Western Michigan goaltender Hampton Slukynsky (30) and teammate Wyatt Schingoethe (18) celebrate a double overtime victory over Denver in a semifinal game in the NCAA Frozen Four men's college hockey tournament, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in St. Louis (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) AP

Western Michigan will play for a national championship Saturday, a dream for a small program that has committed to hockey for years.

NCAA Frozen Four: Predicting The Champions And Hobey Baker Winner The final weekend of the NCAA men's hockey season has arrived. Let’s predict each game. Expect Western Michigan and Boston University to put on a thrilling game.

The Terriers will face Western Michigan, which defeated defending national champion Denver, 3-2, in double overtime, as they search for their first title since 2009 on Saturday

The Terriers, seeking their first NCAA title since 2009, will face Western Michigan in the championship game on Saturday.

To set up that matchup, Western Michigan, making its first Frozen Four appearance, beat reigning champion Denver in an instant classic, 3-2, in double overtime in the first game of the doubleheader on Thursday night in St.

Owen Michaels scored the game winner and Western Michigan beat defending champion Denver 3-2 to advance to its first Frozen Four title game.

In terms of experience, the disparity does not get much bigger when it comes to the matchup between BU and Penn State in Frozen Four.

Freshman Mikhail Yegorov stopped 32 shots, and Jack Harvey scored an empty-netter with a minute left for BU (24-12-2), which lost in the semifinals in each of the past two years. The Terriers are five-time champions who lost to Providence in 2015 and are seeking their first title since beating Miami (Ohio) in 2009.