Inside College Hockey | 2003 Frozen Four: Championship Notebook

April 12, 2003
NCAA Frozen Four
Championship Notebook: The Waibel Factor

By Mike Eidelbes

NCAA Tournament Coverage

Championship Recap
Championship Notebook
The Awesome Austrian
Everybody Loves Umile

BUFFALO – Perhaps it's fitting that in the Year of the Team at the NCAA Tournament, one of the most effective trios for either team in Saturday's championship game was the Minnesota's fourth line of Garrett Smaagaard, Jake Fleming and Jon Waibel.

Waibel, a junior from Baudette, Minn., was particularily impressive against New Hampshire. He scored the Gophers' third goal Saturday, had a +2 plus-minus rating for the night and was a key component of his team's penalty-killing unit.

"Our motto is 'just go out and bang,'" Waibel said of his line. "We're not the most skilled guys and we're not going to dangle anybody, but if we work hard and play hard, hopefully it will spark our team."

Junior forward Jon Waibel

A fan favorite at Mariucci Arena, Waibel and his linemates played their roles to perfection Saturday. Defenseman Matt DeMarchi gave the Gophers a 1-0 lead in the first period thanks to Smaagaard's screen of UNH goaltender Mike Ayers. Waibel, meanwhile, was a high-energy presence in both ends and had numerous scoring chances. He's also been scored some clutch goals for his team during the playoffs.

"Jon Waibel was the second-leading goal scorer on the U.S. Under-18 team when he came here," said junior forward Grant Potulny. "He scored against Colorado College in the WCHA Final Five to seal the deal and he seals the deal here. Jon has scored some unbelievable goals for us."

That being said, Potulny says Waibel's work ethic and attitude may be more important than the goals he scores.

"That kid just plays so darn hard in their end and our end and he takes so much pride in playing the game the right way," Potulny said. "He's a calming effect on the bench. People are freaking out...coach (Don Lucia) is freaking out and Waibel will turn around and tell him to relax. Jon is here to win games and that's the bottom line."

MARTZ MADNESS

INCH's Three Stars

3. Nathan Martz, UNH
Three assists in two Frozen Four games, including his cross-ice beauty to set up Collins' goal Saturday.

2. Travis Weber, Minnesota
Saved the Gophers in the first period of Thursday's semifinal vs. Michigan and never looked back.

1. Thomas Vanek, Minnesota
His game-winning goal in the third period Saturday was not NHL-caliber, it was Playstation II caliber.

Despite being outplayed by Minnesota for the bulk of the first period, New Hampshire went into the locker room at the first intermission with the momentum after forward Sean Collins scored a power-play goal to tie the game at 1-1 with less than 20 seconds left before the break.

The play was set up by Nathan Martz, who made a pinpoint pass to Collins across the low slot. The feed caught Minnesota goalie Travis Weber off guard, allowing Collins to shoot into a virtual empty net despite a shallow angle.

"(Kevin) Truelson who made a good play at the point to keep the puck in the zone," Martz said of the play. "He got his shot blocked and it ended up that (Justin) Aikins got it and he saw me at the side of the net. Before I got the pass, I looked over...and saw Collins wide open. It was a nice play by Aikins to get it to me and nice play by Collins to get it into the net."

Martz, who along with Steve Saviano represented the Wildcats on the all-tournament team, had three assists in two games in Buffalo for coach Dick Umile's standout second line. In fact, the unit of Martz, Collins and Saviano accounted for all but one of UNH's goals and four of the team's six assists at the Frozen Four. The impressive showing was little consolation for Martz, however.

"It's too bad we couldn't finish on all our opportunites," the junior from Chilliwack, B.C., said. "The game would've been a lot closer but that's just the breaks, I guess. That's hockey."

AYERS WITH AN ATTITUDE

When New Hampshire called time out with 6:26 remaining and Minnesota holding a 4-1 lead, goaltender Mike Ayers delivered a fiery address to his teammates.

"I just didn't want us to give up," Ayers said. "After Vanek scored, I thought we were a little timid. With the heart that we have on this team, I didn't want us to give up."

Ayers was fantastic until Vanek scored that second Minnesota goal 8:14 into the third. He stopped 29 shots through two periods, and when he got a little help from the Barry Tallackson shot that his the post late in the second, there was a sense that the best goaltender Minnesota had faced all year might be enough to lift UNH to a title.

GRITTY, GUTTY GOPHERS

The Morris, The Merrier

While the Division I ranks lost two members this season, the ranks will grow by one in two seasons.

Multiple sources confirmed that Robert Morris will add hockey for 2004-05. Rumors regarding the school – a private university of about 4,800 students located in suburban Pittsburgh – starting a program have been swirling for months. Robert Morris currently offers 17 NCAA sports, all with NCAA Division I affiliation except for football, which competes at the I-AA level. The Colonials are members of the Northeast Conference.

Fairfield and Iona both played the final games in their respective school histories last month. Both schools were members of the MAAC.

Obviously, the Minnesota players were jubilant in the locker room following the championship game win, but more than one Gopher expressed an overwhelming feeling of pride about being part of a team that went from battling for home ice in the first round of WCHA playoffs to winning a second national title.

"If you told me that we were going to be the last people standing at the end of the year before Christmas, I would've said, 'You know what? You might be smoking something funny,'" proclaimed freshman defenseman Chris Harrington. "We came so far this year as a team. We were just a bunch of individuals at the beginning of the year.

Junior Grant Potulny said the team adopted the motto "Shock the World" midway through the season. The slogan served as a rallying point for the Gophers over the second half of the year.

"I've never been prouder to be on a team than I have been this year," the Minnesota captain said.

"Everyone thought they were going to be a superstar this year," Harrington explained. "Everyone from last year is gone and it's my turn to step up and that's not how it was going to work this year. We had to figure it out for ourselves."

CROSSING JORDAN

In attendance at Saturday's game was Jordan Leopold, captain of last year's Minnesota championship team. The 2002 Hobey Baker Award winner, who now plays for the Calgary Flames, said he was happy to get the chance to watch the Gophers defend their title but, if he had his druthers, would rather have been wearing the maroon and gold.

"I think it's a lot easier playing the game and more nerve-wracking sitting up here because I know I could go out there and help them out," Leopold said during the first intermission. "It's definitely fun for me up here, but also I have some butterflies in my stomach. It's a great opportunity to watch these guys, but I'm going to hopefully carry the butterflies for them."

Leopold, who scored four goals and added 10 assists for the Flames in his rookie season, was named Saturday to the U.S. Men's National Team that will represent the country at the 2003 IIHF World Championship in Finland April 26-May 11.

SEEN AND HEARD AT HSBC ARENA

• New Hampshire leading scorer Lanny Gare, who was so nervous during the semifinal game that he watched on television in the locker room, joined the Wildcat fans in section 108 tonight.

• For the second straight season, CCHA referee Steve Piotrowski worked the championship game. Piotrowski, fans may recall, called a penalty on Maine's Michael Schutte in the overtime period of last season's title game. Minnesota's Grant Potulny scored the game-winning goal on the ensuing power play. Black Bear fans questioned a no-call moments after Schutte was sent to the box when goaltender Adam Hauser elbowed a Maine player as he pursued a Gopher defenseman, but the NCAA apparently approved of Piotrowski's work.

• When asked about New Hampshire's goal, Dr. Robert Bruininks, president of the University of Minnesota system, sounded like the combination hockey fan and academic that he is.

"It was bound to happen," said Bruininks. "New Hampshire kept working the perimeter with their power play and got the box to collapse, which left the middle wide open."

Bruininks, who oversees the U of M's five campuses (Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, Morris and Crookston) is more than just a casual observer of the game. His sons, Brian and Brett, played collegiate hockey at Colorado College and Notre Dame, respectively.

Earlier this season, when asked if future U of M plans include a new on-campus rink at Minnesota-Duluth, Bruininks replied, "That's not a front-burner item. Although I've got no love for the DECC. My son Brian broke his ankle in a game there when he played for CC."

• New Hampshire fans watching Saturday afternoon's Stanley Cup playoff game between Detroit and Anaheim must've sensed a bit of Wildcat karma after seeing 1999 Hobey Baker Award winner Jason Krog score a pretty third-period goal to draw the Mighty Ducks even with the Red Wings at 2-2. Anaheim's Steve Thomas would record the game-winner minutes later to propel the Ducks to a 3-2 win and a 2-0 lead in the first-round, best-of-seven series.

• Among the throng of Gopher fans participating Saturday's pre-game parade from Chippewa Street to the rink was John Harrington, father of freshman defenseman Chris Harrington and a forward on the 1980 U.S. Olympic team that won the gold medal at Lake Placid. Slightly ironic, then, to see the fan walking right behind the elder Harrington in the procession wearing a Soviet Union jersey with "CCCP" emblazoned across the front.

• Chris Harrington said his dad was a little emotional following the Minnesota win.

"My dad's crying in the stands," the gregarious defenseman laughed. "I've seen him cry maybe three times."

• Speaking of gold-medal winning Olympians, Karyn Bye – a rare person with ties to both schools participating in the final – was in the crowd. Bye, part of the U.S. team that placed first at the Nagano Games in 1998, played college hockey at New Hampshire and last year hosted the Gopher hockey pre-game show on Fox Sports Net North.

• Former Minnesota coach Doug Woog, whose failure to win the big one is well chronicled, to a reporter in the Gopher locker room after the game: "It's amazing...Don makes it look so easy."

• We spotted the oddly entertaining sight of Jim Hunt and Jim Hunt chatting at the restaurant in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency before the game. No, we weren't still seeing double from the night before – one was Jim Hunt, the former Fairfield coach, and the other was Jim Hunt, the Michigan radio color commentator. Like the Wisconsin band playing the Bud Song or Goldy spinning his head, we probably get more enjoyment out of moments like this than we should. But they are less frequent than they used to be when Hunt the coach worked in Ann Arbor for the U.S. Under-18 Team.

PLUSSES AND MINUSES

To the New Hampshire fan who lauched a fish that landed at the feet of Minnesota goaltender Travis Weber following Sean Collins' goal, keeping a long-standing Wildcat tradition intact.

To the city of Buffalo, for embracing the Frozen Four and making teams, media and fans feel welcome in an unfamiliar city. We've got a feeling we'll be back for future visits.

To Minnesota forward Garrett Smaagard. He had an assist on the Gophers' first goal and did a good job of screening UNH goaltender Michael Ayers on the play, but his ill-advised penalty late in the first period led to Sean Collins' power-play goal and negated a superior first-period effort by his team.

To the video board operators at HSBC Arena. They've been running the finishes of past Frozen Four overtime games on the Sony Jumbotron between periods of the Frozen Four games, but their decision to show the end of the 1999 title match – a Maine win over New Hampshire – was unfortunate. Thankfully, the clip was aborted prematurely after about 20 seconds.

WHAT'S NEXT

Minnesota will take time to enjoy its second straight NCAA title, but thoughts of a three-peat were already fresh in the players' minds. Goaltender Travis Weber said he heard some of his teammates mention the notion during the on-ice celebration, but apparently the talk started before the final buzzer sounded.

"I think I heard it with two minutes left in the game," Vanek said.

Nate Ewell and Jess Myers also contributed to this notebook.