University of Minnesota Athletics
Golden Gopher Men's Hockey Falls to Denver, 5-2
3/16/2002 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Wade Dubielewicz made 38 saves and and Denver (32-7-1) used an opportunistic offensive attack as the Pioneers claimed a 5-2 victory over the Minnesota Gophers (29-8-4) Saturday night in the Dodge WCHA Final Five Title game. The contest was staged before 18,126 at the Xcel Energy Center.
Despite getting outshot 15-9 in the opening period, Denver had a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes thanks to David Neale's power play goal at 3:32.
The Pioneers took a 2-0 advantage just 1:29 into the second period as Kevin Ulanski deflected a puck in front and past Gopher netminder Adam Hauser. Minnesota got within 2-1 just 1:00 later on Keith Ballard's ninth goal of the season, but Max Bull put DU up by two again at 4:03 as he blasted one past Hauser on the short side from the slot after a Minnesota turnover. The Gophers fought back again as Troy Riddle deflected a Nick Angell shot past Dubielewicz just above the goal line and with Minnesota on the power play. The goal came at 13:38. It was 3-2 Denver after two periods.
Denver sealed the game at 8:11 of the third as Greg Barber scored on a breakaway. The Pioneers' Kevin Doell backhanded one into an empty net at 19:15 to finish the scoring.
Minnesota outshot Denver, 40-27. Denver was 1-for-4 on the power play, while Minnesota finished 1-for-7.
With the victory, Denver gains the WCHA's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota is also a lock for the 12-team NCAA field. The official seedings and pairings will be announced live on ESPN News at 9 p.m. (EST) Sunday (March 17).
Notes: The WCHA Final Five All-Tournament Team included: Goaltender-Wade Dubielewicz, Denver; Defense-Jordan Leopold, Minnesota; Ryan Caldwell, Denver; Forwards-Troy Riddle, Minnesota; Mark Cullen, Colorado College; and Chris Paradise, Denver. Dubielewicz was named the Final Five MVP . . . Since the WCHA began its current championship format in 1987-88, only four teams have won both the regular season title and playoff championship in the same year. Those teams include Denver (2001-02), North Dakota (1996-97); Northern Michigan (1990-91); and Wisconsin (1989-90) . . . The five-game WCHA Final Five attendance was a record 75,151, shattering the previous record of 67,611 set at last year's Final Five . . . Former WCHA greats Jim Nahrgang, Lou Nanne, Doug Palazzari, Curt Giles, Tom Ross, and John Mayasich each participated in the ceremonial opening faceoff. The group represents six of the Top 50 Players of the first 50 years of the WCHA . . . An invitation-only reception was held prior to the game to honor the Top 50 Players of the first 50 years of the WCHA. In addition, the league honored Wisconsin coach Jeff Sauer, who is retiring after 31 years as a head coach in the WCHA and Bob Olson, who has been the radio play-by-play voice of the Michigan Tech Huskies for the past 31 seasons.
