Michigan hockey at familiar Frozen Four crossroads after another gutting defeat

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Sometimes, there's just nothing left to say.

It was one of those times in the bowels of Xcel Energy Center, when Thursday night turned to Friday morning almost simultaneously as Michigan hockey's season hit midnight. The Wolverines lost to 1-seed Boston College 4-0 in the Frozen Four, their third straight one-and-done trip to the national semifinals.

There was nothing inherently wrong with what U-M did against the Eagles. Coach Brandon Naurato's squad generated more shots, 32-22, and won more than half the faceoffs, 25-23, it simply gave up a handful of individual plays to a handful of talented players which turned out to be the difference.

Yet what added an extra layer of sting, is the Wolverines have had those teams with the uber-talented players at this stage, and were still upended; each of the past two seasons the latest examples. Since Michigan won its national championship in 1998, the program is 1-9 in the Frozen Four, including a loss in the title game in 2011.

U-M has lost the semifinal game the past four times it has advanced out of the regional rounds, which is why nobody was ready to hear about the accomplishment of this season.

"It’s why you come to Michigan is to win," Seamus Casey said. "It’s been too many years since this team has won a national championship. When you’re in the Frozen Four a lot, you’re expected to go to the Frozen Four a lot.

"Getting here is exciting, but we’re not looking to get here anymore, we’re looking to win. No one remembers who went to the Frozen Four, it’s about who wins it. So yeah, the taste isn’t 'happy we got there.' We lost."

The locker room in St. Paul looked and sounded awfully similar to the one at Amalie Arena in Tampa 365 days ago, when U-M lost 5-2 to Quinnipiac. Dylan Duke, Gavin Brindley, Frank Nazar, Rutger McGroarty, Casey and many others sat with tears in their eyes both nights.

There's no Hobey Baker award winner like Adam Fantilli walking out from this team, but they know endings are always tough. As players exchanged hugs, took off pads, and unlaced skates, a familiar feeling set in.

"I mean, just reminiscing on last year," Nazar said about what was going through his mind postgame. "You know what it feels like and the saddest part is seeing guys you know you won't get a chance to play with again."

'Just couldn't buy one'

As for how the heartache happened specifically, the start couldn't have been worse.

Casey hit a post in the first minute, then moments later BC's explosive first line was able to generate an odd-man rush and Will Smith fired home the opening goal 80 seconds into the contest. Michigan didn't waiver. It generated nearly double the chances of the Eagles in the first, but never capitalized.

"We've battled day in, day out," McGroarty said. "There wasn't a doubt in our mind, we've been doing it all year, this team went through so much adversity ... there's no quit in this team. We just couldn't buy one tonight."

Michigan got a power play chance at 8:15 in the second period, after a BC trip. Naurato called it a turning point in the game, because instead of U-M's nation-leading power play getting a chance to set up, Dylan Duke was called for a penalty after an Eagles player appeared to inadvertently trip over his skate.

Smith buried his second goal of the game on a play in front of the net less than a minute later, and then before U-M even had time to process what happened, Cutter Gauthier found the back of the net on a breakaway 49 seconds later to make it 3-0.

Gabe Perreault, who had the secondary assist on the game's opening goal, had the game's final goal unassisted, when he sped past the Wolverines' defense and put home the wrap-around goal for the game's final tally, as U-M was held off the scoreboard for the only time all year.

"Those guys are special," Naurato said of BC's first line. "They won that game, they broke it open."

Future feels bright, but ...

Emotions are heightened in a postgame loss, so it's not fair to expect players to be ready to divulge their full future plans, but still the questions must be asked.

Michigan has four seniors on its roster and more than half a dozen other players who will mull decisions of whether or not to leave for the professional ranks next year — Casey, Duke, Brindley, Nazar, McGroarty, TJ Hughes and Ethan Edwards among them — and as expected, none who the Freep spoke with committed one way or the other.

"I'm sorry, I don't know yet," McGroarty said.

"I'm not sure yet, sorry," Nazar said.

"I'm sorry, I don't know," Casey said.

Their coach, who's gone through this all before, provided only slightly more insight.

"I don't want to talk out of turn, we'll deal with that when the time comes," Naurato said. "But we're planning on a lot of guys coming back. I'm sure as hard as this is right now, they'll have something to prove."

It would be a welcomed sight for so much talent to come back through the doors of Yost Ice Arena and try to run it back yet again; however there's no group that would know more than them that it would guarantee nothing.

Age and experience is often an important factor, however that didn't prove to be the case this year, as Denver and Boston University are the two youngest teams in the nation yet they'll meet for the national championship.

Add it to the list of the indescribable things that have happened the past quarter century as titles continue to elude the Wolverines one year after another. McGroarty was asked about the weird dichotomy his program is in.

Michigan has now been to 28 Frozen Fours, the most of any program, but falling short of the ultimate goal nine times in a row has become the program's scarlet letter. Most teams around the nation would give anything to switch spots with the Wolverines, but that's no solace on this night.

Not when the players are trying, yet again, to explain what happened.

"Yeah, I don't know," McGroarty said. "It sucks. We're such a high caliber school. I don't know. We come into the season expecting to be here, we've made it the last three years just haven't gotten over the hump. I guess we just gotta go back to − I don't know.

"I don't know, yeah."

Michigan's future may well be bright − but sometimes, there's just nothing left to say.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan hockey finds itself at familiar Frozen Four crossroads