Friday, April 8, 2016

Quinnipiac, UND to Meet for Title

Nation’s top two teams will face off Saturday for the NCAA championship.

Quinnipiac, UND to Meet for Title
Quinnipiac celebrates a goal against Boston College in Thursday’s first semifinal (Photo by Larry Radloff).

Quinnipiac survived a furious Boston College rally and North Dakota scored a last-minute goal to beat Denver, setting up a national championship showdown between the No. 1 and 2 teams in the national polls.

The Bobcats and Fighting Hawks will meet at 8 p.m. ET Saturday at Amalie Arena in Tampa (ESPN2, TSN2). Quinnipiac is seeking its first NCAA title while North Dakota aims for its eighth.

Quinnipiac opened up an early 2-0 lead in Thursday’s first game and answered Boston College’s first goal 4:09 later to recapture the two-goal cushion.

Boston College fired 14 shots on goal in the third period to try to even the score, but Quinnipiac goaltender Michael Garteig made 13 saves – including two spectacular ones in the final minute.

The nightcap also came down to the last minute after Denver’s third-period rally erased North Dakota’s 2-0 lead built on a pair of Drake Caggiula goals.

Caggiula helped set up the winner off an offensive-zone faceoff with 1:00 remaining. Nick Schmaltz gathered a loose puck and tucked it in with 56.8 seconds remaining for the game-winner. UND added an empty-netter for a 4-2 final.