NCAA Tournament West Region: Denver Routs Boston University 7-2

Second seed Denver scored early and often to defeat third seed Boston University 7-2 in the regional semifinal of the NCAA Tournament West Regional in front of a sparse crowd at the XCel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Pioneers struck first when rookie defenseman Blake Hillman joined a Denver rush and knocked home a rebound of an Evan Janssen to put Denver up 1-0. Dylan Gambrell extended the lead at 17:40 of the first to take a commanding 2-0 lead.

Denver started the second period with 1:11 of carryover power play time and it took Denver's Will Butcher just 24 seconds to sneak a wrist shot through traffic and give Denver a 3-0 lead.

That third goal seemed to be the backbreaker for Boston University. The Terriers tried to be more aggressive in activating their defensemen on offense, but the Terriers looked flat all night, and the extra aggressiveness only resulted in more odd-man rushes for the Pioneers, leading to two more Denver goals in the second period for a commanding 5-0 lead.

The two teams would trade a pair of goals in the third period to bring the game to a final of 7-2. The Pioneers advance to tomorrow's West Regional final, where they will take on fourth seed Ferris State tomorrow at 5pm local time.