CLICK HERE for Game Recap from Kristy McNeil and other pertinent information.

What just happened (TL;DR): Michigan was shut out at the Frozen Four for the first time ever. BC’s stars came to play, contributing on all four goals. Will Smith had two. Cutter Gautier and Gabe Perreault each added another one. Ryan Leonard added an assist. Frankly, Michigan didn’t play badly, they just made too many mistakes against the best college hockey team I’ve ever seen. While certainly disappointing, it wasn't really unexpected. This BC team is awesome.
 

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

Forward Notes.

-Numbers don’t tell the story of this game. Michigan had fancy corsi and shot totals, but I can remember like three good scoring chances at even strength. BC got the lead early, added to it, and then finished the game in the third. Once they were up three (and four), they just sat back in their phenomenal defensive structure and handled everything Michigan threw at them. Their elite talent made plays and got them the lead, so they didn’t need volume attempts or to take many chances all evening.

-Michigan’s Hero Line and Second line (Dylan Duke, TJ Hughes, and Garrett Schifsky) did create some chances throughout the game. They forechecked fine and did turn the Eagles over at times. They just couldn’t beat Jacob Fowler. Part of that was just missing the net with their chances. It was also not getting enough dangerous ones. Finally, Jacob Fowler was really good, and honestly made it look pretty easy. The Wolverines needed a subpar performance from Boston College. Instead, they got an A level effort and performance. It was always going to be tough to beat that.

-Alex tweeted about this, but I was noticing it as well. BC’s defense is just awesome. They’re so well-drilled and organized defensively. It seemed that every time Michigan would make a couple of nice passes to get a decent look, an Eagle moved into position and blocked the shot or got his stick in the passing/shooting lane. Offense is fun, but it does appear that once again, defense does win championships. This is the next step for Michigan to take. Look at how BC can still skate, pass, and score…but still be extremely defensively sound, protecting their goaltender.

Defense Notes.

-Michigan’s in-zone defense was actually pretty good on Thursday night. While there were some whiffs and DZTOs, Michigan also wasn’t living on the edge, asking Jake Barczewski to save them. They could not survive that way, and they didn’t have to do so. That’s a positive at least. They only gave up fourteen shots in the first two periods. The problem was that they did get beaten in transition by some Super Fast Eagles.

-Ethan Edwards got a little unlucky on the second goal. He was tying up his guy in front of the net and the puck was thrown into the crease…and hit off both of his skates before squeaking though Barzo’s pads and into the net. It was a very unfortunate occurrence and hard to really put much on Edwards for that. Aside from that, he skated and created well.

-Seamus Casey returned to the ice…and looked a lot like himself. He got beat positionally by a couple a bigger, really talented dudes. He also created in the offensive end. While nothing resulted in a goal, he did dangle a few Eagles and create chances. It was good to see him back after not seeing him much in Maryland Heights.

-Marshall Warren did not get the result he wanted, but I thought he played well. Warren looked good on both ends of the ice, and even drew iron with one shot. The thing to remember about him is how he progressed throughout the year and was one of the main pieces of Michigan’s defensive turnaround late in the season and in their tournaments. It’s too bad he’s out of eligibility. I’d like to see him in a second year in this program.

SPECIAL TEAMS CHART

Power Play. Michigan got one real power play and a couple of pieces of advantages. It’s hard to do much with a couple of 30 second chances, but on their one legit opportunity, Frank Nazar has the best look and ripped it high over the net. BC has a great Kill, and they mostly exacted their will upon the nation’s leading power play. Most of Michigan’s numbers came on their last power play when the game was 4-0, and BC took a penalty to prevent Michigan’s best scoring chance of the evening. 
 

Penalty Kill. Michigan was actually very good on the penalty kill on Thursday night. It wasn’t really a game for special teams, as each team had two split man advantages. Still on BC’s full power play, Michigan mostly just shut it down. This is more of a testament as to how far this unit has come. Once an abject disaster, it now locked down one of the best power plays in the country. Point for the coaching staff and players involved.

One Hero Save, here! (David Wilcomes)

GOALTENDING CHART

Notes. Jake Barczewski started in net and was…fine. Much like the rest of his season and Michigan career. It was good, even maybe exceeding expectations a little bit at certain times. Honestly, it didn’t matter how good he was because it’s impossible to win a game with zero goals. To his credit, he did make about 3-4 Hero Saves, including a couple of stretching pad saves at the post. I didn’t love him on the second and fourth goals. While the second was super unlucky, I never love pucks dribbling through goalies legs. He overcommitted a little on the fourth goal, getting outside the post…which in turn didn’t allow him to get back across to the far post on the wraparound. Not great, but it wasn’t wasn’t well-defended either. The first and third goals are highly dangerous OMR rushes. Should he save them? Not necessarily. Could he? Sure. Has he normally this season? No. Did he need to in order to give Michigan a chance? Yes. That’s why it was widely stated across Michigan Hockey coverage that Barzo would have to have the game of his life. He did not. That’s…okay though. He was good for the team, this season. He came up huge a couple weekends ago. He’ll be fondly remembered. He’s just not an elite goalie. Not everyone is. Thank you, Barzo, for Maryland Heights.
 

Where’d he go? Where’d WHO GO??? (David Wilcomes)
 

ODD MAN RUSH CHART

Notes. This is where the game was lost. BC generates a lot off the rush with their elite forwards. Michigan has been better as of late at preventing that. They were NOT on Thursday night (for the second straight year). BC got out early and often in transition and scored on their first two OMRs. After Casey was caught up ice in the early moments of the game, Ryan Leonard found Will Smith on a 2v1 (partially due to Truscott’s inability to take away the pass) for an easy chance to open the scoring. Cutter Gauthier also beat Casey into the zone and then fired the puck through Barczewski to make it 3-0, effectively ending the game. To Jake’s credit, he did shut down a breakaway later on in the third, once the outcome was decided.

BC got out in transition, but they also didn’t let Michigan do the same. The Wolverines created one 4v2…that ended up on Luca’s stick. His shot was deflected. That was it for Michigan. One rush. This is just another area that BC was definitely better and dominated. They’re the best for many reasons.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Eh. I’m disappointed, but I’m not surprised. That’s seems to be the theme of the night. When the better team wins, it’s probably good for sports. There’s a reason some teams are better, and if they didn’t win enough, what would be the point? Sure, Michigan could have played out of their minds, BC could have laid and egg, and puck luck could have just been Maize and Blue. But…that probably would have been a fluke…and definitely a long shot. In the end, Michigan had a successful season. The loss in Boston is still crushing. Tampa…frustrating. This one? It feels apropos. Michigan got better throughout the season, got robbed of a Big Ten Tournament Title, but got revenge in Maryland Heights after a memorable win over a great North Dakota team. Then, they ran into a Death Star and lost. This wasn’t their best team, and in the end, they overachieved…with one longshot at glory. While I’d like to win one of these at some point, ending the season at the Frozen Four every year? Not too bad.