FanHouse has full coverage of the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship.MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota-Duluth has played 29 games at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, the home of their rival Minnesota Gophers. Never before have they ever experienced a night like Friday. The Bulldogs were the home team, and while the in-house crowd was well short of capacity, it was almost unanimously pro-UMD.
The Bulldogs waited a little while, but finally took advantage. Two goals in the last 40 seconds of regulation tied it, and Mike Connolly (undrafted) power-play goal in overtime won it for UMD. They beat Princeton 5-4 in overtime in front of 7,187 at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis.
UMD was able to strike first, as they have in every playoff game to date. Once again, it was senior, but it wasn't MacGregor Sharp (undrafted), who scored first during each of UMD's games at the WCHA Final Five last weekend in St. Paul. Instead, it was senior tri-captain Andrew Carroll (undrafted). Freshman Travis Oleksuk (undrafted) threw a shot at Princeton goalie Zane Kalemba (undrafted). The rebound sat in the crease, and Carroll beat a Princeton defender to it for his fifth goal of the season.
Princeton answered on the power play at 14:56, when senior Brett Wilson, on a similar-looking play, banged home a rebound past UMD goalie Alex Stalock (San Jose). It was just the fourth goal Stalock had allowed in six-plus playoff games to that point. The 6:39 UMD held a lead in the first period marked the first time any high seed had a lead on a crazy day of NCAA hockey.
The Tigers took the lead less than two minutes into the second. The Bulldogs got bottled up in their own zone, and a shot by defenseman Derrick Pallis (undrafted) from the center blue line deflected off a UMD player's stick and past Stalock. It was the first time in the postseason UMD has trailed, and Princeton had territorial control for the next few minutes. They took advantage at 8:10, as a Matt Godlewski (undrafted) shot was stopped by Stalock, who kicked a huge rebound to Wilson.
"We knew they were a great team," UMD's Mike Connolly said. "We got what we wanted with that first goal, but then we tried to sit back and they took advantage."
Twenty-nine seconds later, UMD pulled back within one, as a point shot by freshman defenseman Brady Lamb (undrafted) somehow found its way past Kalemba. The score stayed 3-2 through the end of the second.
UMD got a couple power plays in the first half of the third that came up empty. On the second, Princeton got a short-handed goal to re-gain their two-goal lead. Brandan Kushniruk (undrafted) took the puck in the right circle and ripped a wrister past Stalock.
"Our bench kept saying 'It's not done. We can do it,'" said UMD coach Scott Sandelin, who is now 3-1 in NCAA Tournament games over his nine years at UMD. "They've shown character throughout the year. This team showed its will and got a little luck."
The Bulldogs began to get some momentum in the final minutes, and a power-play goal by freshman Jack Connolly (undrafted) with 39.4 seconds left got UMD within one. The Bulldogs kept Stalock pulled, put on more pressure, but couldn't beat Kalemba. A controversial call by the officials - taking a faceoff for a frozen puck outside of Princeton's zone - seemed to doom the Bulldogs' chances with 12.6 seconds left. UMD won the faceoff, however, and a turnover behind the Princeton net allowed UMD to get the puck into the left circle. From there, sophomore defenseman Evan Oberg (undrafed) ripped a wrist shot past Kalemba with 0.8 seconds left to tie the game, send the largely pro-UMD crowd into an absolute frenzy, and force overtime.
"I didn't see much," Oberg said. "There were a couple guys laying down, and I tried to get it over them."
In the overtime, the teams traded chances until Princeton's Cam MacIntyre (undrafted) was called for tripping as UMD tried to break the puck out of their zone. Just 16 seconds into the power play, UMD sophomore Justin Fontaine (undrafted) fluttered a perfect pass to Mike Connolly, who was wide-open at the goalmouth for the winner.
"We knew we could do it, and our guys didn't stop believing," said Carroll, one of seven seniors who were faced very close with the prospect of playing their last game. "It was the best game I've ever seen or played in."
"Unfortunately, we had something like that happen a week ago against Cornell," Princeton's Wilson said. "Obviously, we have a pretty empty feeling right now. We wanted to give Princeton its first-ever NCAA win after getting here two years in a row."
UMD will play Miami University in the West Regional final Saturday at 9pm ET for a berth in the Frozen Four.
