BOSTON — Boston University goalie Matt O'Connor gave up a tying own goal in the third period, then Brandon Tanev scored with 6:17 left and Providence beat the Terriers 4-3 Saturday night for its first NCAA hockey title.
It was the third straight year the NCAA has crowned a first-time champion in hockey.
BU was seeking its sixth title in a virtual home game when O'Connor easily gloved a puck that was lofted in by Tom Parisi from the red line. But he lost track of the puck, dropping it and allowing it to fall underneath him. He slid backward to protect the net and wound up knocking the puck in with 8:36 to play.
Tanev scored off a faceoff to give the Friars the lead, and Jon Gillies helped protect it with a diving save against Nick Roberto in the final minutes. Gillies, named most outstanding player of the Frozen Four, stopped 49 saves for PC (26-13-2).
Anthony Florentino and Mark Jankowski also scored for the Friars, who were the last school to be given an at-large berth in 16-team Division I tournament.
The PC fans who made the hour drive from the Rhode Island capital drowned out the sound of the final buzzer, and the players stormed over the boards to celebrate after the school's second trip to the Frozen Four, its first since 1985.
BU players skated slowly over to O'Connor to console him.
Ahti Oksanen and Danny O'Regan scored a tournament-record four seconds apart for the Terriers (28-8-5) to overcome an early deficit, and Cason Hohmann gave BU a 3-2 lead in the second period. O'Connor stopped 39 shots.
USF hires RB coach
TAMPA — Western Kentucky alumnus Donte' Pimpleton, a Hilltoppers teammate of USF coach Willie Taggart, has joined Taggart's staff as running backs coach. Pimpleton, 35, becomes USF's third running backs coach in less than four months. Former Notre Dame star Autry Denson, hired in January to replace Telly Lockette (who left for Oregon State), bolted after roughly five weeks to take the same job at his alma mater. The offensive coordinator at Division II Kentucky Wesleyan last season, Pimpleton was hired as Delaware State's running backs/tight ends coach in February. A Louisville native and 2002 WKU graduate, Pimpleton served as an offensive quality-control assistant for Taggart for two seasons before being promoted to receivers coach in '12, when the program made its first bowl appearance.
EX-BULL picks a school: Quarterback Mike White, who started 15 games the past two seasons for the Bulls, announced Saturday night that he's transferring to Western Kentucky, where he's visiting this weekend. He'll sit out the 2015 season per NCAA transfer rules and will have two years' eligibility remaining. Brandon Doughty, a Davie native who threw for 49 TDs in WKU's high-tempo, no-huddle attack last season, has one year remaining.
Basketball
North Carolina junior guard Marcus Paige will return next season. Over 38 games this season, Paige averaged 14.1 points, 4.5 assists and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 41.3 percent from the field. He helped UNC finish fifth in the ACC, earn a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and finish with a 26-12 record.
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Explore all your optionsTimes staff writer Joey Knight contributed to this report.