Sabres in the NCAA Tournament | Schedule, results, and how to watch

The Buffalo Sabres had six prospects competing in the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, which concluded Saturday night at Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

There, Western Michigan and forward Matteo Costantini earned a 6-2 win over Boston University and defenseman Gavin McCarthy to secure WMU's first-ever national title.

Here's how Costantini and McCarthy helped their schools in the Frozen Four.

Frozen Four National Championship (Saturday, April 12)

Western Michigan 6 - Boston University 2

Costantini skated 18:01 with one shot on goal, a plus-one rating and a 5-for-8 record at the faceoff dot.

On the other side, McCarthy finished minus-two in 25:35, which was the second-most ice time among Terriers skaters.

Western Michigan took a 1-0 lead just 1:38 into the game. BU kept things close, trailing 3-2 after two periods, but WMU pulled away with three third-period goals to lock up the national title.

Frozen Four Semifinals (Thursday, April 10)

Western Michigan 3 - Denver 2

Costantini notched the assist on Western Michigan's double-overtime winner. He brought the puck up the right side of the ice into the offensive zone and dumped it off to the high slot to Owen Michaels. With an open lane to the net, Michaels snapped it past the Denver goaltender and sent Western Michigan to its first-ever championship game.

Brian Kramer and Michaels scored Western Michigan’s two goals in the second period, with Costantini on the ice for the latter of the two. Costantini had a shorthanded steal and a chance to extend the lead to 3-0 in the second, but the Denver netminder stopped his backhand shot and follow-up attempt.

Denver responded in the third period, coming back with goals from Aidan Thompson and Jared Wright – Wright’s goal came with 2:39 left in regulation.

Costantini finished the game with an assist, four shots and a plus-one rating. He was an integral force both at center and on the wing for Western Michigan in the first Frozen Four game in program history, and he'll play for an NCAA title Saturday.

Boston University 3 – Penn State 1

Gavin McCarthy was on the ice for the final minutes with the Penn State goalie out of the net and the Terriers holding onto a 2-1 lead, holding them scoreless. BU scored an empty-net goal to secure its spot in the championship game for the first time in 10 years.

The Terriers got out to a 2-0 lead via two second-period goals from Jack Hughes and Cole Eiserman. The Nittany Lions scored 2:15 into the third period but, despite 18 shots in the final period, weren’t able to get another shot past Terriers goalkeeper Mikhail Yegorov.

McCarthy finished with one shot on goal, a blocked shot and a plus-one rating.

Previous results

Four other Sabres prospects were eliminated earlier in the NCAA Tournament:

• Jake Richard, F – Connecticut
• Maxim Strbak, D – Michigan State
• Patrick Geary, D – Michigan State
• Brodie Ziemer, F – Minnesota

Here's how they, along with Costantini and McCarthy, fared in their regional games. Find the full 16-team bracket here.

Toledo Regional

Boston University 8 - Ohio State 3

McCarthy finished the game with a plus-two rating, including being on the ice for three of BU’s four fourth-period goals.

He swept a puck off the goal line in the first period to hold Ohio State's lead to 1-0 and slow the Buckeyes' momentum. At the end of the game, McCarthy was on the ice for a 5-on-3 penalty kill, holding OSU scoreless for the entire PK.

Cornell 4 - Michigan State 3

Geary and Strbak finished the game with two shots apiece. Strbak had an assist and a plus-one rating in the loss, which ended both defensemen's sophomore campaigns.

Strbak assisted on Michigan State’s third goal of the game to make it 3-2 Spartans late in the second period. The Big Red responded with two goals during the third period, the latter of which came with 10 seconds remaining in regulation.

Geary finished his sophomore season with seven points (1+6) and a plus-four rating in 37 games, while Strbak had 19 points (3+16) and a plus-five rating in 32 games.

Regional Final: Boston University 3 - Cornell 2 (OT)

McCarthy played on the top defense pair and recorded a secondary assist on the Terriers' first goal of the game. He started the breakout with a pass to Cole Hutson who took it to the net, with Matt Copponi poking in Hutson’s rebound to score 1:12 after Cornell had netted the opening goal of the game. It marked McCarthy's 13th assist of the season.

Fargo Regional

Western Michigan 2 - Minnesota State 1

Costantini had two shots in Western Michigan’s win, going 7-for-13 at the faceoff dot with a plus-one rating. The Junior Sabres product was on the ice for the Broncos' first goal.

UMass 5 - Minnesota 4

Ziemer had two shots in Minnesota's loss, which featured a back-and-forth third period that began with the Gophers leading 3-1. UMass scored three goals in less than seven minutes to pull ahead 4-3, then St. Louis Blues prospect Jimmy Snuggerud scored the tying goal for Minnesota with 3:36 remaining. UMass scored the winner 4:49 into overtime.

Ziemer, a third-round pick in 2024, concludes his freshman season with 23 points (12+11) in 38 games.

Regional Final: Western Michigan 2 – UMass 1

Costantini was on the ice for two pivotal five-minute power plays – one for Western Michigan, the other for UMass.

The first five-minute penalty occurred with the Broncos trailing 1-0 with 1:47 remaining in the second period. Constantini was on the ice for Liam Valente’s game-tying goal on the ensuing power play, which was followed by Tim Washe’s winning goal to open the third.

UMass had an opportunity to tie the game following a five-minute elbowing call against Western Michigan, but Costantini contributed to a shutdown effort by the Broncos penalty kill. The Sabres prospect was later on the ice for the Broncos’ 5-on-6 effort as the Minutemen attempted to tie the game with the goalie pulled.

Costantini finished the night with two shots and five faceoff wins on nine attempts.

Allentown Regional

UConn 4 - Quinnipiac 1

Two first-period goals propelled the Huskies to a win over their in-state rivals. Richard finished with a plus-one rating after being on the ice for UConn’s final goal in the third period.

Penn State 5 - Maine 1

Regional Final: Penn State 3 - UConn 2

Richard had a primary assist on UConn’s opening goal. He threaded it through two Nittany Lion defenders to Joey Muldowney in the high slot, giving him an open lane to bury the shot. He finished the game with an assist, three shots (including one in overtime) and a plus-one rating.

The sophomore more than doubled his point total from his freshman season, going from 18 points (7+11) to 43 points (15+28) in 34 games with a plus-25 rating. Richard was a crucial piece for the Huskies' making the Hockey East championship game and reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, falling one game shy of the Frozen Four.

Manchester Regional

Boston College 3 - Bentley 1

Denver 5 - Providence 1

Regional Final: Denver 3 - Boston College 1