No. 2 Terriers to Clash with No. 7 Minnesota in NCAA Regional Final Saturday on ESPNU

Saturday, March 30

Sioux Falls, SD

6:30 PM ET

Boston University

Minnesota

BU men's hockey players celebrating a goal

Photo by: Matt Woolverton

No. 2 Terriers to Clash with No. 7 Minnesota in NCAA Regional Final Saturday on ESPNU

March 29, 2024 | Men's Ice Hockey

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#2 Boston University (27-9-2, 18-4-2 HE) vs. #7 Minnesota (23-10-5, 13-7-4 B1G)
Date & Time: Saturday, March 30 - 6:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Denny Sanford Premier Center - Sioux Falls, S.D.
X/Twitter: @BUGameDay | @TerrierHockey

The No. 2 Boston University men's ice hockey team will continue its quest for a sixth national championship on Saturday when the top-seeded Terriers face second-seeded and No. 7 Minnesota in the NCAA Sioux Falls Regional final. Puck drop in South Dakota is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET, 5:30 p.m. local time. The game will be televised live on ESPNU and will also be streamed live on ESPN+, with an audio-only broadcast located here. Fans in Canada can watch every NCAA Tournament game on TSN+.

BU fans attending the game in Sioux Falls are invited to gather at Water's Edge Lounge (inside the Sheraton Sioux Falls hotel) prior to puck drop. For fans in Boston, BU Athletics will host a watch party at Game On! - please RSVP at this link.

TOURNAMENT TIDBITS

This is the Terriers' 39th NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Terriers enter Saturday's game with an all-time record of 46-39-0 (.542) in 39 NCAA tournament appearances. The 46 wins represent the fifth-highest total in tournament history.
The only programs with more victories are Minnesota (62), Michigan (57), North Dakota (53) and Boston College (50).
BU has reached the regional final in five of its past seven appearances, including last year in Manchester en route to it 23rd Frozen Four berth.
Only Minnesota Duluth and Denver have qualified for more regional finals in the past decade than BU.

TERRIER TIDBITS

BU won its seventh game in its last eight tries on Thursday with a 6-3 victory over No. 17/18 RIT in a regional semifinal.
Six different Terriers found the back of the net and six different BU skaters recorded at least two points.
17-year-old Macklin Celebrini notched his 60th and 61st points of the season thanks to an assist and his 32nd goal of the year.
Celebrini, a Hobey Baker Award finalist, ranks second in the nation in goals and third in total points.
Sophomore Lane Hutson, also a Hobey finalist, leads all NCAA defensemen in points per game (1.33), is first among that group in total points (48) and second among the nation's blue liners with 14 goals.
He leads all active defensemen with 96 points in just 75 games after matching his career high in points that he achieved as a rookie.
Sophomore Ryan Greene extended his point streak to five games with a goal against RIT.
He has tallied three goals and five assists during that span.
Over his last 12 starts, junior goaltender Mathieu Caron has allowed two goals or fewer on nine occasions.

SERIES HISTORY

After not meeting for over 10 years, BU and Minnesota are facing off for the second straight season.
The Gophers defeated the Terriers, 6-2, in last year's Frozen Four.
Prior to 2023, the teams last met in a 2012 NCAA regional semifinal, with the Gophers earning a 7-3 win in front of a partisan crowd in St. Paul.
Head coach Jay Pandolfo played against Minnesota twice in the NCAA semifinals, earning a 4-1 victory in 1994 and then securing a 7-3 win in 1995 en route to the national title.
The two storied programs have played 27 times since first meeting on Dec. 20, 1963, in the opening round of the Boston Christmas Holiday Festival
Minnesota holds a slight 13-12-2 edge over BU in the all-time series, including a 6-3 record in the NCAA Tournament.
BU defeated Minnesota, 4-2, in the 1971 NCAA title game in Syracuse, N.Y., for the program's first national championship.
In addition, the teams met on Oct. 12, 1996, for a Hall of Fame exhibition contest that the Terriers won, 4-3, at Target Center.
The teams have gone to overtime in five of their previous meetings and the Terriers are undefeated in those games (3-0-2).
The lone shutout in the series history came on Jan. 21, 1989, as BU's Peter Fish stopped all 17 shots he faced in a 1-0 triumph.

SCOUTING THE GOPHERS

No. 7 Minnesota earned its spot in Saturday's regional final with a 3-2 comeback win over No. 11/12 Omaha on Thursday.,
Graduate student Jaxon Nelson scored at 9:15 of the third period to tie the game at 2-2 before scoring again with 4:13 remaining in regulation to put Minnesota ahead for good.
Graduate student Bryce Brodzinski had the lone assist on both of Nelson's strikes.
Junior Rhett Pitlick leads Minnesota with 35 points (19g, 16), one of five Gophers with at least 30 points.
Sophomore Jimmy Snuggerud paces Minnesota with 21 goals while freshman Sam Rinzel leads the Gophers with 25 assists.
Graduate student Justen Close has started all 36 games in which he has appeared, posting a 2.24 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage.
Close made 34 saves in Thursday's win over Omaha.

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