In 2024's men's ice hockey national championship game, No. 1-seed Boston College lost 2-0. And unfortunately for the BC Eagles, they didn't fare much better on Sunday night.
The Manchester Regional on March 30th resulted in a 3-1 victory for No. 3-seed Denver. They saw oals from Eric Pohlkamp, James Reeder, and an empty-netter by Zeev Buium, while netminder Matt Davis saved 35 saves to send the Pioneers to the Frozen Four. For the Eagles Teddy Stiga tallied the lone BC goal with Will Vote picking up the assist.
Boston College finishes the season at 27-8-2 overall, while Denver is now 31-11-1.
Final pic.twitter.com/Muc6QcC9yy
— BC Men's Hockey (@BC_MHockey) March 31, 2025
It was a disappointing ending for a BC team that had openly talked from the beginning of the season about having unfinished business, looking to avenge last year’s frustrating loss. The game against Denver was basically a retelling of 2024's national championship in which Davis caused BC to lose by recording 35 saves en route to being named the most outstanding player.
"It was like deja vu a little bit. They played a strong, strong game. It’s hard to beat a great team like that when you only score one, but really pleased with the effort and the pressure that we put on them."BC Head Coach Greg Brown
Both teams were unable to score on the power play during the opening period. BC outshot Denver 11-5 through the opening 20 minutes, but it was the Pioneers who held a 1-0 going into the first intermission as Eric Pohlkamp scored on a shot from the slot.
Denver doubled its lead midway through the second frame when James Reeder deflected a shot just in front of Fowler and the puck made its way into the back of the net. BC cut into the deficit just before the end of the second period as Stiga went five-hole on a breakaway to make it a one-goal game. The Eagles forced a turnover and Vote quickly made the stretch pass through the neutral zone to Stiga to make it a 2-1 game.
The Eagles outshot Denver 15-2 in the final period, but was unable to tie up the contest. Denver scored an empty-net goal with 3.4 seconds left in the third to seal the win.
Rangers prospects Gabe Perreault and Drew Fortescue were key members of the BC roster. Now that the season is over, maybe they can turn their attention to solely focusing on their future with the New York Rangers.