Who said the NCAA men’s Frozen Four in St. Paul didn’t have a bold Minnesota presence, even with the Gophers or any other state team absent from college hockey’s premier event?
Denver shuts out top-seed Boston College 2-0 to win Frozen Four title at Xcel Energy Center
Jared Wright, a former St. Thomas Academy standout from Burnsville, broke a scoreless tie in the second period for the Pioneers and Rieger Lorenz, a second-round draft pick by the Wild, stretched Denver’s lead.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
April 14, 2024 at 3:20AM
Two days after Tristan Broz, a Bloomington native and ex-Gopher, scored the overtime winner for Denver in a semifinal triumph over Boston University, Jared Wright, a former St. Thomas Academy standout from Burnsville, broke a scoreless tie in the second period for the Pioneers on Saturday night and sent them on their way to a 2-0 victory over Boston College in the national championship game.
Rieger Lorenz, a second-round draft pick by the Wild, assisted on Wright’s goal and stretched Denver’s lead to 2-0 in the second with a goal of his own to add some more Minnesota spice.
“Rieger made an awesome play to get it back to me,” Wright said of his tally. “I just kind of threw it blind to the net, and luckily enough it rolled in. It was a big goal.”
Pioneers goalie Matt Davis was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament after he made 35 saves, including an amazing third-period stop as the Xcel Energy Center crowd of 18,694 roared. Twenty-three of his saves came in the third — all of this against a Boston College team, stacked with four NHL first-round draft picks, that hadn’t been shut out all season.
“Superhuman,” Denver coach David Carle responded when asked to assess Davis’ performance. “… It’s incredible what he did. Without him, we’re not sitting here.”
The victory gave Denver (32-9-3) its second national championship in the past three years and a record 10th overall, breaking a tie with Michigan. The Pioneers, the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament, ended a 15-game winning streak for No. 1 overall seed Boston College (34-6-1). The win was Denver’s second this season against the Eagles, following a 4-3 triumph in Chestnut Hill, Mass., in October.
From the start, Denver was the aggressor defensively, pushing the Eagles to the perimeter and preventing their offensive stars from having space and time with the puck. The Eagles didn’t get a shot on goal until 7:41 had expired. The Pioneers outshot BC 8-5 in the first period and won 12 of 17 faceoffs.
“They were as stingy and tight defensively as we’ve seen this year,” Boston College coach Greg Brown said. “They played championship hockey.”
Wright put the Pioneers up 1-0 at 9:42 of the second on a rush when his sharp-angle shot hit the left post behind Fowler and caromed off Fowler’s back and into the open goal.
“I’m not sure there’s a faster player in college hockey,” Carle said of Wright. “His offensive confidence continues to grow. … He’s learning to score in different ways.”
Said Wright, “I’m just very lucky that this coaching staff saw something in me. I’m just very grateful for the opportunity here. Denver hockey is everything to me. I’m so proud to be a Pio.”
Wright had another scoring chance at 12:55, breaking in alone on Fowler, but the freshman goalie made a pad save. The Pioneers were buzzing, and they extended the lead to 2-0 at 15:16 when Lorenz took a pass from defenseman Zeev Buium and wired a shot past Fowler.
Boston College got its first power play at 1:29 of the third when McKade Webster was called for holding. Davis kept the Eagles off the board with a spectacular diving save of a point-blank shot by Ryan Leonard.
“I just saw the puck go back door again,” Davis said. “I was like, ‘uh-oh,’ and I dove over and made the save.” Upon seeing the replay on the videoboard, Davis said, “I just thought, ‘sweet.’”
Brown pulled Fowler for an extra attacker with 2:37 left. Davis made five more saves the rest of the way, and the Pioneers had their 10th national championship.
“We’re national champions. They’ll walk together forever,” Carle said of his players. “I’m so proud of them.”
• Joining Davis on the all-tournament team were Denver forwards Broz and Lorenz and Boston College forward Will Smith, plus Pioneers defensemen Zeev Buium and Sean Behrens.
First to 10
Denver broke its tie for most men’s hockey national titles, becoming the first program to hit double digits (Frozen Four appearances in parentheses):
Denver: 10 championships in 19 Frozen Fours
Michigan: 9 championships in 28 Frozen Fours
North Dakota: 8 championships in 22 Frozen Fours
Wisconsin: 6 championships in 11 Frozen Fours
Boston College: 5 championships in 25 Frozen Fours
Boston University: 5 championships in 24 Frozen Fours
Gophers: 5 championships in 23 Frozen Fours
Two offensive linemen from Lakeville, Bryce Benhart and Riley Mahlman, are standouts for Big Ten rivals of Minnesota.
