Frozen Four 2023: Final Results, Scores, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

It was hard to ask for a better men's Frozen Four on paper than the one that took the ice at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, on Thursday.

As Max Molski of NBC Sports noted, Michigan is tied for the most national titles in the sport's history with nine, while Minnesota and Boston University each have five. Then there is Quinnipiac, which has never won the national championship but was the runner-up in 2013 and 2016.

Despite all that history, the most recent national title for the four teams came in 2009 when Boston University prevailed. Michigan is looking for its first triumph since 1998, while Minnesota has not sat atop the sport since it won back-to-back championships in 2002 and 2003.

With that as the backdrop, here is the look at Thursday's results ahead of Saturday's national championship game.

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2023 Men's Frozen Four Scores

• Minnesota 6, Boston University 2

•  Quinnipiac 5, Michigan 2

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Minnesota 6, Boston University 2

The Golden Gophers looked every bit the part of a Big Ten powerhouse in a dominant 6-2 victory over Boston University.

But it wasn't as easy as the final score made it seem.

Boston University took the initial lead with Sam Stevens' goal and then countered back-to-back goals from Minnesota's Michael Koster and Rhett Pitlick with a goal from Jay O'Brien to tie the game at two heading into the final period.

And then Minnesota flipped the switch.

Luke Mittelstadt was the driving force behind that flip, as he put home two goals in the first four minutes of the period to help his team seize control. Two empty-netters from Logan Cooley boosted his own statistics and made the final margin deceptively larger than the difference in the game.

That was more than enough for the Golden Gophers' strong defense and goaltender Justen Close. Close turned away 29 of the 31 shots he faced and was a stabilizing force on the back end in the face of the Frozen Four pressure.

Another performance like that, and Minnesota will be national champions for the first time in 20 years.

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Quinnipiac 5, Michigan 2

Quinnipiac had no interest in an all-Big Ten final.

The second-seeded Bobcats jumped out to an early lead, survived a challenge from Michigan and then played strong defense down the stretch to secure a 5-2 victory over the third-seeded Wolverines.

It was Jacob Quillan who set the initial tone with two goals in the first period for the victors, but Michigan countered with a dazzling play in the second period. Luke Hughes skated through the defense and then unleashed a perfectly placed pass to Adam Fantilli for a one-timer goal.

Just like the first game, it was 2-2 heading into the final period.

And just like the first game, one team dictated play in crunch time with a spot in the national title on the line.

Sam Lipkin scored in the first two minutes of the third period, Quinnipiac caught a break when Michigan hit the crossbar on an ensuing power play, and Zach Metsa created some much-needed breathing room when he flipped in a goal to go up two. Throw in an empty-netter from Ethan de Jong, and there was no doubt who was going to the title game by the final horn.

Goaltender Yaniv Perets was not to be overlooked, as he stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced against a formidable Michigan attack.