FanHouse has full coverage of the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship.MINNEAPOLIS -- It's been quite a ride for Minnesota-Duluth. The Bulldogs finished the regular season in an 0-3-2 slump and fell to seventh in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Instead of folding, UMD went on the road and swept fourth-seeded Colorado College in the first round of the league playoffs.
Then, at the Final Five in St. Paul last weekend, UMD became the first team ever to win three games in three days, taking the title and the league's automatic entry in the NCAA Tournament. Little did they know that the wild ride was just beginning.
Friday night, the No. 2 Bulldogs played No. 3 Princeton in the opening round of the NCAA West Regional. Over 7,000 fans -- mainly cheering loudly for UMD -- showed up at Mariucci Arena, the home of the Minnesota Gophers. It was a crowd mostly appreciative of the five-game winning streak that brought UMD to this point.
The Tigers didn't get the memo about UMD being one of the hottest teams in college hockey. They didn't seem to care about the 90 saves on 91 shots UMD goalie Alex Stalock had last weekend. They certainly didn't mind the large throng of people cheering for their opponent.
"It was a cool atmosphere," said senior forward Brett Wilson (undrafted), who scored two of Princeton's four goals. "It's something you don't really see in our league because the teams have smaller rinks. It's always fun to play with the atmosphere we had tonight, even if it's against you."
Princeton fell behind early, but scored three straight between the first and second periods to lead 3-1. After UMD got back within one, they picked up a short-handed goal to lead 4-2, and they carried that lead into the final minute of regulation.
With hundreds of fans scurrying for the nearest exit, UMD staged a rally for the ages, scoring twice in the final 39.4 seconds to tie it. Suddenly, as pointed out by multiple UMD staffers in the press box, fans were trying to run up the down escalators that take you to the main doors at Mariucci Arena. When the Bulldogs' Mike Connolly (undrafted) deposited the game-winner on a power play in overtime, the arena erupted in cheers. For a team used to getting jeers in one of Minnesota's most famous hockey facilities, it was quite an experience.
"Awesome," said UMD coach Scott Sandelin. "The last time I ever heard a crowd that loud was when we were playing Minnesota. I liked this more."
The job is not done. UMD plays Miami at 9 pm ET Saturday for a berth in the Frozen Four. Hundreds more fans are expected to make the journey from Duluth to Minneapolis for the game, and it will be another largely partisan crowd.
The RedHawks dominated top-seed Denver Friday, 4-2. They took the Pioneers out of the game early, and outside of some extra-attacker pressure, Denver never had any consistent offense. At one point in the second period, they were being outshot 22-9.
"When we're on, we're a puck possession team," RedHawks coach Enrico Blasi said. "We thought going in we could possess the puck because of the extra ice." Mariucci is an Olympic surface, meaning more room to skate.
The Miami players will likely talk about being excited to play in such an atmosphere. Blasi will have his team ready to play. It's likely UMD will face adversity again, but they're not going to panic.
"Our team has shown character all year," said Connolly. SIxty more minutes of it, and the Bulldogs are headed for Washington, D.C.
