Last Men Standing

The end of March has long been a time that sports fans circle on their calendars. It signals the start of March Madness, the approach of Opening Day, and playoff pushes in the NHL and NBA. For WCHA fans, all of that pales in comparison to a three day event at the XCEL Energy. The Final Five features some of the best hockey the nation has to offer and the tournament rarely if ever disappoints. 2007's Final Five was capped off by arguably its greatest finish ever, as Blake Wheeler's diving goal in overtime propelled the Gophers over North Dakota for the Broadmoor Trophy. Fans traveling to St. Paul would be lucky to see such a dramatic and unexpected result this year, but they have already gotten a taste of intense playoff hockey. This past weekend saw heavy underdog Michigan Tech push North Dakota to 3 games before dropping a 2-1 decision in the series finale. Fans in Mankato experienced a tight, 3 game series of their own, although they did not head home with the same feeling as Sioux fans. After the Mavs won a 1-0, two overtime Game 1, they went on to drop Game 2, 2-1 in overtime to set up a Game 3 that may have ultimately decided both team's NCAA tournament fates. The final tilt also went into 2 overtimes, but this time it was the Gophers who got a tip in from Tony Lucia to advance to St. Paul and eliminate the Mavericks by a 3-2 score. Colorado College, St. Cloud, and Denver all had easier goes of it as they each swept their series, although both CC and St. Cloud were forced into Game 2 overtime's before they finally punched their ticket. Minnesota as the #7 seed was the only upset, but their win leaves many of the usual suspects in St. Paul to compete for the tournament title.

By virtue of their regular season championship, Colorado College enters as the #1 seed. North Dakota follows as the 2nd seed, with Denver, St. Cloud, and Minnesota following them in that order. The first semifinal is already set and is always good for some Friday night drama. The Fighting Sioux and Pioneers will face off in that game and both teams are similar in their styles of play. They are led by senior goaltending, as North Dakota's J.P. Lamoreux and Denver's Peter Mannino are two of the top netminders in the conference. Up front, both teams have elite top talent, with the Sioux trotting out juniors Ryan Duncan and T.J. Oshie and the Pioneers having sophomore sensations Rhett Rakhshani and Tyler Ruegsegger. The matchup is sure to be a tight one, but these are two squads who are heading in different directions, as Denver has slumped down the stretch while the Sioux have lost only once in their past 20 games.

St. Cloud State and Minnesota will battle it out in the other semifinal with the winner taking on Colorado College. The Huskies have had the better of the matchup recently, as they sported a 1-0-1 record against the Gophers this year with a 3-0-3 mark over the past two seasons. Playing on the small sheet should benefit Minnesota, as they have a significant size advantage over St. Cloud, but if the Huskies speedy forwards are given space it may be up to Alex Kangas to bail out the Gophers as he did in their 1st round series. St. Cloud is a virtual lock for NCAA play, while the Gophers are in a fairly good position, although they would benefit greatly from winning a couple games in St. Paul. Minnesota will be without senior forward Tom Pohl, who suffered a scary injury Sunday night in Mankato. Pohl's season and career are likely over, but at this point a full recovery takes precedent over any future hockey games. The Thursday night game tips off the action in what should be another eventful weekend at the X.