BOSTON COLLEGE 4, FERRIS STATE 1 | Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. – For all of the game’s complicated defensive systems and forechecking patterns and line combinations, very often, hockey boils down to a pretty simple fact: Stop more pucks than the other team, and you’re likely to win.

Such was the case Saturday as Boston College claimed its third NCAA crown since 2008, holding off a hard-working and determined Ferris State team to win 4-1.

Again and again, the Bulldogs controlled the play and worked the puck to the front of the Eagles’ net. And as he’d done time and again throughout BC’s dominating run through the NCAA playoffs, Parker Milner spoiled the opponents’ fun.

Boston College's Steven Whitney tries to poke the puck past Ferris State goalie Taylor Nelson in the second period of Saturday's NCAA championship game. The play was whistled dead shortly thereafter.

In earning the Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player award, Milner stopped 27 Bulldog shots; in two games in Tampa and two in the NCAA Northeast Regional in Worcester, Mass., two weeks ago, he allowed just two goals. He was near perfect and needed to be, as Ferris State never looked awed by their surroundings.

BC scored first, as it had done so often during its 19-game unbeaten streak, when Steven Whitney cashed in on a bad turnover in front of the Bulldogs’ net. But barely two minutes later, Ferris State responded when Garrett Thompson poked a loose puck past Milner, who had stopped the first two shots on the play.

From there, it became a battle of special teams—some effective and some not so. The Eagles got a power-play goal later in the first to lead 2-1 when a long-range shot by defenseman Brian Dumoulin got past Ferris State goaltender Taylor Nelson after it careened off the glove of BC forward Paul Carey. But Ferris was undaunted and took control of the play for long stretches in the first and second periods.

And that’s when, again, it became the Milner show. The junior from Pittsburgh had an answer for everything that came his way, which included a Kyle Bonis breakaway and a point-blank shot by Thompson on the doorstep, which the goalie sprawled to smother.

The Bulldogs had three consecutive power plays later in the third but got nothing to show for them as BC’s penalty kill was perfect. The Eagles hung around and looked content to claim the title with a one-goal win until freshman forward Johnny Gaudreau provided the dagger with 3:02 left in the third period, beating Ferris State goalie Taylor Nelson up high with a wicked backhand to start the countdown to BC’s fifth title in earnest.

Whitney added an empty-net goal from beyond the blue line with just over one minute to play to seal the game. Nelson finished with 33 saves for the Bulldogs, who finish 26-12-5 while earning the second CCHA regular-season championship in school history.

The Eagles conclude with a 33-10-1 mark. Coach Jerry York won his fifth national title—four with Boston College (2001, 2008, 2010 and 2012) and one with Bowling Green (1984).