| | PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- As Boston College couldn't quite send off a great senior class -- that included two Hobey Baker finalists -- with a victory in Saturday's NCAA final, North Dakota's national title may just be a prelude to what's ahead.
Fighting Sioux coach Dean Blais played five freshman forwards up front against BC, and he has two more on defense. And these guys don't just get charity time; they impacted the game in a big way. North Dakota made a switch to use more speed during the 4-2 win over the Eagles. And the young'uns -- or young guns -- led the charge.
"We switched to speed, and the five freshman forwards are young legs," Blais said.
The most impressive of the bunch was Ryan Bayda, who skates on the top line with Jason Ulmer, of the game-winning goal Ulmers, and Lee Goren, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Bayda only earned one assist, but he was all over the ice. He had four shots on net and was a plus-3. Not a bad performance in the biggest game of his young life.
Jason Notermann, Kevin Spiewak, Ryan Hale and Tim Skarperud are the oher first-year skaters up front, while Travis Roche and Chris Leinweber manned the blue line.
Combine those freshmen with other returning players like Hobey Baker finalist Jeff Panzer (44 assists and 63 points), sophomore Bryan Lundbohm (22 goals) and goalie Karl Goerhing (1.88 GAA), the Fighting Sioux will be battling in the postseason again for the next few years.
Frozen ponderings from Providence
BC goalie Scott Clemmensen may have received Most Outstanding Player honors had his team won the title. The junior netminder from Urbandale, Iowa, of all places, made 29 saves and really missed just one he could have had -- and he didn't even get a good look at Goren's game-tying goal. The other two scores were off rebounds where North Dakota players beat their respective defenders to the puck. Clemmensen's tournament record dropped to 7-3, and it was his second finals loss in three years.
College hockey may never eclipse college basketball in terms of popularity. But there's one element of the Frozen Four that actually may be better than the Final Four. The Providence Civic Center was sold out for Saturday's game, and 11,484 people packed themselves into the arena. With the two college bands and a raucus crowd -- which was probably 70-percent BC fans -- the atmosphere was thrilling. In hoops, the venues are so large that much of the energy gets diffused, and even though the product is great and wildly popular, the ebb and flow of game intensity isn't felt as much by the attending crowd.
For all of its offensive power, Boston College didn't take advantage on the power play. With the score tied, 1-1, the Eagles dre two penalties to start the second period. During the first one, BC didn't muster a single shot. While that drought continued on the second power play, BC was whistled for too many men on the ice with 44 seconds remaining on the man advantage. The Eagles managed to take the lead a few minutes later, but the failure to score on the power -- they were 1-for-6 -- impacted the game's outcome. "They really pressured us, and did an excellent job penalty killing," said BC coach Jerry York.
Home-ice environments may not be the best formula for Boston College's postseason success. The two finals the Eagles played in the last three years have been in New England -- the other was at the Fleet Center in Boston in 1998 when BC lost to Michigan, 3-2, in overtime.
The All-Tournament Team was fully stocked with players from the
finalists. Boston College's Jeff Farkas joined UND's Bryan Lundbohm and
Goren up front. BC's Mike Mottau, who also won the Hobey Baker Award, and
UND's Mike Commodore were chosen as the defensemen. And Goehring got the nod
in net.
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