Quinnipiac Tops BC To Reach NCAA Hockey Final

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Michael Garteig made 34 saves and No. 1 overall seed Quinnipiac held off Boston College 3-2 on Thursday night to reach the NCAA hockey championship game for the second time in four seasons.

Kevin McKernan and Andrew Taverner scored in the opening period and Landon Smith added a power-play goal that made it 3-1 in the second period, setting the stage for Garteig to shine when the Bobcats needed him.

Ryan Fitzgerald's power-play goal trimmed Boston College's deficit to 3-2 with 4:16 remaining. Garteig had four more saves, including a glove deflection on Ian McCoshen's shot from the high slot in the closing seconds.

Quinnipiac (32-3-7) will try to win its first national championship Saturday night, facing the winner of Thursday night's other semifinal between North Dakota and Denver.

The Bobcats lost to Yale in their only previous appearance in the title game in 2013.