Inside College Hockey | 2004 Frozen Four Capsules

March 31, 2004
NCAA Tournament
Frozen Four Capsules | First Semifinal

MINNESOTA DULUTH BULLDOGS | Midwest Regional Champions

Location: Duluth, Minn.
Record: 28-12-4 (19-7-2 WCHA, second)
Qualified: At-large bid
NCAA Championships: None
NCAA Appearance: 5th (most recent, 1993)
Frozen Four Appearance: Third (most recent, 1985)
Head Coach: Scott Sandelin
Key Players: Junior Lessard, F, Sr. (30-31—61); Evan Schwabe, F, Jr. (19-36—55); Issac Reichmuth, G, So. (23-8-4, .910, 2.60)

What You Need to Know: Just a few years ago, when the Bulldogs were seemingly permanently planted in the lower half of the WCHA, a lone win versus their archrivals, the Gophers, was enough to define a season as successful. They beat Minnesota five times this year, including in the regional final to get to their first Frozen Four since 1985.

Gamebreaker: A few hours before Minnesota Duluth faced Michigan State in the Midwest Regional opener, Junior Lessard sat on a sofa in his hotel’s lobby, gingerly bending his injured knee, unsure if he would play college hockey again. That afternoon, he scored two goals. To say this fiery redhead is the Bulldogs’ spark is putting it mildly.

Achilles Heel: According to many close to the Bulldogs, the team’s pre-holiday defensive inconsistency was the topic du jour around the table at many Twin Ports Christmas dinners. The team flat-out stank defensively at a few times this season, and the resulting struggles kept the MacNaughton Cup
out of Duluth.

Overachiever: Luke Stauffacher once was known only as “Chad’s little brother.” While his elder sibling played for the hometown Badgers (the Stauffachers hail from the Madison suburb of Sun Prairie) and won a WCHA title, Luke spent four years in the USHL. Now he’s playing on national TV, and has a legit shot at the NCAA title.

Secret Weapon: While the Bulldogs can score goals with the best of them, keeping the puck out of their own net can be a challenge, which is where rock-solid blueliner Tim Hambly comes in. Hambly missed the Final Five due to injuries, and saw the Bulldogs give up nine goals in two games. Hambly was back for the Regional, where the Bulldogs gave up one goal in two
games.

Speed: If you see opposing defensemen looking nervous and trying to get rid of the puck quickly, it probably means that Evan Schwabe is lurking in the vicinity. In the Regional final versus Minnesota, Schwabe set the tone picking off a pass and scoring the first goal on a long breakaway. Seeing a white jersey with 15 on the back blurring down the ice was a common sight at the
DECC this season.

Skill: Unlike North Dakota, which repeatedly threw one big line and two lesser lines at the Denver defense, Adam Berkhoel is likely to see wave after wave of
Bulldog offense coming his way. Beyond the usual suspects (Lessard and Schwabe) there are constant scoring threats like Tyler Brosz, Tim Stapleton, T.J. Caig and Jesse Unklesbay to cover.

Grit: In both of their regional games, the Bulldogs were out-shot in the third period while holding a lead. In both cases, Issac Reichmuth’s positioning and a few flashes of his glove were enough to dispel any comeback notions the opponent might have. His size, quickness and perseverance through some struggles have gotten the Bulldogs to Boston.

Most Recent Minnesota Duluth Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
8-J. Williams	15-E. Schwabe	22-J. Lessard	Stapleton has quietly averaged nearly a point per game in his two seasons of college hockey, but he was shut out in the regionals.
25-J. Unklesbay	23-T. Stapleton	19-N. Anderson
11-T. Brosz	16-T.J. Caig	21-L. Stauffacher
27-M. Peluso	20-B. Hammond	29-J. Miskovich
Defense	Defense	Goalies
14-T. Hambly	4-S. Czech	39-I. Reichmuth	Hardwick's sister, Maureen, led the St. Thomas women's team in assists this season with 19.
7-N. Petruic	6-T. Smith	1-J. Johnson
3-J. Hardwick	26-B. Geisler

DENVER PIONEERS | West Regional Champions

Location: Denver, Colo.
Record: 25-12-5 (13-10-5 WCHA, fourth)
Qualified: At-large bid
NCAA Championships: Five (1958, 1960, 1961, 1968, 1969)
NCAA Appearance: 16th (most recent, 2002)
Frozen Four Appearance: 13th (most recent, 1986)
Head Coach: George Gwozdecky
Key Players: Adam Berkhoel, G, Sr. (22-11-4, 2.51 GAA, .917 sv%); Ryan Caldwell, D, Sr. (14-12—26); Gabe Gauthier, F, So. (17-25—42)

What You Need to Know: The Pioneers advanced to its first Frozen Four in 18 years thanks in large part to the play of senior goalie Adam Berkhoel. The possibility of a Denver-North Dakota West Regional final would have never existed had Berkhoel not stopped three point-blank scoring chances in the first period of a 3-2 win over Miami in the opening round.

Berkhoel didn’t do it by himself, of course. Denver’s defensive unit is one of the best in the nation. Senior Ryan Caldwell, sophomore Brett Skinner and freshman Matt Carle are future NHLers and steadily improving junior Matt Laatsch had a breakout weekend in Colorado Springs. Each of the Pioneers’ goals against Miami was scored by a defenseman.

Gamebreaker: If Berkhoel does in Boston what he did in Colorado Springs, the Pioneers are going to be an extremely difficult team to beat. When he’s on top of his game, Berkhoel squares to the shooter, holds his ground, displays good lateral movement and gets back to his feet quickly. His rebound control is also exceptional as evidenced by his play in the West Regional – rare were the opportunities when Miami and North Dakota got second chances. Another perk of getting a strong performance from Berkhoel is that it gives defensemen like Caldwell, Skinner and Carle the freedom to jump into the play on offense with the confidence their goalie can handle an odd-man rush going the other way.

Achilles Heel: Penalties. Only four teams in the nation – Clarkson, Ohio State, Nebraska-Omaha and, ironically, Minnesota Duluth – logged more shorthanded time than the Pioneers did. And while Denver has a respectable penalty kill (12th nationally at 85.7 percent), they’ve had a propensity to get whistled for infractions at inopportune times. Take the Pioneers’ first round game against Miami as an example – Skinner scores six minutes into the third period to give DU a 3-1 lead, and the Pioneers proceed to take three penalties over the game’s last 10 minutes.

Overachiever: Perhaps overachiever is too strong a statement, but Laatsch was impressive in games against Miami and North Dakota in Colorado Springs. For a guy who played in one game as a freshman in 2000-01 and red-shirted the next season, he’s turned into a solid contributor. He’s not a player who does any one thing well, but is more of multifaceted defenseman – an adequate skater and puck-mover with a pretty good shot, Laatsch makes solid decisions and, at 6-3, 200 pounds, has great size.

Secret Weapon: Denver fans should be thrilled with the possibility of having a healthy Connor James – out since March 5 after breaking his leg in the team’s final regular season game against Colorado College – in Boston. Gwozdecky puts his chances of playing in the Frozen Four at better than 50-50. James is the Pioneers’ most gifted playmaker and prior to his injury had just started to regain his goal-scoring touch, picking up four markers in as many games after tallying just two in his previous 15 outings.

Speed: The Pioneers are more fleet of foot than they were a few years ago, but they’re hardly speed merchants. James is the notable exception. In Colorado Springs, the Pioneers didn’t create a ton of scoring chances off the rush. When they did break out in odd-man rushes, it was a result of timely defensive plays in their own end – getting sticks in passing lanes or anticipating their foes’ puck movement.

Skill: There’s skill up front, but the Pioneers’ defensive trio of Caldwell, Carle and Skinner are first-rate. Each has scored more than 25 points this season (Carle has 25 points in 28 games) and they’ve totaled 26 goals as a group. Denver’s blueliners were especially effective against Miami on the power play, moving from the half boards to the center of the ice just inside the blue line – making it harder for the RedHawks’ forwards to challenge shots.

Caldwell, Carle and Skinner are no slouches in their own end, either, as evidenced by a combined plus-minus rating of +43. They’re also solid skaters, especially Carle and Skinner.

Grit: You want grit? Facing senior forwards Greg Keith and Lukas Dora is like getting a root canal without Novocain. Dora, a right wing from Lednice, Czech Republic, is a classic yapper who gets under the skin of Pioneer opponents quicker than a second-rate tattoo artist. It wouldn’t be so bad if Dora didn’t walk the walk – he’s got 33 points in 40 games this season.

Then there’s Keith, who leads Denver with 97 penalty minutes. Rare is the game in which he isn’t sent to the box. In fact, the Delta, B.C., product has taken two or more penalties 12 times this season. He’s also the Pioneers’ top face-off man, winning 12 of 13 draws in the team’s win over North Dakota in Colorado Springs.

Most Recent Denver Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
39-J. Drummond	9-G. Gauthier	25-G. Keith	If James returns to the lineup as expected, he’ll likely be the left wing on a line with Keith at center and Ulanski at right wing.
17-L. Fulghum	14-M. Bull	13-L. Dora
18-T. O'Leary	7-A. Veideman	11-J.D. Corbin
15-J. Foster	6-M. Handza	16-K. Ulanski
Defense	Defense	Goalies
27-M. Laatsch	4-B. Skinner	24-A. Berkhoel	The average size of Denver’s defensive sextet: 6-1½, 197.5 pounds.
12-M. Carle	21-R. Caldwell	28-G. Fisher
20-J. Halme	26-N. Larson