Frozen Four: Boston College loses to Denver in national championship

The Eagles managed eight shots on goal during a power play in the latter part of the third period, but Davis stopped four and his teammates defended three.

Fowler was pulled with under three minutes to play.

Now, BC’s young stars will have some decisions to make.

Lexington’s Will Smith, the leading scorer in the country as a freshman, was drafted fourth overall by the Sharks last year. Sophomore Cutter Gauthier, one of the finalists for the Hobey Baker, was selected fifth overall by the Flyers, who traded his rights to Anaheim. And freshmen Ryan Leonard (No. 8 pick, Capitals) and Gabe Perreault (No. 23 pick, Rangers) could also leave.

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Lexington’s Will Smith, the leading scorer in the country as a freshman, was drafted fourth overall by the Sharks last year. Sophomore Cutter Gauthier, one of the finalists for the Hobey Baker, was selected fifth overall by the Flyers, who traded his rights to Anaheim. And freshmen Ryan Leonard (No. 8 pick, Capitals) and Gabe Perreault (No. 23 pick, Rangers) could also leave.

The honorees ...

Denver G Matt Davis

Denver D Zeev Buium

Denver D Sean Behrens

BC F Will Smith

Denver F Tristan Broz

Denver F Rieger Lorenz

That will do it for the Eagles. Denver wins its 10th national title in program history, an NCAA record, after taking down No. 1 BC, 2-0. Pioneers goaltender Matt Davis was the story of the night, racking up 35 saves, including 23 in the final period. The Pioneers have now won national title twice in the last three years and reached the Frozen Four in five of their last seven seasons.

There’s about a minute to play.

With 4 minutes on the clock, Jacob Fowler is still in the net for the Eagles. Greg Brown must be thinking about pulling him soon.

Denver 2, BC 0 | 15:49, third period

The Eagles have just over four minutes to make something happen. Will coach Greg Brown pull goalie Jacob Fowler?

Denver kills it off. BC had eight shots during that power play: Davis saved four, the Pioneers blocked three, and one went wide.

BC has another power play opportunity with Jack Devine, Denver’s leading goal scorer, headed to the box for tripping with just about eight minutes to play. 7:54 to go in the third period.

Denver 2, BC 0 | 10:25, third period

The Eagles aren’t short on chances, that’s for sure. BC has hit pipe twice tonight, including Lukas Gustafsson’s shot with 12 minutes to play in the game.

The Eagles have also had a handful of point-blank shots, but Matt Davis is keeping his net on total lockdown.

Matt Davis made a few unreal saves to keep BC off the board during that BC power play. Ryan Leonard thought he had a sure thing on the doorstep, but Davis robbed him to maintain his team’s 2-0 lead with 15 minutes to play.

McKade Webster, who had to be helped off the ice earlier in the game after being slammed into the boards by Mike Posma, is now flagged for a penalty. BC has its first power play after Webster got tangled up and was called for a hold.

Can the Eagles rally?

Announced attendance: 18,694 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

The Pioneers are No. 1 with 4.7 goals per game but managed just four goals in regulation over three games in the tournament. Denver coach David Carle did not sound overly concerned.

“I think that the goal scoring is more of an anomaly the last three games,” Carle said before the game. “Remembering who we’re playing, these are the best teams in the country. I think we’ve all seen the tightness of the games, how many overtime games there were in the regional round. I saw a tweet that every champion has had to play an overtime game since 2017 on their way to the title.

“This tournament, it’s a really hard thing to get to this stage. It’s hard to win. We’re playing real good teams.”

After not winning a game when it scored two goals or fewer all season, Denver had done just that three times in a row, all by 2-1 scores, including two in overtime. The Pioneers looked to emphasize defense in the second half of the season, particularly in the playoffs.

It’s working here on Saturday. BC’s Will Smith, the leading scorer in the country, is shut out.

Denver is 20 minutes away from securing its NCAA-record 10th national title after controlling play throughout that second period.

Goals from Rieger Lorenz and Jared Wright have the Pioneers up 2-0 on the Eagles, who are seeking their first title since 2012. Denver has out-shot BC 20-12, and Greg Brown and his team have some work to do in the third.

The goals were the first allowed by BC goal Jacob Fowler in 111 minutes.

This is just the third time BC is trailing after two periods all season.

These last few minutes have been all Denver, which now leads 2-0 after a goal from Rieger Lorenz. Zeev Buium took on two Eagles by himself before dumping it to Lorenz. Fowler had no time to react, and the Pioneers are in control of this game.

Wright had another huge chance on a 1-on-0 breakaway after a turnover in the neutral zone, but Jacob Fowler was quick to shut it down with some quick stick work and a left-pad save.

Fowler has 17 saves so far.

What a huge series from Matt Davis, who comes up with three saves from close range in the span of 20 seconds. Andre Gasseau fired first, then Cutter Gauthier and Eamon Powell both tried to capitalize on the rebounds.

Denver strikes first on a top-shelf shot from Jared Wright. Reiger Lorenz fired it to Wright, who hesitated before popping it over the shoulder of Fowler. The puck rang off the post and bounced off the number on Fowler’s jersey to give Denver a 1-0 lead.

BC 0, Denver 0 | 8:23, second period

Jacob Fowler has 13 saves for the Eagles.

Important to note that BC has the best penalty kill percentage in the country (.889).

And BC kills it off. Aidan Hreschuk came up huge in the defensive end for the Eagles.

Denver gets just one shot on goal.

After no penalties in the first period, BC’s Mike Posma is going to the box for boarding. McKade Webster stayed down on the ice for an extended period after Posma hit him into the boards, and Webster had to be helped off the ice. Call on the ice is a minor penalty.

Matt Davis robs Ryan Leonard on one end, then the Pioneers counter with two shots on Jacob Fowler in rapid succession. Still scoreless with 16 minutes to play in the second.

Inside the collar of Denver’s sweaters is a team mantra: “Trust the proscess.” Yes, the spelling error is intentional. It stems from the days when Bruins coach Jim Montgomery was the head coach of the Pioneers and current head coach David Carle was an assistant.

As the story goes, Montgomery wrote the phrase, spelled correctly, on a whiteboard before a 2016 NCAA Tournament game against BU, and Carle erased it later to draw a plan for his penalty-killing unit. When Carle re-wrote the phrase, he spelled it “proscess,” and the joke has stuck around since.

Jerry York was seen speaking with Cutter Gauthier shortly after Friday’s Hobey Baker ceremony in which the sophomore finished runner up to Macklin Celebrini.

Shortly before puck drop, the legendary coach shared what he told Gauthier, calling to mind the 2001 Frozen Four, when York got a heads up that Brian Gionta was going to finish runner up to Michigan State goalie Ryan Miller the night before the ceremony. York entered the locker room to let the team know, and started to mention the Hobey Baker Award. Before he could finish, Gionta stood up and told his teammates that he was there to win one trophy: the NCAA championship.

Two days later, BC beat North Dakota to capture its first national title since 1949.

We’re scoreless after one period in the national title game. Denver holds the edge in shots on goal, 8-5, but the Pioneers have racked up eight blocks thus far. Denver’s breakouts will almost certainly be a topic of conversation for Greg Brown and the Eagles at this break, as the Pioneers have created some dangerous rushes thanks to the stick of goaltender Matt Davis.

BC 0, Denver 0 | 16:08, first period

Matt Davis adds an extra dimension to Denver’s offense from behind his net. He’s facilitated a few clean breakouts for the Pioneers in this period, forcing BC to back track and hustle out of line changes to get in front of the puck.

BC 0, Denver 0 | 11:04, first period

The Eagles only mustered one shot on goal in the first 10 minutes of this game, but they’ve had some big chances in rapid succession. Matt Davis had to make some quick back-to-back saves as the Eagles created a scrum in front of his net, but Denver is still out-shooting BC, 7-4.

Smith couldn’t convert his breakaway.

BC 0, Denver 0 | 7:13, first period

It’s early, but turnovers have already been a huge factor in this game. A BC turnover in its defensive zone gave McKade Webster an unobstructed view of the net, but Fowler was there again to make the save. BC took it to the other end on a rush, but Colby Ambrosio’s shot went just wide.

We’re still scoreless with 11 minutes to play in the first period.

Denver had the first big chance of the game, breaking out on a 2-on-1 rush following a BC turnover, but Jacob Fowler turned away Miko Matikka’s shot. The freshman goaltender had 32 saves for a shutout in BC’s semifinal win over Michigan.

17:08 to play in the first.

Here we go!

Jeff Gavin, Twin Cities pop recording artist, performed the national anthem. Dan Brooks, son of the legendary Miracle on Ice coach Herb, did the ceremonial puck drop. Former NHLer Jordan Leopold had the honorary “Let’s Play Hockey” announcement.

Both teams are chock full of talent. Here’s a look at the players who have already been drafted.

Cutter Gauthier: One of three finalists for the Hobey Baker award, the sophomore has 37 goals and 27 assists this season. The Flyers selected him fifth overall in the 2022 draft but traded his rights to Anaheim this season.

Ryan Leonard: With 31 goals and 28 assists in his rookie season, Leonard has proven why the Capitals selected him with the No. 8 pick in last year’s draft.

Gabe Perreault: The Rangers used their first-round pick (23rd overall) last year to select Perreault, a freshman forward who has 57 points (18 goals, 39 assists).

Will Smith: The Sharks drafted the freshman forward with the fourth overall pick in last year’s draft. He leads the nation in points with 69 (23 goals, 46 assists).

Zeev Buium: Buium is draft eligible for the first time. He’ll be one of the top eligible defensemen after posting 11 goals and 38 assists this season.

Rieger Lorenz: The Wild selected Lorenz in the second round (No. 56 overall) in the 2022 draft. The forward has put up 15 goals and 13 assists in his second season with the Pioneers.

Miko Matikka: The freshman forward from Helsinki, Finland, was drafted by the Coyotes in the third round (No. 67 overall) in 2022. He’s posted 20 goals and 12 assists in his first season in Denver.

What felt like an inconsequential early-season game may have bigger implications than anyone could have predicted.

Back on Oct. 21, Denver beat BC, 4-3, in the Eagles’ fourth game this season. The Pioneers, then ranked No. 2, secured the win over the No. 3 Eagles with a late goal from Carter King in front of a crowd of 7,884 at BC’s Kelley Rink.

BC has a shot at revenge in the national championship, and Denver has a chance for a season sweep.

Slow, patient growth is an antiquated method of team-building in college hockey. Rare today is the program that keeps its driving forces together for three or four years, finally seeing the payoff when they become upperclassmen.

Why wait? Boston College certainly isn’t.

This fantastic Eagles season, which saw them flirt with the No. 1 ranking before grabbing it for good in late January, stands one win — against Denver on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN2) — from a national title.

They are here on the backs of four young forwards, three freshmen and a sophomore, who have lit up the NCAA. Sometimes, they make it look easy. They are game-changing players who have won at every level and came to BC expecting to do more of it.

Read the full story here.

The Eagles are sticking with what they know, sending out the same lines and pairings they used to take down Michigan.

BC’s second line of Gabe Perreault, Will Smith, and Ryan Leonard — all freshmen — has been lethal this season. With 191 combined points across the line, coach Greg Brown has found a winning formula.

The only differences for Denver are that Tristan Lemyre moved from right to left wing, and the Pioneers added Alex Weiermair as an extra center.

Boston University freshman Macklin Celebrini was named the winner of the Hobey Baker Award on Friday, beating out Boston College’s Cutter Gauthier and North Dakota’s Jackson Blake for the award honoring men’s college hockey’s top player.

“It’s a surreal feeling to be awarded such a prestigious award,” Celebrini said. “It means a lot, and it’s kind of just a whirlwind right now.”

The youngest player to win the award, Celebrini is expected to be the No. 1 pick of the NHL Draft in June, just two weeks after he turns 18. He had 32 goals and 32 assists in 38 games as BU returned to the Frozen Four before bowing to Denver, 2-1, Thursday. He is the fourth Terrier to win the award, joining Chris Drury (1998), Matt Gilroy (2009), and Jack Eichel (2015).

Read the full story here.

The road to the national championship game was rockier for BC than its No. 1 seed indicates.

The Eagles survived an early scare from No. 4 seed Michigan Tech before pulling away in the third period for a comfortable 6-1 win in the tournament’s first round. Then, in the regional final, the Eagles overcame a 2-0 deficit against Quinnipiac to earn their spot in the Frozen Four. BC never led in regulation, needing Jack Malone’s overtime heroics to secure a 5-4 win.

Against Michigan on Thursday, freshman goaltender Jacob Fowler stopped 31 shots for the Eagles, and classmate Will Smith scored twice as BC blanked the Wolverines, 4-0, to secure a spot in the national championship.

If Denver’s road to the title game is any indication, the Pioneers can never quite be counted out.

It took two extra periods for third-seeded Denver to beat UMass, 2-1, in the first round. Tristan Broz scored the winner, and goaltender Matt Davis made a career-high 46 saves in the win as the Pioneers advanced to face Cornell in the second round. The Big Red took an early 1-0 lead before Denver scored two unanswered goals to earn a trip to the Frozen Four.

Broz once again played the hero when he scored at 11:07 of overtime to lift the Pioneers over BU in the national semifinal.

That’ll do it in Saint Paul, after a ruthless performance from BC. A 4-0 win sends them to the national championship game against Denver, courtesy of two goals from Will Smith and a tally each from Gabriel Perreault and Ryan Leonard, plus a 32-save shutout from Jacob Fowler. The Wolverines outshot the Eagles, 32-22, but they never looked like troubling Fowler’s cage after two goals in 49 seconds broke the game open for BC in the second period. The Eagles also set a new program record with their 34th win of the season.

Puck drop for Saturday’s championship game — BC’s first appearance since 2012 — is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN2.

“Sweet Caroline” alert in St. Paul.

BC 4, Michigan 0 | 13:30, third period

Michigan has 15 shots to BC’s four in this period. Noted Florida man Jacob Fowler could not be less bothered about it.

Just seems like one of those nights for Michigan. BC looked exhausted on the penalty kill, but the Wolverines just can’t find a way past an array of BC shot blockers, or a way through the ever-steady Jacob Fowler. That’s 27 shots, 27 saves for Fowler.

Gabe Perreault caps off a 3-point night with a brilliant wraparound, and this one is just about over. His 19th goal of the season puts the Eagles up 4-0 with just under 15 minutes to play, and BC looks unstoppable.

We’ve got 14:47 to go in the third period.

BC’s speed will be an even bigger threat with Michigan forced to play aggressive as they chase this game — Ryan Leonard gets in behind but Jake Barczewski denies him with a big pad save to keep the Wolverines hanging on by a thread. Michigan needs a goal, and soon, to have a chance in this one.

The Eagles have 20 minutes until they’re back in the title game for the first time since 2012.

BC and Michigan have a number of studs on the roster. Here’s a look at the players who have been drafted into the NHL.

(All statistics as of Wednesday.)

Cutter Gauthier: One of three finalists for the Hobey Baker award, the sophomore has 37 goals and 27 assists this season. The Flyers selected him fifth overall in the 2022 draft but traded his rights to Anaheim this season.

Ryan Leonard: With 31 goals and 28 assists in his rookie season, Leonard has proven why the Capitals selected him with the No. 8 pick in last year’s draft.

Gabe Perreault: The Rangers used their first-round pick (23rd overall) last year to select Perreault, a freshman forward who has 57 points (18 goals, 39 assists).

Will Smith: The Sharks drafted the freshman forward with the fourth overall pick in last year’s draft. He leads the nation in points with 69 (23 goals, 46 assists).

Gavin Brindley: The Blue Jackets snagged Brindley with the No. 34 pick in the 2023 draft. The sophomore is currently eighth in the nation in points with 53 (25 goals, 28 assists) and is the Wolverines’ leading scorer.

Seamus Casey: Casey is tied with Buium for the third-most assists in the country (38), and he added seven goals for the Wolverines this year. The Blue Jackets picked him in the second round (No. 46) of the 2022 draft.

Rutger McGroarty: Two Michigan teammates went back-to-back in the first round in 2022, with Frank Nazar at No. 13 and McGroarty at No. 14. The Jets have the rights to McGroarty, who has averaged 1.49 points per game this season.

Frank Nazar: Nazar came off the board when the Blackhawks picked him No. 13 overall. The sophomore has 17 goals and 41 assists this season.

The last couple minutes of the second period were all Michigan, but Jacob Fowler looks like he’s in a shutout sort of mood, and he’s got 15 saves as BC leads 3-0 after two. The Eagles blew the game open in the space of 49 seconds with goals from Will Smith and Cuttier Gauthier, and it’s looking like a long way back for Michigan in this one.

BC 3, Michigan 0 | 16:24, second period

Now you see why Boston College is the No. 1 team in the country.

It’s an onslaught from the Eagles. Cutter Gauthier pounces on a loose puck for a breakaway and beats Jake Barczewski, and in less than a minute, the Eagles’ one-goal advantage has tripled. It’s 3-0 BC with six minutes to play in the second.

Was any of that planned from Will Smith? Maybe not, but the nation’s leading scorer wraps around the net and throws it out front, and the disc hits Ethan Edwards’s right skate, then his left, and through Jake Barczewski’s five-hole, and it’s 2-0 BC.

We’ve got 7:00 to go in the second period.

Watch Smith’s goal:

Just a rough few seconds for BC’s Drew Fortescue, who coughs up a bad turnover and immediately trips Michigan’s TJ Hughes to put the Wolverines back on the power play, their third of the night. Lucky for him, Michigan’s Dylan Duke committed a silly tripping penalty just 25 seconds later, so we’re back to 4-on-4 for the second time tonight.

BC 1, Michigan 0 | 9:48, second period

Michigan is outshooting BC, 12-8, but the Eagles have the advantage.

A very strong penalty kill for Boston College, which holds Michigan without a shot on that power play opportunity. Jacob Fowler is up to 11 saves on 11 shots tonight.

BC’s Ryan Leonard got into some open ice on the right side, beat his defender with a beautiful deke, and looked to have beaten Jake Barczewski on the backhand, but the Michigan netminder denied him with an excellent pad save. Fast start to the second period.

After one, No. 1 Boston College leads Michigan, 1-0, courtesy of that 2-on-1 conversion from Will Smith in the opening minutes. Jacob Fowler has been flawless between the pipes for the Eagles, making things looks comfortable despite the Wolverines outshooting BC, 9-6, and winning 12 of 19 faceoffs in the first 20 minutes.

BC 1, Michigan 0 | 15:50, first period

Another penalty on Michigan, this time for tripping against Ethan Edwards, and BC will head back to the power play. Bit of an undisciplined first period from these teams in the second semi.

Didn’t take long for BC to exceed BU’s power play total for the night, but the Eagles’ No. 2 in the nation unit only had 35 seconds with an extra man before Ryan Leonard got called for hooking to bring us to 4-on-4.

By Andrew Mahoney

As college hockey fans waited for last week’s announcement of the three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, which is handed out to the top men’s college hockey player in the country, the question was not whether a Hockey East player would be included. Rather, it was how many.

The answer turned out to be two, with Boston College sophomore Cutter Gauthier and Boston University freshman Macklin Celebrini joined by Jackson Blake, who signed a three-year, entry level deal Wednesday with the Carolina Hurricanes after completing his sophomore season at North Dakota.

In 2023, all three finalists hailed from the Big Ten, with Michigan’s Adam Fantilli claiming the prize over Minnesota’s of Logan Cooley and Matthew Knies. The idea that there could be three finalists from Hockey East in 2024 was not far-fetched, as BU sophomore Lane Hutson — arguably the best defenseman in the country — and BC freshman Will Smith were top-10 finalists.

Smith, a native of Lexington and taken No. 4 in the 2023 NHL Draft by the Sharks, perhaps had the best case after leading the NCAA in points with 69 (23 goals, 46 assists). He received an unlikely endorsement as well. While asking BC coach Greg Brown about Smith, NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce prefaced her question by saying that Jack Eichel, who won the Hobey in 2015 as a freshman at BU, told her he voted for Smith.

Read more here.

Strong start for Richter Award finalist Jacob Fowler, who has turned aside all six shots he’s faced so far. Michigan’s Jake Barczewski, meanwhile, is looking at a goalie’s least favorite stat: one shot, one goal.

An end-to-end start in the second semifinal, and BC is on the board early. After the Wolverines rang the crossbar, Ryan Leonard and Will Smith got out on a 2-on-1 rush and Smith potted the opener with Michigan goaltender Jake Barczewski sprawled in desperation. It looked like Smith may have been offsides, but the Wolverines opt not to challenge and the Eagles lead.

BC and Michigan are underway.

The Wolverines advanced to their third straight Frozen Four with a 4-3 win over North Dakota in the first round and a 5-2 victory over rival Michigan State in the second round. Michigan got its revenge against the Spartans, who downed Wolverines in the Big Ten Tournament title game just a week prior.

BC overcame a 2-0 deficit in the regional final to earn a spot in the Frozen Four. BC never led in regulation against Quinnipiac, needing Jack Malone’s overtime heroics to secure a 5-4 win.

By Andrew Mahoney

The buzz was already growing in the fall of 2021, when Lexington native Will Smith committed to the Boston College men’s hockey team. He planned to join four of his teammates from the US National Team Development Program — Ryan Leonard, Will Vote, Drew Fortescue, Aram Minnetian — on the Eagles roster beginning in 2023.

A year later, Smith and Leonard were skating on the USNTDP’s top line when they convinced Gabe Perreault to join them in Chestnut Hill. That same month, goalie Jacob Fowler, playing for the Youngstown Phantoms in the USHL, also signed on.

The group has helped transform BC from a team that went 14-16-6 and finished eighth in Hockey East last season to the No. 1-ranked juggernaut entering the NCAA tournament this week with 31 wins.

Read more here.

By Matt Porter

BC goalie Jacob Fowler, 19, is a finalist for the Mike Richter Award (top Division 1 goalie) and has won more games in his debut season (31 to date) than any freshman in NCAA history. In January, he won a gold medal with Team USA at the World Junior Championship.

He has a pro career on the horizon. A third-round pick of the Canadiens (69th overall) last June, he could be their goalie of the future.

“His superpower is his composure,” said former Bruins goalie Andrew Raycroft, who is working the Frozen Four for ESPN. “He’s certainly a pro. There’s not many college goalies I say are pros. He’s like Cayden Primeau or Spencer Knight, where you don’t really have to look at their numbers — they play the game properly. A scout is going to look at how they skate, move, and handle themselves, and say what he’s doing now will translate. Most guys in college, you don’t say that about.”

Read more here.

Who will they face in the title game?

By Matt Porter

Tristan Broz scored at 11:09 of overtime to lift Denver over Boston University, 2-1, in the NCAA men’s hockey semifinals Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.

To get to OT, the Terriers had to survive four penalty kills — without a power play — and started extras with 47 seconds left on a Dylan Peterson boarding minor.

BU, the second overall seed in the tournament, dominated for most of the first half of the game, opening the scoring on a shorthanded breakaway strike from senior Luke Tuch. Third-seeded Denver, though, pulled even thanks to a rare turnover by star defenseman Lane Hutson, whose gaffe let Denver’s Tristan Lemyre tie it in the second.

The Terriers, looking for their first NCAA title since 2009 and sixth overall, got a few 10-bell stops from netminder Mathieu Caron (22 saves through three periods), including a pair of glovefirst dives that kept it 1-1.

Read more here.

Tristan Broz rips a wrister through the five hole of Mathieu Caron, and the Pioneers are moving on.

Denver got out on a 3-on-2 rush as BU got caught changing, and Broz gained the zone, pivoted, waited, and fire it through Caron’s knees to end the Terriers’ season.

The BU bench is absolutely livid as the Terriers think Devin Kaplan was slashed; BU has still yet to go on the power play tonight after 70 minutes of hockey.

We’re at 9:54 to play in the first overtime.

Lane Hutson and Macklin Celebrini combined to fashion one of the best chances of this overtime, but Celebrini’s blast on the return sails just wide. BU has outshot Denver 6-3 in a wide-open OT.

We’ve got 12:45 to play in the first overtime. Denver has called a timeout.

Lane Hutson nearly scored a game-winner for the ages, handling patiently at the blue line before dancing through multiple Pioneers and firing a wrister that Matt Davis was equal to. Nick Zabaneh could’ve won it too, but Davis stood tall again. This 4-on-4 has been end-to-end as both teams search for a winner.

We’ve got 4-on-4 hockey with matching penalties handed to BU’s Sam Stevens and Denver’s Jack Devine. There will be plenty of open ice here for someone to win this game.

15:32 to play in the first OT.

Penalty killed, teams are back to even strength.

Overtime is about to get underway. BU will need to kill off the remaining 47 seconds of Peterson’s penalty to keep their season alive.

It’s been a defensive battle in St. Paul. Here’s a look at some of the best photos from Boston University-Denver.

BU kills the first 1:13 of Dylan Peterson’s penalty, and we’ve got free hockey in Saint Paul.

Denver’s Massimo Rizzo had a chance to end it, but it’s overtime in the first semifinal.

Denver will get a late penalty after Sean Behrens was leveled by BU’s Dylan Peterson from behind in the Pioneer corner. The officials opted to review that hit, but Peterson escaped with a two-minute minor; the Terriers will have to escape another penalty kill with 1:13 to go.

Hard to believe that stayed out. Jack Harvey rips a one-timer past Denver goaltender Matt Davis, but it rings the far post and bounces through the crease, and we’re still tied at 1-1 with 2:58 left in regulation.

Hard to believe BU isn’t on a power play, either: Lane Hutson looked like he was tripped, but the Terriers will have to settle for more 5-on-5 with no call.

BU 1, Denver 1 | 10:47, third period

Have a night, Mathieu Caron. He makes another gloved robbery sprawling to his left, and BU kills another penalty.

Matt Willander gets hit with a tripping call three minutes into the third to put BU on the penalty kill for the second time tonight but the Terriers survive a late scramble out front to kill it off.

Predictions for the final frame? Let us know in the comments.

This isn’t the end for these players. Here’s a look at the NHL draft picks on the BU and Denver rosters:

Macklin Celebrini: He hasn’t been drafted yet, but the freshman phenom is the presumptive No. 1 pick in the upcoming 2024 NHL draft. He’s a Hobey Baker finalist and is tied with Gauthier for second-most points in the nation (32-32–64).

Ryan Greene: The Blackhawks picked Greene in the second round (No. 57 overall) in 2022. A sophomore forward, Greene has 12 goals and 24 assists this season.

Lane Hutson: One of the top defensemen in the NCAA, Hutson went in the second round (No. 62 overall) to the Canadiens in the 2022 NHL draft.

Luke Tuch: The senior forward was the No. 47 pick in the 2020 draft by Montreal. He has nine goals and 20 assists this season and is the younger brother of Sabres forward, and former Eagle, Alex Tuch.

Tom Willander: The Canucks selected Willander, a freshman, with the No. 11 pick in last year’s draft. The defenseman from Stockholm, Sweden, has four goals and 21 assists.

Zeev Buium: Similarly to Celebrini, Buium is draft eligible for the first time. He’ll be one of the top eligible defensemen after posting 11 goals and 38 assists this season.

Rieger Lorenz: The Wild selected Lorenz in the second round (No. 56 overall) in the 2022 draft. The forward has put up 15 goals and 13 assists in his second season with the Pioneers.

Miko Matikka: The freshman forward from Helsinki, Finland, was drafted by the Coyotes in the third round (No. 67 overall) in 2022. He’s posted 20 goals and 12 assists in his first season in Denver.

Will we see this on SportsCenter’s Top 10 tonight? Perhaps.

The first 30 minutes were all BU, but Denver turned things around in the final 10 minutes of the second period as the Terriers failed to clear their zone, were forced into long shifts as they failed to get pucks in deep for changes, and put themselves in bad spots with turnovers. The Pioneers nearly stole a second-intermission lead on that Matt Davis stretch pass, but they’ll be happy with a tie game after being outshot, 20-11, through 40 minutes.

A very quick game in Saint Paul, as we’ve only seen one penalty all evening.

A stunning stop from Mathieu Caron. A long stretch pass from Denver goaltender Matt Davis got the Pioneers on a sudden 2-on-1, Caron looked like he was beat on a forehand-backhand move, but the BU netminder absolutely robs Denver’s Aidan Thompson to keep us level after two periods.

Denver pieces together one of its best stretches of consistent pressure, and we have a tie game. The Terriers got pinned in and couldn’t clear the zone with defenseman Tom Willander hobbling in front of his own net, and after a bad turnover below the goal line from Lane Hutson, Tristan Lemyre was wide open in front to tie the game from point-blank range. It’s been all BU, but it’s 1-1 with 4:13 to play in the second.

By Matt Porter

A spectacular Frozen Four could be Mathieu Caron’s ticket to the pros. No NHL team drafted Caron, who was eligible from 2018-20.

“If he finds a way to win two more games, everything might change for him,” said former Bruins goalie Andrew Raycroft, who is working the Frozen Four for ESPN.

Raycroft described Caron — a former high school sprinter — as “ultra-athletic. He’s quick and fast with great reactions, and he’s able to make saves because of that athleticism.” Despite the fact he is an older prospect, BU goalie coach Brian Daccord believes Caron has plenty of room to grow.

“He’s got what NHL teams want with his quickness,” Daccord said. “He hasn’t been overwhelmed here. He’s calm and analytical.”

Caron, a biology major who has the chemical formula for serotonin on his blocker, hails from Abbotsford, British Columbia. He put up solid-but-unspectacular numbers with the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs.

That was despite a torn left ACL in November 2018 that cost him 11 months.

It wasn’t just a bad tear, “it was a complete obliteration,” Caron recalled. “I made a breakaway save, so I went down, and the D-man toe-picked and landed on me. Blew it out. I went from 15 Division 1 offers to nothing.”

Those backing off included Denver, his top choice.

Just before backstopping Chilliwack to a seven-game playoff loss in 2020, Caron committed to Brown. The pandemic dashed his plans. Brown told him to spend an extra season in juniors because the Ivy League was shutting down all sports.

Arriving in Providence in 2021, Caron did all he could to lift the Bears out of the ECAC basement. In two seasons, they went 14-26-7 in his starts, while he improved his save percentage from .911 to .921 and goals-against average from 2.74 to 2.49.

BU, which needed a replacement for Drew Commesso, nabbed Caron from the transfer portal. He has started every game (39), allowing six goals across two regional games after a tough loss to BC in the Hockey East final.

“We knew he was good. He put up great numbers at Brown,” BU defenseman Cade Webber said. “He might be under the radar a little bit, but he can win a game for us.”

Probably the most important save thus far from Mathieu Caron, who clips a seemingly goal-bound wrister from Jared Wright with his shoulder. Otherwise, it’s been a suffocating 30 minutes of hockey from the Terriers, who have held Denver to just six shots as we hit halfway.

BU 1, Denver 0 | 6:00, second period

BU leads in shots, 15-5.

Another chance for Macklin Celebrini to start a period hot, as he rips a shot from the right circle, then bats the rebound out of the air and through the crease but can’t find twine. The Terriers have come out just as hot in the second period as they did the first.

During his sophomore year at BU in 2009, Colby Cohen put his stamp on the final by scoring the overtime winner in the title game, capping a wild comeback that gave the Terriers a 4-3 win and their fifth national championship.

The Pennsylvania native, now a broadcaster, is rinkside tonight as part of the ESPN2 broadcast.

Read more about Cohen here, in this story from 2022 when the Frozen Four was in Boston.

ESPN reports big gains in viewership of the men’s college hockey on its network this year.

A couple of notes from Andrew Mahoney ...

• Denver got Massimo Rizzo back in the lineup. The junior forward had been out since Feb. 3 with a lower body injury, and had led the NCAA in points with 10 goals and 34 assists before getting hurt. He was slotted on the 4th line.
• BU made an adjustment of its own, activating Doug Grimes and placing the Brookline native at left wing on the third line with seniors Nick Zabaneh and Dylan Peterson. The move gave the Terriers some size, as the 6-3, 205-pound Grimes replaced Jeremy Wilmer (5-8, 158) who is third on the team with 30 assists but was held off the scoresheet in BU’s two wins in the Sioux Falls regional.

At the end of a fast, physical first period, Boston University leads, 1-0, thanks to Luke Tuch’s shorthanded goal. The Terriers have outshot the Pioneers, 10-3, as Denver has failed to generate any consistent pressure on Mathieu Caron’s net, including on the only power play opportunity of the opening frame. A strong start for BU.

BU 1, Denver 0 | 15:47, first period

Things get a little chippy after Denver’s Sean Behrens lays a big hit on Macklin Celebrini — with what looked like some head contact — and BU’s Shane Lachance. It seemed like Jay Pandolfo wanted the potential hit to the head reviewed, but play continued before he get could the referees’ attention.

That’s a gut punch for Denver, and a huge moment for BU. Luke Tuch capitalizes on a Denver mistake at the blue line to get out on a partial breakaway and roofs a shorthanded opener to put the Terriers up, 1-0, at 7:45 of the first period.

Denver will get the first power play of the night after BU’s Nick Zabaneh is whistled on a sloppy high sticking penalty. Chance for the Pioneers to get some momentum.

BU 0, Denver 0 | 14:50, first period

Both teams have two shots on goal. BU’s Mathieu Caron made a big save, watch here:

BU-Denver is underway. You can watch live on ESPN2.

Macklin Celebrini draws in two defenders as he gains the zone in the first minute, dumps it off to Shane Lachance, and gets it back in the slot for a big scoring chance that he can’t quite bury. The 17-year-old has the Terriers out of the gates hot.

BU hasn’t played Denver since Oct. 27, 2017, when the top-ranked Pioneers took a 4-3 win at Agganis Arena. The Terriers haven’t played Michigan since October 2022, when they split a two-game series in Ann Arbor.

How did Denver get here? It took two extra periods for the third-seeded Pioneers to beat UMass, 2-1, in the first round. Tristan Broz scored the winner, and goaltender Matt Davis made a career-high 46 saves in the win as the Pioneers advanced to face Cornell in the second round. The Big Red took an early 1-0 lead before Denver scored two unanswered goals to earn a trip to the Frozen Four.

By Andrew Mahoney

For most Boston fans, the 2022 NBA Finals represented a missed opportunity. For the coaching staff of the Boston University men’s hockey team, it was anything but.

The Celtics had seized a 2-1 lead over the Warriors. A win in Game 4 at TD Garden would have given them a commanding 3-1 edge. But Golden State guard Stephen Curry had other ideas. He lit up the Celtics for 43 points as the Warriors pulled even with a 107-97 win.

Watching that night from Boston was Rick Celebrini, the director of sports medicine and performance for the Warriors. His son Macklin had just completed two seasons playing hockey for Shattuck St. Mary’s in Minnesota, and was set to play for the Chicago Steel in the USHL. Still two years from being draft-eligible, Macklin was already projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft after racking up 258 points in 102 games.

Find out how BU closed the deal here.

By Andrew Mahoney

Jack Parker was in an unfamiliar position on Easter Sunday.

The legendary hockey figure, he of the 897 wins and three national titles while coach of the Boston University men’s hockey team for 40 years, had watched his beloved Terriers clinch a spot in the Frozen Four with a 6-3 win over Minnesota the previous day, joining Denver as the first two teams to punch their ticket to St. Paul, Minn.

That left Boston College taking on Quinnipiac, and Michigan facing off against Michigan State, for the final two spots. The Eagles would prevail over the defending national champions, 5-4 in overtime, while Michigan took care of the Spartans, 5-2.

“I was really happy BC won,” said Parker, who retired in 2013. “I have never rooted for BC in my life. But I thought it was pretty cool that BC won, because now it’s a BC, BU, Denver, Michigan group that’s in the Frozen Four, and that’s big time college hockey right there. What I always refer to as brand-name college hockey.”

His longtime adversary down Commonwealth Avenue, Hall of Famer Jerry York, takes a similar view.

“It’s four of the premier programs in the country, and it hasn’t been that way for a long, long time,” said York, who retired in 2022 with an NCAA record 1,123 wins and five national titles, the last four with BC. “This should be a great field.”

Read the full story here.

Amin Touri can be reached at amin.touri@globe.com. Katie McInerney can be reached at katie.mcinerney@globe.com. Follow her @k8tmac. Matt Porter can be reached at matthew.porter@globe.com. Follow him @mattyports. Follow Andrew Mahoney @GlobeMahoney. Emma can be reached at emma.healy@globe.com or on X @_EmmaHealy_.