ST. LOUIS — On the grandest stage in college hockey, the Boston University men’s hockey team did what it has done all throughout this magical run to the Frozen Four.
Skilled as they are, the Terriers willed themselves into a dogfight with a team older, more experienced and more highly regarded than them.
But in Saturday’s national championship game against Western Michigan, it was not enough.
The Broncos emerged with a 5-2 win over BU at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis to win the national title.
BU missed out on a chance at its sixth national championship in program history, and dropped to 5-7 all-time in NCAA title games.
Three takeaways and a rundown of how it happened, below.
A remarkable run falls just short
The Terriers were never considered a favorite for the national title, and hardly anyone projected the team emerging from the Toledo Regional with a spot in the Frozen Four.
This team did not win the national title, and they were outclassed by a better Western Michigan team.
But this season will go down as one of the best the program has seen since the turn of the century. A Beanpot title — with a win over top-ranked Boston College in the final, no less. A National Rookie of the Year in Cole Hutson, who lived up to every expectation and had one of the most prolific seasons by a defenseman in program history.
And, of course, a berth in the national championship game, a stage the Terriers had not been since 2015.
Head coach Jay Pandolfo and his players have a right to be proud of that.
When BU made defensive zone turnovers, Western Michigan capitalized
Puck management has been an issue all season for the Terriers, and it has continued even throughout BU’s magical run to the national championship game.
In his press conference on Friday, Pandolfo referenced those issues, noting that BU needs to “limit our turnovers, especially against a team that will take advantage of it.”
His concerns turned into reality Saturday. BU had multiple defensive zone turnovers, and it was only a matter of time until the Broncos took advantage.
It happened late in the first period, when a miscue between Ryan Greene and Shane Lachance led directly to Cole Crusberg-Roseen’s goal to give the Broncos a 2-1 edge.
There were several other close calls, too, including a Greene turnover in the first period that turned into an odd-man rush the other way — although Greene hustled back to break up the rush.
Nick Roukounakis and BU’s fourth line were excellent
An unheralded freshman, Roukounakis was a healthy scratch for the first few months of the season before breaking into BU’s bottom six.
On the biggest stage of the season, he delivered his best performance of the year. A bruising 230-pound forward, Roukounakis only played 2:30 against speedy Penn State in the semifinal. But he saw lots of ice time against the heavy, structured Broncos, and made the most of his minutes.
Playing alongside freshman Brandon Svoboda and senior Tristan Amonte on BU’s fourth line, he was controlled and strong on the puck, and drew a penalty on Western Michigan’s Nick Kramer in the second period, which led to a BU goal.
How it happened:
Wyatt Schingoethe gave the Broncos a 1-0 edge just 1:38 into the first period, redirecting a shot in front that snuck past BU freshman netminder Mikhail Yegorov.
The Terriers didn’t look rattled or shell-shocked, though. BU settled into the game early, and put successful shifts together — before and after Schingoethe’s tally.
It culminated in Cole Eiserman’s tying goal at 7:12 of the first. After Devin Kaplan put the puck on net and followed his rebound, the freshman forward jammed the puck home on a third effort. That marked his 25th goal of the season, and second in the Frozen Four.
The Broncos restored their edge at 15:01, though, on a blast from the right circle off the stick of Crusberg-Roseen.
Freshman forward Ty Henricks made it 3-1 Western Michigan at 5:18 of the second, potting the rebound of a shot by grad student forward Cam Knuble.
The Terriers clawed one back at 10:42 of the second on the power play, when Lachance jammed home the rebound of a shot from Ryan Greene. The Broncos challenged for goaltender interference but the goal was confirmed — Lachance jabbed his stick into the pads of Western Michigan goalie Hamtpon Slukynsky, but the play hadn’t been whistled dead.
Western Michigan came inches from taking a 4-2 edge with 5:01 to go in the second, but Eiserman swept the puck off the goal line.
BU nearly scored a tying goal 3:35 into the third period, with Roukounakis and senior Matt Copponi jamming at the puck after an initial shot from Cole Hutson. The officials ruled no goal on the ice, and confirmed the call after a review.
Then, after a series of BU chances, Western Michigan sophomore forward sniped the puck past Yegorov on a 2-on-1 and gave the Broncos a 4-2 edge.
Another netfront scramble led to what BU thought was a goal — the puck was jammed across the goal line by Copponi — but the officials deemed it no goal. An incensed Pandolfo challenged the call, but it was confirmed after review.
With 3:58 left in the third, freshman forward Iiro Hakkarainen netted an insurance tally to make it 5-2 Broncos, and Michaels scored his second of the game on an empty-netter to make it 6-2.
