Frozen Four: Three things to know about Gophers and the other three teams

Minnesota plays Boston University on Thursday. Along with Michigan and Quinnipiac, all four teams have a solid history in the event.

By Randy Johnson Star Tribune

April 3, 2023 — 6:19am

Four teams will descend on Tampa, Fla., this week to battle for an NCAA men's hockey championship. The Gophers, Boston University, Quinnipiac and Michigan all have deep hockey histories. Here are three things to know about each program:

Gophers

1. Minnesota is making its 40^th NCAA tournament appearance, which is tied with Michigan for the most. The Gophers are in their 23^rd Frozen Four, which is tied for third with Boston University, trailing Michigan (27) and Boston College (25).

2. The Gophers are playing Boston University for the ninth time in the NCAA tournament. Minnesota is 5-3 against the Terriers, winning in the 1974 and 1976 semifinals, 1986 quarterfinals (two games) and 2012 first round; and losing in the 1971 final, and 1994 and 1995 semifinals.

3. Gophers coach Bob Motzko is in his 11^th NCAA tournament (eight with St. Cloud State) and third Frozen Four (one with St. Cloud State). His appearances are the most among the Frozen Four coaches, two more than Quinnipiac's Rand Pecknold.

Boston University

1. Like the Gophers, the Terriers have won five NCAA championships. The last came in 2009, a 4-3 overtime win over Miami (Ohio) when the Terriers scored two extra-attacker goals in the final 59 seconds of the third period to force the extra session.

2. Boston University first-year coach Jay Pandolfo played on the Terriers' 1994 and '95 teams that beat the Gophers in the Frozen Four. He did not register a point in either game.

3. Boston University had four players on the 1980 gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic team: goalie Jim Craig, forward Mike Eruzione, defenseman Jack O'Callahan and forward Dave Silk. That total was the second most to the Gophers' nine.

Quinnipiac

1. The Bobcats, based in Hamden, Conn., are in the NCAA tournament for the ninth time and are in the Frozen Four for the third time. Quinnipiac lost to Yale in the 2013 title game and North Dakota in the 2016 final.

2. Rand Pecknold is in his 29^th season as coach of the Bobcats, having guided the program in its transition from NCAA Division II to Division I in the 1988-89 season. Pecknold's Division I coaching record is 538-289-93, and his victories trail only Notre Dame's Jeff Jackson (574) among active coaches.

3. The Bobcats have two active alums in the NHL, Boston's Connor Clifton and Colorado's Devon Toews.

Michigan

1. The Wolverines have won nine NCAA championships, tied with Denver for the most of any program. Michigan is the only team to win three consecutive NCAA titles, doing so from 1951-53.

2. Over the past five years, Michigan has had 11 first-round NHL draft picks, including four of the top five selections in the 2021 draft. That doesn't include leading scorer Adam Fantilli, who's expected to be selected second overall in this year's draft.

3. Michigan removed the interim title from coach Brandon Naurato's name on Friday, giving the 38-year-old former Wolverines forward a five-year contract.