Boston College lands top overall seed, 4 Massachusetts teams make NCAA Hockey Tournament
New England will be well-represented in the 2025 NCAA Hockey Tournament as March Madness shifts from the hardwood to the ice. There are eight teams from New England and four from Massachusetts set to compete for a national championship.
Boston College sits atop all 16 teams in the bracket as the No. 1 overall seed, one of six Hockey East teams in this year's field. The Hockey East sent more teams to this year's NCAA tournament than any other conference, with its six participants tied for the most-ever.
Boston College, Boston University, UMass, and Bentley make up the Massachusetts teams in the field, while fellow New England schools UConn, Quinnipiac, Providence, and Maine are also in the tournament.
Boston College lands No. 1 overall seed, will play Bentley
The BC Eagles were the regular-season champs in the Hockey East, but fell to Northeastern in the quarterfinals of the Hockey East tournament over the weekend. But they claimed the top seed in the tourney following a 26-7-2 season.
The Eagles were led by sophomore forwards Ryan Leonard (29 goals, 18 assists) and Gabe Perreault (15 goals, 32 assists), both of whom tallied 47 points. Jacob Fowler was 24-6-2 in net for Boston College, and touted a .940 save percentage and 1.64 GAA during the season.
Boston College is top overall seed for the second straight season and fourth time in program history, and will be going for its sixth NCAA title. The Eagles have made it to the Frozen Four 26 times, including last year when BC lost to Denver in the NCAA title game.
Boston College will open this year's tournament in Manchester, New Hampshire on Friday against Bentley University, which is making its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance as the Atlantic Hockey champs. The Falcons went 23-14-2 during the 2025 season and upset Holy Cross, 6-3, in the Atlantic Hockey America tournament championship in Worcester on Saturday.
Boston University, UMass earn at-large bids
Boston University and UMass of Hockey East both earned at-large bids in this year's tournament.
The Terriers are the two-seed in Toledo, Ohio after a 21-13-2 season, and are looking to make it to the Frozen Four for a third straight year. They'll face the Ohio State Buckeyes to open the tournament Thursday afternoon in Toledo, Ohio.
It will be the fourth all-time meeting between Boston University and Ohio State, with the Terriers victorious in all three of the previous meetings (2009, 1998, and 1973).
UMass is in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in school history, this time as a three-seed following a 20-13-5 season. The Minutemen will square off against the two-seeded Minnesota in Fargo, North Dakota on Thursday night.
Umass is looking to make the Frozen Four for the first time since 2021, when the school won its first national title. The Minutemen are 8-4 in tournament play overall and 7-3 under head coach Greg Carvel.
Other New England teams in NCAA Tournament
Maine, UConn, Quinnipiac, and Providence are also heading to the NCAA Tournament this year, with New England schools making up half of the 16-team field.
Maine is the one-seed in Allentown, Pennsylvania following its Hockey East tournament championship over UConn, and will face Penn State. UConn is also in Allentown as the Huskies are in their first-ever NCAA Hockey Tournament, and will face in-state rival Quinnipiac, which claimed the ECAC regular-season title.
Providence College is in Manchester as the two-seed, and will take on the defending national champion Denver Pioneers on Friday.
New England teams NCAA Hockey Tournament Schedule
Thursday, March 27
No. 2 Boston University vs. No. 3 Ohio State, 2 p.m. in Toledo, Ohio
No. 2 Minnesota vs. No. 3 Massachusetts, 8:30 p.m. in Fargo, North Dakota
Friday, March 28
No. 1 Boston College vs. No. 4 Bentley, 2 p.m in Manchester, New Hampshire
No. 2 Connecticut vs. No. 3 Quinnipiac, 5 p.m. in Allentown, Pennsylvania
No. 2 Providence vs. No. 3 Denver, 5:30 p.m. in Manchester, New Hampshire
No. 1 Maine vs. No. 4 Penn State, 8:30 p.m. in Allentown, Pennsylvania
