March 6, 2004

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MADISON, Wisc. ­ Behind a pair of goals from center David Lundbohm and 22 saves from goaltender Jake Brandt, the University of North Dakota hockey team defeated visiting Michigan Tech, 5-1, on Friday (March 5) night before 11,399 at Ralph Engelstad Arena to capture the 2003-04 Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season championship and lay claim to the program's fifth MacNaughton Cup under head coach Dean Blais in the past eight seasons and a league record 13th in the storied history of the Fighting Sioux program.

The capacity crowd counted down the final seconds of the game together on Friday night in Grand Forks, and then joined together to hear the announcement that Minnesota-Duluth and Wisconsin had played to a 2-2 overtime tie in Madison, setting the stage for an on-ice team celebration that was capped with the presentation of the MacNaughton Cup to the Sioux by WCHA Commissioner Bruce M. McLeod.

With their regular season championship, No. 1-ranked North Dakota (25-6-3, 19-5-3 WCHA) also wrapped up the No. 1 seed for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. The five best-of-three first round series will be contested next weekend ­ March 12, 13 and 14 (if necessary) ­ at the home sites of the top five seeds.

At the Kohl Center in Madison Friday night, visiting and No. 5-ranked Minnesota-Duluth played to a 2-2 overtime tie with No. 4-ranked Wisconsin before 13,444 to secure a second place finish and the No. 2 seed for the opening round of playoffs. The Bulldogs (22-10-4), with their hopes for a championship still alive heading into the weekend, led 2-1 late in the third period following a goal from Jay Hardwick at 12:55 of the second. But the Badgers (20-9-8) rallied for a five-on-three power-play goal from Dan Boeser at 17:25 to gain the tie. Wisconsin will own the No. 3 seed for the first round of WCHA playoffs next week.

Before 5,918 at Magness Arena in the Mile High City on Friday night, the red-hot and No. 7/8-ranked Denver Pioneers (23-10-5) had a game-winning power-play goal at 16:33 of the third period from defenseman Ryan Caldwell to complete a home-and-home sweep of Colorado College (18-15-3), capture the Gold Pan Trophy (for winner of annual Denver vs CC series), extend their nation's current best unbeaten streak to nine games (7-0-2), and lock up no worse than a fourth place WCHA finish.

At Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis Friday evening, host and No. 10-ranked Minnesota (21-13-3) posted a 7-4 victory over 13th-ranked St. Cloud State (18-13-4) that set the stage for today's decisive battle. A sellout crowd of 10,147 saw Golden Gopher winger Thomas Vanek score two goals and set up another for three points as UM moved ahead of the Huskies by one point in the WCHA standings, 29 to 28. The winner of today's game will earn the final home playoff berth for the first round and a win by Minnesota would also move the Gophers into a share of fourth place with Denver, although the Pioneers would gain the No. 4 playoff seed due to a 3-1 head-to-head advantage against UM this season.

And at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage Friday evening, host Alaska Anchorage (11-19-3) had two goals and one assist from forward Curtis Glencross to knock off in-state rival and CCHA-member Alaska Fairbanks, 5-4, before 4,708. That win boosted the WCHA's combined record against the other five Div. 1 conferences this season to an impressive 53-18-9 and a winning percentage of .719.

Today's (March 6) regular-season ending conference schedule finds Minnesota hosting St. Cloud State at 2:05 pm CT, Wisconsin entertaining Minnesota-Duluth at 7:05 pm CT and North Dakota hosting Michigan Tech at 7:05 pm CT. Michigan Tech can move up as high as a tie for eighth place with a win tonight or into a tie for ninth with a tie. In non-conference games, meanwhile, Minnesota State (8-22-5) hosts CCHA-member Nebraska-Omaha at 7:05 pm CT while Alaska Anchorage completes their home series with Alaska Fairbanks for the Alaska Airlines' Governor's Cup at 7:05 pm AT.

This Week in the WCHA

Tue., March 2: Minnesota State 5 @ Nebraska-Omaha 3 (nc).

Thur., March 4: Denver 3 @ Colorado College 1.

Fri., March 5: Minnesota-Duluth 2 @ Wisconsin 2 ot; St. Cloud State 4 @ Minnesota 7; Michigan Tech 1 @ North Dakota 5; Colorado College 2 @ Denver 3; Alaska Fairbanks 4 @ Alaska Anchorage 5 (nc).

Sat., March 6: St. Cloud State @ Minnesota, 2:05 pm CT; Minnesota-Duluth @ Wisconsin, 7:05 pm CT; Michigan Tech @ North Dakota, 7:05 pm CT; Alaska Fairbanks @ Alaska Anchorage, 7:05 pm CT (nc); Nebraska-Omaha @ Minnesota State, 7:05 pm CT (nc). END OF REGULAR SEASON.

Game Summaries

Tuesday, March 2

Minnesota State 5 @ Nebraska-Omaha 3 (nc): 1st: G1 MSU - Adam Gerlach 3 (Kurtis Kisio), 1:07; G2 UNO - David Morelli 5 (Mike Lefley, Alex Nikiforuk), PPG, 3:12; G3 UNO - Anthony Adams 2 (Mike Eickman), 7:37; G4 MSU - Travis Morin 7 (Rob Rankin, Nate Metcalf), PPG, 11:57; G5 UNO - Andrew Wong 10 (Scott Parse, Mike Gabinet), PPG, 14:37. 2nd: G6 MSU - Lucas Fransen 3 (Kisio, Shane Joseph), 10:10; G7 MSU - Steven Johns 2 (David Backes), PPG, 11:47. 3rd: G8 MSU - Ryan McKelvie 4 (unassisted), ENG, 19:57. Score by Periods: MSU 2-2-1 = 5; UNO 3-0-0 = 3. Pen: MSU 5-10; UNO 5-10. PPs: MSU 2-4; UNO 2-4. Saves: Jon Volp (MSU), 6-10-16 = 32 (59:57); Chris Holt (UNO), 8-11-12 = 31 (59:30) . Att: 6,134. Time: 2:10.

Thursday, March 4

Denver 3 @ Colorado College 1: 1st: No scoring. 2nd: G1 DU - Luke Fulghum 13 (unassisted), 3:36; G2 DU - Gabe Gauthier 15 (Lukas Dora 18, Matt Carle 15), PPG, 8:36; G3 CC - Colin Stuart 7 (Aaron Slattengren 12, Braydon Cox 8), 10:18. 3rd: G4 DU - Connor James 13 (Carle 16), ENG, 19:32. Score by Periods: DU 0-2-1 = 3; CC 0-1-0 = 1. Pen: DU 5-10; CC 6-12. PPs: DU 1-5; CC 0-4. Saves: Adam Berkhoel (DU), 10-12-7 = 29 (60:00); Curtis McElhinney (CC), 12-10-7 = 29 (59:38). Att: 7,566 (sellout). Time: 2:20.

Friday, March 5

Minnesota-Duluth 2 @ Wisconsin 2 ot: 1st: G1 UMD - Steve Czech 3 (Marco Peluso 9), 2:45; G2 UW - Jake Dowell 5 (Jeff Likens 11, Dan Boeser 13), 15:56. 2nd: G3 UMD - Jay Hardwick 2 (Josh Miskovich 2, Jeff McFarland 2), 12:55. 3rd: G4 UW - Boeser 7 (Likens 12, Rene Bourque 19), PPG, 17:25. Score by Periods: UMD 1-1-0-0 = 2; UW 1-0-1-0 = 2. Pen: UMD 16-32; UW 13-26. PPs: UMD 0-4; UW 1-7. Saves: Isaac Reichmuth (UMD), 9-7-5-3 = 24 (64:42); Bernd Bruckler (UW), 4-7-15-3 = 29 (65:00). Att: 13,444. Time: 2:20.

St. Cloud State 4 @ Minnesota 7: 1st: G1 UM - Grant Potulny 13 (Chris Harrington 18, Barry Tallackson 10), PPG, 2:27; G2 UM - Tallackson 9 (Tyler Hirsch 17), 15:46. 2nd: G3 SCSU - Andy Lundbohm 5 (unassisted), 3:17; G4 SCSU - Konrad Reeder 4 (Nate Raduns 7), 9:10; G5 UM - Matt Koalska 11 (Thomas Vanek 19, Harrington 19), 9:35; G6 UM - Danny Irmen 9 (Gino Guyer 16), SHG, 11:45; G7 SCSU - Garrett Larson 9 (Gary Houseman 9, Lundbohm 8), 12:03. 3rd: G8 UM - Vanek 20 (Koalska 21), 0:44; G9 SCSU - Peter Szabo 5 (Dave Iannazzo 11), SHG, 5:44; G10 UM - Guyer 11 (unassisted), 8:17; G11 UM - Vanek 21 (Judd Stevens 4, Troy Riddle 19), 10:47. Score by Periods: SCSU 0-3-1 = 4; UM 2-2-3 = 7. Pen: SCSU 10-20; UM 9-18. PPs: SCSU 0-5; UM 1-6. Saves: Tim Boron (SCSU), 12-6-4 = 22 (60:00); Kellen Briggs (UM), 7-10-6 = 23 (60:00). Att: 10,147 (sellout). Time: 2:20.

Michigan Tech 1 @ North Dakota 5: 1st: G1 UND - Chris Porter 9 (Nick Fuher 10, David Lundbohm 12), PPG, 8:54. 2nd: G2 UND - Rory McMahon 9 (Mike Prpich 5), 7:58; G3 UND - Lundbohm 13 (Porter 12, Matt Greene 14), 9:13; G4 UND - Zach Parise 18 (Brandon Bochenski, Brady Murray 22), PPG, 12:42. 3rd: G5 UND - Lundbohm 14 (Drew Stafford 18, Fuher 11), PPG, 6:49; G6 MTU - Brett Engelhardt 11 (Marek Dora 10), PPG, 18:48. Score by Periods: MTU 0-0-1 = 1; UND 1-3-1 = 5. Pen: MTU 5-10; UND 5-10. PPs: MTU 1-4; UND 3-4. Saves: Cam Ellsworth (MTU), 8-10-12 = 30 (60:00); Jake Brandt (UND), 7-8-7 = 22 (59:54). Att: 11,399. Time: 2:00.

Colorado College 2 @ Denver 3: 1st: G1 DU - Greg Keith 9 (Jeff Drummond), PPG, 6:20. 2nd: G2 DU - J.D. Corbin 3 (Kevin Ulanski, Michael Handza), 1:30; G3 CC - Colin Stuart 8 (Tyler Liebel), 8:52. 3rd: G4 CC - Colin Stuart 9 (Braydon Cox, Trevor Frischmon), 10:13; G5 DU - Ryan Caldwell 13 (Gabe Gauthier, Luke Fulghum), PPG, 16:33. Score by Periods: CC 0-1-1 = 2; DU 1-1-1 = 3. Pen: CC 23-46; DU 19-41. PPs: CC 0-5; DU 2-9. Saves: Matt Zaba (CC), 20-9-9 = 38 (59:28); Adam Berkhoel (DU), 3-10-14 = 27 (60:00). Att: 5,918. Time: 2:38.

Alaska Fairbanks 4 @ Alaska Anchorage 5 (nc): 1st: G1 UAA - Brett Arcand-Kootenay 5 (Justin Bourne 10, Lee Green 6), 2:07; G2 UAF - Jordan Hendry 4 (Cory Rask 9), SHG, 7;20; G3 UAA - Curtis Glencross 16 (unassisted), 11:49; G4 UAF - Aaron Voros 14 (Ryan Lang 13), 18:29. 2nd: G5 UAA - Dallas Steward 13 (Bourne 11, Charlie Kronschnabel 11), PPG, 15:23; G6 UAA - Glencross 17 (Nick Lowe 4), 17:26; G7 UAA - Mark Smith 5 (Glencross 12), 19:32. 3rd: G8 UAF - Lang 9 (Hendry 9, Ryan Campbell 18), PPG, 11:03; G9 UAF - Felipe Larranaga 3 (Campbell 19, Cam Keith 14), 16:35. Score by Periods: UAF 2-0-2 = 4; UAA 2-3-0 = 5. Pen: UAF 6-12; UAA 8-16. PPs: UAF 1-5; UAA 1-3. Saves: Preston McKay (UAF), 5-14-2 = 21 (58:00); Chris King (UAA), 14-7-13 = 34 (60:00). Att: 4,708. Time: 2:10.

Strength of WCHA in '03-04 Reflected in Polls, Results

The overall strength of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in 2003-04 is evident in on-going national polls, pairwise rankings and on-ice results.

In non-conference play through games of March 5th, WCHA member teams owned a noteworthy 53-18-9 record against non-league opponents and a .719 winning percentage. WCHA teams have been particularly strong outside league play the past three seasons, forging a 57-27-8 (.663) non-conference record in 2002-03 and a 56-24-2 (.695) non-league ledger in 2001-02.

Six WCHA teams are listed among the top 15 in the latest USCHO.com Div. 1 Men Pairwise Rankings for March 6th. North Dakota (25-6-3) is No. 1, Minnesota-Duluth (22-10-4) is No. 5, Denver (23-10-5) is tied at No. 5 (with Michigan), Minnesota (21-13-3) is No. 7, Wisconsin (20-9-8) is tied at No. 8 (with New Hampshire, Miami), and St. Cloud State (18-13-4) is No. 15. Coming in tied at No. 18 is Colorado College (18-15-3).

Seven WCHA teams were also ranked among the nation's top 15 teams in the most recent USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll and six in the USCHO.com poll ­ issued for the week of March 1-7. North Dakota is No. 1, Wisconsin is No. 4, Minnesota-Duluth is No. 5, Denver is No. 7/8, Minnesota is No. 10, St. Cloud State is No. 13, and Colorado College is No. 15 (USA Today/AHM). At least four conference teams have been ranked among the top 15 Division 1 men's teams in the country the past 19 consecutive weeks, while at least five league teams have been among the top 15 teams in 18 of the past 19 weeks.

Seven WCHA teams currently (thru March 5) have overall winning percentages of .542 or better. North Dakota (25-6-3) is at .779, Denver (23-10-5) is at .671, Minnesota-Duluth (22-10-4) is at .667, Wisconsin (20-9-8) is at .649, Minnesota (21-13-3) is at .608, St. Cloud State (18-13-4) is at .571, and Colorado College (18-15-3) is at .542.

Also of note, five WCHA teams have already reached the 20-victory plateau this season in North Dakota (25), Denver (23), Minnesota-Duluth (22), Minnesota (21), and Wisconsin (20). Also, both St. Cloud State and Colorado College are at 18 victories to date. One season ago ­ in 2002-03 ­ six WCHA-member teams finished the season with at least 20 victories in CC (30), UM (28), UND (26), UMD (22), Denver (21), and Minnesota State (20).

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