PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Graduate student Jack Malone (Spring Lake, N.J.) scored early into overtime to give No. 1 Boston College a 5-4 win over Quinnipiac in the NCAA Regional Final on Sunday to advance to the program's 26th Frozen Four. The Eagles improved to 33-5-1 with their 14th straight win to match the program record for wins in a season.
Freshman Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) was named the Providence Regional Most Outstanding Player with a second-consecutive two-goal performance.
Quinnipiac (27-10-2) scored two goals, including one on the power play, just 35 seconds apart early in the second period to take a 2-0 lead. BC tallied its first goal of the night less than a minute later with a power play of its own. Senior Eamon Powell (Marcellus, N.Y.) made the pass to sophomore Cutter Gauthier (Scottsdale, Ariz.) on the right side, who immediately found an open Leonard in front of the net.
The Eagles tied things up midway through the middle frame when sophomore Andre Gasseau (Garden Grove, Calif.) scored his 12th goal of the season just nine seconds after the Bobcats killed off a power play. Quinnipiac took another lead late in the third, but Boston College responded once again when Leonard scored his second power play goal of the night.
Quinnipiac took a 4-3 lead just 16 seconds into the third on Jacob Quillan's second of the game and held onto that lead for the majority of the period. With under five minutes to go, freshman Aram Minnetian (Woodcliff Lake, N.J.) tallied his third goal of the year to tie the game. After forcing a turnover, Minnetian connected with Gauthier and Oskar Jellvik (Täby, Sweden) before receiving the puck again and slotting a shot past the goaltender.
Malone followed up on a loose puck in front of goal early in the extra period, putting home his shot to send the Eagles to the Frozen Four.
Leonard, Powell and freshman goaltender Jacob Fowler (Melbourne, Fla.) earned spots on the Providence Regional All-Tournament Team. Fowler stopped 26 shots in the win to earn his 31st victory and break the NCAA record for wins in a season by a freshman.
Quinnipiac netminder Vinny Duplessis made 23 saves.
SCORING
2nd 1:19 QU Jacob Quillan (Travis Treloar, Jayden Lee) - PP
2nd 1:54 QU Iivari Räsänen
2nd 2:20 BC Ryan Leonard (Cutter Gauthier, Eamon Powell) - PP
2nd 11:35 BC Andre Gasseau (Oskar Jellvik, Lukas Gustafsson)
2nd 15:59 QU Christophe Fillion (Charles Alexis Legault, Iivari Räsänen)
2nd 17:55 BC Ryan Leonard (Will Smith, Eamon Powell) - PP
3rd 0:16 QU Jacob Quillan (Collin Graf, Charles Alexis Legault) - PP
3rd 15:16 BC Aram Minnetian (Cutter Gauthier, Oskar Jellvik)
OT 3:06 BC Jack Malone (Colby Ambrosio, Drew Fortescue)
GAME NOTES
- BC qualified for its 26th Frozen Four, tied with Michigan for the most all-time.
- BC advanced to the Frozen Four out of Providence for the first time in four tries and improved to 7-6 all-time at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.
- BC matched the program record for wins at 33, which was previously set in 2001 and 2012.
- BC defeated the defending National Champion in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012 (Minnesota-Duluth).
- BC became the first team in the country to defeat the defending National Champion in the regular season and the NCAA Tournament for the first time since UMD beat fellow WCHA member Minnesota (2004) and the first non-conference opponent to do so since Maine twice beat Lake Superior State (1993).
- BC became the first team in the country to defeat the defending National Champion
- BC is 51-43 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
- BC is 2-4-2 all-time against Quinnipiac and 1-1 against the Bobcats in the NCAA Tournament.
- BC is 3-1 in overtime this season and 5-7 in overtime games in the NCAA Tournament.
- BC has won 14 in a row; the first unbeaten streak of 14 or more games by a Hockey East team since UMass' 14-game streak on the way to its 2021 National Championship.
- BC is 7-3-1 when the opponent scores first.
- BC scored two or more goals on the power play for the 14th time this season and fourth consecutive game.
- BC's 179 goals are the most since scoring 171 in 2010.
- Fowler won his 31st game, which is now the most in NCAA history by a freshman, surpassing Michigan's Al Montoya (2002-03).
- Gasseau scored his 12th goal of the season.
- Gauthier assisted on BC's first goal of the game to reach the 100-point mark in his career, becoming the 84th player in program history to reach that mark and first since Logan Hutsko (2017-21).
- Gauthier (37) and Leonard (30) became the first BC teammates with 30 or more goals each since Jeff Farkas (33) and Brian Gionta (32) in 1999-00.
- Leonard recorded his eighth multi-goal game of the season to push his total to 31 and break Brian Gionta's (1997-98) single-season goal record by a BC freshman.
- Minnetian scored his third goal of the season.
- Smith dished out his NCAA-leading 46th assist of the season to tie Dave Emma (1990-91) for second most in a season in BC history.
UP NEXT
Boston College will play the winner of Michigan in the Frozen Four on Thursday, April 11.
