2002 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament

The 2002 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament involved 12 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college ice hockey.

The final event was played at Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota. The University of Minnesota, coached by Don Lucia, won its first NCAA title since 1979 by defeating the University of Maine, coached by Tim Whitehead, 4-3, in overtime on April 6. Matt Koalska tied the game with 53 seconds remaining in regulation with Minnesota goaltender Adam Hauser pulled for an extra attacker. Grant Potulny then won it on his power-play goal at 16:58 of the extra session, giving the Golden Gophers their fourth NCAA championship (6th overall). Minnesota senior forward John Pohl assisted on both the tying and winning goals in his final game in a Gophers uniform.

Minnesota advanced to the finals with a 3-2 semifinal win over Michigan on April 4, after Maine had bested Hockey East rival New Hampshire by a 7-2 score in the other semifinal.

Game locations

The NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Championship is a single-elimination tournament featuring 12 teams representing five Division I conferences in the nation. The Championship Committee seeds the entire field from 1 to 12 within two regionals of 6 teams. The winners of five Division I conference championships receive automatic bids to participate in the NCAA Championship. The top regional placements are given to the best teams from each of the two regions (East and West) while the remaining 10 teams are seeded based upon their rankings regardless of region.

Regional Sites East Regional – Centrum Centre, Worcester, Massachusetts West Regional – Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Championship Site Frozen Four – Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota

Qualifying teams The at-large bids and seeding for each team in the tournament were announced after the conference tournaments concluded on March 17, 2002. The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) had four teams receive a berth in the tournament, Hockey East had three teams receive a berth in the tournament, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), and the ECAC each had two berths, while the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) received a single bid for its tournament champion.

East Regional – Worcester West Regional – Ann ArborSeedSchoolConference RecordBerth typeAppearanceLast bidSeedSchoolConference RecordBerth type AppearanceLast bid1 New Hampshire (1) Hockey East 29–6–3 Tournament champion 12th 20001 Denver (2) WCHA 32–7–1 Tournament champion 16th 19992 Boston University (4) Hockey East 25–9–3 At-large bid 26th 20002 Minnesota (3) WCHA 29–8–4 At-large bid 26th 20013 Maine Hockey East 23–10–7 At-large bid 12th 20013 Michigan State CCHA 27–8–5 At-large bid 22nd 20014 Cornell ECAC 24–7–2 At-large bid 13th 19974 Michigan CCHA 26–10–5 Tournament champion 25th 20015 Quinnipiac MAAC 20–12–5 Tournament champion 1st Never5 St. Cloud State WCHA 29–10–2 At-large bid 4th 20016 Harvard ECAC 15–14–4 Tournament champion 17th 19946 Colorado College WCHA 26–12–3 At-large bid 15th 2001

Number in parentheses denotes overall seed in the tournament.

Bracket

Results East Regional – Worcester, Massachusetts First Round

Quarterfinals

West Regional – Ann Arbor, Michigan First Round

Quarterfinals

Frozen Four – St. Paul, Minnesota National Semifinals

National Championship

Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st MINKeith Ballard (10) – PPRiddle and Angell 7:18 1–0 MIN 2nd MaineMichael Schutte (12) – PPMetcalf and Dimitrakos 24:47 1–1 MINJohn Pohl (27)Anthony and Angell 25:38 2–1 MIN 3rd MaineMichael Schutte (13)Ryan and Jackson 46:18 2–2 MaineRóbert Liščák (17)Dimitrakos 55:27 3–2 Maine MINMatt Koalska (10) – EARiddle and Pohl 59:07 3–3 1st Overtime MINGrant Potulny (15) – GW PPPohl and Leopold 76:58 4–3 MIN Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st MaineCliff LoyaHolding 5:40 2:00 MaineBen MurphyGoaltender interference 9:20 2:00 MaineCliff LoyaCross-checking 10:08 2:00 MINGrant PotulnyHolding the stick 13:18 2:00 MaineBen MurphyHigh-sticking 16:34 2:00 2nd MINGrant PotulnyInterference 23:47 2:00 MINKeith BallardObstruction – Holding 29:37 2:00 MaineGray ShanebergerTripping 33:02 2:00 3rd MINJeff TaffeBoarding 49:15 2:00 MaineLucas LawsonHitting after the whistle 59:19 2:00 MINMatt DeMarchiHitting after the whistle 59:19 2:00 1st Overtime MaineMichael SchutteTripping 75:58 2:00

Shots by period Team 1 2 3 OT T Maine 11 13 16 5 45 Minnesota 11 8 9 7 35

Goaltenders Team Name Saves Goals against Time on ice Maine Matthew Yeats 31 4 76:58 MIN Adam Hauser 42 3 76:52

All-Tournament team G: Adam Hauser (Minnesota) D: Peter Metcalf (Maine) D: Michael Schutte (Maine) F: Róbert Liščák (Maine) F: John Pohl (Minnesota) F: Grant Potulny* (Minnesota) * Most Outstanding Player(s)

Record by conference Conference# of BidsRecordWin %Regional semifinalsFrozen FourChampionship GameChampions WCHA 4 4-3 .571 3 1 1 1 Hockey East 3 4-3 .571 3 2 1 - CCHA 2 2-2 .500 1 1 - - ECAC 2 1-2 .333 1 - - - MAAC 1 0-1 .000 - - - -

References