BOSTON COLLEGE 6, MINNESOTA 1 | Box Score
TAMPA, Fla. – Boston College scored three second-period goals and never looked back, routing Minnesota 6-1 in the second NCAA Frozen Four semifinal game at the Tampa Bay Times Forum Thursday.
The second-period markers from Kevin Hayes, Chris Kreider, and Paul Carey extended the Eagles’ lead to 4-0, with the Kreider and Carey tallies coming in the final 2:15 prior to intermission. Minnesota showed a faint pulse when Jake Hansen scored just 1:26 into the third period to cut the margin to 4-1, a goal that ended Boston College goaltender Parker Milner’s NCAA Tournament shutout streak at 161:26, but Carey answered with his second goal of the game 22 seconds later, demoralizing the Golden Gophers and propelling the Eagles, the Tournament’s top overall seed, to a championship game match with Ferris State Saturday.
Minnesota's Tom Serratore attempts a shot; Boston College's Quinn Smith tries to thwart the effort. Boston College beat Minnesota in Thursday's second Frozen Four semifinal, 6-1.
Junior defenseman Brian Dumoulin closed out Boston College’s scoring with the Eagles’ second power-play goal at the 5:51 mark of the final period. Foward Steven Whitney scored the only goal of the first period at the 6:03 mark, redirecting a centering pass from linemate Barry Almeida past Minnesota goalie Kent Patterson.
Six goals might put the spotlight on the Eagles’ prolific offense, a group that has averaged four goals a game during its current 18-game winning streak, but Milner was terrific, making 30 saves, including a few on grade-A chances early in the game that might have shifted the momentum before the game spiraled out of Minnesota’s reach. Milner, a junior from Pittsburgh, has stopped 83 of the 84 shots he’s faced in the NCAA Tournament and a total of 21 goals during the team’s winning streak.
With the win, the Eagles advanced to the national championship game for the seventh time since Jerry York became head coach in 1994 and they will be playing for their fourth national championship in that stretch and the program’s fifth overall.
