March 24, 2006

The top-seeded University of Minnesota men's hockey team suffered a shocking 4-3 overtime loss to No. 4 seed Holy Cross tonight in the semifinals of the 2006 NCAA West Regional at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D. The Golden Gophers (27-9-5) owned a 3-2 lead early in the third period, but the Crusaders (26-10-2) fought back with the tying goal at 7:52 of the final stanza, and gained the upset win with Tyler McGregor's 26th goal of the season only 53 seconds into the extra session.

The Maroon and Gold finished the season on a three-game losing streak and fell in the semifinals of an NCAA Regional for the first time since a 5-4 overtime loss to Maine in 2001. The 2005-06 WCHA Champions opened the season with a 9-5-4 record, before posting a 16-1-1 mark to finish the regular season. The Golden Gophers struggled in the postseason, going 2-3 and losing their last three games by a combined score of 16-10.

The first period was a scoreless affain with Minnesota out-shooting Holy Cross, 13-10. The two teams went a combined 0-for-5 on the power play (UM 0-for-2).

The Golden Gophers and Crusaders finally lit the scoreboard in the second period to take a 2-2 score into the second intermission. At 8:49, Holy Cross gained the game's first lead as Dale Reinhardt took a Blair Bartlett pass in front of the net and beat UM goaltender Kellen Briggs high to the glove side. Tyler McGregor picked up the second assist.

Minnesota struck back at 13:15 with a shorthanded goal by Mike Howe. Gino Guyer forced the puck out of the UM zone and skated down the left side and feeding Howe at the left circle. Howe's first shot hit the pipe, but he corralled the rebound and flipped the puck over HC netminder Tony Quesada for his 13th tally of the season. The shorthanded goal was his first of the season and second of his career.

Just 41 seconds later, the Crusaders re-gained the lead with a 5-on-3 power-play goal by McGregor. Taking a James Sixmith pass at the left circle, McGregor fired a one-timer to beat Briggs to the stick side. Jon Landry was credited with the second assist.

Phil Kessel made it 2-2 at the 15:45 mark of the period with his 18th goal of the season. With UM just off the penalty kill, Evan Kaufmann streaked down the right side of the ice and found Kessel coming out of the penalty box to skate in on a 2-on-1. With a quick wrister, Kessel beat Quesada to the 5-hole. Chris Harrington earned the second assist on the play. For the period, Minnesota out-shot the Crusaders 14-6.

The third period saw the Golden Gophers take their first lead of the game, only to see Holy Cross respond with a fortunate bounce to knot the game at 3-3. At 2:17, Alex Goligoski gave Minnesota 3-2 lead, taking a Blake Wheeler feed at the high slot and beating Quesada to the stick side with a snap shot.

The Crusaders struck back at 7:53 when a shot by Sean Nappo from the point hit the pipe and landed in the crease behind Briggs. With both teams scrambling to find the puck, HC's Pierre Napert-Frenette got behind Briggs and knocked the puck into the open net. Landry picked up the second assist.

Both teams saw quality scoring chances in the latter half of the period, but neither could find the back of the net. For the period, Minnesota out-shot Holy Cross, 11-10.

The Crusaders completed the shocking upset only 53 seconds into the overtime period. McGregor skated down the left side with his attempted pass hitting a UM defenseman's skate and bouncing right back to the senior captain. McGregor found Briggs out of position and fired a shot to the netminder's stick side for the game-winner. Holy Cross out-shot Minnesota 2-0 in the extra session.

For the game, the Golden Gophers owned a 38-28 advantage on the shot board. Minnesota went 0-for-7 on the power play, while Holy Cross was 1-for-10. Briggs got the loss with 24 saves to fall to 21-6-3, while Quesada earned the win with 35 saves to improve to 22-5-2.

Game Notes

Tonight's game was the first meeting between Minnesota and Holy Cross.

UM is 4-1-0 all-time vs. teams from Atlantic Hockey.

The Golden Gophers made their record 30th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota is 49-31 all-time in the national tournament. The 49 wins is the most by any team with Michigan following with 44.

The Maroon and Gold was 8-5-1 vs. teams in the 2006 NCAA Tournament this season.

Minnesota was 4-2-0 vs. teams in the NCAA West Regional this season.

Don Lucia is 16-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 10-4 mark with Minnesota.

Under Lucia, the Maroon and Gold is 30-13-0 in the postseason, including a 2-3-0 mark this season. UM's losing postseason was its first since 2000-01 when the team went 2-3-0.

Minnesota was 5-2-2 vs. non-WCHA teams this season.

The Golden Gophers went 20-4-1 in their last 25 games. UM out-scored its opponents 113-61 during that span.

Minnesota was 16-4-4 vs. unranked opponents this season.

UM was 9-1-3 in games played outside of Minnesota this season.

Since the beginning of the 2001-02 season, Minnesota is 14-9-0 in neutral site games, including a 0-3-0 mark this season.

Under Lucia, UM is 36-16-1 in the month of March, including a 4-3-0 mark this month.

UM was 10-6-0 in one-goal games, 4-1-0 in two-goal games and 13-2-0 in three-goal or more games.

In 24 of 41 games this season, the team that scored four goals won. UM was 22-1-0 when scoring four or more goals and 14-1-0 when scoring five or more. Minnesota was 4-8-0 when allowing four or more goals.

Minnesota was 5-4-4 on NHL-size rinks this season.

The Golden Gophers were 6-6-1 when allowing the first goal, 5-4-2 when tied after one period, 3-2-3 when tied after two periods and 0-3-5 in overtime.

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