March 30, 2012
NCAA Frozen Four

MINNESOTA vs. BOSTON COLLEGE Thurs., April 5• 8 p.m. ET • ESPN2 HD

	Overall	Conference	Home	Away	Neutral
Minnesota	28-13-1	20-8-0 (1st)	17-6-0	9-6-1	2-1-0
Boston College	31-10-1	19-7-1 (1st)	12-3-1	10-6-0	9-1-0
	Goals/Gm.	GA/Gm.	PP Pct.	PK Pct.	PIM/Gm.
Minnesota	3.67 (1st)	2.21 (9th)	23.2 (5th)	81.0 (36th)	13.6 (26th)
Boston College	3.50 (6th)	2.07 (2nd)	21.5 (11th)	88.0 (3rd)	12.6 (36th)

MINNESOTA: West Regional second seed
Minnesota 7, Boston University 3
Minnesota 5, North Dakota 2

BOSTON COLLEGE: East Regional first seed
Boston College 2, Air Force 0
Boston College 4, Minnesota Duluth 0

We know the Gophers can score—their goal differential coming into the Frozen Four is plus-61—and we know about the high-end talent coach Don Lucia rolls every night. But what’s most impressive about the Gophers is the depth. Nick Bjugstad, Erik Haula, and Kyle Rau get most of the attention, but Zach Budish, Nate Condon, and Jake Hansen are productive scorers and Lucia’s new third line of Condon, Travis Boyd, and Taylor Matson clicked in the West Regional wins against Boston University and North Dakota. The fourth line of Seth Ambroz, Nico Sacchetti, and Tom Serratore is an energy group able to spark the team with a big hit and score the occasional goal.

Boston College doesn’t have a first, second and third line—the Eagles have three lines that would be the clear first line on almost any team in the country. Junior Chris Kreider leads the club in scoring with 43 points, followed closely by freshman Johnny Gaudreau (41) and senior Barry Almeida (38). You may stop one or two, like Air Force did in holding Gaudreau and Almeida scoreless in the Northeast Regional semifinal, only to have the third in Kreider torch you for two goals. Three others—Pat Mullane (36), Steven Whitney (35) and Bill Arnold (34)—all have more than 30 points on the season and still two more—senior Paul Carey (27) and sophomore Kevin Hayes (26)—have more than 25 points. Before you start thinking that the Eagles are all offense, all the time, you still have to deal with a fourth line of Quinn Smith, Michael Sit, and Danny Linell, three players who understand that their role on this team is defense, with the trio combining for just 13 points on the year.

A young group comprised whose elder statesman, Seth Helgeson, is a junior, Minnesota’s defense took a big step forward this season. You won’t find a flashy, offensive-minded blueliner in the mold of Alex Goligoski or Jordan Leopold, but it is a sextet that works well as a unit. With 38 assists and 41 points this season, sophomore Nate Schmidt gets most of the praise, but classmate Mark Alt may be the team’s most complete defenseman. Helgeson is a monster at 6-foot-5, 213 pounds with an absolute cannon of a shot. Sophomore Jake Parenteau has come on strong during the second half of the season, while freshman Ben Marshall is a solid two-way player who has a pretty good offensive upside.

Don’t let the size of BC’s defensemen fool you—sure, they’re big, but they’re also very mobile, and love to get forward in the play on the offensive end. Junior Brian Dumoulin is the best of the bunch, a two-time Hockey East Defenseman of the Year, and is a hulking presence at 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, and is an eye-popping +25 on the year. Boston College’s defense may give up a fair number of shots, like the 42 surrendered to Maine in the Hockey East title game or the 33 allowed against Minnesota Duluth in the Northeast Regional final, but few of those opportunities are grade-A scoring chances, and the BC defensemen are quick to clear pucks from the front of the net.

Senior Kent Patterson, the first team All-WCHA honoree who shattered the school’s single-season shutout record this season by blanking opponents on seven occasions, is the Honda Accord of goalies—he’s probably not going to turn many heads, but he’s dependable, reliable, and economical. Patterson is rarely out of position, which minimizes his scrambling, and isn’t asked to make a lot of flashy saves. He does seem to drop to his knees a little early, so don’t be surprised to see opponents trying to beat him high to the glove side.

Junior Parker Milner has been outstanding during Boston College’s current 17-game winning streak, with the shaky start he had at midseason a distant memory. After losing the starting goaltender’s job in December and January, he won it back in late January and hasn’t looked back, cutting his goals-against average from 2.43 on Jan. 27 to its current level of 1.70, while raising his save percentage from .901 to .935 over the same span. Milner has been remarkably consistent over the last two months, allowing more than two goals just once while recording five shutouts.

The Gophers enter the Frozen Four with the country’s fifth-best power play, converting at a 23.2 percent success rate, and only Maine, Union, and Boston University and more power play goals than Minnesota. The combination of power forwards Bjugstad and Budish patrolling the front of the net, water bugs Haula and Rau creating chances with their speed and playmaking abilities, and Schmidt running the show from the point is lethal. The Minnesota penalty kill ranks 36th in the nation with an 81.0 percent success rate. Doesn’t sound great on the surface, but the Gophers have scored seven shorthanded goals this season; only five Division I teams have more.

With as much offensive firepower as Boston College has, it’s a bit surprising to see the Eagles ranking a rather pedestrian 11th nationally, converting at a 21.5 percent clip. Perhaps that’s because opponents recognize the danger that lie in facing Boston College shorthanded, since the Eagles average just over four power-play chances per game, making it difficult for the power play unit to get into a rhythm. Defensively, though, Boston College ranks third in the nation in penalty killing, allowing opponents just a 12-percent success rate.

It’s been awhile since Don Lucia piloted the Gophers to the Frozen Four, and some observers wondered if he had perhaps lost his touch. The answer, obviously, is no; in fact, getting his team refocused after what appeared to be a devastating loss to North Dakota in the WCHA Final Five semifinals and curb-stomping Boston University and NoDak in the NCAA West Regional one week later was one heck of an achievement. Now the Gophers head into the Frozen Four brimming with confidence. The return of assistant coach Mike Guentzel after a three-season hiatus, can’t be undersold. He’s a positive influence in the locker room and his work with the Gophers’ young defensemen has been vital to the team’s success.

You could probably just put "Jerry York" in this spot and that'd be all you need to know. York has a resume that few coaches in college hockey history could match, winning four national championships, including three at Boston College. The Eagles have been to the Frozen Four now 11 times under York’s direction, including three of the past four seasons and last claimed the national title in 2010. York is just the second coach in NCAA history with more than 900 wins, and enters the Frozen Four just 13 wins behind Ron Mason for the most all-time. Amazingly, though, York has only won the Spencer Penrose Division I Coach of the Year once, in 1977, his fifth season at Clarkson.

WHY MINNESOTA WINS: Boston College enters the Frozen Four as the most consistent team in the country, but with its impressive showings against Boston University and North Dakota, Minnesota might have the most momentum. Experience is an issue—none of the Gophers had ever played in the NCAA Tournament prior to this year’s West Regional—but Minnesota is used to the big stage, playing under as much scrutiny on a night-in, night-out basis as any team in college hockey. Besides, Lucia, Guentzel, and assistant Grant Potulny (remember him?) have been here before. Talent is not an issue; if every team in the field plays its absolute best, Minnesota prevails.

WHY BOSTON COLLEGE WINS: The Eagles have too many weapons up front and Milner is again doing his best impression of a brick wall. Certainly, Minnesota will provide a difficult task for the Eagles, as the Gophers are perhaps the closest thing to a mirror image that Boston College will have seen this season. Boston College needs to remain sound defensively, control Minnesota’s own balanced offensive attack, and solve Minnesota’s own outstanding netminder in Kent Patterson.