BU Topples Minnesota, 4-1

ST. PAUL, Minn.--Thursday was not a good day for the Nielson's.

Harvard and Kirk Nielsen fell to Lake Superior state, 3-2 in overtime, in the first NCAA tournament semifinal. And later Kirk's older brother, Jeff, and his Minnesota team, were wiped out by Boston University, 4-1.

The Terriers (32-8-1), who were trounced 9-1 by Lake Superior State in Saturday's final made roadkill out of the Gophers (25-13-4) with three first period goals, And despite being outshot 15-5 in the second, BU had little trouble making its first period dominance hold up.

"We knew that if we were to win the game we had to stay mistake-free," Jeff Nielsen said. The epitome of host Minnesota's frustration occurred late in the first period, when the Gophers were already trailing 2-0 on goals by Bob LaChance and Mike Pomichter.

The Gophers were in the midst of a penalty kill, and the partisan crowd was chanting, "M-I-N-N-E-S-O..."

The "T-A" and the rest of the Gopher chant was never uttered, though, as Terrier Steve Thornton rebounded home a loose puck at the 18:43 mark to put BU up 3-0, and end the game for all practical purposes. "With this crowd it was nice to get up early and stay up for a while," BU coach Jack Parker said.

Terrier goalie J.P. McKersie was brilliant in net as he stopped 14 of 15 Gopher shots in the second period before BU put on the defensive clamps early in the third.

"The turning point in the game was that we never gave up the second goal," Parker said. "When we did falter, McKersie came up awful big."

BU's win sent it into its first NCAA final since 1991, when it lost, 7-6 in three overtimes, to Northern Michigan, also in St. Paul. BOSTON UNIVERSITY ,4-1 at St. Paul Civic Center(3/31/94) Minnesota  0  1  0  --  1 Boston U.  3  0  1  --  4

First Period

BU--LaChance 13(Friedman)9:14

BU--Pomichter 27(O'Sullivan)18:43

Second Period

Min--Dustin 10(LaFleur)4:42

Third Period

BU--Pomichter 28(LaChance, Joubert)14:12

Saves:Min--Callinan 14-5-10-29; BU--McKersie 6-14-11-31

Attendance:16,085.