then immediately iced the puck a second time. The second draw was a little closer but BC still managed to clear the zone. Moments later, the first penalty of the game was on Aidan Hreschuk for crosschecking. Many in the crowd were in disbelief with the borderline call after the earlier plays that had been let go. BC went on the attack during the disadvantage and was able to get a disjointed break on the Benley goal. After the Falcons regain possession they were able to set up their power play and get their first two shots of the match. While he had not seen any action to that point, Jacob Fowler was equal to the task. Once even strength play resumed, BC tried to get right back to their dominant play. Bentley, however, was able to built off their failed power play and finally break through the Boston College defense. Play evened out in the later part of the period but a bad turnover at the far blueline led to a rush up the ice by BC. Leonard found Gabe Perreault open down low and the winger moved around Hasley and slipped the puck into the net. Undaunted, Bentley went on the attack to try and get the goal back but they were unable to get a good shot on goal. With about a minute to play, the BC goal had trouble staying in position so the game was paused for a second time to fix the problem. When play resumed for a second time, BC's upped their offensive pressure. Hasley was forced to scramble but managed to keep the puck out until the horn sounded.
The second began with the two teams exchanging chances off the rush and, after a minute, the net behind Hasley was knocked from its mooring. On the ensuing play, BC was able to halt a Bentley rush but Lukas Gustafsson took a tripping minor in doing so. The Falcons had trouble setting up in the offensive zone but when they were finally able to do so, Ethan Leyh got two solid shots on goal, the second of which beat Fowler. After the ensuing faceoff, BC was able to finally draw it first power play with Jake Black grabbed James Hagens twice. The BC man-advantage was able to get several good looks at the goal but Bentley was able to block several shots while the rest either went wide or were stopped by Hasley. After Bentley iced the puck, the Falcon net was knocked out of place for the third time and the game paused once again to try and resolve the issue. After what was essentially an extra TV timeout, Bentley was able to clear the puck and relieve the pressure. Boston College remained in control for long stretches with occasional counters by Bentley. Near the middle of the period, Hasley bobbled a glove save but with no Eagle nearby the goaltender was able to smother the puck for a faceoff. By the midway point of the game it was apparent that Boston College was the better of the two and Bentley was only in the match thanks to a herculean defensive effort. Even, so, the game was tied and Nik Armstrong-Kingkade nearly gave the Falcons the lead when he hit the post on a solo rush. Just seconds later, the Falcons made a bad line change and were called for too many men. Boston College's second power play appeared to work to perfection and Perreault had a half-open cage but the puck was on edge and his shot went high and wide. Afterwards, the teams took matching minors that didn't change the makeup of the game but did take two of the top players off of the ice. When play resumed, the net behind Hasley was knocked off for the fourth time on the night and the problem was becoming as much of a story in the game as the players. The stoppage helped to kill off the rest of the BC power play as well as slow down the pace of play. The two teams carried the puck up and down the ice but neither was able to generate a good scoring chance for several minutes. With under 3 minutes to play, Bentley got on the attack but hit the post with another shot. The waning moments saw both team trying and failing to break through the defenses and the period ended with the two squads knotted at one.
Early in the third, Bentley was able to turn over the puck in the BC end and get themselves a couple of good looks at the net but strong play from the Eagle defense prevent either opportunity from reaching Fowler. Boston College countered and got a hard shot on goal that Hasley was unable to cover but the Falcons were first on the puck and able to clear it from danger. Further strong play from both the BC and Bentley defenses kept the puck out of the respective goals and both teams seemed dead set on doing everything they could to keep the other from scoring. Despite the emphasis in their own ends, the two teams were able to generate several scoring opportunities but neither could follow up after the initial shot. BC continued to press in spite of their failed attempts and eventually drew another power play when Armstrong-Kingkade was called for kneeing in the seventh minute. Bentley was able to kill off the first half of the man-advantage with relative ease but just as the power play was winging down, Arlo Merritt took a tripping penalty to extend BC's advantage. Perreault hit the outside of the post off of the ensuing faceoff and then Bentley was able to just disrupt the Eagles structure enough to force a turnover, then an offsides and finally an icing. The Falcons seemed to take heart at the mistakes made by Boston College and the defense remained locked in, continually blocking shots and passes to kill off the entire stretch of BC power play. Afterwards, Bentley began to play defense almost as if they had the lead but the result was that BC had great difficulty getting through on the rush. Even so, a bad turnover in the Falcons end gave James Hagens a glorious look at the goal but he delayed too long and by the time he shot the puck one of the Falcons was able to get his stick in the way and deflect the puck out of play. Boston College kept trying to set up passing plays and Bentley continued to get sticks and bodies in the way. With about 5 minutes to go, Bentley was able to get some pressure on Fowler but the BC netminder matched his counterpart by stopping the multi-shot attempt. With snow building up around the ice, BC committed consecutive icings near the end of the period but were able to clear the puck after each faceoff. With under two minutes to play, BC was finally able to follow up a rush and, after forcing a turnover, James Hagens was able to grab a loose puck behind the net and wrap it around for the go ahead goal. Bentley called a timeout to get themselves set for the final 77 seconds. BC got possession of the puck and forced Bentley to play in their end for several seconds. After the Falcons second attempt at zone entry, Hasley was pulled and, a moment later, Ryan Leonard netted an empty-net goal to salt away the game.