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Feature stories

Championship Notebook

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Heartstoppers With less than a minute remaining in regulation, Minnesota goalie Adam Hauser was pulled for an extra skater and Minnesota got the game-tying goal from Matt Koalska. That marked the second straight year that a goal was scored with an extra man on the ice in the championship. Last year, North Dakota scored two … Read more

Showdown In St. Paul: Minnesota

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A few hours before they played in their first Frozen Four, members of the 2002 Minnesota team watched a video that tied their purpose this weekend at the Xcel Energy Center to another, larger one. As much as the Golden Gophers are playing for those that skate on the ice now, they’re also playing Saturday … Read more

No Storybook Ending

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If you have a grandson who is very dear to you and he’s an athlete, there are few thrills greater than watching him compete for a national championship. So when Chris Heisten’s grandfather settled into his seat at the Xcel Energy Center to watch Maine take on top-seeded New Hampshire on Thursday, it was with … Read more

Frozen ‘4’

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It was a Frozen ‘4’ indeed for Minnesota, for which numerology just might have played a part in an NCAA title win.

Commentary: It’s Their Time

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Most of them come from a land with 10,000 lakes, 10,000 rinks and hundreds of thousands of young players who dream of a golden moment like the one Saturday night for someone who isn’t even a Minnesotan, but is as close now as any foreigner. Pulling the M-emblazoned sweater over their heads, then pushing an … Read more

Showdown In St. Paul: Maine

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Dreams simply don’t come true enough in real life. The movies write great scripts, but everyone knows fantasy, storybook endings are reserved for Hollywood. Certainly St. Paul, Minn., is not the stage where one would expect one of these Hollywood-like segments to be filmed. But if I were a producer, I might want to hop … Read more

Favorite Son

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Grant Potulny is Minnesota’s first out-of-state player in over a decade. That didn’t seem to mean much Saturday night.

The Leap

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Johnny Pohl knows a thing or two about jumping after a big goal. He paid tribute to his brother Mark’s signature move last season by duplicating the “Pohl Vault,” a jump and turn into the Plexiglas. Matt Koalska’s last-minute goal sent the title game into overtime (photo: Pedro Cancel) So Pohl was pumped when he … Read more

Leo Leads The Way

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After a disappointing overtime loss to Maine in last year’s NCAA East Regional, then-junior Minnesota defenseman Jordan Leopold had a difficult decision to make. The WCHA’s top defensive player of 2000-2001, whose NHL rights are held by the Calgary Flames, could have left school early for a pro career. Minnesota’s Jordan Leopold, the 2002 Hobey … Read more

Come Together

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Head coach Don Lucia has instilled a sense of unity in Minnesota, one reason the Gophers play for the championship Saturday.

The Border Barrier

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In the pantheon of sports-led societal advances, it’s not quite in the class of Jackie Robinson signing with the Dodgers. But, to many a Gopher fan, the recruitment of North Dakota native Grant Potulny to play at the University of Minnesota required accepting a major change that many fought. Of course, a few more two-goal … Read more

Meet The Frauds II: Finals

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A strong showing for USCHO.com’s Division I conference correspondents meant the bar was high for advancement to the finals in our second annual picks competition. Indeed, the staff turned in an impressive 30-10 record in picking the West and East Regional results, including a majority correctly picking Maine to reach the Frozen Four via an … Read more