Robbie Earl's two goals led Wisconsin to a 5-2 victory over the Black Bears tonight in Milwaukee during the NCAA Frozen Four hockey semifinals. The team now advances to the finals.
Adam Burish, Ben Street and Ross Carlson also scored for Wisconsin.
Emerging NCAA goalie superstar Brian Elliott of Wisconsin allowed a goal 17:37 into the first period after not allowing a goal in the last 269 minutes, 57 seconds of play.
He is tied for first in shutouts (8) and had a run of 3 consecutive shutouts. This includes the win over Cornell on March 26th that went into a triple-overtime. No wonder he is one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award.
Meanwhile, Boston College defeated University of North Dakota 6-5. Boston took a 3-0 lead on five shots in the first period which left the Sioux looking dazed and confused. They fought back with goals from Rastislav Spirko and Rylan Kaip to bring them back into the game and, more importantly, bring some confidence back to the club.
Ultimately, Boston College was just to much for them. Anthony Aiello scored late in the second period to give Boston a two-goal lead and, just minutes later on the penalty kill, the UND defenseman took an ill-advised line change, allowing Benn Ferrario to pass the puck to Chris Collins who was then able to walk on in on Parise and was beaten by a wrister.
Again UND fought back, but Boston College just brought too much to the rink and the Sioux were sent back home with a record of 29-16-1. By the end, Collins scored a hat trick to help deliver the win to Boston College.
The Hobey Baker award and the skills challenge will be televised on ESPNU starting at 7 p.m. Eastern on Friday.
On Saturday, Boston College (26-12-3) and Wisconsin (29-10-3) will face off for what promises to be an exciting Frozen Four Final. The NCAA Frozen Four Final will be televised on ESPN at 7 p.m. EST.
