Buckeyes, Wolverines advance to Frozen Four

Ohio State celebrates its 5-1 win against Denver. The Buckeyes are one of three Big Ten teams in this year’s Frozen Four.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Kevin Miller scored two goals Sunday as the Ohio State men’s hockey team beat Denver 5-1 in a national quarterfinal game at PPL Center to advance to the Frozen Four.

Ohio State celebrates its 5-1 win against Denver. The Buckeyes are one of three Big Ten teams in this year’s Frozen Four.

Matt Joyaux added a goal and an assist and Christian Lampasso had two assists for the fifth-ranked Buckeyes (26-9-5), who had a 2-0 lead after two periods. 

Ohio State now will face No. 11 Minnesota Duluth (23-16-3), which beat Air Force 2-1 in the West Region final Saturday, in the first national semifinal game at 6 p.m. April 5 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Dakota Joshua and Mason Jobst also had goals for Ohio State. Sean Romeo, who was named the Midwest Region’s most outstanding player, made 30 saves for the Buckeyes.

Tyson McLellan had the only goal for the third-ranked Pioneers (23-10-8).

After a scoreless first period, Ohio State got on the board just 3 minutes, 47 seconds into the second when Joshua scored on assists by Brendon Kearney and Tommy Parran. The Buckeyes then extended the advantage to two with 4:29 left in the period on Miller’s first goal of the game, assisted by Lampasso and Joyaux.

Joyaux then made it 3-0 Ohio State at the 9:27 mark of the third off a feed by Tanner Laczynski. McLellan then got Denver to within two with 8:39 remaining in regulation.

However, the Buckeyes got the goal back just 30 seconds later when Miller registered his second goal of the game. Lampasso and Ronnie Hein had the assists.

Ohio State finished off the victory with Jobst’s unassisted tally with 5:44 to go in the game. 

Michigan's Brendan Warren celebrates after scoring on Boston University's Jake Oettinger during the second period of the NCAA northeast regional championship hockey game in Worcester, Mass.

MICHIGAN 6, BOSTON 3

WORCESTER, Mass. — The 10th-ranked Wolverines scored three unanswered third-period goals to take over the national quarterfinal game against the No. 13 Terriers at the DCU Center.

With the victory, Michigan (22-14-3) will play No. 2 Notre Dame in the second national semifinal at 9:30 p.m. April 5 in St. Paul. The Fighting Irish, the third Big Ten team in the Frozen Four who also won the league’s regular season and tournament titles, beat Providence 2-1 in the East Region final Saturday in Bridgeport, Conn.

Six different players scored for the Wolverines. Jake Slaker had a goal and an assist, and Jack Becker had two assists. Hayden Lavigne stopped 24 shots, eight in each period, to record the win for Michigan.

Boston (22-14-4) rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game. Patrick Curry pulled the Terriers within 3-2 at the 11:08 mark of the second, then Drew Melanson tied the game at 3 with 16:30 left in regulation.

Then the Wolverines took charge. Slaker got the game-winner, unassisted, at the 6:27 mark. Nicholas Boka then scored with 3:42 remaining in regulation for a 5-3 Michigan lead. Nick Pastujov finished it off two minutes later.

Quinn Hughes put Michigan in front with 14:48 left in the first, off assists by Michael Pastujov and Becker. Jordan Greenway tied the game with 7:34 to go for Boston. Then the Wolverines’ Tony Calderone got the game’s only power-play goal at the 15:21 mark. Brendan Warren put Michigan up by two just 1:57 into the second.