2002 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

2002 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
2002 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Dates	March 8–16, 2002
Teams	10
Finals site	Xcel Energy Center; St. Paul, Minnesota
Champions	Denver (13th title)
Winning coach	George Gwozdecky (5th title)
MVP	Wade Dubielewicz (Denver)
Attendance	75,151
	WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments ← 2001 2003 →

The 2002 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 43rd conference playoff in league history and 49th season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The 2002 tournament was played between March 8 and March 16, 2002, at five conference arenas and the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, the home of the NHL's Minnesota Wild. By winning the tournament, Denver was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's automatic bid to the 2002 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament.

Format[]

The first round of the postseason tournament featured a best-of-three games format. All ten conference schools participated in the tournament with teams seeded No. 1 through No. 10 according to their final conference standing, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with an identical number of points accumulated. The top five seeded teams each earned home ice and hosted one of the lower seeded teams.

The winners of the first round series advanced to the Xcel Energy Center for the WCHA Final Five, the collective name for the quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship rounds. The Final Five uses a single-elimination format. Teams were re-seeded No. 1 through No. 5 according to the final regular season conference standings, with the top three teams automatically advancing to the semifinals.

Conference Standings[]

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

2001–02 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings v t
	Conference							Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#5 Denver†*	28	21	6	1	43	108	63	41	32	8	1	158	86
#10 St. Cloud State	28	19	7	2	40	117	65	42	29	11	2	179	99
#1 Minnesota	28	18	7	3	39	113	84	44	32	8	4	197	119
#7 Colorado College	28	16	10	2	34	95	74	43	27	13	3	147	97
Wisconsin	28	12	13	3	27	88	90	39	16	19	4	123	120
Minnesota State-Mankato	28	11	15	2	24	84	107	38	16	20	2	124	138
Alaska-Anchorage	28	10	14	4	24	79	96	36	12	19	5	99	125
North Dakota	28	11	15	2	24	103	100	37	16	19	2	134	136
Minnesota-Duluth	28	6	19	3	15	72	112	40	13	24	3	119	153
Michigan Tech	28	4	22	2	10	66	134	38	8	28	2	92	177
Championship: Denver † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Final rankings: USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Poll Top 15 Poll

Bracket[]

Teams are reseeded after the first round

First round^[2] March 8–9					Quarterfinal^[3] March 14			Semifinals March 15			Championship March 16

1	Denver	5	8	–				1	Denver	3
10	Michigan Tech	1	1	–	4	Colorado College	3*	4	Colorado College	0
					5	Wisconsin	2
2	St. Cloud State	5*	6	–
9	Minnesota-Duluth	4	3	–

3	Minnesota	7	4*	–							1	Denver	5
8	North Dakota	4	3	–							3	Minnesota	2

4	Colorado College	6	1	—
7	Alaska-Anchorage	1	0	—
											Third place
5	Wisconsin	3*	7	—				2	St. Cloud State	1
6	Minnesota State-Mankato	2	3	—				3	Minnesota	4		2	St. Cloud State	1
											4	Colorado College	2

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

First Round[]

(1) Denver vs. (10) Michigan Tech[]

March 8^[4]	Denver		5 – 1	Michigan Tech	Magness Arena	Recap
(Fulghum, Bull) - 15:19 (Bull, MacKenzie) Jussi Halme - GW - 19:36		First period		No scoring
(Adams) - 19:05		Second period		15:10 - (Markham)
(James, Vines) - 04:07 (Foster, Weber) - 17:16		Third period		No scoring
Wade Dubielewicz ( 13 saves / 14 shots )		Goalie stats		( 35 saves / 40 shots )

March 9^[5]	Denver		8 – 1	Michigan Tech	Magness Arena	Recap
(Foster, Paradise) Connor James - 07:54 (Weber, Dubielewicz) - GW - 11:26		First period		No scoring
(Ulanski, MacKenzie) - 00:18 (Doell, James) - 04:31 (Caldwell, Foster) - PP - 13:25		Second period		No scoring
(Foster, Neale) - 08:53 (Foster) - 10:36 (Caldwell, Ulanski) Kevin Doell - PP - 19:56		Third period		18:39 - Colin Murphy
Wade Dubielewicz ( 18 saves / 18 shots ) / ( 0 saves / 1 shots )		Goalie stats		( 23 saves / 31 shots )

Denver won series 2–0

(2) St. Cloud State vs. (9) Minnesota-Duluth[]

March 8^[6]	St. Cloud State		5 – 4	OT	Minnesota-Duluth	National Hockey Center	Recap
No Scoring		First period			18:15 - (Petruic, Nelson)
(Doyle, Iannazzo) - 01:45 (DiCasmirro, Hartigan) Joe Motzko - PP - 11:23 (Cullen, Motzko) Mark Hartigan - PP - 11:56		Second period			04:20 - (Francisco, Geisler) 12:14 - (Nelson, Anderson)
(Motzko, Eastman) - 11:02		Third period			16:52 - Mark Carlson (Geisler, Francisco)
(Malone, Cullen) - GW - 17:39		First overtime period			No scoring
( 36 saves / 40 shots )		Goalie stats			( 31 saves / 37 shots )

March 9^[7]	St. Cloud State		6 – 3	Minnesota-Duluth	National Hockey Center	Recap
(Meyer, Brooks) Ryan Malone - 03:50 (Hartigan, Finger) - PP - 06:09 (DiCasmirro, LaMere) Mark Hartigan - 17:07		First period		18:44 - Junior Lessard (Nelson, Geisler)
(Hartigan, Motzko) - GW - 07:33		Second period		No scoring
(Hartigan, Motzko) Nate DiCasmirro - PP - 10:26 (DiCasmirro, Gens) Mark Hartigan - PP - 15:17		Third period		08:40 - PP - Mark Carlson (Hambly, Geisler) 18:44 - PP - Judd Medak (Francisco, Reierson)
( 26 saves / 29 shots )		Goalie stats		( 20 saves / 26 shots )

St. Cloud State won series 2–0

(3) Minnesota vs. (8) North Dakota[]

March 8^[8]	Minnesota		7 – 2	North Dakota	Mariucci Arena	Recap
(Anthony, Riddle) John Pohl - 02:17 (Anthony, Pohl) - 04:57		First period		No scoring
(Riddle, Pohl) - GW - 00:18 (Koalska, Wendell) Barry Tallackson - 02:59 (Leopold, Martin) John Pohl - PP - 04:02 (Welch, Taffe) Keith Ballard - 06:08		Second period		11:28 -
(Potulny) Jeff Taffe - 10:42		Third period		16:45 - (Hale)
Adam Hauser ( 21 saves / 23 shots )		Goalie stats		( 24 saves / 30 shots ) / ( 15 saves / 16 shots )

March 9^[9]	Minnesota		4 – 3	OT	North Dakota	Mariucci Arena	Recap
No Scoring		First period			01:10 - SH - (Hale)
(Martin) Dan Welch - 01:15 (Taffe, Welch) Jordan Leopold - 12:02		Second period			19:46 - Ryan Bayda
Jeff Taffe - 07:21		Third period			18:53 - EA PP - (Bayda, Lundbohm)
(Tallackson) Keith Ballard - GW - 18:36		First overtime period			No scoring
Adam Hauser ( 30 saves / 33 shots )		Goalie stats			( 48 saves / 52 shots )

Minnesota won series 2–0

(4) Minnesota State vs. (7) Alaska-Anchorage[]

March 8^[10]	Colorado College		6 – 1	Alaska-Anchorage	Colorado Springs World Arena
(Preissing, Kim) Peter Sejna - PP - 17:59		First period		No scoring
(Sejna, Preissing) - GW - 13:31 (Clarke, Liebel) Alex Kim - 15:36		Second period		10:11 -
(Cullen) - 00:39 Noah Clarke - 01:14 (Cullen, Clarke) Peter Sejna - 08:01		Third period		No scoring
( 21 saves / 22 shots )		Goalie stats		Kevin Reiter ( 39 saves / 45 shots )

March 9^[11]	Colorado College		1 – 0	Alaska-Anchorage	Colorado Springs World Arena
(Kim, Clarke) Tom Preissing - GW - 10:51		First period		No scoring
No scoring		Second period		No scoring
No scoring		Third period		No scoring
( 16 saves / 16 shots )		Goalie stats		( 31 saves / 32 shots )

Colorado College won series 2–0

(5) Wisconsin vs. (6) Minnesota State-Mankato[]

March 8

Wisconsin

3 – 2

OT

Minnesota State-Mankato

Alliant Energy Center

Recap

March 9

Wisconsin

7 – 3

Minnesota State-Mankato

Alliant Energy Center

Recap

Wisconsin won series 2–0

Quarterfinal[]

(4) Colorado College vs. (5) Wisconsin[]

March 14^[12]	Minnesota		3 – 2	Wisconsin	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
(Cullen) Colin Stuart - 17:35		First period		No scoring
No scoring		Second period		03:49 - Rene Bourque (Leavitt, Boeser)
(Stuart, Cullen) Chris Hartsburg - 14:49		Third period		18:29 - (Davyduke, Wozniewski)
(Cullen) Peter Sejna - GW - 00:53		Overtime		No scoring
( 25 saves / 27 shots )		Goalie stats		( 17 saves / 20 shots )

Semifinals[]

(1) Denver vs. (4) Colorado College[]

March 15^[13]	Denver		3 – 0	Colorado College	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
(Ulanski, Dora) - GW - 08:38		First period		No scoring
- 14:10		Second period		No scoring
(Ulanski) - 12:10		Third period		No scoring
Wade Dubielewicz ( 26 saves / 26 shots )		Goalie stats		( 26 saves / 29 shots )

(2) St. Cloud State vs. (3) Minnesota[]

March 15^[14]	St. Cloud State		1 – 4	Minnesota	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
No Scoring		First period		00:55 - Jordan Leopold (Riddle, Pohl)
No scoring		Second period		19:43 - GW - (Pohl, Fleming)
(Szabo, Eastman) Ryan Malone - PP - 11:32		Third period		00:35 - Jeff Taffe (DeMarchi, Leopold) 07:03 - PP - Matt Koalska (Riddle, Tallackson)
( 22 saves / 26 shots ) / ( 7 saves / 7 shots )		Goalie stats		Adam Hauser ( 26 saves / 27 shots )

Third Place[]

(2) St. Cloud State vs. (4) Colorado College[]

March 16^[15]	St. Cloud State		1 – 2	Colorado College	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
(Hendricks, Cullen) - 05:02		First period		06:39 - Richard Petiot (Sejna, Heerema)
No scoring		Second period		03:48 - GW PP - Chris Hartsburg (Stuart, Canzanello)
No scoring		Third period		No scoring
( 23 saves / 25 shots )		Goalie stats		( 35 saves / 36 shots )

Championship[]

(1) Denver vs. (3) Minnesota[]

March 16^[16]	Denver		5 – 2	Minnesota	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
(Caldwell, Paradise) - PP - 03:32		First period		No scoring
(Cook, Dora) Kevin Ulanski - 01:29 - GW - 04:03		Second period		02:29 - Keith Ballard (Tallackson, Koalska) 13:38 - (Angell, Tallackson)
(James, Doell) - 08:11 (Barber) Kevin Doell - EN - 19:15		Third period		No scoring
Wade Dubielewicz ( 38 saves / 40 shots )		Goalie stats		Adam Hauser ( 22 saves / 26 shots )

Tournament awards[]

All-Tournament Team[]

F (Minnesota)
F (Denver)
F Mark Cullen (Colorado College)
D Jordan Leopold (Minnesota)
D Ryan Caldwell (Denver)
G Wade Dubielewicz* (Denver)

* Most Valuable Player(s)

^[17]

References[]

^ "Denver Men's Team History". Retrieved 2013-06-13.
^ "WCHA men's Hockey 2001-02 Week 24". USCHO.com. 2002-03-09. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
^ "WCHA men's Hockey 2001-02 Week 25". USCHO.com. 2002-03-16. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
^ "Denver 5, Michigan Tech 1". USCHO.com. 2002-03-08. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
^ "Denver 8, Michigan Tech 1". USCHO.com. 2002-03-09. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
^ "St. Cloud State 5, Minnesota-Duluth 4". USCHO.com. 2002-03-08. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
^ "St. Cloud State 6, Minnesota-Duluth 3". USCHO.com. 2002-03-09. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
^ "Minnesota 7, North Dakota 2". USCHO.com. 2002-03-08. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
^ "Minnesota 4, North Dakota 3". USCHO.com. 2002-03-09. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
^ "Colorado College 6, Alaska-Anchorage 1". USCHO.com. 2002-03-08. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
^ "Colorado College 1, Alaska-Anchorage 0". USCHO.com. 2002-03-09. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
^ "Colorado College 3, Wisconsin 2". USCHO.com. 2002-03-14. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
^ "Denver 3, Colorado College 0". USCHO.com. 2002-03-15. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
^ "Minnesota 4, St. Cloud State 1". USCHO.com. 2002-03-15. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
^ "Colorado College 5, St. Cloud State 4". USCHO.com. 2002-03-16. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
^ "Denver 5, Minnesota 2". USCHO.com. 2002-03-16. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
^ "2009-10 WCHA Yearbook 129-144" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved 2014-06-01.

External links[]

[1] "Denver Men's Team History". Retrieved 2013-06-13.

[2] "WCHA men's Hockey 2001-02 Week 24". USCHO.com. 2002-03-09. Retrieved 2013-06-13.

[3] "WCHA men's Hockey 2001-02 Week 25". USCHO.com. 2002-03-16. Retrieved 2013-06-13.

[4] "Denver 5, Michigan Tech 1". USCHO.com. 2002-03-08. Retrieved 2013-06-13.

[5] "Denver 8, Michigan Tech 1". USCHO.com. 2002-03-09. Retrieved 2013-06-13.

[6] "St. Cloud State 5, Minnesota-Duluth 4". USCHO.com. 2002-03-08. Retrieved 2013-06-13.

[7] "St. Cloud State 6, Minnesota-Duluth 3". USCHO.com. 2002-03-09. Retrieved 2013-06-13.

[8] "Minnesota 7, North Dakota 2". USCHO.com. 2002-03-08. Retrieved 2013-06-13.

[9] "Minnesota 4, North Dakota 3". USCHO.com. 2002-03-09. Retrieved 2013-06-13.

[10] "Colorado College 6, Alaska-Anchorage 1". USCHO.com. 2002-03-08. Retrieved 2013-06-13.

[11] "Colorado College 1, Alaska-Anchorage 0". USCHO.com. 2002-03-09. Retrieved 2013-06-13.

[12] "Colorado College 3, Wisconsin 2". USCHO.com. 2002-03-14. Retrieved 2013-06-13.

[13] "Denver 3, Colorado College 0". USCHO.com. 2002-03-15. Retrieved 2013-06-13.

[14] "Minnesota 4, St. Cloud State 1". USCHO.com. 2002-03-15. Retrieved 2013-06-13.

[15] "Colorado College 5, St. Cloud State 4". USCHO.com. 2002-03-16. Retrieved 2013-06-13.

[16] "Denver 5, Minnesota 2". USCHO.com. 2002-03-16. Retrieved 2013-06-13.

[17] "2009-10 WCHA Yearbook 129-144" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved 2014-06-01.

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