MANCHESTER, N.H. – The University of Denver hockey team punched its ticket to the program's 20th NCAA Frozen Four.
The No. 3-seed Pioneers defeated the No. 1-overall seed Boston College Eagles 3-1 on Sunday night to win the NCAA Northeast Regional Final at SNHU Arena and advance to their sixth national semifinal in the last nine tournaments.
Denver will face West Region No. 1 seed and fellow NCHC-foe Western Michigan in the Frozen Four on Thursday, April 10 at 3 p.m. MT at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
Goaltender
Matt Davis made 35-of 36 saves in the victory and had a 106:32 shutout streak of BC that dated back to a pair of meetings last year, including a shutout of the Eagles in the 2024 NCAA National Championship Game.
Sophomore
Zeev Buium was named the region's Most Outstanding Player and had an assist on freshman
James Reeder's game-winning goal at 2:59 of the second period. The Hobey Baker Award finalist secured the victory with an empty-net marker with 4.4 seconds remaining.
Sophomore defenseman
Eric Pohlkamp opened the scoring with 1:41 left in the first period, burying a one-time shot off passes from forwards
Jack Devine and
Aidan Thompson.
Samu Salminen also had a helper in the contest on Reeder's marker.
Teddy Stiga tallied the only goal for Boston College, ending Davis' shutout streak with 53 seconds left in the second frame. Eagles goalie Jacob Fowler made 22 saves in the loss.
Buium thought he tallied earlier in the game at 11:46 of the second period to stretch the Pios' lead to 3-0, but the goal was overturned after BC challenged for offsides.
The Pioneers went 0-for-2 on the power play, while BC was unsuccessful in its lone man advantage.
Sunday's rematch was the eighth time that two teams met in the national tournament after playing in the NCAA Championship the prior year. It was the first time that the defending champion earned the victory in the rematch.
UP NEXT: The Pioneers' Frozen Four matchup with Western Michigan will also be a championship rematch, as those squads played in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game on March 22 in St. Paul, Minn.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Zeev Buium was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Northeast Regional and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by fellow defenseman Eric Pohlkamp, forwards Carter King and Aidan Thompson and goaltender Matt Davis.
- The Pioneers are now 5-1 in national tournament games against Boston College, winning each of the last three meetings.
- Denver is now 46-25 all-time in the national tournament and 17-3 in its last 20 NCAA games.
- Eric Pohlkamp tallied his 11th goal of the season, tying his total from his freshman season in 2023-24 at Bemidji State.
- The Pioneers improved to 3-0 in Sunday games this season.
- Matt Davis had a 106:32 shutout streak of the BC Eagles that stretched across three games, dating back to Oct. 21, 2023 at BC.
- Davis earned his 63rd career victory, tying Peter Mannino for fifth play on the school's all-time wins list.
- Zeev Buium now owns 98 career points as a sophomore defenseman.
- Denver is now 2-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament games in Manchester, New Hampshire.
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
18:19 DU (1-0) – Erick Pohlkamp took a pass from
Jack Devine and buried a one-time shot from the right side.
2nd Period
2:59 DU (2-0) –
James Reeder's shot from the left point got through traffic and surprised the BC goaltender as the puck went five-hole and into the cage.
19:07 BC (2-1) – Will Vote sent a leading pass to the neutral zone for Teddy Stiga, who scored five-hold with a backhand shot on a breakaway.
3rd Period
19:56 DU (3-1) –
ENG,
Zeev Buium fired the puck into the gaping net from his own zone.
