TAMPA, Fla. – When Ethan de Jong scored an empty-netter with 1:48 remaining in Thursday night’s Frozen Four semifinal against Michigan at Amalie Arena, the Quinnipiac bench broke into a celebration.
So did the faithful in section 104 at Amalie Arena. That is where most of the Bobcats fans were assembled in what was noticeably a Michigan dominated crowd. The goal made it 5-2 and left doubt who was going to come out on top in what would be a 6-2 victory.
The Bobcats advance to Saturday night’s championship game against Minnesota, which defeated Boston University, 5-2, in the evening’s first semifinal.
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It is the third time Quinnipiac will play for a national title. Their most recent opportunity was at Amalie in 2016 when they lost to North Dakota. The program’s first shot at winning it all was 2013 when they fell to Yale.
While there is much satisfaction in reaching the championship game again, there is unfinished business to tend to.
“Obviously, the win is really nice,” said Sam Lipkin, whose goal 1:24 into third period gave the Bobcats a 3-2 lead and proved to be the game winner. “It’s great to be in the championship, but we’ve got to reset right now and get our minds wrapped around playing Minnesota.”
That shouldn’t be a problem.
Minnesota, the nation’s No. 1 team, was in a tussle with Boston University for two periods. The turning point came late in the second period when BU was called for three minors in the final 2:05. While the Terriers kept their finger in the dike as long as possible, including killing a couple of 5-on-3s totaling 1:55, defenseman Luke Mittelstadt scored with 20 seconds remaining in a 5-on-4 to give the Golden Gophers a 3-2 lead 1:40 into the final period.
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One minute, 49 seconds later, Mittelstadt scored again for a 4-2 advantage. The freshman defenseman came into the game with three goals in 36 games this season and tallied two huge goals for Minnesota in less than two minutes.
The Golden Gophers, who are in their 23rd Frozen Four, will be seeking to win it all for the sixth time, and first since 2003, the second year of back-to-back titles.
Minnesota fans showed up full force in the semifinal and will make their presence known Saturday.
“One thing I was really impressed with, boy, the Minnesota people that showed up,” said coach Bob Motzko. “What a crowd we had tonight. It was just fantastic, and nothing would have been
worse than having them stick around (for a couple of more days) without their team being here. So, we’re pretty fired up that we can all stick around for the next couple of days.”
Saturday night’s championship game will face off at 8:00 and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
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