No. 5 Terriers Fall to Top-Ranked Minnesota in Frozen Four Semifinals

Thursday, April 6

Tampa, FL (Amalie Arena)

5 PM

Boston University

29-11-0

Minnesota

29-9-1

Boston U.

Minnesota

Photo by: Rich Gagnon

No. 5 Terriers Fall to Top-Ranked Minnesota in Frozen Four Semifinals

April 6, 2023 | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score Postgame Press Conference Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 5 Boston University men's ice hockey team had its impressive run come to an end on Saturday evening as top-ranked Minnesota broke a deadlock after two periods and came away with a 6-2 win in the Frozen Four semifinals at Amalie Arena.

Senior Sam Stevens opened the scoring and classmate Jay O'Brien made it a 2-2 game midway through regulation but the Gophers' third power-play goal of the contest proved to be the winner, advancing them to the national championship game.

Senior captain Domenick Fensore assisted on both BU goals while classmates Matt Brown and Jamie Armstong collected one assist apiece. Junior Drew Commesso turned in a 28-save effort in goal for the Terriers.

BU, which entered the Frozen Four on a nine-game winning streak, finishes the year with a record of 29-11-0.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Stevens got BU on the board midway through the first when he cashed in on a rebound opportunity off a Fensore shot from the top of the zone.
The Gophers answered with a pair of power-play goals just 50 seconds apart to take a 2-1 lead late in the frame.
Minnesota thought it was going to head to the first intermission with a 3-1 lead, but BU successfully challenged for goaltender interference. A Gopher stick was in Commesso's glove as the puck went into the net.
The Terriers' best shift of the night to that point led to a Minnesota penalty and a power-play goal at 8:06 of the second stanza when O'Brien redirected a Fesnore shot from the top of the zone.
The Terriers survived a long Minnesota shift late in the second period to maintain the tie score, with Commesso making a sharp save during that sequence.
Commesso made a great save during a late Gopher power play when he kicked away a puck that was blocked by Stevens.
The Gophers had another potential goal taken off the board following a video review at the end of the second, which left the teams tied after 40 minutes.
Luke Mittelstadt scored twice in a span of just under two minutes, including a power-play goal, to give Minnesota a 4-2 lead with 16:31 remaining in regulation.
The Gophers added two emtpy-netters late in the game to seal the victory

GAME NOTES

Minnesota held a 34-31 edge in shots.
The Gophers went 3-for-7 on the power play while BU was 1-for-3 with the man advantage.
Minnesota broke a deadlock in the all-time series between the two school and now leads, 13-12-2.