ESPN

Boston College may have lost its first Hockey East playoff game in four years this past weekend, but the Eagles still have an ace up their sleeve as they get their head coach back just in time for the opening round of NCAA tournament play on Saturday

In the East Regional, held in Providence, R.I., the second-seeded Eagles (22-11-4) will begin defense of their 2012 national championship against the Union Dutchmen (21-12-5) late Saturday night. Like Wisconsin, Rick Bennett's Dutchmen punched their ticket into the NCAAs by catapulting from a regular-season 4th-place finish to capture the ECAC Hockey crown last weekend in Atlantic, City, N.J.

"We're concerned about any team you play in the national tournament because you know they're a good club – they've all qualified," said BC coach Jerry York, who will return to the bench after another surgical procedure on his right eye. "Union certainly is one of those teams with a legitimate chance to win a national title. We watched them play last year and they're gritty. They're very well schooled in fundamentals. Rick has them playing from the goal out -- really good defense. They move pucks through -- excellent special teams, so they concern me."

York also said the Eagles will take steps this week to limit the stretch passes that Boston University used so effectively to create multiple scoring opportunities -- and five straight goals -- while knocking BC out of the Hockey east semifinals, 6-3, last Friday.

"You learn from every game, from wins and losses," said York. "You look at them and say, ‘How can we get better here?' We're certainly not a finished product by any means. This week we'll try to really make sure we balance our practice sessions with offense and defense. Defensively, to win at this level we'll need strong play from our defense and strong play from our goaltender.

"We are going to have to score when we have great chances," he said. "We had some terrific chances against the Terriers but could not score. We can say, ‘Hey, that goalie played well,' but from our perspective we have to really make sure to bury some pucks. BU was able to get some breakaways on us, and we've looked at that and talked about pucks that are flipped up in the neutral zone. There are different areas that we have to tighten up on."

Bennett's squad was dominating in the ECAC playoffs, strafing Dartmouth twice in the quarters, 4-1 and 5-2, before knocking out Yale in the semifinals, 5-0, and Brown, 3-1, in the championship game. Though his Eagles have never faced Union, York knows his defense will need to step up its game.

"We're going to look to our two seniors in Pat Wey and Patch Alber to really settle us down. We've seen continued improvement this year from Isaac MacLeod, Mike Matheson, and Teddy Doherty is going to give us some good minutes also," said York. "They have to play better as a unit … and that helps our goaltender, that helps our offense with their breakouts. They are the keys to whether we can get passed Union. "

If Saturday's Hockey East final in Boston proved anything, it was that everyone loves a winner. UMass Lowell, just two years past missing the league playoffs altogether, had its fair share of the 13,738 fans at TD Garden, matching the Boston University faithful chant-for-chant during the River Hawks' gripping 1-0 championship-clinching victory over the Terriers.

On Friday, the River Hawks will take to the ice at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H. against Wisconsin, a short 32 miles north of the UMass Lowell campus. At stake is the a birth in the regional finals, and the possibility of the River Hawks first-ever trip to the Frozen Four. Lowell's second-year coach Norman Bazin said he expects a home-crowd atmosphere.

"We're ecstatic that we're able to allow our fans to become part of the experience," he said. "It allows the River Hawk Nation to be part of our run, and it can't do anything but help us.

"[Manchester] could be one of the great sites in the NCAA Tournament," said Bazin, who led the River Hawks to the East Regional in Bridgewater, Mass., last season. "Our fans have been great all year long. Both the students and community really bring it to life. We're ecstatic they get to share in this opportunity with us and give us a lift."

The River Hawks (26-10-2), the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Northeast Regional, won't mind any edge they can find, as they face one of the hottest teams in college hockey, the Wisconsin Badgers (22-12-7). Mike Eaves' Badgers roared through the WCHA playoffs, vaulting from fourth place to claim the league's Final Five playoff championship.

That run helped erase any memories of Wisconsin's dismal 1-7-2 start to the season. The Badgers are 21-5-2 since Dec. 13, and have many hockey observers considering them one of the most dangerous teams in the tournament. Not to be outdone, the UML River Hawks have gone 22-3-1 since Dec. 8.

"Wisconsin is going to be a great opponent. We feel our bracket is chock full of great teams," said Bazin. "We feel Hockey East has been such a great league this year that it has prepared us well. They're the WHCA Champions. They're going to give all we can handle, we're sure of that."

Though Lowell hasn't lined up against the Badgers since 1989, when the River Hawks were called the Chiefs, Bazin said he knows Wisconsin's culture.

"Having been at Colorado College for eight years, I'm familiar with what they do. Team defense is their pillar," said Bazin. "They have strong goalkeeping and great team defense."

Like the River Hawks and their outstanding freshman goaltender, Connor Hellebuyck (18-2-0, with a 1.39 goals against average and .949 save percentage), who took MVP honors in the Hockey East tournament, the Badgers are solid between the pipes. Wisconsin's sophomore goaltender Joel Rumpel is 16-8-4 with a 1.85 GAA and a .933 save percentage.

Bazin said he's been impressed with his young squad's composure, especially in two one-goal victories in the Hockey East semifinals and finals.

"I think it's been very strong the whole second half [of the season]. Our goaltending has been stellar, no question," he said. "Our defense, with some added size, has kept some shots outside and when you do that you have a chance. They're pretty poised under pressure. They're playing beyond their years right now. Chad [Ruhwedel] has certainly led the way and has been a calming influence for the kids."

While Bazin said the play of his young squad has been encouraging, he knows that the key to the River Hawks offense still runs through guys who were with him in Bridgewater last year, notably forwards Riley Whetmore, Joseph Pendenza, Scott Wilson, and Derek Arnold (Wilson got the game-winner against Providence in the Hockey East semis, while Arnold's lone goal was the difference in the finals).

If the River Hawks get past the Badgers, it sets up the possibility of an all-Hockey East regional final, with the host UNH Wildcats (19-11-7) taking on the Denver Pioneers (20-13-5) in the other semifinal. The Wildcats have already faced the Pioneers this season, in Denver, pinning a 6-4 loss of George Gwozdecky's squad.

"We know a little bit about Denver from playing out there on Thanksgiving," said UNH coach Dick Umile. "We were able to get a win after falling behind 3-0. That was probably a very important time for our team. Playing Colorado College and Denver really brought the team together.

"George plays a more defensive style with good transition opportunities off good defense," he said. "We need to make sure we can control odd-man rushes and face-off plays, areas where you can hurt yourself and beat yourself. They've got it all. They've got balance throughout their team, experience, tradition, so it should be a heck of a game."

However, Umile has been concerned with his squad's inconsistency over the second half of the season, and said he hopes the Wildcats can take advantage of the extra practice after getting eliminated from the Hockey east playoffs by Providence.

"Overall we know what we are capable of doing; that we need to put together 60-minute games and not have lapses," he said. "Sometimes it's the way the puck bounces, but I don't think that's taken away from our confidence."

New Hampshire's senior class, including captain Connor Hardowa, Brett Kostolansky, and forwards Austin Block, John Henrion, and Scott Pavelski could play a crucial role.

"They've been a strong class, and they were determined after not making it to the NCAAs as juniors last year to get us back in there," said Umile. "They are a big reason why we've made it back to the NCAA tournament."

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Their season's final buzzer having sounded, the sweat from the last game long since washed away, it was finally OK to admit it: the losses hurt.

When Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry were implicated in an academic cheating scandal and chose to withdraw from school in September to protect their eligibility, the Crimson's chances to repeat as Ivy League champions and to return to the NCAA tournament seemed to take a body blow.

But when Tommy Amaker looks back now, he sees that moment differently.

"Really neat, terrific stories generally are created or come about because of something unusual," the Harvard coach said Wednesday at Lavietes Pavilion. "Adversity. Those are the moments that [make] special things happen. And that's what we kinda embraced."

The 2012-13 Crimson had a saying, one that stayed with them as the season unwound, day by day, game by game: "We may not have what we had, but we have enough."

"We emphasized that within our locker room, within our team, there was still enough in here to accomplish everything that we had set out to accomplish," Amaker said. "And boy, did they ever do that."

In 2012-13, Harvard:

• won its third straight Ivy League title (second straight outright title, after a share in 2010-11)
• played in its second straight NCAA tournament (after going 65 years between its first and second appearances)
• won its first NCAA tournament game (beating No. 3 seed New Mexico 68-62)

"To win a game and advance in the tournament was pretty special," Amaker said. "Obviously, the circumstances surrounding our team at the start of the year ... to overcome adversity, to have young guys step into different roles ... I couldn't be prouder of our guys.

"There's no doubt that they made some special moments for our ballclub and our program and hopefully we can grow it and use it as we move forward to get better."

The special moments the Crimson produced in 2012-13 were made possible in large part by huge contributions from two underclassmen, Siyani Chambers (a freshman) and Wesley Saunders (a sophomore).

Chambers, a native of Golden Valley, Minn., was brilliant from the get-go. Forced into the starting lineup from the tip -- thanks to the withdrawals of would-be co-captains Curry and Casey -- Chambers proved mature beyond his 19 years, ending up leading the Ivy League in assists and minutes per game and winning the rookie of the year award.

Before the season began, Amaker called Saunders the Crimson's best player. The Los Angeles native lived up to that billing in his second season in Cambridge, leading the Ivy League in scoring and totaling double digits in points in all but the Crimson's last game (the 74-51 shellacking by No. 6 seed Arizona in the NCAA's round of 32, when he finished with eight).

And while technically Amaker named Laurent Rivard and Christian Webster co-captains, Webster admitted to reporters after the No. 14 seed Crimson upset the Lobos that Chambers led the team this season. Chambers' dazzling debut and the performances of Saunders and fellow sophomores Steve Moundou-Missi and Kenyatta Smith give Harvard high hopes going forward, especially considering that Casey and Curry are expected to be back for next season.

On Wednesday, Amaker said the coaching staff preached the losses of Casey and Curry as an opportunity for other players to step forward.

Then there was that phrase again, "We may not have what we had, but we have enough."

"We used that, we embraced that, we believed in that and we knew that it was an opportunity for us to possibly create something that could be very special," Amaker said.

After a whirlwind few days as Big Dance darlings because of their upset win, the Crimson came back down to earth courtesy of the 74-51 dispatching by the Wildcats. Looking back at the two games now, Amaker admitted that the Crimson needed everything to line up perfectly -- they had to play their best at the same time as their favored opponent faltered -- to win these kinds of games as currently constituted.

But the coach hinted that perhaps that won't always be the case. That perhaps there's room for these Crimson to get to a point where a win in mid-to-late March won't be quite so shocking to the general populace.

"We talk about possibilities are endless, and that's the beauty of being here at Harvard," Amaker said. "We have literally seen here at this place that anything is possible. And that includes basketball. We do play for Harvard, so that includes us.

"So we [try never] to feel like we're putting a cap or ceiling on what is possible. We want to do the best we can and maximize who we are and where we are, and I think live up to our standards and identity, and we can live with it after that. Whatever that is. And sometimes you find, as we found this year, that some of those growth opportunities are enormous."

So, yes, losses hurt. But upon reflection people sometimes find that it's the hardest blows that taught them the biggest lessons in sports, as in life.

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

Boston University introduced David Quinn as the school’s new men’s hockey coach Tuesday, replacing Jack Parker, who is retiring after 40 season behind the Terriers’ bench.

Quinn, who played at BU from 1984-87 and was an assistant coach at the school from 2004-2009, was most recently an assistant coach for the Colorado Avalanche

The 46-year-old Quinn was selected from a short list of candidates that reportedly included former Terrier Mike Sullivan and current associate head coach Mike Bavis.

"David Quinn is the ideal candidate for this job," said athletic director Mike Lynch. "His resume is filled with great experiences at every level and he is a proven head coach and a consummate professional. He is also a BU man, an important consideration as we deliberated. Jack Parker is in many ways irreplaceable, but I'm absolutely convinced that the future of BU hockey is in great hands."

"I'd like to thank President Brown and Mike Lynch for giving me this incredible opportunity and entrusting me with the BU hockey program," said Quinn. "I surely wouldn't be in this position if it were not for Jack Parkerand I'm very lucky to be able to call him my coach, mentor and friend. One of the things that makes this job so unique is that beyond all the success here, the former players have such a loyalty towards the program. I look forward to continuing that and the legacy that Coach Parker leaves behind."

Quinn, a native of Cranston, R.I., was a first-round draft pick of the Minnesota North Stars (No. 13 overall) in the 1984 draft. After his junior year, he tried out for the 1988 Olympic team but was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder, temporarily forcing his retirement from the game.
Four years later, with his disease under control, Quinn tried out for the 1992 Olympic team. Although he failed to make the national squad, Quinn caught the eye of New York Rangers scouts, and played 19 games for New York's American Hockey League affiliate, the Binghamton Rangers, in 1991-92.

The next season, he played 60 games with the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League. He retired permanently after that season moved into coaching, getting a job as an assistant coach for Northeastern.

For more, check out BU's website.

Brion O’Connor, who is a contributor to ESPNBoston.com, contributed to this report

Boston University didn't waste much time in choosing a successor to legendary hockey coach Jack Parker. And the Terriers kept it in the family.

On Tuesday morning, just three days after Parker's career ended with a loss in the Hockey East championship game, the school will introduce David Quinn, a former Terrier player and assistant coach and current Colorado Avalanche assistant, as the first new head coach of the BU hockey team in 40 years, according to multiple sources.

The 46-year-old Quinn was selected from a short list of candidates that reportedly included former Terrier Mike Sullivan and current associate head coach Mike Bavis.

Quinn, a native of Cranston, R.I., was a first-round draft pick of the Minnesota North Stars (No. 13 overall), and played for Parker from three seasons, from 1984-85 to 1986-87. After his junior year, he tried out for the 1988 Olympic team, but was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder, temporarily forcing his retirement from the game.

Four years later, with his disease under control, Quinn tried out for the 1992 Olympic team. Although he failed to make the national squad, Quinn caught the eye of New York Ranger scouts, and played 19 games for New York's American Hockey League affiliate, the Binghamton Rangers, in 1991-92. The next season, he played 60 games with the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League, notching 21 points on eight goals and 13 assists. He retired permanently after that season and went to work as an assistant coach for the Northeastern Huskies.

After Northeastern, Quinn joined the staff of Mike Kemp's fledgling Nebraska-Omaha program, earning a reputation as a solid recruiter before leaving to take a development coaching post with USA Hockey, eventually becoming the head coach of the U.S. National Under-17 team. In 2004, Quinn joined Parker's staff at BU, along with current associate head coach Bavis, playing a key role in bringing in the players that won Parker's third and final national championship in 2009.

After that championship season, Quinn left BU to take the head coaching job with Lake Erie in the American Hockey League, where he went 115-94-27 in three seasons, before being promoted last year to his current post as an assistant coach for the Avalanche under fellow BU alum Joe Sacco.

After Parker's retirement announcement on March 11, BU athletic director Mike Lynch said, "We're looking for the best possible guy for the job."

"We're going to look for a guy who has a great deal of experience, not only handling the public pressures of this job, which is a lot different from the job [Parker] took in the 1970s," Lynch said. "There's a lot more expectations, there's a lot more hype around BU hockey now than there ever has been. Jack's handled it well for 40 years, but the next guy coming in is replacing a legend. That's going to be a very challenging opportunity for someone, but we think it's a great opportunity for someone too."

For former Terrier David Quinn, that opportunity starts on Tuesday.

Hockey East champion UMass-Lowell landed the No. 1 seed in the Northeast (Manchester, N.H.) region, while defending national champ Boston College is the No. 2 seed in the East (Providence) in the NCAA hockey tournament pairings announced Sunday night.

BC, hoping to become the first repeat champion since Denver in 2004-05, opens play against No. 3 Union on Saturday (9 p.m.). The Eagles are in the same region as Quinnipiac, the No. 1 overall seed.

UMass-Lowell will face No. 4 Wisconsin on Friday (4:30 p.m.). The other first-round game in Manchester pits No. 2 New Hampshire against No. 3 Denver.

CLICK HERE for more on the tournament. CLICK HERE to see the tourney bracket.

MINNEAPOLIS -- This wasn't just another title game. Minnesota had the sport's first perfect season in sight.

This women's hockey championship even generated enough buzz to produce a few ticket scalpers outside.

Amanda Kessel scored twice, and the Gophers beat Boston University 6-3 on Sunday to become the first undefeated team in the 13-year history of NCAA women's hockey.

"We made the impossible possible," Kessel said. "It goes to everyone on our team. It's not just one or two people."

Mira Jalosuo, Hannah Brandt, Milica McMillen and Rachel Ramsey also scored for the Gophers (41-0), who won their second straight national championship -- and fourth overall -- and stretched their record winning streak to 49 games. Their last loss was to North Dakota on Feb. 17, 2012, more than 13 months ago.

"I don't think a lot of us focused on the record, which was nice," defender Megan Bozek said. "There was a bigger task at hand. It was just great that our nerves didn't get the best of us."

Sarah Lefort, Marie-Philip Poulin and Jenelle Kohanchuk had goals for the Terriers (28-6-3), whose 10-game winning streak ended. They also lost in the title game in 2011.

Three Western Collegiate Hockey Association teams have won all 13 championships. Minnesota Duluth has five and Wisconsin has four.

Noora Raty made 21 saves for the Gophers, who never trailed after needing overtime to outlast Boston College in the semifinals and triple overtime to top North Dakota in the quarterfinals. This was more like most of Minnesota's regular season matchups. The Gophers trailed in only a handful of games while cruising through the WCHA.

Now they've made a convincing case as the best team ever in this young sport. Wisconsin went 36-1-4 in 2007 and 37-2-2 in 2011 to win national titles, but never has one school dominated from October through March quite like this Minnesota bunch.

Raty, the senior from Finland, proudly held up her jersey No. 41 -- matching her team's win total -- at the podium for the news conference afterward. She never gave up more than three goals this season and only did so three times.

Kessel, who won the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award on Saturday as the top player in the country, added two assists. Maryanne Menefee had three helpers, and Ramsey had two. McMillen might've had the most impressive sequence of the afternoon when she hustled back to thwart a short-handed breakaway by BU late in the second period. McMillen stole the puck, sent it back to Minnesota's offensive zone and polished off the power play by one-timing a slap shot past goalie Kerrin Sperry for a 4-1 lead with 12 seconds remaining before the intermission.

Jalosuo scored on a power play and Brandt had a short-handed goal in the first period to put the Gophers in front. Ramsey scored in the final frame to add to the cushion and Kessel fittingly capped her performance with an empty-netter.

BU coach Brian Durocher noted that three of Minnesota's first four goals were one-timed shots.

"You could put a bucket of pucks out there, and there are lot of people who couldn't hit one one-timer in that situation," Durocher said. "We were making the plays, but they made better ones."

Kessel, the sister of Toronto Maple Leafs star Phil Kessel, finished her junior year with 46 goals and 55 assists. Raty and Bozek were the other finalists for the Kazmaier honor. Raty received the Most Outstanding Player award for the NCAA tournament.

The capacity crowd of 3,400 at cozy Ridder Arena, home ice for the Gophers, chanted "Perfect season! Perfect season!" as the final seconds ticked down before the entire Gophers team flung helmets and sticks in the air on the way to pile on Raty in celebration in front of the net. The game sold out weeks ago.

"I heard $150," Durocher said about the market price. "I was nervous maybe my assistant coaches were going to be out there on the street," Durocher said, deadpanning. "Thankfully, they were on the bench. We don't have any violations to report."

Gophers coach Brad Frost couldn't stop praising the atmosphere.

"It's very surreal. I'll probably have to pinch myself when I actually get back home and put my head on the pillow," he said.

The Terriers, who set a program record for single-season wins, tried their best to appreciate what they did to get this far and give the Minnesota machine at least some moments of tension.

"That's a testament to the heart in our locker room," captain Jill Cardella said, praising Kaleigh Fratkin's blocked shot in the closing seconds as one of many examples of BU's relentlessness. "That pretty much tells the whole story."

Poulin, who finished with 19 goals and 36 assists this season, took a slap shot by Bozek off her kneecap early in the game and hobbled off the ice only to return for her next shift. Bozek, smiling, said Poulin got her back on the ankle a little later.

"We're all proud of each other," a teary-eyed Poulin said, "and we stood up together."

The Gophers were just too good.

"They earned what they got," Durocher said. "Great team. I tip my cap to them. ... It's not easy to go with a zero in two columns."

BOSTON -- Adieu, Coach Parker.

There would be no storybook ending in the storied career of the best hockey coach in Boston University history. Faced with a must-win scenario, and his Terriers unable to duplicate Friday's stunning comeback victory against Boston College, BU coach Jack Parker saw his 40-year career come to an end during the Hockey East finals on Friday at the hands of a determined Lowell River Hawks squad in a 1-0 thriller.

"From the opening faceoff, I thought both teams played extremely well. It was a great college hockey game," said Parker, employing one of his favorite assessments. "It was unbelievable that it was a 1-0 game, with all the chances going on. I was very, very pleased with our effort. I thought it was one of the best games we played all year. A real 60-minute effort.

"I was really happy with my team. I was really happy with everything that happened, except we couldn't put it by their goaltender, and they got one by ours. Both teams played extremely well. We got 36 shots. We had our chances. I guess it wasn't to be."

Instead, an unmistakable sense of "a changing of the guard" permeated the TD Garden after the final whistle. It was a fairytale run for Lowell (26-10-2), led by second-year coach Norm Bazin, as the top-seeded River Hawks captured their first Hockey East title. It was the exact opposite result of the 2009 title game, when Lowell needed to beat BU to advance to the NCAAs, only to lose 1-0. It was also particularly sweet for Bazin, who was a senior on the 1994 Lowell team that lost to BU in the 1994 Hockey East finals, 3-2.

"I congratulate UMass Lowell for a terrific season. I thought they were a terrific team all year long," said Parker. "I thought we gave them one heck of a game tonight, but they had a heck of a year. Winning the league, and then winning the playoffs, is quite an accomplishment for them, and for Norman. He's had a great year as a coach and deserves that Coach of the Year award."

Parker admitted that, when the game ended and he watched the Hockey East banner lowered so Lowell could be added, he thought of how the competition in the league had gotten progressively tougher over his tenure.

"When I first started coaching, and a good friend of mine [and former BU teammate], Billy Riley, was the coach at Lowell Tech," said Parker. "BU hockey was something special when I got the job here. Lowell Tech, now UMass Lowell, has come a long way, to the point where they're now the dominating team in Hockey East."

While the sentimental vote may have been in Parker's corner, the see-saw game turned in Lowell's favor with one dramatic play halfway through the third period, after the River Hawks had withstood a dogged BU attack.

With just over nine minutes left in the game, UML's Derek Arnold broke the heart of Terrier Nation. The junior from Foxboro, Mass., finishing a rare 3-on-2 break, spun around the back of the net and flicked a backhander that caromed off BU netminder Sean Maguire and into the net. It was the last goal that Parker would see scored from his viewpoint behind the BU bench.

Arnold, in the handshake line after the game, even managed to draw a laugh out of the outgoing BU coach.

"He said he wished he played for me. And I told him, I wished he did, too," said Parker with a wry smile. "He's a really good kid and a really good player."

The loss means Parker's Terriers (21-16-2) won't get an invitation to the NCAA tournament, which starts next weekend. Parker finishes his four-decade run with 897 wins, third all-time (behind BC's Jerry York, 935, and Ron Mason, 924) and the most by any coach at a single institution. He already has a record 24 NCAA appearances, but while disappointed the Terriers couldn't get a 25th, he said he left the TD Garden without regrets.

"I couldn't ask for more of my team," said Parker. "I couldn't ask for a better weekend for us. We played really well. We played really hard."

The Terriers kept the game close with a gritty, relentless style that Parker loves to preach. It was the same style he played with when he suited up for BU for three years, 1966-68.

"He was a very good skater. The best part of his game was his faceoffs and his forechecking," said longtime rival and friend, BC's York. "He was tenacious forechecking. So you could see some of the fire that he's had in his coaching career as a player."

For his players, the loss was compounded by the fact they weren't able to send their coach out on top.

"Obviously, we wanted to extend the season for Coach Parker for as long as we possibly could," said BU captain Wade Megan, a member of the senior class that will be the first in 40 years to leave the program at the same time as its coach. "At the end of the day, we played as hard as we possibly could, and we left it all on the ice. It's tough to have regrets when you play like we did tonight. We just couldn't solve their goaltender. That was the bottom line. It would have meant a lot to extend the season, especially for Coach Parker, but it wasn't meant to be."

Ryan Ruikka, an assistant captain, echoed Megan's sentiments. "This is my fifth year with Coach," said the Michigan native. "It's been a great time. He's an unbelievable coach, unbelievable person.

"We wanted to make the run as long as we could for him. We pushed hard at the end. We didn't get what we wanted, but he had a great 40 years here," said Ruikka, prompting a chuckle from his coach. "Some kids say he's the face of BU hockey, and I just thank him for all he's done for me and this organization."

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SALT LAKE CITY -- Mark Lyons has been to the Sweet 16 before. But earning another trip, with his new team, felt different Saturday -- maybe even a bit more special -- because of the position he plays.

“I’m the point guard now,” the Arizona senior (and former guard at Xavier) said after he tied his career high with 27 points to help beat Harvard 74-51. “Last year I was playing off the ball with a great point guard, and I learned from him. And now, I’m back … we’re back.”

The 6-foot-1 playmaker made sure the Wildcats were back -- and on to Los Angeles for the West Regional semifinal -- by pumping up his defense as well as making 12 of 17 field goals.

Lyons and the Wildcats controlled the game from the get-go. While the 14^th-seeded Crimson missed shot after shot -- their first 13, to be exact -- sixth-seeded Arizona built a 17-2 lead. Lyons had seven points before Harvard freshman point guard Siyani Chambers finally buried the Crimson’s first field goal, a 3, with 12:16 left in the first half. But the Wildcats led by as many as 22 before taking a 40-22 halftime lead.

“I think in order for us to make this a magical moment for our team and program -- which we have been able to do at other points in this season -- you’ve got to get off to a good start against a team like that,” said Harvard coach Tommy Amaker, whose team shot just 27.6 percent against the taller, more aggressive, more confident-looking Wildcats. “We had our chances. We had some open opportunities early, and once we missed some we kind of got our heads down and they took advantage of it.”

Indeed, even when Harvard tried to chip back -- and Chambers got a chipped tooth in the process -- Lyons was there, doing what a point guard does: leading.

When a Chambers 3 cut the deficit to 44-30 with 17:22 to go, Lyons made a layup.

And when two free throws by Harvard’s Wesley Saunders cut it to 16 with 13:16 left? Lyons scored on another drive.

Harvard never really threatened, but key for the Wildcats was that they never allowed it.

“When we got the lead, Coach [Sean Miller] said, ‘Don’t let up. Don’t start walking the ball up,’ because we have a tendency to let up,” Lyons said.

Not this time.

Lyons also finished with three assists, two turnovers, a steal and a rebound. According to ESPN Stats & Information, he now will become the first player ever to compete in the Sweet 16 in back-to-back years with different teams. He also played on two Xavier squads that reached the Sweet 16, and practiced with another when he was a partial qualifier as a freshman.

“I think it’s remarkable, really,” Miller said. “It shows you how talented he is, and it also shows you the bigger the game, [it] can really bring out the best in him.”

Lyons, who averaged about 15 points during the regular season, is now averaging 25 points in this year’s NCAA tournament. And he thinks the best is yet to come.

“You know, it’s a great feeling,” Lyons said. “I’m playing for my original coach who recruited me, playing with a bunch of guys who believe in me and got faith in me. We’ve been coming together as a team. It’s great to be back in the Sweet 16 and trying to advance.”

 
SALT LAKE CITY -- It wasn’t just about Arizona being bigger. The Wildcats, led by point guard Mark Lyons, also were flat-out better. Aggressive, accurate and defensive-minded from the beginning, sixth-seeded Arizona ended 14th-seeded Harvard’s short-lived Cinderella run, 74-51, to advance to the Sweet 16.

A quick look at the victory:

Turning point: A true turning point never came, because Arizona controlled this one from the get-go. While the Crimson missed shot after shot -- its first 13, to be exact -- the Wildcats built a 17-2 lead. Freshman point guard Siyani Chambers finally buried Harvard’s first field goal, a 3, with 12:16 left in the first half, but Arizona led by as many as 22 before taking a 40-22 lead into halftime.

Players of the game: Lyons finished with a season-high 27 points on 12-for-17 shooting, and forward Solomon Hill added 13.

Chambers, who lost part of a tooth early in the second half when he caught an inadvertent elbow from Wildcat Kevin Parrom, finished with six points on 2-for-8 shooting. Forward Kenyatta Smith led Harvard with 10 points.

Stat of the game: Arizona held Belmont to 39.2 percent shooting on Thursday. This time around, it held Harvard to 27.6 percent.

Next up: Arizona advances to play either No. 10 Iowa State or No. 2 Ohio State in the West region semifinals.

BOSTON -- Jack Parker's farewell tour picked up steam Friday night, as his Boston University Terriers fought back from a 2-0 deficit to beat archrival Boston College 6-3 in the Hockey East semifinals at TD Garden.

The third-seeded Terriers (21-15-2) turned the tables on the second-seeded Eagles (22-11-4) with five straight goals, including three critical goals in the second period that gave BU a 3-2 lead going into the final stanza. After BU sophomore Evan Rodrigues finally sealed Parker's 897th win with an empty-net tally at 17:31 of the third period, the Terriers locked up their date in the finals against UMass Lowell on Saturday.

"We came back from the dead, I thought," said Parker, who is retiring after the season. "The game could have been a lot worse in the first half. We hung in there and hung in there, got a little life and took advantage of it.

"I was very proud of these guys," he said.

Saturday's final will mark BU's 10th time in the Hockey East championship game, where the Terriers have a 7-2 record. Perhaps more importantly, it gives Parker's players a chance to win the league crown, and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament that comes with it, in their coach's swan song.

"Now we have a chance to not only win a championship, but if we do, we'll have a chance to go to another tournament, which is what we would like to do. And we'll have all we can handle with Lowell tomorrow night," said Parker. "I was real pleased with my team. I was real pleased with my special teams. We got a very, very competitive effort tonight."

It didn't look that way early on. The Terriers took three first-period penalties, and the Eagles' power play looked impressive, moving the puck crisply and patiently. But BU's bend-but-don't-break defense, and some timely saves by freshman goaltender Sean Maguire (44 saves), kept BC off the board.

"The game was so out of hand the first half," said Parker. "I thought my guys were uptight, I thought we were struggling to move the puck, I thought we were outskated. I thought our goaltender really stood tall. Forget the fact that we were outshot badly. We were tentative."

At 17:50, BC's Johnny Gaudreau, the league's leading scorer and player of the year, had Maguire down and out, with the puck on his backhand, but he snapped it over the crossbar. Eventually, though, playing a man down caught up with the Terriers.

With BU's Sean Escobedo serving two minutes for tripping, the Eagles broke the scoreless tie at 18:33. Eagles forward Bill Arnold, driving down the right wing, threw the puck in front. It never got there. Instead, the puck deflected off BU defender Garrett Noonan and ramped over Maguire's left shoulder for a 1-0 BC lead.

"Kind of a bad hop," said the junior defender, who just returned from injury.

Quinn Smith nearly doubled the BC lead at the 5-minute mark, on another power play, but the sophomore forward's bid from the low slot rang iron. At 8:25, Whitney, streaking down the left wing, rifled a shot that narrowly missed the cage while being pressured by Matt Grzelcyk.

Twenty seconds later, though, the Eagles were attacking again. Smith didn't miss on his next bid, taking a picture-perfect feed from BC captain Pat Mullane and redirecting it over Maguire's glove at 8:46 for an even-strength tally.

BU showed some life at 12:17, halving the Eagles' lead. BU's Rodrigues executed a nifty toe drag that tripped up Smith, and then fired a wrister that broke through Parker Milner (21 saves). The goal gave the BU offense some spark, and the Terriers started strafing the BC net.

"I think it was almost two completely different games," said BC associate head coach Greg Brown, who along with Mike Cavanaugh was handling bench duties for a recuperating Jerry York. "I thought the first half, we were controlling a lot of the play, dictating the tempo. And then basically, right from their first goal by Rodrigues, their bench got a huge lift, and it seemed like they were asserting themselves more than we were after that."

The Terriers clawed all the way back at the 14:21 mark. When BC's Danny Linell, a converted forward playing defense, bobbled the puck at the BU blue line, Terrier Matt Lane seized the opportunity. Jumping past Linell, Lane raced in on Milner, switched to his backhand and tucked the puck between the legs of the BC netminder.

At 16:55, Milner came up with a big blocker stop on BU's Rodrigues, who got off a quality backhand bit while being tripped by Mike Matheson. The Terriers capitalized on the ensuing power play, with Noonan taking a super-cross-ice feed from Grzelcyk and threading the needle between Milner and the short side post from a bad angle. Noonan's sixth goal of the season gave BU a 3-2 lead at 17:59.

"I think we just finally figured it out," said BU's superb freshman Danny O'Regan. "Coach [was] telling us to play wings out of the zone. Our D's made some great looks up the ice. Nieto and Rodrigues are tough to keep track of. They slipped behind them a couple of times. A couple of skill guys, tough to contain sometimes. So I think it was us adjusting to them."

Milner made amends with 34 seconds left, denying Nieto with a great blocker stop on another breakaway bid. But the second-period collapse was an ominous sign, as BU had a 15-1-0 record this season while leading after two periods and the Eagles were 1-9-0 when trailing after the middle stanza.

BU went right back on the power play to start the third when BC's Gaudreau was whistled for cross-checking Escobedo behind the BU net, resulting in a five-minute major. And again, the Terriers made BC pay.

The Terriers were patient, sending the puck around the perimeter before it was sent to an unmarked O'Regan in prime scoring position. With Ryan Santana setting a monster screen in front of Milner, O'Regan calmly snapped a shot low glove side for a 4-2 Terriers advantage at 1:42.

The Terriers kept firing away, slowly wearing down the Eagles. Arnold and Whitney got off a pair of short-handed shots, but they were long-range efforts that Maguire handled easily. O'Regan then put the game out of reach with another power-play strike.

With BC's Whitney serving two minutes for high-sticking, BU's Nieto launched a bomb from the right point that Milner blocked but couldn't control. O'Regan, cruising in the low slot, found the puck on his stick and immediately deposited it into the BC net, stretching BU's lead to 5-2.

BC showed some life when BU's Patrick MacGregor was sent off for cross-checking at 9:16, but the Eagles couldn't get the puck past Maguire.

"Maggie's been unbelievable this whole stretch, the last eight games or so," said O'Regan. "We'll rely on him tomorrow. He's the most competitive kid I know, so I know he's going to bring it tomorrow as well."

Whitney got one back for BC when he took a carom off the backboard and chipped a bad angle shot that rolled over Maguire's left shoulder at 13:43, cutting the BU margin to 5-3.

At 17:31, with Milner pulled in favor of the extra BC attacker, Rodrigues buried the Eagles with a short-handed, empty-net goal. But the Terriers were keenly aware that their season could easily end Saturday if they don't bring the same effort against Lowell.

"The job's not done yet," said Noonan afterward. "We have to win tomorrow. But it was a good win tonight."

Saturday's Hockey East championship will be a rematch of the 2009 title game won by BU 1-0. Both Lowell and BC have already punched their tickets to the NCAA tournament by virtue of their lofty national and PairWise rankings. BU, however, doesn't have the same luxury. The Terriers need to win to keep playing and extend Parker's legendary career for at least another game.

"Especially after the first period, we kind of realized he's such a great coach," said O'Regan. "We weren't going to let him lose to BC at the Garden as his last game, and we were willing to do whatever we had to."

"Much appreciated, Danny," quipped Parker. "Thank you."

In Lowell, BU faces a squad that swept three straight games with the Terriers this season. "They've had everybody's number," said Parker of the River Hawks.

"We have our backs to the wall," he said. "We have to win to continue our season. More importantly, we have to win for our seniors, not for me. We have to win for these guys who would like to win a championship."

He's a professional now, playing basketball for a living. But that doesn't mean Keith Wright feels any less of a connection to his alma mater.

The forward for Uppsala in Sweden's top league (where he's listed at 209 centimeters and 109 kilograms) was watching Thursday night as No. 14 seed Harvard upset No. 3 seed New Mexico 68-62.

"It is such a huge win for our program," Wright said by email Friday. "I'm so proud of those guys."

Part of Tommy Amaker's first full recruiting class in 2008, Wright helped establish the winning culture that's flourishing in Cambridge right now. The 2010-11 Ivy Player of the Year played 33 minutes in the 12th-seeded Crimson's loss to No. 5 seed Vanderbilt in last season's NCAA tournament, finishing with eight points and nine rebounds.

After the Crimson upset the Lobos, Wright said he was able to video chat with some of his former teammates and coaches.

"For Coach Amaker to do what he did with the squad this year, given the circumstances, is unbelievable," Wright said. "All of the alums are so proud to be a part of what Harvard had become."

That includes some of Wright's other former teammates, like Oliver McNally and Houston Rockets star Jeremy Lin.

After the buzzer sounded in Salt Lake City, Lin tweeted his excitement.

Wright did the same:

its 6 am..i have a game tonight…but i can't go back to sleep now…hahaha IM TOO HYPED for the little homies #gocrimson

— Keith Wright (@KWright44) March 22, 2013

Hours later, Wright sounded just as excited.

"It was just awesome to see. You can give credit to Coach Amaker but the players buying into his system and the brand of Harvard basketball is the most important part," Wright said. "Players like Wes Saunders stepping up and the emergence of Siyani Chambers was great to see. Kenyatta [Smith] finally coming into his own towards the end of the season … I'm just a proud alum, man.

"I feel extremely blessed to be a part of the Harvard program and community. We are all a family!"

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

Though it might seem like it happens in an instant, history is made slowly.

So when the buzzer sounded in Salt Lake City and the Crimson flooded onto the court to celebrate the school's first NCAA tournament victory, they had indeed made history. But they didn't just magically appear on that stage at the Big Dance, didn't just magically turn into Ivy League contenders and then champions.

Harvard has traveled a long road to this point, a yearslong journey that isn't over yet.

The journey started six years ago, when the school decided to make a fresh commitment to the program, on and off the court, and chose Tommy Amaker as its next coach.

Building toward history

It's hard to overstate just what a historic achievement No. 14 seed Harvard's 68-62 win over No. 3 seed New Mexico really is.

Amaker is the 17th coach in Harvard's long basketball history, which stretches all the way back to 1900 (although Harvard didn't field teams from 1909 to 1920). Entering the 2012-13 season, the Crimson had played 2,268 games (winning 1,015 and losing 1,253) but had never won a postseason game of any kind (0-2 in the NCAA tournament, 0-1 in both the NIT and the CollegeInsider.com tournament).

Of course, before Amaker took the 2009-10 team to the CollegeInsider.com tourney following a buzzer-beating loss to Princeton for the Ivy League's automatic NCAA bid, only one Harvard team had even played in a postseason tournament.

And that was in 1945-46.

Amaker took over in Cambridge before the 2007-08 season, having been fired by Michigan following the 2006-07 season. Amaker's Wolverines finished that season at 22-13 overall, including an 8-8 record in the Big Ten, with a second-round loss in the NIT.

What Amaker found by the Charles was a program that needed major upgrades both on and off the court. The Crimson needed better locker rooms, they needed better facilities and they needed more on-court talent.

But asked Friday about his "vision" for the Harvard program, Amaker said he didn't have to do anything special to make it a reality.

"I love the word 'vision,' first of all, and we use that a lot because that was real and truthful from day one of what I felt in my heart about Harvard. It's an incredible brand. It's a magical name, and that's not a knock to any other wonderful place or institution or university," Amaker told reporters in Salt Lake City. "I just think that it speaks for itself in so many ways of being considered the very best.

"I didn't have to overcome, or we didn't have to try and feel like we were overcoming anything. What we tried to do is present a vision and present Harvard as an option, as an opportunity. I never used the word 'sell.'"

Amaker did inherit some talent, including a point guard named Jeremy Lin, but otherwise the cupboard was close to bare early. (Lin, of course, went on to star in the Ivy League and then bounced around the NBA before bursting onto the scene with the Knicks last season. He now plays for the Houston Rockets.)

With Lin and a first recruiting class that included players such as Oliver McNally and Keith Wright, who would become stalwarts and two-year co-captains as juniors and seniors, Amaker set about building a winning culture in Cambridge.

That was a big deal because while the Crimson have had success in other sports, before Amaker arrived the men's basketball program never had.

Keeping the momentum going

The success the Crimson have had this season is surprising for a number of reasons, the most obvious being all the talent they lost after last season. McNally and Wright graduated, and their would-be senior co-captain replacements also left before the 2012-13 season began.

Kyle Casey, the do-it-all forward and former Ivy League rookie of the year, and Brandyn Curry, the steady, speedy point guard, both chose to withdraw from school after being implicated in an academic cheating scandal that involved more than 100 students.

Their abrupt departure could have submarined the season. Where there should have been two experienced, knowledgeable and talented hands on the helm, suddenly there were none.

But that was true only briefly.

"The facts are what they are, and it wasn't anything that any of us would prefer to have happen at our school across the board with so many kids and families and folks involved in something like that which is somewhat from what I've seen," Amaker said Friday.

"But I think our guys have been able to adjust just like I would expect most young kids to be able to do. They've done it exceptionally well. I've been very impressed with how they have been able to do that."

After losing Casey and Curry, Amaker turned to senior Christian Webster and junior Laurent Rivard. The duo would have to lead, and hope youngsters such as Wesley Saunders, Steve Moundou-Missi and Kenyatta Smith (all sophomores) and Siyani Chambers (a freshman) would follow.

At first, the sudden added responsibility was jarring.

"Of course [the loss of Casey and Curry] was a big blow to our team," Rivard said on a conference call with reporters Monday, "but the coaching staff was quick to tell us that it was an incredible opportunity for the team and for each of us individually.

"We embraced that role and we did what we could to get the team to where it's at now."

Webster, who had 11 points against New Mexico to cross the 1,000-point mark for his career, said they've grown into their roles as the season has gone on.

"If you look at us from earlier in the season to now, it's like a change in worlds," Webster said in the call Monday. "It's gotten so much better."

Rivard, a native of Saint-Bruno, Quebec, played a big role in the upset of the Lobos. The sharpshooting guard was 5-for-9 from behind the arc, including three big 3s in the first half, to help the Crimson build a lead first and later come back after the Lobos had rallied to take the lead.

His 17 points were only one off the team lead (Saunders had 18), and without his consistent ability to slip free of his defender -- mostly New Mexico forward Cameron Bairstow -- and hit open shots, Harvard almost certainly would have lost.

And while Rivard was only a two-star recruit coming out of Northfield Mount Hermon -- the prep school in Gill, Mass., that he transferred to in order to increase his recruiting profile -- that doesn't mean the shooter wasn't coveted.

After Rivard helped Harvard beat Boston College during his freshman season, Steve Donahue was asked whether the marksman had taken the Eagles by surprise.

"I know Laurent very well," Donahue said that day in January 2011, after Rivard scored a game-high 23 points in a 78-69 Harvard win in Conte Forum. "We recruited him very hard at Cornell. Terrific basketball player."

But as is becoming more and more common, the recruit chose to go to Harvard instead. And that has made all the difference.

"I think the back-to-back games in the Ivy League is going to help us a lot," Rivard said Friday of Harvard's preparation for Arizona. "It's a little different here now. I guess we have a day off in between.

"But during the Ivy League season, we would win or lose on Friday night and we had to turn the page whether we felt good about how we played or not, but we had to turn the page and focus on the next opponent. That's what we're doing today. We have practice right now. We're going to start focusing on Arizona, and I think it's going to help us."

Since 2010, the Crimson have added more three-star recruits (five) than the rest of the Ivy League combined (three, two for Yale and one for Penn), according to ESPN Recruiting Nation. And that total doesn't include the 2012-13 Ivy League rookie of the year, the first freshman to be voted first-team All-Ivy, Siyani Chambers (a two-star recruit).

Next season, the Crimson lose only the senior Webster, and should not only add another solid recruiting class -- including coveted prospect Zena Edosomwan, who turned down the likes of California, USC, Wake Forest, Washington, UCLA and Texas to commit to Harvard -- but also welcome back Casey and Curry (assuming the cheating scandal is settled).

So after winning a third straight Ivy League title, making a second straight NCAA appearance and capturing the first postseason win in school history, all in a season in which it was supposed to be weakened, Harvard likely will be even better in 2013-14.

Just imagine the history that Crimson team could make.

Jack McCluskey is an editor for ESPN.com and a frequent contributor to ESPNBoston.com. Follow him on Twitter @jack_mccluskey.

SALT LAKE CITY -- When Siyani Chambers chose Harvard, he hoped to be the Crimson’s starting point guard ... someday.

He dreamed of leading his team on an NCAA tournament run ... someday.

The fact that someday is today?

“Amazing," the 6-foot Ivy League rookie of the year said Friday, less than 24 hours after 14th-seeded Harvard knocked off No. 3 New Mexico for the program’s first NCAA tournament victory.

That word could describe his development, too.

“He’s the leader on our team," said senior guard Christian Webster, whose team will face sixth-seeded Arizona on Saturday for the right to advance to the Sweet 16. “Laurent [Rivard] and I are the captains, but he’s the leader. He drove this team."

It’s a role the 19-year-old ball handler never expected, at least not this soon, when he arrived on Harvard’s campus less than a year ago. First recruited by Crimson coach Tommy Amaker when he was in the eighth grade, Chambers decided pretty quickly that he wanted to play for the former Duke guard because of what he could learn.

But Chambers also thought he would have some time to be a pupil, while playing behind Brandyn Curry, a Cousy award candidate last season. That is, until September, when Curry and fellow senior Kyle Casey withdrew from Harvard following an academic scandal.

When the freshman heard the news, his head spun. “I was definitely nervous -- very, very nervous," Chambers said. “All of a sudden, it’s your first year, you’re coming in trying to learn the whole process about everything: playing, dealing with school and basketball.”

To persevere, he said, he leaned on his teammates -- and they leaned back, looking for the vocal freshman to glue together a team whose chances of winning the Ivy League all of a sudden seemed precarious, at best.

But Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball exceeded expectations probably because he had no other choice, gaining confidence (and his team’s confidence in him) by becoming a steady assist man and scorer early; he even hit the game-winning basket with four seconds left against Boston University on Dec. 11.

“He’s a special kid, and certainly he plays basketball in a special way, and I think you get excited when you watch him play," Amaker said. “I know when we recruited him, we wanted him to play in that manner; sometimes I thought he held himself back a little bit, and I told him if you ever come to play for us ... we want you to be dazzling because you’re capable of it.”

His season stats -- 12.6 points and 5.8 assists per game -- were dazzling enough to make him the first freshman named first-team All-Ivy League.

But the way he melded his team dazzled, too. Sophomore Wesley Saunders emerged as a go-to scorer (16.5 PPG). Rivard became a scary outside threat (five 3s against the Lobos on Thursday). Kenyatta Smith and Steve Moundou-Missi improved in the post. Harvard finished the regular season 19-9, winning the Ivy League.

So maybe it was fitting that as the seconds ticked down on Harvard's historic upset Thursday, Chambers was the one with the ball in his hands, grinning and carefully watching the clock. That moment is a feat the Crimson hope to repeat against another bigger, more heralded team Saturday.

And one Chambers never imagined when he thought about his goals a year ago.

“I just wanted to come in and learn as much as possible, so when it was my time I could step in and be able to contribute to the game," he said, remembering. “... When I first decided to come here, I did not think this is what I would be stepping into.

“But I’m glad I came here, and I’m glad this happened.”

Now.

SALT LAKE CITY NEWS AND NOTES

SAFETY FIRST: One teammate compared Wichita State sophomore Tekele Cotton to a strong safety. Shockers coach Gregg Marshall? He thinks the guard is more like a free safety.

Whatever the football analogy, you get the picture: The 6-2, 202-pound athlete is hard-nosed, hard-bodied and hard-focused on making stops. And if he can stymie a certain Gonzaga player like he did Pittsburgh guard Tray Woodall on Thursday (the senior was brought to tears after his 1-for-12, two-point performance), Cotton knows his team has a better chance to upset the No. 1 team in the country.

“I look forward to being that guy, to chase around their player like I did yesterday," said Cotton, who is also averaging 6.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game this season. “So I look forward to chasing around Kevin Pangos. I have no problem with it; I enjoy it.”

Pangos, the Zags’ standout sophomore guard, is averaging 11.6 points per game this season and scored the final five points in top-seeded Gonzaga’s six-point survival against 16th-seeded Southern on Thursday. He said the key to competing with a physical team such as the ninth-seeded Shockers is to be physical right back.

“We don’t shy away from that; our team is tough," Pangos said. “We don’t back down from that at all.”

This should be an interesting matchup. The Shockers held Pitt to 35.2 percent shooting from the field -- and just 5.9 percent on 3-pointers. The Zags are third in the nation in field-goal percentage, making 50.4 percent of their shots.

NO ALARM HERE: Zags coach Mark Few wasn’t particularly rattled that the game against Southern went down to the wire; a win is a win is a win right now.

“At this point of the year, I don’t think we need to worry about aesthetics or, you know, differences," he said. “I know it’s cliché, ‘survive and advance,’ but there really is no other alternative. We’re not getting style points and we’re not getting graded -- you know, you either win or your season is over.”

QUOTE-WORTHY: “We know we’re in for a fight, especially the confidence that they have. When you win a game like that, it doesn’t just all of a sudden leave you; many times it carries through for the rest of the weekend. For us, it’s not about being consumed with Harvard, as much as it is about being consumed with ourselves, making sure we’re ready to go.” -- Arizona coach Sean Miller

BOSTON -- Providence College's bid to get back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001 was derailed on Friday, as the top-seeded Lowell River Hawks upended the Friars, 2-1, in the opening Hockey East semifinal tilt at the TD Garden.

The win was sweet revenge for Norm Bazin's River Hawks, who were unceremoniously dumped from the Hockey East playoffs last year in the quarterfinal by the Friars despite having home ice. This year, it was Lowell (25-10-2) that came out on top, going toe-to-toe with the fourth-seeded Friars (17-14-7) before getting two third-period goals to secure the win.

The Lowell victory ends the Friars' season, and sends the River Hawks into the Hockey East finals for the third time in their history, and the first time since 2009.

The game featured a great goaltending duel between freshmen Jon Gillies of Providence (31 saves), the night after he was named the league's Rookie of the Year, and Lowell's Connor Hellebuyck (34 saves). When the smoke cleared, it was Hellebuyck who won the battle, shutting down the Friars over the last 51 minutes, and allowing Lowell to post its come-from-behind win.

And for the second year in a row, Nate Leaman's young Friars saw their season end at TD Garden in the league semifinals. However, it looked promising early on for the Friars, who struck first.

Providence freshman Kevin Rooney, slashing across the low slot, picked up the rebound of Noel Acciari's wrister, and tucked it past the outstretched right leg of Lowell's Hellebuyck. It was Rooney's first career goal, giving the Friars a 1-0 lead at 8:59.

Lowell nearly knotted the game late in the first stanza, with Friar Myles Harvey in the box for interference. But Christian Folin's power-play bid from the right point, which beat Gillies, glanced off the left post and stayed out with 40 seconds left.

The River Hawks turned up the heat in the second frame, but Gillies was immense, turning aside 15 Lowell shots, including two point-blank bids by Riley Whetmore and Joseph Pendenza. Lowell had another last-minute bid when Whetmore corkscrewed Harvey into the ice on the right half-wall, but his shot sailed wide right.

Lowell finally broke through at the 34-second mark of the third period, knotting the game at 1-1. Pendenza, driving down the left side, ripped a shot that Gillies blocked. The puck popped into the air, and as Friars captain Kyle Murphy spilled into Gillies, Lowell's A.J. White potted the puck for his second of the year.

Hellebuyck kept the game deadlocked, stuffing Friar Chris Rooney at the doorstep at 6:27. The River Hawks rewarded their goalie, grabbing their first lead at 12:30.

Whetmore feathered a terrific saucer pass from the left wing that found Scott Wilson streaking into the slot. Despite Friars defenseman John Gilmore's suffocating presence, Wilson was able to corral the puck and in a single motion rip it past Gillies' glove for a 2-1 Lowell lead. Wilson's 15th goal of the season proved to be the winner, with Hellebuyck and the Lowell defense shutting down the Friars the rest of the way.

With the win, Bazin's River Hawks -- already assured an NCAA bid based on their No. 5 national ranking and sixth place in the national PairWise rankings -- will have a chance to compete for their first-ever Hockey East championship on Saturday night.