WASHINGTON, D.C – The most unbelievable hockey comeback in Boston University history will also go down as the most unforgettable collapse for Miami University.

The Terriers' Nick Bonino scored this game-tying goal with 17 seconds remaining.

True to the cardiac style they unveiled often this year, the Terriers needed a miracle finish to avoid one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Frozen Four history. Top-seeded Boston University erased a two-goal deficit in the final minute of regulation and Colby Cohen scored the game-winner at 11:47 of overtime to dispatch fourth-seeded Miami , 4-3, and claim its fifth national title before 18,512 fans at the Verizon Center .

“Wow, what a hockey game, what a finish,” exclaimed 36-year B.U. mentor Jack Parker. “The finish made it an unbelievable game, obviously. And all I can think of is that it’s the greatest game comeback I’ve been involved in.”
The mood was clearly more somber in the Miami locker room.

“It wasn’t meant to be for us,” said coach Enrico Blasi, whose Miami team had taken a 3-1 lead with just over four minutes remaining.

Boston University, which killed off seven Miami power plays, wraps up with a 35-6-4 record, bringing Hockey East a second consecutive national title. Miami University finished at 23-13-5.

Disbelief, in a positive and negative sense, permeated both teams.

“I think the way we did it might have given coach a heart attack but I wouldn’t want it any other way, the dramatics of it,” said BU defenseman Matt Gilroy, the fourth Hobey Baker winner to claim an NCAA title in the same season. “What just happened now, I am still in awe over it. It’s a great feeling.”

Parker praised his players on the post-game news conference podium: Nick Bonino, Cohen and Gilroy .

“The only thing I can say, we won that game because big-time players make big-time plays,” Parker said.

A back-and-forth overtime period culminated when Cohen ripped a slap shot from above the left circle that clipped the legs of a diving Kevin Roeder and went over the left shoulder of a stunned Miami goalie Cody Reichard.

“I saw a guy coming at me, and I thought about trying to fake and go around the guy, but the ice was already a little chewed up at that point,” Cohen said.

Gilroy chimed in playfully, “Colby, you closed your eyes.”

“I closed my eyes,” Cohen panned, “and shot it, and here we are now. I was just trying to shoot it toward the net. Take a slap shot and get it to the net and hope for a rebound. I got lucky, I guess.”

Boston University players and coaches celebrate the game-tying goal.

Joy and agony played out in equal theater on the playing surface at the Verizon Center.

The Terriers threw their sticks skyward and rushed to their end of the ice to celebrate in a pile along the boards in front of their admiring fans, who 40 minutes earlier were in quiet disbelief after Miami seized the lead.

On the other end, Reichard remained on his knees in the crease for minutes on end, with Bill Loupee and Tommy Wingels offering comfort to a disconsolate goalie who had made 20 stops over the first 59 minutes but gave up three goals that will haunt him and the RedHawks forever.

BU had pulled goalie Kieran Millan for a second time when Zach Cohen pulled the Terriers within one. Cohen lifted a backhand shot from close in that snuck under the right armpit of Reichard with 59.5 seconds remaining.

The crowd was still abuzz when Gilroy made a tremendous play to set up the equalizer. Chris Higgins sent a hard pass from below the left circle to Gilroy’s forehand at the top of the slot. With Miami forward Justin Mercier’s stick extended out, Gilroy drew the puck to his backhand and fired a perfect pass to Bonino on the right side. Bonino managed to slip his shot under sliding defenseman Will Weber and into the right side of the cage with 17.4 seconds left.

“What do you do?” Blasi said. “Kevin makes a great play, sacrifices his body. It goes over Cody’s head and into the net. That’s what happens in overtime.”

The elation was so intense that Parker had to tell his team to calm down during the overtime intermission period, and return to basics.

“Once we got those two goals I knew we were going to win,” Millan said. “We had all the momentum. They had give up a two-goal lead in the final minute. We knew it was going to happen, and we were happy about it.”

Wingels was almost the hero again for Miami. The sophomore, who scored twice in the semifinal win over Bemidji State on Thursday, put Miami on top 2-1 with 8:29 to play. Carter Camper took the initial shot from the right circle that Millan stopped but Wingels had slipped past defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk and popped the rebound into the open net.

The RedHawks pulled ahead 3-1 when Trent Vogelhuber scored on a wrist shot from the mid-slot, beating Millan to the glove side at 15:52.

Freshman Chris Connolly was in the right place to score the game’s opening goal. Defenseman David Warsofsky took a shot from the left point that appeared to be headed wide right but the puck hit the leg of Miami forward Alden Hirschfeld in the slot and re-directed to Connolly alone on the right goal post for the tap in at 15:15.

Miami’s Gary Steffes tied the game at 2:01 of the second period off a wild play that originated in the left corner, sailed out to the right point and descended on the net in mere seconds. Roeder passed the puck from right point to Steffes high in the slot. His slap shot ricocheted off the stick of BU forward John McCarthy and again off the skate of defenseman Brian Strait right on net. Miami ‘s Jarod Palmer rushed across the crease to swipe a shot which Millan got a piece of with his glove. It was then Andy Miele’s turn to take a whack that Millan again stopped, but the rebound came out to Steffes crashing in from the slot for the open netter.

The play was video reviewed by the officials, who deemed Roeder was in the blue crease area but did not interfere with Millan on the opposite side. Roeder tried to tip-toe the right boundary but was cross-checked into the area by Bonino.

Championships and Boston University became synonomous this season. The Terriers won six tournaments: the Ice Breaker Invitational in October, the Denver Cup in January, the Beanpot Tournament in February, the Hockey East tourney in March, the NCAA Northeast Regional two weeks ago and now the Frozen Four.

It was the 13th time the NCAA championship has been decided in overtime, and the first since Minnesota nipped Maine, 4-3, in the 2002 Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn. It was the 21st NCAA final decided by one goal, the last a 2-1 Wisconsin victory over Boston College in the 2006 Frozen Four in Milwaukee.