Inside College Hockey | 2004 NCAA Frozen Four

April 10, 2004
NCAA Frozen Four
Notebook: Deja Vu, All Over Again
Berkhoel caps his season in familiar fashion

By Mike Eidelbes, Joe Gladziszewski and Nate Ewell

Photo Gallery

BOSTON – Forgive Adam Berkhoel if he feels like he’s been through this before.

As a member of the now-defunct St. Paul Vulcans of the United State Hockey League in 1999-2000, Berkhoel backstopped a squad that was struggling midway through the season to the junior A national championship by carrying the Vulcans during the second half.

Flash forward to Saturday, where Berkhoel took the net for a Denver team that was having a hard time putting the pieces together midway through the season. The Woodbury, Minn., native got hot down the stretch and, despite a two-game hiccup against Colorado College in the first round of the WCHA playoffs, was a key cog in helping to Pioneers to their sixth NCAA championship, and first in 35 years.

“It’s scary how similar this is,” an exhausted Berkhoel said from his locker room stall after enduring an hour of questions from reporters. “We finished in the middle of the pack and it was the same thing with the Vulcans. To end that way in the last season with the Vulcans was a great feeling, but this is something you can’t even explain.”

Credit the Denver coaching staff – specifically assistants Steve Miller and Seth Appert – for sticking with Berkhoel through the rocky start to his final season in St.Paul. The Pioneers started talking to Berkhoel in early October when interest in him was at its nadir. He made a verbal commitment to Denver prior to the Vulcans’ championship run, and kept his word even though other schools, most notably home-state power house Minnesota, decided to jump into the mix.

“They believed in me,” Berkhoel said. “It was a chance they took on me, and them believing me is the reason I stayed here. With the teams coming in late, I don’t betray people like that.”

Although Denver coaches were high on Berkhoel’s potential, the Pioneers had a prime stopper Wade Dubielewicz. And even though Berkhoel saw a fair amount of time in goal during his first three seasons, it was the incumbent Dubielewicz who played the bulk of the minutes. Berkhoel is quick to point out that watching an All-American ply his craft had its advantages.

“He has made me the person I am,” Berkhoel said. “He led me along and showed me the way. We share a great bond.”

As much as Berkhoel looks his predecessor, his performance in this year’s NCAA Tournament has lifted him above Dubielewicz in the annals of Denver hockey history. It’s a great story. Even Berkhoel knows that.

“I wish we could write a book about all the things we went through that you guys didn’t even know about,” he said.

FAMILIAR SITUATION

From Maine’s perspective, it couldn’t have been all that uncomfortable to find themselves in a game like Saturday’s. A disallowed goal, unfortunate bounces, and a 1-0 deficit were all things that Maine went through before. Eight consecutive one-goal wins gave them confidence that they could, once again, pull it out under adverse circumstances.

But another matter with which Maine is familiar – power-play struggles – proved to be the difference. A disallowed goal in the first period and a failure to capitalize on the 6-on-3 manpower advantage in the game’s final minute led to Maine’s fourth 1-0 defeat of the season.

“We certainly had plenty of opportunities throughout the playoffs. Our power play is probably something that hasn’t come through for us. We’ve seemed to squeak past games not scoring on the power play,” Colin Shields said. “The power play certainly cost us tonight.”

He was one of those players that was out there, frustrated by Denver’s relentless effort at blocking shots and deflecting passes. His shots that did get through slid just wide of the post.

Related Links

Game story
All-Tournament Team

Audio Files
Jeff Sauer on the title game
Denver coach George Gwozdecky
Denver's Adam Berkhoel

STRIPES

CCHA referee Steve Piotrowski and assistant referees John LaDuke and Kevin Langseth were, as usual, in attendance at the NCAA Frozen Four. But the trio, after officiating back-to-back national championship games the last two years, didn’t work in Boston.

NCAA officials wouldn’t comment on the selection process for its officiating crews on Saturday, but Maine’s distaste for Piotrowski dates back years. His overtime penalty call on Maine in 2002 led to a power-play goal by Minnesota, and the year before Piotrowski ejected Shawn Walsh from what would prove to be his final game.

Whether or not Maine played a role in the decision not to go with Piotrowski’s crew is unknown, but it certainly led to speculation.

Despite the disallowed goal in the first period, the Black Bears can’t have any complaints about the work of ECAC referee Tim Kotyra, who got the call instead of Piotrowski. Kotyra whistled 11 penalties on Denver to eight on Maine, including a pair of calls that gave the Black Bears a two-man advantage in the final minutes.

One wonders, the next time Denver makes the national championship game, whether the Pioneers would have veto power over Tim Kotyra getting the assignment.

INCH's Three Stars

3. Connor James, Denver
As great as he was at the Frozen Four, he'll always be remembered for fighting through a painful leg injury and sparking the Pioneers to a national title.

2. Adam Berkhoel, Denver
He blanked the nation's top-ranked team in Colorado Springs two weeks ago to propel the Pioneers to the Frozen Four. He rallied from a shaky start Thursday to guide Denver into Saturday's title game, where he outdueled a goaltender most consider to be the best in the country.

1. Ryan Caldwell, Denver
Kind of looks like another bearded defenseman, former Bowling Green, Olympic and Islander great Ken Morrow. But Caldwell can't wait to shave his playoff beard.

SEEN AND HEARD AT THE VAULT

• George Gwozdecky praised his mentor, Ron Mason, at the press conference, who earlier in the day was honored as the Hobey Baker Award's legend of hockey. Mason returned the compliments to Gwozdecky.

"It's special when a former coach who helped you win goes on and wins himself," said Mason, now the athletic director at Michigan State and a member of the NCAA Committee. "George is a classy guy and certainly I couldn't be happier for him."

Mason, who perfected a defensive style of game in his last several years at Michigan State, liked what he saw from Gwozdecky's approach.

"I think George did an unbelievably superior job," Mason said, "especially defensively in the neutral zone."

• You might be surprised at Denver goaltender Adam Berkhoel's reaction to the Maine goal that was disallowed by video review. "I just think those should be goals," he said.

• Denver senior Connor James got back to the locker room about 40 minutes after the game ended and grabbed his cell phone. "Seventeen new voice mails!" he yelled. Freshman Adrian Veideman one-upped the senior – he had 18.

• Denver sophomore Gabe Gauthier scored the game's only goal, and his stick is headed to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. "I can't even explain how that feels, to know that a piece of me is going to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame," Gauthier said. "This is just a beautiful moment."

• Eastern-based writers that didn’t cover the Denver Pioneers during the regular season were overwhelmed by the humor, levity, and all-around loose atmosphere around the team. It started with the first practice and press conference of the week on Wednesday afternoon and continued all the way through the victory celebration.

Coach George Gwozdecky emphasized to his team that they should keep things loose and referenced a previous team he had coached that didn’t have success at the Frozen Four because they were uptight.

• A trio of INCH writers ran into the family of Denver senior forward Connor James while making their way from the North Station train platform to the Fleet Center for the championship game. When told that her son has been a hit with members of the assembled media in Boston, James’s mom, Mary Ellen, laughed and said, “He said [the media attention] was like The Show.”

• A handful of college hockey media took the hard hat tour of the future home of Boston University hockey Saturday afternoon. Agganis Arena is scheduled to open the first week of January 2005 for a series with Minnesota. Upon completion, the $225 million project will feature 6,300 seats for hockey, 1,400 underground parking spaces, a 90’ x 200’ ice sheet, six full locker rooms and a massive strength training facility. Perhaps most poignant is a 12-seat suite in the rink that has been paid for by Terrier hockey alumni and named for Mark Bavis, the former Terrier killed aboard one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. One prominent Northeastern alum on the tour was so impressed by the facility that he bought season tickets on the spot.

• With the Fleet Center simultaneous hosting the Frozen Four and a Stanley Cup playoff series, the last four days have been back-breakers for the arena’s employees. But they’re apparently not the only ones under an inordinate amount of stress this weekend. When a member of the media asked an arena security guard how he’s held up this week, he replied, “I hope the ice holds up.”

Someone who knows the Fleet Center ice well is current Bruin Mike Knuble, a member of Michigan’s 1996 championship team. “It’s always a problem,” Knuble said, “but as long as it stays cool outside, it’ll be OK.”

• What do you do when your team is playing in its first national championship game in 35 years, you’re three-quarters of a country away from home and you need a costume to help get the crowd going for the title match? Three Denver fans took advantage of one local hotel’s liberal linen policy by stripping their beds and fashioning togas from them.

PLUSSES AND MINUSES

In order to maintain neutrality, the pre-game scene at NCAA Tournament events is usually pretty vanilla. But the light show and and accompanying video shown on the Fleet Center Jumbotron prior to tonight’s face-off sent shivers down the spine.

To our new friends at Our House East in Boston for the hospitality they showed to college hockey fans throughout the weekend. When the Frozen Four returns to the Hub of Hockey, we hope they’ll be kind enough to welcome us back.

INCH’s Hockey East writer, Nate Ewell, appeared as a guest on Saturday’s New England Hockey Journal Radio Show, carried by 1510 AM “The Zone” in Boston. The highlight was the reaction of Boston Globe Bruins’ beat writer and show co-host Kevin Paul Dupont when informed of INCH’s slogan, “Just trying to capture the spirit of the thing.” Said Dupont, “I’ve been trying to do that for 30 years.”

Minnesota Duluth fans had hoped to be rooting for the Bulldogs Saturday night, but unlike supporters of other recent Frozen Four competitors (a certain maize and blue-clad group comes to mind) the UMD didn’t vacate Beantown after Thursday’s loss to Denver. It’s a good thing, too – this tournament was better thanks to their enthusiasm and fun-loving nature.

The NCAA deviated from standard policy in the first period when it took a television timeout during a power play.

For an organization that likes to emphasize the word "student" in its student athletes, the NCAA's grammar on the jumbotron messages had us reaching for our correction pens. When referring to a team as Denver, the correct pronoun is "its", not "their."

Seeing hockey players, with bulky pads on, given championship t-shirts on the ice seems fairly ridiculous. Just because it works for basketball doesn't mean it's a great idea here.

WHAT'S NEXT

The 2004-05 college hockey season starts in 177 days. Between the Stanley Cup playoffs, June’s NHL Entry Draft, recruiting news, coaching changes and defections to the pro ranks and the effect the on-going NHL labor situation will have on the college game, we’ll have plenty to talk about. Stay tuned.