2012 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament

2012 WCHA Men's ice hockey tournament
Dates	March 9–17, 2012
Teams	12
Finals site	Xcel Energy Center St. Paul, Minnesota
Champions	North Dakota (17th title)
Winning coach	Dave Hakstol (5th title)
MVP	Aaron Dell (North Dakota)
WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments ← 2011 2013 →

The 2012 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was played between March 9 and March 17, 2012 at six conference arenas and the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. North Dakota received the Broadmoor Trophy as the tournament's champions and was awarded the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

Format

The first round of the postseason tournament features a best-of-three games format. All twelve conference teams participate in the tournament. Teams are seeded No. 1 through No. 12 according to their final conference standing, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with an identical number of points accumulated. The top six seeded teams each earn home ice and host one of the lower seeded teams.

The winners of the first round series advance 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 are re-seeded No. 1 through No. 6 according to the final regular season conference standings, with the top two teams automatically advancing to the semifinals. All Final Five games will be broadcast by Fox Sports North and carried by Root Sports Rocky Mountain and Fox College Sports Central.

Conference standings

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

2011–12 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings v t e
	Conference								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#4 Minnesota†	28	20	8	0	40	88	57		43	28	14	1	155	99
#6 Minnesota–Duluth	28	16	7	5	37	103	73		41	25	10	6	147	106
#12 Denver	28	16	8	4	36	96	79		43	25	14	4	139	111
#5 North Dakota*	28	16	11	1	33	82	73		42	26	13	3	135	108
Colorado College	28	15	12	1	31	95	86		36	18	16	2	114	104
St. Cloud State	28	12	12	4	28	86	74		39	17	17	5	120	104
Omaha	28	11	12	5	27	83	85		38	14	18	6	106	112
Michigan Tech	28	11	13	4	26	85	87		39	16	19	4	111	116
Bemidji State	28	11	14	3	25	72	89		38	17	18	3	101	109
Wisconsin	28	11	15	2	24	76	83		37	17	18	2	105	102
Minnesota State	28	8	18	2	18	73	102		38	12	24	2	101	129
Alaska–Anchorage	28	5	22	1	11	60	111		36	9	25	2	85	134
Championship: North Dakota 4, Denver 0 † indicates conference regular season champion; * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Bracket

Teams are reseeded after the first round

	First round March 9–11							Quarterfinals March 15					Semifinals March 16					Championship March 17
	1	Minnesota	2	7	—
	12	Alaska-Anchorage	1	3	—
	2	Minnesota-Duluth	4	3**	—
													1	Minnesota	3
	11	Minnesota State	2	2	—
								4	North Dakota	4			4	North Dakota	6
								6	St. Cloud State	1
	3	Denver	0	3	3*
																		4	North Dakota	4
	10	Wisconsin	1	1	2
																		3	Denver	0
	4	North Dakota	4	4	—
													2	Minnesota-Duluth	3
	9	Bemidji State	1	3	—
								3	Denver	3*			3	Denver	4**
								8	Michigan Tech	2
	5	Colorado College	1	3	—
	8	Michigan Tech	3	4*	—
	6	St. Cloud State	4	3	—
	7	Nebraska-Omaha	0	1	—

Note: * denotes overtime periods

Results

First round

(1) Minnesota vs. (12) Alaska-Anchorage

March 9	Minnesota		2 - 1		Alaska-Anchorage	Mariucci Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Erik Haula (16) (Schmidt, Parenteau) - 01:42 Erik Haula (17) (Schmidt, Hansen) - 09:52		Second period			19:58 - PP - Brad Gorham (2) (Scheid, Leinweber)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Kent Patterson ( 16 saves / 17 shots )		Goalie stats			Chris Kamal ( 32 saves / 34 shots )

March 10	Minnesota		7 - 3		Alaska-Anchorage	Mariucci Arena	Recap
Jake Hansen (12) (Marshall, Alt) - 04:03		First period			No scoring
Zach Budish (11) (Rau, Bjugstad) - 11:16 Nick Bjugstad (16) (Haula, Schmidt) - PP - 19:14		Second period			00:35 - PP - Matt Bailey (9) (Allen, Docken) 07:57 - PP2 - Matt Bailey (10) (Kwas, Coldwell) 08:20 - PP - Scott Allen (3) (Coldwell, Docken)
Erik Haula (18) (Rau, Budish) - 05:05 Erik Haula (19) (Warning, Alt) - 05:23 Seth Helgeson (4) (Condon, Matson) - 06:36 Sam Warning (6) (Haula, Marshall) - 09:39		Third period			No scoring
Kent Patterson ( 16 saves / 19 shots ) Jake Kremer ( 0 saves / 0 shots )		Goalie stats			Chris Kamal ( 31 saves / 38 shots )

Minnesota Wins Series 2 - 0

(2) Minnesota-Duluth vs. (11) Minnesota State

March 9	Minnesota-Duluth		4 - 2		Minnesota State	AMSOIL Arena	Recap
J.T. Brown (22) (Herbert, Oleksuk) - 11:31		First period			No scoring
Brady Lamb (8) (Grun, Hendrickson) - 01:06		Second period			05:29 - Max Gaede (3) (Dorr, Louwerse) 19:15 - Joe Schiller (3) (Elbrecht)
Brady Lamb (9) (Basaraba) - 11:58 Wade Bergman (8) - EN - 19:54		Third period			No scoring
Kenny Reiter ( 26 saves / 28 shots )		Goalie stats			Austin Lee ( 34 saves / 37 shots )

March 10	Minnesota-Duluth		3 - 2	2OT	Minnesota State	AMSOIL Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			19:05 - PP - Matt Leitner (11) (Palmquist)
David Grun (3) (Basaraba, Hendrickson) - 13:46		Second period			No scoring
J.T. Brown (23) (Lamb, Oleksuk) - PP - 06:59		Third period			03:54 - Tyler Elbrecht (1) (McInnis)
Mike Seidel (15) (Flaherty, Connolly) - 04:07		Second overtime period			No scoring
Kenny Reiter ( 47 saves / 49 shots )		Goalie stats			Austin Lee ( 56 saves / 59 shots )

Minnesota-Duluth Wins Series 2 - 0

(3) Denver vs. (10) Wisconsin

March 9	Denver		0 - 1		Wisconsin	Magness Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			14:10 - Sean Little (2) (McCabe, Ramage)
Juho Olkinuora ( 29 saves / 30 shots )		Goalie stats			Joel Rumpel ( 28 saves / 28 shots )

March 10	Denver		3 - 1		Wisconsin	Magness Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Nate Dewhurst (3) (Jackson, Lee) - 04:04 Luke Salazar (10) (Zucker, N. Shore) - 12:53 Nick Shore (12) - EN - 19:04		Third period			06:54 - Justin Schultz (16) (McCabe)
Sam Brittain ( 27 saves / 28 shots )		Goalie stats			Joel Rumpel ( 39 saves / 41 shots )

March 11	Denver		3 - 2	OT	Wisconsin	Magness Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Ty Loney (9) (Salazar, D. Shore) - 11:17		Second period			06:40 - SH - Mark Zengerle (13) 12:32 - Tyler Barnes (11) (Simonelli, Schultz)
Nick Shore (13) (Zucker, D. Shore) - PP - 11:17		Third period			No scoring
Luke Salazar (11) (D. Shore, Mayfield) - 01:40		First overtime period			No scoring
Sam Brittain ( 24 saves / 26 shots )		Goalie stats			Joel Rumpel ( 30 saves / 33 shots )

Denver Wins Series 2 - 1

(4) North Dakota vs. (9) Bemidji State

March 9	North Dakota		4 - 1		Bemidji State	Ralph Engelstad Arena	Recap
Connor Gaarder (3) (Parks, Rowney) - PP - 17:10		First period			No scoring
Corban Knight (13) (Nelson) - 07:15		Second period			No scoring
Mark MacMillan (6) (Rowney, Parks) - 14:08 Ben Blood (3) (Rowney) - PP - EN - 19:05		Third period			13:05 - Aaron McLeod (9) (Mattson, Wacker)
Aaron Dell ( 28 saves / 29 shots )		Goalie stats			Dan Bakala ( 19 saves / 22 shots )

March 10	North Dakota		4 - 3		Bemidji State	Ralph Engelstad Arena	Recap
Connor Gaarder (4) (Sinkbeil, MacMillan) - 13:48		First period			No scoring
Carter Rowney (17) (MacMillan, Parks) - 07:30 Michael Parks (17) (MacMillan, Rowney) - 18:17		Second period			06:25 - Jordan George (4) (Hunt, Kinne)
Dillon Simpson (17) (Lamoureux) - 05:06		Third period			16:04 - Jamie MacQueen (4) (Boehm, Hunt) 16:23 - Jamie MacQueen (5) (Walters)
Brad Eidsness ( 26 saves / 29 shots )		Goalie stats			Dan Bakala ( 28 saves / 32 shots )

North Dakota Wins Series 2 - 0

(5) Colorado College vs. (8) Michigan Tech

March 9	Colorado College		1 - 3		Michigan Tech	World Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			17:12 - David Johnstone (10)
Rylan Schwartz (23) (Guentzel, J. Schwartz) - PP2 - 00:39		Third period			03:41 - Dennis Rix (4) (Reddick, Pietila) 10:21 - Alex MacLeod (7) (D. Johnstone, J. Johnstone)
Josh Thorimbert ( 26 saves / 29 shots )		Goalie stats			Josh Robinson ( 16 saves / 17 shots )

March 10	Colorado College		3 - 4	OT	Michigan Tech	World Arena	Recap
Andrew Hamburg (3) (Skalbeck, Thorimbert) - 08:23		First period			01:08 - David Johnstone (11) 06:46 - Brett Olson (10) (Baker, Stebner)
Andrew Hamburg (4) (McDermott) - 03:50		Second period			No scoring
Scott Winkler (7) (Krushelnyski, Dineen) - 08:52		Third period			18:55 - EA - Steven Seigo (5) (Pietila, Gordic)
No scoring		First overtime period			03:30 - David Johnstone (12) (Sova, Fillion)
Josh Thorimbert ( 37 saves / 41 shots )		Goalie stats			Josh Robinson ( 29 saves / 32 shots )

Michigan Tech Wins Series 2 - 0

(6) St. Cloud State vs. (7) Nebraska-Omaha

March 9	St. Cloud State		4 - 0		Nebraska-Omaha	National Hockey Center	Recap
Joe Rehkamp (2) (Milan, Bertsch) - 02:30 Ben Hanowski (21) (Festler, Prochno) - PP - 16:50		First period			No scoring
Andrew Prochno (5) (Festler, Novak) - 11:32		Second period			No scoring
Taylor Johnson (2) (Zabkowicz, Olover) - PP - 19:36		Third period			No scoring
Mike Lee ( 27 saves / 27 shots )		Goalie stats			Ryan Massa ( 24 saves / 28 shots )

March 10	St. Cloud State		3 - 1		Nebraska-Omaha	National Hockey Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Jared Festler (15) (Hanowski, Dowd) - PP - 00:22		Second period			07:16 - Dominic Zombo (2) (Gwidt, Jaycob Megna)
Ben Hanowski (22) (Bertsch, Jensen) - 19:17 Travis Novak (12) - EN - 19:59		Third period			No scoring
Mike Lee ( 32 saves / 33 shots )		Goalie stats			John Faulkner ( 35 saves / 37 shots )

St. Cloud State Wins Series 2 - 0

Quarterfinals

(3) Denver vs. (8) Michigan Tech

March 15	Denver		3 - 2	OT	Michigan Tech	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
Ty Loney (10) (D. Shore) - 03:50		First period			10:45 - Blake Pietila (10) (Fillion)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Luke Salazar (12) (Loney, D. Shore) - 15:28		Third period			00:18 - Ryan Furne (12) (Baker)
Jason Zucker (21) (LaLeggia, N. Shore) - 02:18		First overtime period			No scoring
Juho Olkinuora ( 27 saves / 29 shots )		Goalie stats			Josh Robinson ( 41 saves / 44 shots )

(4) North Dakota vs. (6) St. Cloud State

March 15	North Dakota		4 - 1		St. Cloud State	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
Corban Knight (14) (MacMillan, MacWilliam) - 07:40		First period			16:14 - PP - Ben Hanowski (23) (Dowd, Prochno)
Brock Nelson (24) (Blood, Forbort) - 15:51		Second period			No scoring
Brock Nelson (25) (Kristo) - EN - 19:00 Danny Kristo (18) - EN,PP - 19:33		Third period			No scoring
Aaron Dell ( 29 saves / 30 shots )		Goalie stats			Mike Lee ( 24 saves / 26 shots )

Semifinals

(1) Minnesota vs. (4) North Dakota

March 16	Minnesota		3 - 6		North Dakota	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
Kyle Rau (17) (Haula, Schmidt) - PP - 12:37		First period			No scoring
Jake Hansen (13) (Haula, Schmidt) - PP - 05:55 Zach Budish (12) (Holl, Rau) - 10:01		Second period			14:51 - Derek Forbort (2) (Lamoureux)
No scoring		Third period			05:31 - Michael Parks (10) (Rowney, Forbort) 06:01 - Brock Nelson (26) (Senkbeil) 09:42 - Mario Lamoureux (2) (Pattyn, Parks) 10:19 - PP - Corban Knight (15) (Mattson, Kristo) 16:10 - Mario Lamoureux (3) (MacMillan, Blood)
Kent Patterson ( 22 saves / 28 shots )		Goalie stats			Aaron Dell ( 22 saves / 25 shots )

(2) Minnesota-Duluth vs. (3) Denver

March 16	Minnesota-Duluth		3 - 4	2OT	Denver	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			08:01 - Shawn Ostrow (11) (Dewhurst)
Mike Seidel (16) (Lamb, Oleksuk) - PP - 10:57 Mike Seidel (17) (Connolly, Kishel) - 13:45		Second period			03:26 - Jason Zucker (22) (N. Shore) 06:02 - Dustin Jackson (2) (Ostrow, Mermis)
Jack Connolly (19) (Olsen, Seidel) - 12:38		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		Second overtime period			08:14 - Zac Larraza (1) (Didier)
Kenny Reiter ( 45 saves / 49 shots )		Goalie stats			Sam Brittain ( 67 saves / 70 shots )

Championship

(3) Denver vs. (4) North Dakota

March 17	Denver		0 - 4		North Dakota	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			17:43 - PP - Brock Nelson (27) (Simpson, Knight) 18:29 - Carter Rowney (18) (MacMillan, Forbort)
No scoring		Second period			09:58 - PP - Michael Parks (11) (Rowney, Forbort)
No scoring		Third period			07:11 - SH - Mark MacMillan (7)
Juho Olkinuora ( 18 saves / 22 shots ) Adam Murray ( 7 saves / 7 shots )		Goalie stats			Aaron Dell ( 22 saves / 22 shots )

Tournament awards

All-Tournament Team

• F Mario Lamoureux (North Dakota)
• F Brock Nelson (North Dakota)
• F Jason Zucker (Denver)
• D Derek Forbort (North Dakota)
• D Andrew MacWilliams (North Dakota)
• G Aaron Dell* (North Dakota)

* Most Valuable Player(s)

^[1]

References

1. "WCHA Tourney History". WCHA. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.

External links

• Western Collegiate Hockey Association
• 'Second Season' Gets Underway Friday with Six First Round Men's WCHA Playoff Series