Here is what happened Friday night:
-UMass-Lowell clinched second place with its 1-0 overtime win at Vermont.
-Despite losing to Boston University, 4-1, Northeastern clinched a first-round bye by virtue of Vermont losing.
-Vermont was eliminated from bye contention after losing to Lowell.
-Thanks to BU’s win over Northeastern, the order of the bottom three teams is set. BU is ninth, UMass is 10th, and Merrimack is 11th.
-Providence beat Maine, 4-2, but both can still finish anywhere from third to sixth.
-New Hampshire suffered a surprise 4-2 loss to Merrimack and now sits alone in sixth, meaning it needs to help to get home ice and/or a bye.
So here is where things stand entering the final night of the regular season:
-Northeastern, Providence, Maine and New Hampshire are battling for the final two home ice spots. One of the latter three will miss a bye and host a first-round single elimination game.
-Northeastern can clinch home ice with a win or tie against BU, or with a UNH loss or tie.
-Providence can clinch home ice with a win or tie against Maine. Even if it loses, it can still get a bye if UNH loses or ties.
-Maine needs to win to get home ice. Without a win, it can clinch a bye with a tie and a UNH tie or loss, or with a UNH loss.
-UNH can clinch home ice with a win and a Northeastern loss. It can clinch a bye with a win, or with a tie and a Maine loss.
-Vermont finishes sixth a win and a UNH loss, eighth with a loss and a Notre Dame win or tie, seventh with anything else.
-Notre Dame finishes seventh with a win and a Vermont tie or loss, or with a tie and a Vermont loss. It finishes eighth with anything else.