April 12, 2003
NCAA Championship Game
Double Vision

NCAA Tournament Coverage

Brackets | Info Championship Recap Championship Notebook The Awesome Austrian Everybody Loves Umile Other Stories --------------------------------- Friday Notes Minn.-Mich. Recap Minn.-Mich. Notes UNH-Cornell Recap UNH-Cornell Notes Michigan's Andy Burnes Minnesota's C. Harrington Cornell's Sam Paolini UNH's Patrick Foley --------------------------------- Midwest Reg. Final East Regional Final Northeast Regional Final West Regional Final Midwest Reg. First Round East Regional First Round Northeast Reg. First Rd. West Reg. First Round --------------------------------- East Reg. Capsules Northeast Reg. Capsules Midwest Reg. Capsules West Reg. Capsules East Reg. Preview Northeast Reg. Preview Midwest Reg. Preview West Reg. Preview

By Joe Gladziszewski

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Minnesota head coach Don Lucia didn't expect to win the national championship this year. He admitted to that fact after a four-goal outburst in the third period gave the Golden Gophers a 5-1 win over New Hampshire in the NCAA Frozen Four Championship game in Buffalo.

Lucia's doubts arose as a result of losing big-name talent. There were regular-season losses to New Hampshire and Colorado College. At one point it looked as if the Gophers might not even have a home-ice playoff series. The last six weeks of the season saw the Gophers become the best team in the country.

Minnesota 5, New Hampshire 1
Team	Goal	Str
Time	Assists
First Period
1-MN	Matt DeMarchi (8)	EV
10:58	G. Smaagaard
1-NH	Sean Collins (22)	PP
19:41	N. Martz, J. Aikins
Second Period
No Scoring
Third Period
2-MN	Thomas Vanek (31)	EV
8:14	M. Koalska
3-MN	Jon Waibel (9)	EV
11:25	T. Vanek
4-MN	Barry Tallackson (8)	PP
13:34	G. Guyer, C. Harrington
5-MN	Barry Tallackson (8)	EN
18:31	G. Potulny
Goaltending
NH: Mike Ayers, 59:28, 40 saves, 4 GA
MN: Travis Weber, 60:00, 26 saves, 1 GA
Penalties: NH 6/12; MN 6/12
Power Plays: NH 1-5; MN 1-5
Attendance: 18,759
All-Tournament Team
G - Travis Weber, Minnesota D - Paul Martin, Minnesota D - Matt DeMarchi, Minnesota F - Thomas Vanek, Minnesota (MVP) F - Steve Saviano, New Hampshire F - Nathan Martz, New Hampshire

Last year's Minnesota team took full advantage of a group of tremendous skill players and senior leadership. The departures of the likes of Jordan Leopold, John Pohl, and Adam Hauser left a huge void in the Gopher lineup. When Jeff Taffe signed with the Phoenix Coyotes over the summer, Lucia saw it as an ominous sign.

It took a long time for the players to convince the coaching staff that the possibility existed for a repeat championship, but in the end, there was the right mix of talent, grit, and fortune on the side of the Gophers.

"We did it a different way this year. We didn't do it with superstars. We just had a team that grew, a young team," Lucia said. "That was key, how this team grew."

If this crown was unexpected, next year's title is Minnesota's to lose. Defenseman Matt DeMarchi is the team's only senior who dressed for Saturday's win and scored the first goal of the game, a point shot with traffic in front provided by Jake Fleming.

New Hampshire answered back with a goal in the final minute of the first period. It was a power-play marker by Sean Collins after a specatacular one-touch pass from Nathan Martz stationed on the left post.

Things turned in favor of the Wildcats in the second period and Gopher goalie Travis Weber, maligned all week, made three great saves to keep the game tied. Barry Tallackson had a short-handed breakaway in the closing seconds of the period but his wrister rang off the right post.

The eventual winning goal was a highlight-reel effort by Thomas Vanek. He carried the puck from the left wing circle and waited with poise. UNH goalie Mike Ayers dove to his left side and committed to the eventual shot, but it never came. He was out of the play and Vanek had a yawning goal mouth in front of himself and put the Gophers in front for good with 11:46 remaining in the game.

"Michael Ayers just played phenomenal the whole game. He's so tough to beat on a (regular) shot. He comes out and plays the angle well. We talked about lateral movement I was just patient tried to fake the shot a few times and go around him," Vanek said.

Minutes later, Minnesota killed a penalty to Jon Waibel, who came out of the box and scored on an assist from Vanek, with Fleming again providing the traffic in front. Barry Tallackson's power-play goal with 6:26 left more or less sealed the deal. He added an empty-netter.

The 2002 overtime win against Maine ended a 23-year drought at one of hockey's elite program, and it didn't take long for the thoughts to turn to next year's chances. Vanek said he first heard the possibility of a third consecutive title on the bench in the game's closing minutes.

"The Dynasty Begins" was the hand-written sign held by a young Gopher fan and captured on television at HSBC Arena, and in 52 weeks in Boston, we'll see if the dynasty continues.