What stopped Boston College from claiming a sixth national title? ‘The Matt Davis Show.’ That’s what.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — It could have been more than a celebration of Boston College hockey. It could have been a salute to Boston college hockey, a chance for the city to puff its chest in the puck-loving Midwest.

Boston University went home early, but Boston College could have done it. Boston College could have won its sixth national title — “For Boston,” as the school slogan goes. The Eagles should have done it, says anyone looking at their long-held No. 1 ranking, their collection of fantastic forwards, crew of more-than-capable defensemen, and big-time goalie.

This team routed Michigan in the semifinal. It was well-coached, smart, and creative. It looked like the best team here.

Matt Davis, more than anyone, proved it was not.

The Pioneers’ netminder, who took down BU in the semifinal, said no to every BC chance Saturday. He made 35 stops in a 2-0 national championship shutout, and did little to disprove an old hockey truism: in a one-and-done situation, a hot goalie makes the difference.

Matt Davis. He could barely get his glove and blocker off before his teammates jumped him, the final buzzer ending a frenzied final 2:37 of play with his counterpart, Jacob Fowler, on the bench. Denver is the first to 10, the only double-digit national champion, and has taken two of the last three titles.

The Eagles watched the celebration, most of them on one knee, as Denver fans chanted “Matty!”

“Four years gone by way too fast,” BC captain Eamon Powell said. “Snap your fingers and you’re a senior and you’re in the playoffs. It could be your last game.”

Like the rest of his teammates, Powell was shell-shocked. It was the first time the Eagles were shut out all year. It was the first shutout in a national title game since UMass blanked St. Cloud State in 2021. The nation’s second-rated power play, with three top-10 NHL draft picks and another first-rounder on it, was blanked on two third-period chances.

The stop Davis made on the first of those man advantages, diving glove-first across his line to knock out knee-down Ryan Leonard’s one-timer, will be replayed for years. Gabe Perreault, who made the pass, had his hands raised, then settled his stick on the top of his helmet in disbelief.

Any remaining BU fans in the building might have shuddered from their own Davis-induced nightmares.

“Just saw the puck go backdoor again, and went, ‘Uh oh,’ ” said a grinning Davis, wearing a cut-out piece of the net underneath his “National Champions” hat like a wig. “I saw it on the jumbotron and thought, ‘Sweet.’ As long as it’s not in the back of the net.”

Matt Davis. You’re more than forgiven if you hadn’t heard of him before this month.

The junior from Calgary wasn’t drafted after playing for the junior Spruce Grove Saints and Green Bay Gamblers. He spent his first two seasons on campus playing backup to Magnus Chrona, a Tampa Bay Lightning draftee now playing in the San Jose Sharks’ system.

Davis, who was hurt in Denver’s fifth game of the season, missed more than two months and returned Jan. 5. The Pioneers reached the championship game with a pair of 2-1 wins in the Springfield regional, Davis making 46 saves in two overtimes against UMass and 24 in OT against Cornell. Boston University couldn’t solve him, either, in a 2-1 OT loss.

Denver, of course, was more than its netminder. For the first two periods, the Pioneers slowed the Eagles through the neutral zone, keeping their chances to the outside. They blocked 21 BC attempts. The pass that star defenseman Zeev Buium made on the second goal, drawing a pair of defenders and finding Rieger Lorenz for a snap shot, was as spectacular as anything the Perreault-Will Smith-Leonard line has put on tape.

“They were as stingy and tight defensively as we’ve seen this year,” BC coach Greg Brown said. “They played a lot of winning hockey. They played like a championship team.”

Even though the Eagles struggled in the first two periods, they killed a Mike Posma boarding penalty 4:31 into the second, allowing one shot and getting a critical block from Aidan Hreschuk. They should have, as coach Greg Brown noted, “taken momentum.”

Denver’s legs were whirring, BC a step behind.

Brown paused when asked if Denver shook them out of their identity.

“I think we were trying,” he said, and praised the Pioneers for dropping back and slowing breakouts. “A little bit (of) us not skating enough, but a lot of credit to them for getting those four guys above us.”

But Davis was the hero. His 23 saves in the third tied a Frozen Four record for saves in a period. He was a unanimous all-tournament pick, and the most outstanding player. The third period was, as coach David Carle said, “The Matt Davis Show.”

Heck, the whole weekend was. He robbed Boston of its BC-BU showdown, and broke BC’s hearts.

Matt Davis.

“What a job he did,” Denver captain McKade Webster said. “Best goalie in the world, eh? He’s not unknown now.”