ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Another top seed emerged victorious from the NCAA regionals at the PPL Center. No. 1 Michigan scored twice in each of the first two periods, then held off a furious third-period rally in the regional final on Sunday to oust second-seeded Quinnipiac 7-4.
Michigan alternate captain Nolan Moyle scored just 33 seconds into the contest, followed by a tap-in goal at the far post 14 minutes later by Jimmy Lambert. Thomas Bordeleau then made it 3-0 for the Wolverines early in the second period with a power-play goal, before Garrett Van Wyhe made it 4-0 with a short-handed goal later in that same stanza.
Jayden Lee scored his second goal in as many games to get Quinnipiac on the board early in the third period, before Wyatt Bongiovanni and Desi Burgart tallied goals two minutes apart to pull the Bobcats within 4-3. Quinnipiac then pulled backup netminder Dylan St. Cyr with just over four minutes remaining in regulation, but Michigan’s Michael Pastujov scored into an empty net to seal it, followed by another empty-netter by Moyle, before the two teams traded late goals.
Michigan will meet Denver in a Frozen Four semifinal at TD Garden in Boston on April 7.
Full story to come.