Athletics

Top-Seeded Minutemen To Face Boston College In Hockey East Semifinal March 22

Senior Niko Hildenbrand battles a Boston College player in a game earlier this season
Senior Niko Hildenbrand battles a Boston College player in a game earlier this season

The top-seeded Minutemen hockey team travels to Boston on Friday, March 22, to take on seventh-seeded Boston College in the Hockey East Semifinal. UMass, currently 28-8-0 on the season and ranked in the top-three in the latest national polls, takes the ice at 7:30 p.m. in a matchup that will determine which team will advance to Saturday evening’s Hockey East Championship game. The game will be televised regionally on NESNPlus and streamed online on FloHockey.tv outside NESN’s New England coverage area.

UMass fans are encouraged to purchase seats in the UMass-designated areas of TD Garden by accessing this link, clicking on “find tickets” and entering promo code NEWMASS. All other sections are on sale now via the TD Garden Box Office, and can also be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000.

Student tickets, located in the upper balcony, will be made available for $10 when showing a valid student ID, either on campus or at the TD Garden Box Office. Groups of 15 or more are also eligible for a $5 discount on $17 balcony seats and a $7 discount on select loge seats. All discounted tickets must be purchased at the TD Garden Box Office. To take advantage of group discounted tickets, contact the TD Garden group sales department at 617-624-1805 or groupsales@tdgarden.com.

Led by sophomore defenseman Cale Makar, a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award for college hockey's best player, the Minutemen earned their first Hockey East Semifinals berth since 2007 after sweeping eighth-seeded New Hampshire in two games at the Mullins Center March 15 and 16. UMass erased a 3-0 second period deficit for a thrilling 5-4 double overtime win in game one and then blanked the Wildcats in game two, 6-0.

Boston College advanced to the Garden after upsetting second-seeded Providence in three games in the Hockey East Quarterfinals. The Eagles dropped game one to the Friars, 5-4 in overtime, but rallied to take games two and three 4-3 (OT) and 2-1, respectively.