The Lamoriello Trophy is a collegiate ice‑hockey award presented annually to the champion of the Hockey East men’s ice hockey tournament. The trophy confers an automatic qualification for the winning team to the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament.
History
The award was instituted on 7 March 1988 by the executive committee of Hockey East and named in honor of Lou Lamoriello, the conference’s first commissioner. Lamoriello later became a prominent National Hockey League executive, serving as general manager of the New York Islanders as of 2024. A permanent version of the trophy was commissioned in 1998 and first awarded in its current form at the 1999 tournament, when Boston College captured the title. The 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the COVID‑19 pandemic, and consequently the trophy was not awarded that year.
Winners
Since its inception, the Lamoriello Trophy has been won by the following programs (most recent champion indicated):
- Boston College – 11 titles (most overall)
- Boston University – 9 titles
- Maine – 6 titles
- UMass Lowell – 3 titles
- Northeastern – 3 titles
- New Hampshire – 2 titles
- Providence – 1 title (1996)
- Massachusetts – 2 titles (2021‑2022)
- Merrimack – 1 title (2026)
The list of champions by year includes:
| Year | Champion | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Northeastern | – |
| 1989 | Maine | – |
| 1990 | Boston College | – |
| 1991 | Boston University | – |
| 1992 | Maine | – |
| 1993 | Maine† | Also NCAA champion |
| … | … | … |
| 2019 | Northeastern | – |
| 2020 | Not awarded | Tournament cancelled (COVID‑19) |
| 2021 | Massachusetts† | Also NCAA champion |
| 2022 | Massachusetts | – |
| 2023 | Boston University | – |
| 2024 | Boston College | – |
| 2025 | Maine | – |
| 2026 | Merrimack | First title |
† denotes teams that subsequently won the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament in the same season.
Significance
The Lamoriello Trophy serves both as a recognition of conference tournament success and as the gateway for Hockey East teams to compete for the national championship. Its naming after Lou Lamoriello reflects his foundational role in establishing Hockey East as a premier collegiate hockey conference.