Inside College Hockey | 2005 Frozen Four Semifinal Preview

April 4, 2005
NCAA Frozen Four

NORTH DAKOTA
vs.
MINNESOTA

Thurs., April 7 • 7 p.m. ET
ESPN2
Team Capsules | Semifinal 1 Preview | A Coach's Take

	Overall	Conference	Home	Away	Neutral
N. Dakota	24-14-5	13-12-3	12-6-2	8-7-3	4-1-0
Minn.	28-14-1	17-10-1	16-6-1	10-6-0	2-2-0

	Goals/Gm.	GA/Gm.	PP Pct.	PK Pct.	PIM/Gm.
N. Dakota	3.05 (25th)	2.26 (8th)	.190 (17th)	.868 (8th)	17.9 (24th)
Minn.	3.56 (5th)	2.44 (14th)	.202 (11th)	.836 (25th)	17.1 (33rd)

North Dakota: East Region second seed
North Dakota 4, Boston University 0
North Dakota 6, Boston College 3

Minnesota: West Region first seed
Minnesota 1, Maine 0 ot
Minnesota 2, Cornell 1 ot

This is a different breed of Gopher and Sioux forwards. For the first time since 1975-76, there were no Minnesota or North Dakota forwards on the All-WCHA first or second teams. These teams rely on their depth, and while the skill is still there, their individuals aren't the Parise or Vanek types that can take over a game. Minnesota's Danny Irmen and Ryan Potulny are probably the closest things to that type of gamebreaker in this matchup, and they were especially dominant early in the season. They haven't had as much of an impact in the new year. Getting leading scorer Tyler Hirsch back in the lineup would help them, both by taking some pressure off and adding another skilled forward, especially on the power play. The Sioux are young up front, but big and strong, and simply overpowered BU and BC in the East Regional. The trio of sophomore Drew Stafford and freshmen Rastislav Spirko and Travis Zajac lacks experience, but is probably the best bet to get a goal when North Dakota needs one. But with balance being the key, the Rory McMahon-Colby Genoway-Chris Porter line is right there with the youngsters.

This is the one on-ice matchup where you'll find a decided edge entering the game, as the Sioux boast a strong, experienced group of defensemen that hasn't missed a beat despite the loss of Robbie Bina to a neck injury in the WCHA Final Five. Minnesota, meanwhile, has battled injuries to Nate Hagemo and Alex Goligoski in the second half of the year, two of the three freshmen that play regularly for the Gophers. It's a very talented group, but lacks the experience of the Sioux defensemen. North Dakota's biggest strength on the blue line – size – also is a distinct advantage over Minnesota's defensemen, although the Gophers have some superior puck movers in Goligoski, Hagemo and Chris Harrington.

Playoff success can come down to goaltending, and in that regard, these goalies have a sense of timing that's equal to their ability to cut down shooters' angles. Both were the MVP of their NCAA Regionals. Minnesota's Kellen Briggs has been streaky, and Gopher fans hope the West Regional marked the beginning of a hot streak. He allowed one goal in the two games, winning both in overtime. North Dakota's Jordan Parise has been on an extended run, meanwhile, unbeaten in 11 straight including a 4-2 win over Briggs and Minnesota in the WCHA Final Five, and has he has yielded only four goals in four career NCAA Tournament starts. He's a goalie who seems larger than the 5-foot-11, 190 pounds he's listed at, maintaining his size especially well in unsettled situations around his crease.

Neither team has an overpowering power play, with Minnesota holding a slight edge on the season, but clicking at just 16.2 percent in its last 11 games. The Gophers would get a boost with the man advantage if Tyler Hirsch can return to the lineup. The Fighting Sioux have had tremendous penalty killing lately (21 straight kills), and should really benefit here from playing on the NHL-sized ice. They've allowed five power-play goals in three games against the Gophers, but four of those PPGs came back in October, when opportunities were more prevalent and the Gopher power play was really clicking. North Dakota's power play, meanwhile, has been excellent of late, scoring in six straight games (8-for-32, 25.0 percent in thta time). They rely on the strength of their freshmen up front (Travis Zajac, 8, and Rastislav Spirko, 7, are 1-2 on the team in PPGs) and the puck movement of Nick Fuher and Colby Genoway on the points.

Don Lucia makes the fifth Frozen Four appearance of his career and shoots for a third title with the Gophers, while the Sioux's Dave Hakstol wraps up his first season as a head coach. North Dakota's recent surge seems to have gotten Hakstol out of Dean Blais' long shadow, and here he ends up coaching in Blais' new home city (the former Sioux coach is now an assistant with the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets). He deserves a lot of credit for the focus his team has shown in the past six weeks. March and April success under Lucia, meanwhile, is no surprise. He's shown a consistent ability to get his teams to peak at the right time.

WHY NORTH DAKOTA WINS: North Dakota came out of the regionals with the two most impressive wins of the four teams that advanced – not just because of the scores, but because of the way they dictated the games' tempo. If they can do the same against Minnesota, slowing the Gophers down and using their strength at both ends of the rink, Sioux fans could be celebrating another title appearance in their first Frozen Four since 2001.

WHY MINNESOTA WINS: The Gophers battled through two elite goaltenders to win low-scoring overtime games in the West Regional. They'll need that same determination and perseverance against a Sioux team that figures to limit scoring opportunities against Jordan Parise, who has been as good as any goalie in the nation the past six weeks. Maintaining possession in the offensive zone, as they did in 38- and 39-shot efforts in the regionals, will not only keep pressure on Parise, but also keep the puck away from the big and strong Sioux forwards.