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WORCESTER, Mass. — Miami University's third crack at Boston College turned out to be even more painful than the first two.

The RedHawks were in a state of devastation Sunday, March 30, after their bid to capture the NCAA Northeast Regional hockey title and the school's first Frozen Four berth ended in overtime at the DCU Center.

Freshman Joe Whitney took a swipe at the puck as he was falling down in front of the net and scored the game-winning goal for the Eagles, who knocked MU out of the NCAA tournament for the third straight year with a 4-3

decision.

"We definitely had a bit of anger towards them coming into the game," RedHawks sophomore Jarod Palmer said. "It definitely helped fuel our ship for this game. Now it feels more like a curse than anything."

Palmer, Nino Musitelli and Ryan Jones provided the goals for Miami, which squandered a 2-0 lead before rallying to tie the game on Jones' tally with 10:58 left in the third period.

The second-ranked RedHawks finished the best season in school history with a 33-8-1 record, while the Eagles (23-11-8) are headed to the Frozen Four for the 21st time.

MU coach Enrico Blasi dismissed Boston College's postseason experience as something his squad had to overcome.

"I'm not one for stats," Blasi said. "But when you go to the national tournament three years in a row, you win a (Central Collegiate Hockey Association) championship, you're in the finals of the CCHA playoffs twice ... we had the experience. That's not an excuse."

Whitney's goal came at the 12:12 mark of overtime. Dan Bertram blasted a shot at RedHawks goaltender Jeff Zatkoff, who made the block, but the puck bounced away from him. Whitney was there, and his diving effort got the job done.

"I jumped off the bench, and it was kind of a 3-on-2, 3-on-3 developing thing," Whitney said.