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NCAA Hockey Tournament 2011: Minnesota-Duluth Defeats Michigan In Overtime, 3-2

Minnesota-Duluth captures its first NCAA championship.

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16 Total Updates since March 19, 2011
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Minnesota-Duluth Hockey Wins The 2011 Frozen Four In Overtime, 3-2

Making their first NCAA Hockey Tournament championship game appearance since 1984, the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs won their first NCAA Hockey championship when they defeated the Michigan Wolverines in overtime, 3-2. Kyle Schmidt had the game-winner for the Bulldogs at 3:22 into the overtime period. Here is Schmidt celebrating the goal:

Kschmidt_medium

via @bubbaprog

This was hard-fought game for both teams. Michigan held a 1-0 lead after the first period on a Ben Winnett goal, but Minnesota-Duluth battled back with two goals in the first 10 minutes of the second period (Travis Oleksuk, Max Tardy (power play)). Michigan's Jeff Rohrkemper, however, tied the game at two with little more than two minutes left in the period. That period also saw eight penalties between the two teams.

After a scoreless third, it didn't take too long for the game to be decided in overtime. Video via @bubbaprog, as well:


After the puck gets out of the corner, Duluth moves things to the other side of the net and is able to get the puck to an oncoming Kyle Schmidt, who bangs it in for the victory. He scored that goal on Shawn Hunwick, brother of current Colorado Avalanche player Matt Hunwick.

Hunwick made 25 of 28 saves for Michigan, while Kenny Reiter stopped 22 of 24 shots in the victory.

Congratulations to the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs on their first Frozen Four championship!

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NCAA Hockey Tournament 2011 Bracket Update: North Dakota Eliminates Denver, 6-1

The No. 2 seed Denver Pioneers fell to the No. 1 North Dakota Fighting Sioux on Sunday in a 6-1 loss in the Midwest Regional final. This was nowhere near their WCHA tournament final matchup, which the Fighting Sioux won in double overtime.

North Dakota jumped out to the 1-0 lead at 14:37 in the first period on a Mario Lamoureux goal, but Denver's Jason Zucker, the hero of Saturday night's game, tied the game with less than a second left in the period. Evan Trupp and Brett Hextall put North Dakota up, 3-1, in the second. Brock Nelson, Brad Malone and Jake Marto each scored in the third period to put the Fighting Sioux up by five goals.

North Dakota remains the only No. 1 seed in the tournament and will face Michigan, who beat Colorado College on Saturday night (2-1). That game takes place in the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., on April 7.

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NCAA Hockey Tournament 2011 Bracket Update: Michigan, Minnesota-Duluth Advance To Frozen Four

Following their wins over Nebraska-Omaha and Union, respectively, the Michigan Wolverines and the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs moved to the Frozen Four on the 2011 NCAA Hockey Tournament following their Saturday victories.

Minnesota-Duluth upset the tourney's No. 1 seed, the Yale Bulldogs, in a 5-3 victory. Minnesota-Duluth scored a short-handed goal in the first period and then added four more in the second period. Three of the four second-period goals were on the power play. Kenny Reiter made 30 saves in net for the win.

Michigan advanced to the Frozen Four with a 2-1 victory over the Colorado College Tigers. Scooter Vaughan scored at 2:23 in the first period to give the Wolverines the early lead. Lee Moffie, who assisted on the first goal, netted his own goal with less three minutes left in the first period. Shawn Hunwick was a brick wall until the Tigers scored in the last minutes of the game. CC goalie Joe Howe kept the Tigers in the game despite allowing two goals.

The Denver Pioneers defeated the Western Michigan Broncos in a 3-2 double overtime victory. They will face the North Dakota Fighting Sioux on Sunday for the right to advance to the Frozen Four. The Pioneers lost to the Fighting Sioux in the WCHA tourney championship game, also in double overtime. North Dakota is the only remaining No. 1 seed in the tournament after defeating RPI, 6-0, on Saturday.

No. 4 seed New Hampshire upset No. 1 seed Miami (OH), 3-1. Kevin Goumas scored the first and third goals for the Wildcats and the other was by Mike Sislo. UNH's goalie Matt DiGirolamo made 20 saves in the game.

UNH's opponent on Sunday will be No. 3 Notre Dame after the Fighting Irish defeated Merrimack, 4-3, in overtime. Anders Lee had two goals, including the game-winning goal in overtime. Merrimack made a bad pass in their zone and Lee had his stick in the right place and got the puck in the net.

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NCAA Hockey Tournament 2011 Bracket Update: Denver Pioneers Defeat Western Michigan, Will Face North Dakota

The Denver Pioneers defeated the Western Michigan Broncos on Saturday evening in a two overtime 3-2 victory. The Broncos' Derek Roehl scored the first goal of the game in the second period and then extended that lead by another goal in the third period when Trevor Elias put it in the net.

However, the Pioneers scored two goals in the final five minutes of play when Kyle Ostrow and Matt Donovan each put the puck in the net. Jason Zucker assisted on both goals, and he would prove important in ending this game. After the initial overtime period couldn't decide the game, they took the ice again. At 11:14 in the period, Zucker got a shot off, but saw it blocked. He scooped up the rebound and put it in the net for the win.

The Pioneers will face the North Dakota Fighting Sioux on Sunday for a spot in the Frozen Four. North Dakota defeated the Pioneers last weekend for the WCHA tournament title and sent RPI home on Saturday with a 6-0 victory. The winner of this game will face the Michigan-Colorado College victor.

DU-ND can be seen can be seen on ESPU at 3:30 p.m. MT.

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NCAA Hockey Tournament 2011: Colorado College Stuns Reigning Champs Boston College With Dominant 8-4 Victory

Wow.

At least one Colorado hockey team is advancing in the men’s NCAA hockey tournament this year, as the Colorado College Tigers dominated the reigning national champion Boston College Eagles by a 8-4 margin Friday night in St. Louis, and the game wasn’t even as close as the score indicated.

The Boston College Eagles entered the tournament a #1 seed, and as the national champions for two of the past three seasons. It didn’t matter to Colorado College, who finished fifth in the WCHA standings but will move on to the second round of the tournament.

After two periods of play, Colorado College led by a 7-2 margin, shocking considering their opponent. Boston College scored within the first minute of the game and looked to be cruising towards another title. Instead, they ran into a dominant Tigers first line — led by brothers Jaden Schwartz and Rylan Schwartz — that pushed three goals past Boston College goalie John Muse, who had been 8-0 in tourney play for his career before tonight.

The blitz continued throughout the game, as every goal scored by the Eagles was immediately answered by a ferocious Colorado College attack that scored four even strength, two power play, and two shorthanded goals on the evening.

Colorado College will face a Michigan team that needed a favorable call in overtime to advance, with the winner earning a berth in the Frozen Four.

The puck drops between these two teams on Saturday, March 26 at 7:00 p.m. MDT.

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NCAA Hockey Tournament 2011: Air Force Falls To Yale, 2-1, In OT

The Air Force Falcons made it to overtime against the top overall seed Yale Bulldogs in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, but an unlucky bounce doomed the Cinderella story and Yale advances.

The underdog Falcons fell behind Yale in the first period, as top prospect Brian O’Neill placed a perfect pass over the stick shoulder of Air Force freshman goaltender Jason Torf, who finished a spectacular game with 26 saves.

Air Force tied up the game in the second period with a beautiful wrap-around goal by Sean Bertsch that slid between the pads of Yale goaltender Ryan Rondeau. A scoreless third sent the game into overtime, where the Falcons dominated play. Unfortunately, Torf allowed a rebound and Yale forward Chad Ziegler dove past the defenseman and was able to deflect the puck past Torf for the victory.

Air Force is the first Colorado team to fall out of the tournament. Colorado College plays against favored Boston College. The University of Denver faces off against Western Michigan on Saturday afternoon.

Yale advances, and will face the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs in the next round to determine who enters the Frozen Four.

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NCAA Hockey Tournament 2011 Bracket: Denver Pioneers To Play Western Michigan In Opening Round

The 2011 NCAA Hockey Tournament bracket was released on Sunday morning, and the Denver Pioneers are a No. 2 seed in the Midwest region. The Pioneers will face the No. 3 Western Michigan Broncos on Saturday, March 26 at 3:00 p.m. MT. The winner advances to second round and faces the winner of No. 1 North Dakota-No. 4 RPI on Sunday, March 27.

Should the Pioneers advance to the second round and face North Dakota (the No. 2 overall seed), it will be a rematch of the WCHA playoff finals, which the Fighting Sioux captured on Saturday night. North Dakota's Matt Fratin scored the game-winning goal against the Pioneers in the second overtime period to win, 3-2.

Also making the field from Colorado are Air Force as the No. 4 seed in the East Region, and they will face the No. 1 overall seed, the Yale Bulldogs. That game can be seen on ESPNU this Friday at 4:30 p.m. MT. Colorado College also made it as a No. 4 seed, facing the West Region's No. 1 (and No. 3 overall seed) Boston College Eagles. That game will be seen on ESPNU right after Yale-Air Force.

Here is the complete bracket:

All times Mountain. Games are played 3/25-26.

EAST REGION -- Bridgeport, Conn. 

No. 1 Yale Bulldogs vs. No. 4 Air Force Falcons (Friday, 4:30 p.m., ESPNU)
No. 2 Union Dutchmen vs. No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (Friday, 1 p.m., ESPNU)

MIDWEST REGION -- Green Bay, Wis.

No. 1 North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. No. 4 RPI Engineers (Saturday, 11:30 a.m., ESPN3.com)
No. 2 Denver Pioneers vs. No. 3 Western Michigan Broncos (Saturday, 3 p.m., ESPN3.com)

WEST REGION -- St. Louis, Mo.

No. 1 Boston College Eagles vs. No. 4 Colorado College Tigers (Friday, 7 p.m., ESPNU)
No. 2 Michigan Wolverines vs. No. 3 Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks (Friday, 3:30 p.m., ESPN3.com)

NORTHEAST REGION -- Manchester, N.H.

No. 1 Miami (Ohio) Redhawks vs. No. 4 New Hampshire Wildcats (Saturday, 2 p.m. ESPNU)
No. 2 Merrimack Warriors vs. No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Saturday, 5:30 p.m., ESPN3.com)

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