Frozen Four and Michigan Up Next for No.1 Boston College

NCAA Frozen Four National Semifinal

#1 Boston College: No. 1/1, 33-5-1, 20-3-1 HEA
Michigan: No. 8/4, 23-14-3, 11-11-2 Big Ten
Thursday, April 11: 8:30 p.m. ET at Xcel Energy Center (Saint Paul, Minn.)
TV (Stream): ESPN2 (ESPN+)
John Buccigross (play-by-play), Colby Cohen (analyst), Taylor Tannebaum (reporter)
Radio: WEEI 850 AM, Varsity App, BCEagles.com/Watch
Jon Rish (play-by-play), Andy Powers (analyst)
Live Stats: Thursday

SETTING THE SCENE
• No. 1 overall seed Boston College takes on Michigan in the National Semifinal in game two of Thursday's Frozen Four. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 8:30 p.m. ET from Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn.
• The Eagles are the No. 1 overall seed for the third time in 37 NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Boston College is making its 26th Frozen Four appearance, the second most all-time behind just Michigan at 28 appearances. The Wolverines are tied with Denver for the most National Championships, while the Eagles have five; tied with BU for the most in Hockey East.
• BC, which is No. 1 in the country for the 11th week in a row, is making its first Frozen Four appearance since 2016 and last won a National Championship in 2012.

EAGLES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
• Boston College is making its 37th NCAA Tournament appearance, the fourth most in NCAA history. The Eagles are 51-43 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• BC has won five National Championships and reached 26 Frozen Fours.
• The Eagles are 11-14 in 25 semifinal appearances. BC is 8-4 in the National Semifinal since 1998 and won five semifinal contests in a row between 2006 and 2012.
• Four Eagles have scored a hat trick in the NCAA Tournament; Doug Brown (1985 vs. UMD), Nathan Gerbe (2008 vs. North Dakota), Cam Atkinson (2010 vs. Yale) and Johnny Gaudreau (2014 vs. Denver).
• BC improved to 5-7 in overtime NCAA Tournament games with its win over Quinnipiac (3/31).

HOBEY HAT TRICK
• Cutter Gauthier was announced as Hobey Hat Trick Finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. The winner will be announced on Friday in Saint Paul.
• In the last four postseason games, Gauthier has totaled 12 points on five goals and seven assists.
• Three Eagles have won the Hobey Baker; most recently Johnny Gaudreau in 2014.
• Freshman Will Smith, who leads the nation in points at 69, was one of 10 initial finalists announced for the Hobey Baker Award last month.

RICHTER AWARD FINALIST
• Jacob Fowler posted his 31st win of the season in the NCAA Tournament's quarterfinal. He passed Al Montoya (Michigan, 2002-03) for the most wins in a season by a freshman across the NCAA.
• Fowler is first in the league and ranks sixth nationally with a .924 save percentage.
• The rookie's 2.20 GAA ranks ninth among NCAA goalies and is third in Hockey East.
• Fowler has been named one of three finalists for the Mike Richter Award, recognizing the top goalie in the country. BC's Thatcher Demko previously won the award in 2016.
• His 982 saves passed John Muse (2008-09) for eighth most in a season in BC history. Only six players in BC history have recorded 1,000 saves in a season.

KID LINE
• Boston College's all-freshman line of Gabe Perreault, Will Smith and Ryan Leonard has combined for 72 goals, 113 assists and 185 points.
• The trio is averaging 4.74 points per game, including 103 points in Hockey East play.
• The Perreault-Smith-Leonard line combined for nine goals and 12 assists in the Hockey East semifinals and finals.
• Smith (69) is the leading points-getter in the nation at 1.77 points per game. Perreault is third in the NCAA at 1.68 ppg and Leonard fifth at 1.51.

THE B-SIDE [VIA COLLEGE HOCKEY INC.]
• BC enters the Frozen Four on the longest active win streak in the country (14).
• The Eagles have made the biggest turnaround in wins among the tournament field this season at +19. BC went 14-16-6 last season and are 33-5-1 entering Thursday.
• Will Smith (69) and Cutter Gauthier (64) are the highest scoring duo in the tournament field at 133 points; 20 ahead of BU's Macklin Celebrini and Lane Hutson.
• BC's freshman class has totaled 218 points; the most in the NCAA Tournament. Fellow Frozen Four participants Denver (159) and BU (147) ranks second and third, respectively.

TRULY SPECIAL TEAMS
• Boston College's penalty kill is the top-ranked unit in the nation at 89.3%.
• BC ranks first in Hockey East on the power play and second in the NCAA, clicking at 29.9%.
• The PP has converted in 28 games this season.
• BC has scored 33 power play goals over its last 25 games, including matching a season-high four PPG against BU (3/23).

Gallery: (4-10-2024) Frozen Four Media Day