SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The Gophers entered Saturday's NCAA Sioux Falls Regional game against Boston College with several advantages. The crowd at the Denny Sanford Premier Center was mainly in support of Minnesota, and it was homegrown senior center Jackson Nelson. He was from near Magnolia, Minn., and was playing on his 24th birthday, having scored the game-tying and winning goals two nights earlier.
Boston College countered with two difference-makers in All-American defenseman Lane Hutson and freshman sensation Macklin Celebrini, who is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NHL Draft.
As it turned out, there was no storybook ending for the Gophers, and this time in St. Paul, they missed out on their goal of returning for Frozen 4 for the third year in a row. Instead, the Terriers went to Xcel Energy Center after a 6-3 win thanks to performances from Celebrini and Hutson.
After trailing 2-0 in the first period, Celebrini scored twice in the first 5:25 of the second period as the Terriers took a 3-2 lead. Hutson then scored to give Boston College a 4-3 lead with 4:24 left in the second game and the Terriers never relinquished the lead.
Gophers coach Bob Motzko brought out goaltender Justen Crouse with 2:07 left in the third to get an extra attacker, but Case McCarthy scored an empty-net goal on a clearance from the Terriers zone. They led 5-3 with 1 minute and 45 seconds left. Sam Stephens added a second empty-netter with 33 seconds left.
Nelson and Bryce Brodzinski scored in the first period to give the Gophers a 2-0 lead, and Aaron Hugren tied it at 3-3 midway through the second period. Close made 32 saves.
Quinn Hutson scored late in the first period to spark a comeback for the Terriers, then Stacey, Minn.'s Shane LaChance and Jack Harvey scored on a Celebrini setup to put BU up 3-2 in the second period. he led. Goaltender Mathieu Caron made 25 saves.
The Terriers (28-9-2) will play Denver, which defeated Cornell 2-1 in the Providence regional final, in the Frozen Four semifinals on April 11. The remaining two Frozen Four qualifiers will be determined on Sunday.
After losing 3-2 in overtime to Quinnipiac in last year's NCAA Championship Game, the Gophers finished 23-11-4, falling short of advancing to the next step.
The Terriers continued to play well, hitting their first four shots on goal in the first 2 minutes, 23 seconds. BU pinned the Gophers in their own territory from 5:10 to 6:15, with Crouse making five saves.
However, Minnesota responded to the upset and took a 1-0 lead at 7:19. Brodzinski fed Nelson, who beat Caron with a shot from the right circle for his third goal of the tournament, and Brodzinski also had an assist for his third goal. Sam Lindsell had the second assist.
At 11:42, Caron had to make a big stop on Nelson, who was alone in front of the net, to keep it 1-0.
The Terriers almost tied it at 13:04, but Crouse made a sliding stop on Stevens in front of the net. Boston U kept up the pressure and got a shot on goal advantage to make it 14-4 at the 13:31 mark.
The Gophers counter-punched and took a 2-0 lead at 17:47 with Brodzinski's goal off a Rhett Pitlick feed following a Terriers turnover.
Boston U got back into the game at 18:01 when Quinn Hutson tipped the puck in and Crows couldn't dispose of it cleanly.
The Terriers quickly tied the score at 2-2 in the second set with great play from Celebrini. The freshman and likely No. 1 overall pick in the NHL draft got the puck at the Gophers' blue line, stick-handed past a Minnesota defender, drove to his right, then spun around to send a pass to LaChance. , LaChance defeated Close in 1 minute 17 seconds.
Celebrini's play in the Minnesota zone gave the Terriers the first goal. Chebrini's strong forecheck spilled the puck, and he gathered it in the back of the net, forcing Harvey to take a quick shot and beat the Crows for a 3-2 lead at 5:25.
The Gophers continued to apply pressure on the Terriers' side, which was rewarded with the tying goal. Huegren buried a rebound of Brody Lamb's shot to beat Caron and make it 3-3 at 9:20 of the second game.
At 10:46, Nelson broke through against Caron, but the goalie made a stick save.
The Terriers took a 4-3 lead at 15:36 of the second when Lane Hutson drove to the net and found a hole to beat Crows.
Minnesota looked for a tying goal in the third period, but the Terriers continually cleared the zone, limiting the time the Gophers had the puck.
At 11:23 of the third, Caron made a tight save on defenseman Cal Thomas on the Gophers' fourth shot of the period. Shortly after, Nelson led a 2-on-1 break and had a one-timer on a feed to Brodzinski, but couldn't get a good shot off.
