The NCAA Division I Men’s Hockey Frozen Four field is all set for next Thursday evening at the XCel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. Two Hockey East schools have punched their ticket, hoping to get their hands on that national championship trophy next Saturday night.
The first national semifinal on Thursday, April 11 has the #3 nationally ranked Denver Pioneers facing off with #2 Boston University at 5 p.m. Denver, who won their National Collegiate Hockey Conference Tournament with a 4-1 win over #11 Omaha, captured the Springfield Region at the MassMutual Center in Massachusetts with a 2-1 double overtime win over #13 UMass last Thursday afternoon and a hard fought 2-1 victory over Cornell in the regional final on Saturday on a late second period goal by Sam Harris. The Pioneers, who are led by sixth year head coach David Carle who is a finalist for National Coach of the Year, will carry an overall record of 30-9-3 with seven straight wins into their matchup with BU. Carle has a career coaching record of 116-53-13 at Denver. The Hockey East runners-up, the Boston University Terriers, are ranked #2 in the country and beat RIT and Minnesota by duplicate 6-3 scores to win the Sioux Falls, South Dakota Regional Championship. Former BU player and NHL player Jay Pandolfo is in his second season as head coach, and leads the Terriers into the Frozen Four for a second straight year with a record of 28-9-2. They lost last season in the national semifinals 6-2 to Minnesota.
The top seed, #1 team in the country, and Hockey East Champion Boston College headlines the second national semifinal at 8:30 p.m. The Eagles will take on the University of Michigan, who is expected to have a huge crowd on hand playing in Minnesota. BC is the hottest team in the nation, rolling off 14 straight wins that included a 6-1 triumph over Michigan Tech and a 5-4 overtime victory over defending national champion Quinnipiac to take the Providence Regional on Sunday on a goal by Jack Malone. The Eagles (33-5-1) are coached by Greg Brown who is in his second year behind the bench. Their opponent the #10 Michigan Wolverines won the Maryland Heights Regional with a 4-3 win over North Dakota and a 5-2 victory over Michigan State, getting redemption after the Spartans had beaten them in the Big 10 Championship game. Michigan is 23-14-3 on the season and is coached by Brandon Naurato, who was named the permanant head man on 3/31/23 a week before the Wolverines played in the Frozen Four, as this is now back to back appearances after they lost 5-2 in a semifinal to eventual national champion Quinnipiac in 2023.
Denver (19th Frozen Four)- Seeking 10th national championship, and first since 2022
Boston University (24th Frozen Four)- Seeking 6th title, and first since 2009
Boston College (26th Frozen Four)- Seeking 6th title, and first since 2012
Michigan (28th Frozen Four)- Seeking 10th title, and first since 1998
Here is full schedule-
Thursday, April 11 National Semifinals- all games at the XCel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota:
Semifinal #1- #2 Boston University (28-9-2) vs. #3 Denver (30-9-3)- 5 p.m. Eastern Time
Semifinal #2- #1 Boston College (33-5-1) vs. #10 Michigan (23-14-3)- 8:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, April 13 National Championship
Semifinal #1 winner vs. Semifinal #2 winner- 6 p.m. ET
