WMU, BU Advance to 2025 NCAA Title Game

Owen Michael's second goal of the game less than 30 seconds into the second overtime period propelled Western Michigan to a 3-2 victory over defending national champion Denver in the first NCAA Frozen Four semifinal tonight at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. 

WMU (33-7-1 overall), making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division I national semifinals, outshot DU by a 47-22 count overall, including 32-8 through the first two periods of play. The Pioneers (31-12-1), who had been seeking their third NCAA crown in four seasons and 11th overall, tied the game with two third-period goals, and got 44 saves in all from Matt Davis in his final appearance for DU.

In the nightcap, Jack Hughes recorded a goal and an assist, and Mikhail Yegorov made 32 saves to lead Boston University to a 3-1 win over Penn State. The Terriers (24-13-2), playing in their third consecutive Frozen Four, are now headed to their first national title game since 2015. Nicholas DeGraves scored for the Nittany Lions (22-13-4), who were skating in their first-ever Frozen Four since the program was elevated to varsity/NCAA status in 2013.

WMU and BU will now meet on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2) in the 2025 national championship game. The Broncos are seeking their first-ever NCAA championship, while the Terriers are after their sixth overall and first since 2009.

Denver Wins 10th NCAA Hockey Title Overall

Jared Wright and Rieger Lorenz scored goals less than six minutes apart, and Matt Davis stopped all 35 shots he faced as the University of Denver claimed the 2024 NCAA Division I men's hockey title on Saturday night with a 2-0 win over No. 1 Boston College in St. Paul, Minn.

Wright broke open a scoreless game at 9:42 of the second period when his shot from the left side glanced off the crossbar, off of BC goaltender Jacob Fowler (24 saves), and into the net. Lorenz, who assisted on Wright's goal, followed up with a wrist shot over Fowler's stick at 15:16 to give the Pioneers all the offense they would need on the night, before a crowd of 18,694 at Xcel Energy Center.

Davis, who earned Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player accolades, proved to be the difference, with 23 of his 35 saves coming over the final 20 minutes of play as the top-ranked Eagles attempted to claw back into the contest. BC also hit two posts in the game, while Davis stopped Will Smith on a first-period breakaway, and then added a point-blank arm save on Ryan Leonard's one-timer in-close in the final period. The Calgary native finished the 2024 NCAA tournament with a 4-0 record for the Pioneers, while stopping 138 of the 141 total shots he faced.

DU (32-9-3 overall) has earned two of the last three NCAA titles, and has now won a record 10 national championships overall, breaking the tie it had held with Michigan since 2022. BC (34-6-1), which was seeking is first national hockey title since 2012, saw its 15-game winning streak snapped as it was shut out for the first time in the 2023-24 campaign.

Next year's Frozen Four will be held in St. Louis, for the first time since 2007 when Michigan State defeated BC in the final.