In which we recap the day’s events in the NCAA tournament.

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Let’s put it this way: If BU has even the remotest chance of coming back in a game, its almost inhuman ability to dominate the third period all but assures that it will.

Their game against Minnesota-Duluth was tied at two goals apiece through two periods, but BU made a little switch or two — mixing up the depth lines, changing up the forecheck, the standard stuff it usually does at this point in the game to disquiet opponents — and really stepped into the game in a way it has so many times before.

The top line, indomitable as it so often is at this point of games, crushed UMD in possession, drew a late penalty, and underrated senior Evan Rodrigues scored a wonderful individual goal at 17:36 of the third on the ensuing power play. BU won 3-2 and punched its ticket to the Frozen Four. Because of course it did. It was always going to.

“I thought we did what we do best,” BU coach David Quinn said. “I thought we had a great third period. We were relentless, we we smart, and we just did the things we needed to do to win an incredibly important hockey game and extend our season.”

The Terriers are now 21-0-2 when leading or tied through two periods. They’re also just 6-7-3 when trailing after 40. If they're within striking distance, it’s almost impossible to put them down and keep them there.

But with that ability to basically take over a game occasionally comes a fallowness that leads to some nervy situations in the early going. That’s what happened today. When the top line of Jack Eichel, Evan Rodrigues, and Danny O’Regan were off the ice, BU was getting thoroughly pushed around. And while that line carried play more often than not, this was once again a game where little was happening for them in the offensive zone apart from shuffling the puck along the perimeter.

Rodrigues did have the first of his two goals 7:17 into the first period, as a puck batted high in the air at the attacking blue line on a bad clearing attempt came within a six-foot radius. He swatted at it like a batter trying to foul off an 0-2 pitch high and outside, and to the surprise of basically everybody in the building, it not only got on net, but beat UMD goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo.

Still the problems persisted, and the second period was far more eventful than the first. Three times in the first 7:31, someone scored, with UMD doing so first, just 37 seconds after the break. BU answered 2:55 later to regain the lead, and UMD got back even 3:59 after that. Then the Bulldogs started to exert their influence. BU had to dig deep.

“It was kind of like a heavyweight fight,” Quinn said. “We controlled the first few rounds, almost had a couple of opportunities to deliver the knockout punch. Then they come back and dominate for about 10 or 12 minutes, and we come back and dominate for 10 or 12 minutes.”

The motivated Eichel, the one who explodes off the bench menacingly pitched forward, is a player that exudes confidence. When he does that, and gets a head of steam, all involved — whether playing, coaching, or watching — know something is bound to happen. That Eichel was rarely in evidence through 40 minutes, and the Terriers’ numbers showed it. Possession was in UMD’s favor, goals were even, and the season had as little as 20 minutes left.

Those who watched BU a lot this year could tell that something was off; the game in the eastern marches of college hockey is one built on finesse and the transition. Teams out west tend to be bigger, more physical, and games are often determined by moments of individual skill. Neither is better or worse than the other, and certainly teams out east can dictate a more violent game, while some in the west are more than happy to play faster. But the difference can be jarring, and BU — a smaller team overall — hasn’t played a western team since mid-October when it swept Michigan State and Michigan (not exactly outstanding practitioners of the sport this season) at its own Agganis Arena.

For the second game in a row, the transition game just wasn’t there for the Terriers. UMD was, in fact, doing a better job at stifling them than Yale — its Bulldog compatriots — in terms of limiting chances. BU’s goals came, instead, on a series of failed clearing attempts and a bout of extended possession in the attacking zone.

Story continues