Gophers Outlast Minnesota State in Double Overtime Thriller

Tony Lucia scored with 3:01 left in double overtime and Alex Kangas made 44 saves as Minnesota outlasted Minnesota State 3-2 in an intense double overtime thriller on Sunday in Mankato to advance to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Five.

It was the third straight night the teams played overtime as Minnesota State won the opening game of the series 1-0 in double overtime on Friday and the Gophers took a 2-1 decision in one overtime on Saturday. The Gophers advance to face St. Cloud State in the WCHA Final Five on Thursday at 7:07 p.m. at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. It marks just the second time in WCHA playoff history that all three games of a series went to overtime. It also happened in 1992 when Minnesota Duluth and Colorado College played three overtime contests, including two triple overtime games.

Minnesota will make its 10th consecutive trip to the Final Five and played its 15th overtime game of the season. The Gophers had not won any of the overtime games until Saturday and have now won two straight to push their record to 2-4-9 in extra sessions.

Ryan Flynn started the game-winning play with a shot that was saved by Mavericks' goaltender Mike Zacharias, who made a save but kept the puck loose in the crease. Lucia burst into the play and pushed the puck over the line for the winning score, which was confirmed by video replay. Evan Kaufmann also had an assist on the goal.

"My heart goes out to Minnesota State," Gophers' coach Don Lucia said. "This was an incredible series. That was the best goaltending I've ever seen and I've been coaching a long time."

Kangas tied his career high for saves, which was also accomplished in the opening game of the series on Friday with the 44 saves. Zacharias had 47 saves as the Gophers held a 50-46 edge in shots, including a 12-11 margin in a wild second overtime. The goal came shortly after Kangas made four saves in the span of about one minute during one of the Mavericks' best flurries of the night.

Sunday's game lasted three hours and 50 minutes, ending just before 11 p.m. The teams combined to play 262 minutes in the three games, which is the equivalent of over four games and one period of hockey. Kangas made 115 saves and allowed four goals in the series, while Zacharias stopped 116 shots and gave up five goals.

The Mavericks scored the game’s first goal on the power play at 8:38 of the first period as Mick Berge scored after Kurt Davis had the puck behind the goal line and fed him a puck at the left faceoff circle. Geoff Irwin also assisted the goal.

Minnesota answered late in the first period as Jay Barriball rifled a shot into the upper corner of the net with 1:48 left before intermission. Blake Wheeler and Ben Gordon set up the goal, which came on just the fifth shot by the Gophers. Minnesota State outshot Minnesota 8-5 in the opening period and had seven of the game’s first eight shots.

The Gophers controlled much of the play in the second period, owning a 10-7 advantage in shots and getting the lone goal when Patrick White slammed home a rebound off a shot by Mike Howe that was also assisted by Lucia at 13:51 of the period.

Minnesota had a five-minute power play at 6:09 of the period when the Mavericks’ Jason Wiley was called for an elbow to the head of Gophers’ forward Tom Pohl. Pohl hit the boards in front of the Minnesota bench and was carried off the ice on a stretcher and taken to the hospital with a laceration to his head.

Kangas made one of his most spectacular saves of the series with 2:46 left in the third period when he stopped Zach Harrison on a breakaway with his left pad (pictured, above).

Minnesota State tied the game in the third period for the second straight night, getting the tying goal from Kael Mouillierat at 3:20 of the period. Trevor Bruess set up the goal with a pass from the goal line to Mouillierat on the far side of the goal. Ben Youds also assisted the goal. The Gophers held a 12-9 advantage in shots for the period, but both teams had several quality chances and the Mavericks had a huge flurry in the final minute before a forward fell into Kangas dislodging the net.

In the first overtime period, Minnesota State had two plays that were reviewed by video replay. The Mavericks interfered with the goaltender on the first one at the 3:54 mark of the period and the second attempt hit the crossbar and came straight down in front of the goal line where it was covered by Kangas at the 17:16 mark. The Mavericks also had a two-minute power play, but did not manage any quality scoring chances on the advantage.

The winner of Thursday's game between Minnesota and St. Cloud State will play top-seeded Colorado College on Friday night. Denver plays North Dakota on Friday afternoon in the other matchup.

Upcoming Events