WASHINGTON – In an NCAA tournament filled with upstarts and upsets, hockey blue-blood Boston University is one victory from its fifth national championship.
Hobey Baker Award finalist Colin Wilson scored twice, including a tiebreaking goal with about 5 1/2 minutes left, and the top-seeded Terriers beat Vermont 5-4 in a thrill-a-minute Frozen Four semifinal Thursday night.
In Saturday’s championship game, Boston will play No. 4-seeded Miami (Ohio), which ended the surprising run of outsider Bemidji State by winning the first semifinal 4-1.
BU was the only No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the 16-team tourney to reach the Frozen Four, and the only past champion to get that far. Now the Terriers will try to claim their first NCAA hockey title since 1995.
Wilson – whose father, Carey, played 13 seasons in the NHL – scored the game’s first goal and its last. He helped Boston go ahead 2-0, before Vermont responded with three goals in a 6-minute span of the second period.
The game was tied when freshman defenseman Drew MacKenzie’s first college goal, on a power play with about 10 minutes left, put the Catamounts ahead 4-3.
It seemed as though no lead was safe in this back-and-forth game featuring two freshman goalies, and MacKenzie was involved in the worst of ways when BU made it 4-4 with just under seven minutes left in the third period.
Chris Higgins’ shot was blocked by goalie Rob Madore, but the puck bounced right off a sliding MacKenzie’s stick and into the net.
It took all of 73 seconds for Boston to finally take control for good, when Higgins took a shot that Madore kicked away – right to Wilson, who tapped the puck in.
Bills sign McKinney
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Seth McKinney has signed with the Buffalo Bills, who continued to retool their offensive line in free agency this offseason.
A seven-year NFL veteran who has played both guard and center, McKinney joined the Bills on Thursday after spending the past two seasons in Cleveland.
Nadal to return to London
LONDON – Rafael Nadal will return to defend his title at the Queen’s Club tournament for his first grass court match since defeating Roger Federer at Wimbledon.
The Queen’s Club tournament will be held June 8-14, after Nadal defends his French Open title.