March 29, 2003

by John Gilbert

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Minnesota stunned Ferris State with a five-goal first-period barrage here Saturday afternoon, and rolled to a 7-4 victory in the West Regional championship game to gain a return trip to the NCAA Frozen Four, where the Golden Gophers (26-8-9) will get a chance to defend their NCAA title, in a semifinal matchup against either WCHA regular season champ Colorado College or Michigan, who play Sunday in Ann Arbor.

Minnesota's players insisted after Friday night's 9-2 romp over Mercyhurst from the MAAC that they had to set that aside and refocus, because they knew there would be a much stiffer test from CCHA champ Ferris State, which had eliminated North Dakota 5-2 in the semifinals. They said they knew they couldn't expect to gain a 3-0 lead in the first 15 minutes, the way they had against Mercyhurst.

No, the Gophers needed only 6 minutes and 9 seconds to score three goals, and the quick start left Ferris State reeling and a crowd of 9,622 at the first regional held at Mariucci Arena in a frenzy. The Bulldogs did respond for two goals by Chris Kunitz to trail only 5-2 at the first intermission, and the teams traded goals in the second and third periods.

So deep is Minnesota's talent that Gino Guyer, who set an NCAA Regional record with five assists against Mercyhurst, didn't even register a point and his wingers, Grant Potulny and Barry Tallackson, also failed to score a goal. And it didn't matter. Minnesota was never threatened, outshooting the Bulldogs 49-20, and getting two sensational goals from freshman Thomas Vanek and one each from Matt Koalska, Keith Ballard, Jake Fleming, Matt DeMarchi and Jon Waibel.

"The growth of this team is as good as any team I've ever had," said Minnesota coach Don Lucia. "Losing the players we did from last season, and having such a young team, with only one senior, and then having all the injuries we did, I think we developed some mental toughness. We never lost two in a row all season."

Quick starts have not been a weapon in the Gopher arsenal this season, as more often they have had to rally after getting off to a sluggish start. Lucia's message must have gotten through, because they scored three goals in the first 5:25 to beat Colorado College last weekend in the WCHA playoff final, and Friday they scored at 1:15 and 4:33 of the first period in blowing out Mercyhurst.

But Saturday they outdid those accomplishments, scoring in an NCAA regional record 13 seconds after the opening faceoff. Ferris State star forward Kunitz ­ who left the game in the second period after a knee-to-thigh collision with Ballard ­ threw an errant clearing pass up the middle shortly after the opening faceoff. DeMarchi held the puck in at the blue line and fed ahead to Vanek, who carried behind the net on the right side, passing back out on the short side, where Koalska slammed it past goalie Mike Brown at 0:13.

On the next shift, Potulny got the puck to Ballard, who cut to the slot and scored at 1:38 for a 2-0 jump. Fleming curled to the slot while exchanging passed with Garrett Smaagaard, and snapped in another at 6:09, and the big crowd was rollicking.

Kunitz got the first of his two goals for the Bulldogs when he flipped a 55-foot wrist shot that eluded Justin Johnson at 12:02. Vanek came back at 12:41, intercepting a bad cross-ice breakout try and waltzing in alone on the left side to pick the upper right corner of the net.

The Gopher crowd rose in a standing ovation at a television time out with 3:58 to go in the first period ­ possibly another NCAA regional record ­ but Kunitz scored another shorthanded goal at 17:48 when he flung one from deep in the left corner that glanced in off Johnson. Even then, the Gophers wouldn't allow the Bulldogs any life, and DeMarchi came right back at 18:54 to cap the period with a power-play blast from center-point for the 5-2 lead at the first intermission.

"My hat's off to Minnesota," said Ferris defenseman Troy Milam. "There was nothing they could do wrong in that first period, and everything they touches was either on net or in."

The Gophers outshot Ferris State 25-5 in that opening period, but Ferris State didn't fold. Travis Weber replaced Johnson n goal for Minnesota, and was solid until the Bulldogs closed the gap when Derek Nesbitt scored his team's second shorthanded goal midway through the second period. Vanek followed that with a last-minute tally, slipping the puck through defenseman Matt York's skates, picking it up on the other side in the left circle, and shooting past Brown's glove to the upper right corner.

It was the 29th goal of the season for the Gopher freshman from Austria, who was later voted tournament most valuable player for his flashy moves.

At 6-3, the third period saw Ferris close in again, when Phil Lewandowski scored on a rebound at 2:04, and the Gophers, in cruise control, finished when Jon Waibel converted Jake Fleming's pass from behind the net at 10:31.

"I had to collect myself after the first period," said Ferris State coach Bob Daniels, still shaken by the sudden end for a team that went 31-10-1. "Minnesota scored so quickly, it put us back on our heels. And as the goals mounted, we started losing our composure. Minnesota deserves a lot of credit. They've got a terrific team, and they're very deep and talented. I thought we did a good job of getting it back together, and we wanted to get within two goals, because if you can be within two in the last few minutes, you're still in the game."

Asked about Minnesota's home-ice advantage, something Michigan also enjoys as a regional host, Daniels said: "I don't know how you can avoid it at this point. It would be ideal to have neutral sites, but I don't know if I'd want to replace the atmosphere we had in here. It was an awesome environment for college hockey."

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