Quinnipiac stops Michigan 5-2, will meet Gophers in men’s NCAA Frozen Four final

TAMPA, FLA. – Jacob Quillan and Sam Lipkin might not have called bank, but the Quinnipiac linemates’ goals counted nonetheless and are two big reasons why the Bobcats will play for the national championship.

Quillan in the first period and Lipkin in the third scored on shots from below the goal line that banked off Michigan goalie Erik Portillo and into the cage. Lipkin’s tally proved to be the winner in a 5-2 victory over the Wolverines on Thursday night in the NCAA men’s Frozen Four semifinals.

Quinnipiac will meet the Gophers, who beat Boston University 6-2 in the first semifinal, at 7 p.m. Central on Saturday for the national championship.

Quillan’s goal gave the Bobcats a 1-0 first-period lead, while Lipkin’s tally put Quinnipiac (33-4-3) up 3-2 early in the third period. All the while, Bobcats goalie Yaniv Perets held Michigan’s potent offense in check by making 29 saves.

Seamus Casey and national scoring leader Adam Fantilli scored for the Wolverines (26-12-3), while Portillo made 24 saves.

Quinnipiac will play for the national championship for the third time. It lost 4-0 to Yale in the 2013 final in Pittsburgh and 5-1 to North Dakota in the 2016 title game in Tampa.

The Bobcats struck first, taking a 1-0 lead at 14:42 of the first period when Quillan, who was situated below the goal line, corralled a rebound of a Jayden Lee shot and banked the puck off Portillo’s backside and into the net.

Michigan quickly responded, tying the score 1-1 at 13:11 when defenseman Seamus Casey toe-dragged around a Bobcats defender, cut in front of the net and tucked the puck past goalie Yaniv Perets.

Quinnipiac grabbed a 2-1 lead at 8:39 of the first when Sam Lipkin fed Quillan with a backhanded pass at the blue line, and the center skated in and beat Portillo.

Michigan, the nation’s highest-scoring team at 4.23 goals per game entering the Frozen Four, forged a 2-2 tie at 9:45 of the second. Fantilli, a freshman center and possible No. 2 overall pick in this summer’s NHL draft, took a pass from defenseman Luke Hughes at the right faceoff dot and blasted a shot past Perets for his 30th goal of the season.

The Wolverines nearly went up late in the second. During a power play, Perets made back-to-back close-range saves on Rutger McGroarty and Gavin Brindley at 18:34 and 18:37.

Quinnipiac grabbed a 3-2 lead 1:24 into the third period when Lipkin, operating behind the net, followed up a shot by Collin Graf by banking the puck into the net off Portillo, this time off the goalie’s left skate.

Michigan pressured for the tying goal in the third period, but Perets stood tall. The Bobcats stretched the lead to 4-2 with 7 minutes left when Zach Metsa beat Portillo on a sharp-angle shot from the right half-wall. Ethan De Jong added an empty-net goal with 1:45 to play.