There will be no national championship repeat for the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2012. Boston College saw to that Sunday night by turning back the Bulldogs 4-0 in the NCAA Northeast Regional in Worcester, Mass.
The top-seeded Eagles scored twice in a span of 86 seconds early in the second period and never looked en route to posting their 18th straight victory. They added a pair of goals in the third (despited being outshot 18-8) to advance to next month's NCAA Frozen Four. UMD, appearing in its third regional final in the past four years, finished the season with a 25-10-6 overall record.
"They got a couple of quick goals that put us back on our heels." said Bulldog head coach Scott Sandelin. "We made a couple of mistakes, which you can't do against that team," "We had opportunities on the power play to try and creep back in the game, but they did a great job killing penalties and their goalie was good."
The Bulldogs (25-10-6), who entered Sunday having won five consecutive NCAA playoff games, went 0-for-6 on the power play, and got 20 saves from senior goaltender Kenny Reiter. Eagle netminder Parker Milner was credited with 33 stops -- including 18 in the third period -- as he kept the nation's highest- scoring team off the board. Boston College converted on one of its four chances with the man advantage.
"[Milner] made some huge saves for them tonight and kept them in the game," said UMD center Jack Connolly. "And at some points, we didn't capitalize on some of the opportunities. I would rank him right up there as one of the better goalies we've ever seen this year."
Tonight's game marked the end of the collegiate careers for seven Bulldogs seniors: forwards Jack Connolly, David Grun, Travis Oleksuk and Cody Danberg, defensemen Brady Lamb and Scott Kishel, and goaltender Kenny Reiter. During the last four years, that group helpes capture the school's first-ever NCAA title last spring and a WCHA playoff crown in historic fashion three years ago. The group helped secure three NCAA playoff berths, and spent 12 weeks as the No. 1-ranked team in the country while amassing a 95-50-21 overall record.
Connolly, a two-time All-American and finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, was named to the six-member Northeast Regional All-Tournament Team along with junior center Jake Hendrickson, who scored a pair of goals in UMD's 5-2 semifinal-round win over the University of Maine.
"I'm proud of our team. I certainly want to make sure I acknowledge our seniors," said Sandelin. "It's been a tremendous group. Certainly they leave here with a national championship and kind of set a standard for our program that we hope to carry forward.".
