2001 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament

2001 WCHA Men's ice hockey tournament
Dates	March 9–17, 2001
Teams	10
Finals site	Xcel Energy Center St. Paul, Minnesota
Champions	St. Cloud State (1st title)
Winning coach	Craig Dahl [1] (1st title)
MVP	Tyler Arnason (St. Cloud State)
Attendance	67,612
WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments ← 2000 2002 →

The 2001 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 42nd conference playoff in league history and 48th season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The 2001 tournament was played between March 9 and March 17, 2001, at five conference arenas and the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, the home of the NHL's Minnesota Wild. By winning the tournament, St. Cloud State was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's automatic bid to the 2001 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament. This was the inaugural year in which the Xcel Energy Center hosted the WCHA Final Five. It remained there until the conclusion of the 2013 tournament.

Format

The first round of the postseason tournament featured a best-of-three games format. All ten conference schools participated in the tournament with teams seeded No. 1 through No. 10 according to their final conference standing, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with an identical number of points accumulated. 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 Xcel Energy 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

2000–01 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings v t e
	Conference								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#2 North Dakota†	28	18	4	6	42	115	80		46	29	8	9	183	121
#5 St. Cloud State*	28	20	8	0	40	111	69		41	31	9	1	168	94
#9 Minnesota	28	18	8	2	38	107	70		42	27	13	2	171	109
#6 Colorado College	28	17	11	0	34	106	81		41	27	13	1	150	108
#8 Wisconsin	28	14	10	4	32	81	86		41	22	15	4	133	129
Denver	28	14	11	3	31	84	78		38	19	15	4	116	104
Minnesota State-Mankato	28	13	14	1	27	91	99		38	19	18	1	128	135
Michigan Tech	28	6	19	3	15	69	105		36	8	24	4	91	135
Alaska-Anchorage	28	4	20	4	12	61	104		36	7	24	5	82	132
Minnesota-Duluth	28	3	22	3	9	68	121		39	7	28	4	103	166
Championship: St. Cloud State † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Final rankings: USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Poll Top 15 Poll

Bracket

Teams are reseeded after the first round

	First round [2] March 9–11, 2001							Quarterfinal [3] March 15, 2001					Semifinals March 16, 2001					Championship March 17, 2001
	1	North Dakota	2	6	4
	10	Minnesota-Duluth	3	2	0
													1	North Dakota	2
	2	St. Cloud State	5	8	–			4	Colorado College	4			4	Colorado College	1
	9	Alaska-Anchorage	1	2	–			5	Wisconsin	3
	3	Minnesota	7	3	–													1	North Dakota	5
	8	Michigan Tech	2	1	–													2	St. Cloud State	6*
	4	Colorado College	3	7	—
	7	Minnesota State-Mankato	0	3	—								2	St. Cloud State	3
													3	Minnesota	0
	5	Wisconsin	6	6	—
	6	Denver	4	2	—

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Quarterfinals

(1) North Dakota vs. (10) Minnesota-Duluth

March 9 [4]	North Dakota		2 – 3		Minnesota-Duluth	Ralph Engelstad Arena	Recap
No Scoring		First period			No scoring
(Notermann, Dorey) David Lundbohm - 01:13		Second period			12:17 - PP - Matt Mathias (Homstol, Lessard) 15:13 - Ryan Homstol (Gunderson, Otten)
(Dorey, Hammer) Ryan Bayda - 11:14		Third period			17:48 - GW - Mark Gunderson (Otten) 15:13 - Ryan Homstol (Gunderson, Otten)
Karl Goehring ( 24 saves / 27 shots )		Goalie stats			Rob Anderson ( 35 saves / 37 shots )

March 10 [5]	North Dakota		6 – 2		Minnesota-Duluth	Ralph Engelstad Arena	Recap
No Scoring		First period			No scoring
(Schneekloth, Roche) Jeff Panzer - PP - 08:53 (Skarperud, Spiewak) Tyler Palmiscno - 12:33 (Bayda, Panzer) Bryan Lundbohm - GW - 14:58 (Roche, Mazurak) Wes Dorey - PP - 19:13		Second period			07:01 - Mark Carlson (Reierson, Medak) 08:01 - Matt Mathias
(Skarperud, Spiewak) Aaron Schneekloth - 10:24 (Lundbohm, Notermann) Wes Dorey - 13:19		Third period			No scoring
Andy Kollar ( 19 saves / 21 shots )		Goalie stats			Rob Anderson ( 33 saves / 38 shots ) / Adam Coole ( 0 saves / 1 shots )

March 11 [6]	North Dakota		4 – 0		Minnesota-Duluth	Ralph Engelstad Arena	Recap
No Scoring		First period			No scoring
Ryan Bayda - GW - 07:31 (Skarperud, Panzer) Kevin Spiewak - 12:16		Second period			No scoring
(Dorey, Lundbohm) Jason Notermann - 03:11 Jeff Panzer - 05:27		Third period			No scoring
Karl Goehring ( 25 saves / 25 shots )		Goalie stats			Rob Anderson ( 29 saves / 33 shots ) / Adam Coole ( 5 saves / 5 shots )

North Dakota won series 2–1

(2) St. Cloud State vs. (9) Alaska-Anchorage

March 9 [7]	St. Cloud State		5 – 1		Alaska-Anchorage	National Hockey Center	Recap
Chris Purslow - 04:36 (Arnason) Brandon Sampair - GW - 17:06		First period			No scoring
(Arnason, Sampair) Mark Hartigan - PP - 15:48		Second period			No scoring
Chris Purslow - 04:52 (Arnason, Hartigan) Nate DiCasmirro - PP - 11:11		Third period			05:49 - Vladimir Novak (Gilkerson, Ludwig)
Scott Meyer ( 20 saves / 21 shots )		Goalie stats			Chris King ( 14 saves / 18 shots ) / Kevin Reiter ( 6 saves / 7 shots )

March 10 [8]	St. Cloud State		8 – 2		Alaska-Anchorage	National Hockey Center	Recap
(Motzko, Meyer) Chris Purslow - 01:16 (Eastman, Hartigan) Joe Motzko - 06:01 (Hartigan) Joe Motzko - GW - 10:48 (DiCasmirro, Arnason) Mark Hartigan - PP - 18:04		First period			19:26 - Petr Chytka (Leitner, Cygan)
(Westcott) Brandon Sampair - PP - 18:15		Second period			03:26 - Vladimir Novak (Garvin)
(Malone) Ritchie Larson - 01:16 (Westcott, DiCasmirro) Mark Hartigan - 10:53 (DiCasmirro, Finger) Ryan Malone - 14:49		Third period			No scoring
Scott Meyer ( 25 saves / 27 shots )		Goalie stats			Chris King ( 5 saves / 9 shots ) / Kevin Reiter ( 22 saves / 26 shots ))

St. Cloud State won series 2–0

(3) Minnesota vs. (8) Michigan Tech

March 9 [9]	Minnesota		7 – 2		Michigan Tech	Mariucci Arena	Recap
(Koalska, Anthony) Stuart Senden - 00:58 (Leopold, Westrum) Grant Potulny - PP - 08:55 (Pohl, Martin) Jeff Taffe - GW - 10:11 (Senden) Nick Anthony - 13:03		First period			12:34 - PP - Brett Engelhardt (Snesrud, Way)
(Martin, Miskovich) Dylan Mills - PP - 11:49		Second period			No scoring
(Westrum) Troy Riddle - 17:21 (Tharp, Westrum) Nick Angell - 18:13		Third period			16:18 - Jarrett Weinberger (Patterson)
Adam Hauser ( 16 saves / 18 shots )		Goalie stats			Brian Rodgers ( 25 saves / 32 shots )

March 10 [10]	Minnesota		3 – 1		Michigan Tech	Mariucci Arena	Recap
(Koalska, Anthony) Ben Tharp - 17:01		First period			No scoring
(Anthony, Koalska) Stuart Senden - GW - 17:12		Second period			No scoring
(Martin) Nick Anthony - 14:44		Third period			03:43 - Chris Durno (Ulwelling)
Adam Hauser ( 26 saves / 27 shots )		Goalie stats			Brian Rodgers ( 38 saves / 41 shots )

Minnesota won series 2–0

(4) Colorado College vs. (7) Minnesota State-Mankato

March 9

Colorado College

3 – 0

OT

Minnesota State-Mankato

Colorado Springs World Arena

Recap

March 10

Colorado College

7 – 3

Minnesota State-Mankato

Colorado Springs World Arena

Recap

Colorado College won series 2–0

(5) Wisconsin vs. (6) Denver

March 9 [11]	Wisconsin		6 – 4		Denver	Alliant Energy Center	Recap
(Bourque, Hukalo) Dany Heatley - 14:30 (Boeser) Matt Hussey - 15:48		First period			07:38 - PP - Ryan Caldwell (Paradise, James) 07:51 - Kelly Popadynetz (Engstrom, Hartmann) 08:29 - Max Bull (Doell, Barber)
(Brooks, Hukalo) Rene Bourque - 07:48 (Jensen, Boeser) Dany Heatley - PP - 09:37 (Heatley, Hussey) Rene Bourque - GW - 17:42		Second period			No scoring
(Bourque, Heatley) David Hukalo - PP - 06:45		Third period			19:41 - PP - Judd Stauss (Weber)
Graham Melanson ( 28 saves / 31 shots )		Goalie stats			Wade Dubielewicz ( 26 saves / 31 shots ) / Adam Berkhoel ( 10 saves / 11 shots )

March 10 [12]	Wisconsin		6 – 2		Denver	Alliant Energy Center	Recap
No Scoring		First period			No scoring
(Wheeler, Dessner) Kent Davyduke - 00:55 (Brooks, Doman) Matt Murray - 12:48 (Winchester) Dany Heatley - GW - 13:34		Second period			06:16 - Ryan Caldwell (Paradise) 07:50 - David Neale (Stauss)
(Hergert) Kevin Granato - 10:56 (Bourque, Heatley) Jeff Dessner - PP - 15:02 (Jensen) Kent Davyduke - EN - 18:49		Third period			No scoring
Graham Melanson ( 41 saves / 43 shots )		Goalie stats			Adam Berkhoel ( 19 saves / 23 shots ) / Wade Dubielewicz ( 0 saves / 1 shots )

Wisconsin won series 2–0

Quarterfinal

(4) Colorado College vs. (5) Wisconsin

March 15 [13]	Minnesota		4 – 3		Wisconsin	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
(Preissing, Manning) Joe Cullen - 04:02 (Clark, Jozsa) Noah Clarke - 14:26		First period			13:12 - Dany Heatley
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
(Cullen, Manning) Peter Sejna - 19:13 (Cullen, Sejna) Justin Morrison - GW EN - 19:25		Third period			00:53 - PP - Rene Bourque (Heatley, Hukalo) 19:49 - Dany Heatley (Granato, Brooks)
Jeff Sanger ( 37 saves / 40 shots )		Goalie stats			Graham Melanson ( 30 saves / 33 shots )

Semifinals

(1) North Dakota vs. (4) Colorado College

March 16 [14]	North Dakota		2 – 1		Colorado College	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
No Scoring		First period			04:26 - Mark Cullen (Sejna, Morrison)
(Bayda, Panzer) Aaron Schneekloth - PP - 03:27 (Dorey, Roche) Jason Notermann - GW - 10:51		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Karl Goehring ( 18 saves / 19 shots )		Goalie stats			Colin Zulianello ( 18 saves / 20 shots )

(2) St. Cloud State vs. (3) Minnesota

March 16 [15]	St. Cloud State		3 – 0		Minnesota	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
(Arnason, Sampair) Chris Purslow - GW - 05:07 (Arnason, Westcott) Nate DiCasmirro - 05:47		First period			No scoring
(Westcott) Tyler Arnason - SH - 09:46		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Scott Meyer ( 23 saves / 23 shots )		Goalie stats			Adam Hauser ( 18 saves / 21 shots )

Third Place

(3) Minnesota vs. (4) Colorado College

March 17 [16]	Minnesota		4 – 5		Colorado College	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
(Pohl) Erik Westrum - PP - 08:13 (Westrum, Leopold) Troy Riddle - 10:32		First period			06:01 - SH - Mark Cullen (Clark)
(Pohl, Leopold) Erik Westrum - 08:46		Second period			13:05 - PP - Joe Cullen (Kim, Stuart) 14:54 - PP - Mike Stuart (Morrison, Kim)
(Leopold) John Pohl - PP - 15:18		Third period			14:29 - Peter Sejna (Cullen) 16:55 - Justin Morrison
Pete Samargia ( 27 saves / 32 shots )		Goalie stats			Jeff Sanger ( 37 saves / 41 shots )

Championship

(1) North Dakota vs. (2) St. Cloud State

March 17 [17]	North Dakota		5 – 6	OT	St. Cloud State	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
No Scoring		First period			12:10 - Tyler Arnason (Westcott, Meyer)
(Bayda, Mazurak) Jeff Panzer - 05:21		Second period			08:10 - Derek Eastman (Malone, Cullen) 15:06 - PP - Joe Motzko (Anderson, Eastman) 16:06 - Tyler Arnason (DiCasmirro)
(Skarperud) Kevin Spiewak - 08:11 (Hammer, Lundbohm) Jeff Panzer - 14:25 Jason Notermann - 18:58 (Lundbohm) Travis Roche - EA - 19:49		Third period			12:24 - PP - Tyler Arnason (Sampair, Eastman)
No scoring		First overtime period			11:33 - GW - Derek Eastman (Malone, Cullen)
Andy Kollar ( 30 saves / 36 shots )		Goalie stats			Scott Meyer ( 33 saves / 38 shots )

Tournament awards

All-Tournament Team

• F Jeff Panzer (North Dakota)
• F Mark Cullen (Colorado College)
• F Tyler Arnason* (St. Cloud State)
• D Duvie Westcott (St. Cloud State)
• D Travis Roche (North Dakota)
• G Scott Meyer (St. Cloud State)

* Most Valuable Player(s)

^[18]

See also

• Western Collegiate Hockey Association men's champions

References

1. "St. Cloud State Men's Team History" . Retrieved June 2, 2013.
2. "WCHA men's Hockey 2000-01 Week 24". USCHO.com. March 11, 2001. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
3. "WCHA men's Hockey 2000-01 Week 25". USCHO.com. March 17, 2001. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
4. "Minnesota-Duluth 3, North Dakota 2". USCHO.com. March 9, 2001. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
5. "North Dakota 6, Minnesota-Duluth 2". USCHO.com. March 10, 2001. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
6. "North Dakota 6, Minnesota-Duluth 2". USCHO.com. March 11, 2001. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
7. "St. Cloud State 5, Alaska-Anchorage 1". USCHO.com. March 9, 2001. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
8. "St. Cloud State 8, Alaska-Anchorage 2". USCHO.com. March 10, 2001. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
9. "Minnesota 7, Michigan Tech 2". USCHO.com. March 9, 2001. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
10. "Minnesota 3, Michigan Tech 1". USCHO.com. March 10, 2001. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
11. "Wisconsin 6, Denver 4". USCHO.com. March 9, 2001. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
12. "Wisconsin 6, Denver 2". USCHO.com. March 10, 2001. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
13. "Colorado College 4, Wisconsin 3". USCHO.com. March 15, 2001. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
14. "North Dakota 2, Colorado College 1". USCHO.com. March 16, 2001. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
15. "St. Cloud State 3, Minnesota 0". USCHO.com. March 16, 2001. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
16. "Colorado College 5, Minnesota 4". USCHO.com. March 17, 2001. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
17. "St. Cloud State 6, North Dakota 5". USCHO.com. March 17, 2001. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
18. "2009-10 WCHA Yearbook 129-144" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 1, 2014.

External links

• WCHA.com
• 2000–01 WCHA Standings
• 2000–01 NCAA Standings