Gophers down play losses leading up to West Regional

By Pioneer staff reports

March 23, 2006 at 11:00 PM

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) -- Heading into the NCAA West Regional here, Minnesota is confident that last weekend was just "a little bump in the road."

The Gophers (27-8-5) went into last weekend's Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Five on a 20-1-1 roll. But they fell 8-7 to St. Cloud State in the semifinals, then lost 4-0 to Wisconsin, the first game all season where they scored fewer than two goals.

But one bad weekend doesn't mean losing faith in their abilities, Coach Don Lucia and scoring leader Ryan Potulny said.

"The season is long and you're going to have ups and downs," Lucia said.

The weekend was also just a blemish on an otherwise excellent season for goalie Kellen Briggs, Lucia said.

Ahead for Minnesota, the West's top seed, is Holy Cross (26-9-2), which qualified for the 16-team NCAA Division tournament by winning the Atlantic Hockey Tournament title. The Crusaders have met only one of the other 15 teams in the tournament, falling 6-1 to Nebraska-Omaha, another fourth seed.

Last weekend's results should prevent overconfidence when meeting the Crusaders, Potulny said.

"That little bump in the road may help us a bit," Potulny said.

Holy Cross Coach Paul Pearl said consistency has been the key for his team.

"The sign of our team is being able to compete each game," he said. "We didn't blow anybody out throughout the season, but we did win a lot of games. It's a senior-led group."

Pearl said his Crusaders won't be as skilled as the Gophers.

"We're not an overpowering offensive team, but we're pretty good defensively and we score when we need to," Pearl said.

Friday's other semifinal matches the two teams with the most national championships. Michigan has nine and North Dakota has seven. Tradition is just one similarity, Michigan Coach Red Berenson said.

"We both have young, talented players who play the same upbeat, offensive game," Berenson said. "We both also pride ourselves on playing a two-way game. We've both been around a long time, with a great tradition, great players and great rivalry."

The Wolverines (21-14-5), who finished third in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular season and playoffs, have qualified for the NCAA tournament for a record 16 straight years. But his team is not as strong as most, Berenson said.

"We have good kids, but they're still a little young and have been off-and-on the last month," he said. "I've had a lot of dominant goalies before, but I can't say that's the case this year."

Leading scorer Drew Stafford (23-21-44) returns to the lineup for North Dakota (27-15-1) after missing four games with a knee injury. Coach Dave Hakstol wouldn't say if Stafford is 100 percent.

"He's in the lineup," Hakstol said. "He wouldn't be in the lineup if he wasn't ready to play. I don't know if anyone on the ice is 100 percent at this time of the year."

Hakstol said his biggest concern is the explosiveness of the Wolverines, whose 3.7 goals per game rank third in the country. T.J. Hensick, Kevin Porter and Brandon Kaleniecki each have 17 goals to lead the offense.

"The one thing that stands out is their speed," Hakstol said. "They're very dangerous with their transition game. But it's not just speed. They're a complete hockey team."

The championship game, which will advance the winner to the Frozen Four, is Saturday. NORTHEAST REGIONAL

At DCU Center, Worcester, Mass.

Friday, March 24

Boston University (25-9-4) vs. Nebraska-Omaha (20-14-6), 3 p.m.

Miami (Ohio) (26-8-4) vs. Boston College (23-12-3), 6 p.m.

Championship

Saturday, March 25

Semifinal winners, 5 p.m.

EAST REGIONAL

At Pepsi Arena, Albany, N.Y.

Saturday, March 25

Michigan State (24-11-8) vs. New Hampshire (20-12-7), 11 a.m.