2003 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament

Last updated

The 2003 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 44th conference playoff in league history and 49th season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The 2003 tournament was played between March 14 and March 22, 2003, at five conference arenas and the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. By winning the tournament, Minnesota was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Contents

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

ConferenceOverall
GPWLTPTSGFGAGPWLTGFGA
#5 Colorado College2819454312570423075190103
#2 Minnesota*2815673710681452889189122
#11 Minnesota State-Mankato 2815673711610441201110155144
#13 North Dakota 28149533103824326125172120
#14 Minnesota-Duluth 28141043295804222155153119
St. Cloud State 28121152996853817165124118
Denver 28111162895854121146152102
Wisconsin 2871441861101401323493134
Michigan Tech 28718317771163810244109154
Alaska-Anchorage 28022664111136128757143
Championship: Minnesota
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 14–16, 2003
Quarterfinal [3]
March 20, 2003
Semifinals
March 21, 2003
Championship
March 22, 2003
1Colorado College54
10Alaska-Anchorage31
1Colorado College4*
2Minnesota354North Dakota15Minnesota-Duluth3
9Michigan Tech125Minnesota-Duluth2
3Minnesota State26**1Colorado College2
8Wisconsin152Minnesota4
4North Dakota13*3*
7Denver4222Minnesota3*
3Minnesota State2
5Minnesota-Duluth527
6St. Cloud State43*3

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

First round

(1) Colorado College vs. (10) Alaska-Anchorage

March 14 [4] Colorado College5 – 3Alaska-Anchorage World Arena, Colorado Springs Recap  
(Sejna, Clarke) Joe Cullen - 13:23First period16:33 - PP - Matt Hanson
James Laux - 02:44
(Goolsby) Scott Polaski - 12:22
Second periodNo scoring
(Clarke, Petoit) Peter Sejna - GW - 05:43
(Sejna) Noah Clarke - SH - 12:44
Third period13:05 - PP - Vladimir Novak (Glencross, Parez)
13:22 - Dan Gilkerson (Roach)
Curtis McElhinney ( 16 saves / 19 shots )Goalie stats Chris King ( 44 saves / 49 shots )
March 15 [5] Colorado College4 – 1Alaska-Anchorage World Arena, Colorado Springs Recap  
(Canzanello, Clarke) Peter Sejna - PP - 09:05
(McElhinney) Tom Preissing - GW - 15:51
(Sertich, Stuart) James Laux - PP - 18:11
First periodNo scoring
(Canzanello, Preissing) Peter Sejna - PP - 04:16Second periodNo scoring
No scoringThird period13:03 - PP - Lee Green (Johnson, Shasby)
Curtis McElhinney ( 13 saves / 14 shots )Goalie stats Chris King ( 15 saves / 18 shots ) / Kevin Reiter ( 27 saves / 28 shots )
Colorado College won series 2–0

(2) Minnesota vs. (9) Michigan Tech

March 14 [6] Minnesota3 – 1Michigan Tech Mariucci Arena Recap  
(Reinholz) Andy Sertich - 01:51First periodNo scoring
(Hirsch, Weber) Troy Riddle - GW PP - 08:42
(Hirsch, Sertich) Grant Potulny - PP - 14:51
Second period19:15 - PP - Chris Conner (Brown, Murphy)
No scoringThird periodNo scoring
Travis Weber ( 21 saves / 22 shots )Goalie stats Cam Ellsworth ( 29 saves / 32 shots )
March 15 [7] Minnesota5 – 2Michigan Tech Mariucci Arena Recap  
(Riddle, Koalska) Grant Potulny - PP - 19:59First period08:55 - Colin Murphy (Conner, Singer)
(Tallackson) Gino Guyer - SH - 04:35
(Harrington, Tallackson) Grant Potulny - GW - 09:23
(Potulny, Hirsch) Barry Tallackson - PP - 15:01
Second period15:41 - Brett Engelhardt
(Martin, Ballard) Thomas Vanek - PP - 08:36Third periodNo scoring
Travis Weber ( 4 saves / 5 shots ) / Justin Johnson ( 11 saves / 12 shots )Goalie stats Cam Ellsworth ( 55 saves / 60 shots )
Minnesota won series 2–0

(3) Minnesota State-Mankato vs. (8) Wisconsin

March 14Minnesota State-Mankato2 – 1Wisconsin Verizon Wireless Center Recap
March 15Minnesota State-Mankato6 – 52OTWisconsin Verizon Wireless Center Recap
Minnesota State-Mankato won series 2–0

(4) North Dakota vs. (7) Denver

March 14 [8] North Dakota1 – 4Denver Ralph Engelstad Arena Recap  
No ScoringFirst period03:22 - PP - Brett Skinner (Caldwell)
13:28 - GW - Luke Fulghum (Skinner, Bull)
(Spiewak, Fylling) David Lundbohm - 08:44Second periodNo scoring
No scoringThird period14:08 - Lukas Dora (Barber, Doell)
14:41 - Connor James (Halme, Drummond)
Marc Ranfranz ( 3 saves / 5 shots ) / Jake Brandt ( 8 saves / 10 shots )Goalie stats Adam Berkhoel ( 16 saves / 17 shots )
March 15 [9] North Dakota3 – 2OTDenver Ralph Engelstad Arena Recap  
No ScoringFirst periodNo scoring
(Parise, Schneider) Rory McMahon - PP - 13:13Second period18:29 - PP - Greg Barber (MacKenzie, James)
(Schneider, Parise) Brandon Bochenski - EA PP - 16:42Third period14:23 - Ryan Caldwell (Fulghum, Dora)
(Schneider, Fuher) Brandon Bochenski - GW - 00:46First overtime periodNo scoring
Jake Brandt ( 17 saves / 19 shots )Goalie stats Wade Dubielewicz ( 30 saves / 33 shots )
March 16 [10] North Dakota3 – 2OTDenver Ralph Engelstad Arena Recap  
(Bochenski, Marvin) Zach Parise - 07:31First periodNo scoring
(Schneider, Parise) Mike Prpich - 19:19Second period05:05 - Lukas Dora (Doell, Barber)
13:41 - PP - Connor James (Keith, Doell)
No scoringThird periodNo scoring
(Lundbohm) Nick Fuher - GW - 18:56First overtime periodNo scoring
Jake Brandt ( 25 saves / 27 shots )Goalie stats Adam Berkhoel ( 37 saves / 40 shots )
North Dakota won series 2–1

(5) Minnesota-Duluth vs. (6) St. Cloud State

March 14 [11] Minnesota-Duluth5 – 4St. Cloud State Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Recap  
Brett Hammond - 00:27First period10:36 - PP - Jon Cullen (Malone, Eastman)
(Stauffacher, Hammond) Marco Peluso - PP - 02:58
(Lessard, Stapleton) Beau Geisler - 03:19
(Peluso, Stapleton) Junior Lessard - 06:07
Second period17:56 - PP - Matt Gens (Cullen, Malone)
Brett Hammond - GW SH - 03:08Third period04:23 - PP - Jon Cullen (Motzko, Hendricks)
06:49 - Jonathan Lehun (Szabo, Hendricks)
Isaac Reichmuth ( 27 saves / 31 shots )Goalie stats Jason Montgomery ( 24 saves / 29 shots )
March 15 [12] Minnesota-Duluth2 – 3OTSt. Cloud State Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Recap  
(Anderson, Francisco) T. J. Caig - PP - 11:57
Tim Stapleton - SH - 18:56
First period17:24 - Peter Szabo (Hendricks, Lehun)
No scoringSecond period17:17 - Matt Hendricks (Doyle)
No scoringThird periodNo scoring
No scoringFirst overtime period09:00 - GW - Mike Doyle (Malone, Wright)
Rob Anderson ( 17 saves / 19 shots )Goalie stats Jake Moreland ( 30 saves / 33 shots )
March 16 [13] Minnesota-Duluth7 – 3St. Cloud State Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Recap  
(Otten) Evan Schwabe - 09:15First period03:44 - Ryan Malone (Motzko, Hendricks)
(Anderson) Drew Otten - 04:57
(Stapleton, Caig) Nick Anderson - PP - 05:59
(Stauffacher, Hammond) Beau Geisler - GW - 10:45
Second periodNo scoring
(Lessard, Geris) Brett Hammond - PP - 04:40
Brett Hammond - SH - 05:59
Tim Stapleton - EN - 18:18
Third period03:57 - SH - Ryan Malone (Doyle)
10:19 - Matt Hendricks (Cullen)
Isaac Reichmuth ( 22 saves / 25 shots )Goalie stats Jake Moreland ( 29 saves / 35 shots )
Minnesota-Duluth won series 2–1

Quarterfinal

(4) North Dakota vs. (5) Minnesota-Duluth

March 20 [14] North Dakota1 – 2Minnesota-Duluth Xcel Energy Center Recap  
(Schneider, Lundbohm) Brandon Bochenski - 07:12First period08:48 - Matt Mathias (Schwabe)
No scoringSecond periodNo scoring
No scoringThird period14:47 - GW - Junior Lessard (Czech, Francisco)
Jake Brandt ( 25 saves / 27 shots )Goalie stats Isaac Reichmuth ( 31 saves / 32 shots )

Semifinals

(1) Colorado College vs. (5) Minnesota-Duluth

March 21 [15] Colorado College4 – 3OTMinnesota-Duluth Xcel Energy Center Recap  
No ScoringFirst period05:57 - Neil Petruic (Stauffacher, Hammond)
(Cullen) Colin Stuart - SH - 00:56
(Polaski, Stuart) Trevor Frischmon - 00:56
Second period10:34 - Junior Lessard (Brosz, Geisler)
12:41 - Tim Stapleton (Hammond, Lessard)
(Sejna, Stuart) Tom Preissing - PP - 09:05Third periodNo scoring
(Leibel) Brett Sterling - GW - 07:18First overtime periodNo scoring
Curtin McElhinney ( 20 saves / 23 shots )Goalie stats Rob Anderson ( 37 saves / 41 shots )

(2) Minnesota vs. (3) Minnesota State-Mankato

March 21 [16] Minnesota3 – 2OTMinnesota State-Mankato Xcel Energy Center Recap  
(Ballard) Barry Tallackson - 04:42First period01:54 - Grant Stevenson (Joseph, Forscythe)
No scoringSecond period14:30 - PP - B.J. Abel (Bassett, Stevenson)
(Ballard, Martin) Grant Potulny - PP - 01:58Third periodNo scoring
(Riddle, Harrington) Thomas Vanek - GW - 03:57First overtime periodNo scoring
Justin Johnson ( 14 saves / 16 shots )Goalie stats Jon Volp ( 46 saves / 49 shots )

Third Place

(3) Minnesota State-Mankato vs. (5) Minnesota-Duluth

March 22 [17] Minnesota State-Mankato4 – 6Minnesota-Duluth Xcel Energy Center Recap  
(Stevenson, Joseph) Cole Bassett - PP - 19:04First period03:20 - Tim Hambly
12:12 - Junior Lessard (Petruic, Brosz)
19:45 - Tyler Brosz (Caig)
(Bassett, Stevenson) Shane Joseph - PP - 12:19
(Bassett, Abel) Shane Joseph - PP - 13:06
Second period02:22 - Josh Miskovich (Czech)
(Dubel, Joseph) Adam Gerlach - 13:00Third period06:15 - Steve Czech (Anderson, Francisco)
12:05 - T. J. Caig (Lessard)
Jason Jensen ( 7 saves / 10 shots ) / Jon Volp ( 27 saves / 30 shots )Goalie stats Isaac Reichmuth ( 23 saves / 27 shots )

Championship

(1) Colorado College vs. (2) Minnesota

March 22 [18] Colorado College2 – 4Minnesota Xcel Energy Center Recap  
No ScoringFirst period01:29 - Grant Potulny (Guyer)
01:49 - Gino Guyer (Potunly, Tallackson)
05:25 - GW PP - Grant Potulny (Vanek, Koalska)
(Preissing, Canzanello) Kevin Ulanski - PP - 19:46Second periodNo scoring
(Smaagaard) Jon Waibel - 05:13Third period06:41 - PP - Peter Sejna (Clarke, Canzanello)
Curtis McElhinney ( 21 saves / 25 shots )Goalie stats Justin Johnson ( 36 saves / 38 shots )

Tournament awards

All-Tournament Team

* Most Valuable Player(s)

[19]

Tournament Three Stars

[20]

See also

References

  1. "Minnesota Men's Team History". Archived from the original on April 15, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  2. "WCHA men's Hockey 2002-03 Week 25". USCHO.com. March 16, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  3. "WCHA men's Hockey 2002-03 Week 26". USCHO.com. March 22, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  4. "Colorado College 5, Alaska-Anchorage 3". USCHO.com. March 14, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  5. "Colorado College 4, Alaska-Anchorage 1". USCHO.com. March 15, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  6. "Minnesota 3, Michigan Tech 1". USCHO.com. March 14, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  7. "Minnesota 5, Michigan Tech 2". USCHO.com. March 15, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  8. "Denver 4, North Dakota 1". USCHO.com. March 14, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  9. "North Dakota 3, Denver 2". USCHO.com. March 15, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  10. "North Dakota 3, Denver 2". USCHO.com. March 16, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  11. "Minnesota-Duluth 5, St. Cloud State 4". USCHO.com. March 14, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  12. "St. Cloud State 3, Minnesota-Duluth 2". USCHO.com. March 15, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  13. "Minnesota-Duluth 7, St. Cloud State 3". USCHO.com. March 16, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  14. "Minnesota-Duluth 2, North Dakota 1". USCHO.com. March 20, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  15. "Colorado College 4, Minnesota-Duluth 3". USCHO.com. March 21, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  16. "2003 WCHA Semifinals". Inside College Hockey. March 21, 2003. Archived from the original on December 16, 2010. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  17. "2003 WCHA Championship". Inside College Hockey. March 22, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  18. "Minnesota 4, Colorado College 2". USCHO.com. March 22, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
  19. "2009-10 WCHA Yearbook 129-144" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  20. "2003 WCHA Championship". Inside College Hockey. March 22, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2013.