| | By Brian A. Shactman
ESPN.com
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Once before, senior right wing Lee Goren sat and watched his North Dakota Fighting Sioux battle for the national title. So, on Saturday night, when the Fighting Sioux were faced with a one-goal deficit and one period to play, he was not going to be passive.
No sitting and watching for this kid.
|  | | Lee Goren celebrates Jason Ulmer's winner. Goren assisted on the play. |
"I came in after the second and threw a fit-type deal," said the affable Goren, who earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award after leading North Dakota to a 4-2 win over Boston College for the school's seventh national title and second in four years. "I said, 'we can score four in a period. Let's go out and do it and have fun. We got five against BU in '97.'"
Goren would know. Because of two games he played in major junior hockey, Goren was forced to redshirt in 1997, and he watched his team win the NCAA championship, 6-4, over Boston University -- when the Fighting Sioux scored five second-period goals.
After his mini-tirade -- or motivational speech, depending on your taste -- the imposing 6-foot-3 Goren walked the walk in the third by netting the tying goal, assisting on the game-winner and icing it with an empty-net score. The ironic part was that the goal he scored was relatively soft and had just followed a sequence when Boston College goalie Scott Clemmensen stopped him cold on a breakaway.
"I didn't think I could shoot the puck in the ocean, to be honest," said Goren about his confidence after missing the breakaway. "I got a lucky bounce with the shot though a screen."
It certainly wasn't a screaming slapshot. Instead, the less-than-impressive volley traveled through a BC player screening Clemmensen before it proceeded to go through Clemmensen's own legs.
"I bet he'd like to have that back," Goren said. "I couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. I don't think anyone could believe it."
No one's doubting the goal's impact now. Boston College coach Jerry York, who has lost two championship games in three years, agreed that Goren's goal was a turning point. "The tying goal seemed to energize their club. They were strong in the third."
Despite the unspectacular nature of the goal -- and its symbol as the game's momentum changer -- it actually was the culmination of a dominating turnaround for North Dakota, begun in the second period. After taking two early second-period penalties and allowing BC's second goal on a fluky wraparound -- which was also the Eagles' first shot of the middle stanza -- North Dakota held Boston College to nine shots the rest of the way. In that same span, the Fighting Sioux pounded Clemmensen with more than 20.
In the middle of it all was the second intemission, Goren's words and then his offense. "It just got us rolling," said Goren of the goal. Goren, who scored 62 goals the past two seasons, is a natural goal scorer. And an element of that kind of label is the ability to net ugly ones just as frequently as the highlight-reel goals.
"He's got a real knack for scoring," coach Dean Blais said. "(But) he's such a self-driven player. He stayed around all summer and lifted weights. He works so hard and wants to be a Boston Bruin."
That's the kicker in the whole scenario for the senior from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Goren is the property of the Boston Bruins, and may well be back in Providence next season as a member of the team's AHL affiliate. Heck, the way his senior year has gone, he may not even spend that much time in the minors.
Goren's ability to score ultimately might endear him to Bruins fans. But any BU or BC fans who are also Bruins followers might stay away for awhile because Goren's Fighting Sioux beat Boston's best twice in four years.
"I don't know how that's going to go over," joked Goren with a wide, two-goal scoring, national-championship-winning grin from ear to ear.
He'll work on winning back fans next year. | |
ALSO SEE
North Dakota tops BC for seventh NCAA hockey title
Notebook: Youth serves North Dakota well
|
