WASHINGTON -- After a week of fascination with out-of-the-way places such as Bemidji, Minn., and Oxford, Ohio, college hockey's championship trophy is back in Beantown.
Only this time, it's Boston University -- not Boston College. The Terriers have the bragging rights again after stewing for a year over the Eagles' triumph at last season's Frozen Four.
"It was in the back of our minds," BU forward Nick Bonino said. "None of us really wanted to admit it, but we remember watching the game last year -- a couple of the guys wouldn't watch it -- and it was just kind of painful to see our base rival take it home. We wanted to match that and come out here with kind of a vendetta to get it."
Whatever the allegiance, there's one thing on which the whole city is certain to agree: Folks will be talking about BU's remarkable win for many years to come.
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With the Terriers trailing by two with a minute to play, Bonino had a goal and an assist to force overtime, then Colby Cohen scored the winning goal in the extra period for the 4-3 victory over Miami University.
"What a finish. All I can think of is it's the greatest comeback I've been involved in," said Terriers coach Jack Parker, who has been involved in quite a few in his 36 years behind the bench at BU.
The Frozen Four began a buzz over first-time participants Bemidji State and Miami. Those in the nation's capital unfamiliar with the college hockey scene quickly learned that Bemidji was a longtime powerhouse from Paul Bunyan country in northern Minnesota and that Miami was the one in Ohio -- not the University of Miami in Florida. Vermont was also in the mix, making an appearance in the final quartet for only the second time.
But BostonU., the tournament's No. 1 overall seed, took home title No. 5 in its 10th NCAA final. It's the first time the Terriers have won it all since 1995 -- a cringe-worthy statistic at BU because BostonCollege won the championship in 2001 and 2008.
For a while, though, it seemed certain Miami would take home the school's first NCAA championship in any team sport. RedHawks fans were chanting "Yes, we can! Yes, we can!" after Tommy Wingels and Trent Vogelhuber scored less than 3½ minutes apart in the third period to make the score 3-1.
Not only did the RedHawks blow the lead, the overtime goal was scored in the cruelest of ways. Defenseman Kevin Roeder did what he was supposed to do -- he sacrificed his body by sliding to the ice to block Cohen's slap shot -- but the puck deflected off his leg and fluttered over the shoulder of goalie Cody Reichard 11:47 into OT.
"As I told the team, they have a lot of people supporting them not only in Oxford, with the Miami students community, but alumni across the country. And I think I'm pretty sure we've got some more fans in college hockey now," Miami coach Enrico Blasi said. "No other team in Miami history has ever gone to a semifinal. No other team has played for a national championship. And we've done that. I think hopefully this is a step for more to come."
Copyright AP - Associated Press
