Men’s Hockey: NCAA title within reach as the Terriers defeat Penn State in the Frozen Four Semifinals
Featured image by Holly Gustavsen
By Claire Smieszny
The coveted NCAA National Trophy is in reach.
For the first time in ten years, the Terriers have a chance at the National Championship.
Boston University Men’s Ice Hockey (24-13-2, 14-8-2 HE) defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions (22-13-4, 9-11-4 B1G) 3-1 to advance to the title game on Saturday night.
“For all of us, like we all come here for a reason, we want to win a national championship, so just thinking about having the opportunity to do that in a couple of days is exciting,” Jack Hughes said post-game. “Almost doesn’t really feel quite real, just because it just ended, but that’s been our goal the whole way.”
Early on in the first, both teams exchanged close chances on net with several turnover plays in the neutral zone. While demonstrating some of their high-powered offense, the Terriers struggled initially as messy play and miscommunication on the ice left the Nittany Lions with open opportunity in the offensive zone.
Eventually, BU got the puck on their sticks and controlled the play, racking up chances on net and sustaining offense. The Harvey-Copponi-Hughes line was especially productive, accounting for almost half of BU’s shots in the first period.
Despite maintaining a 0-0 scoreline heading into intermission, both teams had given up close chances in front of their net. BU, in particular, made several mistakes that put Penn State in a dangerous position, but each time, Mikhail Yegorov was there to bail them out.
Yegorov was a late addition to the Terrier group, playing his first game with the team in January against rival Boston College.
“It’s been great, of course, and just great coming here and getting a chance to play, and now actually sticking through that whole season,” Yegorov said. “Getting trust from the coach, getting the opportunity to play with those amazing guys and treat me as if I was part of their team for four years… now [I am] going to play in the national championship, and it’s kind of unbelievable, a little bit.”
The Terriers found the back of the net first just 1:25 into the second period off a Matt Copponi shot that goaltender Arsenii Sergeev made the initial save on but failed to keep possession of as he lost the puck in his padding. Spit out into the crease, Hughes crashed the net and tapped it in for BU to take the 1-0 lead.
The Nittany Lions got their chance at redemption with 14:05 on the clock, as freshman defenseman Sascha Boumedienne was sent to the box for a tripping minor.
BU had a close call of being shaved down to 5-on-3 after Cole Hutson delivered a massive hit on Aiden Fink, with the Penn State bench challenging for a major penalty. The refs maintained the call on the ice, and the Terriers shut down any offensive efforts from the Nittany Lions to keep the lead.
After the successful penalty kill, BU’s momentum only continued building as they doubled their lead off a Cole-to-Cole connection. A breakout play with Cole Eiserman waiting at the blue line found him and Cole Hutson in alone with one Nittany Lion defender, which C. Hutson forced to overcommit and found a wide-open Eiserman to wire it home.
Despite an effort late in the second period by Penn State to get on the board, the score remained 2-0 heading into the final frame.
The Nittany Lions returned to the ice for the third flying, evidently determined to get back in the game. Continuous pressure on BU in their defensive end forced them to give up the puck, and Penn State pinged it around in the O-zone until BU lost their footing and gave them a chance to tuck it in.
Freshman forward Nic DeGraves was the one to net the eventual goal for Penn State, cutting BU’s lead in half with 17:45 to play. The Terriers’ chance to respond and get their momentum back came minutes later in the form of a bench minor on the Nittany Lions for too many men on the ice.
Despite leading the game, BU struggled midway through the third period as Penn State attempted to close the gap. The Nittany Lions played fast and managed to speed up the pace and get the Terriers off their game to chip a few more shots on net and climb to even ground in the shot count, totaling 18 shots in the third period.
Both teams got more physical as it came down the wire, throwing bodies around in an effort to get the puck in their possession and on net. Despite Penn State maintaining consistent pressure in BU’s end, the Terriers would put the game away with a Jack Harvey empty netter and a minute on the clock to play.
“If you’re going to win a championship, you have to find a way to be able to play in those tight games, and we’ve been in enough of them this year,” Head Coach Jay Pandolfo said.
The Terriers will face the Western Michigan Broncos in the National Championship game on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EST at the Enterprise Center for a shot at their first title in 10 years.