ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Tristan Broz scored his second overtime goal of the NCAA Tournament and No. 3 seed Denver beat No. 2 Boston University 2-1 on Thursday night to advance to the national championship game for the first time since winning the title in 2022.
 
Denver (31-9-3), playing in its 19th Frozen Four, seeks its 10th national title in program history on Saturday — which would break a tie with Michigan for the most in college hockey history.
 
Denver has just two losses since the start of February, going 14-2-1 in the last 17 games.
 
BU senior Luke Tuch opened the scoring at 7:45 of the first period with his 10th goal of the season. He stole the puck and went in alone for a shothanded goal. It was BU's fourth shorthanded goal of the season — and first scored by somebody other than Nick Zabaneh.
 
Boston University (28-10-2) entered 19-1-0 this season when leading after the first period.
 
Denver's Tristan Lemyre tied it at 1-all with his second goal of the season. He took advantage of a wide-open slot by beating BU goalie Mathieu Caron.
 
Broz scored from the top of the right circle at 11:09 of overtime by leading a 3-on-2 and sending a wrist shot through the pads of Caron. It was the 40th point of the season for Broz.

TEAM NOTES (DU):

• Denver is 18-15-2 in its 35 meetings with the Boston University Terriers.
  • The Pioneers are now 4-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament against Boston University.
  • Thursday marked the second meeting in St. Paul in the national tournament (2016: 7-2 Denver).
• Denver is now 12-6 all-time in the national semifinal.
• Thursday continued Denver's 33^rd appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history. DU owns a 43-25 all-time record in the national tournament.
• Denver improved to 19-9-2 in its last 30 top-3 match-ups, including 8-2-1 in the last 11 such meetings.
• With the win, Denver improved its now season-long win streak to eight games.
• 2024 marks the first national tournament in the program's history that has seen the Pioneers win two overtime games in the same tournament.
• Denver improved to 13-6 in the national semifinal round, entering Saturday with a 9-3 record in the national title game. 
• The Pioneers improved to 8-2 in its 10 national tournament games in Minnesota, including 6-2 in the Twin Cities. 
• Denver is 18-9 at the Xcel Energy Center since the building opened in 2000. 
• The Pioneers have won three-straight games by a score of 2-1 for the first time in the program's history. 

PLAYER NOTES

• National Goalie of March Matt Davis, who made his 25^th-straight start in net on Thursday, made 33 saves, while allowing just the one goal in the opening period. .
• Massimo Rizzo made his first appearance in the Denver lineup since February 3 against Western Michigan  (missed 14 games with a lower-body injury).
• Tristan Lemyre's goal in the second period was his second of the season (March 2 at St. Cloud State), and the sixth of his Pioneer career.
  Miko Matikka's assist was his 13^th of his rookie season, and his 33^rd point. The point was also Matikka's second of the NCAA Tournament.
• Tristan Broz scored his second overtime winner of the NCAA Tournament (March 28 vs. UMass in the first round). Broz scored his fourth game-winner of the season and the sixth of his career.
• Denver won its third 2-1 game of the tournament, its only 2-1 wins of the season.
• Sean Behrens game-winning assist was his 26^th of the season and the 70^th of his career.

UP NEXT: Denver will await the winner of the second semifinal between Boston College and Michigan. The Pioneers will play the winner for the 2024 NCAA Frozen Four National Championship on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT/4 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and 104.3 The Fan.

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