PITTSBURGH – Nolan Walker scored on a redirection with 53.2 seconds left and St. Cloud State held off Minnesota State 5-4 to advance to the program’s first national championship game. St. Cloud State led 3-1 early in the second period and trailed 4-3 with 15 minutes remaining before winning its 10th one-goal game of the season. Joe Molenaar, a freshman, tied it at 4 with his first career goal midway through the third, and Walker got a stick on defenseman Seamus Donohue’s shot to win it. David Hrenak made 25 saves for the Huskies, who were without their leading scorer Easton Brodzinski due to a season-ending injury in the East Regional. Minnesota State goaltender Dryden McKay made 17 saves.
PITTSBURGH – Garrett Wait scored in overtime and short-handed Massachusetts beat two-time defending champion Minnesota Duluth 3-2 in the Frozen Four semifinals. UMass advances to Saturday’s national championship game against St. Cloud State – as both teams seek to make program history with a first title. UMass was without four players due to COVID-19 contact-tracing protocols, including leading goal scorer Carson Gicewicz and starting goaltender Filip Lindberg. UMass forward Anthony Del Gaizo tied it at 2 with 11:35 remaining in the third period on a rebound that fell to the right of the net, and Wait got a stick on Bobby Trivigno’s wraparound pass at 14:30 in overtime to win it.
*Associated Press
