SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Second-period goals by Shane LaChance and Jack Harvey helped Boston University to a lead they would never relinquish as they avenged their Frozen Four loss to Minnesota last year by ending the Gophers’ season Saturday night with a 6-3 win at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.
Jaxon Nelson, who celebrated his 24th birthday Saturday, got the scoring started with an odd-angle shot from the right circle that somehow went in. With the assist going to Bryce Brodzinski on the play, it was the third straight Minnesota goal going back to Thursday where Nelson had the goal and Brodzinski had the lone assist.
Then after Rhett Pitlick forced a turnover on the far wall, he found Brodzinski who then scored from the faceoff circle late in the period to get his 4th point of the regional, but the Terriers answered with two minutes left as Quinn Hutson managed to get a puck in on a soft shot that Gophers goaltender Justen Close couldn’t completely stop before it trickled slowly in.
BU tied it early in the second as Macklin Celebrini made a brilliant move coming in before passing across the net to LaChance, who fired into a gaping net as Close came back across too late. Harvey gave the Terriers their first lead just over four minutes later with a wrister from the right circle.
Needing an answer to the sudden change of momentum, Minnesota got it when Aaron Huglen tied it at three with a rebound goal. But Boston University had another answer when Lane Hutson snuck one through to the right of Close, and it was 4-3 Terriers after two periods.
The Gophers pushed hard over the final six-plus minutes, but very few shots got through to Mathieu Caron from the stingy Terriers defense down low.
Case McCarthy and Sam Stevens eventually finished off the game with empty-net goals in the final two minutes.
Boston University will take on Denver in St. Paul in two weeks in the Frozen Four semifinals.
This story will be updated.
