Terriers set to face Hockey East rival Vermont in Frozen Four

It seems strange to say that it’s been 12 years since the Boston University hockey team had a chance to play for a national championship. Yet that’s the case for the Terriers, who are back at the Frozen Four for the first time since losing the championship game in 1997 to North Dakota.Tonight, BU looks to end that long drought and have a shot at the program’s first title since 1995 when it plays Hockey East rival Vermont at the Verizon Center in Landover, MD.The Terriers, who come in with a 33-6-4 record, will face a Catamount team that was the only team to knock them off twice this season. Ironically, it came on back-to-back nights at Agganis Arena in November.BU was the lone No. 1 seed to survive a tournament that saw two No. 4 seeds – Miami (Ohio) and Bemidji State – reach the Frozen Four for the first time since the tournament began seeding four teams in 1981.The Terriers also have 11 players whose rights are owned by NHL teams on their roster and three skaters that have North Shore ties.Saugus native Jason Lawrence and Lynnfield’s Chris Higgins skate with Hobey Baker Award finalist Colin Wilson on one of the nation’s most productive lines.Wilson ranks third in the country with 52 points (15-37) and joins teammate Matt Gilroy and Northeastern’s Brad Thiessen as the Hobey finalists while Higgins’ 43 points (13-30) also have him in the top 20. Lawrence has added 24 goals and 37 points for a Terrier team that has the country’s best offense at 3.95 goals per game and the third-best defense (1.95 GPG)Lawrence is tied for fourth in the country with his 24 goals, while his 15 power play markers are second only to Air Force’s Jacques Lamoureux. He also scored the game-winning goal with 15 seconds left against New Hampshire in the Northeast Regional final to send BU to Landover.St. John’s Prep grad John McCarthy is the captain of the Terriers and has had an outstanding postseason, being named to the All-Tournament Team in the Hockey East playoffs and adding two superb games in regional play.The Terriers will face a Vermont team making its first appearance at the Frozen Four since 1996, when it lost a controversial double-overtime game to Colorado College. Vermont’s goalie that season was current Bruins netminder Tim Thomas, and it was led by All-American Martin St. Louis, a Stanley Cup champion with Tampa Bay.The Catamounts advanced to the Frozen Four by besting Yale in the East Regional semifinals and then getting a goal in double overtime, which was determined after a lengthy video review, to beat Air Force in the regional final.