The Boston University men’s hockey team celebrating its win over Penn State in the Frozen Four semifinal at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis Thursday night. The Terriers are returning to the National Championship game for the first time since 2015. Photo by Rich Gagnon/College Hockey News

Varsity Sports

Frozen Four Victory! BU to Play for College Hockey Championship Saturday

With 3-1 win over Penn State, Terriers will skate for their sixth NCAA title

With its back against the wall, the Boston University men’s hockey team has played its best hockey this season. It’s one thing separating this year’s team from the last two, which both fell short of advancing to the national championship game. 

When Penn State scored a goal minutes into the third period of Thursday night’s Frozen Four semifinal to threaten BU’s lead, the team remained unfazed.

“It’s hard to end a team’s season, so you knew they were going to push,” head coach Jay Pandolfo (CAS’96) said during Thursday’s postgame press conference. “If you’re going to win a championship, you have to find a way to be able to play in those tight games, and we’ve been in enough of them this year.”

Despite a roller-coaster season that saw as many hallmark wins as disappointing losses, BU (24-13-2) was able to close out a 3-1 win over Penn State (22-14-4) at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

The Terriers now advance to the national championship, for the first time since 2015, in search of their sixth title—the first since 2009. They will take on Western Michigan University Saturday at 7:30 pm ET in St. Louis.

“We all come here for a reason: We want to win a national championship,” forward Jack Hughes (COM’25) said postgame. “Thinking about having the opportunity to do that in a couple of days is exciting. It almost doesn’t feel quite real.”

After an hour and 20 minute delay Thursday night—the result of the earlier matchup between Western Michigan University and Denver, which went into double overtime—the puck finally dropped at the Enterprise Center at 9:50 pm ET. 

Penn State’s Nittany Lions, making their Frozen Four debut, utilized their trademark speed in transition, but had difficulty maintaining possession past the blue line. The Terriers ran into a similar problem before settling in midway through the period.

BU generated several high-leverage looks, including three shots from Hughes, a near-miss from Jack Harvey (CAS’27), and the dazzling footwork of Cole Hutson (CAS’28).

Penn State came alive towards the end of the period with quality looks off the rush, but BU goaltender Mikhail Yegorov (CAS’28) fended off each one and the period ended scoreless.

The second frame started out in similar fashion—with the question being which team would strike first.

The answer came 1:35 into the period. Matt Copponi (COM’25) had a wide-open look from the left circle. Penn State goaltender Arsenii Sergeev made the initial save, but he couldn’t find the puck as it slipped through his legs and sat in the crease. Hughes crashed in on the net and poked the puck across the goal line.

“That obviously feels good to get on the board early and play a little bit looser for us and with a little bit more confidence,” Hughes said.

The Terriers’ 1-0 lead would be put to the test at 5:55 when Sascha Boumedienne (CAS’28) took a tripping penalty. BU’s penalty kill, which has been much-improved down the stretch, killed it off. 

A few minutes later, Cole Hutson and Cole Eiserman (CAS’28) worked a two-on-one rush. Hutson drove up the left side of the ice, patiently waiting until the last second to find his classmate on the other side. Eiserman fired the puck into the open net at 10:44 for his 24th goal of the season.

“Whenever [Cole Hutson] has the puck, I’m always expecting to get it. He’s such a great player,” Eiserman said. “He was just looking for an angle. I trust he could have gone around the net four times, and he still could find me.”

BU’s 2-0 lead held as the second period ended. The team was 20 minutes away from advancing to the national championship game. There’s no such thing as an easy win in the Frozen Four, however, and Penn State proved it early in the third. 

The Nittany Lions started the period with a fire under them, dominating the offensive zone. The team sent a flurry of shots at Yegorov until the goaltender was forced out of position. Then, at 2:12, all forward Nicholas DeGraves had to do was flick the puck into the net to make it a 2-1 game.

“In big games, stuff like that happens, but we have great leadership,” Eiserman said. “In hockey, a lot of things can happen very quickly. So whenever that happens, we just settle back in.”

As the period waned, Penn State didn’t let up on Yegorov, rifling shot after shot at the freshman netminder in a desperate effort to score. 

But Yegorov, who joined the team only in January, held firm in net through the barrage, ending the night with 32 saves.

“He’s just got a infectious personality, and he’s really grateful for the opportunity he’s gotten,” Pandolfo said. “We’re certainly glad to have him. In the third period, he made sure that they didn’t put another puck in.”

The Nittany Lions emptied the net in favor of an extra skater with just under two minutes to play in a last-ditch effort. Harvey then scored the empty-net goal with just under a minute left, sending BU to the national championship game.

The Terriers’ attention now turns to Western Michigan, who earlier Thursday evening defeated reigning champion Denver 3-2 to advance to the national championship.

“I have a pretty good understanding of how hard it is to win when it’s just one game. It’s hard. I get that the margin for error is slim. I learned that as a player, and I’ve learned that as a coach too,” Pandolfo said after Thursday night’s win. “It feels good to get [to the National Championship game], but you know, we hope the job is not done yet.”

The Terriers will face off against Western Michigan University in the NCAA Men’s Hockey National Championship, Saturday, April 12, at 7:30 pm ET at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The championship will stream live on ESPN 2. Follow the BU men’s team @TerrierHockey on X.