Golden Gophers, Bulldogs Win Saturday At Midwest Regional
March 27, 2004
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. The Western Collegiate Hockey Association, with a record-tying five teams in the NCAA Division 1 Men's Ice Hockey Championship tournament for the third time in the last four years, is guaranteed at least two berths in the 2004 Frozen Four in two weeks as a result of regional action so far this weekend. WCHA-member teams University of North Dakota, University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota-Duluth, University of Denver and University of Wisconsin were a combined 5-0 in Regional play heading into Saturday night's matchups.
No. 1 West Regional seed North Dakota (30-7-3) will take on No. 2 seed Denver (24-12-5) Saturday (March 27) night at 7:00 pm MT at the Colorado Springs World Arena, with the winner of that matchup advancing to the Frozen Four in Boston, Mass., April 8-10. The Fighting Sioux shutout No. 4 seed Holy Cross, 3-0, on Friday evening while the No. 2-seed Pioneers defeated No. 3 seed Miami, 3-2.
No. 1 Midwest Regional seed Minnesota (27-13-3) will take on No. 2 seed Minnesota-Duluth (27-12-4) on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm ET in that championship game at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. The two-time defending national champion Golden Gophers won 5-2 over No. 4 seed Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon while the Bulldogs blanked No. 3-seed Michigan State, 5-0.
In Minnesota's victory against Notre Dame Saturday, winger Thomas Vanek scored a pair of goals, including the eventual game-winner at 16:24 of the second period, defenseman Chris Harrington had two assists and Kellen Briggs stopped 20 shots.
In Minnesota-Duluth's win over Michigan State Saturday, winger Junior Lessard scored twice, center Evan Schwabe had the game-winning goal and two assists, and Isaac Reichmuth stopped all 23 shots on goal.
Out at the East Regional at Pepsi Arena in Albany, N.Y., on Friday evening, No. 3 seed Wisconsin (22-12-8) shutout No. 2 seed Ohio State, 1-0 in overtime on a goal by defenseman Dan Boeser, and the Badgers are thus taking on No. 1 seed Maine in the championship game Saturday night. A victory by Wisconsin would give the WCHA three teams in the Frozen Four.
The other of the four NCAA regionals the Northeast Regional at Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H., is featuring No. 1 seed Boston College, No. 2 seed Michigan, No. 3 seed New Hampshire and No. 4 seed Niagara. In the first game there on Saturday afternoon, Boston College defeated Niagara, 5-2, while Michigan knocked off New Hampshire, 4-1. In the championship game on Sunday, Boston College will face Michigan, with the winner advancing to the Frozen Four.
Saturday Afternoon NCAA Midwest Regional Summaries, @ Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Notre Dame 2 vs Minnesota 5
1st: G1 ND - Cory McLean 10 (Aaron Gill, Mike Walsh), 0:54; G2 ND - Gill 17 (Walsh, Rob Globke), PPG, 19:18. 2nd: G3 UM - Matt Koalska 13 (Thomas Vanek, Chris Harrington), 0:26; G4 UM - Danny Irmen 14 (Harrington), PPG, 9:13; G5 UM - Vanek 25 (unassisted), 16:24. 3rd: G6 UM - Vanek 26 (Koalska, Keith Ballard), ENG, 19:24. Score by Periods: ND 2-0-0 = 2; UM 0-3-2 = 5. Pen: ND 8-16; UM 8-16. PPs: ND 1-5; UM 1-5. Saves: Morgan Cey (ND), 13-18-9 = 40 (59:01); Kellen Briggs (UM), 6-7-7 = 20 (60:00). Att: NA. Time: 2:25.
Michigan State 0 vs Minnesota-Duluth 5
1st: G1 UMD - Evan Schwabe 18 (Justin Williams, Tim Hambly), 12:16. 2nd: G2 UMD - Jesse Unklesbay 5 (Nick Anderson), 1:14; G3 UMD - Brett Hammond 7 (Marco Peluso, Jay Hardwick), 5:36; G4 UMD - Junior Lessard 29 (Schwabe, Hardwick), 8:13; G5 UMD - Lessard 30 (Schwabe, Tyler Brosz), PPG, 13:01. 3rd: No scoring. Score by Periods: MSU 0-0-0 = 0; UMD 1-4-0 = 5. Pen: MSU 5-10; UMD 4-8. PPs: MSU 0-4; UMD 1-5. Saves: Dominic Vicari (MSU), 7-4-x = 11 (28:13); Matt Migliaccio (MSU), x-7-5 = 12 (31:47); Isaac Reichmuth (UMD), 8-3-12 = 23 (60:00). Att: 5,325. Time: 2:24.
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