BC, Maine, BU, UConn, and Providence — earned byes, and are now joined by UMass, UMass Lowell, and Northeastern after first-round victories.

With the performance, Boston College stayed atop the USCHO rankings nearly unanimous with 48 first-place votes and 998 points. Michigan State remained at No. 2 with two first-place votes and 949 points, followed by Western Michigan at No. 3 with 889, Maine at No. 4 with 790, and Minnesota rounded out the top five with 785.

The Maine men’s hockey team is back hosting a Hockey East Quarterfinal on The Black Bears made it to the conference semifinals last year at TD Garden. The group is drawing on that experience and its work ethic for its belief after going 0-1-1 at UMass to close out the regular season.