No. 2 Terriers take 22nd trip to Frozen Four

Before the 2014-15 season even started, the No. 2 Boston University men’s hockey gathered for informal practices in the late summer months, and finally skated as team when the calendar hit September.

A year removed from a 10-win season, those not on Commonwealth Avenue did not have high expectations at that point in time for the team. But head coach David Quinn and the rest of his staff said they saw things differently.

The Terriers (25-7-5, 14-5-3 Hockey East) were bringing back a solid corps of veterans and gaining a top-notch freshman class that was as good as any in the country. All together, even from the start, the coaches thought this team could make a deep run in the postseason. To those outside of the BU bubble, it might’ve been a crazy thought.

“In September, as school started and the guys started skating together,” Quinn said, “as a staff, we kind of sat down and thought to ourselves, ‘This could be a special year.’”

Seven months later, and Quinn is looking like a prophet. The second-ranked Terriers are just two wins away from their sixth national title. They’ll first face No. 3 University of North Dakota in the semifinal game of the Frozen Four on Thursday night.

Without balance, Quinn said, this team would not have had as much success as it has had in the 2014-15 season.

“Well, obviously our team is very excited about being here,” Quinn said. “A lot of hard work, starting with talent, teamwork, commitment, great goaltending, great D core and a great group of forwards. We know how hard it is to get here. Our guys aren’t taking this for granted. It’s amazing what happens during the course of a season.”

Freshman center Jack Eichel, whose NCAA-leading 67 points have him at the top of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award list, reiterated a lot of what his coach said. These Terriers are a tight-knit bunch, and that’s proven beneficial down the stretch this season.

“I’ve been around a lot of teams that come together, and I can’t really mention one that I’ve been truly closer with in terms of just going through everything on a day-to-day basis, good or bad,” Eichel said. “I was fortunate to play at the [United States] NTDP for two years, and we got really close as a group, but I never thought after that that I would get closer to a group.”

After a regular season where the Terriers claimed the Beanpot and Hockey East title, the Terriers rolled through the Hockey East Tournament en route to a top seed in the NCAA Northeast Regional.

It wasn’t easy in Manchester, New Hampshire, but the Terriers eked out back-to-back 3-2 wins over No. 17 Yale University and No. 7 University of Minnesota Duluth. BU scored a combined four goals in the third period or overtime in those two contests, including senior assistant captain Evan Rodrigues’ regional-clinching goal over Duluth (21-16-3). Now, with 68 goals in the third period this season — 45.3 percent of the team’s total goals — it’s past the point to say BU prefers to score late in games. But with even stiffer competition looming, the Terriers will most likely not be able to rely on just a strong final 20 minutes.

In Thursday’s semifinal game, the Terriers are going to get tested by another prestigious hockey institution in North Dakota (29-9-3), which is in pursuit of its eighth national championship.

Head coach Dave Hakstol rolls out a squad that is balanced in multiple facets of the game, possessing the nation’s eighth-ranked offense (3.29 goals per game) and its seventh-ranked defense (2.17 goals allowed per game).

UND might not possess a go-to scorer in the same vein as Eichel, but what it lacks in individual production, it certainly makes up for in depth.

Fourteen active skaters on North Dakota’s roster have registered at least 13 points on the year, with nine notching 20 or more points, giving UND the ability to roll out three to four potent lines on a whim.

Leading the way for North Dakota on offense is junior Drake Caggiula, who leads the team in points (36) and goals (18). UND has also received a boost from brothers Jordan and Nick Schmaltz, who rank third (27) and fourth (26) on the team, respectively, in scoring.

BU, and more importantly, junior goaltender Matt O’Connor have seen this offense before. Though it was over a year ago, the Terriers faced North Dakota at Agganis Arena for a two-game series in November 2013. BU took three out of four possible points that weekend, including a game in which O’Connor made a career-high 55 saves.

O’Connor, at times, has been questioned for handling rebounds over his BU career. He said that’s something he’s looking to be in command of Thursday night against a formidable UND offense.

“I think just working on rebound control is something every goalie can work on, and I’m hoping to eat up a lot of pucks tomorrow night and put everything in the corner, especially with a lot of good shooters on North Dakota,” O’Connor said. “They’ll be putting a lot of rubber on net, maybe from bad angles, so I’ve got to be alert, get to my spots quick and hopefully make things easier for my D.”

While UND possesses a deep corps of skaters, its gameplan begins and ends with their goaltender, junior Zane McIntyre.

McIntyre, a Hobey Baker Memorial Award Hat Trick finalist alongside Eichel, has been dominant between the pipes this season, compiling a .931 save percentage, 2.00 goals-against average and a 29-9-3 record in 41 games.

On special teams, the Terriers will have to be mindful of North Dakota’s opportunistic penalty-kill unit. UND ranks 24th in the country with a 84.8 percent success rate on the penalty kill while also leading all Div. I programs with 11 shorthanded goals on the year.

On paper, this matchup looks as even as it can get. One small advantage could make a big difference in determining the outcome. One many have pointed to is BU’s luxury of playing in Boston and in TD Garden, where it has already won four games this season.

It might provide a calming effect early, but once the puck is dropped, Quinn said it doesn’t really matter where the game is being played.

“I really think once the game starts, you get so enthralled with what you’re doing,” Quinn said. “Obviously, we probably will be able to respond to the crowd and the support they’re going to give us, but we know we’re playing a great team, and if we’re jumping to any conclusions that we’re at some huge advantage because of the fact that we’ve played in this venue four other times and we’re going to have a huge advantage with the crowd, we’re sadly mistaken.

“I know we’re smarter than that.”