Site: Worcester, Mass. (DCU Center)
Score: No. 2 Michigan 6, No. 4 Boston University 3
Records: U-M 22-14-3, BU 22-14-4
Next U-M Event: Thursday, April 5– vs. Notre Dame (Xcel Energy Center), 9:30 p.m. ET
WORCESTER, Mass. — The No. 2-seeded University of Michigan hockey team earned a 6-3 win over No. 4-seeded Boston University at the DCU Center on Sunday (March 25) in the second round of the NCAA’s Northeast Regional. Michigan advances to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2011 where they will take on Big Ten foe Notre Dame. Puck drop is scheduled for 9:30 pm ET and will be televised live on ESPN2.
The Frozen Four appearance will be the 25th time in program history, tying 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.
Despite the early pressure, Boston University did not back down. The Terriers answered by tying up the game at one apiece at the 12:26 mark in the first period. With just over five minutes left, BU went to the box giving the Maize and Blue the man-up advantage. Michigan capitalized off the opportunity when Cooper Marody dealt a pass to Tony Calderone in the middle of the offensive zone. Calderone ripped his shot top shelf 30 seconds later to put the Wolverines up 2-1. Michigan entered the locker room up one goal and outshooting Boston University 12-9.
Just under two minutes into the second period (1:57), junior Brendan Warren finished a loose puck in the crease that had come from a fortuitous bounce off the boards, extending the lead by two. Boston University refused to quit and 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, scoring just three minutes into the third period to tie up the game at three. 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 the BU defender and snuck into the back of the net at the 6:27 mark.
Michigan kept up the pressure and scored its next goal with just under four minutes left in the game. The goal came when senior Dexter Dancs pushed the puck up the rink, and patiently awaited for junior Nicholas Boka to power into the offensive zone to allow for the two-on-one. Dancs passed the puck off to Boka who was driving to the net and passed it by the sliding goalie extending the Michigan lead to 5-3. The Wolverines lead was stretched 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 Wolverines return to the ice on Thursday, April 5th to face Notre Dame at 9:30 p.m. ET. This will be the fifth time the two teams meet after splitting the regular season series. Michigan swept the Fighting Irish during their last two encounters on February 16th & 18th. The Frozen Four appearance will be the 25th time in program history, tying Boston College for the most Frozen Four appearances.