2009 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament

2009 WCHA Men's ice hockey tournament
2009 WCHA Final Five logo
Dates	March 13–21, 2009
Teams	10
Finals site	Xcel Energy Center St. Paul, Minnesota
Champions	Minnesota-Duluth (3rd title)
Winning coach	Scott Sandelin (1st title)
MVP	Alex Stalock (Minnesota-Duluth)
WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments ← 2008 2010 →

The 2009 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 50th conference playoff in league history and 55th season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The 2009 tournament was played between March 13 and March 21, 2009, at five conference arenas and the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. By winning the tournament, Minnesota–Duluth was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament.

Format

The first round of the postseason tournament featured a best-of-three games format. All ten conference teams participated in the tournament. Teams were 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 host 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 used 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

2008–09 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings v t e
	Conference								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#13 North Dakota†	28	17	7	4	38	96	74		43	24	15	4	146	118
#7 Denver	28	16	8	4	36	96	68		40	23	12	5	132	96
Wisconsin	28	14	11	3	31	92	78		40	20	16	4	131	106
Colorado College	28	12	9	7	31	79	82		38	16	12	10	103	103
Minnesota	28	12	11	5	29	87	83		37	17	13	7	119	105
St. Cloud State	28	13	13	2	28	83	81		38	18	17	3	122	107
#8 Minnesota–Duluth*	28	10	11	7	27	78	72		43	22	13	8	128	98
Minnesota State	28	11	13	4	26	88	90		38	15	17	6	117	122
Alaska–Anchorage	28	9	14	5	23	69	93		36	14	17	5	95	111
Michigan Tech	28	2	19	7	11	47	94		38	6	25	7	62	122
Championship: Minnesota–Duluth † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Final rankings: USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Top 15 Poll

Tiebreakers

• Wisconsin and Colorado College each finished the regular season with 31 points. Wisconsin won the tiebreaker, having the better head-to-head record of the two teams. ^[1]

Bracket

Teams are reseeded after the first round

	First round March 13–14							Quarterfinal March 19					Semifinals March 20					Championship March 21
	1	North Dakota	5	4	—
	10	Michigan Tech	1	3	—
													1	North Dakota	0
	2	Denver	3	4	—			4	Minnesota	1			5	Minnesota-Duluth	3
	9	Alaska-Anchorage	2	3	—			5	Minnesota-Duluth	2
	3	Wisconsin	7	4	—													2	Denver	0
	8	Minnesota State	1	2	—													5	Minnesota-Duluth	4
	4	Colorado College	1	1	—
	7	Minnesota-Duluth	4	3	—								2	Denver	3
													3	Wisconsin	0
	5	Minnesota	4	3	—
	6	St. Cloud State	2	0	—

First round

(1) North Dakota vs. (10) Michigan Tech

March 13	North Dakota		5 – 1		Michigan Tech	Ralph Engelstad Arena	Recap
Chris VandeVelde - 17:04		First period			No scoring
Ryan Duncan - pp - 03:00 Evan Trupp - 06:08		Second period			No scoring
Darcy Zajac - sh - 10:13 Mario Lamoureux - 11:13		Third period			06:13 - pp - Alex MacLeod
Brad Eidsness ( 20 saves / 21 shots )		Goalie stats			Rob Nolan ( 26 saves / 31 shots ) Josh Robinson ( 5 saves / 0 shots )

March 14	North Dakota		4 – 3		Michigan Tech	Ralph Engelstad Arena	Recap
No Scoring		First period			18:54 - pp - Alex MacLeod
Ryan Duncan - pp - 08:30 Ryan Duncan - pp - 10:31 Ryan Duncan - 11:46		Second period			17:31 - pp - Jordan Baker
Matt Frattin - 05:29		Third period			16:35 - Drew Dobson
Brad Eidsness ( 24 saves / 27 shots )		Goalie stats			Josh Robinson ( 10 saves / 13 shots ) Rob Nolan ( 5 saves / 6 shots )

North Dakota won series 2–0

(2) Denver vs. (9) Alaska-Anchorage

March 13	Denver		3 – 2		Alaska-Anchorage	Magness Arena	Recap
Tyler Ruegsegger - pp - 15:35 Tyler Ruegsegger - 17:33		First period			03:52 - Luka Vidmar 05:45 - Kevin Clark
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Jesse Martin - 13:03		Third period			No scoring
Marc Cheverie ( 19 saves / 21 shots )		Goalie stats			Jon Olthuis ( 28 saves / 31 shots )

March 14	Denver		4 – 3		Alaska-Anchorage	Magness Arena	Recap
Rhett Rakhshani - 11:54 Jesse Martin - 18:39		First period			06:54 - Kevin Clark 14:37 - Tommy Grant
Patrick Mullen - pp - 14:36		Second period			16:33 - pp - Mat Robinson
Luke Salazar - 19:12		Third period			No scoring
Marc Cheverie ( 31 saves / 34 shots )		Goalie stats			Bryce Christianson ( 21 saves / 25 shots )

Denver won series 2–0

(3) Wisconsin vs. (8) Minnesota State

March 13	Wisconsin		7 – 1		Minnesota State	Kohl Center	Recap
No Scoring		First period			No scoring
Derek Stepan - pp - 01:38 Ben Grotting - 10:50		Second period			No scoring
Blake Geoffrion - 04:46 Jake Gardiner - 08:56 Blake Geoffrion - 17:36 John Mitchell - 18:48 Cody Goloubef - pp - 19:20		Third period			18:10 - Jason Wiley
Shane Connelly ( 26 saves / 27 shots )		Goalie stats			Mike Zacharias ( 47 saves / 50 shots ) Dan Tormey ( 12 saves / 16 shots )

March 14	Wisconsin		4 – 2		Minnesota State	Kohl Center	Recap
Ryan McDonagh - 06:48		First period			11:21 - Andrew Sackrison
Andy Bohmbach - 08:18 Blake Geoffrion - 13:44		Second period			No scoring
Tom Gorowsky - 17:19		Third period			17:38 - Adam Mueller
Shane Connelly ( 28 saves / 30 shots )		Goalie stats			Mike Zacharias ( 41 saves / 45 shots )

Wisconsin won series 2–0

(4) Colorado College vs. (7) Minnesota-Duluth

March 13	Colorado College		1 – 4		Minnesota-Duluth	World Arena	Recap
No Scoring		First period			10:25 - pp - Josh Meyers 18:02 - pp - MacGregor Sharp
Eric Walsky - pp - 15:53		Second period			07:21 - Jordan Fulton
No scoring		Third period			03:52 - Justin Fontaine
Richard Bachman ( 35 saves / 39 shots )		Goalie stats			Alex Stalock ( 36 saves / 37 shots )

March 14	Colorado College		1 – 3		Minnesota-Duluth	World Arena	Recap
Scott McCulloch - pp - 15:32		First period			04:47 - pp - Jack Connolly 11:04 - pp - Nick Kemp
No scoring		Second period			11:37 - Michael Gergen
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Richard Bachman ( 23 saves / 26 shots )		Goalie stats			Alex Stalock ( 29 saves / 30 shots )

Minnesota-Duluth won series 2–0

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

March 13	Minnesota		4 – 2		St. Cloud State	Mariucci Arena	Recap
Nico Sacchetti - pp - 12:24		First period			No scoring
Mike Hoeffel - pp - 14:57		Second period			No scoring
Jay Barriball - 13:41 Ryan Stoa - en - 19:53		Third period			10:03 - Garrett Roe 15:20 - pp - Garrett Roe
Alex Kangas ( 29 saves / 31 shots )		Goalie stats			Jase Weslosky ( 33 saves / 36 shots )

March 14	Minnesota		3 – 0		St. Cloud State	Mariucci Arena	Recap
Ryan Stoa - 04:09		First period			No scoring
Jay Barriball - pp - 07:44		Second period			No scoring
Ryan Stoa - en sh - 19:29		Third period			No scoring
Alex Kangas ( 34 saves / 34 shots )		Goalie stats			Jase Weslosky ( 18 saves / 20 shots )

Minnesota won series 2–0

Quarterfinal

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

March 19	Minnesota		1 – 2		Minnesota-Duluth	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
No Scoring		First period			03:46 - MacGregor Sharp
No scoring		Second period			14:34 - Matt Greer
Cade Fairchild - 06:08		Third period			No scoring
Alex Kangas ( 9 saves / 10 shots ) Kent Patterson ( 19 saves / 20 shots )		Goalie stats			Alex Stalock ( 39 saves / 40 shots )

Semifinals

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

March 20	North Dakota		0 – 3		Minnesota-Duluth	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
No Scoring		First period			05:10 - sh - MacGregor Sharp 07:41 - Mike Montgomery
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			18:07 - en - Mike Connolly
Brad Eidsness ( 21 saves / 23 shots )		Goalie stats			Alex Stalock ( 31 saves / 31 shots )

(2) Denver vs. (3) Wisconsin

March 20	Denver		3 – 0		Wisconsin	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
Brian Gifford - 15:20		First period			No scoring
Kyle Ostrow - 13:40		Second period			No scoring
Patrick Wiercioch - pp - 06:01		Third period			No scoring
Marc Cheverie ( 42 saves / 42 shots )		Goalie stats			Shane Connelly ( 26 saves / 29 shots )

Third place

(1) North Dakota vs. (3) Wisconsin

March 21	North Dakota		1 – 4		Wisconsin	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
Ryan Duncan - 07:45		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			03:37 - Andy Bohmbach 08:28 - Jordy Murray 19:15 - pp - Brendan Smith
No scoring		Third period			17:04 - pp - Jordy Murray
Brad Eidsness ( 34 saves / 38 shots )		Goalie stats			Shane Connelly ( 35 saves / 36 shots )

Championship

(2) Denver vs. (5) Minnesota-Duluth

March 21	Denver		0 – 4		Minnesota-Duluth	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
No Scoring		First period			10:45 - pp - MacGregor Sharp
No scoring		Second period			09:13 - MacGregor Sharp 11:57 - pp - Jack Connolly
No scoring		Third period			17:28 - en - MacGregor Sharp
Marc Cheverie ( 26 saves / 29 shots )		Goalie stats			Alex Stalock ( 20 saves / 20 shots )

Tournament awards

All-Tournament Team

• F Mike Connolly (Minnesota-Duluth)
• F Jordy Murray (Wisconsin)
• F MacGregor Sharp (Minnesota-Duluth)
• D Josh Meyers (Minnesota-Duluth)
• D Patrick Wiercioch (Denver)
• G Alex Stalock* (Minnesota-Duluth)

* Most Valuable Player(s)

^[2]

References

1. "Wisconsin Badgers: 2008-2009 Men's Hockey Schedule/Results". USCHO. Archived from the original on March 12, 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2009.
2. "2009-10 WCHA Yearbook 129-144" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 1, 2014.

External links

• 2009 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament