Denver hockey escaped yet another tense affair on Thursday afternoon, with junior forward Tristan Broz triumphantly raising his hands skating towards his celebrating teammates after scoring his second overtime winner in three NCAA tournament games. DU hockey defeated Boston University 2-1 in a thrilling semifinal clash. 

In a game that looked on edge throughout, DU was able to survive thanks to solid goaltending, disciplined defending, and bending while not breaking to a relentless Boston University assault early in the game. Head Coach David Carle stuck to the recipe that got his team through the regionals. 

Boston University started the game with red-hot intensity, playing like they had a point to prove. Less than 30 seconds into the game, the Terriers freshman phenom and Hobey Baker winner Macklin Celebrini had a breakaway, forcing junior goaltender Matt Davis into an outstanding save. It was clear from that moment that Davis had lost none of the dominance he showed during the regional. 

Carle admitted that BU’s quick start caught them off guard. “They started quicker than we did. I think we felt like there was going to be a little bit more time and space based on what we played last weekend, what we watched in the Sioux Falls regional,” said Carle.

It looked like Denver would finally get a reprieve from the BU onslaught when Terriers forward Nick Zabaneh committed a penalty. However, instead of establishing momentum or taking the lead on the power play, disaster struck. Junior forward Jack Devine whiffed on a shot, leading to a breakaway opportunity for the Terriers, where Luke Tuch blasted the puck past Davis.

After the goal, Denver continued to labor their way through the first period, struggling to get going. They only managed three shots on goal in the first period, while Boston University had 10 shots. It was complete domination from the Terriers, with Denver lucky to only be down by one goal.

Junior forward Massimo Rizzo was on the fourth line for most of that first period, and despite missing the last 12 games with a lower-body injury, he looked like Denver’s sharpest player. As the game went on, Rizzo moved up the lineup, with Carle looking to make adjustments. By the end of the game, he was playing with Devine and Broz, a common first-line combination early in the season. 

“It was awesome to be back out there. I missed it. Great game to jump back into. The boys have been unbelievable. A lot of people stepped up. It’s been really cool to see different guys play different roles and the success our team has,” said Rizzo. 

The beginning of the second period was a lot like the first period, with Davis under assault and Denver looking to survive. However, as the period progressed, DU began to find a foothold in the game and BU’s ferocious pace began to taper off. 

Freshman forward Miko Matikka put together an outstanding shift that turned the tide of the game. After making play after play on the shift, his hard work finally paid off, when he set up sophomore forward Tristan Lemyre with a golden opportunity. Lemyre, who had only scored one goal all season, slid the puck between the goalie’s legs and into the back of the net to tie the game. Carle was proud of Lemyre’s effort and has resonated with his ability to be a “team-first” guy all season. 

“Really happy for him that he was able to get rewarded, scoring that goal. He’s done everything right. This year hasn’t always had the most opportunity, but he’s a total team-first guy. And, again, couldn’t be happier for him,” said Carle.

Denver would take the momentum from the goal, energetically pushing for the lead for the remainder of the period. Their best chance came inside the final minute of the period, when Devine set up sophomore forward Aidan Thompson with what looked like a tap-in to take the lead. However, Thompson was robbed by a jaw-dropping save from Terriers goaltender Mathieu Caron. 

Denver found their feet in the second period and that momentum carried over into the third. DU got multiple chances on the power play in the third period. While they would not get any power-play goals, the pressure would give DU energy and it stunted BU’s offensive thrust. 

DU got even more great scoring chances in the third period, with the biggest chance coming when Caron made yet another phenomenal save, this time on Devine. BU would also get their share of chances as well, with Jack Harvey hitting the post with less than four minutes remaining.

Tension filled the air, with both teams trying not to make any disastrous mistakes that would end their season. With less than 90 seconds left, it looked like BU made the fatal mistake. Dylan Peterson slammed junior defenseman Sean Behrens into the boards, which the officials called a major penalty on the ice. However, after review, the penalty was changed to a two-minute minor penalty, which BU would kill off.

After a regional full of nail-biting 2-1 wins, DU looked to do it again, heading into overtime with the game tied at one. After a cagey start to overtime, things heated up when there was a four-on-four after offsetting penalties.

Those were the most tense moments of overtime for Denver, with the speed and skill of Celebrini and BU defenseman Lane Hutson shining bright when they had more room to operate. Davis made a number of crucial saves to keep DU in it during that four-on-four.

After some more back-and-forth action, Denver would finally strike. In the words of the goal scorer Tristan Broz, “I just remember back-checking and I kind of got turned over to Behrens at the left faceoff dot. He made a nice pass to me in the middle. I knew it was a kind of 2-on-1. Riz had a little bit of a step on the guy. We ran that drill yesterday doing 2-on-1s and a few times I scored, just kind of no-look, trying to shoot five-hole. And just kind of blacked out at that moment and it happened to go in.” 

This third straight 2-1 win sets the stage for what should be a thrilling national championship against a stacked Boston College team Denver beat 4-3, earlier in the season. The game will be at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN 2.