Jacob Quillan scored twice and assisted on Sam Lipkin’s decisive third-period goal as second-seeded Quinnipiac pulled away for a 5-2 win over third-seeded Michigan in the Frozen Four on Thursday in Tampa.
Zach Metsa and Ethan de Jong scored, Collin Graf and Cristophe Tellier added two assists apiece and Lipkin added one for the Bobcats (33-4-3).
Quinnipiac advances to Saturday’s title game against top-seeded Minnesota (29-9-1), which knocked off Boston University 6-2 in Thursday’s first semifinal.
Quinnipiac, which will play in its first final since falling to North Dakota in 2016, is seeking its first national title.
Seamus Casey and Adam Fantilli scored for the Wolverines (26-12-3).
Erik Portillo made 25 saves for Michigan, which outshot Quinnipiac 31-30. Yaniv Perets stopped 29 shots for the Bobcats.
Quinnipiac scored the decisive goal when Quillan got the puck to Graf, whose shot was stopped by Portillo. However, the puck trickled behind the goal where it was corralled by Lipkin, who fired a shot off the back of Portillo’s skate that trickled over the goal line 1:24 into the final period.
Metsa’s wrist shot off assists from Christophe Fillion and Tellier made it 4-2 with 7:00 to go.
de Jong capped the scoring with an empty-net goal with 1:45 left.
Trailing 2-1 entering the second period, the Wolverines pulled even when Fantilli wristed a one-timer from the slot off a pass from Luke Hughes past Perets with 9:45 left in the period. Rutger McGroarty was also credited with an assist on the goal.
Quinnipiac took a 1-0 advantage just 5:18 into the game.
After getting a pass from Tellier, Jayden Lee unleashed a shot from the point that Portillo deflected over the net with his blocker. However, Quillan corralled the loose puck and unleashed a shot that deflected off Portillo’s back and into the net.
Michigan equalized less than two minutes later. Casey carried the puck into the Bobcats’ zone before maneuvering his way past two defenders and sweeping across the goal mouth before sliding a shot past Perets at 6:49 of the first period.
The Bobcats broke the tie a little less than five minutes later. After taking a cross-ice pass from Graf, Lipkin zipped a backhanded pass to a streaking Quillan, who completed the breakaway with 8:39 left in the period.
–Field Level Media