The 2003 Hockey East Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 19th tournament in the history of the conference. It was played between March 6 and March 17, 2003. 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 New Hampshire received the Hockey East's automatic bid to the 2003 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 winner advancing to the championship game. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the 2003 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
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Quarterfinals
(1) New Hampshire vs. (8) Massachusetts-Lowell
(2) Boston College vs. (7) Merrimack
(3) Maine vs. (6) Massachusetts
(4) Providence vs. (5) Boston University
Semifinals
(1) New Hampshire vs. (6) Massachusetts
(2) Boston College vs. (5) Boston University
Championship
(1) New Hampshire vs. (5) Boston University
Tournament awards
All-Tournament Team F Justin Maiser (Boston University) F Steve Saviano (New Hampshire) F Stephen Werner (Massachusetts) D Garrett Stafford (New Hampshire) D Thomas Pöck (Massachusetts) G Sean Fields* (Boston University) * Tournament MVP(s)
Tournament Three Stars 3 Stephen Werner (Massachusetts) 2 Steve Saviano (New Hampshire) 1 Sean Fields (Boston University)
References
External links Hockey East Online