Farrance led all defensemen in points per game this season with 1.45, a mark that was fourth overall. In his first All-American season a year ago, he led the Terriers with 43 points, which was sixth best nationally among all skaters and tops for defensemen. His 14 goals also was the best for D1 defensemen. The Victor, NY native was a Hockey East first-team All-Star in both his junior and senior seasons as well as a Hobey Baker Award Top 10 Finalist.
► Congratulations to conference rival Massachusetts on its first NCAA championship. The Minutemen, who blanked St. Cloud State, 5-0, in last night's title game, went 11-0-2 after being swept by the Terriers (4-2, 4-3 OT) in January.
Twelve years after his own NCAA tournament heroics (see below), Colby Cohen is emerging as a highly regarded in-game analyst providing valuable insights for viewers. As one long-time and iconic Terrier fan suggests, Cohen would be a valuable addition to ESPN's broadcast team when the cable outlet begins its NHL coverage next fall.
tw-align-centerI think @ColbyCohen36 deserves a high visibility job @espn when they get the NHL back. He does a great job providing insight and observations of the game. @Buccigross, can you make this happen?
— Sasquatch (@busasquatch) April 11, 2021
This Date in BU Hockey
April 11, 2009, Verizon Center,Washington, D.C.
Returning to the national championship game for the first time in a dozen years, the top-ranked Terriers completed their “Burn The Boats” theme drive to the NCAA title, defeating Miami, 4-3 in overtime, in a contest dubbed “The D.C. Miracle.” BU scored twice in the final minute of regulation to erase a 3-1 deficit before Colby Cohen’s game-winner gave BU its sixth tournament win of the season.
An evenly played first period was scoreless until the 15:15 mark when Chris Connelly slid home a loose puck following a Kevin Shattenkirk shot attempt and an Eric Gryba pass.
But early in the second, just after the Red Hawks had killed a penalty, Gary Steffes poked a rebound into the open side of the BU net to tie the score. Late in the period, Cohen ripped a shot off the post and the score remained tied after two.
In the third period, a pair of Miami goals—Tommy Wingels at 12:31 and Trent Vogelhuber at 15:52—seemingly doomed BU’s title hopes. Coach Jack Parker pulled goalie Kieran Millan with 3:30 remaining, but nothing clicked until the final minute. Nick Bonino kept the puck alive behind the Miami cage after his shot was denied allowing Zach Cohen to squeeze home a backhander and cut the deficit to one.
As time wound down with BU frantically pushing for an equalizer, Chris Higgins slid the puck to Gilroy in the high slot. The co-captain quickly backhanded it to Bonino in the right circle. His one-timer beat Cody Reichard, tied the score with 17.4 seconds left on the clock and sent the game to overtime.
Both teams had good scoring opportunities in overtime, with Colin Wilson and John McCarthy both coming close. At 11:47, Connelly sent the puck to Shattenkirk who skated along the blue line and dropped a pass to Colby Cohen, who closed to the left circle and fired. His shot deflected off a Miami defender and sailed over the goalie’s shoulder to bring BU its fifth national championship.
For BU’s senior class, the victory was the 100th of their Terrier careers. Gilroy was named winner of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award and gained first-team All-American honors, along with Wilson, while Shattenkirk was named second-team All-American. Millan with a 29-2-3 record and a 1.94 GAA, was named national rookie of the year.
● Period 3 and overtime highlights ; game-winning goal
● ESPN.com Burn The Boats explained
● THFBlog The Drive For Five Was Realized
April 11, 2015 TD Garden, Boston
Six years to the day of the D.C. Miracle, #2 ranked BU was back in the national championship game. Two days earlier, BU had defeated top-ranked North Dakota, 5-3, led by another Hobey Baker Award winner, Jack Eichel. In the Frozen Four final, the Beanpot and Hockey East champion Terriers were 20 minutes from a sixth NCAA title, but conference rival Providence rallied with two third-period goals for a 4-3 win.
The Friars got on the board first on Anthony Florentino’s blasts from the right circle at 9:25 of the first period.
BU tied the scored three minutes later when Ahti Oksanen’s shot from the left boards squeaked past PC’s Jon Gillies. Eichel controlled the ensuing faceoff and raced up ice. He dropped the puck to Danny O’Regan who beat Gillies for a 2-1 lead and setting an NCAA tournament record for the fastest two goals: four seconds apart. The previous record of two goals in five seconds had been set by Michigan in the first-ever NCAA title game in 1948.
Providence pulled even early in the second on Mark Jankowski’s power-play tally. Seven minutes later, Cason Hohmann won an offensive-zone faceoff to Oksanen whose wrister was stopped by Gillies, but Hohmann beat a defender to the rebound and buried it for a 3-2 Terrier advantage.
After the Terriers killed a PC power play, disaster struck at 11:24 of the third. A harmless Tom Parisi shot from center ice was dropped from Matt O’Connor’s glove and kicked across the goal line, evening the score at three apiece.
Just over two minutes later, the Friars made an offensive-zone faceoff win work for them. Brandon Tanev controlled the puck in the right circle, skated to the slot unmarked and whipped the game-winner past O’Connor.
In the final minute with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker, Hohmann nearly tied the score, but a lunging Gillies, who made 49 saves, denied him and the Friars took home their first NCAA title.
Eichel, who led the nation in scored with 71 points (nine more than linemate Evan Rodrigues), and Grzelcyk were named first-team All-Americans.
● New York TImes Providence, last team in, beats BU for the title
● College Hockey News recap
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