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BOSTON COLLEGE vs. QUINNIPIACBoston College and Quinnipiac will skate against one another for the first time in Thursday's national semifinal. The last time the Eagles skated against a team they have never played before in the NCAA Tournament was in the first round against Union in 2013. Quinnipiac is the last team the Eagles have yet to play in the current model of the ECAC. All time against the ECAC conference, Boston College possesses a 375-228-19 (.618) record with winning records against every program save for Clarkson (22-44), Cornell (15-22) and Union (0-2).
PROWLIN' ON THE BOBCATSDespite being the No. 1 overall seed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, Quinnipiac earns just its second trip to the Frozen Four and first after having advanced to the national semifinals in 2013. The Bobcats clinched their first ECAC Tournament trophy (Whitelaw Cup) in program history with a 4-1 victory against Harvard on March 19 in Lake Placid. Quinnipiac has won the regular season championship three of the last four seasons, including the last two. The Bobcats earned the right to play in their second national semifinal after claiming the East Regional with respective 4-0 and 4-1 victories against RIT and UMass Lowell on March 26-27 in Albany, N.Y. Quinnipiac rides a five-game winning streak, along with a 10-1-1 mark dating back to mid-February, into Tampa. Against Hockey East schools this season, Quinnipiac is 4-1-2 with a loss to Boston University and ties against Northeastern and Maine. QU defeated UConn, UMass (twice) and UMass Lowell. Quinnipiac is 31-3-7 overall with a 16-1-5 mark I ECAC play. The Bobcats' 31 victories are the second-most of any team in the country and they have gone 5-0 in neutral site contests this season. Junior Sam Anas has tallied 50 points (24-26-50) and is the 15th-leading scorer in all of college hockey with 1.22 points per game. Anas' 0.59 goals per game are 12th best in college hockey. The Bobcats possess the fourth most potent power play in the country, scoring at a clip of 27.4 percent (45-for-164) as they have three skaters in the top five for power play goals scored. Both Anas and senior Travis St. Denis have logged 10 power play goals each while junior Tim Clifton has accounted for nine. In all, QU's offense ranks fourth, averaging 3.88 goals per game. On the flipside, the Quinnipiac defense is ranked fifth, surrendering only 1.90 goals per game and is anchored by senior goaltender Martin Garteig. Garteig owns the country's best winning percentage at .841 (31-3-7), having started all 41 games for his club. His 1.83 goals against average is fifth overall while his save percentage of .926 ranks 17th. Garteig's eight shutouts ranks second to
Thatcher Demko (10). Quinnipiac's scoring margin of +1.98 is second only to St. Cloud State (+2.07).
BOSTON COLLEGE vs. DENVERBoston College and Denver have the potential to meet in the NCAA Tournament for the third-consecutive season if the Pioneers can defeat North Dakota in the other national semifinal and BC beats Quinnipiac. The Pios ousted the Eagles from the 2015 NCAA Tournament in the first round, clipping BC, 5-2, in the East Regional in Providence. In 2014, Boston College continued to build its sparkling resume in Worcester, having defeated Denver, 6-2, in the first round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament on March 29, 2014. BC and DU have skated against one another four times in the NCAA Tournament as Denver possesses a 3-1 mark against the Eagles. The two met for the first time in the postseason on March 14, 1968 (4-1, DU) and again on March 15, 1973 at Boston Garden (10-4, DU). Going back to the 2014 tournament victory in Worcester, BC dumped DU, 6-2, thanks to a hat trick from Johnny Gaudreau and a 13-point performance (6-7-13) from his line of Kevin Hayes and Bill Arnold. Sandwiched in between those two postseason affairs was a back-to-back series at Magness Arena in Denver on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 2014. Head coach
Jerry York earned his 500th win as head coach of the Eagles on Halloween night thanks to a pair of goals by
Ryan Fitzgerald but the Pios sent BC packing the next night by hand it a 2-1 setback in overtime after Danton Heinen netted both tallies. BC hosted Denver this season as well, beating the Pioneers, 4-3, at Kelley Rink after
Matthew Gaudreau buried the game-winning goal with 36.6 seconds left in regulation. In all, Denver leads the overall series by a thin 15-14 margin. Since York's arrival, Boston College has posted a 9-7 mark against Denver. Combined, these two programs have hung 12 national championship banners (Denver – 7 | BC – 5).Â
PEEKIN' ON THE PIOSDenver will make its 14th overall trip to the Frozen Four and first since 2005. Denver's 14 Frozen Four trips are the sixth most in NCAA history. The Pioneers romped through the West Regional, scoring 13 goals over the course of two games. DU throttled Boston University on March 26, 7-2, in the first round and followed that with a 6-3 beating of Ferris State on March 27. The Pioneers have caught fire the second half and streak into the Frozen Four riding a 13-1-1 mark, turning around from a 4-6-2 mark starting at the end of October and ending in the first half of the season. Denver finished in a tie with St. Cloud State in the NCHC final standings and posted a 17-5-2 mark in conference play. Overall, Denver heads to Tampa with a 25-9-6 mark. The Pioneers were 0-2-2 against Hockey East opponents before beating BU in the first round on March 26. Sophomore Danton Heinen leads DU with 48 points (20-28-48) and is ranked 16th overall in college hockey with 1.20 points per game. Junior defenseman Will Butcher is the fourth highest-scoring defenseman with 31 points (8-23-31). Denver's offense ranks 11th (3.30 gpg) while the defense is slotted in 13th (2.30 gpg).
BOSTON COLLEGE vs. NORTH DAKOTAA potential Boston College – North Dakota national championship game will be the perennial heavyweight bout. Not only have the Eagles and Fighting Hawks played against each other nine times in the NCAA Tournament (BC holds a 6-3 advantage in those meetings), Boston College and North Dakota have faced each other in back-to-back national championships in 2000 and 2001. UND won the first national title, 4-2, on April 8, 2000 in Providence before Krys Kolanos scored the national-championship winning overtime goal (4:43) against North Dakota at the Pepsi Center in Albany, N.Y. to claim BC's second NCAA championship on April 7, 2001. The two programs first met in the NCAA Tournament on March 14, 1963, in the national semifinals. UND won, 8-2. They met in the semis against on March 18, 1965 as BC went on to victory, 4-3. The two teams have split their quarterfinal showdowns. BC won, 3-1, on March 28, 1999 before the Fighting Hawks claimed the only victory over BC in Worcester on March 26, 2005 (3-6). For three-consecutive seasons from 2006 to 2008, BC and North Dakota faced off in the national semifinals. The Eagles won all three of those meetings, tallying six goals on each occasion. BC won, 6-5, on April 6, 2006 in Milwaukee followed by a 6-4 triumph on April 5, 2007 in St. Louis. BC went on to win the national title in 2008 over Notre Dame after beating North Dakota, 6-1, on April 10, 2008 in Denver. The Eagles and UND have squared off 23 times previously with the series deadlocked at 11-11-1. In the 23-game series, the Fighting Hawks have narrowly outscored BC, 83-80. A potential national championship game on April 9 would break the series stalemate. The two programs have combined for 12 NCAA national championships and 45 NCAA Frozen Fours. The two teams will see each other next season as part of the College Hockey Showdown, on December 3, 2016 at Madison Square Garden.
NOTES ON NORTH DAKOTANorth Dakota arrives in Tampa with the most victories of any club in college hockey, sporting a 32-6-4 mark, including a first-place mark of 19-4-1 in NCHC play. The Fighting Hawks skate into the second national semifinal riding a 10-1-1 mark after winning the NCAA Midwest Regional in dominating fashion. UND throttled Northeastern, 6-2, on March 25 and returned to outlast Michigan, 5-2, on March 26. In that Michigan contest, North Dakota threw a season-high 49 shots on goal, including a single-period-high 24 in the first period. The Fighting Hawks possess the nation's longest active NCAA Tournament streak, having made the dance the last 14 seasons. The 2016 berth marks the first under first-year head coach Brad Berry. The Fighting Hawks have made the last three Frozen Fours and eight out of the last 12, but have not won a national championship since beating BC in 2000. UND's defense is second in the NCAA (1.86 gpg) while the offense ranks seventh overall (3.64 gpg).
OFFENSIVE NUGGETS• The Eagles possess the nation's THIRD BEST scoring margin of +1.88 -- the Eagles have scored 154 goals this season and only surrendered 79 (3.85 goals for pg / 1.98 goals against pg)
• The 2015-16 Eagle offense has already surpassed last year's offensive output by 47 goals this year -- Boston College scored 107 goals last season while BC has already tallied 154 this season
• Three Eagles lit the lamp twice in the Northeast Regional --
Alex Tuch and
Austin Cangelosi turned the trick against Harvard while
Teddy Doherty scored a pair against Minnesota Duluth
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Teddy Doherty, a converted defenseman, turned in his third-career multi-goal game in the NCAA quarterfinals - he is third amongst all Eagles in career scoring with 22 goals and 57 assists
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Ryan Fitzgerald picked a great time to record his 100th-career point, scoring the game-winning PP goal against Minnesota Duluth to send the Eagles to the Frozen Four -- Fitzgerald skates into Tampa with 53 career goals and is tied for 18th, nationally, in scoring
DEFENSIVE NUGGETS• Boston College recorded its 10th shutout of the season against Vermont on March 11 - that is now a new school record, surpassing the old standard of eight set in 2005-06
• As a whole, BC's defensive unit ranks seventh nationally, yielding only 1.98 gpg (one of seven teams under 2.00 gpg ) - BC has kept opponents off the board 63-of-110 periods
• Boston College's penalty-killing unit has surrendered only seven power play goals in the last 19 games as the Eagles rank fourth in the nation at 87.9 percent (152-of-173)
• When holding a lead heading into the third period, the Eagle defense has been on lockdown, posting a 22-0-2 record with the advantage after two frames
• Third-year blue liner
Scott Savage recorded assists in both victories in Worcester, upping his season total to 17 helpers on the year -- the San Clemente, Calif. native matched his freshman point total (4-14-18) as a junior with one goal and 17 assists
THE COLDEST PROGRAM OF ALL-TIMEBoston College will make its 25th Frozen Four appearance this year, marking the most of any program in college hockey history. The Eagles were tied with Michigan for most all-time prior to defeating Minnesota Duluth to earn their eighth trip in the last 11 seasons.
EVENING IT OUTSince 2004, Boston College has played in the Frozen Four every even year and won the last three national titles on even years as well, including 2008, 2010 and 2012.
YORK AND THE FROZEN FOURJerry York will coach in his 13th Frozen Four and 12th at the helm of the Boston College program. York led Bowling Green to the Frozen Four (and national title) in 1984. In all, York is 14-7 in Frozen Four contests, including a 12-7 mark with Boston College and a 2-0 record at Bowling Green. York's 14 victories are tied for second most with former Denver coach Murray Armstrong (1958-72). If York were to win both games in Tampa, we would tie Michigan's Vic Heyliger (1948-57) record of Frozen Four victories with 16. He would also match Heyliger's record of six national titles.
WHAT UP, WORCESTER?Boston College has emerged from the Northeast Regional at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass. on seven different occassions now, including 2001 (BC 3, Maine 1), 2006 (BC 5, Miami 0Â //Â BC 5, BU 0), 2008 (BC 5, Minnesota 2Â //Â BC 4, Miami 3)Â //Â 2010 (BC 3, Alaska Fairbanks 1Â //Â BC 9, Yale 7), 2012 (BC 2, Air Force 0Â //Â BC 4, Minnesota-Duluth 0), 2014 (BC 6, Denver 2Â //Â BC 4, UMass Lowell 3) and 2016 (BC 4, Harvard 1Â //Â BC 3, Minnesota-Duluth 2). In all, the Eagles are 14-1 at the DCU Center with the lone loss coming against North Dakota in 2006. All four national titles under Coach York have originated in Worcester (2001, 2008, 2010 and 2012).
IS THAT GOOD?This year's Frozen Four puts history on display. North Dakota (14), Denver (9) and Boston College (7) possess the three-longest NCAA Tournament appearance streaks, in that order, while Quinnipiac makes its second overall appearance. Between the Eagles, Fighting Hawks and Pioneers, they have combined for 19 national championships as DU and UND both have seven while the Eagles possess five. Boston College and North Dakota have a storied history in the Frozen Four as the two programs have met fives times. BC is 4-1 in those matchups, including a 3-0 mark in national semifinals and 1-1 total in the national title game. Between all four schools, there are 62 combined Frozen Four appearance (BC: 25Â //Â North Dakota: 21Â // Denver: 14Â //Â Quinnipiac: 2).
NORTHEAST REGIONAL RECAPThree different Eagles each turned in multi-goal performances in the Northeast regional, including
Alex Tuch and
Austin Cangelosi (vs. Harvard) and
Teddy Doherty (vs. Minnesota-Duluth). Cangelosi recorded his fourth-career two-goal game and netted the game-winning power play goal. Tuch registered his third-career multi-goal game. Doherty's two goals also stood for his third-career performance. Four players were named to the Northeast Region All-Tournament Team following the conclusion of Saturday's game.
Thatcher Demko was named the Most Outstanding Player while
Alex Tuch,
Teddy Doherty and
Casey Fitzgerald also received accolades. Demko surrendered only three goals on a combined 63 shots (.952) while
Casey Fitzgerald finished with an assist and a +2 in the tournament.
BOSTON COLLEGE IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENTThe 2016 NCAA Tournament marks the 35th time the Eagles have earned a postseason berth. It is the team's 17th appearance in the last 19 years. Boston College sports a 49-41 all-time record in the national tournament. Head coaches John `Snooks' Kelley and Len Ceglarski both led BC to nine NCAA Tournament appearances, while
Jerry York has led the Eagles to 17 NCAA Tournaments in the last 20 seasons. Boston College has skated in the last seven-consecutive NCAA Tournaments, third most in college hockey (NoDak & Denver).
JERRY YORK AND THE NCAA TOURNAMENTJerry York has led his teams to 23 NCAA Tournament berths - six at Bowling Green and 17 at Boston College (out of 22 seasons at BC). York has a 41-22-1 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament and owns a 36-12 mark at Boston College. York's 41 victories are the highest total in NCAA Division I history. Twelve York-led squads have advanced to the tournament's semifinal/championship round and have won five of their last six semifinal games.
CURRENT EAGLES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENTFourteen of the 26 current Eagles have skated in an NCAA Tournament game prior to the Harvard contest. Through the 2016 Northeast regional,
Ryan Fitzgerald leads the Eagles in NCAA points with five (4-1-5).
Teddy Doherty,
Austin Cangelosi and
Alex Tuch all have a pair of goals while
Thatcher Demko owns a 4-2 mark with a 2.69 goals against average and a .912 save percentage.
POSTSEASON PRODUCTIONSince the 1997-98 season, Boston College has won nine Hockey East Tournament titles (1998, '99, 2001, '05,'07, '08, '10, '11 and '12), has advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Frozen Four 12 times (1998, '99, 2000, '01, '04, '06, '07, '08, '10, '12, '14 and '16) and has captured four national titles (2001, 2008, 2010 and 2012). During this stretch run, Boston College is 89-26 (.774) in 115 playoff contests.
RECAPPING THE HOCKEY EAST SEMIFINALSFollowing a 5-4 setback to red-hot Northeastern on March 18 in the Hockey East semifinals, the Eagles are now 16-6 in that round of the tournament. The contest started at 10:36 p.m., 2 hours and 36 minutes later than the scheduled start time due to the first Hockey East semifinal extending into triple overtime.
Miles Wood scored the contest's first goal 15 seconds into the game, marking BC fastest tally of the season.
CHAMPS ... 14 TIMES OVERBoston College's 3-1 victory over UMass Lowell on Feb. 26 guaranteed the Eagles the No. 1 seed for the Hockey East playoffs and a share of the regular season title. BC lost to the River Hawks the following night in the regular season finale and tied as co-champs with Providence. BC has been champs or co-champs in the regular season 14 times, including the 1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2013-14, 2015-16 seasons.
20 / 20BC skates into the Frozen Four with a 28-7-5 mark.
Jerry York has now led 23 of his teams to 25 wins or more in a season, including 17 seasons with 20 wins or more behind the Eagles' bench. This is the seventh-consecutive season the Eagles will have won at least 20 games and will be the 75th season in which Boston College has guaranteed more wins than losses. If BC wins the Frozen Four, York will have led six teams to 30 wins or more.
FITZY OPERATING AT 100Ryan Fitzgerald tallied his 100th-careerpoint in grand fashion in the Northeast Regional against Duluth. Fitzgerald scored the game-winning power play goal for his 100th-career point. He also scored the overtime winner against Vermont to clinch a berth in the Hockey East semifinals. His 53 career goals has him outside of Boston College's top 50 by only a goal. Fitzgerald is also one of 15 skaters in college hockey with at least three short-handed goals this season. Five of Fitzgerald's 50 goals at BC have come via short-handed. Fitzgerald has scored 23 goals and registered 23 assists in his junior season and is tied for 18th, nationally, in points per game this season with 1.18 ppg.
WHITE OUTColin White, who has registered 12 multi-point performances this season, is currently the 22nd most prolific scorer in college hockey and the fourth-highest scoring freshman with an average of 1.17 points per game. The Hanover, Mass. native is second on the Eagles with 42 points, notching 19 goals and 23 assists along the way. White is the first freshman since Johnny Gaudreau (2011-12) to score 40 points in his rookie campaign.
A GAME OF INCHESBoston College has averted either defeat or a forced overtime be mere inches in a couple games down there stretch. In the decisive game three of the Hockey East quarters vs. Vermont,
Michael Kim and
Miles Wood kicked a puck away that was resting on the goal line in overtime. In Worcester against Duluth,
Austin Cangelosi dove into the crease and swatted a puck away that was inches from the goal with 1.4 seconds left to avoid overtime.
HEADSTANDSDemko is currently fourth in the nation in save percentage (.936) and seventh in goals against average (1.85). His 10 shutouts are easily the most in college hockey this season. In league play, Demko's five shutouts are tied for second most in a single-season with UNH's Casey DeSmith (2012-13) and BU's John Curry (2006-07). His .938 save percentage in league play is tied for seventh best in a single season Merrimack's Rasmus Tirronen (2014-15), NU's Clay Witt (2013-14) and none other than his current goaltending coach at BC,
Mike Ayers. Ayers was a Second-Team All-American and finished with that number in 2001-02. For a career, the 6-foot-4 backstopper is 62-25-10 (.691) with a 2.07 goals against average and a .928 save percentage (2,601 saves on 2,803 shots).
QUICK DRAW CANGENot only has junior
Austin Cangelosi been the glue to Boston College's offense this season and increased his point total by 17 points so far from last year (currently T-62nd in college hockey with 0.93 ppg), but his is the NCAA's best faceoff man hands down. The Estero, Fla. native has won 63.7 percent of his draws, winning 533-of-807.
BROTHERLY LOVECasey Fitzgerald assisted on his brother's game-winning power play goal against Minnesota-Duluth to help send BC to the Frozen Four. That goal also stood as
Ryan Fitzgerald's 100th-career point. As a whole this season, Casey or Ryan have assisted on one another's tallies on six occasions and have both scored at least one point in a game on 15 different occassions, including a combined one goal and three assists against Vermont in game three on March 13.
SPECIAL TEAMS' TALESThe Eagles' power play ranks ninth in the nation, converting 35-of-163 opportunites at a rate of 21.5 percent. The penalty-killing efforts continue to dominate, ranking first in Hockey East and fourth, nationally (87.9 percent - 152-of-173).
THE LEGEND CONTINUES...Boston College coach
Jerry York reached the 1,000-win mark for his career in his 1,703rd game as a head coach. In all, York's record is 1,012-598-110 (.620) in 44 seasons at the head coach level and 545-263-76 (.660) in his 22nd season at the helm of Boston College. At the collegiate level, York is the 55th head coach to reach 1,000-career victories and the first to do so in college hockey. York remains the winningest coach in the history of the game. In his 1,000-career victories,
Jerry York has defeated 69 different programs spread out through his tenures at Clarkson, Bowling Green and Boston College. York also won his ninth Beanpot trophy on Feb. 8, 2016, checking off another record in the BC annals
