ST. LOUIS — All week, Western Michigan coach Pat Ferschweiler has told anyone who would listen that his team was the underdog at the Frozen Four.
Well, now he can tell people that his Broncos are national champions.
Western Michigan played a fast, physical brand of hockey from the opening faceoff, jumped out to an early lead and closed out a close game late to capture the program’s first national title 6-2 over Boston University on Saturday at Enterprise Center.
“I’m so proud of this team,” Ferschweiler said. “They stuck together and believed in themselves. Not just this season, but in this game.”
The Broncos are the 24th team all-time to win a Division I men’s national championship and the sixth first-time champion in the last 12 years.
They did so riding the back of rookie goaltender Hampton Slukynsky, who on Saturday made 26 saves including a stunner on BU’s Cole Eiserman to maintain his team’s one-goal lead in the third period.
It took almost no time for the Broncos to grab the lead, in fact scoring on their first shot. Iiro Hakkarainen threw a puck toward the net that Wyatt Schingoethe redirected over Mikhail Yegorov’s shoulder for a 1-0 lead at 1:38.
Western Michigan kept the pressure but couldn’t extend the lead and at 7:12, Boston University found the equalizer.
Devin Kaplan drove the net, creating a chaotic situation in front of Slukynsky. Cole Eiserman, known more for his quick release, kept banging at the loose puck until it went in.
The Broncos regained the lead at 15:01 of the first when Cole Crusberg-Roseen fired a hard wrister from the right point through traffic, handing Western back the lead at 2-1.
The period ended with Western Michigan holding a slight 9-8 lead in shots on goal.
In the second, the Broncos extended the lead on a center-ice faceoff play. After making a play at the blue line, Tristan Lemyre, who dressed as the extra skater on Saturday, drove the net and fed Ty Henricks, who fired a shot high over Yegorov.
Boston University had a response to pull the Terriers within a goal. When Brian Kramer was whistled for holding, the Terriers scored 15 seconds into the power play as captain Shane Lachance poked a rebound through Slukynsky’s legs as the netminder fell at 10:42.
Western Michigan challenged unsuccessfully for goaltender interference, thus losing its timeout.
The Terriers had the equalizer on the stick of their best goal scorer — Eiserman — at 5:05 of the third but Slukynsky’s anticipation robbed the BU rookie.
And just about two minutes later at 7:16, Owen Michaels — the double-overtime hero on Thursday in a win that propelled the Broncos to the finals — delivered the dagger, a rip to the far side while skating 2-on-1.
“We talk about skating the puck out of scrums, and that’s what Owen Michaels did,” said Ferschweiler. “There’s a flurry around [our] net and most people want to whack the puck out of there and it’s hard to skate.
“Now, he skates down the ice and buries it at the other end. It’s a winning hockey play.”
Michaels finished the Frozen Four with four goals in two games and was named tournament Most Outstanding Player.
With 8:04 remaining, it appeared Boston University had scored to get within a goal but the referee ruled he lost sight of the puck, something confirmed on an unsuccessful BU challenge.
Hakkarainen scored late and Michaels added an empty-net goal to seal the victory.
The win was the sixth for a member of the NCHC, which has won seven titles since 2016.
For Boston University, it was a difficult loss: It has reached three Frozen Fours in a row and come away empty. But coach Jay Pandolfo said these building blocks hopefully will lead to future success.
“You’re proud to get here, but you want to finish the job. So it hurts,” said Pandolfo. “I want to see those guys experience that. That’s my goal is for me to see our players and our program experience that again. That’s what I want to see.
“And we’re going to keep knocking at the door here.”
