Third time's the charm for BU at the Frozen Four
The Terriers will play Western Michigan in the national championship game on Saturday after they defeated Penn State in the semifinals
ST. LOUIS — The third time was the charm for Boston University.
BU defeated Penn State 3-1 on Thursday night at the Frozen Four, sending the Terriers to Saturday's national championship game, where they'll take on Western Michigan. The Terriers finally made it to the title game after falling in the national semifinals in 2023 and 2024.
"We found a way this year to win this game, so this is a step in the right direction," said BU coach Jay Pandolfo. "The first two periods we played real well. We didn't give up a whole lot. They had a few chances in transition but we did a good job."
BU returns to the championship game for the first time since 2015, when Providence defeated the Terriers at TD Garden. BU will look to claim its first national title since 2009 when Colby Cohen scored in overtime to give the Terriers a magical come-from-behind win over Miami.
The Terriers scored in the second period to take a 1-0 lead. Matt Copponi took a shot from the left circle, and Penn State goalie Arsenii Sergeev thought he had the puck covered. However, Jack Hughes saw it sitting at the top of the crease, and he poked it past Sergeev, giving the Terriers the lead.
"I remember they turned it over," Hughes said. "We got a good bounce. Matty shot it and I just started driving a little too late. I got a fortunate bounce. It was just laying there."
About 10 minutes later, Cole Eiserman scored his 24th goal of the season which gave the Terriers a 2-0 advantage.
The Nittany Lions got on the scoreboard early in the third period. Mikhail Yegorov stopped Simon Mack's shot from the point and Ben Schoen's second-chance bid was blocked, but Nicholas DeGraves got a third chance and buried his opportunity which cut BU's lead to 2-1 just two minutes into the third period.
Penn State continued to turn up the heat but Yegorov made one big save after another to keep the Terriers in front.
"They funnel everything to the net, which is how they ended up with their goal," Pandolfo said. "Our guys stuck with it. If you're going to win a championship you have to find a way to win those tight games. We've been in a number of them this year."
Added Hughes, "Our mindset was we needed to defend first. We needed to reload behind them and not let them get up the ice. We know they're good in transition."
With two minutes left, Penn State brought Sergeev to the bench for an extra attacker. The Nittany Lions generated a few more chances off faceoffs in the offensive zone but Jack Harvey finished the game off for the Terriers with an empty-net goal in the final minute.
The teams finished tied in shots, 33-33, and neither scored on the power play. Hughes had two points for the Terriers (1 goal, 1 assist).