ST. LOUIS - The No. 8/3 Boston University men's ice hockey team fell to No. 3/1 Western Michigan, 6-2, in the NCAA title game on Saturday evening at the Enterprise Center.
Down 3-2, the Terriers threatened early in the final period before the Broncos widened their lead and went on to capture the first national title in program history.
Freshman Cole Eiserman and sophomore Shane Lachance scored goals for the Terriers, who finish the season with a record of 24-14-2.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Broncos scored just 1:38 into the contest as a bid just inside the zone by Iiro Hakkarainen was tipped in by Wyatt Schingoethe to give them an early lead.
- BU got an equalizer at the 7:12 of the first as WMU netminder Hampton Slukynsky lost sight of the puck off a Devin Kaplan shot and Eiserman poked it in for his 25th tally of the season.
- The Terriers committed the first penalty of the contest midway through the first but the penalty kill was up to the task to keep it a 1-1 game.
- WMU regained the lead before the end of the period, however, as Cole Crusberg-Roseen intercepted a BU clearing attempt and found the back of the net from the right circle with 4:59 remaining in the frame.
- The Broncos upped their lead to 3-1 at 5:18 of the second when a rebound fell to the stick of Ty Henricks and he buried the chance at the foot of the left circle.
- BU's first power-play chance of the contest allowed the Terriers to make it one-goal game once again.
- A shot by junior Ryan Greene was initially stopped by Slukynsky but Lachance, who just above the crease, quickly jabbed at the puck and knocked it in at 10:42 of the second.
- The goal was reviewed and the call on ice was upheld to make it 3-2.
- The Terriers had a chance to tie the game with another power play later in the second but were unable to generate any solid scoring chances.
- The opening minutes of the third period were dominated by the Terriers as they searched for yet another equalizer.
- The best chance came just over five minutes into the third when freshman Cole Hutson eluded a defender before sending a no-look pass to an open Eiserman in the right circle but the resulting one-timer was stopped by Slukynsky.
- The Terriers kept the pressure coming and put together a sustained possession that unfortunately turned into a 2-on-1 rush for the Broncos that they converted to reestablish a two-goal edge at 4-2 with 12:44 to play.
- The Broncos pushed their lead to 5-2 when Hakkarinen collected a drop pass from Schingoethe and put a shot off Yegorov and in at 16:02 of the third.
- An empty-netter from WMU's Owen Michaels created the 6-2 final.
GAME NOTES
- Western Michigan held a 28-26 advantage in shots.
- BU was 1-for-2 on the power play while the Broncos were 0-for-2.
- Hutson recorded a game-high six shots.
- Eiserman, who was named to the all-tournament team, is the 10th NCAA rookie (and third Terrier rookie) since 2005-06 to score 25 goals
- Hobey Baker winners Jack Eichel (2014-15) and Macklin Celebrini (2023-24) were the BU freshmen who reached the 25-goal mark.
- Hutson matched his brother Lane's freshman-year point total of 48, scoring 14 goals and adding 34 assists.
- The Hutsons are tied for second among all NCAA rookie blue liners for points in a season since 2005-06.
- Seniors Jack Page and Tristan Amonte, along with juniors Ryan Greene, Quinn Hutson and Devin Kaplan, helped BU reach three Frozen Fours and win the 2023 Hockey East title.
- Amonte and Page also won two Beanpots (2022, 2025) during their time as Terriers.
