Wisconsin routs RIT 8-1 in Frozen Four
April 8, 2010
DETROIT (AP)—Wisconsin wasted little time showing why it is a college hockeysuperpower and that Rochester Institute of Technology isn’t quite ready for thesport’s biggest stage.
The Badgers scored in the opening minutes of the first two periods and wenton to rout the Tigers 8-1 in the Frozen Four on Thursday night at Ford Field.
“Like a snowball, it just got rolling and got bigger and bigger,” saidDerek Stepan, who scored Wisconsin’s second and eighth goals.
Third-seeded Wisconsin, shooting for its seventh NCAA hockey title, willplay the winner of the Miami of Ohio-Boston College game for the championship onSaturday night.
RIT, seeded 15th in the 16-team field just five years after moving toDivision I, ended its first Frozen Four appearance with a thud.
“We ran into a powerhouse,” Tigers coach Wayne Wilson said.
John Mitchell scored 1:27 into the game and Jordy Murray made it 3-0 at 2:18of the second, allowing Wisconsin (28-10-4) to coast against the overmatchedTigers. Scott Gudmandson made 13 saves for the Badgers.
RIT’s Jared DeMichiel stopped 27 shots before being replaced late in thegame by Shane Madolora, who gave up a goal on the only shot he faced. JanRopponen then came on and allowed one goal on three shots.
The game was played at the home of the NFL’s Detroit Lions. About 35,000tickets were sold as of Wednesday, but empty seats and a lopsided game without alocal team led to a lackluster atmosphere.
“Being on the bench, the crowd noise seemed so distant,” Wisconsin coachMike Eaves said. “A lot of the noise, you didn’t really hear it.”
When Detroit landed the Frozen Four, organizers dreamed of putting the icein the middle of the field and packing 70,000-plus fans around it as was donefor the men’s basketball Final Four last year.
The plan was wisely downsized, putting the ice near an end zone, and placingportable sections along the boards opposite the team benches.
It felt like a hockey arena with a game-time temperature of just under 60degrees and 47 percent humidity thanks to air conditioning that created a breezestrong enough to make curtains that cut off portions of the venue sway from sideto side.
“The ice wasn’t ideal, but it was the same ice for both teams,” DeMichielsaid. “A little snowy along the boards. The atmosphere in the rink was a coolexperience. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.”
Vendors rented binoculars to fans for $10, plus a $10 deposit, and thosewere likely needed for those who paid a total of $40 for upper-deck seats forthree games.
RIT fans who made the trip from upstate New York tried to create a buzz 90minutes before the puck dropped—chanting “R-I-T! R-I-T!”—but the Badgersquickly quieted them and made the final score the only thing in doubt.
Mitchell scored off a rebound on the second shot of the game, and Stepan putWisconsin ahead 2-0 midway through the second period. After Murray scored earlyin the second, Justin Schultz made it 4-0 a couple minutes later.
Wisconsin had a pair of two-man advantages midway through the second andtook advantage of both, on goals from Michael Davies and Blake Geoffrion, tolead 6-0 with its second and third goals of the period with at least an extraskater.
Geoffrion is one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, whichrecognizes the nation’s top college hockey player, and is a grandson of Hall ofFamer Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion.
RIT called a timeout after Geoffrion’s 28th goal, but there was nothing thatcould be said or done to change the outcome.
“One of our strengths is our depth,” Geoffrion said.
The Tigers did, though, avoid a shutout with 28 seconds left in the secondwhen Tyler Brenner banged in a shot from the left side off a crisp pass to makeit 6-1.
Craig Smith and Stepan scored 20 seconds apart late in the game to finishthe scoring barrage for the Badgers, who had the largest margin of victory inthe semifinals since 1969.
RIT (28-12-1) accomplished quite a bit this season by making it to theFrozen Four—stunning perennial powers Denver and New Hampshire to advance inthe NCAA tournament—with a 12-game winning streak to experience playing in astadium that looks nothing like its 2,100-seat arena.
DeMichiel helped the Tigers get to Detroit, earning most outstanding playerhonors at the East Regional after giving up just three goals on 66 shots. He andhis teammates couldn’t slow down the Badgers.
RIT center Cameron Burt, who is from Detroit, said he had about 60 familymembers and friends in the stands.
“Playing in a football stadium was a great experience and I’ll cherishit,” Burt said. “I’ll tell my grandkids about it if I make it that far.”
