NCAA FROZEN FOUR
Thursday semifinals, Saturday championship game in Buffalo, N.Y. • all games on ESPN2
Providence vs. Minnesota Duluth, 4 p.m.
UMD two wins from a repeat
Records: Providence 24-11-6, UMD 27-11-2
How they got here: Providence defeated Minnesota State Mankato 6-3 and Cornell 4-0 to win the East Region; UMD defeated Bowling Green 2-1 (OT) and Quinnipiac 3-1 to win the Midwest Region.
Friars at a glance: Providence features a clutch scorer in forward Josh Wilkins (16-29-45), who has seven power-play goals, plus Kasper Bjorkqvist (17-13-30) and Scott Conway (15-14-29). Goalie Hayden Hawkey is 24-11-5 with a 1.86 goals-against average and .920 save percentage.
Bulldogs at a glance: UMD's success is the product of balanced scoring and stingy defense. Seven Bulldogs have 20 or more points, led by forwards Parker Mackay (15-15-30) and Justin Richards (10-19-29) and defenseman Scott Perunovich (3-26-29). Goalie Hunter Shepard led the Bulldogs to the 2018 NCAA title and hasn't missed a beat this season, going 27-11-2 with a 1.82 GAA and .920 save percentage.
The Friars win if: … they get their power play going. Providence rallied from a 3-0 deficit against the Mavericks in the region opener by scoring four power-play goals.
The Bulldogs win if: … they play their usual, close-to-the-vest puck possession game and let Shepard take care of things. UMD thrives in tight, low-scoring games, as its six-game NCAA winning streak bears out.
