Boston College has punched its ticket to the ultimate game in Saint Paul.
After archrival Boston University’s championship hopes ended with a 2-1 loss to Denver in Thursday’s first Frozen Four semifinal, the top-seeded Eagles left no doubt about their status.
Freshman Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.) added to his nation-leading point total with goals in each of the first two periods, leading BC to a 4-0 win over Michigan that secured its 12th-ever spot in a national championship game.
Thursday’s results set up a national title showdown of two regional No. 1 seeds in the Eagles and Pioneers, who already staged an exciting contest back in October in Chestnut Hill. Should BC avenge the early-season loss, it would start a championship celebration on the Heights for the first time since 2012.
One more. Saturday at 6 p.m. For all the marbles.
Let's dive into takeaways. First from BC's win.
Kids, they know what it takes
Youngest team in the country? Sure. The Eagles are that.
But they also know how to get it done on the big stage.
Even before tasting the bitterness of Beanpot defeat in February and the jubilation of a Hockey East championship and NCAA regional title in March, the likes of Smith, his linemates Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) and Gabe Perreault, and stud sophomore Cutter Gauthier have been there and done that as gold-medal winners for the U.S. at the World Junior Championship.
It took only 80 seconds — and the first shot on goal of the game — for the playmakers to make plays, when Leonard whipped a cross-circle pass to Smith to bury into a yawning cage.
WHO ELSE BUT WILL SMITH TO OPEN THE SCORING! pic.twitter.com/nxSqcinHv2
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) April 12, 2024
Smith’s two goals lifted him above 70 points for the season, the highest total for any player in college hockey since Michigan’s Kyle Connor in 2016. His second was BC’s first of two in a 49-second span midway through the second period.
“These big opportunities, we like to have fun and enjoy the moment,” Smith said. “I think dating all the way back to World Juniors, crazy atmosphere, and all through the year, huge games. We feed off the energy and love playing in front of these atmospheres.”
In the eyes of Gauthier, experience in big games trumps age. It’s just a number.
“Everyone says we have a super young group, which we do, but we have a very experienced group as well playing in high-octane games,” he said. “We’ve been super confident with the group we have all season long. Even being the young guys we trust (in) coach's plan, playing fast and competitive and out-competing the other team.”
Shut it down
For all the talk about dominant offenses, it was a defensive masterclass for the Eagles.
Freshman Jacob Fowler was not going to be outdone by his classmates, stopping all 32 shots he faced en route to his third shutout of the season to extend his NCAA rookie-record win total to 32.
The Wolverines were in control of the shot counter all night, finishing with a 32-22 advantage and 17-8 in the third period. That hasn’t mattered this season for BC, which is 13-3-1 this season when being outshot by its opponent. Talk about being opportunistic.
“Our D had great gaps all night and gave us the freedom to make plays off the rush,” Gauthier said.
Brown was exceptionally happy with his team’s ability to close in the final frame.
“In the third period when we were ahead, we started to simplify our game, play a little safer, use the walls a little more, and we were able to do a nice job keeping pucks out of the middle and spending more time not scrambling in our zone,” Brown said. “So I was really happy with probably the last 12-13 minutes left in the third. We did a great job limiting their chances to get into the game.”
Jacob Fowler with a nice poke check. He's been perfect on all 28 Michigan shots so far tonight. #FrozenFour pic.twitter.com/S6mLc548rE
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) April 12, 2024
Fowler’s highlight saves didn’t have to be numerous, but he was always there.
“I don’t think we took his eyes away enough,” Michigan standout Rutger McGroarty said.
How do things look heading into Saturday?
The two teams facing off on Saturday are familiar with one another.
BC will look for revenge following a 4-3 loss to Denver on Oct. 21, the Eagles’ first loss of the season and one of only two at home on their 34-5-1 ledger.
Brown knows that his team and the Pioneers have both grown since then, but there’s plenty to learn from a game even going so far back.
Smith also scored two goals in that game, but it was a two-goal effort from Denver’s power play in the third period that made the difference. One of those goal scorers was Tristan Broz, the Minnesota transfer whose overtime winner ended BU’s season earlier on Thursday.
“It was two good teams both making a lot of plays,” Brown said, reflecting on the October matchup. “I think the biggest mistake we made in that game was we took a few penalties, I think maybe three in the last 10 minutes. So, we learned from that. … I think both teams have stuck to that style. Both teams are creating offense, and when you play against a team that's that gifted offensively, you know you have to manage the puck because if you give them free chances, they'll really make you pay.”
Now, let's dive into takeaways from BU's loss.
Fast start wasn't enough
BU couldn’t have drawn up a better start, posting a 10-3 shots on goal advantage in the first period which included challenging Denver goaltender Matt Davis with a couple of break-in opportunities in the opening minutes.
The pressure mounted and resulted in an opening goal at 7:45 of the first period when sophomore Devin Kaplan’s attempted clearance bounced off a Denver defender and sprung senior assistant captain Luke Tuch for a breakaway down the left wing.
Luke Tuch (MTL) opened the scoring at the #MFrozenFour with a shorty. Great shot. pic.twitter.com/ZFucJVTqDr
— Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) April 11, 2024
The nation’s top-scoring team in Denver was held in check — and held to fewer than 10 shots — deep into the second period, but the Terriers weren’t able to double their lead and saw a tying goal go in against junior netminder Mathieu Caron with 4:39 left before the second intermission.
“It's been a little bit of an issue the whole year for our group in the second period, not finding ways to put teams away,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “I would have liked to see us bear down and get a two-goal lead, but it didn't happen. They got some life at the end of the second, and that was a big momentum change.”
The opponent was on the ropes, but BU couldn’t deliver the knockout blow.
Incredibly, the Terriers were not granted a power play in each of their last two games, though they killed off all four of Denver’s.
“I don't know if there (were) any penalties out there or not, but we didn't get on the power play at all. They got on four times,” Pandolfo said. “But…that's not the reason we lost the game. We have to find ways to put teams away 5-on-5 and we didn't do that.”
The great Caron
Caron made 27 saves. Several of those were highlight-reel stops, which was why overtime was necessary.
“I thought he played unbelievable,” BU fifth-year senior captain and defenseman Case McCarthy said. “Probably be on SportsCenter a couple times tomorrow morning.”
Among the most memorable, the Brown transfer made an outstretched glove stop on a give-and-go between Denver’s Jack Devine and Aidan Thompson — the latter who was an All-New England prep product at Berkshire School — in the waning minute of the second period.
Oh my, Mathieu Caron. #BUvsDenver pic.twitter.com/7AMS4a5HrA
— Boston Hockey Blog (@BOShockeyblog) April 11, 2024
He also stopped Devine on a point-blank chance from the slot after BU finished a penalty kill in the third.
Caron was a crucial last line of defense on the incredibly strong man-down unit.
“I thought it was excellent from the goalie on out. They were sacrificing. We were pretty confident that they were going to get the job done,” Pandolfo said. “And then the one save that Caron made was incredible. So good for them.”
The BU netminder played in all 40 of BU’s games, allowing two or fewer goals in 26 of them.
No matter the future, the Terriers are on a better track
Despite being held without a point for only the sixth time all season, 17-year-old freshman Macklin Celebrini still made his mark with a game-high seven shots on goal and going 15-7 in the faceoff circle.
“Forget the talent he has — his talent is off the charts. But his competitiveness is second to none. And that's a pretty good recipe to have,” Pandolfo said on Wednesday. “... He's a great teammate. He's coachable. He wants to be coached. He wants to be pushed. He wants to learn. And he's going to be a tremendous player for a long time.”
What’s next? Along with McCarthy and a talented senior class, it could also spell the end for the likes of sophomore Lane Hutson, who was tied as the top-scoring defender in the country entering the Frozen Four.
The returnees were part of the first BU team in 27 years to make a back-to-back Frozen Four appearance, but the championship drought since 2009 will last. Still, this is a group that has set the Terriers on the right course for the future.
“I really feel for our seniors. They've done a tremendous job the last two years of, I feel like, re-establishing the culture at BU and what it means to play and be a Terrier,” Pandolfo said. “Tonight, the margin of error in these one-and-dones is very slim. We made some mistakes that cost us, and there's no tomorrow for us.”
