2002–03 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey season

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2002–03 Minnesota Golden Gophers
men's ice hockey season
Minnesota Golden Gophers logo.svg
NCAA Division I National champion
WCHA Tournament champions
NCAA championship game, W 5–1 vs. New Hampshire
ConferenceT-2nd WCHA
Home iceMariucci Arena
Rankings
USA Today/AHCA2
USCHO.com2
Record
Overall28–8–9[1]
Home14–4–6
Road9–4–3
Neutral5–0–0
Coaches and Captains
Head CoachDon Lucia
Captain(s)Grant Potulny
Alternate captain(s)Paul Martin

The 2002–03 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's hockey season, winning the Western Collegiate Hockey Association tournament championship and the NCAA national championship. The team was coached by Don Lucia and played their home games at Mariucci Arena.

The WCHA tournament championship was Minnesota's twelfth and its first since the 1995–96 season. It was their fifth NCAA national championship and marked the first time the team had won back-to-back national championships.

Before the season[]

Roster[]

Goaltenders
# State Player Year Hometown (Previous School) Previous Team
31 Minnesota Sophomore Hibbing, MN (Hibbing High School) USNDT - NAHL
33 Minnesota Sophomore Ham Lake, MN (Blaine High School) Lincoln - USHL
34 Minnesota Freshman St. Paul, MN (St. Paul Johnson High School)
Defensemen
# State Player Year Hometown (Previous School) Previous Team
2 Nova Scotia Freshman Brookfield, Nova Scotia (Cobequid Educational Centre) Ottawa Jr. Senators - CJHL
3 Minnesota Chris Harrington Freshman St. Cloud, MN (St. Cloud Apollo High School) Omaha - USHL
4 Minnesota Freshman Edina, MN (Edina High School) Cedar Rapids - USHL
6 Minnesota Sophomore Wayzata, MN (Wayzata High School) Green Bay - USHL
10 Minnesota Paul Martin – A Junior Elk River, MN (Elk River High School)
13 Minnesota Keith Ballard Sophomore Baudette, MN (Millard North High School) Omaha - USHL
19 Minnesota Matt DeMarchi Senior Bemidji, MN () North Iowa - USHL
20 Minnesota Joey Martin Junior Rogers, MN (Buffalo High School) Omaha - USHL
Forwards
# State Player Year Hometown (Previous School) Previous Team
5 Minnesota Junior Baudette, MN (Pioneer High School) USNDT - NAHL
7 Minnesota Gino Guyer Freshman Coleraine, MN (Greenway High School)
9 Minnesota Andy Sertich Freshman Coleraine, MN (Greenway High School)
14 Minnesota Senior Duluth, MN (Duluth East High School)
16 Minnesota – A Senior Faribault, MN (Shattuck-Saint Mary's) Twin Cities - USHL
17 Minnesota Sophomore Eden Prairie, MN (Eden Prairie High School)
18 North Dakota Grant Potulny – C Junior Grand Forks, ND (Red River High School) Lincoln Stars - USHL
21 Minnesota Junior Minneapolis, MN (Valley High School) Des Moines - USHL
23 Minnesota Freshman Bloomington, MN (Shattuck-Saint Mary's)
24 Minnesota Matt Koalska Junior St. Paul, MN (Hill-Murray High School) Twin Cities - USHL
25 Minnesota Sophomore Ramsey, MN (Anoka High School) UMD, Des Moines - USHL
26 Austria Thomas Vanek Freshman Graz, Austria (O'Gorman High School) Sioux Falls - USHL
27 Minnesota Barry Tallackson Sophomore St. Paul, MN (St. Paul Johnson High School) USNDT - NAHL
28 Minnesota Sophomore Wayzata, MN (Wayzata High School) Cedar Rapids - USHL
29 Minnesota Sophomore Osseo, MN (Millard North High School) Omaha - USHL

Season standings[]

Note: PTS = Points; GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against

2002–03 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#5 Colorado College† 28 19 4 5 43 125 70 42 30 7 5 190 103
#2 Minnesota* 28 15 6 7 37 106 81 45 28 8 9 189 122
#11 Minnesota State-Mankato 28 15 6 7 37 116 104 41 20 11 10 155 144
#13 North Dakota 28 14 9 5 33 103 82 43 26 12 5 172 120
#14 Minnesota-Duluth 28 14 10 4 32 95 80 42 22 15 5 153 119
St. Cloud State 28 12 11 5 29 96 85 38 17 16 5 124 118
Denver 28 11 11 6 28 95 85 41 21 14 6 152 102
Wisconsin 28 7 14 4 18 61 101 40 13 23 4 93 134
Michigan Tech 28 7 18 3 17 77 116 38 10 24 4 109 154
Alaska-Anchorage 28 0 22 6 6 41 111 36 1 28 7 57 143
Championship: Minnesota
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion
Final rankings: USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Poll Top 15 Poll

Regular season[]

# Date Opponent# Rank# Site Score Goaltender Record Points
1 October 12*† vs. #15 Ohio State #1 Xcel Energy Center • St. Paul, MN 7–2 1–0–0 —
2 October 18* @ #3 New Hampshire #1 Whittemore Center Arena • Durham, NH 5–5 (OT) Johnson 1–0–1 —
3 October 19* @ #3 New Hampshire #1 Whittemore Center Arena • Durham, NH 1–3 Weber 1–1–1 —
4 October 25 @ Michigan Tech #2 John J. MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, MI 5–4 Weber / Johnson 2–1–1 2
5 October 26 @ Michigan Tech #2 John J. MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, MI 3–3 (OT) Johnson 2–1–2 3
6 November 1* Alabama-Huntsville #4 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 12–1 Weber 3–1–2 —
7 November 2* Alabama-Huntsville #4 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 4–2 Johnson 4–1–2 —
8 November 8 @ Minnesota State #3 Alltel Center • Mankato, MN 2–3 Weber 4–2–2 3
9 November 9 @ Minnesota State #3 Alltel Center • Mankato, MN 7–4 Johnson 5–2–2 5
10 November 15 #7 Colorado College #8 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 3–7 Johnson 5–3–2 5
11 November 16 #7 Colorado College #8 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 2–2 (OT) Weber 5–3–3 6
12 November 22 Michigan Tech #9 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 4–2 Weber 6–3–3 8
13 November 23 Michigan Tech #9 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 2–1 Weber 7–3–3 10
14 November 29*‡ Michigan State #9 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 5–5 (OT) Weber 7–3–4 —
15 December 1*‡ #8 Michigan #9 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 1–3 Weber 7–4–4 —
16 December 6 @ Wisconsin #10 Kohl Center • Madison, WI 3–0 Weber 8–4–4 12
17 December 7 @ Wisconsin #10 Kohl Center • Madison, WI 3–2 Weber 9–4–4 14
18 December 9* Team Italy (exh.) Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 4–2 Weber 9–4–4 —
19 December 27*$ Yale #7 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 7–3 Weber 10–4–4 —
20 December 28*$ #6 Boston College #7 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 2–1 (OT) Weber 11–4–4 —
21 January 3 St. Cloud State #4 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 3–4 Weber 11–5–4 14
22 January 4 @ St. Cloud State #4 National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, MN 3–3 (OT) Weber 11–5–5 15
23 January 10 #1 North Dakota #7 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 2–4 Weber 11–6–5 15
24 January 11 #1 North Dakota #7 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 6–3 Weber 12–6–5 17
25 January 17* U.S. Under-18 Team (exh.) Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 6–0 Johnson 12–6–5 —
26 January 24 Minnesota State #8 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 2–2 (OT) Weber 12–6–6 18
27 January 25 Minnesota State #8 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 4–4 (OT) Weber 12–6–7 19
28 January 31 @ Alaska Anchorage #7 Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, AK 4–0 Weber 13–6–7 21
29 February 1 @ Alaska Anchorage #7 Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, AK 4–1 Johnson 14–6–7 23
30 February 7 @ #1 Colorado College #7 World Arena • Colorado Springs, CO 2–6 Weber 14–7–7 23
31 February 8 @ #1 Colorado College #7 World Arena • Colorado Springs, CO 3–2 Johnson 15–7–7 25
32 February 14 Wisconsin #7 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 5–2 Weber 16–7–7 27
33 February 15 Wisconsin #7 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 8–1 Johnson 17–7–7 29
34 February 21 @ Minnesota-Duluth #6 Duluth Entertainment Convention Center • Duluth, MN 5–4 Weber 18–7–7 31
35 February 22 @ Minnesota-Duluth #6 Duluth Entertainment Convention Center • Duluth, MN 4–5 (OT) Johnson 18–8–7 31
36 February 28 #13 Denver #7 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 3–3 (OT) Weber 18–8–8 32
37 March 1 #13 Denver #7 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 8–5 Weber 19–8–8 34
38 March 7 @ #2 St. Cloud State #6 National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, MN 5–3 Weber 20–8–8 36
39 March 8 #2 St. Cloud State #6 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 1–1 (OT) Weber 20–8–9 37
*Non-Conference Game. †Hall of Fame Game. ‡College Hockey Showcase. $Dodge Holiday Classic.
#Rankings from USA Today/American Hockey Coaches Association poll released prior to games.

Postseason[]

WCHA Playoffs[]

# Date Opponent# Rank# Site Score Goaltender Record
1 March 14* Michigan Tech #6 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 3–1 Weber 21–8–9
2 March 15* Michigan Tech #6 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 5–2 Weber / Johnson 22–8–9
3 March 21‡ vs. #9 Minnesota State #5 Xcel Energy Center • St. Paul, MN 3–2 (OT) Johnson 23–8–9
4 March 22$ vs. #1 Colorado College #5 Xcel Energy Center • St. Paul, MN 4–2 Johnson 24–8–9
*WCHA First-Round (best of three). ‡WCHA Final Five Semifinal. $WCHA Final Five championship.
#Rankings from USA Today/American Hockey Coaches Association poll released prior to games.

NCAA Playoffs[]

# Date Opponent# Rank# Site Score Goaltender Record
1 March 28* Mercyhurst #4 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 9–2 Weber 25–8–9
2 March 29† #6 Ferris State #4 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 7–4 Johnson / Weber 26–8–9
3 April 10‡ vs. #4 Michigan #2 HSBC Arena • Buffalo, NY 3–2 (OT) Weber 27–8–9
4 April 12$ vs. #3 New Hampshire #2 HSBC Arena • Buffalo, NY 5–1 Weber 28–8–9
*NCAA First-Round (West Regional). †NCAA Quarterfinal (West Regional). ‡NCAA Semifinal (Frozen Four). $NCAA championship (Frozen Four).
#Rankings from USA Today/American Hockey Coaches Association poll released prior to games.

Season Stats[]

Scoring Leaders[]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Thomas Vanek 45 31 31 62 60
Troy Riddle 45 26 26 52 50
Keith Ballard 45 12 29 41 78
Matt Koalska 41 9 31 40 26
Paul Martin 45 9 30 39 32

Goaltending[]

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

Player GP TOI W L SO Sv% GAA
Travis Weber 34 1994 18 6 7 .902 2.50
Justin Johnson 14 765 10 2 2 .885 2.90

Awards and records[]

References[]

  1. ^ 2006–07 Minnesota Men's Hockey Yearbook. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics. 2006.
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