March 13, 2004

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MADISON, Wisc. ­ If the opening night of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's annual post-season playoff championship is any indication, it could be a wild ride before the league crowns it's Broadmoor Trophy winner on March 20th at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul at the 2004 Red Baron WCHA Final Five. While 2004 MacNaughton Cup champion and No. 1-seed North Dakota downed No. 10-seed Michigan Tech, 6-2, Friday night and No. 5-seed Minnesota powered past No. 6-seed St. Cloud State, 6-1, three of the top five seeds lost game one of their best-of-three first round WCHA playoff series on their home ice and now face an uphill battle to move on to Saint Paul.

No. 2-seed Minnesota-Duluth was upended in overtime, 4-3, Friday evening by No. 9-seed Minnesota State, No. 3-seed Wisconsin fell 3-2 to No. 8-seed Alaska Anchorage, and No. 4-seed Denver dropped a 4-3 decision to No. 7-seed Colorado College. For the Seawolves, the victory over the Badgers marked the program's first-ever WCHA playoff win, putting an end to a 0-22 skid since UAA joined the WCHA 12 seasons ago.

At Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks last night, the No. 1-ranked Fighting Sioux (27-6-3) had nine points from the line of C Zach Parise (1g,3a), LW Brady Murray (1g,1a) and RW Drew Stafford (1g,2a) to hang a 6-2 defeat on Michigan Tech before a crowd of 9,837. UND outshot the Huskies, 33-15, and scored three goals in the third period to break open a tight game and take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three playoff series. The game-winner came off the stick of D Nick Fuher at 16:41 of the second period, giving North Dakota a 3-1 lead. In goal, Jake Brandt had 13 saves for the Sioux while starter Cam Ellsworth (20 saves) and Bryce Luker (7 saves) combined for MTU.

At the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center Friday night, visiting and No. 9-seed Minnesota State jumped out to a 3-1 lead early in the second period and then rallied for a victory in overtime over the host and No. 2-seed Bulldogs on a goal from D Lucas Fransen at 12:18. A crowd of 4,408 saw UMD battle back to tie the score at 3-3 on second period tallies from Junior Lessard and Justin Williams, before the Mavericks knocked home the winner in the extra session to go up 1-0 in the series. LW Chad Clower had two goals for MSU while in goal, Jon Volp made 46 saves ­ including 22 in a scoreless third period. For UMD, Isaac Reichmuth had 34 saves.

Before 9,291 at the Kohl Center in Madison last night, visiting and No. 8-seed Alaska Anchorage won it's first-ever WCHA playoff game and took a 1-0 lead in the series with a 3-2 decision over No. 3-seed Wisconsin as LW Chris Fournier netted the game-winner on a power-play at 5:56 of the third period and Chris King stopped 45 of 47 shots on goal. All five goals in the game came on the power-play, with UAA going 3-of-6 and the Badgers connecting on 2-of-7. UAA led 2-1 after one period on goals from Dallas Steward and Charlie Kronschnabel before Wisconsin came back to knot the score at 2-2 in the second on a man-advantage tally from RW Ross Carlson at 5:14.

Before 4,391 fans at Magness Arena in the Mile High City Friday evening, visiting and No. 7-seed Colorado College handed No. 4-seed Denver a 4-3 defeat and took a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three playoff series after scoring three times in the third period. After C Gabe Gauthier's goal at 13:38 of the second period gave the Pioneers a 2-1 lead heading into the final 20:00, the Tigers went to work. D Andrew Canzanello (at 7:22), C Trevor Frischmon (at 9:57) and C Aaron Slattengren (at 11:48) scored third period goals just 4:26 apart, with Slattengren's marker holding up as the game-winner. Denver closed to within one, at 4-3, on a power-play goal from RW Lukas Dora at 13:53. In goal, Matt Zaba was credited with 18 stops for the Tigers while Adam Berkhoel had 22 for Denver.

And before a sellout crowd of 10,042 at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis last night, the host and No. 5-seed Minnesota Golden Gophers had a goal and three assists from RW Troy Riddle and a goal and two assists from LW Thomas Vanek to skate past No. 6-seed St. Cloud State and take a 1-0 lead in their series. UM never trailed in the game, leading 2-1 after one, 5-1 after two and finally, 6-1. The eventual game-winning goal came from C Matt Koalska on a power-play at 14:58 of the first period. In goal, Kellen Briggs stopped 26 of 27 shots on goal for Minnesota while Adam Coole (14 saves) and Tim Boron (19 saves) combined for 33 for SCSU.

Following the first round of the WCHA playoffs, the five winning teams will be re-seed No. 1 through No. 5 according to their regular season finish and advance to the 2004 Red Baron WCHA Final Five, set for March 18-20 at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul.

This Week in the WCHA - First-Round Playoffs

Best-of-3. Results from Friday, March 12: #10 Michigan Tech 2 @ #1 North Dakota 6; #9 Minnesota State 4 @ #2 Minnesota-Duluth 3 ot; #8 Alaska Anchorage 3 @ #3 Wisconsin 2; #7 Colorado College 4 @ #4 Denver 3; #6 St. Cloud State 1 @ #5 Minnesota 6.

Games for Saturday, March 13: #10 Michigan Tech @ #1 North Dakota, 7:05 pm CT; #9 Minnesota State @ #2 Minnesota-Duluth, 7:05 pm CT; #8 Alaska Anchorage @ #3 Wisconsin, 7:05 pm CT; #7 Colorado College @ #4 Denver, 7:05 pm MT; #6 St. Cloud State @ #5 Minnesota, 7:05 pm CT.

Games for Sunday, March 14 (if necessary): #10 Michigan Tech @ #1 North Dakota, 6:05 pm CT; #9 Minnesota State @ #2 Minnesota-Duluth, 7:05 pm CT; #8 Alaska Anchorage @ #3 Wisconsin, 7:05 pm CT; #7 Colorado College @ #4 Denver, 7:05 pm MT; #6 St. Cloud State @ #5 Minnesota, 7:05 pm CT.

WCHA Overtime Procedures ­Playoffs & WCHA Final Five

Where advancement in a bracket or the determination of a tournament champion is necessary, any game that results in a tie will be broken by 20-minute sudden-death overtime periods. The ice shall be resurfaced upon completion of regulation play, as well as after each succeeding 20-minute overtime period. Intermissions between overtimes will be the same as during the regular season, or 15 minutes in duration. The teams shall NOT change ends for the entire time that it takes to determine a winner.

WCHA First-Round Playoff Summaries

Friday, March 12

#10 Michigan Tech 2 @ #1 North Dakota 6: 1st: G1 UND - Zach Parise 19 (Drew Stafford, Andy Schneider), 3:27; G2 MTU - Clay Wilson 2 (unassisted), 8:39. 2nd: G3 UND - Brady Murray 18 (Brandon Bochenski, Zach Parise), PPG, 1:28; G4 UND - Nick Fuher 10 (Zach Parise, Stafford), 16:41. 3rd: G5 UND - Stafford 9 (Zach Parise, Murray), 0:26; G6 UND - Quinn Fylling 12 (Rory McMahon), 1:44; G7 MTU - Justin Brown 1 (Ryan Markham, B.J. Radovich), 5:14; G8 UND - Colby Genoway 11 (David Lundbohm, Fuher), 7:25. Score by Periods: MTU 1-0-1 = 2; UND 1-2-3 = 6. Pen: MTU 5-10; UNO 6-12. PPs: MTU 0-4; UND 1-3. Saves: Cam Ellsworth (MTU), 7-13-0 = 20 (41:44); Bryce Luker (MTU), x-x-7 = 7 (18:16); Jake Brandt (UND), 6-4-3 = 13 (60:00). Att: 9,837. Time: 2:12.

#9 Minnesota State 4 @ #2 Minnesota-Duluth 3 ot: 1st: G1 UMD - Luke Stauffacher 13 (Tim Stapleton, Beau Geisler), 6:02; G2 MSU - Chad Clower 5 (Nate Metcalf), 10:06. 2nd: G3 MSU - David Backes 15 (Steven Johns, Clower), PPG, 1:25; G4 MSU - Clower 6 (Aaron Forsythe, Travis Morin), 6:34; G5 UMD - Junior Lessard 24 (Marco Peluso, Geisler), PPG, 7:36; G6 UMD - Justin Williams 9 (Geisler, Todd Smith), 19:56. 3rd: No scoring. OT: G7 MSU - Lucas Fransen 4 (Forsythe, Shane Joseph), 12:18 Score by Periods: MSU 1-2-0-1 = 4; UMD 1-2-0-0 = 3. Pen: MSU 6-12; UMD 3-6. PPs: MSU 1-3; UMD 1-6. Saves: Jon Volp (MSU), 12-10-22-2 = 46 (72:18); Isaac Reichmuth (UMD), 14-7-9-4 = 34 (72:18). Att: 4,408. Time: 2:42.

#8 Alaska Anchorage 3 @ #3 Wisconsin 2: 1st: G1 UW - Jake Dowell 6 (Robbie Earl, Jeff Likens), PPG, 2:51; G2 UAA - Dallas Steward 14 (Brandon Segal, Justin Bourne), PPG, 9:01; G3 UAA - Charlie Kronschnabel 9 (Chris Fournier, Chris King), PPG, 18:54. 2nd: G4 UW - Ross Carlson 6 (Tom Gilbert, Ryan Suter), PPG, 5:14. 3rd: G5 UAA - Fournier 13 (Curtis Glencross, Justin Johnson), PPG, 5:56. Score by Periods: UAA 2-0-1 = 3; UW 1-1-0 = 2. Pen: UAA 9-18; UW 8-16. PPs: UAA 3-6; UW 2-7. Saves: Chris King (UAA), 14-17-14 = 45 (60:00); Bernd Bruckler (UW), 8-5-8 = 21 (58:19. Att: 9,291. Time: 2:15.

#7 Colorado College 4 @ #4 Denver 3: 1st: G1 CC - Marty Sertich 11 (Andrew Canzanello, Matt Zaba), 4:07; G2 Denver - Michael Handza 2 (Jussi Halme), 10:02. 2nd: G3 Denver - Gabe Gauthier 16 (J.D. Corbin, Brett Skinner), 13:38. 3rd: G4 CC - Canzanello 5 (Braydon Cox, Aaron Slattengren), 7:22; G5 CC - Trevor Frischmon 9 (Mark Stuart, Canzanello), 9:57; G6 CC - Slattengren 15 (Richard Petiot, Cox), 11:48. Score by Periods: CC 1-0-3 = 4; Denver 1-1-1 = 3. Pen: CC 8-16; Denver 8-16. PPs: CC 0-5; Denver 1-5. Saves: Matt Zaba (CC), 9-6-3 = 18 (60:00); Adam Berkhoel (Denver), 9-6-7 = 22 (59:28). Att: 4,391. Time: 2:15.

#6 St. Cloud State 1 @ #5 Minnesota 6: 1st: G1 UM - Mike Vannelli 2 (Jake Fleming), 10:02; G2 SCSU - Brock Hooton 5 (Peter Szabo, Joe Jensen), 12:30; G3 UM - Matt Koalska 12 (Troy Riddle, Thomas Vanek), PPG, 14:58. 2nd: G4 UM - Vanek 22 (Joey Martin, Riddle), 6:18; G5 UM - Ryan Potulny 2 (Vanek, Peter Kennedy), 9:44; G6 UM - Riddle 18 (Vannelli), 14:44. 3rd: G7 UM - Ryan Potulny 3 (Riddle, Keith Ballard), PPG, 15:21. Score by Periods: SCSU 1-0-0 = 1; UM 2-3-1 = 6. Pen: SCSU 14-28; UM 12-24. PPs: SCSU 0-3; UM 2-5. Saves: Adam Coole (SCSU), 8-6-x = 14 (30:40); Tim Boron (SCSU), x-11-8 = 19 (29:20); Kellen Briggs (UM), 5-10-11 = 26 (60:00). Att: 10,042 (sellout). Time: 2:20.

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 (vs teams from other Div. 1 conferences) through games of March 12th, WCHA member teams owned a noteworthy 54-19-9 record and a .713 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. Seven WCHA teams are listed among the top 16 in the latest USCHO.com Div. 1 Men Pairwise Rankings for March 13th. North Dakota (27-6-3) is tied at No. 1 (with Boston College and Maine), Minnesota-Duluth (23-11-4) is No. 4, Minnesota (23-13-3) is No. 5, Denver (23-11-5) is No. 6, Wisconsin (20-11-8) is tied at No. 9 (with New Hampshire), and Colorado College (19-15-3) and St. Cloud State (18-15-4) are tied at No. 15.

Six WCHA teams were also ranked among the nation's top 15 teams in the most recent USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll and USCHO.com polls ­ issued for the week of March 8-14. North Dakota was No. 1, Minnesota-Duluth was No. 4, Wisconsin was No. 5/6, Denver was No. 5/6, Minnesota is No. 8, and St. Cloud State was No. 15. The Western Collegiate Hockey Association has had at least six teams ranked among the nation's top 15 the past 11 consecutive weeks, has had at least five teams ranked among the nation's top 15 in the national polls in 21 of 23 weeks, and has had seven of it's 10 teams among the top 15 five times overall.

Seven WCHA teams currently (thru March 12th) have overall winning percentages of .541 or better. North Dakota (27-6-3) is at .792, Minnesota-Duluth (23-11-4) is at .658, Denver (23-11-5) is at .654, Minnesota (23-13-3) is at .628, Wisconsin (20-11-8) is at .615, Colorado College (19-15-3) is at .554, and St. Cloud State (18-15-4) is at .541.

Also of note, five WCHA teams have already reached the 20-victory plateau this season in North Dakota (27), Denver (23), Minnesota-Duluth (23), Minnesota (23), and Wisconsin (20). Also, Colorado College is at 19 victories through March 12th while St. Cloud State has 18. 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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