Maybe it is because the Minnesota High School Hockey Tournament just happened last week. Maybe it is because there were three Minnesota teams. Regardless, the Frozen Four had a real "The Tourney" feel.
The unofficial North Star College Cup kicked off Thursday with an early semifinal between Minnesota State and St. Cloud State that saw the Huskies win 5-4. SCSU will face Massachusetts, who defeated two-time defending champion Minnesota Duluth 3-2 in overtime, for Saturday's national championship. One of these two teams will be the first first-time national champion since Yale in 2013.
Watching three Minnesota teams represent the Gopher State in the Frozen Four is a proud moment. College hockey continues to grow, as does hockey in America. It no longer is the land of East vs. West, of Minnesota vs. Massachusetts (albeit in a Frozen Four featuring solely Minnesota and Massachusetts teams, still, none were Minnesota nor BU).
The sport keeps growing and getting better yet the Minnesota community model continues to work. The 2021 Frozen Four caps off what has been a decade of success throughout the state.
It's also something seen in the HS Tournament. Seeing three teams Thursday from three different parts of the state representing their sections, at times was a blast from the past. The 2015 and 2020 Minnesota Mr. Hockeys were on the ice. Minnesota State had its Elk River connection with Jake Jaremko and Reggie Lutz (newly signed Florida Panther and North Dakota D Matt Kiersted was also on that 2015 team, who didn't even make the tourney). Ryan Sandelin knows a few things about winning at Hermantown, as does UMD's Cole Koepke. Several others who made HS Tournament memories popped up throughout the night.
All in all, it was a cool night to be a Minnesotan watching college hockey, even if the team I regularly cover more than any other was not one of the participants.
Here are four more thoughts:
1. It was unfortunate a team had to lose an entertaining game between Minnesota State and St. Cloud State.
In fact, the real loser of Thursday's opening semifinal was the "Minnesota State and St. Cloud State can't show up in the NCAA Tournament" narrative. May it be dead for good.
After both teams spent the regional rounds coming back from early deficits, both came back against one another Thursday, Once again, the Mavericks erased a 3-1 lead thanks in part to Nathan Smith and a pair of seniors. Dallas Gerad gave Minnesota State the lead by crashing the net and being in the right place at the right time for a Walker Duehr pass. Despite the end result, Mike Hastings' team can leave with their heads held high. It would have been easy for the game to be over at 3-1, or after St. Cloud State scored 10 seconds following a Maverick goal. In the end, Minnesota State outshot the Huskies after a slow opening 5-7 minutes.
However, the win goes to St. Cloud State getting its Virginia men's basketball moment of postseason redemption. The Huskies, winning after trailing for the third time in three games, reached its first-ever national championship game with a last-minute goal and a third-period comeback.
Two years ago, the Huskies were the No. 1 overall seed and lost in the opening round. Three years ago, the Huskies were the No. 1 overall seed and lost in the opening round. Five years ago, the Huskies were the No. 2 overall seed and lost in the opening round. When I did the "60 Days. 60 Teams. 600 Words (or Less)" series, St. Cloud State's entry had the following for the closing thoughts:
No team's accomplished what SCSU did - both good and bad. Without diving into stats and how the program develops diamonds in the rough alongside first-round picks, the Huskies were 2018-19's ideal college hockey team. St. Cloud State, winning the difficult NCHC by nearly 20 points, didn't peak too early and never could be counted out of games. However, once the NCAA Tournament hit, the team looked unrecognizable to the one who dominated all season.
Both regular-season and postseason success matter. However, unfortunately for SCSU what happens in April matters enough where the Huskies won't be the Minnesota school remembered the most over the last two seasons. Still, SCSU has done more than enough between October and mid-March to be a team that other fanbases want to beat instead of being numb about the upsets piling up.
I hope, not out of spite, opposing fanbases buy AIC sweaters or bring up the loss more. My worry is, if ignored again, this marks yet another time, like Ferris State and Air Force before, where St. Cloud State's massive upset was brushed off nationally like no one cared. Hopefully, for SCSU's sake, opposing fanbases do. They should. At the end of the day, apathy at accomplishments is more disappointing than losing as the No. 1 overall seed in back-to-back years.
Instead of being Virginia basketball, the Huskies went from #GoHuskiesWOOOOO to #NoHuskiesWOOOOOF, repeating the same losing trick. Despite expecting Larson's squad to continue to be an annual NCHC regular-season contender, it's going to take a Cavalier-type turnaround in March/April to change perception.
Consider perception changed, Huskies fans.
2. Welcome to St. Cloud State hockey immortality, Nolan Walker.
For years, the Walker tip past Dryden McKay will be remembered and replayed in highlights. The game-winning goal with 53.2 seconds remaining was the final effort of a solid game from Walker, who continues to be St. Cloud State's most efficient forward in the postseason. The Anchorage native continues to create chances and set up others. He fed Kyler Kupka for the second SCSU goal before continuing what has become a recent Frozen Four semifinal tradition: scoring a last-minute game-winning goal.
Since Justin Holl's infamous 0.6 goal in 2014 against North Dakota, there have now been four other last-minute winners. After Holl, Nick Schmaltz did it for the Fighting Hawks in 2016. Then it was UMD's Alex Iafallo against Harvard in 2017. Notre Dame's Jake Evans did it in 2018 in the final 6 seconds versus Michigan before Walker added his name to the list Thursday.
Like every team needs this time of year, St. Cloud State, missing Easton Brodzinski, needs its top players to step up. Walker did so, but he's not the only Huskies player to make their mark in Pittsburgh. On a day where fourth liners across both teams scored four goals, Joel Molenaar made the most of his first collegiate goal, tying the game at four with 9:46 remaining in regulation.
By the way, Molenaar is no stranger to championships. He helped lead Minnetonka to the 2018 Minnesota HS Class AA championship, scoring a goal (the eventual GWG) and dishing out two assists in the championship win against Duluth East.
3. Wait, wait don't tell me the Minnesota Duluth quest for a three-peat has ended?
Speaking of folks who are no strangers, Garrett Wait, the former Gopher forward who transferred to UMass during the last offseason, became the first person in 36 years to score an NCAA Men's Hockey Tournament overtime goal on the Bulldogs. It's great to see the Edina native find success on this big stage after helping lead Edina to a Class AA high school title as a sophomore. Wait, who committed in 2014 at age 16 to Don Lucia, never seemed to fit in with Bob Motzko's system. I'm happy for him.
Massachusetts, after dominating the overtime portion of the game, advances to its second consecutive national championship game after defeating the team who beat the Minutemen two years ago. Credit for the OT goal should also go to another player who wasn't there two years ago, Bobby Trivigno. The Walter Brown Award winner for the best American playing in New England missed the 2019 national championship game after being suspended for a hit against Denver. He did all the work, controlling the puck down low, coming out of nowhere and feeding Wait to cap a brilliant game for him.
3a. With a major storyline coming in being how UMass would be affected by losing its starting goaltender and leading scorer, the end result was: Not much.
Matt Murray (no, not that one) continued to play like Matt Murray in Pittsburgh (yes, that one) as expected. He kept the Minutemen in when needed during parts of the first and second period when Minnesota Duluth was at its best. Carson Gicewicz was missed - thankfully he and Filip Lindberg appear to be available for Saturday's championship game - but the key to Massachusetts' success has been its depth. That depth made itself known against the Bulldogs on Thursday night.
That is not to say Minnesota Duluth was anything but its Scott Sandelin-led best. Entering the game with one regulation win in its last eight games, the Bulldogs played like the favorites.
This was postseason UMD at its best for 2.5 periods. Minnesota Duluth limited mistakes, blocked as many shots as it allowed through, and made its opponent work for every opportunity. When the Bulldogs trailed for the first time in 352:32 of NCAA Tournament gameplay, it was a matter of when not if, UMD would get the tying goal. Both came from similar spots, crashing the net and catching UMass in an awkward position.
In the end, Massachusetts' depth compared to Minnesota Duluth's use of a short bench was too much. Where it successfully worked in the five OT classic against North Dakota, the Minutemen were the much-rested team in overtime.
4. What does this mean to the Minnesota Duluth dynasty?
Trying to put together what Minnesota Duluth's run means will take some time. It's beyond impressive. Yet I don't think four consecutive Frozen Fours, three national titles in a decade, and a constant presence at the top of the NCAA Tournament in an age of parity can be truly appreciated for what it has been in the moment.
What makes the Minnesota Duluth dynasty is the consistency. Teams know the blueprint of how to beat UMD. Until Thursday, none were able in a four-year NCAA Tournament stretch. Even then, the second period and parts of the third period were vintage Bulldog hockey. UMass was suffocated in front of the net, given limited opportunities much like the 2019 championship game. Where most teams are unable to take advantage of the few mistakes and opportunities, the Minutemen eventually did.
And despite that, it took plenty of work.
What impresses me about Minnesota Duluth, beyond the nine straight NCAA Men's Hockey Tournament wins and six straight OT wins since 2016, is how there is no one size fit all title recipe. The Bulldogs win in different ways and types of teams. Sandelin coached a blue line featuring five underclassmen to a title. He won one with the weight of the world expectations that come with being the defending champion. He built the 2017 team over a long stretch then turned around and survived heavy early losses that take teams multiple seasons to recover. This year's squad overachieved its expectations.
More than anything, the mixture of NHL talent (both drafted and undrafted developed), experience, good goaltending, and veteran leadership that Sandelin thrives in is becoming the blueprint for college hockey success in this era. Teams need a Nick Swaney or a Karson Kuhlman. (It's also no surprise Minnesota Duluth's golden era comes directly after one with Hermantown and Duluth East, but that's another story.) We are seeing it in some ways Saturday night with the Sandelin coaching tree representing St. Cloud State and Brett Larson.
These are things that will stand out more and be appreciated with more time passing by. Plus, UMD's dynasty run is not over yet.
Bonus Leftovers: The TV booth had a rough night at times with multiple mixups and missed names - Minnesota State (insert one of three new nicknames) forward Nathan Smith is forever known as Davis for some reason - but the ESPN intermission presentation was A+. There were no attempts to get away from the game or invoke Masters talk. I enjoyed Sean Ritchlin and Mike Mottau's analysis. It hit that sweet spot between placating college hockey diehards and getting casual fans up to speed.
Minnesota Duluth being able to hide Ryan Fanti not being in Pittsburgh until right before gametime is some combination of ridiculous and coaching oneupmanship.
Not being at the Frozen Four in person for the first time in years was even more awkward than I thought it would be.
RIP WCHA men's hockey league.
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