SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Revenge may not have been a motivating factor, but there’s no doubt Boston University is relishing returning the favor from how their 2023 campaign ended.
Second-period goals by Shane LaChance and Jack Harvey helped the Terriers rally from a deficit to a lead they would never relinquish as they avenged their Frozen Four loss to the Gophers last year by ending Minnesota’s season Saturday night 6-3 at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.
“Really proud of our group,” said Terriers coach Jay Pandolfo, who in his second year in charge has brought his team to the Frozen Four each time. “To get down 2-0 and not get rattled, we just stuck to the game plan.”
The Terriers, who were beaten in Tampa Bay 6-2 by the Golden Gophers in the Frozen Four semifinals last April, denied Minnesota a third consecutive trip while earning their second consecutive trip themselves. Pandolfo didn’t think revenge was on the minds of his players, however.
“We just talked about playing our game and we were capable of beating them,” Pandolfo said. “It’s a new year – we certainly liked ending their season like they did ours last year.”
Jaxon Nelson opened the scoring for Minnesota to cap off a brilliant regional while Bryce Brodzinski and Aaron Huglen added goals themselves, but the Gophers could not figure out a way to get one last puck past BU goaltender Mathieu Caron late in regulation after forechecking relentlessly over much of the second half of the third period – Caron’s teammates had a lot to do with that with 18 blocked shots overall on the night with most of them seemingly coming late.
Minnesota coach Bob Motzko knows the game could have ended much differently had the Gophers managed to sneak one through, and he’s not blaming his players.
“They’re awful talented players,” Motzko said of BU. “Their guys made a couple plays that flipped the game on us. Our guys battled. I got no issue on how we battled tonight to try and get back in that thing.”
Nelson, who earned all-regional honors and celebrated his 24th birthday Saturday, got the scoring started with an odd-angle shot from the right circle that somehow went in. With the assist going to Brodzinski on the play, it was the third straight Minnesota goal going back to Thursday where Nelson had the goal and Brodzinski had the lone assist. Then after Rhett Pitlick forced a turnover on the far wall, he found Brodzinski who then scored from the faceoff circle late in the period to get his fourth point of the regional, but the Terriers answered with two minutes left as Quinn Hutson managed to get a puck in on a soft shot that Gophers goaltender Justen Close couldn’t completely stop before it trickled slowly in.
“We lost a little momentum there,” Motzko said. “If we backtrack the game, just a couple critical mistakes.”
Terriers defenseman Lane Hutson certainly saw it as the main turning point.
“To get us back in the game, it was a good feeling for our guys,” he said. “We were confident that we were gonna claw back into the game, and that’s what we did.”
Our freshman line has been absolutely electric to start the second! Chancer got things going with this equalizer.
📺: ESPNU
💻: https://t.co/drFcAzJDK4 (ESPN+) pic.twitter.com/G3fIN0Phva— BU Men's Hockey (@TerrierHockey) March 30, 2024
BU tied it early in the second as Macklin Celebrini made a brilliant move coming in before passing across the net to Shane Lachance, who fired into a gaping net as Close came back across too late. Jack Harvey gave the Terriers their first lead just over four minutes later with a wrister from the right circle.
Needing an answer to the sudden change of momentum, Minnesota got it when Huglen tied it at three with a rebound goal. But Boston University had another answer when Lane Hutson snuck one through to the right of Close, and it was 4-3 Terriers after two periods.
“Go get in the ‘O’ zone, get those pucks,” said Minnesota forward Brody Lamb when asked about what his team’s plan of attack was for the third period with the game still within reach.
The Gophers pushed hard to do just that, especially over the final six-plus minutes, but very few shots got through to Caron from the stingy Terriers defense down low – only nine did in the period, and none of them found twine. BU captain Case McCarthy and Sam Stevens eventually finished off the game with empty-net goals in the final two minutes.
“To go into the lead in the third period, and to play the way we did in the third says a lot about our group,” said Pandolfo.
Caron, who earned all-regional honors for Boston University, made 25 saves. Close had 32 for Minnesota.
Boston University will take on Denver in St. Paul in two weeks in the Frozen Four semifinals.
All-Sioux Falls Regional Team
Forward: Macklin Celebrini (Boston University)
Forward: Jack Harvey (Boston University)
Forward: Jaxon Nelson (Minnesota)
Defenseman: Lane Hutson (Boston University)
Defenseman: Case McCarthy (Boston University)
Goaltender: Mathieu Caron (Boston University)
Most Outstanding Player: Macklin Celebrini
