Denver, Minnesota & Wisconsin Take Home Holiday Tournament Titles

CC Sweeps Harvard

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Dec. 31, 2000

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MADISON, Wisc.- The first half of the 2000-01 season ended in stirring fashion last Saturday (Dec. 30) night as three WCHA teams- Denver, Minnesota and Wisconsin-all posted victories to earn holiday tournament championships. The Pioneers, who boosted their unbeaten streak to 11 games (9-0-2), defeated Providence, 2-1, to earn the Wells Fargo Denver Cup crown, the Golden Gophers skated past Lake Superior State, 5-4, to claim the Mariucci Classic, and the Badgers downed Boston University, 3-2, to earn the Bank One Badger Hockey Showdown title.

Two other conference teams-Michigan Tech and Colorado College-also enjoyed big weekends to conclude the calendar year. The Huskies finished second in the Great Lakes Invitational in Detroit with a 7-3 win over fourth-ranked Michigan and a 3-2 overtime loss to #1-ranked Michigan State while the Tigers earned a pair of non-conference victories over visiting Harvard to move to 7-1-1 over their last nine. Also in action were North Dakota, a third place finisher at the Badger Hockey Showdown, and Minnesota-Duluth, who took third in the Silverado Shootout in Duluth.

Looking ahead to the second half, the battle for the MacNaughton Cup and a top five regular season finish to earn a home playoff berth figures to involve plenty of twists and turns. Defending NCAA champion North Dakota (21 points) leads the conference race by four points over second place Denver (17), followed by a four-way tie for third between Colorado College, Minnesota, St. Cloud State and defending WCHA regular season champion Wisconsin-all with 16 points.

After a three-week break, league play resumes next Friday and Saturday with three WCHA series. St. Cloud State travels to Minnesota-Duluth, Colorado College and Denver play a home- and-home set, and Minnesota heads to Alaska Anchorage. Non-conference action finds MSU Mankato hosting Clarkson for a pair, Michigan Tech going to Northern Michigan Friday and hosting York on Saturday, and the Fighting Sioux entertaining the University of Manitoba on Sunday.