Other Meta: NCAA Tournament

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

Notebook: Minnesota-Michigan

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(North Dakota’s) Pride On Ice One of the more remarkable traditions Minnesota has is the near-exclusive use of Minnesota-born talent in the lineup. But when Don Lucia became coach at Minnesota three seasons ago, he recruited the first non-Minnesota player since 1986 by signing Grand Forks, N.D., native Grant Potulny. Potulny, a sophomore, scored the … Read more

An Easterner Visits Mecca

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I’ve lived in New England all my life and intend to stay there. So I’m an Eastern guy, a Hockey East guy to be specific. But I’d been really looking forward to this pilgrimage to college hockey’s Mecca. We can show our appreciation for the sport out East, but you Minnesotans have the reputation for … Read more

Notebook: Maine-New Hampshire

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Not Their Day New Hampshire got off to a very fast start, scoring just 21 seconds into the first period. But after that, the team that led the nation in scoring (4.67 goal per game), and backed by a goaltender who set a Hockey East record for save percentage (.938) could do very little right. … Read more

Frozen Four Preview: Michigan

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“It seems like Michigan goes every year, but the rest of us don’t.” That’s Minnesota head coach Don Lucia on the only repeat team in this year’s Frozen Four. It does seem as though the Wolverines are in the postseason mix yearly, so to those outside the CCHA, Michigan’s appearance in St. Paul may have … Read more

Frozen Four Notebook: Questions Between The Pipes

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The Frozen Four opening game on Thursday featuring Maine and New Hampshire is a battle of two teams that, despite solid goaltending, have question marks between the pipes. UNH has alternated much of the season between Michael Ayers and Matt Carney. Maine rode Mike Morrison much of the season, but has turned to seasoned Matt … Read more

Jim Who?

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A fourth-line forward? Jim Abbott made his presence felt in New Hampshire’s run to the Frozen Four, as Jim Connelly notes.

Frozen Four Preview: New Hampshire

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Here’s a statistic that Hockey East loyalists are hearing for the umpteenth time, but Western fans should make note of: in Hockey East games, the Wildcats ranked first in team offense, team defense, power-play percentage and penalty-kill percentage. This led to finishing first in the league, winning the Hockey East tournament and gaining the top … Read more