Men’s Frozen Four field set as Quinnipiac, Michigan, Minnesota, Boston advance
After Boston University and the University of Minnesota both advanced to the Frozen Four on Saturday, Quinnipiac and Michigan both won in comeback fashion to fill out the 2023 NCAA men’s national title field.
Quinnipiac scored three straight goals to beat Ohio State, while Michigan’s third-period effort led them to a 2-1 win over an inspired Penn State team.
The Frozen Four will take place in Tampa Bay on April 6 and 8, with a new winner to be decided after Denver’s early exit on Thursday in regional playoff action. The two semifinal games will occur on April 6, with the national championship game set for two nights later.
Over at the Bridgeport Regional, Ohio State needed just under two minutes to kick things off. On his first shift of the game, Joe Dunlap created a breakaway chance and made no mistake beating Yaniv Perets for the icebreaker. But goals to Christophe Fillion and Skyler Brind’amour just 15 seconds apart for Quinnipiac changed everything, giving the Bobcats a 2-1 lead heading into the first break.
It took nearly 12 minutes for Quinnipiac to get their first shot of the third, with Ohio State controlling the pace of play. But with over four minutes to go, Christophe Tellier scored one of the season’s best goals, tapping the puck over Jakub Dobes’ head before batting it in. The call on the ice originally was no-goal, with the play resuming for a few seconds before the refs had a chance to take another look and change their mind. That ended Ohio State’s comeback effort, with Quinnipiac sending themselves to the Frozen Four.
The action was intense throughout the first 40 minutes in the Allentown Regional. The teams traded 14 shots apiece in the first before Michigan took over, possession-wise, in the second. But Michigan’s offense kept coming up short thanks to the tremendous goaltending of Liam Souliere. He made 25 saves in the first 40 minutes, including a couple of big ones on an early power play for Michigan. The Wolverines’ inability to capitalize hurt them, and with 1:02 left in the second, Penn State managed to take the lead.
Michigan needed to do whatever it took to get on the board, and with under eight minutes to go, they got it. Adam Fantilli, the NCAA’s leading scorer and projected to go second overall in the NHL Draft, scored his 29th goal of the season on the power play to make it a 1-1 game.
That forced overtime for the first time in the regional championships. Mackie Samoskevich, a Florida Panthers prospect, scored his 20th goal of the season – and the biggest of his college hockey career – with a snapshot that beat Penn State goaltender Liam Souliere, who was otherwise fantastic with 41 saves. That win sent Michigan back to the Frozen Four, while Penn State missed out on advancing for the first time in the school’s history.