Minnesota Duluth tops Michigan in OT for 1st title
April 10, 2011
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—Minnesota Duluth’s players recently decided to dyetheir hair blond.
Everyone except Kyle Schmidt, who had the getting-married alibi to abstainfrom the not-so-fashionable exercise in team bonding.
The finish was fitting, then, when Schmidt whisked in the winning goal 3:22into overtime to give the Bulldogs a 3-2 victory over Michigan on Saturday nightfor the first national championship in the program’s 50-year history.
Coach Scott Sandelin wryly prodded Schmidt to say yes when asked if sittingout the ritual was the secret.
“Blond hair or just the tips, either way, I think I would’ve buried thatone and luckily I did,” Schmidt said.
This was the 15th overtime game this season for the Bulldogs.
“I didn’t really do a whole lot. My linemates were working their butts offthere in the corner. Luckily it was a gimme because I was probably too nervousto bury anything else,” said Schmidt, a senior from Hermantown, near Duluth.“Saw it go in and just started skating for the other end. It was amazing.”
Travis Oleksuk pulled Wolverines goalie Shawn Hunwick to the side and, frombehind the net, fed Schmidt for a blink-of-the-eye tap-in to hand Michigan coachRed Berenson his first loss in a championship game.
“I just didn’t get over across in time,” Hunwick said.
Oleksuk and Max Tardy had second-period goals for Minnesota Duluth(26-10-6), which hadn’t played for the championship since losing in fourovertimes to Bowling Green in 1984.
“We know what to do to get it done,” said forward J.T. Brown, picked asthe tournament’s most outstanding player.
This has been quite the school year at UMD on the hill above Lake Superior,just a 2 1/2 -hour drive north from the Xcel Energy Center, with the football teamwinning the Division II championship. Hockey is the time-worn way to endurethose long, harsh winters, and this trophy was a long time coming for a teamthat has been in the University of Minnesota’s shadow for decades.
“It’s been a long time coming for them,” Berenson said. “They’ve got agood coaching staff, and they’ve got a good team. They’re a better team than wethought they were all year.”
Ben Winnett and Jeff Rohrkemper scored for Michigan (29-11-4), which fell to9-3 in title games. The Wolverines still have the NCAA record of nine, with twoof those under Berenson.
“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime gone in the blink of an eye,”Rohrkemper said.
The Bulldogs handed the Wolverines just their second loss all season whenscoring the game’s first goal (22-2-3).
After going 8 for 23 in prior opportunities in the NCAA tournament, theBulldogs were 1 for 9 on the power play in regulation. The Wolverines, whokilled all five penalties against North Dakota in the semifinals, deftlypressured the point men and kept UMD from getting many clean shots. But thattook a lot of energy.
“Just too many penalties. Were they good penalties? I can’t tell you what Ireally think,” said Berenson, who thought his team played with some jitters attimes. The Wolverines were on their heels more than they wanted to be and wereoutshot 38-24.
Said Hunwick: “In the overtime anything can happen, but it was a strongdefensive effort.”
The Wolverines were denied the lead early in the first period when ChrisBrown’s point-blank poke was waved off (the video review confirmed theofficial’s whistle came before the puck was pried loose from goalie KennyReiter), but they kept at it and scored 5:18 into the game when Winnett’sscreened shot off the draw zipped past Reiter’s stick.
Winnett had only three goals during the regular season, but he scored inboth games at the Frozen Four.
Oleksuk evened the score just 1:39 after the first intermission when hisrebound nicked the thigh pad of Mac Bennett, skipped over the Wolverinesdefenseman and into the corner out of Hunwick’s reach.
Then Tardy scored the first goal of his college career on a power play tomake it 2-1, before Rohrkemper snagged a loose rebound and sent it in to tie thegame later in the second period.
A “UMD! UMD!” chants filled the sold-out arena, another reminder that thiswas essentially a second straight road game for the Wolverines after playing infront of a pro-North Dakota crowd in the semifinal. In homage to the UMD playersand their bleached hair, four fans held up signs that read, “Blonds have morefun.”
Michigan never looked fazed, though, just like their stone-faced, crewcut,72-year-old boss on the bench. Berenson, who guided the Wolverines to nationaltitles in 1996 and 1998, finished his 27th season coaching his alma mater.
The Bulldogs were the fourth straight Western Collegiate Hockey Associationfoe the Wolverines faced in this year’s tournament, beating Nebraska-Omaha,Colorado College and North Dakota to get here. Michigan left the WCHA in 1981for the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
“That’s how the game goes. It doesn’t always go your way,” Wolverinesdefenseman Greg Pateryn said. “We are all disappointed and sad but we’re stillmoving forward. Our time will come, I guess.”
Minn Duluth tops Michigan in OT for NCAA title
April 10, 2011
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—Kyle Schmidt scored 3:22 into overtime to giveMinnesota Duluth a 3-2 victory over Michigan in the NCAA championship gameSaturday night, the first national title for the Bulldogs.
Travis Oleksuk pulled Wolverines goalie Shawn Hunwick to the side and, frombehind the net, fed Schmidt for a blink-of-the-eye tap-in to hand Michigan coachRed Berenson his first loss in a championship game.
Oleksuk and Max Tardy had second-period goals for Minnesota Duluth(26-10-6), which hadn’t played for the championship since losing in fourovertimes to Bowling Green in 1984.
Ben Winnett and Jeff Rohrkemper scored for Michigan (29-11-4), which fell to9-3 in title games. The Wolverines still have the NCAA record of nine, with twoof those under Berenson.
This has been quite the school year at UMD on the hill above Lake Superior,just a 2 1/2 -hour drive north from the Xcel Energy Center, with the football teamwinning the Division II championship.
The Bulldogs handed the Wolverines just their second loss all season whenscoring the game’s first goal (22-2-3).
The Wolverines were denied the lead early in the first period when ChrisBrown’s point-blank poke was waved off (the video review confirmed theofficial’s whistle came before the puck was pried loose from goalie KennyReiter), but they kept at it and scored 5:18 into the game when Winnett’sscreened shot off the draw zipped past Reiter’s stick.
Winnett had only three goals during the regular season, but he scored inboth games at the Frozen Four.
Oleksuk evened the score just 1:39 after the intermission when his reboundnicked the thigh pad of Mac Bennett, skipped over the Wolverines defenseman andinto the corner out of Hunwick’s reach.
Then after Bennett was called for hooking, the second of five penalties onMichigan in the middle frame, Tardy scored the first goal of his college careerto make it 2-1 after his first shot was knocked back by Hunwick’s stick. Then a“UMD! UMD! chant filled the sold-out arena, another reminder that this wasessentially a second straight road game for the Wolverines after playing infront of a pro-North Dakota crowd in the semifinal.
In homage to the UMD players and their bleached hair—a team-wide fashionstatement—one fan held up a sign that said, “Blonds have more fun.”
Michigan never looked fazed, though, just like their stone-faced, crewcut,72-year-old boss on the bench. Berenson, who guided the Wolverines to nationaltitles in 1996 and 1998, finished his 27th season coaching his alma mater.
Hunwick, the smallest guy on the ice at 5-foot-7 and 166 pounds, sure didn’tback down. The former walk-on got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for shovingJ.T. Brown after the whistle following his shoulder save of Jack Connolly’sone-timer that sent the puck fluttering on top of the net. Hunwick had 40 savesThursday night in shutting out the Fighting Sioux.
Connolly was doubled over in pain later in the period when Greg Pateryn’sblistering slap shot appeared to glance off his midsection. Rohrkemper gobbledup the loose puck and sent it in to tie the game.
Connolly, one of three natives of the city of Duluth (Tardy is another) inthe Bulldogs’ lineup, hobbled off the ice and went to the training room butreturned for the final frame.
After going 8 for 23 in prior opportunities in the NCAA tournament, theBulldogs were 1 for 9 on the power play in regulation. The Wolverines, whokilled all five penalties against North Dakota in the semifinals, deftlypressured the point men and kept UMD from getting many clean shots.
The slick-passing Bulldogs had a 38-24 shots advantage, but they weren’tconsistently sharp with the puck and missed a handful of juicy chances. Connollyhit the crossbar in the first period, and Justin Fontaine’s close-range shot wasstopped in the second. Connolly’s power-play chip was inches from the goal linein the third period.
The Bulldogs were the fourth straight Western Collegiate Hockey Associationfoe the Wolverines faced in this year’s tournament, beating Nebraska-Omaha,Colorado College and North Dakota to get here. Michigan left the WCHA in 1981for the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
Miele wins Hobey Baker Award
April 9, 2011
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—Andy Miele scored on his first shift at Miami (Ohio).Four years later, the star forward won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the topplayer in college hockey.
“I never thought I’d win the Hobey,” Miele said Friday night. “I’m verylucky.”
The 5-foot-8, 175-pounder topped the nation in scoring with 71 points—24goals and an NCAA-best 47 assists—in 39 games. His points total was 11 morethan any other player and the most in Division I since 2002-03. He had at leastone point in 33 games and multiple points in 22. He tied a school record with a17-game points streak from Jan. 8 to March 19.
“I expected to have a successful season, but to get up over 70 points isnot one of the things I thought I’d do,” said Miele, from Grosse Pointe Woods,Mich. “That’s what happens when you work hard and you stick to your goals andyour dream and you never give up and never get down on yourself.”
Coach Enrico Blasi wasn’t surprised by the numbers.
“Everything just kind of clicked for him. You could tell in practice thathe could do whatever. He was always one of the hardest working guys on ourteam.”
After leading the Redhawks to their first Central Collegiate HockeyAssociation tournament title and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament—wherethey were upset by New Hampshire—Miele signed a free agent entry-level dealwith the Phoenix Coyotes last Saturday.
“I’m going out to San Jose with them tomorrow, and if nothing can happen inthe standings where a win or loss doesn’t mean anything to them, hopefully I’llhave the opportunity to play,” he said.
Miele deftly passes credit for his success to his linemates just as easilyas he passes them the puck for goals. Miele played with three different playersthroughout the season: Riley Smith, Carter Camper and Trent Vogelhuber.
“The click that we had together was unbelievable,” Miele said. “We alwaysknew where each other was, we never got down on each other and never doubtedeach other. We really stepped up when we had to and that’s where a lot of theteam success came from.”
Miele’s unselfishness isn’t lost on Blasi.
“When he says he wants to share this with his teammates, that’s the truthand that’s the way we’ve created the culture in our program to do it together.When one of our brothers gets an individual award, everybody’s getting it.”
Boston College’s Cam Atkinson and North Dakota’s Matt Frattin also werefinalists.
“I always wanted to be the best I can be, whether that be the best playerin college hockey or not,” Miele said. “Sitting here with these two guys,they’re unbelievable players so it’s had to say I’m the best player in collegehockey.”
Frattin led the NCAA with 36 goals, and Atkinson had 31.
Frattin signed a two-year entry level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafson Friday, a day after the Fighting Sioux lost in the NCAA semifinals.
Atkinson signed a deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Miele was selected from a group of 10 finalists by the votes of a 23-memberselection committee, along with the results of an online fan ballot.
Michigan to meet Minnesota Duluth for NCAA title
April 9, 2011
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—Red Berenson’s ability to recall details after 27seasons as Michigan’s coach is as sharp as ever.
Whether goal totals of his current players or final scores of games past,Berenson sat calmly at a podium the day before the Wolverines play for anational championship and recited statistics and anecdotes like he was readingfrom a book.
There are many interesting chapters in his story, starting as a player forMichigan in the early 1960s, spanning two decades in the NHL and continuing intohis 70s as the stone-faced, raspy-voiced, tough-minded bench boss for his almamater.
The Wolverines meet Minnesota Duluth on Saturday night for the NCAA title.
“I can’t say it’s nothing new, but it’s inspiring for me to see our teamput out,” said Berenson, who guided Michigan to championships in 1996 and 1998.“I still feel like I’m in sync with the players and college hockey. I’m a bighockey fan and an NHL fan. But I’m not surprised that we’re here. I’ve seen itgo all ways.”
He later quipped, cracking a slight smile for the only time during his newsconference Friday: “So what’s it like? It’s great. There’s hope for seniorcitizens.”
After Michigan stopped star-studded North Dakota, the top-ranked team in thecountry, in the semifinals on Thursday night, Berenson spoke of the FightingSioux’s advantage in depth, talent and experience while espousing the oldbest-team-doesn’t-always-win theory.
Told of Berenson’s description of the Wolverines as overmatched winners, UMDcoach Scott Sandelin smiled.
“Red’s been around a long time. He knows what to say,” Sandelin said.
Meaning this: Michigan, owners of the most championships (nine), Frozen Fourtrips (24) and consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament (21), can’trealistically be construed as an underdog.
The Bulldogs, who have never won a national title, ought to be in that role.
“We’ve kind of gone under the radar a little bit,” Sandelin said. He wasreferring to UMD’s season but could’ve been speaking to the program’s history inthe shadow cast over the state for decades by the University of Minnesota.
The Bulldogs (25-10-6) started strong but dropped off some as North Dakotaand Denver took off in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association race. They werenational afterthoughts in the regional with Yale and Union, and they’ll neverhave the national prestige of Notre Dame, even though the Fighting Irish arefamous for football and not hockey.
UMD beat Notre Dame in the semifinals, though, with a relentless power playand good goaltending and has arrived in the title game for just the second timein school history. The Bulldogs lost to Bowling Green for the championship in1984.
“I’ve always felt that this program could win,” said Sandelin, a native ofthe northern Minnesota mining town of Hibbing who played at and coached forNorth Dakota before taking over at UMD. “That’s why I accepted that challengeto take the job. It’s been some good years and some not-so-good years, but we’vegot a great group of kids.”
Opening a new arena along Lake Superior has helped improve the program’spitch to future players. Landing a sought-after recruit like Travis Oleksuk, ajunior center with 31 points in 41 games who is the first son of a formerBulldogs player to join the program, can only help.
Advancing to the national championship game just 2 1/2 hours by car fromcampus? Can’t beat that.
“This is what we’ve played all year for,” Oleksuk said. “This is the gamewhere we wanted to be. This is what we talked about at the start of the year.”
Though the two teams played regularly in the WCHA from 1965 to 1981 untilthe Wolverines left for the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, Berenson hasonly faced the Bulldogs once since taking over as Michigan’s coach. That was in2001.
Asked how his team will try to stop UMD’s thriving power play, which scoredon three of six opportunities in the semifinals, Berenson said the Wolverineswill have to “do their homework.”
Michigan has been playing stingy defense, with goalie Shawn Hunwick makinghuge save after huge save and the blue-liners running interference in front ofhim.
“We all have that mindset that we want to block every shot. We want to getthe puck out, and that’s been the strength of our team lately,” captain CarlHagelin said.
Berenson was surely pleased to hear that.
“At Michigan you have to coach it. A lot of those guys never blocked a shotbefore they got to Michigan,” the coach said, adding: “Our team has boughtinto playing better team defense. We realized halfway through the season weweren’t going to win on offense. We had to play better without the puck and giveour goalies a chance.”
Michigan beats No. 1 North Dakota 2-0, advances to NCAA hockey title game (CBS Interactive U-WIRE)
April 8, 2011
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Led by a 40-save performance by senior goaltender Shawn Hunwick, the Michigan hockey team beat top-ranked North Dakota 2-0 in its first Frozen Four appearance since 2008.
With just over six minutes left in the first period, freshman Jon Merrill slapped a laser from the blue line. Winnett picked the puck up his own rebound to the right of North Dakota goalie Aaron Dell and buried it for his fourth goal of the season and Michigan’s first goal of the game.
North Dakota came out flying in the second period, but Hunwick remained up to the task for Michigan after a stellar first period. The Fighting Sioux outshot the Wolverines in the first period, 14-10 and continued to hold and increase their shot-advantage throughout the second period.
Just over five minutes into the third period, the Fighting Sioux held a 29-15 shot advantage on the Wolverines, but because of strong defensive play down low by the Wolverines and some crucial saves by Hunwick, the Wolverines held onto their one-goal lead.
For a defense that was missing a presence in junior Brandon Burlon, who was a scratch for tonight’s Frozen Four contest, the rest of the Wolverine defenders made smart plays with and without the puck and were able to keep the potent North Dakota offense at bay, even as the Fighting Sioux continued to pressure Michigan in its own zone.
The Wolverines best scoring chance of the third period came at the 10-minute mark when Vaughan had a breakaway shot that rebounded to wide open junior defensemen Greg Pateryn, but Dell got a stick on Pateryn’s shot to keep it a one-goal game.
Merrill took a holding call with 8:50 left in the third period to give North Dakota its fourth power play opportunity of the game, but the Wolverine penalty killers again came up strong, with nice clears by Winnett and junior forward Luke Glendening.
North Dakota boasted the No. 2 team offense in the nation heading into Thursday’s Frozen Four game, but Vaughan scored an empty-net goal to put the Wolverines 2-0 with just under 35 seconds in the game and the Wolverine bench erupted.
Michigan takes on Minnesota-Duluth in the National Championship Game on Saturday at the Xcel Center in St. Paul.
Winnett, Hunwick send Michigan past North Dakota
April 8, 2011
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—Ben Winnett’s first-period goal gave defensive-mindedMichigan an early edge and Shawn Hunwick made 40 saves for his fourth shutoutthis season, leading Michigan to a 2-0 victory over North Dakota on Thursdaynight in the NCAA semifinals.
Scooter Vaughan added an empty-netter with 35.8 seconds left to lift theWolverines (29-10-4) to the national championship game. They will meet MinnesotaDuluth on Saturday night. The Bulldogs beat Notre Dame 4-3 in the othersemifinal at Xcel Energy Center, the home of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.
The game was extra-physical, particularly in the first period while theWolverines used their rugged, disciplined defense to set a sharp tone thatpersisted throughout the night.
They didn’t budge in front of the net, shutting down North Dakota star MattFrattin and his high-scoring friends despite being outshot 40-20. The FightingSioux (32-9-3) saw their 15-game unbeaten streak end in crushing fashion.
The tight group of seniors who stuck together for four years instead ofturning pro saw their college careers come to a sudden end after a dominantperformance in the regional that made the Sioux the popular pick to win it all.North Dakota beat Rensselaer and Denver by a combined 12-1 score last weekend.
With two-dozen NHL draft picks between the teams, this was a classic matchupof college hockey powers. Michigan’s 34 NCAA tournament appearances, 24 FrozenFour trips and nine national championships are the most of any school. NorthDakota has seven titles, tied with Denver for second place.
Though both teams made it to the Frozen Four in 2008 and coach Dave Hakstolhas led the Fighting Sioux to the national semifinals five times in sevenseasons, the success in the last decade hasn’t been as frequent—at least bytheir standards—for either side.
Michigan’s last title was 1998. North Dakota’s was 2000.
The crowd—announced as an overflow sellout of 19,139 customers—was awashin bright green and white shirts and jerseys to give North Dakota a noisyadvantage with a steady serenade of pro-Sioux chants. The campus in Grand Forksis a five-hour drive from St. Paul, where North Dakota won the WesternCollegiate Hockey Association playoff championship last month.
The only remaining No. 1 seed in the tournament and the second-highestscoring team in the nation at 4.14 goals per game, the star-studded Sioux linesgenerated plenty of quality chances to score but were out of control at times,particularly on the power play. Hunwick made huge save after huge save, seemingto frustrate the North Dakota skaters.
There were plenty of loud groans from the green-clad fans, sharing thatangst.
Winnett gave the Wolverines the lead when he grabbed a rebound in the slotand zipped it past North Dakota goalie Aaron Dell from the right circle just6:34 into the game, Winnett’s first goal since late December. Jon Merrill’s slapshot, denied by Dell but uncovered, started the flurry.
Hunwick, who took over as the starter on Dec. 11, has anchored a stoutback-end unit. The Wolverines led the Central Collegiate Hockey Association inscoring defense, and Hunwick’s goals-against average was 1.95 in league play. Hehad a run of 43 straight saves in the regional last weekend and is 20-5 thisseason.
Frattin made a nifty wrist pass to captain Chad Genoway in the secondperiod, but his slot shot was swatted away by Hunwick, one of seven Wolverinesseniors who actually started their college careers on this same ice in October2007 when they played in a mini-tournament hosted by Minnesota.
Then Danny Kristo had another chance from close range that couldn’t get pastHunwick, yet another missed opportunity for the Sioux, who outshot theWolverines 11-3 in the middle frame.
North Dakota had a fourth power play midway through the third period,managing only one shot, and that was from the blue line. Michigan has killed 16of 17 penalties in the NCAA tournament so far.
Dell was pulled with 1:12 left, giving the Sioux an extra skater, but theycouldn’t punch one in and Vaughan sealed it a few seconds later.
There was a scary moment midway through the opening frame when FightingSioux freshman forward Brock Nelson slammed back-first into the boards after aclean-but-hard hit check by Michigan captain Luke Glendening. Nelson was takenaway on a stretcher and to a hospital as a precaution with what North Dakotacalled an upper-body injury.
North Dakota freshman Nelson leaves on stretcher
April 8, 2011
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—North Dakota freshman forward Brock Nelson left theNCAA semifinal game against Michigan on a stretcher after crashing into theboards with his back, and he was taken to a hospital as a precaution.
Nelson was hurt midway through the first period Thursday night after makinga pass and getting hit cleanly but hard from the side by Wolverines captain LukeGlendening. Nelson lost his balance at full speed and tumbled toward the boards,slamming against them with his back. Nelson sustained a lower-body injury, aschool spokesman said.
He was flat on the ice in pain for a few minutes before climbing to allfours, with movement in all of his extremities, but he was wobbly and not readyto rise. Medical staff members then helped immobilize him and carry him off, asthe crowd at Xcel Energy Center gave Nelson a standing ovation.
From Warroad, Minn., he has eight goals and 13 assists this season for theFighting Sioux.
UMD beats Notre Dame, advances to title game
April 7, 2011
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—J.T. Brown had a goal and an assist to lead MinnesotaDuluth to a 4-3 victory over Notre Dame in the semifinals of the Frozen Four onThursday, propelling the Bulldogs to their second national title game in schoolhistory.
Mike Connolly, Jack Connolly and Kyle Schmidt also scored for the Bulldogs(25-10-6), who survived being outshot 15-2 in the third period to get past NotreDame (25-14-5). Ken Reiter overcame a shaky start to make 31 saves.
UMD will face either Michigan or North Dakota in the championship gameSaturday night.
Jeff Costello, T.J. Tynan and Calle Ridderwall scored for the FightingIrish, who scored a shorth-anded goal early in the third period to pull withinone. But the Irish couldn’t come up with the tying goal in a furious final 2minutes and went 0 for 5 on the power play.
Bulldogs persevere to reach Frozen Four
April 6, 2011
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—Minnesota Duluth has proven its ability to perseverewhile reaching its first Frozen Four since 2004.
With a knack for scoring clutch goals, the Bulldogs ascended to the top ofthe college hockey rankings in November. However, a midseason slip in which UMDwent 1-3-1 in December had the Bulldogs’ chances of reaching the Frozen Four intheir home state slipping away.
With a renewed approach focused on special teams and team unity, UMD got itsmomentum back and will face Notre Dame in Thursday’s first semifinal in St.Paul.
The Bulldogs traveled some 150 miles south to St. Paul for the Frozen Fourafter knocking off No. 1 overall seed Yale in the East Regional.
Frozen Four has Midwest feel with WCHA and CCHA
April 6, 2011
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—College hockey’s two Midwestern conferences areshowing their strength at this year’s Frozen Four.
The NCAA semifinalists include two teams each from the Western CollegiateHockey Association and the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, tradition-richleagues bracing for a jolt in two years when the Big Ten begins.
Minnesota Duluth of the WCHA plays Notre Dame of the CCHA in the early gameon Thursday, followed by WCHA champion North Dakota facing off against longtimeCCHA power Michigan in the other matchup.
Coaches and players from both conferences say they’ll miss the Big Ten teamswhen they leave but insist they’re strong enough to survive. Minnesota andWisconsin will leave the WCHA, and Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State willdepart the CCHA in 2013.
