Sunday, March 27, 2016
Destination: Tampa
Field is set for 2016 NCAA Frozen Four with Boston College vs. Quinnipiac, Denver vs. North Dakota.
The championship field is set for the 2016 Frozen Four, as North Dakota, Boston College, Denver and Quinnipiac each won their regionals to advance to Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fl.
No. 1 overall seed Quinnipiac won the East Region and will face Boston College, winners of the Northeast, in the first semifinal on Thursday, April 7. Midwest Regional champion North Dakota and West Regional winner Denver will meet in the second semifinal that evening.
The semifinals, set for 5 and 8:30 p.m., will be televised on ESPN2 and TSN2. The championship game on Saturday, April 9, faces off at 8 p.m. on ESPN and TSN2.
Here’s a quick look at how each of the four teams advanced:
Boston College – Northeast Regional
For the sixth straight even-numbered year, Boston College advanced from regional play in Worcester, Mass. The Eagles will seek a sixth NCAA title in Tampa, where they won their most recent crown in 2012.
BC built 3-0 leads in both regional games, against Harvard and Minnesota Duluth, with goaltender Thatcher Demko (San Diego, Calif./U.S. NTDP/VAN) keeping both opponent scoreless until late rallies.
All-Regional Team: Thatcher Demko, BC (Most Outstanding Player); Casey Fitzgerald, BC; Andy Welinski, UMD; Tony Cameranesi, UMD; Teddy Doherty, BC; Alex Tuch, BC
Denver – West Regional
The Pioneers return to their first Frozen Four since winning the 2005 NCAA title thanks to two wins in St. Paul, Minn. Saturday’s 7-2 rout of Boston University was followed by a 6-3 win against Ferris State Sunday in a game that was much closer than the final score.
Freshman defenseman Blake Hillman (Elk River, Minn./Waterloo-USHL) scored the winner with just 4:32 remaining against the Bulldogs, his second goal in as many days. Danton Heinen (Langley, B.C./Surrey-BCHL/BOS) led all scorers on the weekend with 6 points.
All-Regional Team: Darren Smith, FSU; Will Butcher, DU; Blake Hillman, DU (Most Outstanding Player); Danton Heinen, Denver; Dylan Gambrell, Denver; Gerald Mayhew, FSU
North Dakota – Midwest Regional
The lone returnee from last year’s Frozen Four, North Dakota won the Midwest Regional as the top seed in Cincinnati.
After dispatching a red-hot Northeastern team, 6-2, in the tournament’s first game Friday, the Fighting Hawks scored three third-period goals to beat Michigan, 5-2, in the regional final.
All-Regional Team: Cam Johnson, UND (Most Outstanding Player); Tucker Poolman, UND; Zach Werenski, UM; Drake Caggiula, UND; JT Compher, UM; Luke Johnson, UND
Quinnipiac – East Regional
The tournament’s No. 1 overall seed dispatched RIT and UMass Lowell by a combined score of 8-1 to claim the regional title in Albany, N.Y.
The Bobcats broke open Sunday’s game with a three-goal spree in the span of 7:18 of the second period, including a tally from leading scorer Sam Anas (Potomac, Md./Youngstown-USHL), whose status for the weekend was in doubt due to injury.
All-Regional Team: Michael Garteig, QU (Most Outstanding Player); Devon Toews, QU; Dylan Zink, UML; Sam Anas, QU; Joe Gambardella, UML; Scott Davidson, QU