The first bit of action unfolded in St. Louis for the Frozen Four yesterday evening, as the semifinals got underway. The first matchup of the day began with NCHC rivals Denver (the reigning national champion) and Western Michigan facing off, and this one began as something of a rude awakening for the Pioneers. Though they were able to hold the Broncos off the board, Western Michigan was putting on a clinic through the first period — winning every puck battle, taking away possession in the neutral zone, and coming away with a 13-6 shots advantage to show for it. And by the second period, they were looking like they were ready to pull away with this one, as they put up two goals and continued to maintain the big share of possession, pouring chances onto the Denver netminder (a charge led by Flyers prospect Alex Bump).
But Denver took some time to regroup at the second intermission, and came out for the third period looking like a whole new team. They managed to bring themselves back within one early in the frame, and get the Broncos back on their heels a bit more, and ultimately capitalized on that momentum swing with a huge goal inside the last three minutes to force overtime.
The overtime frame saw Western Michigan settle down a bit, and some back and forth action put together, but neither goaltender could be solved. Like the NCHC conference championship game, this one was going to need to be decided in double overtime. Ultimately, this one was decided quickly, just 16 seconds into that second overtime period, when Western Michigan’s Owen Michaels came up with a huge goal to punch the Broncos’ ticket to the championship game. It was a big moment culminating what was a largely dominant game for the the for the Broncos, and Bump, to swing back around to him, despite his bad luck in being held off the scoresheet, was a true force in this game, leading his team with a whopping nine shots on goal.
And after all that, the second game of the evening was still set to kick off, with Boston University and Penn State waiting in the wings for whenever that first game wrapped up. This matchup, in truth, began as something of a strange one. Whether related to the wrench thrown into each team’s schedule and plan by the long delay, the first period seemed a tentatively played one on both sides. There was a fair number of chances traded by both sides — the Flyers’ other prospect in the tournament Devin Kaplan had a really good look for BU right in front of the net late in the period — but there was a distinct feeling of a feeling out period. But the middle frame saw the Terriers beginning to really take over this game. They got themselves on the board inside the first two minutes of the period and took off running with the momentum from there, doubling up on their lead just after the midway point on a tremendous give and go goal from Cole Hutson to Cole Eiserman (and Kaplan with the first pass to spring them, we should add).
While Penn State was able to make this one interesting, getting themselves on the board early in the third period, but it never really felt like they were gaining control back in a meaningful way. They got themselves back into the game, but they couldn’t continue to build on that (indeed, really looked like they might just be running out of gas). They got some looks late in the period late in the period with the goalie pulled, but ultimately, the Terriers were able to ice the game with the empty goal scored, finally getting themselves over the hump and making it past the semifinals.
And with that, the matchup for the final is set. The Terriers and the Broncos will face off for the national title tomorrow at 7:30.
