By Rich Palzewic
FIGHTING SIOUX LEAVE NO DOUBT
North Dakota 6, Rensselaer o | Box Score
GREEN BAY, Wis. – It didn’t take long for the Fighting Sioux hockey team to let everyone know they’re one of the best teams in the country.
After a tight first period, the No. 1 seeded Sioux got four second-period goals on their way to a 6-0 rout over Rensselaer in a NCAA Division I Midwest Hockey Regional semifinal game at the Resch Center Saturday.
Brad Malone scored the first goal for North Dakota and sent the Sioux on their way.
Brad Malone scored a goal in each of the first two periods to help UND advance to Sunday’s Midwest Regional final.
“I thought we had a good focus,” North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol said. “Everybody contributed through the 60 minutes. I had talked about that after our practice (Friday) that I wanted a good work day for this game. It was a very good effort against a solid team.
“RPI came out very hard the first 10 minutes and competed hard for 60 minutes, so from our standpoint it was very important to have everyone in the lineup contribute and help us to this win.”
RPI’s first tournament appearance since 1995 didn’t go well. The Engineers—who received an at-large bid—ended their season 3-7-1 in their last 11 games and were overmatched from the start, getting outplayed in every phase of the game.
“I would like to give credit to North Dakota,” said RPI coach Seth Appert. “I thought we were very good in the first period, and the game was probably even. I thought we had some good chances. We hit a few posts and (North Dakota goalie Aaron) Dell made some big saves, and then they responded in that second period.”
“I thought Aaron played a key role for us,” said Hakstol. “He allowed us to get out to the one-goal lead and allowed us to hold that for the first 10 minutes of the game. We gave up some pretty good opportunities early, but Aaron held true to form. He’s done that for his teammates and hockey team all year.”
Five minutes into the game, UND’s Brock Nelson was laid out with a check and didn’t return. Moments later, Malone banged in a rebound that beat RPI goalie Allen York to put the Sioux up 1-0.
Hakstol wouldn’t comment on Nelson’s injury or availability for Sunday’s championship game.
North Dakota got second-period goals from Malone, Danny Kristo, Jason Gregoire, and Corban Knight to put the Sioux up 5-0 after two.
“You have to get the first (game) to move on,” said Malone. “Obviously that was our focus coming into the game. Now that we have the first one behind us, we’ll focus on (Sunday). We just have to prepare like we did for this game.”
The key point in the game came shortly after RPI had killed off a five-on-three power play early in the second period to gain momentum, only to see UND come back with a quick goal to go up 3-0.
“We killed off the five-on-three and it gave us some good momentum,” said Rensselaer forward and ECAC Hockey Player of the Year Chase Polacek. “We got some good momentum from that—it was a good effort from our penalty kill—and then when they get a quick goal like that after a good penalty kill, it hurt our momentum.”
“I thought Danny (Kristo’s) goal was the key,” said Hakstol. “It goes hand-in-hand—the five-on-three we had a lot of great opportunities, so we built a lot of momentum there. We may have pushed them back on their heels a little bit, but we didn’t score. So to come out shortly thereafter and get a three-goal lead was the biggest point of the game.”
RPI’s special teams were dismal in the crucial second period. North Dakota scored two power-play goals and a shorthanded one to put the game away.
The Sioux finished 2-for-7 on the power-play overall, while the Engineers were 0-for-8.
DENVER RALLIES, OUSTS WESTERN MICHIGAN
Denver 3, Western Michigan 2 (2OT) | Box Score
Saturday’s second semifinal game between Denver and Western Michigan couldn’t have been more different than the first game of the day.
Joy and Pain: Denver's Luke Salazar celebrates his team's winning goal while Western Michigan goalie Jerry Kuhn lies on the ice.
Western Michigan’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1996 looked like it was going to be a memorable one, but they couldn’t hang on to a late 2-0 lead and lost a double-overtime heartbreaker 3-2 to the Pioneers.
Trailing 2-0 with less than five minutes to play, Denver got two goals in less than two minutes to tie the score and won it on Jason Zucker’s goal at 11:14 of the second overtime.
“I was just going down the ice and Drew Shore drove the net,” said Zucker of his game-winning goal. “That pulled the two defensemen in, and I was just able to throw the puck on net and it happened to go in for me.
“It ranks pretty high up there,” Zucker said when asked about the importance of his goal. “This is obviously a huge stage. For the seniors, we had never won a game (in the NCAA Tournament), and that was the goal for the whole team.”
Denver nearly won it in regulation when a shot with a second left trickled past Broncos’ goalie Jerry Kuhn and came within an inch of the post and going in.
“For those who were ready to write us off, you should know better,” said Denver coach George Gwozdecky. “This team has shown a lot of resiliency throughout the year. This team has shown that our third period is by far our best period.
“My hat is off to (Western Michigan head) coach Jeff Blashill and his staff and the Western Michigan Broncos. They had a terrific year and made the game very difficult for us. They have nothing to hang their heads about. We are very pleased to be moving on.”
Fatigue would seem to be a concern for the Pioneers, but Gwozdecky doesn’t think it will be.
“If we had to play in a few hours, I’d be more concerned,” Gwozdecky said. “These guys are in great shape and we’ll let them rest tomorrow and probably not skate (beforehand). We need rest more than we need practice. We will get them rehydrated and the proper meals.
“Those television timeouts take a long time, so I think those will help us (Sunday) at least early in the game.”
After a scoreless first period, the Broncos took a 2-0 lead late into the game on goals by Derek Roehl and Trevor Elias before Kyle Ostrow and Matt Donovan tied the score at 2-2, setting the stage for Zucker’s heroics in the second overtime.
SEEN AND HEARD AT THE RESCH CENTER
• Despite the Wisconsin Badgers not making the NCAA Tournament, the Resch Center was clad in the red and white of the home-state university. Many in the stands would recall the Badgers dramatic 1-0 triple overtime victory over Cornell in 2006 at the Resch Center on their way to winning the national championship that year.
• There was a definite Green Bay Gamblers feel to the Midwest Regional. All four teams have ties to the highly successful United States Hockey League team which plays its home games at the Resch. North Dakota’s Derrick LaPoint (2006) played for Green Bay, as did Denver defenseman David Makowski (2008-10) and RPI forward CJ Lee (2006-08). In addition, Western Michigan coach Jeff Blashill was the coach of the USHL’s Indiana Ice last season, and UND coach Dave Hakstol led the Sioux City Musketeers (1996-2000).
“It feels great (to be back),” said LaPoint. “I haven’t been back in about four years, so it’s nice to be back in the old building. I feel pretty comfortable on that ice.”
“There was a familiarity with the building,” said Blashill. “We also have a number of players from the USHL that have been in this building and I think that helped this team since it’s been the first time we’ve been in the NCAA with them. I certainly was a part of a lot of good hockey games here.”
• The Denver team took a tour of Lambeau Field on Friday and had plenty of good things to say about it.
“I have never taken a tour of any NFL stadium before, so to have my first one be Lambeau is pretty special,” said Denver sophomore Drew Shore. “Just to see all the history there and the pictures was amazing.”
“The tour people had us walk out of the same tunnel as the Packers do,” said Pioneers coach George Gwozdecky. “It was pretty special and they even piped in the crowd noise to the tunnel to give us a feel for it. I think it was good for our guys to see it and experience such a great organization.”
PLUSSES AND MINUSES
To the fans of all the teams that made the trip to Green Bay. Besides the avid hockey fans from the area that came to the game, North Dakota definitely had the most number of fans in attendance.
To the Western Michigan Broncos, who were making their first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1996. They were within a few minutes of advancing to the Midwest Regional championship game.
To the RPI and Western Michigan pep bands, who made the trip to support their teams and play the national anthem before each game. They were the loudest cheering sections of their respected teams.
To RPI’s defense and special teams, who didn’t give goalie Allen York much of a chance to be successful. The Sioux beat the Engineers to loose pucks and rebounds. North Dakota outshot RPI 40-21 in the contest.
INCH’S THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT
3. Sam Brittain, Denver. The freshman goaltender for the Pioneers was solid in net against Western Michigan in his team’s 3-2 double-overtime victory. He stopped 30 of the 32 shots he saw on the night.
2. Brad Malone, North Dakota: The senior from Miramichi, New Brunswick scored two goals—the second on the power play—to help the Fighting Sioux get past RPI 6-0 in the first regional seminfinal game.
1. Jason Zucker, Denver: The freshman sensation from Las Vegas got the game-winning goal in double overtime in the Pioneers’ 3-2 victory over Western Michigan. He also added two assists for a three-point night.
WHAT’S NEXT
North Dakota and Denver are quite familiar with one another. Prior to the Fighting Sioux’s 3-2 double-overtime victory in the WCHA tournament championship game last week, the teams split a weekend series in Grand Forks in late October. The Sioux won the opener 4-3 behind Corban Knight’s two goals; the Pioneers won the next night, 3-0. Denver got two third-period goals and a 33-save performance from goalie Sam Brittain.
