College Sports

How Denver stifled BC’s powerhouse offense en route to a national title

Matt Davis had an absurd night between the pipes, but the Pioneers needed a lot more than that to blank the Eagles.

By Colin McCarthy

April 13, 2024

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Boston College possessed one of the nation’s top offenses, and top power play units heading into Saturday night’s national championship game. The Eagles scored four or more goals in each of the first three rounds and aimed to go wire-to-wire as the odds on favorites to win the title.

Instead, Denver completely stifled the No. 1 team in the country, en route to its second title in the last three years.

Few people — save for those within the Pioneers’ own locker room — could have predicted a shutout of BC on Saturday night. Especially considering the Eagles hadn’t been shut out all season.

So, how did it happen? Well, there were multiple key factors that helped guide DU to the impressive win.

Matt Davis played unbelievable in net.

You can’t talk about Saturday’s game without first mentioning the outstanding performance by Pioneers goaltender Matt Davis. The junior was lights out throughout the NCAA Tournament, but saved his best night for last.

Davis made 35 saves, including 23 in the third period and on many key chances by BC. The highlight of the night — and the tournament, for that matter — came in that final frame when Davis flat-out rejected Ryan Leonard’s point-blank attempt at a seemingly empty net.

“What a save by Matt Davis there,” Pioneers coach David Carle said in his postgame interview.

Davis faced 142 shots in the tournament and stopped 139 of them; his save percentage was an unfathomable .979. That deservingly earned him Most Outstanding Player honors for the tournament.

Denver’s neutral-zone defense frustrated the Eagles.

Against a team as good as BC is, it would take even more than a herculean effort by Davis to get the job done on Saturday. Fortunately for him, the Pioneers put together a tremendous game plan in front of him to help take some of the load off his shoulders, particularly in the first two periods.

Denver played an aggressive neutral zone trap, and it seemed that all five skaters at any given time acted as if they were tethered to the same rope. The Pioneers’ strong structure didn’t just hinder the Eagles in transition; it slowed them down completely.

“It was an unbelievable battle, I think our guys did a great job taking away time and space,” Carle said. “Our sticks were excellent. They’re obviously very dangerous, they had many good looks… our guys’s commitment to coming back to the house, get sticks on pucks, lot of blocks tonight. It was a total team effort.”

BC is built to move fast and score fast, and with step one of that formula nullified, the Eagles were left searching for answers. They didn’t find any before the final horn sounded.

The puck luck did not favor the Eagles.

Call it hockey’s biggest superstition, or just a series of unfortunate events. But, whatever you call it, the puck luck favored Denver on Saturday night.

BC hit the post on numerous occasions, missing out on potential game-changing goals by mere centimeters. If even just one of those opportunities found twine earlier, Saturday’s game might’ve looked a lot different.

Adding insult to injury, the Pioneers’ first goal of the night came courtesy of a major lucky bounce. DU’s Jared Wright skated into the zone and fired a shot high on the short side of the net. It rattled off the pipe before hitting BC’s Owen Fowler on the back and tumbling just over the goal line.

The Eagles looked unstoppable for the entire year, setting a program record for most wins in a single season (34). Their young group had a season to remember, but ultimately Denver played a nearly perfect game en route to its second title in three seasons.