Frozen Four Preview: BU vs. Penn State

Boston University and Penn State took very different paths to St. Louis for this week’s Frozen Four.

The Nittany Lions have been one of the most consistent teams in the nation since the calendar flipped to January.

The Terriers found a way to advance to their third straight Frozen Four despite being a model of inconsistency, at times, during this run.

After the first period against Ohio State last Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, it looked like the Terriers were going to be shipped back to Boston early.

The Buckeyes led BU 1-0 and outshot the Terriers 15-2.

Throughout this season, when BU hasn’t had its “A game” early, it rarely finds a way to turn on the switch mid-game.

But that changed against Ohio State. BU scored eight goals in the next 40 minutes and defeated the Buckeyes 8-3.

Against Cornell in the regional final, the Terriers were finally consistent from start to finish.

It was refreshing for BU coach Jay Pandolfo, who was visibly frustrated with his team just one week previous.

“We were stuck in mud,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “We were on our heels. We got away with that one [against Ohio State].”

Having come out clean on the other side of it, Pandolfo said he thought that poor start against Ohio State helped his team in the long run.

“I think that helped us going into the Cornell game because we knew it would be ugly if we played that way against Cornell,” he said.

For BU to win the national championship, it will have to win four games in a row (including the two it already accomplished in Toledo last week). Despite finishing 23-13-2, the Terriers have only won four straight games once all season. That was a stretch from Jan. 10-18 against Vermont and New Hampshire (four of those games were at Agganis Arena).

Pandolfo seemed at a loss after a Hockey East semifinal loss to UConn two weeks ago. He knew his team was going to move on to the NCAA Tournament, but the inconsistency the Terriers showed in that game left a sour taste in his mouth.

BU didn’t look ready for UConn’s speed or ability to counterattack on the rush.

Like the lesson BU learned against Ohio State, Pandolfo hopes his team took some lessons from that loss to the Huskies, because he sees a lot of similarities between UConn and Penn State.

“[Penn State] has been the hottest team in the country,” he said. “It’s a really tough matchup for us. They’re fast, I’ll tell you that. They are a little like UConn in that they can skate and transition really fast. I’ve seen that in Penn State watching their games. They transition with a lot of speed. Their first and second line especially. They’re going to be a handful for us.”

One ace the Terriers up their sleeve is freshman goaltender Mikhail Yegorov. The Terriers are 10-5-1 in his starts since he joined the team in late January. Yegorov has saved 12.9 goals above expected in those 16 appearances (0.82 per 60 minutes of time on ice).

Before Yegorov arrived, Mathieu Caron was -4.6 goals saved above expected in 21 appearances.

Yegorov will be opposed by fellow countryman Arsenii Sergeev. The UConn transfer is +19.3 goals saved above expected on the season (0.60 per 60 minutes).

Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky realizes there’s a big challenge ahead stopping BU. When the Terriers are firing on all cylinders, not many teams can keep up. However, the Nittany Lions have shown in recent weeks that they are one of the teams that can keep pace.

Speed isn’t an issue for Penn State. It defends with tenacity and jump on turnovers and 50/50 pucks in the middle of the rink. More often than not, it will push those pucks ahead and create odd-man situations off the rush.

“No matter what happens this time of year, you’re facing a great team who is playing really well,” Gadowsky said. “We’re prepared for that. But we always deal with our own game first.”

That game starts in transition.

BU also has an A-plus transition game.

You can’t neutralize BU’s quickness but Penn State is built to match it. Quinn and Cole Hutson can make special plays on the rush. So can Aiden Fink and JJ Wiebusch for Penn State.

If there’s an area the Terriers might be able to exploit, it’s their size. The Terriers are the fourth-biggest team in college hockey. The Nittany Lions are the sixth-smallest.

BU has size on the back end (6-foot-2 Sascha Boumedienne) and up front (6-foot-5 Shane Lachance, 6-foot-3 Devin Kaplan, and 6-foot-3 Brandon Svoboda).

Penn State only has two forwards who measure 6-foot-2 or taller: 6-foot-3 Tyler Paquette and 6-foot-2 Dylan Lugris.

BU’s roster is built with a nice blend of heaviness and quickness. Penn State has a lot of smaller, quicker players that can attack in transition. But can they get to the crease against BU?

That’s a question we’ll need to have answered Thursday.

So far this season, Penn State has shown just fine against bigger teams.

The biggest team in the Big Ten was Notre Dame. Penn State went 3-0-1 in those games.

On paper, Penn State is an underdog. But that hasn’t stopped the Nittany Lions all season.

“We were winless in our first nine Big Ten games,” Gadowsky said. “Nobody gave us a chance, but we believed in that locker room.”

If that belief can get Penn State through BU, the Nittany Lions will be playing for their first national championship on Saturday night.

If it can’t, then BU will be back in the title game for the first time since 2015.