Terrier goaltender Mathieu Caron (CAS’25) and alternate captain Cade Webber (Questrom’23, SHA’24) react wiih dismay following BU’s stunning 2-1 loss to Denver in overtime April 11.

Varsity Sports

 BU Falls 2-1 in Overtime in 2024 NCAA Semifinal

Stellar goaltending by No. 2 Terriers wasn’t enough to defeat No. 3 Denver

In a matchup between two of the most potent offenses in men’s hockey, it was elite goaltending that came to define the first 2024 Frozen Four semifinal. Although BU’s Mathieu Caron (CAS’25) made 27 saves, each more heroic than the last, the No. 2–ranked Boston University Terriers fell 2-1 in overtime to No. 3 Denver at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., Thursday night.

The Terriers ended their season at 29-10-2. The Denver Pioneers will face the winner of the April 11 Michigan and Boston College matchup for the big prize—the 2024 national title Saturday evening in St. Paul.

“The margin of error in these one-and-dones is very slim,” said BU’s head coach, Jay Pandolfo (CAS’96), postgame. We made some mistakes that cost us, and there’s no tomorrow for us. So it’s a very tough tournament to win. I feel for our seniors, they’ve done a tremendous job the last two years of reestablishing the culture at BU and what it means to play and be a Terrier.”

Thursday’s Frozen Four semifinal was the sixth NCAA Tournament matchup between the Terriers and Pioneers. Denver entered with a 3-2 head-to-head advantage, winning the most recent game, a 7-1 blowout back in 2016 at the same venue as Thursday’s semifinal—St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center.

BU and Denver traded shots on goal to open this year’s Frozen Four tournament, earning two apiece in the opening five minutes. On an odd-man rush, the speedy Nick Zabaneh (CAS’24) skated the Terriers’ offense into Denver’s zone but committed a high sticking minor while shaking off a Denver defender.

On the wrong side of the game’s first man-advantage, BU goaltender Caron and his defenseman put forth valiant efforts to kill Denver’s power play. Corralling a loose puck and turning it up the ice, BU forward Devin Kaplan (CAS’26) found alternate captain Luke Tuch (COM’24) on the breakaway toward Denver netminder Matt Davis. Tuch, in a one-on-one with the keeper, slotted home BU’s first and only score of the game—a shorthanded goal at 7:45 of the first period.

Up 1-0, the Terriers continued to put the pressure on Denver’s Davis. They outshot the Pioneers 10-3 in the first period, but could not double their lead in an otherwise mundane opening period.

BU saw more offensive zone success to start period two courtesy of Hockey East Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year—and Hobey Baker Hat Trick Finalist—Macklin Celebrini (CAS’27). The Terrier freshman phenom had four shots on goal to complement his team’s 20-11 lead through the first two periods.

The Terriers’ continued havoc in the crease could not overshadow their defensive work to neutralize the nation’s top offense (4.71 goals per game) through a period and a half. The stunted Pioneers pivoted their game to mid-ice, levying big hits and post-whistle shoves on BU.

Denver would eventually make good on their sporadic O-Zone time when a Lane Hutson (CAS’26) pass behind his own net went awry. The miscue fell to the stick of Pioneers forward Miko Matikka, who found forward Tristan Lemyre down low. The Denver sophomore forward would capitalize on the open look, squeaking the puck under Caron’s pads to equalize the score 1-1.

Denver’s top-tier offense finally began to find its groove. With under a minute to go, alternate captain Jack Devine caught BU changing lines, feeding forward Aiden Thompson a perfect opportunity to take the lead. Forcing Caron to swing right, Thompson changed directions and poked a shot to the goaltender’s left. Heroically, Caron made a diving glove save against his body weight to send the game to its second intermission tied at 1-1.

“I thought Caron played unbelievably,” captain Case McCarthy (Questrom’23, SHA’24) said after his last game as a Terrier. “He kept us in the hockey game, especially late in the second when they made their push. I can’t say enough good things about him, he’s a great guy off the ice and I’m going to miss him next year.”

In the opening minutes of the third period, Denver continued to test Caron. At the three-minute mark, BU defenseman Tom Willander (CAS’27) took an extralegal approach to snuff out a building Denver breakaway, committing a trip to send a Pioneers attacker flying. Although they didn’t skate away with another shorthanded goal, BU prevented the Denver power play once again, thanks in large part to Caron’s moves in net.

After four minutes of five-on-five hockey, BU’s Jack Harvey (CAS’27) committed his team’s second consecutive tripping minor at 8:44, sending the Pioneers back to the man advantage. As the power play wound down, Denver made a last-gasp attempt on Caron, forcing the junior netminder to make another flailing glove save to polish off another successful penalty kill.

“It’s obviously not the way we wanted to end things,” Caron said postgame. “I really wanted to win it for the seniors and grad students. I’m very proud to be a BU Terrier. I know I get referred to as the Brown goalie a lot, but I’m through and through a BU Terrier.”

Despite Caron’s heroics, the Denver offense began to dominate the late going. The Pioneers steadily closed the gap in shots on goal, and prevented the Terriers’ many good opportunities beyond a Harvey shot that deflected precariously off the left pipe.

As the third crept below the two-minute mark, Dylan Peterson (COM’24) committed the Terriers’ most costly penalty yet, dropping a Denver defenseman against the wall to earn a boarding penalty. BU endured the final 1:13 of 5-on-4 skating, pushing the 1-1 game into overtime. The Terriers’ shot advantage—at one point as large as 14—closed at 25-23, with BU mustering just 5 shots in the third frame.

As the sudden-death overtime period began, Denver would have 47 seconds to capitalize on their lasting man advantage. For BU, the charge was simple: kill the penalty, win the game. Having appeared to skate uphill since the midpoint of the second period, BU needed a spark to punch their ticket to the NCAA Final.

The Terriers survived the 47 seconds, but continued to concede quality chances to Denver. The overtime period proceeded in chaotic fashion—both teams taking swipes at the opposing goalie, with neither Caron nor Davis ready to surrender the season just yet.

The first 11 minutes and change were high-flying, but a timeout mercifully halted play. The back-and-forth effort proceeded with great chances for both squads until Denver finally found the cure for Caron. Entering the zone on the right side, Pioneers forward Tristan Broz fired a laser on goal, ending BU’s season in overtime and dashing the team’s hopes of winning a sixth national title.

The No. 3 Denver Pioneers will face No. 1 Boston College on Saturday, April 13, at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., at 6 pm ET. BC took Thursday’s second Frozen Four game, beating Michigan, 4-1, The championship game can be seen live on ESPN2 and ESPN+.