Overtime goal sends Denver to Frozen Four championship game – InForum

ST. PAUL — Tristan Broz did it again for Denver.

Broz scored off a rush on a shot that beat Boston University goalie Mathieu Caron low to the stick side at 11:09 of overtime to send the Pioneers to the national championship game. Denver beat BU 2-1 Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.

“I think that’s what every kid dreams of, to do something like that for your team,” said Broz, a 21-year-old forward from Bloomington.

The Pioneers (31-9-3) will play the winner of Boston College (33-5-1) and Michigan (23-14-3) for the national title at 5 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2) at Xcel. Boston University finishes its season 28-10-2 and loses for the second straight year in the national semifinals. Denver will be trying to win an NCAA record 10th title.

The game-winning play started in the Denver defensive zone. Junior defenseman Sean Behrens got to a loose puck at the faceoff dot to the left of goalie Matt Davis. Behrens hit Broz, a Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick and transfer from Minnesota, with a pass in the neutral zone. He skated into the offensive zone and shot it in from the slot for the game-winner.

“I just remember back-checking and I kind of got turned over to Behrens at the left faceoff dot,” Broz said. “He made a nice pass to me in the middle. I knew it was a kind of 2-on-1. (Massimo Rizzo) had a little bit of a step on the guy. We ran that drill yesterday doing 2-on-1s and few times I scored. Just kind of no-look, trying to shoot 5-hole. And just kind of blacked out in that moment and happened to go in.”

Broz also scored the game-winner in a 2-1 double overtime win over Massachusetts in the Springfield Regional semifinals.

Denver had a good opportunity to end the game in regulation. BU’s Dylan Peterson was called for boarding at 18:47 of the third period to give Denver its fourth power play of the game. But the Terriers did not allow a goal to send the game into overtime. Denver was 0-for-4 on the power play in the game.

“I thought it was excellent from the goalie on out,” Terriers head coach Jay Pandolfo said of his team’s penalty kill. “They were sacrificing. We were pretty confident that they were going to get the job done. And then the one save that Caron made was incredible.”

The Pioneers tied the game at 1-1 when they took advantage of a turnover below the Terriers goal line. Boston University All-American defenseman Lane Hutson threw a behind the back pass that was intercepted by Denver freshman right…