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2023/2024 Frozen Four


Brewin Flames

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On 3/29/2024 at 6:16 AM, Icechipper said:

Watched that marathon on the jumbotron at the arena! UMass has some big boys but Denver's goalie was solid.

 

 

Watched every second of that game...solid hockey game, sad way for Umass to lose.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Icechipper said:

Denver, Boston College and Boston U are in. Michigan and Michigan State tied 1-1 for final spot.

 

Michigan wins 5-2. Pretty damn good field for the frozen four. Be a bit shocked if it isn’t BC holding the trophy when all is said and done 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Boston College routs Michigan to reach Frozen Four championship game

ST. PAUL, MN - APRIL 11: Boston College Eagles forward Cutter Gauthier (19) celebrates his goal during the second period of a Division I Mens Ice Hockey Semifinal between the Boston College Eagles and  Michigan Wolverines on April 11, 2024 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN. (Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
By Joe Smith
4h ago

8


ST. PAUL, Minn. — Boston College continued to roll, delivering a convincing 4-0 win over Michigan on Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center to reach the NCAA men’s Frozen Four national championship game.

The Eagles will be in their first title game since 2012 and will face Denver, which beat Boston University in the other semifinal game, on Saturday.

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“Probably the two best teams in the country,” said Boston College winger Gabe Perreault said. “So I’m not surprised it’s us in the end.”

Perreault’s all-freshmen line with Will Smith and Ryan Leonard continued to dazzle, combining for three goals and seven points. Smith had two goals, Perreault one. Goalie Jacob Fowler had 32 saves, giving the Eagles their first shutout in 26 appearances in a Frozen Four semifinal game. It was the first time the Wolverines have been shut out in the Frozen Four.

Boston College has won 15 straight games.

The turning point

This was a one-goal game until midway into the second period, when everything seemed to turn. The Eagles scored two goals in a 49-second span, both coming in four-on-four play. Smith got it started, banking in a shot off Wolverines’ Ethan Edwards. Just under a minute later, Cutter Gauthier — a Hobey Baker Award finalist — took advantage of a turnover in his own zone and took off for a goal off the rush. That was more than enough, as Boston College shut it down the rest of the way. Smith has 71 points now, matching Jack Eichel and Kyle Connor for most goals in the last 30-plus years by a freshman.

The backbone

Jacob Fowler, a Montreal Canadiens prospect, gave up four goals in the regional final against Quinnipiac, which the Eagles won in overtime. No one was beating him on Thursday, as he made 32 saves.

“He takes that stuff personally,” Perreault said. “He comes out and pitches a shutout. Not surprised. You see it every day. He’s special.”

This should be an excellent goalie matchup on Saturday, with Denver goalie Matt Davis coming off a 33-save performance against a high-powered Boston University team.

Tough decisions

The Wolverines, coming off an emotional regional final win over rival Michigan State, just didn’t have enough against Boston College. Several of their top players will have some tough decisions to make in coming days about whether to go pro. It would seem likely that Winnipeg Jets prospect Rutger McGroarty is ready, though there was no immediate postgame word on that. Blue Jackets prospect Gavin Brindley, another sophomore, could have an opportunity. Same with sophomore Frank Lazar III.

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Denver topples Boston College to win NCAA championshipST. PAUL, Minn. -- Jared Wright and Rieger Lorenz scored second-period goals, Matt Davis had 35 saves and Denver beat No. 1 overall seed Boston College 2-0 Saturday night to win the 10th national championship in program history.

No. 3 seed Denver (32-9-3), which finished the season on a nine-game win streak, moved past Michigan (nine) for most titles of all time. Boston College is tied with Boston University (five) for fourth, behind Wisconsin (six).Davis had 23 third-period saves in his third shutout of the season.

 

The junior made his 26th consecutive start, the longest streak of his career, and stopped 68 of the 69 shots he faced at the Frozen Four. Davis had 33 saves in the Pioneers' 2-1 double-overtime win over Boston University in the semifinals.

 

After Denver won a faceoff in its defensive zone and quickly pushed it up the left side, Lorenz passed to Wright for a shot that ricocheted off the near post then bounced off Boston College goaltender Jacob Fowler's back above the bar before slipping inside the far post to open the scoring with 10:18 left in the second period.

Lorenz made it 2-0 about six minutes later. Zeev Buium drew a pair of defenders but slipped a pass between them to Lorenz, who fired a wrist shot into the net. Lorenz (16 goals, 14 assists) became the 10th Denver player with at least 30 points this season.

The Pioneers outscored their opponents 82-39 in the second period this season.

 

"It's a really hard tournament to win because of the single-elimination nature of it," Denver coach David Carle said. "You're always trying to get better week to week, month to month, and trying to keep the big picture in mind and not get too high, get too low with a regular-season game here or there, even though it feels that way sometimes.

 

"You try to keep an even keel with it, learn, learn throughout the process."

 

Boston College (34-6-1), which set the program's single-season record for wins, had its 15-game win streak snapped and was shut out for the first time since a 1-0 loss at Merrimack on March 11, 2023. The Eagles went into the game having outscored their five opponents in the NCAA tournament 29-8.

 

"It's obviously a very emotional time for our whole group," Eagles forward Ryan Leonard said. "I felt like we were the best team today, and we got beat by a goalie."

 

Denver beat Boston College 4-3 in the only regular-season matchup between the teams back in October.

 

The Pioneers have won at least 30 games in three consecutive seasons.

 

"It's a total team effort to do what we do at Denver. And [I'm] just really proud of the whole program," Carle said. "I think the run we're on is a reflection of the people that we have."

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