The final four games of the 2024-2025 college hockey season are here. They feature a matchup between two conference powerhouses in Western Michigan and Denver, along with a newcomer in the Penn State Nittany Lions and the returning Boston University Terriers.
The Crimson and Gold are looking to repeat for the first time since the 2004 and 2005 seasons and to be the first team to repeat since Minnesota Duluth in 2019.
The team in their way is the Western Michigan Broncos, a team Denver is quite familiar with, having played them three times this season, including the NCHC championship game where WMU beat Denver 4-3 in double overtime.
The Broncos are making their first appearance in the Frozen Four in program history and look to complete their most successful season after winning the NCHC. On the other hand, Denver is making its third appearance in the Frozen Four in four seasons, reflecting its dominance and experience advantage on the biggest stage.
Denver and WMU are the two best offensive teams in the country and have an extremely fast-paced offensive game. They each lead on their rush game and feed off the fast back-and-forth game.
But with highly offensive teams, it means relying on their talented goaltenders. For WMU, it’s Hampton Slukynsky, a calm, consistent netminder who stood out in the regionals, only allowing two goals on 58 shots in both regional games.
For Denver, it’s senior goaltender Matt Davis. Like Slukysnky, Davis is a calm, dependable netminder who comes up big when the team needs him to be. In the regional tournament, Davis only allowed two goals on 67 shots, continuing his dominance in the national tournament.
Another key player for the Broncos is Alex Bump. Bump scored two goals in the NCHC championship game, including the game-winning goal in double overtime. The 2022 Philadelphia Flyers’ fifth-round pick currently has 23 goals and 24 assists for 47 points in 40 games this season.
Another standout player for Denver is sophomore defenseman Zeev Buium, who took over the two regional games with five points, including a goal in each game.
The other Frozen Four game of Boston University against Penn State is an intriguing one, with Penn State making its first appearance in the Frozen Four while BU makes its fourth straight Frozen Four appearance.
Penn State’s strong showing at the Allentown regions lifted eyebrows, beating the No.1 team in their bracket in Maine. The top-ten Hobey Baker finalist, Aidan Fink, has been a driving force in the Penn State offense all season long, despite only having one assist in the regional.
Matt DiMarsico dominated in both games for the Nittany Lions, putting up three goals, including the game-winning goal against UConn to send them to the Frozen Four.
Along with DiMarsico, Charlie Cerrato was a playmaking machine, putting up five assists in the two regional games, including the game-winning assist to DiMarsico.
Penn State goaltender Arsenii Sergeev was a brick wall in the regionals, and in the UConn game, he made 42 saves on 44 shots and had a .955 SV%.
The Boston University Terriers are looking to win their first national championship since 2009, and it will rely on brothers Cole and Quinn Hutson.
Cole Hutson showed out in the Toledo, Ohio regional, putting up six points in two games with two goals and four assists, including three assists in their first game against Ohio State.
Quinn Hutson also had a strong regional with three points in the two games and a strong performance, being a large part of the offense for BU.
BU goaltender Mikhail Yegorov played outstandingly in the regional games, keeping them in the first game against Ohio State before the offense took over. In the regional championship game against Cornell, he made 37 saves on 39 shots in their 3-2 victory.
Denver and Western Michigan will be the first game of the Frozen Four on Thursday, Apr. 10 at 3 p.m. MST, and Penn State against BU will be the nightcap. As we approach the final few games of the season, there will be a lot of excitement, anxiety and thrill in St. Louis as the season comes to a close.
