This is posted on the Fighting Sioux website:
UND beats Denver 6-1, advances to Frozen Four
Sunday 03/28/2011
GREEN BAY, Wis. - The Fighting Sioux are leaving the frozen tundra and heading straight to the Frozen Four.
North Dakota, playing across the street from the ‘frozen tundra' of legendary Lambeau Field, defeated Denver 6-1 tonight in the NCAA Midwest Region semifinal to earn a berth in the 2011 NCAA Frozen four in St. Paul.
The top-ranked Fighting Sioux broke a 1-1 tie with five unanswered goals in the final 33 minutes to clinch their 20th Frozen Four appearance, and fifth in head coach Dave Hakstol's seven years behind the UND bench. In doing so, the Sioux also ran their unbeaten streak to 15 games (14-0-1) and their winning streak to 11.
UND showcased its superior depth, with six different scorers finding the net. Sophomore goalie Aaron Dell did the rest of the work at the other end, stopping 26 of 27 shots to earn tournament most valuable player honors.
"It (UND's depth) allows us to take short shifts," said Sioux captain Chay Genoway, "and be confident in all four lines going out and doing their jobs. We had injuries this year, but we've had guys step in and do the job."
The Sioux used their good luck charm - forward Mario Lamoureux - to open the scoring. With UND killing a penalty late in the period, the junior from Grand Forks led a 3-on-1 shorthanded rush up ice and ripped a snap shot from the right faceoff dot, picking the high corner on the short side-with 5:22 remaining. Lamoureux's goal was an omen that loomed large for the Sioux, who entered the night 11-0 all-time when he scored a goal.
It appeared that lead would hold heading into the first intermission, but DU freshman and WCHA Rookie of the Year Jason Zucker banked a puck off Dell's pad from behind the net with just two-tenths of second left in the frame.
"That was a tough one to give up," said Genoway. "We've got a lot of older guys in our locker room and a lot was said (during the intermission). But we just needed to get back to our gameplan."
UND regained the lead for good at 7:06 of the second period courtesy of the ‘Pony Express' line. After a Sioux power-play expired, center Brad Malone powered the puck into the Pioneers' zone, and a loose puck eventually squirted to Evan Trupp on the doorstep. DU goalie Sam Brittain robbed Trupp on his first whack at the puck, but Trupp banged home his own rebound for his 17th goal of the season.
With time winding down in the second period and the Sioux on the power-play, it was UND's turn to score a last-minute goal. Stationed at the middle of the blueline, Genoway spotted Brett Hextall at the bottom of the left faceoff circle, and Hextall stuffed the puck past Brittain with only 53 seconds left in the period.
"Very well executed," said Hakstol of the Hextall goal late in the period. "That gave us a two-goal lead and was a big goal for us. We scored goals in different ways, but the timeliness, no question, was important."
One night earlier, the Pioneers rallied with two goals late in the third period to send their semifinal against Western Michigan to overtime, before eventually pulling out the win in the second extra session. Unwilling to be on the wrong end of a similar comeback, the Sioux stayed on the attack in the final 20 minutes.
Just the way we play grinds teams down," said Hextall. "We tried not to focus on what they did last night. We tried to focus on ourselves."
Freshman Brock Nelson scored a highlight-reel goal with 5:17 left to make it a 4-1 lead and all but seal a Frozen Four berth. Nelson, who left Saturday's semifinal with an injury, took a pass in the circle from Danny Kristo and neatly tucked a backhander high over Brittain's glove.
Then, senior Brad Malone put the Pioneers away with an empty-netter, his third goal of the tournament, with 2:49 left in the game.
Senior defenseman Jake Marto added a power-play goal with 1:39 left to close the scoring.
Dell earned his 30th win of the season, eclipsing Ed Belfour's school-record 29 victories in 1986-87.
"We've worked hard all week on our d-zone coverage," said Genoway. "I think it all starts with Aaron Dell. He makes a lot of first saves for us."
Brittan finished with 26 saves.
UND went 2-for-7 on the power-play and killed all four DU chances with the man advantage. The Sioux penalty kill went a perfect 12-for-12 in the tournament.
"It starts with being prepared for whatever is to come," said Hextall. "There can be a lot of distractions if you let it (happen). For us, our goal is to just stay the course."
The Sioux, 32-8-3 on the season, will face Michigan in the Frozen Four semifinal on Thursday, April 7, at the Xcel Energy Center.
"We're prepared to go back home and go back to work," Hakstol said.
Notes: Dell, Trupp, Malone and Genoway were named to the all-tournament team, along with Denver's Jason Zucker and Matt Donovan ... Jason Gregoire extended his career-long point streak to 16 games with an assist ... Matt Frattin extended his point streak to 15 games with an assist, but had his nine-game goal streak come to an end ... The Sioux are 17-4-2 away from home this season, including a 12-4-2 mark on the road and a 5-0-0 in neutral-site games.
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