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Archives for April 13, 2024

Frozen Four: BC vs Denver for Title

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SAINT PAUL – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – A pair of storied programs, Boston College and Denver, face off for the NCAA men’s hockey championship Saturday evening in Minnesota. Boston College (34-5-1) is the top overall seed and is seeking its first title since 2012. Denver (31-9-3) is going for its second title in three years and its record 10th title overall.

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The stakes could not be higher, and players on both sides could not be more determined.

“Anytime someone commits to Boston College, it’s to win championships,” Eagles forward Cutter Gauthier said. “And we have an opportunity for that on Saturday.”

The same is true for Denver, which has won three straight games by a single goal.

“We’re just extremely confident,” Pioneers goaltender Matt Davis said, “and feel battle-tested.”

Boston College is coming off a dominant 4-0 win over Michigan in the NCAA Frozen Four on Thursday night. Will Smith scored two goals, Gauthier added another goal and Gabe Perreault finished the scoring to send the Eagles to the title game.

Gauthier leads the nation with 38 goals, which also is tied for the most in a single season in Boston College history. David Emma (1989-90) and Scott Harlow (1985-86) also enjoyed 38-goal seasons for the Eagles, and Gauthier has a chance to break the record Saturday.

Smith has 25 goals after his two-goal performance Thursday. The Massachusetts native watched the Eagles’ 2012 title run as a child and now has a chance to bring another championship trophy to Chestnut Hill, Mass.

“(If you had) told me as a kid, this would be kind of crazy,” Smith said. “I remember the days I was watching Johnny Gaudreau in the same Frozen Four. So it’s a dream come true. It would be unbelievable to get that trophy just like he did.”

Denver is coming off three consecutive 2-1 victories, two of which required overtime. The Pioneers outlasted Boston University for a 2-1 overtime win on Thursday in the first Frozen Four matchup.

Davis turned aside 33 of 34 shots for Denver, and Tristan Broz provided the winning goal with 8:51 remaining in the extra session.

Broz said he and his teammates never lost their cool in high-pressure situations.

“Just like Coach (David) Carle said, these 2-1 games can go either way,” Broz said. “There’s bounces that happen throughout the game, and you just have to stick with it and keep playing because those bounces happen. But you’re still in a tight hockey game.”

Both teams enter the final matchup on a hot streak.

Boston College is riding a 15-game winning streak. Its last loss took place Feb. 5 against Boston University in the city’s famous “Beanpot” tournament.

Meanwhile, Denver is 13-1-1 in its past 15 games.

The teams met Oct. 21, when Denver notched a 4-3 road win over Boston College. Carter King scored a power-play goal in the third period to lift the Pioneers.

“That was a long time ago,” Boston College coach Greg Brown said. “We’ve improved a lot. But that was a really fun hockey game.

“It was back and forth. It was two good teams both making a lot of plays.”

–Field Level Media

E-Sox Drop Another

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Angels outfielder Taylor Ward highlighted his three-RBI night with a home run while Reid Detmers threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings to lead the visiting Los Angeles  to a 7-0 win over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.

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Ward became the last Los Angeles batter to record one of the team’s 12 hits when he socked a two-run shot in the sixth inning.

Anthony Rendon, Nolan Schanuel and Aaron Hicks were all repeat hitters for the Angels, supporting Detmers (3-0) who struck out seven while allowing just three hits — none after the third inning — and two walks in his start.

Boston’s defensive miscues behind starting pitcher Tanner Houck (2-1) helped the visitors to take immediate control, never looking back after turning in a three-run first inning.

After Anthony Rendon sent a single into right and Nolan Schanuel was hit by a pitch to begin the Angels’ at-bats, Mike Trout reached on a fielder’s choice to load the bases as Red Sox shortstop David Hamilton bobbled a potential double play turn.

Another double play that wasn’t finished allowed Ward to reach and Rendon to score the first Angels run before Hicks’ line single to center in the next at-bat doubled the lead. After a wild pitch, Brandon Drury’s grounder made it 3-0.

Schanuel led off the Los Angeles half of the third with a ground ball single to second and scored the fourth Angels run on Boston center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela’s relay throwing error following the second of consecutive hits by Hicks and Drury.

The Red Sox had chances to break through against Detmers, recording hits in each of the first three innings including a Jarren Duran double in the third. Double play balls extinguished two of those opportunities.

A run of three straight one-out hits in the fourth ended with Schanuel roping a fly ball double to deep center, scoring Zach Neto to extend the Angels’ lead to 5-0.

In the sixth, Ward’s two-out, two-run homer over the Green Monster and everything in left-center field followed a Mike Trout single. Houck’s day ended there after 5 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs (four earned) on 12 hits while striking out just two.

Relievers Luis Garcia, Jose Cisnero and Hunter Strickland preserved the shutout over the final 2 2/3 perfect frames.

–Field Level Media

Bruins Face Penguins in Key Game

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PITTSBURGH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Pittsburgh Penguins are on some kind of roll yet are guaranteed nothing as they get ready to host one of the top teams in the NHL today, the Boston Bruins.

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Seemingly out of the hunt for a playoff spot late last month, the Penguins (37-30-12) have stacked together a 10-game points streak (7-0-3). Thursday, they beat Detroit 6-5 in overtime to move into the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

That means if they win their final three games, they are guaranteed a spot in the postseason.

Not that that will be easy for Pittsburgh, just as this stretch hasn’t been easy. Many of the bugaboos that have plagued them all season — blowing leads is at the top of the list — are still there. The Penguins have just been able to overcome them lately.

“For some reason, we like to challenge ourselves a little bit more than maybe we should,” said Pittsburgh goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, who has stolen the net from prescribed No. 1 Tristan Jarry and has started every game during the 10-game point streak.

In the critical game against the Red Wings — the teams were tied in points going into the game — the Penguins blew a two-goal, third-period lead before Erik Karlsson’s overtime winner.

Assisting on Karlsson’s goal was team captain Sidney Crosby, who has been the catalyst for Pittsburgh’s surge.

He has eight goals, 20 points in the 10 games. Thursday, his goal and two assists lifted him into 10th place all-time in the NHL with 1,591 points and gave him 1,000 career assists.

“He’s a special player; he’s an even more special person,” Crosby’s linemate, Bryan Rust, said. “He’s just leading this team right now. We’re just all getting in line behind him and doing everything we can.”

Boston (46-18-15) long ago established itself as a top team and Stanley Cup contender this season, but there is still work to be done over the final three games.

The Bruins have not locked up the Atlantic Division title, and still have a shot at the Eastern Conference championship and even the Presidents’ Trophy.

That’s a lot of home-ice advantage on the line in addition to bragging rights.

Boston also wants to fine-tune its game heading into the playoffs. The team has been off since Tuesday when its four-game winning streak was snapped in a 4-1 loss to Carolina.

“I feel good” about the team, defenseman Charlie McAvoy said. “(Tuesday) was just one game.

“I think we’ve displayed how we can play. … I think we’ve been working toward our game.”

The Bruins also could settle on a go-to goalie, Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman, for the playoffs, or could continue with a rotation of the two.

“Why are we talking about two weeks from now?” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery asked coyly.

In the game in Pittsburgh, there seems to be a good chance that veteran forward Pat Maroon will make his Bruins debut. He was acquired from Minnesota at the trade deadline but has been recovering from back surgery.

Montgomery put the odds of Maroon playing at 75 percent.

Maroon could replace James van Riemsdyk, who has just one point in the past 19 games.

–Field Level Media