ST. PAUL, Minn. – Start slow, finish strong. Where have we seen that plan before?
On Saturday, North Dakota did in 60 minutes what usually takes a whole season, rallying after trailing 2-0 in the WCHA Final Five title game’s opening minute to win the crown.
It was hard to decide what was the most impressive part of the 5-3 victory over St. Cloud State, sealed with Matt Frattin’s final-minute empty net goal. It could’ve been the North Dakota power play, which scored three times as the Sioux turned that two-goal hole into a 4-2 lead in the second period. It could have been their physical play, which – after a bad first 55 seconds – punished the Husky forwards nearly every time they had the audacity to make a rush over the blue line. It could’ve been the simple will to get up off the canvas after everything that could’ve gone wrong did go wrong on the game’s first two shifts.
“We just wanted to start playing our game,” said North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol. “We got caught on our heels two shifts in a row. They made a couple of good plays, and it was 2-0. But you look up at the clock and the majority of the game remains.”
Goalie Brad Eidsness reflexively looked to his teammates as the Huskies celebrated their second goal of the opening minute. Instead of the coach waving him over for a goalie change, he noticed something completely different.
“I kind of took a look around and looked at our bench and I saw kind of a steely calm,” said Eidsness, who finished with 29 saves. “We knew we didn’t come out very well, but it’s been the story of our year that we’ve been able to battle through adversity. We were able to settle ourselves down.”
Two-thirds of the game later, it was dramatically different, as the Sioux had built a 4-3 lead, and were starting to wear down, as the effects of playing three games in three nights – and six in eight nights – started to show. With the Huskies starting to pepper the Sioux net, Eidsness could feel that the game, and the title, were at stake.
“I looked up at the clock at the eight- or nine-minute mark and I took a look at our bench and I had a feeling that I probably shouldn’t let in another goal,” said Eidsness, to a chorus of laughter in the media room. “The boys probably would be too happy for me.”
It was all about capitalizing on opportunities for the Sioux, especially after the power play scored three goals on five man-advantage situations. St. Cloud State was without leading scorer (and penalty killer) Garrett Roe, and it showed.
“They showed great heart and great character and they’ve done that all year,” said Huskies coach Bob Motzko. “We ended up one shot short from making that a more fun ending.”
Roe, who hurt his neck while sliding headfirst into the boards on Friday, will be back for the NCAA Tournament, but was not ready Saturday.
“Garret Roe is one of our top penalty killers and you lose that the night before, so you don’t have that,” Motzko said. “It’s not an excuse. We had to battle through and that was one of the elements.”
For the Sioux, the battle came late, when their energy started to wane, and Eidsness made the difference. Another Dave Hakstol-coached team started slow, then finished strong. And they’ve got another trophy to prove it.
NEW-LOOK BADGER LINEUP CLICKS
After Wisconsin was shut out in the tournament’s semifinals, and after the trouble compounded with the one-game suspension for defenseman Cody Goloubef, it seemed like the perfect time for a change. So it’s not entirely surprising that the Badger line chart from Saturday looked very little like Friday’s version.
When the game was over, there was no similarity between the two results either.
“I think we got stale,” Mike Eaves said. “We had been discussing changing things up.”
And in his experience, Saturday was the perfect time to do it.
“Coaching for the length of time I have, to change lines when you’re winning seems to backfire,” he said. “You need to make changes when you have a game where you’re stale and flat.”
So Eaves juggled the lines, got Poge Turnbull onto the fourth line for his eighth game of the year, and added Craig Johnson to the blue line crew. It was just the third game Johnson played in this season, but the results were to the liking of everyone in red.
“Anytime you switch all that up, it creates energy for you and it gets you into the game when you’re talking to new linemates,” said Ben Street after his team’s 6-3 win. “Overall, we were ready to go, and knew we needed more production than the game before.”
Production was not a problem, as the Badgers led 3-0 in the first and 5-1 in the second before Denver made the score more respectable.
SEEN AND HEARD AT THE X
• In-arena interviewer Rusty Kath (whose wit is one of the real fun elements of this weekend) was chatting on the big screen with a young hockey player prior to the third-place game. The kids revealed that he wanted to play for the Gophers someday, prompting a rain of boos from many of the Wisconsin fans in attendance. That’s when Kath reminded folks that they were booing a 13-year-old. Stay classy, Badger Nation!
• Saturday marked Wisconsin’s fourth victory in the third-place game of the last five years. The Badgers beat Minnesota 4-0 in 2006, beat St. Cloud State 4-3 in overtime in 2007 and beat North Dakota 4-1 last season.
• There was a flare-up of “Dean Blais to Minnesota” talk again Saturday, which was tamped down somewhat by Nebraska-Omaha athletic director Trev Alberts, who said that he has not been contacted by anyone regarding Blais. Speaking with members of the media, Alberts said generally, other schools being interested in your coaches is a good thing. “If no other schools are interested in your coaches, you might need to get new coaches,” he quipped.
North Dakota became the first team to hoist the new-look Broadmoor Trophy
• WCHA officials also unveiled a new Broadmoor Trophy on Saturday, to replace the old model that was often compared to an oversized bowling award. The new model sits on a smart-looking hardwood base and has a pewter model of the Broadmoor Hotel on it. You’ll recall the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs was the site of the first dozen or so NCAA Frozen Fours and is one of the true birthplaces of college hockey in America. At first glance, the new hardware reminded us of the NHL’s Conn Smythe Trophy, with its model of Maple Leaf Gardens.
• Don’t bother asking Mike Eaves to speculate on where his team will be seeded and where it will play next weekend. “I don’t think we’re going to lose a lot of sleep,” he said. “We’re going to control the things we can and find out Sunday morning. I quit trying to figure all that out a long time ago. That’s one of the lessons of college hockey – the more you try to figure out, the less you find out that you know.”
• Thoughts and prayers go out to Dana Eades, the wife of North Dakota assistant coach Cary Eades, who has begun treatment for breast cancer recently. Knowing her husband’s grit and determination on the ice and behind the bench, we like Dana’s chances in this fight.
• By our count, Denver’s top line of Rhett Rakhshani, Tyler Ruegsegger and Joe Colborne saw the ice for two shifts in the third period on Saturday. When asked about that trio’s light workload, their coach claimed there was a new kind of bug going around. “They got sick,” George Gwozdecky said. “It was the Badger flu.”
PLUSSES AND MINUSES
We like the new format for the WCHA Final Five starting next year. Six teams, five games, two games (on one ticket) Thursday, two semifinals Friday (top two teams get a bye) and the championship on Saturday night. Here’s the best part: No more unnecessary third place game. In its place, the Minnesota Wild are petitioning the NHL to play an afternoon game that Saturday, making for a great pro/college doubleheader.
Herb Brooks pushed for a Division I hockey program at St. Cloud State back in the mid-1980s in hopes of growing American hockey by giving more kids an opportunity to play at the highest college level. We’re saddened that Herbie didn’t live to see this day, when a kid from Lake Forest, California, became the Huskies all-time leading scorer at the D-I level. Well-earned congrats to Ryan Lasch for his four-year body of work – 180 points and counting.
Touching moment after the title game, when the Fighting Sioux captains in uniform wouldn’t go forward to take the Broadmoor Trophy from commissioner Bruce McLeod, instead nudging injured captain Chay Genoway forward to accept the honor.
As much as we love the green Fighting Sioux sweaters, the “alternate” ones they wore on Saturday have got to go. Just a reminder that black, with a touch of green, is the color of mold.
Apparently the Curse of the MacNaughton Cup extends to the WCHA Final Five, as Denver became the third consecutive regular season champ to go 0-2 in St. Paul. The no-show had George Gwozdecky fondly recalling 2004, when the Pioneers were upset in the first round, missed the Final Five, but won the NCAA title. “We took this weekend off again, so maybe that’s a good thing,” joked the coach.
Jeff Saterdalen, who until Saturday was the all-time leading scorer in St. Cloud State history, stopped by ice level of the arena after the game Saturday to congratulate Lasch on breaking his record, but was detained by arena security. School officials later got Saterdalen in for a nice moment with the man who eclipsed his record.
INCH’S THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT
3. Blake Geoffrion, Wisconsin - The first-ever Hobey finalist from Tennessee had two more goals on Saturday, blasting the first one past another Hobey finalist (Marc Cheverie). This is one WCHA senior we really hate to see go.
2. Garrett Raboin, St. Cloud State - The special education major was indeed special for the Huskies all weekend, scoring a goal, controlling the play from the blue line and playing shut down defense throughout.
1. Ben Blood, North Dakota - When he’s bearing down on an opponent, in either the offensive or defensive zone, his game is as scary as his name. Blood plays a game of impact. If you want to know what that means, ask Ryan Lasch, Dan Dunn, Alex Kangas…
All-Tournament Team
G – Brad Eidsness, North Dakota
D – Garrett Raboin, St. Cloud State*
D – Ben Blood, North Dakota
F – Tony Mosey, St. Cloud State
F – Chris VandeVelde, North Dakota
F – Blake Geoffrion, Wisconsin
MVP – Evan Trupp, North Dakota
* — The arena announcer mis-heard the list of names, and announced on-ice that North Dakota’s Derrick LaPoint, not Raboin, had been named to the all-tourney team. The error was corrected later.
WHAT’S NEXT
Denver and Wisconsin are in as probable No. 1 seeds. North Dakota has made a strong case for a No. 1 also. St. Cloud State is in, and hoping to finally play close to home after never playing a NCAA tournament game in the Central Time Zone. Minnesota Duluth is out (those two losses to Michigan Tech were killers).
As for who will be in this building next week, expect to see one or two of these teams again. The conventional thinking was that Denver would prefer going east rather than returning to be the “road team” with a large contingent of fans from St. Cloud State or North Dakota at the X. But the egg the Pioneers laid this weekend changed the opinion of at least one.
“I don’t care where we go,” Marc Cheverie said first, then reconsidered. “I guess I’d like to come back here and show the people of St. Paul what we can do.”
