April 2, 2003

WCHA Owns Record 32 NCAA Team Championships Since 1951; Colorado College, Minnesota State, North Dakota and St. Cloud State Fall Short at NCAA Regionals; Six WCHA Teams Ranked Among Top 15 in Final USCHO.com Poll; Peter Sejna, Tom Preissing, Zach Parise Named as Hobey Baker Memorial Award Finalists; WCHA's Non-Conference Mark at 55-27-8 (.656); Final 2002-03 WCHA Home Attendance Reaches Record Total of 1,511,991!

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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 the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y., in two weeks. The Frozen Four is being hosted by Canisius College, Niagara University and the MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference).

Head Coach Don Lucia's Golden Gophers, winners of nine straight post-season games, will take on Head Coach Red Berenson's University of Michigan (30-9-3) Wolverines in one of two national championship semi-finals on Thursday, April 10 at 6:07 pm ET while University of New Hampshire will face Cornell University in the other national semi-final at 12:07 pm ET. Minnesota and Cornell will be the OEhome' teams for the national semi-finals.

"We (like Michigan) were also fortunate to host a (NCAA) Regional last weekend," said Lucia. "We played a good game against Mercyhurst (won 9-2 on March 28) and then played a very good team in Ferris State (won 7-4 on March 29) and were fortunate to get another victory.

"We had great starts in both games," added Lucia, who has guided his teams (Minnesota and Colorado College) to the Frozen Four in four of the past eight seasons, "and I was pleased with the way our team played overall.

"We have our work cut out for us next Thursday (April 10), playing a great team and a great program like Michigan. It should be a very exciting Frozen Four."

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 won-loss record of 17-15-0 (.531). Overall in NCAA tournament competition, the Golden Gophers are an impressive 44-28-0 (.611).

As a conference, the WCHA 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 represent four different leagues: Minnesota from the WCHA, Michigan from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, New Hampshire from the Hockey East Association and Cornell from the Eastern College Athletic Conference.

The New Hampshire Wildcats (27-7-6) will take on Cornell's Big Red (30-4-1) on Thursday, April 10 at 12:07 pm ET in one Frozen Four semi-final while the Minnesota Golden Gophers (26-8-9) will take on the Michigan Wolverines (30-9-3) in the other semi-final at 6:07 pm ET.

The two semi-final winners will faceoff for the 2003 national championship on Saturday, April 12 at 7:07 pm ET.

2003 NCAA Men's Frozen Four EUR HSBC Arena -- Buffalo, New York
Thursday, April 10
New Hampshire vs Cornell, 12:07 pm ET
Michigan vs Minnesota, 6:07 pm ET

Saturday, April 12
National Championship Game, 7:07 pm ET

Frozen Four Field is Red-Hot
Four Teams are Combined 38-0-8 of Late
The four-team field for the 2003 NCAA Men's Frozen Four owns a combined record of 38-0-8 over the past 46 combined games. All four teams ­ Cornell, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Michigan ­ enter the Frozen Four with unbeaten streaks of at least nine games. Following are those unbeaten streaks:

Cornell (30-4-1, .871) is unbeaten over their last 15 games at 14-0-1.

New Hampshire (27-7-6, .750) is unbeaten over their last 12 games at 9-0-3.

Minnesota (26-8-9, .709)) is unbeaten over their last 10 games at 8-0-2.

And Michigan (30-9-3, .750) is unbeaten over their last nine games at 7-0-2.

Frozen Four Television
The two national semi-final games from HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y., on Thursday, April 10 will both be televised live on EPSN2.

The national championship game on Saturday, April 12, will be televised live on ESPN.

Thursday, April 10
New Hampshire vs Cornell, 12:07 pm ET (ESPN2)
Michigan vs Minnesota, 6:07 pm ET (ESPN2)

Saturday, April 12
National Championship Game, 7:07 pm ET (ESPN)

Frozen Four Events
In addition to the three games being played at the 2003 NCAA Men's Frozen Four, there will also be several other events of interest to attending media and fans. They are:

Wednesday, April 9:
6 pm ET: Championship Team Banquet 9:30-11:30 pm ET: Media reception @ D'Arcy McGees

Friday, April 11
1-1:45 pm ET: US College Hockey Online Town Hall Meeting @ Hyatt Regency.
2-2:25 pm ET: Hockey Humanitarian Award news conference @ Hyatt Regency.
2:30-3 pm ET: Hobey Baker Memorial Award news conference @ Hyatt Regency.
5-9 pm ET: YES Clinic @ Niagara University.

Saturday, April 12
8 am-12 Noon ET: YES Clinic @ Amherst Pepsi Center

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)

Regional Summaries -- WCHA Teams
West Regional @ Mariucci Arena, Minneapolis, Minn. Friday, March 28
No. 3 North Dakota 2 vs No. 3 Ferris State 5
1st: G1 FSU - Derek Nesbitt 19 (Chris Kunitz, Mike Kinnie), PPG, 14:01. 2nd: G2 FSU - Simon Mangos 11 (Kunitz, Troy Milam), PPG, 15:42; G3 FSU - Jeff Legue 24 (Nesbitt, Kunitz), 18:04. 3rd: G4 UND - David Lundbohm 15 (Brandon Bochenski, Matt Jones), 7:25; G5 FSU - Greg Rallo 15 (Trevor Large), 9:11; G6 UND - Ryan Hale 3 (Mike Prpich, Nick Fuher), 15:34; G7 FSU - Large 7 (Phil Meyer), ENG, 19:42. Score by Periods: UND 0-0-2 = 2; FSU 1-2-2 = 5. Pen: UND 8-16; FSU 10-28. PPs: UND 0-4; FSU 2-3. Saves: Jake Brandt (UND), 9-8-x = 17 (40:00); Josh Siembida (UND), x-x-5 = 5 (18:50); Mike Brown (FSU), 12-14-18 = 44 (60:00). Att: NA. Time: 2:26.

No. 4 Mercyhurst 2 vs No. 1 Minnesota 9
1st: G1 UM - Grant Potulny 13 (Gino Guyer, Barry Tallackson), 1:15; G2 UM - Keith Ballard 10 (Guyer), 4:33; G3 UM - Potulny 14 (Matt DeMarchi, Guyer), 14:59. 2nd: G4 UM - Tallackson 7 (Guyer), 1:40; G5 UM - Thomas Vanek 27 (Ballard), 4:10; G6 UM - Paul Martin 9 (Jerrid Reinholz), 5:07; G7 UM - Jon Waibel 7 (Jake Fleming, Garrett Smaagaard), 5:34; G8 UM - Ballard 11 (Fleming), 13:57. 3rd: G9 UM - Potulny 15 (Guyer, Tallackson), 1:05; G10 MC - David Wrigley 17 (Adam Tackaberry), PPG, 4:33; G11 MC - Scott Reynolds 10 (Dave Borrelli, Adam Rivers), PPG, 7:21. Score by Periods: MC 0-0-2 = 2; UM 3-5-1 = 9. Pen: MC 4-8; UM 4-8. PPs: MC 2-3; UM 0-3. Saves: Andy Franck (MC), 8-22-17 = 47 (60:00); Travis Weber (UM), 3-8-5 = 16 (60:00). Att: 9,554. Time: 2:10.

Saturday, March 29 -- West Regional Championship Game
No. 2 Ferris State 4 vs No. 1 Minnesota 7
1st: G1 UM - Matt Koalska 9 (Thomas Vanek, Matt DeMarchi), 0:13; G2 UM - Keith Ballard 12 (unassisted), PPG, 1:38; G3 UM - Jake Fleming 10 (Garrett Smaagaard), 6:09; G4 FSU - Chris Kunitz 34 (Phil Meyer), 12:02; G5 UM - Vanek 28 (unassisted), 12:41; G6 FSU - Kunitz 35 (Derek Nesbitt), SHG, 17:48; G7 UM - DeMarchi 7 (Tyler Hirsch, Barry Tallackson), PPG, 18:54. 2nd: G8 FSU - Nesbitt 20 (unassisted), SHG, 12:43; G9 UM - Vanek 29 (Koalska), 19:31. 3rd: G10 FSU - Phil Lewandowski 15 (Nick Field), 2:04; G11 UM - Jon Waibel 8 (Smaagaard, Fleming), 10:31. Score by Periods: FSU 2-1-1 = 4; UM 5-1-1 = 7. Pen: FSU 10-28; UM 4-8. PPs: FSU 0-3; UM 2-8. Saves: Mike Brown (FSU), 20-11-11 = 42 (60:00); Justin Johnson (UM), 4-x-x = 4 (20:00); Travis Weber (UM), x-6-6 = 12 (40:00). Att: 9,622. Time: 2:30.

Northeast Regional @ Centrum Centre, Worcester, Mass.
Friday, March 28
No. 4 St. Cloud State 2 vs No. 1 New Hampshire 5
1st: G1 UNH - Colin Hemingway 21 (Lanny Gare, Joshua Prudden), 0:10; G2 SCSU - Ryan Malone 16 (unassisted), PPG, 8:11; G3 UNH - Hemingway 22 (Garrett Stafford), PPG, 18:47. 2nd: G4 UNH - Preston Callander 11 (Jim Abbott, Justin Aikins), 1:20; G5 SCSU - Jeff Finger 5 (Matt Hendricks), 3:53; G6 UNH - Sean Collins 20 (Steve Saviano, Nathan Martz), PPG, 7:08. 3rd: G7 UNH - Callander 12 (Aikins, Hemingway), PPG, 12:08. Score by Periods: SCSU 1-1-0 = 2; UNH 2-2-1 = 5. Pen: SCSU 11-22; UNH 8-16. PPs: SCSU 1-6; UNH 3-9. Saves: Jake Moreland (SCSU), 12-8-5 = 25 (60:00); Mike Ayers (UNH), 7-9-19 = 35 (60:00). Att: 9,024. Time: 2:23.

East Regional @ Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence, R.I.
Saturday, March 29
No. 4 Minnesota State 2 vs No. 1 Cornell 5
1st: G1 CU - Mike Knoepfli 7 (Doug Murray 19), 1:53; G2 CU - Shane Hynes 10 (Knoepfli 16, Matt Moulson 9), PPG, 9:07; G3 MSU - Dana Sorensen 12 (Grant Stevenson 36, Shane Joseph 36), 10:12. 2nd: G4 MSU - Brock Becker 14 (Jeff Marler 11, Peter Runkel 7), 3:26; G5 CU - Hynes 11 (Moulson 10, Charlie Cook 12), PPG, 13:56. 3rd: G6 CU - Knoepfli 8 (Cook 13), 6:42; G7 CU - Sam Paolini 13 (Ryan Vesce 26, Stephen Baby 32), PPG, 10:34. Score by Periods: MSU 1-1-0 = 2; CU 2-1-2 = 5. Pen: MSU 9-26; CU 4-8. PPs: MSU 1-3; CU 3-6. Saves: Jon Volp (MSU), 9-17-5 = 31 (60:00); Dave LeNeveu (CU), 10-2-6 = 18 (60:00). Att: NA. Time: 2:19.

Midwest Regional @ Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Saturday, March 29
No. 4 Wayne State 2 vs No. 1 Colorado College 4
1st: G1 CC - Brett Sterling 25 (James Laux, Tom Preissing), PPG, 16:26. 2nd: G2 WSU - Keith Stanich 5 (Dustin Kingston, Jason Durbin), 4:51; G3 CC - Laux 7 (Colin Stuart), 5:31; G4 CC - Noah Clarke 21 (Sterling, Preissing), PPG, 14:09. 3rd: G5 WSU - Billy Collins 12 (Greg Poupard, Stanich), 6:31; G6 CC - Preissing 23 (Peter Sejna, Clarke), PPG, 10:02. Score by Periods: WSU 0-1-1 = 2; CC 1-2-1 = 4. Pen: WSU 8-16; CC 12-35. PPs: WSU 0-9; CC 3-5. Saves: David Guerrera (WSU), 6-13-8 = 27 (58:27); Curtis McElhinney (CC), 5-8-10 = 23 (60:00). Att: NA. Time: 2:21.

Sunday, March 30 -- Midwest Regional Championship Game
No. 3 Michigan 5 vs No. 1 Colorado College 3
1st: G1 MICH - Eric Nystrom 15 (Dwight Helminen, Mark Mink), 2:22; G2 CC - Brett Sterling 26 (Peter Sejna, Noah Clarke), PPG, 8:10; G3 CC - Sejna 36 (Clarke, Preissing), PPG, 10:42; G4 MICH - Milan Gajic 11 (David Moss, Mike Roemensky), 17:18. 2nd: G5 MICH - Mink 6 (unassisted), SHG, 1:23; G6 CC - Sterling 27 (Tyler Liebel), 11:57. 3rd: G7 MICH - Jason Ryznar 7 (unassisted), 4:25; G8 MICH - Mink 7 (Eric Nystrom), PPG/ENG, 19:42. Score by Periods: MICH 2-1-2 = 5; CC 2-1-0 = 3. Pen: MICH 8-16; CC 10-20. PPs: MICH 1-8; CC 2-6. Saves: Alvaro Montoya (MICH), 6-10-5 = 21 (60:00); Curtis McElhinney (CC), 9-12-6 = 27 (59:18). Att: 6,781 (sellout). Time: 2:25.

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