PROVIDENCE, R.I. ― No. 1 found a way.
Boston College never led in regulation, but graduate transfer Jack Malone’s rebound goal at 3:06 of overtime capped off the team’s two-goal comeback en route to a 5-4 win over reigning national champion Quinnipiac in Sunday’s Providence Regional title game at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
The Eagles’ 14th consecutive win moved them along to the Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn., where archrival Boston University will also be a part of the field following its 6-3 victory over Minnesota in the Sioux Falls Regional on Saturday night.
This Frozen Four will mark the second straight to feature two New England teams after Quinnipiac and Boston University competed in Tampa. Still, the two Commonwealth Avenue archrivals remain in the bracket together for the first time since 1990.
Here are five takeaways from the second round.
More than just stars
There’s no doubt that the Eagles have gone as the likes of freshman linemates Gabe Perreault, Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.) and Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) and sophomore star Cutter Gauthier have gone all season long, but you can’t be the No. 1 team in the country with just stars.
There’s no better case in point than Malone, who has been the glue of an important third line alongside ex-BU winger Jamie Armstrong (Warwick, R.I.) and senior Colby Ambrosio. The Cornell graduate has led the way for the trio from an offensive standpoint, scoring six of his 12 goals since the start of February and standing as one of six double-digit goal scorers on the roster.
“They’re very reliable,” BC coach Greg Brown said of the experienced trio. “It’s great because they also add to the scoring like tonight, but the dependability, the reliability, the calmness they have in the locker room is invaluable. If a game is getting away from us or the other team is pushing, that line can go out and steady it.”
JACK MALONE CALLED GAME!!!! 🔥#NCAAHockey x 🎥 ESPNU / @BC_MHockey pic.twitter.com/g7Av9n31fj
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 31, 2024
In overtime, it’s not always a pretty play that gets the job done.
Freshman defenseman Drew Fortescue’s point shot started the play on the winner, but Ambrosio got a key touch that Quinnipiac senior goaltender Vinny Duplessis lost track of in the crease and allowed Malone to come in for the rebound.
“Something we wanted to do more of was get more traffic to the net and throw pucks on,” Malone said. “[Fortescue] did a great job of creating a lane and getting it to the net. Colby did a great job of getting a piece and creating some chaos in front. I just tried to funnel towards the net and pick up the change.”
The kids grew up
On Sunday, a Frozen Four berth was on the line between Boston College and Quinnipiac. The two teams opened the season against one another on Oct. 7 in Hamden, Conn. The Eagles also came out with an overtime win in that game on the strength of a Gauthier winner for a 2-1 final.
So much has changed for Brown’s club since, especially given its status as the youngest team in the country. The instant chemistry of Perreault, Smith and Leonard from the U.S. National Team Development Program gave Brown an easy start to assembling his lineup, but plenty of the pieces around them ― including freshman defenseman Aram Minnetian whose goal with 4:44 left forced overtime ― were also getting accustomed to the college game.
“It was a very tough battle the first game just like today, so you could see that both teams got much better. I think you saw improvement from both teams,” Brown said. “It was a much tighter, more cohesive hockey game tonight than it was the first game of the year. When you have that many new players, it’s going to take some time adjusting with a new coach and everyone other than Smith’s line having new linemates.”
After Quinnipiac took a quick 2-0 lead less than two minutes into the second period, Leonard stepped up at two crucial times and helped to force a 3-3 game through 40 minutes, giving him 31 tallies on the season.
Leonard’s first goal got BC on the board off a Gauthier feed before his wraparound stuff knotted the score with just 2:05 left before intermission.
Ryan Leonard thrives in big moments. pic.twitter.com/5SRlh19eGq
— Jonny Lazarus (@JLazzy23) March 31, 2024
In such tight-game situations, it takes a whole lot more than chemistry.
“I think everyone on the team just had to know that their moment was going to come, and when it comes you’ve got to shine,” Leonard said. “I think we’re all trying to pull the right end of the rope and do it together. We’re all in it together. … It doesn’t matter the stage, we’re always going to play to our best capability.”
Dethroning the champs
With Quinnipiac’s loss, there will be a new national champion. Minnesota Duluth remains the last to repeat in 2018-19.
While the mission fell short this time around, the Bobcats were an experienced group that rode on the backs of experienced players like junior assistant captain Jacob Quillan, the hero of last April’s national title game against Minnesota who netted the opening goals of the second and third periods.
PREP COACHING CHANGES: Paul Pearl to become Dexter Southfield AD
In the eyes of Bobcat coach Rand Pecknold, it was not for a lack of effort. His team controlled 5-on-5 play for the majority of the game and led in shots for two of the three periods in regulation, but it was the Eagle power play ― working at a whopping 29.9 percent for the season ― that made the difference with a pair of tallies.
“I thought the battle level was excellent, the passion was there. We wanted it,” Pecknold said. “It was a great game against Wisconsin on Friday (and another) great game tonight. It’s disappointing right now, but I love this group. It’s a great group.”
Graduate captain Jayden Lee and fellow defenseman CJ McGee were two of the last players to leave the ice, taking a moment to soak in their last time together wearing Bobcat blue and gold. They were a part of the program reaching the top of the mountain a year ago and keeping it on the road to sustained success.
“(This program) means everything to me. It’s a brotherhood,” said Lee. “It’s hard to put into words, but since the first day I set foot on campus, I’ve just been able to grow as a person and a hockey player. … CJ and I have been through a lot together, we’re roommates. It just means the world.”
Terriers trust freshmen
The success of Macklin Celebrini as a 17-year-old freshman stands out on the scoresheet and has been a driving force for Boston University getting to this point.
As far as clinching another Frozen Four berth, though, it may have been Shane Lachance (Andover, Mass.) and Jack Harvey ― the likely No. 1 overall draft pick’s wingers over the last 10 games ― who carried the Terriers over the top in their 6-3 wins over RIT and Minnesota this weekend. The trio combined for a 4-7-11 line, with Celebrini going for multi-point efforts and Harvey scoring in each game.
— Boston Hockey Blog (@BOShockeyblog) March 30, 2024
“They produce every night. They complement each other well,” BU coach Jay Pandolfo said. “Shane’s a bigger body who gets to the net. Macklin, obviously, drives the play to the middle of the ice. And Harvey is just really calm with the puck and he can finish. It’s been a good mix for us, and they don’t seem rattled by the big moments.”
Pandolfo has praised Lachance for his ability to play up and down the lineup all season, having begun the season on a fourth-line role before moving to his current position atop the line chart. Of course, Celebrini has led the way and added to his rookie resume by becoming the first freshman since 2005-06 to record 30 goals and 30 assists in the same season.
BU takes care of business
BU also showed a high level of resiliency to defeat the Golden Gophers, overcoming an early two-goal deficit to score once before the end of the first period and three times in the second on Saturday.
ROUND 1: 4 takeaways from the first round in the NCAA Tournament regionals
A three-goal run that began late in the second period with sophomore defenseman Lane Hutson’s eventual winner ― a great individual effort that saw him deke his defender to create open space in the bottom of the left circle ― was the ultimate difference. The goal helped him reach a career-high 49 points for the season.
“We just stuck to the game plan,” Pandolfo said. “To go into the third period in the lead and to play the way we did in the third period says a lot about our group. We’ve had a much better second half of the year extending leads and finishing the game off. Our guys were excellent in the third period.”
The Terriers had a 15-9 shot advantage in the third and clinched their second straight Frozen Four trip.
