The evidence is clear after Thursday's Frozen Four semi-final games at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
A couple of hockey clichés
may not be clichés after all.
Let's start with the matinee curtain raiser between Minnesota-Duluth and Notre Dame. Special teams were the difference as the Bulldogs edged the Irish 4-3 to advance to Saturday's championship tilt and a chance for the school's first-ever National Championship.
UMD scored three power play goals on 6 opportunities, continuing the stellar special teams play that began with 5 power play goals at the East Regional.
Notre Dame, on the other hand, shot blanks on their man-advantage opportunities. No, that's not right -- the Irish simply didn't shoot, held to two measly shots on goal on their five power plays.
The only spot on UMD's special teams play was Calle Ridderwall's short-handed marker at 2:05 of the third. The Irish owned the final period, outshooting the Bulldogs 15-2, but goalie Kenny Reiter shut the door - proving cliché #2.
Goaltending was the key to game two last night as Michigan's Shawn Hunwick stymied top-seed North Dakota, backstopping the Wolverines' 2-0 shutout upset. The loss was the Fighting Sioux's first since January 28.
Hunwick, all 5-7 and 160 pounds of him, came into his senior season as the #3 goalie on Red Berenson's depth chart. After playing in just a dozen games in his first three years in Ann Arbor, Hunwick went 22-8-4 this past season and saved his best for last night.
The Sioux outshot the Wolverines 40-20 (26-7 in the final two periods) and Michigan defenders blocked more than a dozen more UND shots. Talk about being committed to defense.
It's safe to say that a Minnesota-Duluth - Michigan final is about as unexpected as Butler - U-Conn. I think that it's also safe to say that tomorrow's final game will be a whole lot more entertaining than Monday's stinker in Houston.
Since UMD has both clichés covered in this post-season, it says here that the Bulldogs will win their first-ever championship with a 4-2 victory over Big Blue.
A couple of hockey clichés
Special teams are vital
and
Goaltending will win championships
Let's start with the matinee curtain raiser between Minnesota-Duluth and Notre Dame. Special teams were the difference as the Bulldogs edged the Irish 4-3 to advance to Saturday's championship tilt and a chance for the school's first-ever National Championship.
UMD scored three power play goals on 6 opportunities, continuing the stellar special teams play that began with 5 power play goals at the East Regional.
Notre Dame, on the other hand, shot blanks on their man-advantage opportunities. No, that's not right -- the Irish simply didn't shoot, held to two measly shots on goal on their five power plays.
The only spot on UMD's special teams play was Calle Ridderwall's short-handed marker at 2:05 of the third. The Irish owned the final period, outshooting the Bulldogs 15-2, but goalie Kenny Reiter shut the door - proving cliché #2.
Goaltending was the key to game two last night as Michigan's Shawn Hunwick stymied top-seed North Dakota, backstopping the Wolverines' 2-0 shutout upset. The loss was the Fighting Sioux's first since January 28.
Hunwick, all 5-7 and 160 pounds of him, came into his senior season as the #3 goalie on Red Berenson's depth chart. After playing in just a dozen games in his first three years in Ann Arbor, Hunwick went 22-8-4 this past season and saved his best for last night.
The Sioux outshot the Wolverines 40-20 (26-7 in the final two periods) and Michigan defenders blocked more than a dozen more UND shots. Talk about being committed to defense.
It's safe to say that a Minnesota-Duluth - Michigan final is about as unexpected as Butler - U-Conn. I think that it's also safe to say that tomorrow's final game will be a whole lot more entertaining than Monday's stinker in Houston.
Since UMD has both clichés covered in this post-season, it says here that the Bulldogs will win their first-ever championship with a 4-2 victory over Big Blue.
I'm going to disagree and here's why. Watching Michigan play last night, they completely neutralized the power play of North Dakota giving up a total of 5 shots and forcing the Sioux to stay in their own end for the majority of each power play opportunity. Duluth hasn't scored much when not on the power play in this tournament, and if that can be neutralized the way the Sioux were neutralized, the Bulldogs are in BIG trouble. Killing penalties is just as important, if not more so, to special teams play than is capitalizing.
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