It ended suddenly.<\/p>\n
After 60 minutes of hockey produced a 2-2 tie, Minnesota’s Thomas Vanek scored his 30th goal of the year to give the Gophers a 3-2 win over Michigan Thursday evening, sending Minnesota to the NCAA title game for a second straight year.<\/p>\n
Vanek’s goal, at 8:55 of the extra period, came from a hard angle alongside the net. The freshman phenom collected the puck in the corner, skated below the goal line and reversed field, spinning a wraparound-type shot from 15 feet away that slipped past Wolverine netminder Al Montoya (29 saves).<\/p>\n
The win leaves Minnesota’s quest for back-to-back titles intact, a feat not seen since Boston University repeated in 1972. That 31-year gap is the longest in any NCAA sport.<\/p>\n
Minnesota’s Gino Guyer tied the game up early in the third, getting loose in the high slot, taking a Barry Tallackson backhand pass from along the boards and one-timing it through Montoya’s five-hole at 1:35. The sophomore’s goal left the game knotted at 2 at the end of regulation.<\/p>\n
The Wolverines turned up the heat after Guyer’s goal, luring the Gophers into a pair of penalties in the ensuing minutes, but could not capitalize on the power plays.<\/p>\n
Michigan then had a potential go-ahead goal waved off with nine minutes left.<\/p>\n
Jason Ryznar banged a shot off the side of the net, and he and linemate David Moss collapsed on the puck. Goaltender Travis Weber (31 saves) attempted to cover it in the crease, drawing a whistle from referee Scott Hansen an instant before the puck was pushed across the goal line.<\/p>\n
Ryznar came close again with three minutes left in regulation. With Weber down on the wrong side after a save, Ryznar had his point-blank shot at the open half of the net blocked by sprawling defenseman Paul Martin.<\/p>\n
Goals by Michigan’s Brandon Kaleniecki and Jed Ortmeyer had put Michigan up by two midway through the contest, but Troy Riddle scored for Minnesota to narrow the lead to 2-1 after 40 minutes of play.<\/p>\n
After a wide-open first period dominated by Michigan, the pace evened — or at least slowed — early in the second.<\/p>\n
Despite three combined power plays, neither team generated much offense until Ortmeyer got free in the slot and backhanded Jeff Tambellini’s centering pass through Weber’s five-hole at 14:38.<\/p>\n
But Riddle pulled the Gophers within one with his 26th goal of the year, reaching around the net to tap in a loose puck which lay behind Montoya after two Minnesota shots.<\/p>\n
Outskating Minnesota early in the game and getting the better of the offensive exchanges, Michigan sported a 1-0 lead at the first intermission.<\/p>\n
The margin on the scoreboard could have been wider, as Michigan outshot Minnesota 15-5 in the first. But Weber was sterling in stopping several grade-A scoring chances.<\/p>\n
A pair of early power plays resulted in no scoring, though Michigan’s Andrew Ebbett forced Weber into a tough save, moving laterally after a pass from behind the net.<\/p>\n
At 9:33, Kaleniecki put the Wolverines ahead with his 14th goal of the season. Off a faceoff in the Minnesota zone, the puck squirted free to Kaleniecki, and the freshman blasted it just inside the right post.<\/p>\n
Weber stopped another tough chance late in the first, making a pad save on Eric Nystrom’s one-timer from the left side of the slot.<\/p>\n
Minnesota (27-8-9) will face New Hampshire (28-7-6) for the NCAA title at 7 p.m. ET Saturday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It ended suddenly. After 60 minutes of hockey produced a 2-2 tie, Minnesota’s Thomas Vanek scored his 30th goal of the year to give the Gophers a 3-2 win over Michigan Thursday evening, sending Minnesota to the NCAA title game for a second straight year. Vanek’s goal, at 8:55 of the extra period, came from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n