Golden Gopher Scoring Punch Faces Stalock in 2009 Red BaronTM WCHA Final Five Opener
Ryan Stoa leads UM's high-powered first line into the WCHA Final Five Thursday |
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March 18, 2009
By John Gilbert
The 2009 Red BaronTM WCHA Final Five couldn't get off to a more sizzling start than Thursday night's intrastate clash between Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth.
Their always intense rivalry adds a couple of extra subplots this year: For one, Minnesota's Ryan Stoa and Jordan Schroeder finished 1-2 in league scoring, while UMD goaltender Alex Stalock finished No. 1 in goaltending, setting up a Minnesota offense vs. UMD defensive scenario. For another, both teams still brim with hope about reaching the NCAA tournament, but the hard, cold facts are that the loser of Thursday's "play-in" game could face a sudden end to the long, often frustrating season.
A season full of surprises and upsets, and the lack of an emerging super-power made for hotly competitive play virtually every weekend. And yet, one of the bigger surprises was that four of the five first-round playoff series went to the homestanding higher seed, and all five series went the minimum two games. North Dakota knocked off Michigan Tech; Denver struggled but swept Alaska Anchorage; Wisconsin pounded Minnesota State, Mankato; and Minnesota continued its remarkable streak by sweeping St. Cloud State for the third time this season - the only team swept by the Gophers all year.
The fifth series was the surprise. UMD, which had a shot at finishing third going into the final weekend, instead lost twice at home, 5-4 and 4-3, to ninth-place Alaska Anchorage, and tumbled to seventh. With a closing record that showed no victories (0-3-2) in their last five games, the Bulldogs headed for Colorado Springs. But Alex Stalock returned to his razor-sharp edge, and MacGregor Sharp led an offensive surge, and UMD swept CC 4-1 and 3-1.
That sends the 'Dawgs back to the Twin Cities, but it's at Xcel Energy Center, not Mariucci Arena, where UMD played a spirited 2-2 tie and an empty 5-3 loss to the Gophers three weeks ago. The Gophers and Bulldogs play for survival at 7:00 p.m. Thursday evening, with that winner going into Friday's semifinal ambush against league champ North Dakota at 7:00 p.m. Wisconsin and Denver play the first semifinal at 2:00 p.m. That game also has intriguing overtones, because Denver beat the Badgers all four times this season.
Further intrigue awaits Saturday, when a third-place game at 2:00 pm and the final at 7:00 will not only determine the Broadmoor Trophy, but could decide whether a third WCHA team can beat out the challengers from Hockey East, the ECAC and CCHA. In NCAA tournament seedings, there are automatic seeds, such as playoff winners, and there are assured seeds from winners of the two less-prominent Division I leagues. Any time a team ranked lower than the top 16 happens to win its league playoff, it gains an automatic berth and thus bumps out the lowest-rated from the top-rated 16.
That's where the Gophers, and Bulldogs, stand. This time, with Minnesota on the outer edge of the NCAA tournament security ridge, and UMD right behind, the game has those overtones.
Minnesota coach Don Lucia is the acknowledged computer-wise member of the coaches, and he thinks there could be a future for either or both UMD and his Gophers.
"I think the loser still has a chance," said Lucia. "If either of us wins two games, we'd be in pretty good shape. Depending on how things go, though, are you better off losing one game, or maybe going on and losing two?"
True, winning all three games clinches an automatic berth, but a team could drop slightly from losing Thursday, then wouldn't risk losing any more. The Thursday winner, however, could lose both Friday and in the third-place game, and could, conceivably, drop out of the picture. Nobody, incidentally, has ever won the tournament since the system started in 1993 - 17 years ago.
"The problem with winning three games in three days is that you've got to beat three really good teams, playing at such a high level, for three straight nights," said Lucia.
UMD coach Scott Sandelin said he's looked at the power rankings but will leave such speculation to Lucia. He stresses that while the last six games of the regular season went awry, the focus is back.
"At this time of year, you look to your seniors to score," Sandelin said. "MacGregor Sharp has 10 goals down the stretch, he's been good on face-offs, and played his best hockey down the stretch. Guys like Matt Greer and Michael Gergen have also come through. Alex has been great in goal, but we're playing better in front of him."
With so many defensive struggles, Minnesota has perhaps the best line in the league, if not the country, with freshman Schroeder centering Ryan Stoa and Jay Barriball. While both coaches downplayed it, there is still that scenario of the top line facing the top goaltender. All five teams have someone among the league's overall scoring and goaltending leaders, not surprisingly.
Stoa was 19-17-36 and Schroeder 13-22-35 in league scoring, and overall Stoa has 24-22-46, while UMD's Justin Fontaine is 15-30-45, Schroeder 13-31-44, Denver's Anthony Maiani 11-30-41, and Sharp 20-21-41, followed by North Dakota's Ryan Duncan at 18-19-37, and Rhett Rakhshani of Denver 15-21-36 tied with Jamie McBain, Wisconsin's junior defenseman and team scoring leader at 7-29-36.
Meanwhile, defensively, Stalock leads the league overall with a 2.24 goals-against mark, and has a .920 save percentage. Denver's Marc Cheverie is 2.34 with a .921 percentage that eclipses even Stalock's, then North Dakota freshman Brad Eidsness at 2.44 and .909, Wisconsin's Shane Connelly at 2.54 and .911, and Minnesota's Alex Kangas, who recovered from a second-half slump to finish strong, but ranks only eighth at 2.79 and .901.
If the Final Five entries played only among themselves this season, here's how they would rank, with wins, losses, ties, goals-for and goals-against: Denver 8-3-1, 46 GF/36 GA; North Dakota 5-3-2, 43/26; Wisconsin 6-7-1, 42/42; Minnesota 3-5-2, 29/35; and UMD 3-6-3, 25/33. Interesting that Denver has the best record, North Dakota the only other one over .500, and the Fighting Sioux have clearly the stingiest goals-against.
All of that, though, is just ammunition leading up to the Final Five. The action starts officially with Thursday's Gopher-Bulldog game. And it could be a start that will set a high standard for the tournament.
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