Defending National Champion Minnesota Carries WCHA Hopes Into 2003 Frozen Four

Golden Gophers Down Mercyhurst and Ferris State to Capture West Regional and Earn 18th Frozen Four Appearance; Colorado College Falls 5-3 to Michigan Sunday in Midwest Regional Final; Minnesota State, North Dakota, and St. Cloud State Come Up Short in Weekend Regional Competition; Six WCHA Teams Ranked Among Top 15 in Final USCHO.com Poll; WCHA Owns Record 32 NCAA Team Titles.

D Paul Martin will help lead Minnesota into the 2003 NCAA Frozen Four.

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March 30, 2003

MADISON, Wisc. � Defending national champion University of Minnesota (26-8-9) will carry the collective hopes of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association into the 2003 NCAA Men's Frozen Four, after the Golden Gophers were the only one of five league teams engaged in regional competition to earn a trip to HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y., in two weeks. Head Coach Don Lucia's Golden Gophers will take on University of Michigan in one national championship semi-final on April 10 while University of New Hampshire will face Cornell University in the other national semi-final.

Winners of four NCAA championships � in 1974, 1976, 1979 and 2002 � Minnesota will be making it's 18th appearance in the Frozen Four since 1953 and owns an all-time Frozen Four record of 17-15-0 (.531). Overall in NCAA competition, the Golden Gophers are an impressive 44-28-0 (.611).

As a conference, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association owns a record 32 national championship titles since the league's founding in 1951 and has also had 26 runner-up finishes.

2003 Kellogg's WCHA Final Five (playoff) champion Minnesota defeated No. 4 seed Mercyhurst, 9-2, last Friday (March 28) and No. 2 seed Ferris State, 7-4, on Saturday (March 29) to capture the West Regional championship at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, Minn. The WCHA's four other NCAA participants � Colorado College, Minnesota State, North Dakota and St. Cloud State saw their seasons come to an end in regional action.

The second-ranked Tigers (30-7-5), 2002-03 MacNaughton Cup champions (WCHA regular season) and the No. 1 seed at the Midwest Regional at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich., defeated No. 4 seed Wayne State, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon before falling 5-3 to No. 3 seed Michigan on Sunday (March 30) in the championship game. At the East Regional at Dunkin' Donuts Centre in Providence, R.I., No. 4 seed Minnesota State (20-11-10) lost to No. 1 seed Cornell, 5-2, on Saturday afternoon, with Cornell moving on to capture the regional title and earn a berth in the Frozen Four with a 2-1, double overtime victory over No. 2 seed Boston College on Sunday.

And at the Northeast Regional at Centrum Centre in Worcester, Mass., No. 4 seed St. Cloud State (17-16-5) lost to No. 1 seed New Hampshire, 5-2, last Friday night, with the Wildcats then moving on to defeat Boston University, 3-0, in the championship contest.

The four regional winners � Minnesota (WCHA), Michigan (Central Collegiate Hockey Association), New Hampshire (Hockey East Association) and Cornell (Eastern College Athletic Conference) � thus make up the field for the 2003 NCAA Men's Frozen Four, set for April 10-12 at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y.

New Hampshire (27-7-6) will take on Cornell (30-4-1) on Thursday, April 10 in one Frozen Four semi-final while Minnesota (26-8-9) will take on Michigan (30-9-3) in the other semi-final. Game times for the semi-finals are 12:00 Noon ET and 6:00 pm ET with order of games to be announced.

The two semi-final winners will then faceoff for the 2003 national championship on Saturday, April 12 at 7:00 pm ET.

2003 NCAA Men's Frozen Four
April 10 and 12 - HSBC Arena - Buffalo, New York

Thursday, April 10 - Noon & 6:00 pm ET (order of games TBA)
New Hampshire (27-7-6) vs Cornell (30-4-1)
Minnesota (26-8-9) vs Michigan (30-9-3)

Saturday, April 12 - 7:00 pm ET
National Championship Game

2003 NCAA Regional Results

Northeast Regional - March 28-29
Centrum Centre - Worcester, Massachusetts
March 28 - No. 2 Boston U. 6 vs No. 3 Harvard 4
March 28 - No. 4 St. Cloud State 2 vs No. 1 New Hampshire 5
March 29 - Boston U. 0 vs New Hampshire 3 (championship)

West Regional - March 28-29
Mariucci Arena - Minneapolis, Minnesota
March 28 - No. 3 North Dakota 2 vs 2 Ferris State 5
March 28 - No. 4 Mercyhurst 2 vs No. 1 Minnesota 9
March 29 - Ferris State 4 vs Minnesota 7 (championship)

East Regional - March 29-30
Dunkin' Donuts Center - Providence, Rhode Island
March 29 - No. 4 Minnesota State 2 vs No. 1 Cornell 5
March 29 - No. 3 Ohio State 0 vs No. 2 Boston College 1
March 30 - Boston College 1 vs Cornell 2 (2 ot) (championship)

Midwest Regional - March 29-30
Yost Ice Arena - Ann Arbor, Michigan
March 29 - No. 4 Wayne State 2 vs No. 1 Colorado College 4
March 29 - No. 3 Michigan 2 vs No. 2 Maine 1
March 30 - Michigan 5 vs Colorado College 3 (championship)