NCAA Tournament Starts Friday in Manchester

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – No. 1 overall seed Boston College takes on No. 4 seed Bentley in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Manchester Regional on Friday at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU from SNHU Arena along with a radio broadcast on WEEI 850 AM. The Eagles enter their 38th NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed for the second-straight season and fourth time in program history. The Eagles are 5-0-2 all-time at SNHU Arena, including a 4-0-0 record in the NCAA Tournament having played there in 2004 and 2007.

SETTING THE SCENE
• The Eagles enter with a 26-7-2 overall record
• BC is coming off a defeat against Northeastern in the Hockey East Quarterfinals
• Boston College has outscored its opponents 121-61 this season, including 48-15 in the third period

EAGLES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• BC is making its 38th NCAA Tournament appearance, the fourth most in NCAA history. The Eagles are 52-44 all-time in the NCAA Tournament
• BC has won five Nationals Championships and reached 26 Frozen Fours
• The Eagles are 15-3 in first round games, including a best-of-three series win over Bowling Green in 1989. BC also advanced out of the first round in 2021 as Notre Dame withdrew due to Covid-19 protocols

HOW WE GOT HERE
• The Eagles earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight season after finishing at the top of the Pairwise Rankings
• BC has posted an 11-4-0 record this season against teams that have made the NCAA Tournament, including a 4-1 record against the three other regional No. 1 seeds

RICHTER AWARD FINALIST
• Jacob Fowler was named one of four finalists for the Mike Richter Award, presented annually to the top goalie in NCAA Division I Hockey since 2014
• Fowler is second in Division I in goals against average (1.64) and shutouts (7), and sits third in both wins (24) and save percentage (.940)
• He is the only goalie from among the four to be named a finalist for the second-straight season

HOBEY BAKER FINALIST
• Ryan Leonard was named a Top 10 Finalist for the Hobey Baker Award
• Leonard leads the country in goals with 29
• It marks the second-straight season in which the Eagles have had a Hobey Baker Finalist

END OF SEASON AWARDS
• Leonard was named Hockey East Player of the Year after leading the league in points (37) and goals (25) during conference play
• Fowler was named the runner-up for the Player of the Year award
• Fowler, Leonard, Gabe Perreault and Eamon Powell were named Hockey East First Team All-Stars, the most BC has ever had in one season
• Fowler was named the Stop It Goaltending Goaltender of the Year
• Powell earned the Best Defensive Defenseman Award
• Leonard was named the Hockey East Scoring Champion as well as the Three Stars Award recipient
• James Hagens and Teddy Stiga earned spots on the Pro Ambitions All-Rookie Team

A LOOK AT BENTLEY
• Bentley comes into Friday's matchup with a 23-14-2 record
• The Falcons won the Atlantic Hockey Championship after defeating top-seeded Holy Cross, 6-3
• Ethan Leyh leads the team in scoring with 41 points on 16 goals and 25 assists
• Leyh was also named the Atlantic Hockey Co-Best Defensive Forward
• Goaltender Connor Hasley leads the country in shutouts with 11, while posting a .923 save percentage and a 1.95 goals against average

SERIES HISTORY
• The Eagles are 0-2-0 all-time against the Falcons
• This will be first postseason matchup between the two teams
• The first meeting took place on Nov. 23, 2018 at Kelley Rink; a 4-2 win for the Falcons
• The most recent matchup was on Oct. 16, 2021 at Bentley Arena; a 6-2 win for Bentley

NCAA Tournament Starts Friday in Manchester

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Players Mentioned

Jacob Fowler

James Hagens

Ryan Leonard

Gabe Perreault

Eamon Powell

Teddy Stiga