The story of Penn State’s loss in the Frozen Four is a simple one.
Boston University had 14 NHL draft picks and Penn State did not.
It served as a reminder of what it takes to win at college hockey’s highest levels as the Terriers beat Penn State, 3-1, in St. Louis on Thursday night.
The scoresheet tells the story.
Of the seven Terriers to generate a point on BU’s three goals, every single one of them has already been drafted by an NHL team. BU earned two crucial goals from second-round and first-round draft picks in the second period.
BU’s goalie, Mikhail Yergorov, is a second-round draft pick of the New Jersey Devils. He turned away 32 of 33 shots, playing confidently as the only goal he allowed came on a scrambling rebound.
Throughout the night, BU’s size and skill rarely allowed for Penn State to establish any zone time for much of the first two periods. And that skill made Penn State pay for every mistake – even if it was a small, subtle one.
A failed breakout gave Terrier forward Jack Hughes a chance that was initially saved by Penn State goalie Arsenii Sergeev but never found until it was too late. Sergeev, whose stellar play in the regional final helped put Penn State into the Frozen Four for the first time, struggled to locate the puck that bounced off of him, only to see it end up in the net as Hughes followed up the shot to open the scoring.
Later in the second, a collapsed defender couldn’t get back, leaving Penn State’s Jarod Crespo alone on a 2-on-1 against Boston’s Cole Eiserman and Cole Hutson (both top 50 draft picks). Even though Crespo got a piece of the cross-ice pass from Hutson to Eiserman, it wasn’t enough as the puck ended up hitting the twine.
It was little moments like that which added up. It is little moments like that which add up particularly when the opponent is stacked with future NHL talent.
While Guy Gadowsky’s team came from behind in both of its first two games of this NCAA Tournament, a hole is never easy to come out of. It’s even harder when it’s against a roster like the one BU played with tonight. It took Penn State two full periods to figure out how to play with the Terriers, and in single-game elimination hockey, that’s like playing with fire. At points, BU was the more physical team. At other points, BU waltzed around the offensive zone with little resistance.
Once the Nittany Lions were able to push back, thanks to a Nic DeGraves rebound goal in the third, Penn State closed the gap for the interim – as it did during its frantic run to the Frozen Four against teams like Michigan State, Minnesota, Michigan and even Maine. Gadowsky’s team was even able to play its traditional style, outshooting BU, 18-9, in the third period.
But it was just too big of a hill to climb.
Penn State showed and learned it can play with the big dogs of the sport throughout this season but it also now learned that at some point that can be a dangerous game.
Penn State’s program is still – in the grand scheme of things – a developing one. Compared to BU especially, it’s a program that is just barely out of its infancy.
Even with three NHL draft picks on its roster — all of which likely coming back next season – Penn State got a taste of what it needs to overcome and win. Penn State also got served a reminder of where it’s at as a program.
In the NCAA Tournament, playing with that 14-draft pick roster fire can often catch up to you the way it caught up to Penn State tonight: A loss just one win shy of reaching its first national championship game.
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