Two from the East, two from the West. That’s how the field for the 2023 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four shaped up after the regionals.
Boston University, Minnesota, Quinnipiac and Michigan won their way to the Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla., with regional championships this weekend.
The Terriers will play the Golden Gophers and the Bobcats will play the Wolverines in the April 6 national semifinals at Amalie Arena. The winners play for the championship on April 8.
The Boston University-Minnesota semifinal game will start at 5 p.m. and the Quinnipiac-Michigan game is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
The BU-Minnesota game will be the 27th in the all-time series between the teams; Each has won 12 with two ties. The most recent was also the last of eight NCAA tournament meetings between the teams, and the Gophers won 7-3 in the first round of the 2012 West Regional in St. Paul, Minn.
They’ve played four times in the semifinals — Minnesota won in 1974 and 1976; BU won in 1994 and 1995 — and once in the championship game. The Terriers won the 1971 title with a 4-2 victory against the Gophers in Syracuse, N.Y.
Michigan has defeated Quinnipiac in all five meetings between the teams. The most recent was a 7-4 triumph in last season’s Allentown Regional final.
Boston University (29-10) advanced to its 23rd Frozen Four with a 2-1 victory against Cornell in the Manchester Regional final on Saturday. The Terriers ousted Western Michigan 5-1 in the first round.
Their last Frozen Four trip was in 2015, when they lost to Providence in the championship game in Boston. BU’s most recent of five NCAA championships was in 2009.
Minnesota (28-9-1) defeated St. Cloud State 4-1 in Saturday’s Fargo Regional championship after the Gophers routed Canisius 9-2 on Thursday. The No. 1 overall seed qualified for the Frozen Four for the second straight season and 23rd time overall.
They lost to Minnesota State in the 2022 semifinals and are looking for their sixth NCAA championship and first since 2003.
Quinnipiac (32-4-3) is back in the Frozen Four for the first time since 2016 — the last time the tournament was in Tampa — after winning the Bridgeport Regional. The Bobcats, the No. 2 overall seed, downed Merrimack 5-0 on Friday and Ohio State 4-1 on Sunday.
The Bobcats are in the Frozen Four for the third time. They lost to Yale in the 2013 championship game and to North Dakota in the 2016 final.
Michigan (26-11-3) qualified for its record 27th Frozen Four — and second straight — with a 2-1 overtime victory against Penn State on Sunday to win the Allentown Regional. The Wolverines set a regional record for goals in an 11-1 victory against Colgate in Friday’s first round.
They’re looking to become the first team with 10 NCAA championships; they’ve been stuck on nine since 1998. Michigan lost to Denver in overtime in the 2022 semifinals.
