1999 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament

1999 WCHA Men's ice hockey tournament
Dates	March 12–20, 1999
Teams	10
Finals site	Target Center Minneapolis, Minnesota
Champions	Denver [1] (12th title)
Winning coach	George Gwozdecky [2] (1st title)
MVP	Stephen Wagner [3] (Denver)
Attendance	42,226
WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments ← 1998 2000 →

The 1999 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 40th conference playoff in league history and 47th season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The 1999 tournament played between March 12 and March 20, 1999, at five conference arenas and the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. By winning the tournament, Denver was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's automatic bid to the 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament.

Format

The first round of the postseason tournament featured a best-of-three games format. All nine conference teams participated in the tournament as did Mankato State which was slated to join the WCHA as a full member the following year. Teams were seeded No. 1 through No. 9 according to their final conference standing, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with an identical number of points accumulated while Mankato State was seeded tenth. The top five seeded teams each earned home ice and hosted one of the lower seeded teams.

The winners of the first round series advanced to the Target Center for the WCHA Final Five, the collective name for the quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship rounds. The Final Five uses a single-elimination format. Teams were re-seeded No. 1 through No. 5 according to the final regular season conference standings, with the top three teams automatically advancing to the semifinals.

Conference standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against

1998–99 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings v t e
	Conference								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#5 North Dakota†	28	24	2	2	50	142	76		40	32	6	2	199	104
#6 Colorado College	28	20	8	0	40	103	68		42	29	12	1	169	111
#8 Denver*	28	15	11	2	32	101	95		41	26	13	2	154	126
Wisconsin	28	13	12	3	29	76	81		38	15	19	4	98	110
Minnesota	28	10	12	6	26	90	99		43	15	19	9	139	157
Alaska-Anchorage	28	10	13	5	25	57	71		36	13	18	5	74	92
St. Cloud State	28	8	16	4	20	79	95		39	16	18	5	122	122
Michigan Tech	28	9	19	0	18	67	99		38	9	28	1	86	145
Minnesota-Duluth	28	4	20	4	12	71	102		38	7	27	4	100	139
Championship: Denver † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Final rankings: USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Coaches Poll Top 10 Poll

Bracket

Teams are reseeded after the first round

	First round [4] March 12–14, 1999							Quarterfinal [5] March 18, 1999					Semifinals March 19, 1999					Championship March 20, 1999
	1	North Dakota	2	3	10
	10	Mankato State	3*	2	0
													1	North Dakota	6
	2	Colorado College	3	5*	—			5	Minnesota	5			5	Minnesota	2
	9	Minnesota-Duluth	1	4	—			7	St. Cloud State	3
	3	Denver	2	4	—													1	North Dakota	3
	8	Michigan Tech	1	2	—													3	Denver	4
	4	Wisconsin	2	2	—
	7	St. Cloud State	5	3	—								2	Colorado College	2
													3	Denver	3*
	5	Minnesota	4	1	—
	6	Alaska-Anchorage	0	0	—

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

First round

(1) North Dakota vs. (10) Mankato State

March 12 [6]	North Dakota		2 – 3	OT	Mankato State	Ralph Engelstad Arena
Peter Armbrust - 19:04		First period			02:01 - Ryan Schrick 08:43 - Tim Wolfe
Mike Commodore - 08:46		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			05:14 - GW - Andy Fermoyle
Karl Goehring ( 26 saves / 29 shots )		Goalie stats			Eric Pateman ( 44 saves / 46 shots )

March 13 [7]	North Dakota		3 – 2		Mankato State	Ralph Engelstad Arena
No Scoring		First period			01:31 - Tyler Baines
Jason Blake - 00:49 Lee Goren - 13:46 Brad Defauw - GW - 14:05		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			15:25 - Peter Holoien
Karl Goehring ( 28 saves / 30 shots )		Goalie stats			Eric Pateman ( 39 saves / 42 shots )

March 14 [8]	North Dakota		10 – 0		Mankato State	Ralph Engelstad Arena
Jeff Panzer - GW PP - 07:30 Adam Calder - 09:44 Jesse Bull - 14:45 Jason Blake - 15:18		First period			No scoring
Jeff Panzer - 05:58 Peter Armbrust - 13:12 Brad Williamson - 13:38		Second period			No scoring
Brad Williamson - PP - 01:04 Jason Blake - 03:14 Wes Dorey - 03:38		Third period			No scoring
Karl Goehring ( 23 saves / 23 shots )		Goalie stats			Eric Pateman ( 29 saves / 35 shots ) / Todd Kelzenberg ( 27 saves / 31 shots )

North Dakota won series 2–1

(2) Colorado College vs. (9) Minnesota-Duluth

March 12 [9]	Colorado College		3 – 1		Minnesota-Duluth	Colorado Springs World Arena
No Scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Jon Austin - 11:38 Justin Morrison - GW PP - 15:51 Jon Austin - EN - 19:57		Third period			17:25 - Shawn Pogreba
Jeff Sanger ( 22 saves / 23 shots )		Goalie stats			Brant Nicklin ( 37 saves / 39 shots )

March 13 [10]	Colorado College		5 – 4	OT	Minnesota-Duluth	Colorado Springs World Arena
Justin Morrison - 10:15 Trent Clark - 10:58		First period			No scoring
Cam Kryway - 09:00		Second period			03:01 - Ryan Nosan 03:01 - SH - Jeff Scissons
Scott Swanson - PP - 00:58		Third period			13:20 - PP - Andy Reierson 19:18 - Jesse Fibiger
Brian Swanson - GW - 06:17		First overtime period			No scoring
Jeff Sanger ( 31 saves / 35 shots )		Goalie stats			Brant Nicklin ( 44 saves / 49 shots )

Colorado College won series 2–0

(3) Denver vs. (8) Michigan Tech

March 12 [11]	Denver		2 – 1		Michigan Tech	Denver Coliseum
No Scoring		First period			No scoring
Bryce Wallnutt - 07:21 Bjorn Engstrom - GW - 08:33		Second period			00:27 - Devin Hartnell
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Stephen Wagner ( 18 saves / 19 shots )		Goalie stats			David Weninger ( 33 saves / 35 shots )

March 13 [12]	Denver		4 – 2		Michigan Tech	Denver Coliseum
James Petterson - PP - 00:48		First period			No scoring
Paul Veres - 04:47		Second period			11:35 - PP - Mat Snesrud 19:31 - Matt Ulwelling
Bjorn Engstrom - GW - 08:32 Joe Ritson - EN - 19:31		Third period			No scoring
Stephen Wagner ( 17 saves / 19 shots )		Goalie stats			David Weninger ( 26 saves / 29 shots )

Denver won series 2–0

(4) Wisconsin vs. (7) St. Cloud State

March 10 [13]	Wisconsin		2 – 5		St. Cloud State	Kohl Center
No Scoring		First period			06:03 - PP - Jason Goulet 12:28 - Matt Noga
Dave Tanabe - PP - 02:37 Dustin Kuk - 19:15		Second period			04:47 - GW - Ryan Forbes 17:02 - PP - Jason Goulet
No scoring		Third period			19:27 - EN - George Awada
Graham Melanson ( 28 saves / 32 shots )		Goalie stats			Dean Weasler ( 36 saves / 38 shots )

March 14 [14]	Wisconsin		2 – 3		St. Cloud State	Kohl Center
No Scoring		First period			No scoring
Steven Reinprecht - PP - 17:11		Second period			10:44 - Tyler Arnason 13:11 - SH - Tyler Arnason
Kevin Granato - 10:19		Third period			11:45 - GW - George Awada
Graham Melanson ( 29 saves / 32 shots )		Goalie stats			Dean Weasler ( 30 saves / 32 shots ))

St. Cloud State won series 2–0

(5) Minnesota vs. (6) Alaska-Anchorage

March 12 [15]	Minnesota		4 – 0		Alaska-Anchorage	Mariucci Arena
Aaron Miskovich - GW - 10:53		First period			No scoring
John Pohl - 03:05		Second period			No scoring
Mike Anderson - 11:34 Erik Wendell - 15:14		Third period			No scoring
Adam Hauser ( 26 saves / 26 shots )		Goalie stats			Gregg Naumenko ( 29 saves / 33 shots )

March 13 [16]	Minnesota		1 – 0		Alaska-Anchorage	Mariucci Arena
Rico Pagel - GW - 19:02		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Adam Hauser ( 17 saves / 17 shots )		Goalie stats			Gregg Naumenko ( 31 saves / 32 shots )

Minnesota won series 2–0

Quarterfinal

(5) Minnesota vs. (7) St. Cloud State

March 18 [17]	Minnesota		5 – 3		St. Cloud State	Target Center
Wyatt Smith - 00:09 Dave Spehar - 15:10		First period			No scoring
Reggie Berg - PP - 16:29		Second period			15:47 - PP - George Awada
Dave Spehar - GW - 06:39 Reggie Berg - EN - 19:06		Third period			10:29 - George Awada 12:00 - Matt Bailey
Adam Hauser ( 36 saves / 39 shots )		Goalie stats			Dean Weasler ( 33 saves / 37 shots )

Semifinals

(1) North Dakota vs. (5) Minnesota

March 19 [18]	North Dakota		6 – 2		Minnesota	Target Center
Jason Blake - 01:06 Jeff Panzer - 12:07		First period			No scoring
Jeff Panzer - GW PP - 01:22 Jason Ulmer - 05:41 Brad Defauw - PP - 13:16 Brad Williamson - PP - 17:36		Second period			04:33 - PP - Erik Wendell 12:05 - PP - Reggie Berg
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Karl Goehring ( 40 saves / 42 shots )		Goalie stats			Adam Hauser ( 34 saves / 39 shots ) / Rob LaRue ( 0 saves / 1 shots )

(2) Colorado College vs. (3) Denver

March 19 [19]	Colorado College		2 – 3	OT	Denver	Target Center
K.J. Voorhees - 03:26 Justin Morrison - SH - 07:19		First period			09:19 - Jon Newman 18:56 - Paul Comrie
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			08:38 - GW - Paul Veres
Jeff Sanger ( 33 saves / 36 shots )		Goalie stats			Stephen Wagner ( 39 saves / 41 shots )

Third Place

(2) Colorado College vs. (5) Minnesota

March 20 [20]	Colorado College		7 – 4		Minnesota	Target Center
Scott Swanson - PP - 04:57 Mike Stuart - PP - 08:46		First period			06:06 - PP - John Pohl
Justin Morrison - 00:43 Justin Morrison - 06:06 Cam Kryway - GW - 11:31 Jesse Heerema - 12:33		Second period			03:29 - Mike Anderson 05:19 - PP - Dave Spehar
Justin Morrison - EN - 19:30		Third period			09:30 - PP - Aaron Miskovich
Colin Zulianello ( 25 saves / 29 shots )		Goalie stats			Adam Hauser ( 7 saves / 10 shots ) / Rob LaRue ( 20 saves / 23 shots )

Championship

(1) North Dakota vs. (3) Denver

March 20 [21]	North Dakota		3 – 4		Denver	Target Center
Peter Armbrust - 03:36 Jeff Ulmer - 17:43		First period			09:54 - PP - Paul Comrie
Brad Defauw - 05:57		Second period			08:01 - PP - Paul Veres 14:35 - Joe Ritson
No scoring		Third period			04:46 - GW - Shawn Kurulak
Karl Goehring ( 28 saves / 31 shots )		Goalie stats			Stephen Wagner ( 33 saves / 35 shots )

Tournament awards

All-Tournament Team

• F Justin Morrison (Colorado College)
• F Jeff Panzer (North Dakota)
• F Paul Veres (Denver)
• D Erik Westrum (Minnesota)
• D Joe Ritson (Denver)
• G Stephen Wagner* (Denver)

* Most Valuable Player(s)

^[22]

See also

• Western Collegiate Hockey Association men's champions

References

1. "Denver Men's Team History" . Retrieved May 25, 2013.
2. "George Gwozdecky Year-by-Year Coaching Record" . Retrieved May 25, 2013.
3. "WCHA Awards". College Hockey Historical Archive. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
4. "WCHA men's Hockey 1998-99 Week 24". USCHO.com. March 14, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
5. "WCHA men's Hockey 1998-99 Week 25". USCHO.com. March 20, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
6. "Mankato State 3, North Dakota 2". USCHO.com. March 12, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
7. "North Dakota 3, Mankato State 2". USCHO.com. March 13, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
8. "North Dakota 10, Mankato State 0". USCHO.com. March 14, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
9. "Colorado College 3, Minnesota-Duluth 1". USCHO.com. March 12, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
10. "Colorado College 5, Minnesota-Duluth 4". USCHO.com. March 13, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
11. "Denver 2, Michigan Tech 1". USCHO.com. March 12, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
12. "Denver 4, Michigan Tech 2". USCHO.com. March 13, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
13. "St. Cloud State 5, Wisconsin 2". USCHO.com. March 13, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
14. "St. Cloud State 3, Wisconsin 2". USCHO.com. March 14, 1999. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
15. "Minnesota 4, Alaska-Anchorage 0". USCHO.com. March 12, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
16. "Minnesota 1, Alaska-Anchorage 2". USCHO.com. March 13, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
17. "Minnesota 5, St. Cloud State 3". USCHO.com. March 18, 1999. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
18. "North Dakota 6, Minnesota 2". USCHO.com. March 19, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
19. "Denver 3, Colorado College 2". USCHO.com. March 19, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
20. "Colorado College 7, Minnesota 4". USCHO.com. March 20, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
21. "Denver 4, North Dakota 3". USCHO.com. March 20, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
22. "2009-10 WCHA Yearbook 129-144" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 1, 2014.

External links

• WCHA.com
• 1998–99 WCHA Standings
• 1998–99 NCAA Standings