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.Ââ€
Colorado College coach Scott Owens agreed. “We go head-to-head a fair amount even in recruiting,†said Owens. “WeÂ’re both in the Upper Midwest, the junior leagues and Western Canada, but thereÂ’s some give and take, but it seems to be working out for both Denver and ourselves. WeÂ’ve settled into niches that work the bset for both. Both teams are comfortable within their own skins right now.Ââ€
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 weÂ’re only going on Game 4. I know very well how intense the CC-Denver rivalry is, but if youÂ’re around here (Minnesota), you know the Minnesota-North Dakota rivalry is as good as it gets.Ââ€
“IÂ’d say itÂ’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.Ââ€
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.
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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