Denver stifles North Dakota 4-1 to win NCAA puck title

COLUMBUS, OHIO — DenverÂ’s rejuvenated power play and clutch performances by freshmen at both ends of the Schottenstein Center rink suppressed North Dakota 4-1 Saturday night to give the Pioneers their second straight NCAA hockey tournament championship.

“There are different emotions this year, because of the expectations we had from last year,” said Denver coach George Gwozdecky. “When we won the WCHA Final Five, in the midst of the celebration, Matt Laatsch, our captain, congratulated me on my 400th win. I told him, and the whole team, that I appreciated it, but it sure would be sweeter to celebrate No. 405.”

Doing that meant going all the way to the victory the Pioneers achieved Saturday night, and they achieved it with a hard-core crop of seniors, but also a couple of amazingly skilled freshmen in goaltender Peter Mannino and second-line center Paul Stastny.

Mannino, who had never faced more than the 43 shots Colorado College hurled at him in ThursdayÂ’s semifinals, faced 45 shots from the Fighting Sioux, many of them point-blank tries, but he stopped 44 of them, including all 23 in the third period, and earned tournament most valuable player honors.

At the other end of the Value City Arena ice surface, another freshman, center Paul Stastny, the son of former NHL star Peter Stastny, scored two power-play goals for Denver. He beat Zach Parise at 10:08 of the second period for what was to become the game-winning goal, and one which wonÂ’t make his personal highlight video, and he scored again at 8:19 of the third with a deadly shot off a great feed from Matt Carle for a 3-1 cushion.

That set the stage for another example of DenverÂ’s team structure, because Stastny bypassed the chance for a hat trick to feed Gabe Gauthier, who scored the final goal into an empty net with 37 seconds to go.

The victory gives Denver a closing nine-game winning streak and a final 32-9-2 record, while North Dakota finished 25-15-5 while suffering only its second loss in its final 12 games.

“Congratulations to the University of Denver and coach Gwozdecky,” said North Dakota’s first-year head coach Dave Hakstol. “We did everything we wanted to do. We set the tone early with some good physical play, and making some real good plays. We probably played well enough to win, but it wasn’t our night.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our performance, but Mannino made an awful lot of good saves. He played extremely well, and that’s a factor you can’t control.”

North Dakota established its physical plan on the gameÂ’s first shift, when Chris Porter rocked the boards with a bodycheck on Denver defenseman Brett Skinner. Gwozdecky said Skinner suffered a separated shoulder on the play, but after doctors examined him, he insisted on coming back to play. The 1-1 first period ended when Skinner absorbed another huge hit, this time by Erik Fabian, with the blow breaking a corner plexiglass pane and causing the last six seconds to be tacked onto the start of the second period.

It was that sort of game – the Fighting Sioux delivering hard and high-velocity bodychecks all over the rink, which led to a 45-23 edge in shots, and the Pioneers weathering the blows, and battling back to capitalize on their opportunities while Mannino simply stifled constant close-in North Dakota chances.

The Pioneers struck for the first goal, at 6:15 of the first period, and it was a strange one. On a broken rush, DenverÂ’s Gabe Gauthier knocked the puck ahead to retain possession and wound up wide of the goal on the left and too deep to shoot. He jammed a hard pass toward the crease, and got it to squeeze through Parise, but it hit the skate of Sioux defenseman Matt Smaby and the ricochet stopped in the crease, where Jeff Drummond had a 2-foot gimme.

The Fighting Sioux killed a penalty, and got the 1-1 equalizer on a power play of their own at 9:52, when Nick Fuher moved from the left point toward center and fired a shot that Travis Zajac deflected past Mannino.

The goalies both got revenge before the first period ended, however. Kevin Ulanski got the puck and broke free behind the defense on the right side and rushed the net, with winger Jeff Drummond making it a 2-on-0. Ulanski carried right to the crease and fired, but Parise robbed him.

North Dakota, which outshot the Pioneers 10-7 in the opening period, had two good chances in close order. Mannino went down for a big save, but the rebound went to the right of the net, where sophomore Erik Fabian – who had scored the first two goals in the 4-2 semifinal victory over Minnesota – snapped it high for the short side, but Mannino’s glove snaked up and got it. Moments later, Rory McMahon passed toward the net, and Ulanski took down Colby Genoway, who was breaking to the net for a deflection try, and the two slid past the goal as Mannino went down and blocked the puck.

Denver killed off two penalties to open the second period, then the Pioneers gained a 2-1 edge on their first power play midway through the second period when UlanskiÂ’s screened shot from inside the right point was deflected past Parise by Stastny.

“I went to the net, and a one-timer by Ulie went off me and in,” said Stastny. “Where did it hit me? In the…ah…butt.”

The 2-1 lead held until Stastny had a goal that SHOULD make it into his personal highlight film, as well as into the rapidly expanding file by sophomore defenseman Matt Carle, who rushed into the North Dakota zone, stickhandling around and through much of the Sioux defense on the left side, before delivering an amazing pass across the slot. Stastny drilled a quick shot into the short side.

“Mattie danced three guys, and threw it right on the tape to me,” said Stastny. It was such a great rush and pass that the Pioneers immediately went to Carle to celebrate, Stastny included.

Mannino was asked about any problem with nerves, as a freshman facing such a big challenge as the national championship game. “It’s not nerves, it’s excitement,” said Mannino. “You dream about this your whole lilfe.”

North Dakota defenseman Matt Greene said: “From the bench a couple of times he’d go down and we thought the puck was in. Then he’d get up, and the puck would be underneath him. Then they shoot a puck and it hits a knee, then the crossbar, and goes in.”

Mannino had so many close encounters in the game it was difficult to pick the best, but the most pivotal might have been the shot by Fabian from just to the right of the crease, because it was still a 1-1 game in the first period. Mannino, down, snatched it with his glove, but the catching motion caused at least part of his glove to cross the goal line, and the officials reviewed the play with video monitors in the press box.

“I just made a quick reaction,” said Mannino. “I went up and grabbed it. I didn’t think it was in, but I thought it should have been reviewed.”

The ruling was no goal. And the Fighting Sioux shouldnÂ’t have been surprised, because by then, nothing else was going to get past Mannino either.

Fighting Sioux ‘soldier’ past Gophers 4-2 in NCAA semis

COLUMBUS, OHIO – North Dakota spent the whole season trying to figure out how to score goals and now that they’ve solved that problem they won’t stop playing. The Fighting Sioux beat Minnesota 4-2 Thursday night in the second semifinal of the NCAA Frozen Four, and now get to play in the last college hockey game of the season – against Denver for the NCAA championship on Saturday night.

Minnesota coach Don Lucia, whose team finished 28-15-1, summed the semifinals up best. “The best teams usually win at this time of year,” he said. “North Dakota was the best tonight, and they deserve to march on. The two teams playing the best are going to play Saturday night and they both deserve to be there.”

As for the Fighting Sioux, Lucia added: “You’ve got to have skill guys, but you also have to have soldiers, and right now, their soldiers are playing extremely well.”

The prime soldier who added another solution to the forgotten goal-scoring problem came in the 6-foot-2, 210-pound frame of Erik Fabian, a sophomore fourth-line left winger from Roseau, Minn., who had scored one goal in the entire regular season. He now has scored four post-season goals after getting the first two goals against Minnesota – one in the first and one in the second periods.

Freshman center Travis Zajac took over next, with a power play goal in the first minute of the third period and a shorthanded goal at 5:00 to give North Dakota a 4-0 cushion. The way Jordan Parise was tending goal, that looked more than comfortable, but the 17,094 fans saw the game tighten when Mike Howe scored on a two-man power play at 6:17 of the final period, and Gino Guyer scored before the second penalty expired at 7:40.

“We got ahead 4-0, but you know it’s not going to be that easy,” said Sioux coach Dave Hakstol. “Not against a team like Minnesota. They played hard to come back and make it a two-goal hockey game. But from that point, I thought we settled down and played with an awful lot of poise to close out the game against a very good Minnesota team.”

The Fighting Sioux (25-14-5) have lost three times in three games against defending NCAA champion Denver, but they can take heart that the last one was a 2-1 overtime thriller in the WCHA Final Five semifinal game. That was the only time in eight playoff games that North Dakota failed to score at least three goals, and one day later, the Sioux beat Minnesota by an identical 4-2 count for third place.

Hakstol and the Fighting Sioux players insist they knew this team had the qualities needed to make the run to the NCAA title game, but they disguised it well, masquerading as a team that couldn’t score all season. At the end of the regular season, the fifth-place Sioux had scored an average of 2.7 goals in 36 games overall, while giving up 2.36; in league play, the Sioux scored only an average of 2.53 goals in 28 games, while giving up 2.39. By stark contrast, in eight league and NCAA playoff games, North Dakota has scored 36 goals – an average of 4.5 per game – and given up only 14 goals – an average of 1.75.

Those are championship statistics, and prove that the anyone-can-score offense and Parise’s goaltending have suddenly risen to the level of the always-rugged job done by North Dakota’s large and hostile defense. “What made us successful is that everyone stuck with it and chipped in,” said Hakstol. “Virtually a different guy or different line comes through each night. Our fourth line hasn’t always been together because we had to fill in for some injuries, but they’ve been together constantly for the last five weeks, and they’ve been a catalyst for us the last two months.”

Parise, who made 26 saves and defused an always-dangerous Minnesota attack on its first six power-play chances, before they broke through on the last two, said: “We had plenty of doubts during the season, but we just persevered, and we all got on the same page.”

Fabian explained that his line’s motivation for the game came in a little pre-game visit from Hakstol. “Coach Hakstol took Brian Canady, James Massen and myself aside this morning and said, ‘We need you guys to come up big for us,’ “ Fabian said. “I took that to heart.”

The first period started with both teams rotating through their forward lines, and on the first shift for North DakotaÂ’s fourth line, Fabian forechecked deep on the left side of the net, flushing Minnesota captain and senior defenseman Judd Stevens out on the right side, the swiping the puck from behind and whirling to score on a 15-footer all in one motion.

“I don’t think Stevens knew I was behind him,” said Fabian. “I was actually surprised when I did go for his stick that it came up so easy. When I got the puck on my stick, I looked over and saw that Briggs wasn’t quite ready, so I figured I’d just fire one, and it went in.”

It stayed 1-0 in the second period, as Parise made a couple of huge saves, and midway through the period, Fabian struck again, pouncing on the puck at the end boards, and plowing out on the right side into heavy traffic to score at the right post.

“On the second one, I was actually surprised because my back was to the net, and when I looked, nobody was on me, so I walked it out front and threw it up high.”

North Dakota outshot Minnesota 32-28 for the game, but the Golden Gophers had a 13-7 edge in the middle period, but hurt themselves when Barry Tallackson and Danny Irmen took successive penalties on hard hits from behind in the last two minutes of the session. That put the Sioux on the power play to open the third period, and Zajac scored with a rebound from the slot at 0:45 for a 3-0 bulge.

Canady was given a double minor, for hooking and roughing, at 3:09, which could have been the antidote to the comfortable lead. Instead, sophomore Drew Stafford made a strong penalty-killing rush up the right side, kept possession behind the net, and fed out to the slot, where Zajac drilled a low shorthanded goal through the knees of the falling Briggs at 5:00.

In the next minute, Mike Prpich joined teammate Canady in the penalty box, and on the two-man edge, Howe ruined PariseÂ’s shutout with a screened 15-footer from the slot at 6:17. The Gophers were still on the extended power play when Guyer corralled the puck in the left circle and scored at 7:40, giving the Gophers new life at 4-2.

“Our captains (Matt Greene and assistants Matt Jones, Rory McMahon, and Andy Schneider) did a great job settling things down, not only on the bench but on the ice,” said Hakstol.

And the Fighting Sioux fought on to gain a berth in the 20th all-WCHA national championship game.

Denver rips CC Tigers 6-2 in Frozen Four PP shootout

COLUMBUS, OHIO — After Denver and Colorado College had tied for the WCHA season championship, split four games with each other, and played a scintillating 1-0 game won by Denver for the league playoff crown, a tight, tense battle was anticipated for ThursdayÂ’s first NCAA Frozen Four semifinal. But Denver had other ideas.

The defending champion Pioneers connected on six of 12 power-play opportunies for all their goals and stunned Colorado College 6-2 before 17,116 paid attendance at Value City Arena in Schottenstein Center on the Ohio State campus. It will be the ninth time Denver has reached the NCAA title game, and the Pioneers are 6-2 in those matches, most recently one year ago.

Luke Fulghum scored a pair of first-period goals to stake the Pioneers to a 2-0 lead and establish a cadence of two goals in each period for Denver. Gabe Gauthier scored two later goals to build a 5-1 lead and finish off whatever drama remained. Defenseman Matt Carle had a goal and two assists, and Adrian Veideman finished the scoring with one last power-play goal in the final minute. Defenseman Brett Skinner added three assists for Denver.

Colorado College got a second-period goal from Brian Salcido and a third-period goal from James Brannigan, also both on power plays. But if it was a power-play duel, DenverÂ’s 6-for-12 clearly overmatched CCÂ’s 2-for-8.

Denver will take a 31-9-2 record into SaturdayÂ’s championship game against another WCHA opponent, because Minnesota and North Dakota met in Thursday nightÂ’s second semifinal.

Colorado College ends its season at 31-9-3, and could take little satisfaction from the fact that, at even strength, the game was a scoreless standoff, and that the Tigers outshot Denver 43-29. But Denver coach George Gwozdecky switched his pattern and went with freshman goaltender Peter Mannino, who usually plays the second game of each weekend with sophomore Glenn Fisher getting the first game. Mannino responded with a brilliant performance, stopping repeated close-in chances by the Tigers, whose even-strength edge in rushes and chances was rendered moot.

“Peter Mannino was terrific in goal,” said Gwozdecky. “He was one of our top stars, if not our best player in the game. I made the decision to go with Peter strictly based on today’s game. Peter has had more success against this opponent. Parts of our game, we did a good job – especially on the power play – but in other areas, it wasn’t our best. No disrespect to out opponent; they played hard, generated countless scoring chances, and Peter was outstanding.

“One thing we were able to do was get the shooting lanes open on the power play. It was a game when our power play was very effective. It’s rare when there are that many goals scored in a game, and none are at even strength. But a couple of good bounces went our way.”

Gwozdecky said he hasn’t decided about Saturday’s goaltender. Mannino said he has a close friendship with Fisher. “This was a good call tonight, but , me and Glenn have become good friends,” said Mannino. “We’ve played every other game all year. I’ve never played two games back to back all year.”

Mannino even got an assist on the game’s final goal, for good measure. That might have been the last indignity for the Tigers, whose goaltender had been the WCHA’s best all season. “I feel bad for Curtis,” said CC coach Scott Owens. “He’s been the guy who’s carried us so often this season, but he got hung out to dry a little today.”
CC, one of the least-penalized teams in the WCHA and the country, was nailed 14 times for penalties by CCHA referee Matt Shegos, who called the game tightly, and also issued 10 penalties to the Pioneers.

“I thought we moved, skated pretty well, and got to the net better than in our previous two games against them,” said Owens. “But we shot ourselves in the foot with some of the penalties, and we could never quite make the big play happen to get going. It’s tough when you have to kill off 12 penalties, and you’re one of the least-penalized teams in the country.

“We had killed 22 of the last 23 penalties against them, but the roof fell in today. Some things were called a little different than what we were used to, and we were a little dumb some of the time. I thought we got frustrated, and lost our composure a little bit for a while there.”

The game started like a typically tight chess-match between the two storied rivals. But Fulghum rushed in and beat defenseman Lee Sweatt, deking outside and cutting inside to come in alone and score on McElhinney. If that was a dazzling rush, his second goal, 1:32 later, was one of the good bounces coach Gwozdecky was talking about.

“I got a pass from Matt Carle and was able to get past their defenseman,” said Fulghum. “Then I scored five-hole on McElhinney.I was lucky on the second one, because Brett Skinner got off a great shot on net from the blue line, that probably would have gone in on its own, but it hit off my behind and went in.”

CarleÂ’s power-play goal from center point made it 3-0 at 6:05 of the second period, but CC rekindled memories of rallying from a similar 3-0 deficit against Michigan in a 4-3 Midwest Region final victory when SalcidoÂ’s shot from the blueline glanced in to spoil ManninoÂ’s shutout midway through the second period.

That 3-1 count was as close as CC could get, however, as Gauthier scored from the right circle on a 4-on-3 power play 10 seconds before the second period ended. The Pioneers had a two-man advantage when Gauthier deflected Jeff DrummondÂ’s pass to the goal-mouth from deep on the right at 5:42 of the third period, making it 5-1.

“Their older defensemen played so confidently and moved the puck so quickly,” said Owens. “It’s a great-shooting team, and they changed the shooting angles and got the puck through from the blue line. It was a credit to Denver.”

The Tigers continued to skate and generate opportunities, but Mannino – who had shut out CC in both the final regular-season game to gain a share of the league title and in the Final Five championship match — remained solid. The Pioneer defense also continued to squelch CCÂ’s league-best scoring tandem of Marty Sertich and Brett Sterling, but Brannigan finally connected for a Tiger goal when he spun and scored with a rebound at 13:02 of the third.

“Going into the game, I knew Peter had our backs covered,” said Gauthier. “He has so much poise and confidence, he doesn’t play like a freshman. And he gives us great confidence offensively and defensively.”

VeidemanÂ’s closing goal was on a 2-on-1, when he carried in on the left, faked a shot, then shot, and beat McElhinney.
“We came for two games, and we’re very disappointed,” said CC defenseman Mark Stuart. “It was fun, and a great experience coming to the Frozen Four, but it’s definitely too short.”

WCHA rivalries highlight NCAA Frozen Four

COLUMBUS, OHIO — The Western Collegiate Hockey Assolciation, while justifiably bursting with pride at nailing all four spots in the NCAA hockey Frozen Four, seems certain to put on a great show by also displaying two of the greatest rivalries in all of sports. Denver facing Colorado College is one legendary matchup, and Minnesota against North Dakota is another.

Denver and Colorado College have been natural and intense rivals since before the WCHA began, and Minnesota have also established intense levels of play that go far beyond their regional roots. So when all four of those teams were scattered to four different regional tournaments, and won a pair of victories apiece, they all advanced to the Jerome Schottenstein Center on Ohio StateÂ’s campus to square off once again in ThursdayÂ’s NCAA semifinals.

Favorites? Forget it. The old cliché about throwing out the record books prevails here. Historical records mean little too, because all four are new teams this year, including Denver, which will try to defend the title it won a year ago. The Denver-CC rivalry couldn’t be hotter, as the teams split four games with each other and wound up tied for the WCHA championship, then Denver beat Colorado College in a 1-0 classic in the WCHA playoff championship game.

Denver coach George Gwozdecky probably has the most diverse experience of what it takes to make a great rivalry.

“I’ve been lucky enough to see a lot of great rivalries, first as a player at Wisconsin, when Bob Johnson was our coach and Herb Brooks was at Minnesota,” said Gwozdecky. “That was a pretty volatile rivalry. Then I had the chance to be assistant coach to Ron Mason at Michigan State, and see the Michigan State-Michigan rivalry. This Denver-CC rivalry is such a terrific hockey rivalry, and this year is has so much more visibility because of the Frozen Four.

“For the state of Colorado, which has three D1 teams (with Air Force) this will show how competitive our teams are, and I think it will have great long-term effect for hockey in the state of Colorado.”

Colorado College coach Scott Owens agreed. “We go head-to-head a fair amount even in recruiting,” said Owens. “We’re both in the Upper Midwest, the junior leagues and Western Canada, but there’s some give and take, but it seems to be working out for both Denver and ourselves. We’ve settled into niches that work the bset for both. Both teams are comfortable within their own skins right now.”

Denver (30-9-2) won the Final Five title and then the Northeast Regional to bring a seven game winning streak to the Frozen FourÂ’s 1 p.m. (Central Time) first semifinal. But the Pioneers will actually be wearing the visiting jerseys against CC, because the Tigers (31-8-3) are the higher seed according to the NCAA selection committeeÂ’s computer. The Tigers are on a 7-2 roll, with both losses coming against Denver, while they came off the WCHA playoff final loss to win the Midwest Regional.

Minnesota and North Dakota canÂ’t duplicate the Denver and CC records, but when they collide in the 6 p.m. second semifinal, they will put their rivalry up against any. Minnesota is 28-14-1, and had to shake off two setbacks at the Final Five to win the West Regional at Mariucci Arena. North Dakota, meanwhile, has the least-impressive record among the four at 24-14-5, but might be playing the best of all four right now. The Fighting Sioux are on an 8-1-2 run, with the only loss in those last 11 games coming 2-1 in overtime against Denver in the WCHA semifinals.

“A few years ago, we played North Dakota seven times in one season,” said Minnesota coach Don Lucia. “This year, we played them only two early games in Grand Forks, and then the third-place game. So CC and Denver are going on Game 6 this year, but we’re only going on Game 4. I know very well how intense the CC-Denver rivalry is, but if you’re around here (Minnesota), you know the Minnesota-North Dakota rivalry is as good as it gets.”

“I’d say it’s one of the great rivalries in college hockey,” said Dave Hakstol, who is a rookie head coach at North Dakota, but assisted Dean Blais there, and before that played defense for the Fighting Sioux. “The familiarity is there, the rivalry is there, both teams are playing pretty well, and you have to go out now and execute.”

On the basis of the whole season, Colorado College and Denver loom as the best two. Denver has an offense that scored a league-high 114 goals in 28 league games, giving up 81, while CC scored a solid 98 but only gave up 66. The difference is DenverÂ’s offensive balance against CCÂ’s great goaltending and defense, but both teams excel at both ends of the ice.

Denver is led by junior center Gabe Gauthier, who scored both goals in the 2-1 overtime victory over North Dakota in the league semifinals, then came back to score three goals in the 4-2 region final against New Hampshire. Gwozdecky has balanced three lines with two strong scorers on each. Gauthier and senior Jeff Drummond are on the first line, freshman center Paul Stastny and senior Luke Fulghum have scored just as much on the second line, and freshman center Geoff Paukovich and senior Jon Foster have nearly the same 1-2-punch totals on the third line.

Matt Carle, a sophomore, and captain Matt Laatsch, another of six seniors in the Denver lineup, lead the defense, and sophomore Glenn Fisher and freshman Peter Mannino provide an excellent goaltending tandem. Mannino actually has the better stats, and fashioned the 1-0 league final shutout over CC, but unless Gwozdecky changes his mind, heÂ’s stay with the Fisher-Mannino order.

CC, on the other hand, has the league’s top goaltender in Curtis McElhinney, one of only three seniors in the lineup, and a solid defense led by Mark Stuart. But no offense is more explosive than the Tigers junior tandem of center Marty Sertich and winger Brett Sterling, who finished 1-2 in scoring in the league and in the nation, and are two of the final three candidates for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award that will be given out Friday. Sertich has had a magical season, almost as if driven to greatness by the presence of his mom, Patty Sertich, who has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. She and husband Steve Sertich – a former Virginia, Mn, high school star, All-American at CC and Olympian – have seen as many CC games as possible this year and will be in the crowd at Columbus. Patty is the daughter of Tony Frasca, a Colorado College hockey legend himself in college hockey’s early days.

As often happens at playoff time, others have risen up to help with key goals for CC, particularly juniors Trevor Frischmon and Aaron Slattengren, two more Minnesotans who line up at second and third line centers, respectively.

CC was 9-5 against the other Frozen Four teams, while Denver was 7-4 against them. Again, Minnesota, which was 4-7 against the other three, and North Dakota, which was 3-7, canÂ’t match that statistic. But they donÂ’t need to.

North Dakota came off a fifth-place finish to get everything together at stretch time. Even though offensive ace Brady Murray missed much of the season with shoulder injuries, and finally went out for the rest of the season with another at Final Five time, and defenseman Robbie Bina will be a spectator after suffering a fractured vertebra in his neck against Denver in the league semifinal, Hakstol has found a way to pull the Sioux together.

The veteran North Dakota defense is big and punishing, and sophomore Jordan Parise emerged late to become the ace goaltender the Sioux needed. The question has been offense, but everybody has chipped in. When they beat Wisconsin 3-2 in the Final Five play-in game, nine different players had one point each on the three goals. That sort of balance is carrying the Sioux, who have followed Colby Genoway one of eight seniors on the club, and freshman Rastislav (Sparky) Spirko, from Slovakia, and scratching for whatever other goals are necessary.

It’s not as bad as it sounds. North Dakota was expected to have a tough time with Minnesota-Duluth in the league playoff first round, but won 8-2 and 6-1. At the Final Five, the Sioux beat Wisconsin 3-2, lost 2-1 to Denver in overtime, then beat Minnesota 4-2 to show it was scoring OK. But then, at the East Regional in Worcester, Mass., the Sioux put on a dazzling show – whipping Boston University 4-0 and running up a similar 4-0 lead before eliminating top-seeded Boston College 6-3.

The lightest scoring team of the four during the regular season with 71 goals – only ninth-place St. Cloud and 10th-place Michigan Tech scored less – the Fighting Sioux have averaged over 4.5 goals a game in seven post-season games.

Minnesota, on the other hand, had won eight in a row against the bottom three WCHA teams to get to the Final Five, then faltered, losing 3-0 to Colorado College and 4-2 to North Dakota. The scoring plight continued in the West Regional, where it took freshman Evan KaufmannÂ’s goal in overtime to beat Maine 1-0, and goals by Andy Sertich and Barry Tallackson in overtime to get past Cornell 2-1. So the Gophers have scored only five goals in its last four playoff games.

Lucia must choose between Kellen Briggs, who played both regional games but did lose 4-2 to the Sioux, or Josh Johnson in goal. He also must decide if he will play Tyler Hirsch, his third line right winger and the teamÂ’s leading scorer, who hasnÂ’t played since his bizarre post-game antics following the shutout by CC in the league semifinals. The Gophers will need their other lines to keep contributing if first linemates Ryan Potulny and Danny Irmen donÂ’t return to early-season production capabilities.

A further wrinkle in the semifinals is that Denver and CC, after their rock-solid defensive play all season, were surprisingly vulnerable in regional play. Denver beat UNH 4-2, but had to struggle through overtime to get past Bemidji State 4-3. And CC goaltender McElhinney, virtually invincible down the stretch and in the Final Five, surrendered five goals to Cornell before his teammates bailed him out 6-5, and also gave up three goals to Michigan before four straight goals – two by Frischmon – produced a 4-3 CC escape.

Chances are, though, the sight of familiar faces across the ice in the uniforms of their biggest rivals will make everything return to form for a memorable Frozen Four.

Final Five final day gets recycled as Frozen Four semis

Big arena, great crowd, and fantastic hockey, with North Dakota facing Minnesota and Denver taking on Colorado College, in a classic menÂ’s college hockey doubleheader of legendary rivalries.

Wait a minute. That was two weeks ago, on Saturday, March 19, on the final day of the WCHA Final Five at Saint Paul’s Xcel Energy Center. They were highly entertaining games, with North Dakota – the fifth-place finisher in the WCHA season – taking down third-place Minnesota 4-2 in the league playoff third-place game, and Denver slipping past Colorado College 1-0 in a battle for the playoff championship between regular-season co-champions.

They were such entertaining games that the hockey gods apparently determined that they should be replayed. So the two games will be redone, at Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday, April 7 as the semifinals of the NCAA Frozen Four.

There were debates, even among the participating coaches, about how much importance there was on those WCHA playoff games. There will be no such debate at the NCAA Frozen Four. Denver (30-9-2) and Colorado College (31-8-3) meet in the 1 p.m. first game next Thursday, while Minnesota (28-14-1) and North Dakota (24-14-5) collide at 6 p.m., both Central time.

In fact, the WCHA could truly make it a sweep by winning the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as well, because Colorado College linemates Marty Sertich and Brett Sterling were named to the final three, along with Cornell goaltender David McKee, as the “Hobey Hat Trick.” The winner will be named in Columbus during the NCAA Frozen Four Friday, between the Thursday semifinals and the Saturday championship game.

Perhaps the last time all four competing coaches could be aligned in total agreement was in discussing Sertich and Sterling. Scott Owens, their coach at Colorado College, said he couldnÂ’t pick one over the other. The other three coaches, who have to stop them, instead of benefiting by them, felt the same.

“Both are extremely dynamic, and I think they’re the best two players in college hockey,” said Denver coach George Gwozdecky.

“Sterling is a natural goal-scorer and the way they played against us, I’d have to choose him,” said North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol. “But Marty Sertich has had such a great year, obviously he’s very deserving too.”

Minnesota coach Don Lucia said: “If I had to choose, I’d choose to have ‘em on my team. Sterling is tough around the net and a great goal-scorer. Sertich is more of a playmaker, very quick, and they’re like a hand in a glove – they work together so well. They’re both deserving winners.”

ThatÂ’s just a peripheral attraction to the tournament, however. The main event is the all-WCHA tournament.

ItÂ’s true that getting five teams among the 16 NCAA tournament entries gave the WCHA a tremendous advantage over, say, the CCHA, which had only Michigan and Ohio State, or even Hockey East and the ECAC, which both had three teams selected. Michigan, for example, had to beat two WCHA teams to reach the Frozen Four. The Wolverines beat Wisconsin 4-1, and led Colorado College 3-0 before the Tigers rallied for four unanswered goals and a 4-3 victory. Had the four regional winners been bunched into one regional, it would have been wildly competitive, but only one would have advanced. However, the NCAA tournament committee split the WCHA teams to send them to all four regionals. All four could have failed to make it, if they werenÂ’t deserving.

“Look at how competitive this tournament was,” said Minnesota coach Lucia. “Even Mercyhurst and Bemidji State played very well, and both of our games went overtime. Colorado College had tough games with both Colgate and Michigan. So it was a very competitive tournament.”

Hakstol, in his first year behind the Fighting Sioux bench since replacing Dean Blais, echoed Lucia’s stand. “The NCAA committee did a great job of creating great regionals. Minnesota had the home-ice advantage, maybe, but they had to beat Maine and Cornell to win. Otherwise, Denver had to beat New Hampshire, and CC had to beat Michigan, basically in their backyards, and we were fortunate to get past both Boston University and Boston College, right in Boston.”

No question, the results prove the WCHA teams defeated the best teams from all the other conferences in the country. The bigger question is, will anybody outside the WCHA care about the Frozen Four? Is the fact that the Frozen Four is all from one conference good for general college hockey interest, or is it possibly a negative?

“First of all, college hockey is cyclical,” said Denver coach George Gwozdecky. “But I don’t think this is a bad thing for the Frozen Four. In fact, it might be good, because of the uniqueness.”

Colorado College coach Scott Owens agreed. “I don’t think there is a downside to it,” he said. “Actually, it’s a unique story. If it was something like a three-year trend, it could potentially be bad, but it’s never happened before.”

Hakstol said: “There’s no negative at all, in the large picture.”
At Minnesota, Lucia explained how the results proved the merits of the WCHA. His Gophers tied for third in the WCHA chase, then lost 3-0 to Colorado College and 4-2 to North Dakota to place fourth in the WCHA tournament. However, they turned around to beat both Maine, 1-0, and Cornell, 3-2, in NCAA regional battles, both of which went overtime.

“We certainly knew, at the Final Five, that getting four WCHA teams to the Frozen Four was always possible,” said Lucia. “Our league is so strong that we know if we can finish in the top half of the WCHA, we’ll be OK nationally. Look at last year, when we made it to the NCAA but got knocked out by Duluth, then Duluth got knocked out by Denver, and Denver went on to win the national title.

“One other thing is that all four of these programs have very strong commitments from their institutions.”

That commitment is indicated by the glistening arenas that house all four entries.

“Our program got into the new World Arena after playing in the biggest firetrap west of the Mississippi for 50 years,” said Owens, whose CC Tigers remain the top seed among the Frozen Foursome.

MinnesotaÂ’s Mariucci Arena, amazingly enough, is the oldest of the four, but remains one of the standards used by teams, including the Minnesota Wild, when they plan new buildings. Colorado College got its new World Arena downtown in Colorado Springs, after the legendary but long-outdated and tiny Broadmoor Arena was razed. North Dakota has the ultra-luxurious Engelstad Arena. And Denver has its new Magness Arena.

As of next week – the final week in this memorable and unique college hockey season – all four WCHA teams will leave those state-of-the-art arenas behind and try to make Ohio State’s new Schottenstein Center their home away from home. It will be the first NCAA hockey tournament to consist of all four teams from one conference. But what a conference.

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• About the Author

  John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
  
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• Exhaust Notes:

  PADDLING
  More and more cars are offering steering-wheel paddles to allow drivers manual control over automatic or CVT transmissions. A good idea might be to standardize them. Most allow upshifting by pulling on the right-side paddle and downshifting with the left. But a recent road-test of the new Porsche Panamera, the paddles for the slick PDK direct-sequential gearbox were counter-intuitive -- both the right or left thumb paddles could upshift or downshift, but pushing on either one would upshift, and pulling back on either paddle downshifted. I enjoy using paddles, but I spent the full week trying not to downshift when I wanted to upshift. A little simple standardization would alleviate the problem.
  
  

  SPEAKING OF PADDLES
  The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution has the best paddle system, and Infiniti has made the best mainstream copy of that system for the new Q50, and other sporty models. And why not? It's simply the best. In both, the paddles are long, slender magnesium strips, affixed to the steering column rather than the steering wheel. Pull on the right paddle and upshift, pull on the left and downshift. The beauty is that while needing to upshift in a tight curve might cause a driver to lose the steering wheel paddle for an instant, but having the paddles long, and fixed, means no matter how hard the steering wheel is cranked, reaching anywhere on the right puts the upshift paddle on your fingertips.
  
  

  TIRES MAKE CONTACT
  Even in snow-country, a few stubborn old-school drivers want to stick with rear-wheel drive, but the vast majority realize the clear superiority of front-wheel drive. Going to all-wheel drive, naturally, is the all-out best. But the majority of drivers facing icy roadways complain about traction for going, stopping and steering with all configurations. They overlook the simple but total influence of having the right tires can make. There are several companies that make good all-season or snow tires, but there are precious few that are exceptional. The Bridgestone Blizzak continues to be the best=known and most popular, but in places like Duluth, MN., where scaling 10-12 blocks of 20-30 degree hills is a daily challenge, my favorite is the Nokian WR. Made without compromising tread compound, the Nokians maintain their flexibility no matter how cold it gets, so they stick, even on icy streets, and can turn a skittish car into a winter-beater.