The Providence College Friars won their first hockey National Championship in program history. Thanks to a gift from Boston University goalie Matt O’Connor and a late tally from Brandon Tanev, PC earned a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the Terriers, who had previously been 19-0-0 on the season when leading after two periods.
Frozen Four 2015 results: Providence College wins first National Championship
The Friars came back to stun the Terriers and win it all.
Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
This is the third consecutive year that a first-time champion has won the NCAA men’s hockey title.
The Friars were down 3-2 with 8:36 left in regulation when Kyle McKenzie fired a shot from center ice, which somehow made its way into the net after O’Connor caught it and lost control. Tanev found twine off a faceoff two minutes later to score what proved to be the game-winner.
Providence College backstop Jon Gillies turned in an admirable performance, surrendering just three goals on 52 shots. Gillies was under siege in the final minutes of regulation but made several big plays, including a diving stop on a prime chance from BU’s Nick Roberto.
This game was all Boston University in the early going, as Jack Eichel and company led in the shot department 34-15 midway through the contest. Despite this advantage, however, PC got on the scoreboard first courtesy of Anthony Florentino.
The Terriers quickly responded with two goals in just four seconds -- one from Ahti Oksanen, the other via Danny O’Regan. BU’s third mark of the night was scored by Cason Hohmann, which could have sealed a victory had O’Connor and BU’s inexperienced defense held up.
Eichel, who is virtually guaranteed to be the second overall pick in the upcoming NHL Draft, failed to score despite firing six pucks on net. He did register an assist on the goal by O'Regan.
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