May 1, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

The 2007-08 Western Collegiate Hockey Association campaign is complete and a look back at the league's 56th season of on-ice competition finds another in a long line of successes. Although the WCHA fell short of adding to its record total of 36 national team championships, conference-member clubs, student-athletes, coaches and alumni once again figured prominently in headlines throughout the course of the year.

For the fourth consecutive season, the University of North Dakota earned a berth in the NCAA Men's Frozen Four, which was played April 10-12 at Pepsi Center (18,007) in Denver, Colo., and hosted by league-member University of Denver. The Fighting Sioux fell 6-1 to eventual champion Boston College in the first national semi-final as head coach Dave Hakstol became only the third coach ever to lead his first four teams to berths in the Frozen Four. For the UND program, it was their 23rd appearance overall in the national tournament and 18th in the Frozen Four.

The WCHA also placed a Division 1 conference record six teams into this season's NCAA tournament, with North Dakota earning the No. 2 seed for the Midwest Regional in Madison, regular season champion and MacNaughton Cup-winner Colorado College earning the No. 2 seed for the West Regional in Colorado Springs, Colo., 2008 Red Baron^TM WCHA Final Five and Broadmoor Trophy-champion University of Denver earning the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Regional, St. Cloud State University earning the No. 2 seed for the East Regional in Albany, N.Y., University of Minnesota earning the No. 3 seed for the Northeast Regional in Worcester, Mass., and University of Wisconsin earning the No. 3 seed for the Midwest Regional. North Dakota won 5-1 over Princeton and 3-2 (ot) over the Badgers to claim the Midwest Regional championship. Colorado College fell 3-1 to Notre Dame in a West Regional semi-final on March 28. Denver lost 6-2 to Wisconsin in a Midwest Regional semi-final on March 29. St. Cloud State was defeated by Clarkson, 2-1, in a East Regional semi-final on March 28. Minnesota fell by a 5-2 count to Boston College in a Northeast Regional semi-final on March 29. And Wisconsin defeated Denver, 6-2, in their Midwest Regional semi-final on March 29 and then lost to North Dakota, 3-2 in overtime, on March 30 in the Midwest Regional final.

At the conclusion of the Frozen Four, the WCHA's non-conference record for 2007-08 stood at an impressive 49-22-10 for a .667 winning percentage. Over the past eight seasons, Western Collegiate Hockey Association-member teams are now a collective 397-175-64 vs teams from the five other Division 1 men's conferences over 636 games, for a winning percentage of .675.

In the final 2007-08 Div. 1 men's college hockey polls, the WCHA was well represented. In the last USCHO.com/CSTV Div. 1 Men's College Hockey Poll, dated March 24, the WCHA had seven teams ranked among the nation's top 17 with two others earning votes. North Dakota was No. 3, Denver was No. 4, Colorado College was No. 6, St. Cloud State was No. 8, Minnesota was No. 10, Minnesota State was No. 14, and Wisconsin was No. 17. Both Minnesota Duluth and Michigan Tech, meanwhile, also received votes. In the final USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Div. 1 Men's College Hockey Poll, issued April 15, the WCHA had seven teams ranked among the nation's top 15 clubs. North Dakota was No. 4, Colorado College was No. 8, Denver was No. 9, Minnesota was No. 12, Wisconsin was No. 13, St. Cloud State was No. 14, and Minnesota State was No. 15.

In the final Div. 1 Men's Pairwise Rankings, issued by USCHO.com, nine of the WCHA's 10-member teams were ranked among the top 25. North Dakota was No. 3, Colorado College was No. 5, Denver was tied at No. 6, St. Cloud State was No. 8, Minnesota was No. 11, Wisconsin was No. 12, Minnesota State was tied at No. 13, Minnesota Duluth was tied at No. 18, and Michigan Tech was at No. 24.

In home attendance numbers, the WCHA again led the nation after topping the 1.5 million mark for a record sixth straight season. The league and it's member teams drew 1,508,499 fans to 207 games, an average of 7,317 per game. 2007-08 also marked the 15th consecutive season the WCHA has drawn in excess of 1,000,000 fans.

The 2008 Red Baron^TM WCHA Final Five, held March 20-22 at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn., and won by the Denver Pioneers for the third time in the past seven seasons - drew a total attendance of 85,855, the third highest total in the 16-year history of this tournament format. Included in the total was a record-setting Thursday night sellout crowd of 19,232. The Final Five was again telecast live across the country by Fox Sports Net North and audiocast live via WCHA.CSTV.com.

The WCHA also captured the 2007-08 Men's Commissioners' Cup, which represents the six NCAA Div. 1 men's ice hockey conferences. The WCHA went 8-1-1 in the Cup series for 17 points, with Minnesota Duluth's 4-1 road victory at UMass-Lowell on Jan. 26 clinching the title.

In terms of individual honors, the 2007-08 season was again productive for the WCHA and it's member teams. Witness the following achievements:

Six conference players earned All-American honors as released by the American Hockey Coaches' Association on April 11. Named to the West All-American First Team were Colorado College goatlender Richard Bachman, Colorado College defenseman Jack Hillen, and North Dakota forward T.J. Oshie. Named to the West All-American Second Team from the WCHA were Denver defenseman Chris Butler, St. Cloud State forward Ryan Lasch, and Colorado College forward Chad Rau.

Colorado College freshman goaltender Richard Bachman became the second straight WCHA player to earn the HCA (Hockey Commissioners' Association) National Rookie of the Year, joining inaugural season (2006-07) winner Andreas Nodl from SCSU.

Three players from the WCHA were named among the Top 10 finalists for the annual Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Home to a record 13 Hobey winners overall, the WCHA was represented by North Dakota senior goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, St. Cloud State sophomore forward Ryan Lasch, and North Dakota junior forward T.J. Oshie.

The 2007-08 season also saw a record-setting group of 79 men's and women's players named WCHA Scholar-Athletes, with 24 of those being repeat honorees. Repeat honorees among the men's players were Colorado College's Jake Gannon and Scott McCulloch, Denver's Zach Blom, Michigan Tech's Ryan Angelow and Mark Malekoff, Minnesota's Evan Kaufmann and Thomas Pohl, and Minnesota State's Joel Hanson. In the first year of the award, 2005-06, there were 47 honorees while in 2006-07 there were 49.

Two WCHA-member head coaches - Minnesota State's Troy Jutting and North Dakota's Dave Hakstol - were finalists for the AHCA Men's Ice Hockey Division 1 Coach of the Year. Jutting was the WCHA Coach of the Year. The honor eventually went to Michigan coach Gordon `Red' Berenson, who played in the WCHA for Michigan from 1959-62 and is one of the WCHA's Top 50 Players in 50 Years.

Two WCHA players - Denver goaltender Peter Mannino and St. Cloud State forward Marty Mjelleli - were finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for 2007-08 with both earning Lowe's All-Senior All-America Team honors.

WCHA member-team student-athletes also earned six national player of the month honors in 2007-08, as awarded by the Hockey Commissioners' Association. North Dakota goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux was the National Player of the Month for Oct., 2007; Wisconsin forward Kyle Turris was the National Rookie of the Month for Oct., 2007; Colorado College goaltender Richard Bachman was the National Rookie of the Month for both Nov., 2007 and Feb., 2008; and Denver forward Tyler Bozak was the National Rookie of the Month for Dec., 2007.

A total of 82 student-athletes were named to the men's 2007-08 All-WCHA Academic Team, with 45 of those being repeat honorees. • North Dakota senior captain and forward Rylan Kaip was the WCHA nominee for the second annual Derek Hines Award, issued by the Hockey Commissioners' Association.

At the annual WCHA Awards Banquet, held in conjunction with the 2008 Red Baron^TM WCHA Final Five in Saint Paul, Colorado College freshman goaltender Richard Bachman was named both WCHA Player of the Year and WCHA Rookie of the Year, becoming the first league player since Curtis Joseph in 1989 to earn both of those honors in a single season. Minnesota State senior forward Joel Hanson earned the WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year award, CC senior defenseman Jack Hillen was the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year, St. Cloud State sophomore Ryan Lasch was the WCHA Scoring Champion, North Dakota senior goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux was the WCHA Goaltending Champion, and Troy Jutting of Minnesota State was the WCHA Coach of the Year.

And as of April 26, a total of 10 former Western Collegiate Hockey Association players had been named to the United States Men's National Team, for the 2008 IIHF World Championship, to be held in Quebec City, Quebec, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, May 2-18.

On defense, there are five WCHA alums in Keith Ballard (NHL - Phoenix/Univ. of Minnesota), Tom Gilbert (NHL - Edmonton/Univ. of Wisconsin), Matt Greene (NHL - Edmonton/Univ. of North Dakota), Paul Martin (NHL - New Jersey/Univ. of Minnesota), and Mark Stuart (NHL - Boston/Colorado College). And at forward, there are also five WCHA alums named to Team USA in David Backes (NHL - St. Louis/Minnesota State Univ.), Adam Burish (NHL - Chicago/Univ. of Wisconsin), Phil Kessel (NHL - Boston/Univ. of Minnesota), Zach Parise (NHL - New Jersey/Univ. of North Dakota), and Drew Stafford (NHL - Buffalo/Univ. of North Dakota).

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