Michigan
22-14-3
Boston University
22-14-4
Michigan Clinches Trip to 25th Frozen Four with Win Over BU
3/25/2018 8:18:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Tony Calderone's goal marks his sixth consecutive game with a point.
» Jake Slaker (1 goal, 1 assist) notched his eighth multi-point game of the year.
» Michigan is now 5-4 all-time against Boston University in the NCAA tournament.
Site: Worcester, Mass. (DCU Center)
Event: NCAA Tournament (Northeast Regional Final)
Score: #10 Michigan 6, #13 Boston University 3
Records: U-M (22-14-3), BU (22-14-4)
Next U-M Event: Thursday, April 5 -- vs. Notre Dame - NCAA semifinal (St. Paul, Minn.), 8:30 p.m. CDT
• Postgame Feature: Headed to St. Paul with Pearson Behind the Wheel
WORCESTER, Mass. -- The No. 2-seeded University of Michigan ice hockey team earned a 6-3 win over No. 4-seeded Boston University on Sunday (March 25) in the NCAA Northeast Regional final at the DCU Center. Michigan advances to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2011 and will take on Big Ten Conference foe Notre Dame. Puck drop is scheduled for Thursday, April 5, at 8:30 p.m. CDT, and the game will be televised live on ESPN2.
The Frozen Four appearance will be the 25th in program history, which ties Boston College for the most Frozen Four appearances. With the win, Michigan's all time NCAA Tournament record improves to 53-29.
The matchup began with fast-paced action from both squads. The Wolverines cracked the scoresheet first when freshman Quinn Hughes received a pass at the point from classmate Michael Pastujov and snapped his shot through heavy traffic at the 5:12 mark.
"It's always nice to get the first goal, but its not the end of the world, it doesn't really mean that much," Hughes said.
Despite the early pressure, the Terriers answered to tie the game at 1 at the 12:26 mark in the first period. With just over five minutes left, BU went to the penalty box to give the Maize and Blue the man-advantage. Michigan capitalized on the opportunity when Cooper Marody dealt a pass to Tony Calderone in the middle of the offensive zone. Calderone ripped a shot top-shelf 30 seconds later to put the Wolverines up, 2-1. Michigan entered the locker room ahead by one goal and outshot Boston University, 12-9.
The Wolverines opened the second period in a similar fashion as they did the first. Junior Brendan Warren knocked in a loose puck in the crease that had come from a fortuitous bounce off the boards at the 1:57 mark to extend U-M's lead to two goals. Boston University struck back at the 11:08 mark when Patrick Curry beat goaltender Hayden Lavigne with a slick wrap-around goal.
Boston University continued to threaten with its offense and scored just three minutes into the third period to tie the game at 3. Shortly after, sophomore Jake Slaker picked up the puck inside the blue line and skated to his left across the grain. His wrist shot deflected off a BU defender and snuck into the back of the net at the 6:27 mark.
"I was looking for a change to get it deep and I saw the puck squirt free and that (the Terriers defensemen) didn't have a reach of it, so I just tried to push it past them and shoot cross body and I didn't think the goalie saw the change of direction," said Slaker.
Michigan kept up the pressure and scored its next goal with just under four minutes left in regulation. The goal came when senior Dexter Dancs pushed the puck up the rink, and patiently awaited junior Nicholas Boka to power into the offensive zone to allow for the two-on-one. Dancs passed the puck to Boka, who was driving to the net, and he passed it by the sliding goalie to give Michigan a 5-3 advantage. The Wolverines stretched the lead to 6-3 after Nick Pastujov blocked a shot, captured the rebound and shot down the ice, scoring on an empty-netter with 1:42 left in the game.
The NCAA semifinal contest against Notre Dame will be the fifth time the teams meet after they split the regular-season series, with each winning two games in a weekend. Michigan swept the Fighting Irish during their last two encounters on Feb. 16 and 18.
"No matter who we play we have to prepare for our opponent, and it's exciting to know how they play," Slaker said. "We are excited to play Notre Dame, but they have a good team, so all respect to them."
With Michigan men's basketball team advancing to the NCAA Final Four, this year marks the fourth instance that both programs are in their respective final four tournaments (1964, '92*, '93*, 2018). * Due to NCAA sanctions, Michigan vacated its 1992 and 1993 men's basketball Final Four appearances.
Coach Pearson, Jake Slaker, Tony Calderone and Quinn Hughes speak at the post-game presser. #GoBlue https://t.co/U8VJJGF57E
— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) March 25, 2018
