North Dakota boarded its team bus in Bemidji on Nov. 20, following a 1-0 loss to the Beavers, carrying the weight of a tie for 10th in the WCHA standings and the burden of a 4-7-1 overall record with it on its trip home to Grand Forks. Ahead of them lie a date with Colorado College the following weekend.

Thoughts of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament was the least of their worries at that point. They were faced with all they could handle just earning an invitation to the dance in a few months.

But beginning with a couple of shootout wins over the Tigers at home (7-6, 4-3) a few days later, UND embarked on a 21-5-2 (.821) run leading them to where they are now: A No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament playing relatively close to home in a building in which the Sioux have won eight straight games.

It might be considered remarkable if accomplished anywhere else but, like any good pool hustler, North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol knows just when to play his best shots.

In Hakstol’s eight years guiding the Sioux his teams are 80-57-12 (.577) before Christmas and 131-57-12 (.711) after the break. The rate only picks up in March where North Dakota has won 15 in a row over the past two seasons and is 22-2 (.917) in its last 24 March games.

The knock on Hakstol, and unfairly so, has been that he has yet to cash in on that success for the elusive first national title he still seeks. The numbers don’t lie; Dave Hakstol is an elite coach no matter how many titles he wins.

A lot of great teams with outstanding coaches have left the Frozen Four empty-handed but it doesn’t make them any less great. Hakstol’s time will come and that monkey on his back may be looking for a ride elsewhere as soon as next month.

Proximity of participating teams to the X will make the West a lively regional 

North Dakota fans would travel to watch their team play on the dark side of the moon if it was hosting a regional UND was to play in, plus the Xcel Energy Center is in Minnesota’s backyard. Fans from both UND and Minnesota made the atmosphere in Friday’s Final Five semifinal game so electric and, though the arena likely won’t fill up as much as it did this past weekend, having the Sioux and Gophers in the same building will help.

There’s a chance attendance at the regional will double the 2010 turnout when the X last hosted the West Region. The host Gophers didn’t qualify for the field of 16 and UND went out east. Wisconsin was the biggest draw, followed by St. Cloud State’s contingent. Vermont and Northern Michigan brought a minimal amount of fans and high ticket prices kept the casual hockey fan away.

The two-session total attendance that weekend was an ugly 14,463. Not predicting a sellout, but UND and Minnesota assure attendance will be much better this weekend.

One loss makes a difference

Denver was playing for the Final Five championship Saturday, and a shot at a No. 1 seed in the regional tournaments. The Pioneers’ loss to North Dakota dropped them to No. 11 overall in the PairWise Rankings and landed them a No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region.

A win Saturday night could’ve landed Denver a top spot, but the question, then, would be where to send the Pioneers. Denver’s fans aren’t well-represented anywhere outside of Colorado and would have to fly to any regional site.

The Pioneers last earned a top bid in 2010 when they drew the East Region in Albany, N.Y. and lost in the first round.

No. 9  Denver (24-12-4) vs. No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth (24-8-6)

Tyler: UMD is going to reverse its fortune from last season’s early exit in the Final Five. Denver has let a lot of games go down to the wire lately against team’s they should put away and that’s not going to work today. UMD wins.

Brian:  Michigan Tech made the Pioneers earn everything they got in Denver’s 3-2 overtime win over the Huskies yesterday afternoon. Denver can’t afford to succumb to long periods of dominance against the Bulldogs the way they did for much of the third period against MTU in the quarterfinals. Then again, periods of dominance for UMD have been few and far between in recent weeks. Ultimately, however, I do believe Minnesota-Duluth will find a way to do enough to advance to Saturday’s St. Patty’s Day final.

No. 12 North Dakota (23-12-3) vs. No. 4 Minnesota (26-12-1)

Tyler: No matter what team you cheer for, this one’s worth tuning in. UND has claimed the Xcel Energy Center as its territory the past two seasons but the building is going to be packed and it’s going to be loud with fans of both sides, as it always is when these teams get together. The Gophers are 3-1 against UND this year and the difference is that Minnesota finally matches UND’s physical intensity in the rivalry. The Sioux is going for its seventh straight Final Five win going back to the 2010 play-in game, but I think Minnesota pulls it out in its return to the Final Five.

Brian: North Dakota’s 4-1 win over St. Cloud State last night was far from a thing of beauty, but it was the grind-it-out sort of game the Sioux will need to repeat if they want to beat Minnesota. Although UND’s top line of Brock Nelson (2), Danny Kristo (1), and Corban Knight (1) combined for all of the goal scoring against SCSU, the stingy Gopher defense has thus far held the trio to a total of four points (3-1—4) in winning three of four this season from the Sioux. Meanwhile, Minnesota’s top line of Nick Bjugstad, Kyle Rau, and Zach Budish have combined for 14 points (7-7—14) in the same four games. Although taking four of five in the same season is a tall order, I’m giving the Gophers the slight edge here.

St. Cloud State (17-16-5, 12-12-4 WCHA) vs. No. 9 Denver (23-12-4, 16-8-4 WCHA)

Tyler: Mike Lee’s past against UND, which includes zero wins in six starts, is going to rattle him Thursday. He never had a shot against UND this year (out with injury in four games vs. UND) and he’s red hot since he returned 10 games ago. But it’s so hard to pick against UND in the Final Five. UND is 7-2 after the WCHA first round since 2010. This team isn’t as strong or deep as the last two UND playoff teams but if the 2010 championship game was any indication of what the crowd will be like Thursday night, expect a lot of loud fans dressed in green. This game is do-or-die for the Huskies, who likely need to win the Final Five to get a regional bid, and they will bring the intensity but I always love UND’s odds this time of year. UND wins.

Brian: Both teams come in having identical 7-2-1 records in their last 10 games but North Dakota did it against competition with a higher overall winning percentage (.531) than St. Cloud’s (.481). Furthermore, UND is 5-1 when playing SCSU at the Final Five with the Huskies’ last win over UND in St. Paul being a 6-5 overtime win over the Sioux in the 2001 title game. Although Huskies G Mike Lee is 1-5-0 against North Dakota, he hasn’t faced them this season and is enjoying a good run since his return with goals against average of 1.68 and a save percentage of .945 in his last six starts. As Tyler indicated, though, betting against North Dakota this time of year is risky. Lee stands on his head but the Sioux prevail in a nail-biter.

Michigan Tech (16-18-4, 11-13-4 WCHA) at No. 12 North Dakota (22-12-3, 16-11-1 WCHA)

Tyler: Denver had trouble breaking Wisconsin’s thick defense in the first round last weekend, scoring six goals in three games. That’s the way the Badgers slowed down Minnesota a week earlier. Michigan Tech is similar to the Badgers in terms of their defensive style and can slow the Pioneers down, as the Huskies did earlier in the season when they held Denver to four goals in two games. Michigan Tech wins a low-scoring game.

Brian: Denver is making its fifth consecutive, and 11th overall, appearance at the Final Five and will be meeting Michigan Tech in the tournament for the first time. Overall in the postseason, however, the Pioneers are 14-3-1 when facing the Huskies. Michigan Tech, on the other hand, visits St. Paul for the first time since 2007, and the fifth time overall, bringing with it a 3-5 record in Final Five games. I hate to come off as a front-runner but I think Denver’s advantages in overall skill and experience in what DU coach George Gwozdecky referred to Tuesday as “a spectacle” and a “a Mardis Gras” of college hockey leads me to pick the Pioneers in this one.

Watch any hockey game and they are not difficult to identify. At times it seems they are constantly on the ice dazzling us with feats of skill and creativity which sets them apart from the rest.

You hear their names called out over the P.A. system with far greater frequency than most and, long after their teammates have departed for the dressing room, they can be seen on the bench honoring yet another media request.

Of course we’re referring to the team’s star player whose name can be found prominently listed in the box scores, stat sheets, game recaps, and feature articles far more often than many of his teammates. The reason for this is simple; they are very good at what they do and, rightly so, are revered for it.

But there is more to hockey than scoring a highlight-reel goal, making a game-saving stop, burying a blast from the point or threading a pass through traffic to set up a teammate for a back-door tap-in.

There are shots to be blocked, battles to be won along the wall on both ends, trailers to be picked up, and, in many cases, crucial goals to be scored. Obviously, elite players contribute in these areas too, but there are others who thrive upon performing these tasks on a shift-by-shift basis.

But you must watch carefully to see it because the P.A. announcer isn’t going to tip you off to it.

With the WCHA’s season officially concluding this weekend in St. Paul, we thought it might be a good time to honor some of the league’s unsung heroes whose impact upon their respective teams was, for the most part, more subtle but no less critical to whatever degree of success his team achieved.

It’s a list featuring two full five-man units (with a slight liberty taken) and two goalies containing a little bit of everything from grinders to scorers, captains to practice players, and shut-down defensemen to a part-time defenseman. But they all have one thing in common; their teams were made better by their presence.

With that said, we proudly present to you USCHO’s 2011-12 All-WCHA Unsung Team.

F – Michael Mersch, so. (Wisconsin) Finished second on his team with 14 goals and added 16 assists, but is lauded by teammates for raising havoc in front of the net and his work along the boards and in the corners.

F – Brent Gwidt, jr. (Nebraska-Omaha) Nebraska-Omaha’s alternate captain more than doubled his previous career highs from the past two seasons combined with six goals and 15 points in all 38 games for the Mavericks in 2011-12. A left wing who has also played out of position at center due to UNO personnel shortages, Gwidt’s disciplined play has resulted in just four penalty minutes.

F – Nick Dineen, sr. (Colorado College)  Dineen was a unanimous choice to serve as captain of the Tigers this season. While the wow factor of his overall numbers is low, Dineen’s four game-winning goals tied him for the team lead and his willingness to sacrifice his body to block shots and do what’s necessary in the “dirty areas” of the ice has earned him the utmost respect from his entire team.

F – Jake Hendrickson, jr. (Minnesota-Duluth)  Hendrickson does the little things which, although crucial to a team’s success, rarely show up on the scoresheet. There are no shifts off for Hendrickson who, as anchor of UMD’s top defensive pairing, is consistently matched up with the opponent’s top line and spends a substantial amount of his minutes on the penalty-kill unit.

“Jake’s line is most effective in controlling the puck and being responsible on defense. That line has accepted its role and provides energy. It’s a good sign we’re getting contributions from everyone and if you had to name an unsung hero for this season, it would be Jake.” UMD Head coach Scott Sandelin.

F – Ben Hanowski, jr. (St. Cloud State)   Despite more than doubling his previous career high of 20 points with a team-leading 22 goals and 42 points this season, St. Cloud State’s junior captain was left behind when WCHA hardware was handed out last week. Hanowski plays in all situations and scored four game-winning goals for the Huskies. He was a mainstay in terms of presence and performance throughout SCSU’s brutal midseason stretch of injury and defection. His 12 points (7-5–12) led the Huskies to a 7-2-1 record in their last 10 games which earned St. Cloud State its berth in in the Final Five.

F – Ben Kinne, jr, (Bemidji State)  Kinne sat out what would have been his entire junior season as a precaution after suffering a stroke on July 23, 2010 during offseason workouts near his St. Paul home. Kinne returned as a redshirt junior captain for the Beavers and didn’t miss a step. His 22 total points are just two fewer than he had two years ago and 30 percent of his 10 goals this season were game winners.

D – Jake Parenteau, so. (Minnesota)  Players may not come more unsung than Jake Parenteau who has been whistled for just one minor penalty this season and is a plus 11 playing alongside defensive partner Nate Schmidt. Parenteau scored just one goal this season (the first of his career) but it could not have come at a better time. His overtime winner at Nebraska-Omaha on Feb. 24 could have meant the difference between sole or shared possession of the MacNaughton Cup.

D – Andrew MacWilliam, jr. (North Dakota)  Arguably the most physical defenseman in the WCHA and a fearless shot blocker, MacWilliam is as reliable as they come in his own zone. While his stats won’t necessarily impress you (six points), his ability to quickly move the puck out of the defensive zone relative to his offensive production just might surprise you.

D – Joe Schiller, sr. (Minnesota State)  The Minnesota-State assistant captain’s versatility has had him play both forward and defense throughout his career in Mankato. Although he has only played four games on the blue line this season (all prior to Christmas), for the purpose of positional balance in this list he is listed at defense. A three-time WCHA All-Academic and three-time WCHA Scholar-Athlete recipient whose GPA is nearly 4.0, Schiller enjoyed a breakout season in setting career highs for assists (15) and points (18) after beginning his senior season with just 13 career points.

D – Bradley Stebner, so. (Michigan Tech)  Recorded just a single point last year as a freshman but came back as a sophomore to multiply that by 10 (3-7–10). More importantly, however, Stebner led the Huskies in plus/minus both overall (plus 12) and in conference play (plus 15) by wide margins over David Johnstone, who finished second on both counts at plus seven and plus six respectively.

G – Dusan Sidor, sr. (Alaska-Anchorage) A marketing major with a 3.87 grade-point average, Sidor started only two games in his career and dressed for just two more in his four years. Praised by coach Dave Shyiak for his team-first mentality, the Seawolves honored Sidor with his first and only start of his collegiate career on home ice on Saturday, March 3 for Senior Night. Sidor made 23 saves in a loss to Bemidji State.

“Dusan’s work ethic is unmatched both off season and on the ice during regular season. He works hard every day so he will be ready if called upon.” UAA goalie coach Scott Johnson.

G – Juho Olkinuora, fr. (Denver)  Not even expected to be on Denver’s roster this season, Olkinuora was a late addition to the Pioneers due to the injury of Sam Brittain. At various times served as a backup, split duties with both Adam Murray and Brittain, and served as DU’s starter in goal when Murray went down with an injury. Olkinuora finished the regular season with an 8-6-3 record, a 2.14 GAA and. 926 Sv% (both second in WCHA). The rookie finished his regular season with a March 2 shut out of Nebraska-Omaha on 26 saves.

It wasn’t until the clock neared midnight (ET) Sunday when Michigan Tech found out it will play Denver Thursday afternoon and North Dakota learned it will play St. Cloud State in primetime when Luke Salazar’s wrap-around goal in overtime sent the Pioneers to St. Paul for the Final Five.

After a typically dramatic weekend of WCHA playoff hockey, here are your Final Five matchups:

Michigan Tech and Denver will square off in Thursday’s 2 p.m. quarterfinal with the winner to play Minnesota-Duluth in Friday’s 2 p.m. semifinal.

St. Cloud State and North Dakota meet in the Thursday evening semifinal at 7 p.m. with the winner advancing to face Minnesota in Friday’s second semifinal at 7 p.m.

If Wisconsin would’ve won, it would’ve played UND Thursday afternoon with SCSU and Michigan Tech playing the nightcap.

Lower seeds unwilling to go down quietly, if at all

After nearly five months and 168 games to determine this past weekend’s first round playoff “favorites”, the WCHA’s bottom six inevitably neglected to read the memo outlining the way things were supposed to play out. When the dust settled, the field for this week’s Final Five was set but not without some tension-filled moments for the league’s top seeds.

No.12-seeded Alaska-Anchorage gave top-seeded Minnesota all it could handle in falling 2-1 on Friday and  surged to a 3-1 lead midway through Saturday’s game before the Gophers stormed back to win 7-3 behind Erik Haula’s four-point night (2-2–4). Turnabout is fair play for the Gophers who were swept by the Seawolves at Mariucci Arena to open last season’s conference playoffs.

11th-seeded Minnesota State essentially lost a pair of one-goal games in Duluth as No. 2-seeded UMD’s 4-2 margin in the series opener was aided by Wade Bergman’s empty netter. The Mavericks then took the Bulldogs to overtime on Saturday before dropping a 3-2 heartbreaker to UMD on Mike Seidel’s goal at 4:07 of the second extra session.

As Shane Frederick of the Mankato Free Press points out, this is the third straight season Minnesota State has been eliminated in overtime and seven of MSU’s last 12 playoff games have gone to OT with the Mavs  going 2-5 in those contests. On the other hand, Kevin Pates of the Duluth News-Tribune will tell you that prior to last night, UMD had been taken to a game 3 in four of the last five first-round playoff series it had hosted since 1998.

No.10-seeded Wisconsin and third-seeded Denver combined for one goal through the first five periods of their series with the lone tally being Sean Little’s third-period game winner for the Badgers on Friday. The Pioneers ultimately won Saturday’s third period 3-1 but only after Nick Shore’s goal into an empty net with 56 seconds to play sealed it for DU and extend the series to a deciding third game. The Badgers and Pioneers traded goals on Sunday and UW led 2-1 heading into the third period. But Nick Shore’s power-play goal for Denver at 2:o1 of the third period eventually sent the game to overtime where Luke Salazar won it for the Pioneers just 1:40 into the extra session.

After topping ninth-seeded Bemidji State 4-1 on Friday, No.4-seeded North Dakota led by the same score after Dillon Simpson’s goal five minutes into the Saturday’s third period. But the Sioux had to withstand a furious BSU rally—led by Jamie McQueen’s two goals 17 seconds apart with less than four minutes to play— to hang on for a 4-3 win.

In St. Cloud, the No.6-seeded Huskies won handily on Friday by a 4-0 score over seventh-seeded Nebraska-Omaha but the teams were tied 1-1 heading into the third on Saturday. But St. Cloud State’s Ben Hanowski’s goal with 43 seconds left and Travis Novak’s empty-net goal with one tick remaining on the clock gave SCSU a 3-1 win.

Which brings us to …

Colorado anything but rocky for Michigan Tech in postseason play

With consecutive 3-1 and 4-3 (in overtime) wins over No.5-seeded Colorado College, eighth-seeded Michigan Tech is heading to the Final Five for the first time since 2007 when the Huskies, ironically, took two of three from the Tigers on the road.

With only two seasons of data, and just one postseason remaining to add to it, considering MTU’s elimination of CC a WCHA trend after UAA won last season’s five vs. eight matchup over Minnesota is a stretch. What could be considered trendy, however, is the fact that the Huskies are 0-28 in regular season games at CC’s World Arena but have won four of five postseason games in the Tigers’ lair.

WCHA Coach of the Year Mel Pearson might have made his best coaching move yet in keeping his team in Colorado for the week rather than returning to Houghton after the Huskies were swept by the Tigers (5-2, 2-0) to close out the regular season. As a contributing factor to MTU’s first playoff advancement in five years, a week of acclimation to the altitude and Olympic-sized rink should not be underrated.

Future MTU opponents should beware that it would be wise to take the Huskies out in regulation as Michigan Tech is undefeated (4-0-4) in eight overtime games this season.

SCSU’s Lee has to be solid for the Huskies to make a run…

… and lately, he’s resembled a brick wall between the pipes. It was uncertain whether or not St. Cloud State junior goaltender, Mike Lee, would be able to help the Huskies make a playoff run when he had to undergo hip surgery back in October. Lee recovered ahead of schedule and made his return to the crease Jan. 27 at Minnesota.

Goaltending is often the cornerstone of successful team in the postseason and Lee is playing solid enough right now to give SCSU the chance to win three games at the Final Five and get a No. 4 seed in the national tournament.

In the 10 games since he returned, Lee has stopped 306 of 323 shots (.947 save percentage) and has allowed just 1.70 goals per game in that stretch. He gave up one goal on 60 shots this weekend against Nebraska-Omaha.

He’ll face North Dakota, Thursday, a team he’s struggled against throughout his career with an .878 save percentage through seven games. Lee hasn’t faced UND this season.

The postseason begins this weekend with six series making up the WCHA’s first round of playoff competition. By Sunday, half of these teams will be out of the conference playoffs and while a couple of those may still be able to squeeze into the NCAA’s they’ll need to rely on the success and/or failure of others to get there. Here’s how we see this weekend shaking out:

Nebraska-Omaha (14-16-6, 11-12-5 WCHA) at St. Cloud State (15-16-5, 12-12-4 WCHA)

Tyler:  The Huskies come into this one flying, going 5-2-1 in the last four weeks. The Mavericks have stumbled down the stretch, going 2-5-1 in that same time, including five losses in the last two weeks. Plan on two more this weekend. Though UNO has clearly had SCSU’s number since joining the WCHA last season and the Huskies haven’t beaten the Mavericks in that time, SCSU’s momentum will take over this weekend. UNO used its power play to take three points against the Huskies in October, going 2-for-3 over the weekend, but the Mavericks’ PP has gone ice cold in the past five weeks (0-for-17). The Huskies penalty kill was stumbling in October, but has held opponents to three PP goals in the past 20 opportunities. SCSU in three.

Brian:  Although these are a couple of teams traveling in vastly different directions in the last month there are a couple of things to consider. St. Cloud State’s 6-5-3 conference home record matches Nebraska-Omaha’s 6-5-3 road record in the conference. UNO has gone 5-4-1 in its last 10 games on the road while SCSU is in identical 5-4-1 in its past 10 at the National Hockey Center. I think the Huskies prevail but it takes three to do it.

Wisconsin (16-16-2, 11-15-2 WCHA) at No. 9 Denver (21-11-4, 16-8-4 WCHA) 

Tyler: The Badgers have shown the past two weeks they can win on the road and I think they will win this weekend. The last two weeks included a sweep at Bemidji State, a 4-1 win at Minnesota Friday and a 2-1 loss Saturday when the Badgers held the Gophers scoreless through two periods. The Wisconsin goaltending is hot right now, allowing nine goals the past five games (A 5-2 win over Denver started that stretch). Joel Rumpel started the past three games for the Badgers and has allowed five goals in those three games. My upset pick: Wisconsin in three.

Brian:  The youthful Badgers have seemingly figured out how to compete and win on the road having won three of their final four games away from the Kohl Center. In addition, Wisconsin has won 12 of its last 13 postseason games against Denver, including a 9-1 mark in its last 10 WCHA playoff matchups. But I think there’s too much firepower and too much Sam Brittain for this Badgers team to contend with at this time. Denver is playing well lately and wins in three.

Bemidji State (17-16-3, 11-14-3 WCHA) at No. 12 North Dakota (20-12-3, 16-11-1 WCHA)

Tyler:   UND was in the dumps with a 4-7-1 after a 1-0 loss on a Sunday afternoon at BSU when UND couldn’t figure out how to score goals. Then, it put a seven spot on Colorado College five days later and is back to playing North Dakota hockey, burning through its WCHA schedule down the stretch. Dan Bakala has been shaky the past month and UND’s top line is licking its chops but the key is to get secondary scoring from its second and third lines. UND sweep

Brian: In hosting a WCHA first-round playoff series for the 10th consecutive season, the Sioux will be facing a team in Bemidji State with a winning overall record for the first time since the genesis of the streak in 2002-03 when UND beat Denver. But BSU is 2-22-1 all-time against North Dakota including 1-14-1 in Grand Forks. Hakstol’s teams are 14-3 in WCHA opening round playoff games and have yet to lose a series. The tea leaves say UND in two and I’m inclined to agree.

Minnesota State (12-22-2, 8-18-2 WCHA) at No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth (22-8-6, 16-7-5 WCHA)

Tyler:  UMD has dominated MSU lately, holding an 11-1-2 edge in the past 14 meetings and the Mavericks haven’t won in Duluth since David Backes’ last season (2005-06) with the Mavericks. MSU will be much improved team next season if their young talent stays put and the recruits coming in can be as effective as some have said, but for now, the Bulldogs move on, and with ease. UMD sweep

Brian: Minnesota State has had to overcome a multitude of injuries and its own inexperience this season and while no one can deny the improvement they’ve demonstrated since those early-season woes, I think it is too much to ask of them to knock out the Bulldogs on home ice. I’m rolling with a UMD sweep.

Michigan Tech (14-18-4, 11-13-4 WCHA) at No. 18 Colorado College (18-14-2, 15-12-1 WCHA)

Tyler:   Josh Thorimbert’s performance against Michigan Tech last week will be hard to top since the Huskies put 62 shots on him and only scored twice. The Tigers can’t lean on Thorimbert again. They need to get more shots to the net and the D needs to limit Tech’s chances.  CC in three.

Brian: The enigma that is the CC Tigers has been a tough egg to crack. Will they dazzle you with firepower as they have been apt to do? Or will they be the punchless bunch that averaged 2.00 goals per game in their first 12 games after the break. After being swept by Colorado College last weekend, MTU remained in Colorado Springs and will have a week’s worth of elevation and rink size acclimation behind them. Eighth-seeded UAA took out fifth-seeded Minnesota last season and I think the same happens here although in one more game. Tech in three.

Alaska-Anchorage (9-23-2, 5-22-1 WCHA) at No. 5 Minnesota (24-12-1, 20-8-0 WCHA)

Tyler:   The Gophers are bigger, faster and a lot more skill and it’s too much for the Seawolves to keep up. Minnesota gets its revenge for last season’s first-round loss to UAA.

Brian: Minnesota has a lot to prove after last season’s playoff debacle which sent the Seawolves to the Final Five. But that was a five vs. eight matchup while this is a one against 12 and the Gophers are so much better defensively this season. I think Minnesota sweeps this series handily.

Here’s a sampling of what interested us from this past weekend’s action and results.

SCSU’s extra attacker: cell phone

It occurred to St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko before Saturday’s game against Minnesota-Duluth that whatever happened in Omaha directly affected the Huskies, and that the timing between the games would be critical. So, Motzko made sure to find a way to know the situation in Omaha as it would happen.

SCSU entered the evening tied with Nebraska-Omaha at 27 points, needing to earn at least one more point than UNO to get home ice for the first round of the WCHA Playoffs. UNO had the tiebreaker after the Mavericks defeated and tied SCSU in November.

It looked as though UNO had the sixth and final home playoff spot locked up before Denver tied the Mavericks with 38 seconds left in the first period. Meanwhile, in St. Cloud, the Huskies were headed for overtime tied 3-3 with UMD.

Motzko had his graduate assistants on the phone with the UNO press box in the hallway behind the SCSU bench, receiving live updates from the UNO-Denver game and relaying them out to the bench.

Almost four minutes had gone by in overtime in St. Cloud and the Huskies failed to score the game-winner and hundreds of miles to the south, UNO was keeping pace with SCSU, tied at two apiece with half of overtime gone by.

Motzko called a timeout with 1:10 left and considered pulling goaltender Mike Lee to get an extra attacker on the ice to put more pressure on the UMD defense to try for the crucial two points, assuming UNO would tie.

Then, Denver scored the winner in overtime to freeze UNO at 27 points and all SCSU had to do was play back and hang on for the tie, but with the clock dipping below one minute left in OT, the Huskies’ top line was still gunning for a goal and the defensemen were pinching to keep the puck deep in the UMD zone.

When, word of UNO’s loss reached the SCSU bench, players and coaches erupted and yelled for the Huskies to retreat and play conservative. SCSU held on for the tie, finished with 28 points, leapfrogging UNO (27 points) and Michigan Tech (26) in the same weekend.

The Mavericks go to the National Hockey Center for the series opener Friday. Cell phones shouldn’t be a factor.

Momentum in Wisconsin’s favor heading into postseason. UNO? Not so much.

When Nebraska-Omaha ended Minnesota-Duluth’s 17 game unbeaten streak with a 3-1 win over the defending national champs on Jan. 14, it had all the makings of a signature win to spark the Mavericks to a strong finish over the season’s final six weeks.

Who could have known it would be the last time fans at CenturyLink Center would witness a UNO victory?

After beating the Bulldogs, Nebraska-Omaha went 3-7-2 in its final 12 games including an 0-5-1 home record. On Feb. 24 the Mavericks were the WCHA’s lone team to have their four remaining games at home, in a three-way tie for fourth place and were in control of their postseason home-ice destiny.

UNO lost all four and ended the season with 27 points, one behind St. Cloud State who will now host the Mavericks next weekend. Granted, those losses were at the hands of top-seeded Minnesota and third-seeded Denver with two of them coming in overtime. But with Nebraska-Omaha holding the tie-breaker advantage over SCSU, just one point in those games would have meant a reversal of travel plans for each team.

Mavericks coach Dean Blais’ post-game comments following Denver’s 3-2 overtime win over UNO on Saturday didn’t exactly inspire a lot of hope for the Mavs in the postseason.

“It’s going to be tough to even regroup and get our stuff together for the playoffs,” Blais told USCHO’s Matthew Semisch. “But it’s a new season and we’re going to have to go beat a very good team two of out three.”

Wisconsin, on the other hand, last skated on home ice on Feb. 18 after beating Denver 5-2 with the prospect of hitting the road for the rest of the season with 1-8-1 record away from the Kohl Center.

The Badgers probably played their best hockey all year, home or away, in winning three of four to close out the season. Unfortunately for the Badgers, their 2-1 loss to Minnesota on Saturday night coupled with Bemidji State’s win over Alaska-Anchorage a few hours later, left Wisconsin right where it started when the 3-1 road trip began: in 10th place and a date with the Pioneers in Denver awaiting it.

If the Badgers had even salvaged a tie on Saturday to tie BSU, the tie-breaker was in Wisconsin’s favor meaning the Badgers would have traveled to face North Dakota in Grand Forks instead of Denver.

But Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves’ focus was solely on the way his team won four of its last five to close out the season in strong fashion and offered no preference as to UW’s first-round opponent.

“This is the way we need to play no matter where we go,” said Eaves.

Congrats to the MacNaughton Cup Champs

From the season’s onset, Minnesota entered every weekend with at least a share of first place in the WCHA. That’s pretty impressive for a team picked to finish sixth in both the coaches and media preseason polls.

We had slightly more confidence in the Gophers heading into the season but not much as we had them picked to finish fourth (Brian) or fifth (Tyler) back in early October. Despite the lack of faith, Minnesota went on to win its first MacNaughton Cup since 2006-07 with a dramatic third-period comeback over Wisconsin.

Gopher defenseman Nate Schmidt scored the cup-winning goal just before the eight minute mark of the third period and it was no easy feat. After diving at the blue line to keep the puck in the Wisconsin zone, Schmidt rose to his feet, stepped around Ryan Little’s shot block attempt, and let go of a slap shot through traffic which Badgers goalie Joel Rumpel may have never seen.

Schmidt, who elected to not touch the cup, superstitiously deferring that opportunity to the Gopher seniors, offered his account of the play.

“I was in the right place and just kind of kept (the puck) in,” said Schmidt. “I went up to take the big hammer and the guy kind of slid down and I just pulled it around him. I saw we had a couple guys in front and I just thought, ‘Get the puck to the net and hopefully hit it.’

“It was all good things from there.”

Tough to argue with that from a Minnesota perspective.

No. 9 Denver (19-11-4, 14-8-4 WCHA) at Nebraska-Omaha (14-14-6, 11-10-5 WCHA)

Tyler:  Denver’s stars are getting hot at the right time as Jason Zucker, Luke Salazar and Nick Shore are all on five-game point streaks and Zucker has goals in all five of those games. Nebraska-Omaha’s defense has been questionable and wildly inconsistent with UNO utilizing multiple goalies all season. Ryan Massa seemed to emerge as the Mavericks go-to goalie but hasn’t gotten the goal support. UNO will earn a split playing in its own building.

Brian:  After taking three of four points from UNO in a series earlier this season in Denver, the Pioneers are 9-3-1 all time against Nebraska-Omaha but just 2-3 on the road against the Mavericks. After suffering its first sweep at home last weekend at the hands of Minnesota, UNO is a mediocre 5-5-2 at CenturyLink Center which matches DU’s road record. With the split I’m predicting, Denver will earn its first road win of the year against a team currently sitting above eighth in the league standings.

No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth (22-7-5, 16-6-4 WCHA) at St. Cloud State (14-16-4, 11-12-3 WCHA)

Tyler: The Huskies outscored the Bulldogs 11-5 in a season series last season and UMD had to sweat out nine periods before it advanced past SCSU in last year’s playoffs. Evidently, the Huskies match up well with the Bulldogs despite being classified by most as an overwhelming underdog this weekend. SCSU has sent nearly every loss down to the wire since Christmas but the lack of depth has hurt the Huskies. UMD, with its depth and talent, will get at least a split this weekend, but it won’t be easy.

Brian:  The Bulldogs are by far the WCHA’s best road team at 7-2-3 (.708) while the Huskies are a very average 5-5-2 at home this year. SCSU has played UMD tough of late going 4-4-2 in its last 10 meetings with the Bulldogs including 2-2-1 in the last five. But with a five game unbeaten streak under its belt, Minnesota-Duluth appears to have regained a bit if its swagger in time for another potentially long postseason run. UMD sweep.

Bemidji State (15-16-3, 9-14-3 WCHA) at Alaska-Anchorage (9-21-2, 5-20-1 WCHA)

Tyler: The Beavers offense has been dreadful in four straight losses over the past two weeks and the BSU defense/Dan Bakala has been off in that time. This is a good turnaround series for the Beavers, but neither team has the consistency to complete a sweep. Split

Brian: The Beavers are 2-8-2 on the road this year but the Seawolves have only earned four of their 11 WCHA points at home this season. UAA has yet to sweep a team anywhere this season but has been swept eight times (four of them at home). BSU hasn’t won two straight on the road, much less sweep anyone away from the Sanford Center, so I don’t see either team winning twice. Split.

Wisconsin (15-15-2, 10-14-2 WCHA) at No. 4t Minnesota (23-11-1, 19-7-0 WCHA)

Tyler:  The Badgers snapped out of a dreadful road funk with its first road sweep of the season last weekend at Bemidji State. Minnesota will be a slightly tougher challenge. The Gophers should get a couple guys back from injury this weekend in Nick Larson and Ben Marshall and Don Lucia seemed optimistic Nick Bjugstad will play this weekend after getting injured last week in Omaha. Gophers sweep.

Brian: As impressive as Wisconsin’s sweep at Bemidji last weekend was, it speaks volumes when two wins can nearly double your road winning percentage (.150 to .292). This weekend the Badgers face a much tougher team in Minnesota with a much better home record (9-5-0, .643) in a far more challenging venue in Mariucci Arena. UW freshman goalie Joel Rumpel will need to be up to the challenge if Wisconsin is to avoid the Minnesota sweep I’m predicting.

Michigan Tech (14-16-4, 11-11-4 WCHA) at No. 19 Colorado College (16-14-2, 13-12-1 WCHA)

Tyler: Go back to Jan. 21 and you’ll find that Colorado College has scored more than three goals in a game just once in 10 games. I think the Tigers offense gets back on track this weekend against the Huskies and a streaky Josh Robinson in goal. But Robinson could just as well be on and as long as Tech takes advantage of a CC defense with many holes lately, it can find success this weekend. Split

Brian: With a 4-8-2 record since the first of the year including a 2-5-1 mark in February and five losses in its last seven league games (1-5-1), Colorado College is fortunate to still be playing for first round home ice in the WCHA playoffs. The Tigers have swept three series this season, all at home, but all have been over teams below the Huskies in the current standings. Michigan Tech, meanwhile, has won just four conference road games this season (4-6-2) but half have come against the WCHA’s top two teams, Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth. The stage is set for a split.

Minnesota State (12-20-2, 8-16-2 WCHA) at No. 14 North Dakota (18-12-3, 14-11-1 WCHA)

Tyler: Any possibilities of Colorado College and/or Nebraska-Omaha pulling ahead of UND will be dashed this weekend. Although no team is safe from complacency, UND should easily take care of the Mavericks this weekend. MSU hasn’t won in Grand Forks since the 2006 playoffs. UND sweep

Brian: With Dave Hakstol behind the bench it goes without saying that UND is playing well at this time of year. Perennially strong in the second half, the Sioux are 14-5 in their last 21 games dating back to Thanksgiving. Although the Mavericks are a solid 7-5-1 in their last 13 games, North Dakota has won seven straight over Minnesota State and is 16-1-1 in its last 18 games against MSU. Considering the time of year, these are games the Fighting Sioux just don’t lose. UND sweep.

In their infinite wisdom, executives at the ‘Worldwide Leader in Football and Basketball’ took time away from kneeling at the altar of Roger Goodell and discussion of the undying virtue of the routine slam dunk to make the decision to chip away at the foundation of the final vestiges of hockey programming on its family of networks.

After years of carrying the Frozen Four semifinals on ESPN2 and the title game on ESPN, ‘the deuce’ will now be home to college hockey’s  season swan song and one of the semifinals while the first semifinal has been relegated to the never-popular ESPNU.

While it’s true that those of us most passionate about college hockey are an easily offended and defensive lot when it comes to the game we love, it is a difficult pill to swallow when our sport’s … ahem … one shining moment (sorry, it just slipped out) is devalued by a network whose criteria for a ‘top play’ is the NBA equivalent of an empty-net goal.

Outside of the prestige factor, little, if anything, will be lost in moving the championship game from ESPN to ESPN2 as each network is available in 99 million of the country’s households. The kick in the gut comes in the regionals and semifinals when 27 million fewer households will have access to the games due to ESPNU’s availability in just 72 million homes nationwide.

Would you be surprised to learn mine isn’t one of them?

What’s more is that 72 million figure is three million less than what NBC Sports Network is capable of reaching this Friday night when it carries Denver at Nebraska-Omaha in a regular season game.

Thankfully, ESPN’s contract with the NCAA to carry its championship contests in 24 sports only runs through the end of the 2023-24 school year, so what’s another 12 years? Am I right?

Of course not.

It’s still a ways off but when/if NBC Sports Network (75 million homes) and/or CBS Sports Network (44 million) sufficiently narrows the ESPN availability gap, one can only hope that the NCAA comes to its senses and negotiates with the Boneheads of Bristol to buy out the men’s hockey portion of the deal for its perceived value to the network.

I’m thinking a shiny, crisp bill with a George Washington headshot ought to do the trick.

Gophers up by a nose over Bulldogs entering season’s final stretch

When Minnesota stunned defending national champ Minnesota-Duluth in mid-October by sweeping the Bulldogs in Duluth to open conference play, the Gophers grabbed an early share of first place in the WCHA. With the exception of one week in January in which the teams were tied, Minnesota has looked over its shoulder ever since to find UMD hot on its tail in the race for the MacNaughton Cup.

After sweeps this past weekend for each team (Minnesota on the road over Nebraska-Omaha and UMD at home over Colorado College) the Gophers maintain a two-point lead over the Bulldogs with two games to play. That sweep in the only meetings between the two schools gives Minnesota, hosts to Wisconsin this weekend, the only tiebreaker advantage it needs meaning UMD must out-point the Gophers by three or more in their final two games this weekend on the road against St. Cloud State.

Although UMD is unbeaten in its last five games (4-0-1) it will be a tall order considering that even if the Bulldogs pull off a road sweep over an SCSU team which still has an outside shot at playoff home ice, the Gophers, winners of four in a row, would need to take just two of four points from a Badger team which, despite sweeping Bemidji State in Bemidji last weekend, has nonetheless struggled on the road this season.

As potential playoff matchups come into focus, battle for home ice remains unsettled

Although Minnesota and UMD are battling for the top spot in the standings, plenty of drama remains for the middle of the conference pack.

Denver locked up a top-four finish and North Dakota will finish in the top 6 given everything that happened this weekend. That leaves two spots for home ice advantage. Colorado College and Nebraska-Omaha are tied with 27 points, Michigan Tech has 26 and St. Cloud State is still mathematically in the mix with 25 points.

One series this weekend will have a lot of influence on who stays home for the first round of the WCHA Playoffs and which teams hit the road. Tech heads to CC and whichever team comes out on top will take home ice.

Actually, CC can clinch home ice with just one win. Three points for Tech this weekend clinches home ice for Huskies. If UNO lays an egg this weekend against Denver, the Mavericks could be spending March 9-11 in Houghton or Colorado Springs. If UNO earns a minimum two points, the Mavericks get home ice.

There’s a good chance this is going to come down to tiebreakers. CC has the tiebreaker over UNO by second criteria (more WCHA wins) of which the Tigers have two more. UNO took three of four points against Tech a couple weeks ago, giving the Mavericks the tiebreaker edge by first criteria.

So what about SCSU? It’s a long shot, but for SCSU to get home ice, it needs a) to sweep UMD and Denver to take three or more points at UNO because either CC or Tech is locked in for at least 29 points and UNO owns the tiebreaker over SCSU … or b) to take three points against UMD, Denver to sweep UNO and CC to take two points against Tech. The second scenario leaves SCSU in a sixth-place tie with Tech for 28 points and SCSU owns the tiebreaker by second criteria (WCHA wins).

Of course, these are just possibilities, some more far-fetched than others and it’s also possible the scenarios will play out without all the confusion … then again, this weekend wouldn’t be the same if we didn’t have to scratch our heads.

Badgers triple road win total in Bemidji and shuffle lower third of standings

With its four-point weekend in Bemidji, Wisconsin raised its road record to 3-8-1 on the season. If timing is indeed everything, as the old adage goes, Wisconsin would like nothing more than to prove the notion correct as the Badgers remain in the road the next two weekends; at Minnesota and on the road to open the WCHA playoffs.

In becoming the first team to sweep the Beavers at home this season, UW broke its 11th-place tie with idle Minnesota State and vaulted past BSU into sole possession of ninth place with an outside shot at climbing as high as eighth. The two losses up Bemidji State’s losing streak to four following an impressive 17-game stretch (11-4-2) earlier this season.