By Allyn Tucker
Boston University News Service
“Guys come to Boston University to have this opportunity.”
For the second time under Coach Jay Pandolfo in his already-celebrated two seasons with the Terriers, Boston University is returning to the most illustrious matches in college hockey – the Frozen Four – and he knows exactly how much it means.
BU (28-9-2) defeated Minnesota (23-11-5) in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey tournament by a final score of 6-3 to progress to this year’s Frozen Four; taking out the team who eliminated the Terriers in last year’s edition.
The Terriers shared the wealth on the scoresheet against Minnesota, with six different players lighting the lamp. Quinn Hutson, Shane Lachance, Jack Harvey and Lane Hutson each scored to keep BU in the game in a competitive first two periods. After a good defensive performance in the third period, captain Case McCarthy and Sam Stevens added to the score with two empty net goals.
“Internally the expectations were for us to get back here, [and] externally as well people thought we could be here again,” said Coach Pandolfo. “To live up to that and get here, it’s not easy.”
Entering the season with high expectations, BU has had pressure to perform all season. Tonight, the Terriers will meet that pressure head on, ranked as the number 2 team in the nation. Despite the accomplishment of reaching back-to-back Frozen Fours, the work is not finished yet for the Terriers. Moving on to their next matchup, the Terriers are weighing last year’s mistakes against Minnesota in their game plan for tonight’s contest with Denver.
“Going off of last year, being in that situation and being down goals to Minnesota, it’s not a great feeling and we don’t want that to happen again,” said Hutson. “We’ve got a group here that can find a way to win.”
The Terriers will face a tough opponent in the Denver Pioneers (30-9-3), who defeated Cornell by a narrow score of 2-1 to advance to the Frozen Four. Cornell outshot Denver 25-18, but an incredible performance by Denver goaltender Matt Davis, who recorded 24 saves including his best coming with 10 seconds left in the game, was the difference for the Pioneers.
Up against a celebrated program like Denver, the Terriers are focused on perfecting their own game. McCarthy emphasized that, if they can minimize the team’s mistakes and play their own game, BU is good enough to beat anyone. The expectation is certainly that.
“It’s a special opportunity for our group,” said forward Macklin Celebrini. “We’re all grateful to be here… [but] we’re not just satisfied to be here, we wanna do well here.”
The Terriers will face the Pioneers in Saint Paul, Minnesota at 5 P.M. ET, and the game can be found on air on ESPN2 or by streaming on ESPN+. The winner of this game will face the winner of the Boston College versus Michigan game in the NCAA Championship game.
