TAMPA, Fla. – Five national championships, three in the past five years, 900-plus wins, 27 regular-season and playoff conference titles, numerous All-Americans and professional players, and an enduring impact on hundreds of hockey lives. Those are the quick and easy talking points about Boston College head coach Jerry York.

In the early days of INCH, we published a ranking of some of the all-time greatest coaches. In our minds, it’s undeniable nine seasons later that Jerry York has moved to the top of the list. Fittingly, York mentioned Bob Johnson as a huge influence in his coaching career after the national championship game, and some advice that York received from Johnson after coaching Bowling Green to the 1984 championship.

“It’s just like Bob Johnson said to me, if you get a blueprint … we’ve always tried to have excellent defensemen, we’ve had that through all these title teams. Our forwards have been explosive and very creative, whether it’s Brian Gionta or Barry Almeida, right through the list,” York said. “They all do share great team bonding, they’re all tight as groups and there are probably more similarities than differences in them based on my observation. All good goaltenders too, we’ve had a string of great goaltenders.”

POSITIVE ATTITUDE

George Roll, former head coach at Clarkson and a four-year player under York at Bowling Green in the early 1980s said that his coaching style emphasizes positivity.

“He’s extremely easy to play for. As long as you compete at a high level he doesn’t get upset about mistakes. He’s just a joy to be around, he’s upbeat and positive. I can barely remember any times in my four years where he was negative with any of the players and that’s his disposition, he’s able to handle things well and that translates to his teams,” Roll said.

Sure, there are great players, and that positive attitude gives them confidence to make things happen on the ice. It’s impossible to see what confidence looks like, but every time you see BC on the ice, you can see that it’s a team that has the proper mindset to make aggressive, creative plays. They have that trait, they have that confidence. Almost 30 years later, his current players echo what Roll experienced back then.

“It’s his positive energy,” BC senior defenseman Edwin Shea said, who wrapped a four-year career that included 139 games played for the Eagles under Jerry York. “Every day he comes to the rink and he’s the happiest guy, the most upbeat guy. He’s more upbeat than any player at the rink every single day. That’s contagious and it just brings a great environment to play in and everyone loves him.”

PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME

Confidence and togetherness are one thing, and the team also seems to play its best hockey at the end of the year.

“They obviously get a lot of great players to come to Boston College but what Jerry does so well is get them all aiming in the right direction at the right time of year. They went through some struggles, and I think in the end that kind of builds your team, builds your character, builds your foundation,” Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon said. “Once they all get going in one direction and all the pieces are syncing, they play their best hockey at the best time. To do that consistently every year is really special.”

Former Boston College star Ryan Shannon, currently a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, saw his alma mater win a national championship in his current workplace. He recalled something he sees on an annual basis from York. The reason for Boston College’s success is that it doesn’t rest on what it has already achieved.

“It’s unbelievable. It’s the culture that he demands,” Shannon said. “He’s built this up for a very long time and it’s always about the next year. He’s going to enjoy this championship for probably a couple weeks, and it’s always been about the next season. I’m really proud to have been an Eagle, and even more proud since I’ve left.”

IMPACT ON COLLEGE HOCKEY

With 40 years in the Division I coaching ranks, including head-coaching positions at Clarkson, Bowling Green and Boston College, York has been a success across different eras and different circumstances. He’s regarded as one of the giants of the game by other current coaches when it comes to dealing with issues in the game at the national coaches convention.

“Quietly, he’s a leader among the coaches. He picks and chooses topics that he wants to get involved in, but when he speaks definitely the room becomes very quiet,” Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold said. “He’s an impressive man and he’s got a presence about him and gets a lot of respect, as he should, and as he deserves to have.”

All of the victories and all of the accolades are hard-earned and well-deserved, but York’s impact reaches far greater than his campus community or conference membership.

“When you look at guys like Jerry York, or Jack Parker, they’re the legends of our game. Ron Mason, they’re what you think about when you talk about college hockey coaches. It’s a source of inspiration for younger coaches, and they’re great ambassadors for the game,” Sneddon said. “They care about the game, not just Boston College, they care about college hockey and all that’s good about college hockey. He’s a legend.”

All season long, the mantra has been the same. With laser-like focus, the attention never shifts from their ultimate, clearly stated goal. During Friday’s press conference before the national title game, head coach Jerry York made no fewer than five references to it.

“We want to win trophies.”

That simple, five-word statement tells you all that you need to know, not only about this year’s Boston College team, but about the culture surrounding the entire program itself.

“We’re looking at that shiny trophy.”

Barry Almeida

With Saturday night’s hard-fought 4-1 victory over Ferris State, the Eagles have accomplished their ultimate goal for the season, the coveted national championship, Boston College’s second in the last three years and third since 2008. This year’s juniors and seniors join the classes of 2010 and 2011 as the only Boston College teams to win a pair of national championships during their careers.

“We stress it so much, winning trophies is so important to this program,” said senior forward Barry Almeida. “Graduating players and winning trophies, that’s Coach York’s mantra. Something about this team, when trophies are on the line, everyone buys in.”

This year’s edition of the Eagles completed the program’s ultimate quest, winning all four of the program’s targets: the Beanpot, the Hockey East regular-season and tournament trophies, and the biggest of them all, the national championship.

“Winning championships is hard. It’s the hardest thing to do, especially this one,” Almeida said. “You’re playing teams that you’ve got to take their sticks away, end their season. These guys know how to do it. They’ll carry this legacy on and be successful for years to come.”

“We sometimes take it for granted getting here,” senior forward Paul Carey said. “This season started out with the right mindset, and we were jealous of a couple of our old teammates who had two [national championships]. We’re on their level now.”

“Four trophies is an incredible season,” Carey added. “We have the microscope, that next game, but at the same time, we never lose sight of that telescope, and know that we’re playing for the Beanpot, or Hockey East. Once a trophy is on the line, a whole other team comes out of us.”

Edwin Shea

This year’s group of seniors bows out with an impressive resume, including three straight Hockey East tournament championships and a pair of national titles. But as freshmen, they suffered the worst of fates that a Boston College team can: coming up empty.

“We had a tough freshman year, only winning 18 games after the guys before us won the title in 2008,” Shea said. “That season was pretty much a failure for us, we didn’t win anything.”

When pressed about how winning 18 games, a figure that many programs would call an unequivocal success, Shea simply shrugged his shoulders and smiled. “That’s just the culture of the program here, we try to win championships. Coach always says we chase trophies. If we don’t do that, the season’s not considered a success.”

As this year’s group of seniors departs, they leave in their wake an indelible legacy, and a feeling of satisfaction in showing the younger players on this team what the expectations are for the Boston College program.

“These guys know what it takes to win, and how to win,” Shea said. “They’ll be fun to watch for the next few years. As long as the coaching staff keeps preaching the same stuff, the program will be in good hands for years.”

Surprise runs, or first-time runs, to the Frozen Four have become a pleasantly common experience over the last decade of college hockey. There have been the unforgettable Cinderella stories of Bemidji State and RIT that captured the country’s attention for a short period of time, shunning the notion that small schools can’t run with the big boys when the calendar turns to March and April.

Often times those runs have been one-and-done occurrences, with teams or leagues retreating to national anonymity in the seasons that follow. But two of the schools that reached the Frozen Four for the first time in program history have managed to use those appearances on the final weekend as a springboard for sustainable excellence and perennial national relevance.

Notre Dame, which reached its first Frozen in 2008, and Miami, a team that first reached the final weekend for its first time in 2009, have used those appearances to jumpstart recruiting and solidify a culture of excellence.

Having reached the Frozen Four and National Championship game for the first time in program history, Ferris State now embarks on the effort to determine whether this was a once-in-a-blue-moon foray into national relevance, or an Irish- or Redhawks-like springboard to the big leagues.

Senior defenseman and second-team All-American Chad Billins believes it’s the latter.

“I think that now the guys have some experience and some confidence, we’re honored to be able to be seniors in the dressing room,” he said. “Hopefully, we taught them how to play the game and how to play Bulldog hockey, as some people call it. I think it’s a special group of guys in that room and I think it will keep going when we’re gone.”

Coach Bob Daniels saw that trend begin a few years ago, as his teams have earned first-round byes in three consecutive seasons and came a within perhaps a single victory of reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2010.

“I think last year we had a bye in the first round of the playoffs,” Daniels said. “The year before last we had a bye. And we’ve been a good team for quite a while now – it’s just not on the national scene maybe.”

Daniels recognizes, however, that the scale by which his program is measured has changed with a trip to the national championship game.

“I think you say to yourself, okay, we can do this,” Daniels said. “So it does change our standard. It was good, but it wasn’t like we were saving the free world, we can do this. We’ve always felt we could be a very good team, but now I feel that we can do it on a national stage. It’s so tough to do this year in and year out, but it’s certainly our goal next year is to duplicate.”

Reflecting on how many key pieces return and the growth that players like Jordie Johnston and Blair Riley have seen as upperclassmen in recent years, Daniels believes that the stars could be aligned for another strong season.

“I think there’s the ability level there to have another very good year,” Daniels said. “Now it’s whether we’re willing to do all of the things that this team was willing to do. Only time will tell that. I’m really interested to see how we respond to this, if there’s going to be some kind of hangover or if we’re able to keep pressing forward. That’s going to be our challenge, not only for the players, but also for the coaches. Can we take this and keep moving this thing in that direction and keep it at this level?”

Echoing his coach’s sentiments, forward Jordie Johnston named his roommate, Kyle Bonis, and freshman netminder C.J. Motte, who played well in early duty before senior Taylor Nelson grabbed the reins and played his way on to the All-America First Team, as key catalysts for the 2012-13 Bulldogs.

“We saw Bonis, how he played this weekend,” Johnston said. “He’s a machine. He’s going to be unreal for them next year. And Motte’s quite a goalie. He’ll step into Nelly’s role pretty well. They’ll be a great team next year.”

And Johnston believes that this year’ success will breed future successes beyond the promising immediate future.

“That’s what we’re so proud of, that we were able to be on a team that kind of started the ball rolling for the program,” Johnston said.  “Because now there’s going to be kids who want to come to Ferris now. And that’s something we’re really proud of.”

Whether the Bulldogs can play their way to Pittsburgh remains to be seen, but it’s worth noting that there was no talk of this team being an underdog after they lost to Boston College. On the big stage, this didn’t look like a coach or a team that didn’t belong in the spotlight. It looked, rather, like a program ready to contend for another championship in the final year of the CCHA and a program that could be poised to carry the WCHA’s banner once the realignment process is complete.

The Bulldogs are ready to keep playing Bulldog hockey off the ice in the coming months, and that they’ll keep heads up and pushing forward even if they’re not taking the ice in the Frozen Four next year. Having witnessed a true perennial powerhouse up close and personally on Saturday night, they know what it takes to sustain success.

“I think Boston College is special,” Daniels said. “For them to win three out of five, I mean, that’s something. That says a lot. I believe Jerry York deserves all the credit for that and his staff. It’s wonderful what they’ve done.  I think it’s somewhat unprecedented and it’s going to be hard to duplicate.

“But for our own selves, I feel we’ve been pretty good for a while, and I think we’ll continue to be good.”

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).

TAMPA, Fla. – In receiving college hockey’s top individual honor on Friday, Jack Connolly did what he became known for throughout his four seasons of play at Minnesota Duluth—he passed off to others.

Even before Connolly had been announced as the 32nd winner of the Hobey Baker Award, he was passing out thank yous, crediting the UMD team trainer for the work in enabling him to play 164 consecutive games. He also mentioned linemates, teammates, coaches past and present, family, and an army of fans who have followed him and the Bulldogs for the past four years.

Minnesota Duluth forward Jack Connolly is the fifth Bulldog to win the Hobey Baker Award.

“This is just kind of the icing on the cake for me,” said Connolly shortly after he and brother Chris posed with the trophy, showing off the national championship rings they won at UMD and Boston University, respectively. “My brother’s been more than successful with a national championship, and then UMD took one home, and now this (trophy) enters the picture. It goes to show that a lot of hard work went into our hockey careers and it’s nice to take this to the next level.”

Connolly, who finished second in the nation in scoring with 60 points in 41 games, sat between Maine’s Spencer Abbott and Colgate’s Austin Smith in an impressive auditorium at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. The 30-minute award ceremony featured officials from the French military awarding Baker’s relatives a medal for the Princeton star’s World War I service nearly a century after his death. Major General Karl Horst, chief of staff of the U.S. Central Command also offered remarks and a welcome to the five buses of dignitaries, media members, and college hockey fans in attendance.

When his name was called, Connolly battled emotions reminiscent of a year earlier when he held the national championship trophy aloft with tears in his eyes. Connolly’s father, Mark, reflected on a childhood spent skating on the outdoor rinks in Duluth and recalled that 1985 Hobey winner Bill Watson was one of Jack’s assistant coaches in peewees.

“It’s been so much fun to be a part of this,” said Watson, who was in attendance and joked that anything that keeps the Bulldogs ahead of Minnesota—the Gophers have had four Hobey winners, while this makes five for UMD—is good. “It’s one of those things where you get on the ice with somebody for the first time and they have that impact. You knew he was going to be a special player.”

Abbott and Smith were gracious runners-up but admitted that the competitive nature of being hockey players made it hard to hear someone else’s name called.

“It’s three really good players that bring a lot to the table and a lot to their teams,” Smith said. “Obviously there’s that killer instinct where anything you do, you want to win, but I realize I’m sitting next to two guys that demand the best of themselves every day. … At the end of the day, I’m humbled by the experience and I’m happy for Jack.”

From the moment the Frozen Four field was set with the bracket matching up Union and Ferris State in one semifinal, the conventional wisdom among many casual fans was that Thursday’s second semifinal, the one pitting Boston College against Minnesota, would be the de facto national title game.

Don’t tell the Boston College players that, though. The Eagles are well aware of the threat that the Bulldogs pose to their title chances.

Tommy Cross and his Boston College teammates aren't taking Saturday's challenge from Ferris State lightly.

“Ferris State is a team that has played some great hockey over the course of the season, obviously, but especially where they beat some really solid teams in the NCAA Tournament in Union, Cornell and Denver,” said senior captain Tommy Cross. “They’re red hot. We said last night that if we want to get a trophy, it will probably have to be our best game of the season on Saturday night.”

For certain, the challenge facing Boston College is a drastically different one than the Eagles faced Thursday against Minnesota. While Minnesota attempted—and failed—to skate with Boston College, Ferris State is just as likely to pick their spots to counter the Eagles and have shown the ability throughout this postseason to capitalize on its opponents’ mistakes.

“We have a great deal of respect for Ferris State,” said head coach Jerry York. “Any team that can win the CCHA, you know, Michigan’s in there, Michigan State’s in there, Miami’s in there … some really powerful, powerful teams, and you have Ferris that won the [regular-season] championship.”

In this instance, Boston College’s players would do well to heed the words of their head coach. In 2007, York’s team was on the losing end of a 3-1 contest against Michigan State, a team that few people gave any chance to capture the championship. Even back then, the many of the same comparisons of David versus Goliath were being made, a notion that York was quick to dispel.

“Everybody’s got something to lose at this point, unless you don’t want to win a trophy,” he said. “There’s nobody here that has nothing to lose.”

FERRIS STATE DEFENSEMEN ONE-UPMANSHIP
By James V. Dowd

• While team chemistry is paramount in the playoffs, a bit of a healthy rivalry in the locker room can be productive for a team as well. That has been the case for Ferris State blueliners Brett Wysopal and Scott Czarnowczan, who are first and second on the team in blocked shots. Czarnowczan came into the weekend leading the team with 74 blocked shots, one ahead of Wysopal. A six-block performance against Union in Thursday’s Frozen Four semifinal gave Wysopal the lead and bragging rights for at least 48 hours.

On the other hand, Bulldogs’ forwards Jordie Johnston and Kyle Bonis, first and second on the team with 20 and 19 goals, respectively, have found that mutual encouragement works for them. Heading into the weekend, Johnston was encouraging his roommate, saying that he foresaw a goal or two in Bonis’ future. That vision became reality when Bonis broke out with the game-winning goal and an assist against the Dutchmen. Of course, Johnston was quick to take credit for the goal thanks to his confidence-boosting pep talk.

Ferris State captain Chad Billins says he's a "light" sleeper.

• Speaking of roommates, two anchors of Ferris State’s success have a unique method of making sure they’re not sluggish the morning of a game. Goaltender Taylor Nelson and defenseman Chad Billins have lived together since they were freshmen and know each other’s habits cold. One commonality they share is sleeping with the window shades open the night before a game. Perhaps superstition as much as anything, the pair joked that the sunlight gives them positive energy and have found that early-morning light pouring in through an unblocked window helps prevent sluggishness on game day.

• Back to Bonis, Ferris State coach Bob Daniels noted during Thursday’s postgame press conference—much as he did during Bonis’s hot start to the season back in October—that he and his staff always knew the former walk-on could score goals but worried about his skating. The senior forward said it was a flaw in his game he ignored despite coaches’ criticism when he was younger, but as a college player, he matured and embraced the opportunity to improve. Summer workouts focusing on improving his stride paid off handsomely with a junior season that surpassed the offensive output of his first two seasons combined.

•  While Johnston is thrilled to be playing for a national title and happy his prophecy of a Bonis goal was fulfilled, the senior forward admitted the victory over Union was personally frustrating. Johnston registered three shots on goal against the Dutchmen, but felt as if he squeezed his stick a little on a few solid opportunities. The team’s leading scorer is looking forward to the opportunity to redeem himself and create scoring chances against a tough Boston College defense Saturday.

The underdog stories are bound to be told with lesser-known and underappreciated Ferris State heading into Saturday’s national championship game against top-seeded Boston College, a juggernaut team that’s rattled off 18 consecutive wins.

Nobody gave Michigan State much of a chance in 2007, but the Spartans defeated a highly-favored Boston College team in the national championship game.

However, 18 victories don’t guarantee a 19th. A comparison of hockey pedigree and championship reputation is only that, a look at the past. What happens on Saturday night will be remembered as the culmination of a tremendous run by the Eagles or one of the most surprising championship results of all time. It brings to mind some of the same themes that surrounded this game and Frozen Four weekend just five years earlier.

Drawing the parallels between this championship weekend and the St. Louis event in 2007 is easy to do. A marquee semifinal game was the prime time attraction as Boston College faced North Dakota, a few hours after Michigan State worked past Maine in the early semifinal. The buzz was about that second semifinal being a de facto national championship game. Sure, the Michigan State and Maine teams of 2007 had nice seasons and earned Frozen berths, but did anyone consider the winner of that game would pose a real threat to Boston College or North Dakota, two of the giants of college hockey?

And so here we are again in 2012. Ferris State and Union had nice seasons, both won regular-season league titles and qualified for the Frozen Four for the first time in each program’s history, but this was just a precursor to the more attractive second final between Boston College and Minnesota. Or so they say.

“We didn’t hear much of that before the semifinals, we didn’t pay much attention to anything because we were too focused on beating Maine. They knocked us out of the tournament the year before and we were really pointing toward that game,” Lerg said. “But afterward, watching that second semifinal we did hear a little bit about that being the game that everyone was excited about and that was the (perceived) title game.”

Of course, Michigan State defeated Boston College in the finals and it gives every team hope.

That’s just the beginning of the similarities between the 2006-07 Michigan State Spartans and the 2011-12 Ferris State Bulldogs. Both CCHA member schools, they advanced to the Frozen Four out of the Midwest Regional. The teams carried similar records into the national title game, Michigan State at 15-13-3 and Ferris State at 26-11-5, and earned more renown for defense than offense. Frozen Four semifinal victories were two-goal wins bolstered by a pair of third-period goals. Bob Daniels is a Michigan State alum. Jeff Lerg of Michigan State and Taylor Nelson of Ferris State are steady, reliable netminders that don’t make the big mistake and can come up with huge saves when necessary.

“I think Ferris State does have the same mindset and is in a similar situation as we were,” former Michigan State goaltender Jeff Lerg said. He said that Spartan team thrived by focusing on themselves. “For our team, we just liked being around each other so much. It was a do-or-die situation, but we just wanted to keep winning so that we could keep playing together for as long as we could.”

With all of that in mind, it’s foolish to discount Ferris State’s chances. It’s just one game, not a seven-game series, and for three periods on Saturday night in Tampa, the opportunity is there for the Bulldogs. Lerg said their Friday practice at the Frozen Four might have been too relaxed, too loose, but they were able to refocus for the championship game. The Bulldogs are also of the mindset that the pressure shifts away from them, despite the magnitude of the opportunity that awaits.

“I think we can just come up and play our game,” Nelson said. “Sometimes when you are that top team coming in, you are a little worried about that team like us who has been an underdog all season long. We just come out and play. You might be squeezing your stick a little too tight if you are considered a favorite because you should win the game. Both teams have had great years. Both teams are here playing in the championship. Both teams are very well deserving and I think we just need to come out and play.”

The similarities are undeniable. Ferris State can only hope that the story ends the same way.

Inside some of the key storylines from a 6-1 Boston College victory over Minnesota.

VETERAN DEFENSE SOLID AGAIN FOR BOSTON COLLEGE
By Kevin Zeise

Thursday’s matchup had been billed as a showcase of two nearly identical teams, both possessing high-powered offenses capable of lighting up the scoreboard. While Boston College’s attack held its end of the bargain, the Eagles’ defensive unit put the clamps down on Minnesota, holding a team that had tallied 12 goals in the two games at the NCAA West Regional to just a single goal in the Eagles’ 6-1 victory Thursday night in Tampa.

Brian Dumoulin and the Boston College defense played a key role in shutting down the high-scoring Minnesota offense.

Working as a collective unit, the six defensemen and goaltender Parker Milner kept the Gophers at bay throughout the contest. Employing a bend-but-don’t-break strategy, the Eagles allowed Minnesota to shoot from distance, and worked tirelessly to clear away pucks from in front of the net. Milner’s presence in goal provided a huge security blanket for the Boston College defense.

There were a couple of grade-A opportunities, but Milner was there to erase those.

“He bails us out a lot,” said junior Brian Dumoulin of his classmate, Milner. “It helps us to know we don’t have to be mistake-free, knowing we’ve got a rock behind us.”

“I think everyone still strives for perfection, even though it’s not always possible,” said junior Patrick Wey. “It’s a relief knowing that we have such a great goalie back there. I just get surprised sometimes, it’s like, ‘Man, here comes another two-on-one,’ and he makes another huge save, and it’s a huge relief.”

Time and again on the evening, the defensemen and goaltender were in perfect sync, with Milner there to make key stops when the Gophers got through the defense. In turn, whenever Milner gave up a rebound in front of his crease, his blueliners were there to sweep pucks away into the corners and away from danger.

“I think it works with the whole unit,” Milner said of the play of his defensive group in front. “I try to limit the rebounds, but I definitely left plenty out there tonight. Those guys are incredible, they just swept everything right out. I think that’s something they work endlessly on.”

The Eagles were able to prepare for Minnesota’s high-powered attack in practice over the past week and a half by simply working against their own forwards.

“We’ve got fast forwards, and so does Minnesota,” said senior Edwin Shea. “Practice is sometimes harder than the games we play with how quick our forwards are. It was good for our defense to get used to that type of speed in practice for teams just like Minnesota.”

“Lots of guys come to Boston College to play defense because they know they’re going to play against some of the best forwards in the country each day in practice,” Wey said. “Those practices, and some of the games we’ve had throughout the playoffs, they’ve been really good preparation for us for a team like this that was so skilled offensively.”

While Saturday night’s championship matchup will pit the Eagles against a different type of team than Minnesota was, Boston College’s entire defensive unit is certainly aware of the danger that Ferris State can pose.

“We’re enjoying this win right now, but tomorrow night it’s back to business,” Wey said. “That’s a good team in Ferris State that we have to play, and we’re certainly not going to take them lightly.”

YOUNG GOPHER DEFENSE OVERWHELMED BY BC
By Jess Myers

At the start of the college hockey season, many predicted that the Gophers’ youth on defense would undo all the good they’d be able to do offensively, and picked Minnesota for a middle-of-the-pack finish in the WCHA. It didn’t happen.

Justin Holl and the Gophers' green defensive corps couldn't handle Paul Carey and the Boston College attack.

After a hot start, paced by Kent Patterson’s repeated shutouts, the Gophers cooled a bit by early December, it was predicted that defensive flaws would lead to Minnesota’s fall from atop the WCHA standings. It didn’t happen, and the Gophers went on to win the WCHA title.

As the playoff started, the only question remaining about Minnesota was if that defensive inexperience would spell trouble against fast, opportunistic teams. On Thursday at the Frozen Four, it happened.

“It was just one of those nights for a couple guys who had played so well all year long,” said Gophers coach Don Lucia, clearly not naming names. “Tonight we had a couple guys who didn’t play the way they have most of the season, and that’s going to happen.”

Against a talented an opportunistic offense like that of BC, mistakes were magnified, and little turnovers they may have been masked early in the season all seemed to end up with the puck behind Gophers goalie Kent Patterson.

“They had a number of odd-man rushes, but that was just because we were trying to make chances and trying to score,” said Patterson, who had 19 saves. “We had all the guys on the net, and they just capitalized on their opportunities on their rushes. You’ve got to give them credit.”

Nate Schmidt admitted that he had perhaps his worst game of the season on the blue line, and when Jake Parenteau fumbled a puck that led to a 2-on-1 scoring rush by the Eagles, the harsh light of the national spotlight seemed much brighter on a pair of sophomores that had been otherwise solid all season.

“They feed off turnovers and they really exploited our turnovers tonight,” Schmidt said. “Jake and I didn’t have the games we wanted tonight … for me that was probably one of the worst games I played. No excuses on a big stage like this.”

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.

3. Parker Milner, Boston College: Coach Jerry York said Milner made “timely saves” when Minnesota had a chance to generate some momentum, allowing the Eagles to take over late in the second period. He made 30 saves; the Eagles were outshot by a 31-25 margin.

2. , Brian Dumoulin, Boston College: The standout defenseman earned special mention from his coach for persevering in loose-puck battles in front and making strong plays to limit Gopher scoring chances.

1. Paul Carey, Boston College: Two goals for the senior forward and they epitomized BC’s night — opportunistic and lethal. His goal in the final minute of the second period made it 4-0, and when Minnesota scored early in the third, Carey answered 22 seconds later. Game over.

A shutout streak of more than 160 minutes is impressive. For a goalie to put together said streak in the NCAA Tournament is amazing, but that’s exactly what Boston College’s Parker Milner did. After blanking both Air Force and Minnesota Duluth in the NCAA Northeast Regional in Worcester two weeks ago, the junior from Pittsburgh kept Minnesota off the scoreboard for two periods before Minnesota’s Jake Hansen scored 86 seconds into the third period of Thursday’s semifinal. The final tally: 161:26 without a goal in NCAA Tournament play. Add in the scoreless time he accrued in the Eagles’ Hockey East title game win against Maine, and that number grows to 193:49.

Paging Nick Bjugstad … paging Zach Budish … paging Kyle Rau. The Gophers’ top line was invisible in the loss to Boston College, combining for a plus-minus rating of minus-8 and four shots on goal. That’s two fewer than Boston College third-line wing Paul Carey. Certainly they’re not alone in their inconspicuousness for the Gophers, but your best players to be difference makers in big games. That obviously wasn’t the case Thursday night in Tampa.

“It just got out of control.”

Minnesota senior forward and assistant captain Jake Hansen needed only six words to effectively sum up what went wrong for the Golden Gophers in the loss to Boston College. Sometimes the simplest summation is also the most appropriate.

Patterson didn’t get a lot of help from his Minnesota teammates against of Boston College Thursday. Even the official Twitter account for the Golden Gophers left him out to dry.