Quinnipiac put a scare into Michigan in the third period after the Wolverines scored four straight goals and held the Bobcats scoreless through the first 40 minutes.
Rand Pecknold, in his 28th season as the Bobcats' head coach, switched goalies to begin the final frame. Dylan St. Cyr took over for Yaniv Perets and it appeared to spark the team. Quinnipiac's Jayden Lee, Wyatt Bongiovanni and Desi Burgart scored consecutive goals to cut the deficit to 4-3 with 8:58 remaining in the game.
While Pecknold's decision to swap goalies paid off, he may have pulled St. Cyr too early in the game's waning minutes, as Michigan scored into the empty net twice with 3:37 and 1:23 remaining to put the game out of reach. Michigan's Brendan Brisson buried a power-play goal with 35 seconds left and Quinnipiac's Zach Metsa scored 13 seconds later for the 7-4 final.
The key to Michigan's win was its fourth line and strong play from goaltender Erik Portillo, a 6-6 Sabres draft pick who finished the game with 30 saves.
Michigan's fourth forward line, an all-senior unit of Garrett Van Wyhe, Jimmy Lambert and Nolan Moyle, sparked its team offensively from the opening faceoff. Hard work from the entire unit resulted in the opening goal by Moyle just 33 seconds into game. Moyle would add the second empty-netter in the third.
Later in the first period, Lambert won a faceoff back to Devils prospect Luke Hughes, who dished the puck back to Lambert in front of the net for a goal on the backhand and 2-0 lead.
Sharks prospect Thomas Bordeleau scored on a tic-tac-toe play from Golden Knights prospect Brisson and Sabres draft pick Owen Power, who finished with four assists, for a power-play goal to make it 3-0. Van Wyhe joined his linemates in the scoring action with a shorthanded tally for the 4-0 lead. Michael Pastujov scored the first empty-netter in the third period for the game-winner. Ten Michigan skaters found the scoresheet.
Beniers, a Hingham, Mass. native, awaits a homecoming in Boston when the Wolverines take on Denver in the Frozen Four on April 7.
Michigan has nine NCAA hockey titles, most all time. Denver has eight.
