In the Frozen Four semifinal, the Terriers, now 29-10-0, will face top-ranked Minnesota (28-9-1), who defeated St. Cloud, 4-1, in the Fargo Regional, scoring twice in the final ten minutes to pull away.There was plenty of up and down action in the opening period, but few shots on goal by either team: four apiece to be precise. Following a BU penalty late in the period, Commesso had to make a few sharp saves to keep the game scoreless.
Terriers got on the board two minutes into the middle period. With the puck in the offensive zone, Skoog sent it from the right corner to the left corner. Dylan Peterson gave up the body to free the puck from a Big Red defender. It trickled to Jeremy Wilmer on the goal line and he quickly found an unmarked Skoog at the top of the crease. He rapped the puck past Ian Shane for his career-best 16th goal and a 1-0 lead.
Midway through the period as a Cornell power play (BU too many men penalty) wound down, Big Red top scorer Gabriel Seger's shot from the left circle was deflected by Jamie Armstrong's stick and then off Commesso's shoulder and the crossbar.
With 5:45 left in the period, Quinn Hutson, who had scored the game-winner against Western Michigan on the rush, nearly doubled BU's lead. He broke in alone, firing a wrist shot that beat Shane, but went off the inside of the right post and stayed out.
BU found itself 20 minutes from a Regional title, nursing a 1-0 lead. The plan was same as it had been from the opening face off: keep the Big Red to the outside and make sure Commesso could see pucks. BU executed it perfectly limiting Cornell to just two shots in the third period until the final minute.
Seven minutes into the period, Phillips got his stick on Cornell pass near the BU blueliner and the puck fell to Matt Brown, who head-manned it to Phillips in the neutral zone. He broke past a defender, fired a low shot off Shane's glove, then buried the rebound for his second goal of the tournament and fourth of the season, giving BU a 2-0 lead.
Terriers continued to break up entry attempts and block shots when Cornell did gain the zone. At the 15-minute mark, an interference penalty on Cornell enabled BU to take time off the clock. When Cornell Coach Mike Schafer finally pulled Shane for an extra attacker, BU cleared the zone several times.
With half a minute remaining, the puck was loose to the left of the BU net. As Commesso went to play it, he was slashed in the mask and Dalton Bancroft poked it into the blue paint. The puck trickled past a diving Cade Webber and into the cage. BU asked for a review but the goal stood, cutting the lead in half.
A final Big Red attempt was blocked by Lane Hutson to the end boards where Webber tied the puck up as time ran out.
For the game, BU outshot Cornell 21-14, had 21 blocks to six for the Big Red and won 29 of 56 face offs. Webber and Ty Gallagher each had four blocks.
“Our whole d-core, especially not having Case McCarthy –– the way John Copeland stepped up, Cade Webber every night, he’s one of our best defensive players,” Pandolfo said. “I mean the kid eats pucks.”
The view of the final minute from the band followed by choruses of "Go BU" and "Hey Baby":
MOP Commesso, after finishing the regular season with a shutout of Providence, has yielded just eight goals in five post-season games. He improved his record to 24-7-0, lowered his GAA to 2.41 and upped his save percentage to .914.
With his assist on Phillips' game-winner, Brown now has 46 points this season and 100 for his career, which includes his first two seasons at UMass Lowell.
Pandolfo is fifth first-year coach to lead his team to the Frozen Four during the past three decades. He also matches the achievement of his BU coach, Jack Parker, who took the Terriers to the Frozen Four in his inaugural season of 1973-74.
BU extended its best-in-D1 current winning streak to nine games, and now has a 22-1 record in games where they have led after two periods.
● GoTerriers.com recap and comprehensive box score
● Video Highlights, Extended highlights
● Post-game press conference
● Photo Gallery
● Boston Hockey Blog Terriers are Tampa-bound
● College Hockey News Back on the Stage
●USCHO BU beats Cornell, plays into the Frozen Four
defkit's Terrier Takeaway
What an incredible run this team has been on.
- I was impressed by the size of the crowd. While the end
sections of the balcony were curtained off, the rest of the arena was 90%
full in my estimation. There were more BU fans, but Cornell was well
represented.
- To hold Cornell to 14 shots shows the commitment that this
team is making to play however they need to in order to win. For the second
game in a row, they played excellent team defense. Cornell doesn't possess
a game-breaker and so, by and large, BU was able to keep the shots to the
outside.
- Commesso came so close to a shutout. He is playing the way
this team has needed to win the trophies they've earned. It won't get
any easier from here on out, but the team seems to know they can count on a
solid performance in net.
- It is always fun to be at a game when you know many of the
fans have not seen Lane Hutson play before. (In this case there were quite
a few locals sporting their Monarchs jerseys). The oohs and aahs when he makes
his moves...yeah he does that all the time.
- I haven't seen the Pandolfo press conference. I am pretty
sure Skoog didn't play at all in the third period. I saw him standing at the
bench and during one of the time outs he seemed to go for a spin on the
ice. I hope he is not injured. There are only so many injuries this team can
take!
- The 4th line may have had the most ice time - certainly
down the stretch they were out there a ton. As a player, Jay was often out there
in those situations, given his stellar defensive play. I imagine he loves
having guys like Stevens and Armstrong that he knows are going to make the
right play consistently.
- It's great to see Phillips get another big goal for the
team. He has had some tough luck through his time at BU. And he now owns the
GWG that got this team to the Frozen Four. Many big names didn't make it this
far. Keller, Tkachuk, Greenway, Zegras to name a few. Phillips now has. Good
for him.
- The road ahead will be tough. Minnesota is a force. It
could be ugly and end quickly. Hopefully, Jay will bring out a tape of the '97
semifinal against Michigan to show what can be accomplished if the effort and
discipline are there.
