Nebraska-Omaha and North Dakota were eliminated in the semifinal round by Providence and Boston University, respectively at the 2015 Frozen Four on Thursday at TD Garden in Boston, Mass.
The Friars dominated Omaha, 4-1, for a spot in Saturday’s national championship game. It will be the Friars first appearance in the title game since 1985.
Chicago Blackhawks prospect Luc Snuggerud had one shot on goal and was a minus two for the Mavericks in the game. The freshman defenseman posted two goals and 14 assists in 39 games this season. He was the fifth-round pick (141st overall) by Chicago in 2014.
Boston held off a late comeback from North Dakota for a 5-3 win to set up a match-up with Providence on Saturday night. The title game will be the first between two Hockey East teams since Maine and New Hampshire met in Anaheim, Calif. in 1999.
North Dakota featured three Hawks prospects: freshman forward Nick Schmaltz (2014 first-rounder), sophomore forward Luke Johnson (2013 fifth-rounder) and senior defenseman Nick Mattson (2010 sixth-rounder).
Johnson scored UND’s opening goal in the second period and Mattson added the primary assist on the last UND goal. Johnson had one goal on five shots and went 10-9 in the face-off circle. Mattson registered an assist, a shot and a blocked shot, while Schmaltz fired four shots, blocked one and went 3-8 on face-offs.
Snuggerud had two assists against RIT in UNO’s 4-0 victory to win the Midwest Regional and send the Mavericks to their first Frozen Four. Snuggerud has two goals and 14 assists in 38 games this season.
Schmaltz is fourth on the team with 26 points (five goals, 21 assists) in 38 games, Johnson posted 11 goals and 13 assists in 42 games and Mattson registered four goals and 17 assists in 33 games this season.
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