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| Wednesday, April 9 Updated: April 11, 10:21 AM ET Gophers going for first title repeat since '71-72 By David Albright ESPN.com |
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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Red Berenson wasn't thinking about April when he brought his Michigan hockey team here six months ago to start the college hockey season.
The Wolverines left HSBC Arena at 1-1 following a 5-4 overtime loss to North Dakota in the championship of the Punch Imlach College Hockey Showcase -- played before fewer than 3,000 fans each night. It's that lack of atmosphere that leads the Michigan coach to believe no team has an advantage heading into the 56th Annual Frozen Four. "There was no environment at that tournament," Berenson said. "We weren't anticipating being back here. So I think it will be the same for all the teams. "We're fortunate to make it this far. We weren't a top seed but were fortunate to play the regional at home. That probably was the difference. We feel pretty lucky." The Wolverines (30-9-3), champions of the CCHA and a Midwest Regional played at Yost Ice Arena, get a familiar opponent in tomorrow's second semifinal game when they skate against defending national champ Minnesota (ESPN2, 6 p.m. ET). Not only do Michigan and Minnesota have 250 prior meetings -- including a 3-1 Wolverines win on Dec. 1, 2002 at the other College Hockey Showcase -- but the two schools met in last year's Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn. (a 3-2 Gophers win).
Like Berenson, Minnesota coach Don Lucia didn't give much thought to his club making an appearance in Buffalo. Entering this season, he was without several key components from last season's title team, including Hobey Baker winner Jordan Leopold, national scoring champion John Pohl and goalie Adam Hauser. In addition to lacking a lot of veteran leadership -- only one senior plays regularly -- the 2002-03 Gophers roster is littered with 17 underclassmen. "It's not something we thought about," Lucia said of a run at a title repeat, something that hasn't been done since Boston University in 1971-72. "When we were 6-4-4, I was hoping we could get home ice in our league. Plus, it's awfully difficult to repeat." Minnesota's slow start was made worse when captain Grant Potulny suffered a broken ankle in the season-opener. Last year's Frozen Four MVP, the junior forward sat out 22 games and didn't return to the lineup until Jan. 24. The Gophers (26-8-9) have righted the ship since Potulny's return (14-2-4) and are on an 8-0-2 run, which included winning the WCHA Final Five and the NCAA West Regional. "Like Michigan, we were fortunate that we were able to host a regional," Lucia said. "I think we're a good team. I wouldn't classify us as a great team." The other repeat visitor to the Frozen Four is Northeast Regional champ New Hampshire (27-7-6), which is still looking for its first national title. The Wildcats are making their seventh Frozen Four appearance, including the fourth in the last six years. UNH jumped out to a 2-1 first-period lead against Maine last season, but then proceeded to give up six goals in the final two periods to drop to 1-6 all-time in Frozen Four games. "We were in the environment but that was about it," Umile said of UNH's visit to St. Paul. "We didn't play very well." The Hockey East regular season and tournament champion comes in on a 9-0-3 run and are riding the hot goaltending of Mike Ayers (26-7-6, 2.14, .927). The junior was in net last season during the Frozen Four but both he and his coach say that is old news.
The "new" issue is that it appears UNH will be without leading scorer Lanny Gare (22-29-51). The senior forward dislocated his right shoulder in the opening minute of the regional title game against Boston University and he announced Wednesday that he won't be in the lineup against Cornell (30-4-1) in the first national semifinal (ESPN2, noon ET). With or without Gare, UNH will face the Big Red, who are the tournament's top overall and champions of the ECAC and East Regional. This is CU's first trip to the Frozen Four since 1980, but back then it was a five-team tournament and the Big Red started out in the semifinals. "We're the new kid on the block but it's a dream come true," coach Mike Schafer said. "It's our first time in 23 years and it's here in the state of New York." Cornell comes in as the hottest team in college hockey as it hasn't lost since Jan. 30 at Colgate. And sophomore goaltender David LeNeveu is on the verge of breaking many of Hall of Famer Ken Dryden's school records. All you need to know about the Hobey Baker finalist is that he leads the nation in goals against average (1.14), save percentage (.942), winning percentage (.919, 28-2-1) and shutouts (9). "If an offensive player put up the best numbers in the history of the game, there would be little debate about winning the Hobey Baker," Schafer said. "David has put up the best numbers in the history of the game. That's why he should be the Hobey Baker winner in my mind." That will be determined on Friday as part of this three-day celebration of college hockey. And the two semifinal winners will play for the title on Saturday night (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET). "The great thing about the Frozen Four is it has a great following within our college hockey community," Lucia said. "The atmosphere is just incredible. There is a possibility that Cornell could have an advantage this year with Buffalo being only a couple of hours from campus." This edition of the Frozen Four, which sold out the HSBC Arena (18,690) last summer, probably won't benefit the "home" team to the same extent it did for Minnesota last year, but the atmosphere will most certainly accomplish one thing previously thought to be unattainable: The fans will think it's great to be in Buffalo in April. David Albright is a senior editor at ESPN.com and can be reached at david.albright@espn3.com |
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