University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota's Pride on Ice Wins 2002 NCAA Championship
4/6/2002 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Minnesota's Pride on Ice led 2-1 in the third period only to see the advantage disappear as the Black Bears stormed back with two goals in the third to take the lead. The Golden Gophers would not be denied, however, as they scored with 54.2 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. There, Potulny, the Maroon and Gold's lone non-Minnesotan, slammed home the game-winner to win the school's second NCAA title of the 2001-02 season (wrestling).
The attendance of 19,324 set a new record for the largest crowd for a single game in Frozen Four history, in collegiate hockey history in Minnesota and for an event at the Xcel Energy Center. The combined attendance of 57,957 also set a new NCAA Frozen Four record, surpassing the 1998 Frozen Four at the Fleet Center in Boston, Mass.
The Golden Gophers opened the scoring at 7:18 of the first period as Keith Ballard scored his 10th goal of the season on the power play. From the point, Ballard passed to Troy Riddle in the left corner who passed back to Ballard, streaking down the slot. The freshman defenseman one-timed the pass and beat Maine goaltender Matt Yeats five-hole. Nick Angell picked up the second assist on the play. During the season, Gold Country was 17-1-1 when scoring first. Minnesota went back on the power play a short time later, this time with a two-man advantage, but the Black Bears killed it off to keep it a one-goal game.
The first period came to a close with Minnesota holding onto its 1-0 lead. The Maroon and Gold held the edge in quality scoring chances and the shots were even at 11.
The Black Bears tied it up at 4:47 of the second period on the power play with Michael Schutte taking a pass from Peter Metcalf at the point and knocking the puck into the wide-open net. Niko Dimitrakos was credited with the second assist. It was Schutte's 12th goal of the season. Minnesota goaltender Adam Hauser, screened on the play, was left to sprawl across to the net in hopes of stopping the puck
Only 51 seconds later, the Maroon and Gold retook the lead with a spectacular wrist shot by All-American Johnny Pohl at 5:38 to beat Yeats top shelf on the glove side. Pohl took passes from Nick Anthony and Angell, and tore up the left side, firing from the left circle for his 27th goal of the season. With the lamplighter, Pohl clinched the national point-scoring race, pulling ahead of New Hampshire's Darren Haydar with 77 points.
The Golden Gophers went into the lockerroom with its 2-1 lead despite being outshot 24-19 in the period. In the last 10 national championship games, the team that led after two periods was 5-4-0 with one tie after the second stanza.
Like the second period, the Black Bears struck first, scoring at 1:17 with Schutte's second goal of the game. Schutte took a pass from Prestin Ryan and one-timed the puck from the point past Hauser low on the glove side. Todd Jackson was credited with the second assist. It was Schutte's 13th goal of the season.
The nation's final two teams stayed tied at two for 14 minutes until Robert Liscak's goal at 15:27 to give Maine its first lead of the game. Dimitrakos fired from the slot, missing the net. The rebound off the end boards came to Liscak who scored from behind the goal line, banking the puck off of Hauser's leg. It was Liscak's 17th goal of the season.
Minnesota pulled Hauser with 58 seconds remaining in the period for the extra attacker and put everything into rally. Matt Koalska, playing an outstanding game, scored with 54.2 seconds on the clock to knot the game at three and send the pro-Minnesota crowd into a deafening frenzy. Pohl won the face-off in the Maine zone, the puck bouncing off Troy Riddle to Koalska in the high slot who slammed it home between Yeats' legs. It was Koalska's 10th goal of the season.
The Golden Gophers and Black Bears fought the remaining 54 seconds for advantage, but neither could muster the game-winning goal, sending the nation's final two teams into the 12th overtime game in Frozen Four title game history. Five of the last seven national championship games have gone into the extra session.
For the third period, Maine outshot Gold Country 16-9. For regulation, the Black Bears outshot Minnesota 40-28. Coming into overtime, Minnesota was 2-0-4 while Maine was 2-2-7 in overtime games in 2001-02.
In NCAA championship overtime games prior to 2002, Minnesota is 0-2 while Maine is 1-0. The Golden Gophers lost in the extra session in 1954 to RPI and in 1989 to Harvard. Maine defeated UNH in 1999 for the NCAA title.
It took until 16:58 of the overtime, but Minnesota's Pride on Ice got the proverbial monkey off its back with Grant Potulny's national title winning goal on the power play with assists going to Hobey Baker Award winner Jordan Leopold and Pohl. The puck came to Leopold on the point off a face off. The two-time All-American shot with the rebound coming to Pohl, then Potulny who tucked the puck under Yeats to create bedlam in the partisan crowd at the Xcel Energy Center.
The Golden Gopher team, coaches and staff stormed off the bench, sticks, gloves and helmets littering the ice. The triumph marks the first time a team has won the national title in its home state since Boston University captured the crown in Boston in 1972. It also is the first time since 1993 that the Hobey Baker Award winner has won the NCAA championship in the same season. Paul Kariya and Maine won in 1993.
A celebration of Minnesota's first national title since 1979 is set for Sunday, April 7, at Mariucci Arena t 2:30 p.m.
2002 Frozen Four All-Tournament Team
F Robert Liscak, Maine
F Grant Potulny, Minnesota
F John Pohl, Minnesota
D Michael Schutte, Maine
D Peter Metcalf, Maine
G Adam Hauser, Minnesota
Most Outstanding Performer - Grant Potulny, Minnesota
