The Big Ten Conference has forgotten (or never knew) the roots of hockey in the state of hockey is based on a fervor of small beating big-of a UMD champions dominating the MIAC, but struggling to get the Gophers to play them in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.  North Dakota and then St. Cloud State struggled to gain similar recognition following UMD’s path.  After NCHC schools overcame all that, the Big Ten walked, but left behind the NCHC rivalries that heated on the cool ice at Target Center proving having a “Big” title means little in college hockey.  Like all things, competitive respect has to be earned and this time it is the Big Ten that has to earn it.  When the dust had settled this weekend, all four Frozen Faceoff teams advanced and with Michigan beating Minnesota in the championship game Saturday, only Michigan as the Big Ten champions advanced.  The other three Big 10 teams went home.  Sadly one was Minnesota.

The core teams of both the NCHC (North Dakota, St. Cloud State, Denver, UMD, Omaha, and Colorado College) and the Big Ten (Minnesota and Wisconsin) Conferences formed the heart of the WCHA until they two Big 10 teams split.  Founded as the Western Intercollegiate Hockey League in 1951, the WCHA morphed as college hockey interest rose and fell.  The eight core teams solidified with St. Cloud State joining the league at the start of the 1991-1992 season and played as league for 22 years and then split at the start of the 2013-2014 season.  This weekend, the two conferences ignored the old bounds of friendship and competed anew, in a different way, playing in two Minnesota arena’s 12 miles and 15 minutes apart.  With precious seeds to the upcoming NCAA championship to be announced Sunday, all eight teams were on the unknown edge of how their season would finish.  The four former WCHA teams were on safer ground.  All had RPI rankings in the top 13 in the country and RPI is the major tool used by the NCAA selectors in their seeding process.  One of the four would take the NCHC championship bid by winning the Frozen Faceoff, the other three were strong candidates for an at-large bid.  On the Big Ten side, only one of the four teams (#7 Michigan) had a high RPI.  The other three including Minnesota needed to win.

For those with long memories, at one point 50 years ago, the high point of college hockey was competition among those colleges classified as “University Division”.  The “University Division” were considered the equivalent of Division I hockey then.  In 1960, four teams (Michigan Tech, St. Lawrence, Boston University, and Denver) competed in the NCAA final four before it was called the final four.  Denver beat Michigan Tech 5-3 to win the title.  Denver and Michigan Tech were charter members of the WCHA when it was called the WIHL.  Back then, the most intrastate rivalry was the somewhat annual two game set between perennial UMD MIAC champions and the Gophers.  The Gophers, who developed their hockey program over the years playing local in-state competition, went “high hat” when it came to playing a northern branch of their “university” especially when UMD would convince a few Canadians and local Rangers to play for the Bulldogs.  The game was the big news in the state of hockey and in many ways laid the foundation for in-state teams at Mankato, St. Cloud, and Bemidji.  When the Big Ten Conference was formed and the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin left the WCHA, old rivalries that took years to develop were left behind.  The old “University Division” colleges in the WCHA were left behind.  The two Big Ten schools instead opting to feed the Big Ten Cable network sports programming.  That move broke Minnesota hockey rivalries with Colorado College, Denver, Michigan Tech, and North Dakota.  For 64 years, the Gophers competed with the four “University Division” schools as all five were called before Division I designation happened.  UMD joined the WCHA in 1966 and competed with the Gophers for 55 years.  Wisconsin joined in 1970 and St. Cloud State joined in 1991.  Wisconsin rivalries spanned 42 years and St. Cloud State’s spanned 22 years.  All now lost to Minnesota Hockey fans.        

At the start of 2013, the state of hockey had five “University Division” teams but they were split.  For the modern educators, they saw the move of the Gophers in the Big Ten Network a logical thing to do, but they overlooked those 50 plus years that had led to college hockey success especially in the state of hockey.  The Big Ten Conference has suffered as result and after Sunday’s seeds were announced are suffering again.  Friday night, YHH was at the NCHC’s Frozen Faceoff at the Target Center.  It created a lot of memories of how the Center configures itself for hockey and with shortened walks around the upper levels and great views.  Most of the over 10,000 fans attending the games had a blast.  Saturday night, they returned for two more games and the pressure was on UMD to win and seal their bid to the NCAA tourney.  The Bulldogs lost.  Denver also under pressure needed a win to survive.  They tied.  North Dakota needed a win to get a #1 seed Saturday, they tied.  St Cloud State won and got a #1 regional seed.  But at the Frozen Faceoff Friday and Saturday, it was just fun, a great time for all.

The NDer’s (sorry fans, they will always be the Fighting Sioux in this corner of YHH), looked tough in the opening minute of the first period when Nick Schmaltz scored 49 seconds into the game (assists to Drake Caggiula and Burnsville’s Brock Boeser).  The North Dakota offense did not let up and continued to force action in UMD’s half of the ice, but after the initial quick goal, they could not score.  The Bulldog defense held and got a few breaks.  The period ended 1-0, North Dakota leading, but having outshoot the ‘Dogs by two 7-5.  The second period held the sequence that won the game for UMD.

The key sequence that won the game for UMD started 28 seconds into the second period.  A quick shot by UMD’s Dominic Toninato beat North Dakota’s goalie Cam Johnson to tie the game 1-1.  The ref initially did not call the goal, but after some discussion, the ref pointed to center ice and the spotlight went on Cam Johnson in the NDers’ net.  Hasting’s Willie Raskob assisted Toninato on the score.  After being banged around in the first period, the UMD continued the pressure on the North Dakota net in the second period.  The UMD defense turned the puck on the NDers breakout attempts at the North Dakota blue line getting the puck deep.  With less than four minutes gone in the period, UMD scored again.  This time, Alex Iafallo scored off a neat passing play.  Raskob and Hibbing’s Adam Johnson got the assists.  UMD led 2-1 with sixteen minutes to play in the period.  And things went from bad to worse for the NDers.

Trailing 2-1, a minute after giving up the second goal, North Dakota drew an interference penalty.  UMD started to pressure the NDers’ net forcing Johnson to make some quick lateral moves with the defense in front of him out of sync.  Then the situation went from worse got worse.  North Dakota drew a second penalty for hooking putting the NDers on a 5-on-3 penalty kill for a minute.  Thirty seconds into the two men down penalty kill, Johnson had to make a great save.  That save seemed to turn the North Dakota team.  The NDers killed the remaining penalty time, but a minute later, drew a third penalty for interference.  North Dakota killed the second interference penalty and came back with a vengeance.  The game went into high gear.  The two teams put 28 shots on net in the second period, more than half of the total 50 shots for the game.

The opening of the second semifinal game played Friday was “sans” offense.  Most of the play was between the tops of each team’s faceoff circles.  Neither team could pressure their opponent’s net.  It took a Denver penalty before a team could score.  With eight minutes gone in the period and on the power play, St. Cloud State scored quickly, 25 seconds into the penalty time.  State’s Joey Benik, a senior from Andover and SCS’s #2 scorer, got the goal.  The Huskies’ senior captain from Sauk Rapids, Ethan Prow and Kalle Kossila got the assists.  Halfway through the period, State had outshot the Pioneers 3-1 Denver rallied after that score and started to develop pressure low on States’ goalie Lakeville’s Charlie Lindgren.  At one point, Lindgren ended up with Denver’s #3 scorer Danton Heinen on the edge of the left crease loaded and ready and made a great glove save.  The period ended St. Cloud State leading on the scoreboard 1-0 and in shots on goal 8-7, but the Pioneers were on the upswing.

The second period opened with a bang for Denver’s goalie Tanner Jaillet.  Jaillet made a tough stop on a hard backhand shot from the low right faceoff circle by St. Cloud State’s Judd Peterson and could not control the rebound.  The puck dropped between him and the on-rushing St. Cloud State forward.  Peterson driving to Jaillet, cut on his outside edges trying to go for the rebound and simultaneously sidestep Jaillet, but he was partially checked into Jaillet.  The collision drove Jaillet into the right side of the net.  A trailing Denver forward conveniently pushed the net’s right post off its moorings to assure that the refs would call a penalty.  The Huskies killed the penalty and went on the power as their penalty ended.  Denver killed the Huskies power play and caught St. Cloud State scrambling in the transition to 5-on-5.  Denver’s Heninen made a shot pass from the left to Troy Terry in the center slot.  Terry’s quick one-timer beat Lindgren for the tying score.  Heninen and Tariq Hammond got the assists.

With eight minutes to play in the second period, St. Cloud State scored to take a 2-1 lead.  Sometimes a single play can set the tone for a game, establishing the team executing the play as the winner.  That happened on this goal.  A minute after the NCHC fans gave a standing ovation to Sgt. Darnell Small honoring him as the “Hero of the Game”, St. Cloud State’s Joey Benik moved the puck behind the Denver net going at high speed.  Without looking back, Benik made a quick hard backhand pass just as he was clearing the right post to David Morley in the low right faceoff circle.  Morley one-timed the puck into the right side of the net.  The play was executed so quickly that Denver goalie Jaillet was still at the left post when the puck hit the net behind him.  It was a great play that few, if any, goalies could have stopped.  Benik and Jimmy Murray got the assists.

The third period opened with two quick goals.  St. Cloud State’s Mikey Eyssimont scored with just under two minutes gone in the period.  Kossila and Patrick Russell got the assists.  Eyssimont’s score was the game winner putting the Huskies up 3-1.  Twenty seconds later, the Pioneers caught the Huskies still celebrating.  Troy Terry picked up a loose puck behind the St. Cloud goal on the left side and fed Evan Janssen alone in the slot.  This time, Janssen’s shot beat Lindgren to cut the score to 3-2.  Terry and Quentin Shore got the assists.  After giving up the second goal, St. Cloud continued to press Denver in the Pioneer zone sending two forwards low.  But with seven minutes to play, the Huskies started to go passive.  They chose to work the puck out of their zone to the center red line and dump the puck sending only one forward deep.  The Huskies’ defense man Jimmy Schuldt from Minnetonka scored a 200 foot empty netter as the game ended.  St. Cloud won 4-2.

1. Old Rinks: In 1960, nationally college hockey was in its infancy.  The Gophers played in one half of Williams arena with a wall separating the basketball venue from the hockey.  The arena looked like a hanger for airships.  For those who remember the upper bleachers hung over the ice and Gopher students mercilessly verbalized the opposition and the sometimes the Gopher players on the ice.  At one end of the arena, there was standing room only elevated above the boards.  Plexiglas was first started being used in hockey arenas around 1950, but initially when the hockey arena opened fans were only protected by fencing at both ends.

2. 1960 Collegiate Championship: The Denver-Michigan Tech championship game was played three weeks after the USA beat the USSR 3-2 in the 1960 Olympics.  Tom Williams from Duluth MN, was the youngest player on the 1960 team and assisted on USA’s winning goal.  He died in 1992 but, if memory serves, he had a short stint with the Bulldogs after spending two years playing for the USA team and left UMD.  UMD left the MIAC after the 1960-1961 season.  Their last game was against Augsburg winning 19-0.  They left with a 56 game MIAC winning streak.  Tom Williams moved on and played in the NHL for fifteen or so years. 

3. More old arenas: Ralph Romano coached the Bulldogs when they first entered the WCHA.  The Bulldogs skated out of the Duluth Curling Club in the 1950’s and early 1960’s until they moved to the DECC.  The Bulldogs joined the WCHA one year before moving into the DECC.  They now skate out of the AMSOIL Arena just across a parking lot from the DECC.  The Duluth Curling and Skating Club burned down 30 years ago.  It was located approximately where Interstate 35W ends in Duluth’s East End.

4. Lindgren Connection: Charlie Lindgren played for Lakeville North in high school.  His brother Ryan played for Shattuck/St. Mary’s before joining the USA NTDS program.  Ryan is eligible for this year’s NHL draft and is ranked among the top 50 defensemen in North America.  Another brother, Andrew, played for Eagan High School and started the season with the Minnesota Magicians and was traded to Johnstown, also in the NAHL.  Andrew has been the starting goalie for the Johnstown Tomahawks.

5. Lakeville Connection: St. Cloud State will graduate six seniors this year.  Goalies David Zevnik and Charlie Lindgren will return along with forward Blake Winiecki.  All three are from Lakeville.  They will be joined by Nick and Jack Poehling also from Lakeville. The Poehlings are having a great season playing for the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers posting 63 points/28 goals in their first 50 games.  A third brother, Ryan, will join his two brothers at St. Cloud in the fall of 2017.  Ryan led Lakeville North to their third straight Class AA State Tourney played at the Xcel earlier this month posting 54 points/20 goals in 25 games for the Panthers.