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

The 2002–03 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey season was the 82nd season of play for the program and its 44th season in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). Representing the University of Minnesota, the Golden Gophers played home games at Mariucci Arena. Led by Don Lucia in his fourth season as head coach, the Gophers successfully defended their NCAA Division I men's ice hockey national championship. The Gophers finished the season with a 28–8–9 record, closing out the year without suffering consecutive losses at any point in the season.

Season Following the 2001–2002 season, players Jordan Leopold, John Pohl, and Jeff Taffe did not return. Thomas Vanek made his college debut in this season.

The Gophers were ranked first entering the season, but the team lost team captain Grant Potulny to an injury in the season opener against Ohio State. What was initially thought to be a fractured fibula turned out to include torn ligaments as well, leaving him out for months. In addition to Potulny's injury, starting goaltenders Travis Weber and Justin Johnson both struggled to find success early in the season. This goalie rotation continued through the Colorado College game, after which Weber was named the primary starter and achieved a road victory against the University of Wisconsin.

Although goaltending and offensive play improved as the season continued, the Gophers' record remained inconsistent. In December, the team ranked 10th in the league. Following victories over Yale and Boston College, they briefly ascended to 4th in January before dropping down to 7th.

The second half of the season started with three losses, with the first win coming against North Dakota. Entering the final few weeks of the season, Minnesota sat 7th in the polls, with their next four games against higher-ranked teams. Minnesota went 2–0–2 in those games, and finished the regular season tied for second in the WCHA standings.

Conference tournament Because they held the tie-breaker, the Gophers received the No. 2 seed for the WCHA tournament, playing against Michigan Tech. The Gophers won the first game, but Weber suffered an injury to his finger in the second. Johnson entered for the remainder of the contest. Though he was initially expected to be ready for the next game, Weber was unable to play against Minnesota State–Mankato. Minnesota outshot MSU 49–17. Just less than four minutes into the extra session, Vanek scored his 26th goal of the season and sent the Gophers to the championship game.

Colorado College entered the game as the higher-ranked seed. Potulny played a part in all three of Minnesota's goals in the first period to build a significant lead. The Tigers had two power play goals in the second half of the game, along with 38 shots. The Gophers won 4–2.

NCAA tournament Because the team hosted one of the four regionals, Minnesota was placed in the West bracket. The WCHA championship allowed Minnesota to earn one of the #1 seeds and an advantageous match for the first round. Additionally, because two of the teams seeded 4th were also members of the WCHA, Minnesota was assigned to play Mercyhurst. With Weber returning and Potulny scoring a hat-trick, Minnesota claimed a 9–2 victory.

Minnesota's second game was expected to be closer than the previous games, as they were taking on #6 Ferris State. The Bulldogs were led by Hobey Baker finalist Chris Kunitz who scored twice in the first period. Minnesota then scored five times in the first period en route to a 7–4 victory.

The national semifinal saw Minnesota recover from an early deficit. Facing #4 Michigan, the Gophers were outplayed in the first period and down by a goal. Jed Ortmeyer scored after the midway point of the game, giving the Wolverines a two-goal lead. Troy Riddle cut the lead in half on a rebound from Vanek before the end of the second, while a goal less than two minutes into the third from Gino Guyer tied the score. Chris Harrington took two separate minor penalties afterwards, but the team was able to keep the game tied at 2–all. In overtime, both teams were unsuccessful on offense. In almost nine minutes, only five shots were taken, but eventually Vanek scored, sending the Gophers to the championship game.

The final game of the year was a rematch: Minnesota against New Hampshire. Minnesota generated sustained offensive pressure, but Wildcats player Mike Ayers kept the game close. After two periods, Minnesota led in shots 30–16, but the teams remained tied with one goal each. Just past the 8-minute mark, Vanek scored and then assisted on a second goal just three minutes later. After a power play goal from Barry Tallackson, Minnesota had a 3-goal lead. New Hampshire pulled its goaltender, and the Gophers scored their fifth goal, winning the national championship.

Departures Player Position Nationality Cause Nick Angell Defenseman Graduation (signed with Milwaukee Admirals) Adam Hauser Goaltender Graduation (signed with Providence Bruins) Jordan Leopold Defenseman Graduation (signed with Calgary Flames) Mark Nenovich Defenseman Graduation (retired) Pat O'Leary Forward Graduation (signed with Quad City Mallards) John Pohl Forward Graduation (signed with St. Louis Blues) Jeff Taffe Forward Graduation (signed with Phoenix Coyotes) Erik Wendell Forward Graduation (signed with Rockford IceHogs)

Recruiting Player Position Nationality Age Notes P. J. Atherton Defenseman 20 Edina, MN; selected 170th overall in 2002 Gino Guyer Forward 18 Coleraine, MN Chris Harrington Forward 20 St. Cloud, MN Tyler Hirsch Forward 18 Bloomington, MN Peter Kennedy Defenseman 18 Brookfield, NS Andy Sertich Defenseman 19 Coleraine, MN; selected 136th overall in 2002 Dustin Smieja Goaltender 18 Saint Paul, MN Thomas Vanek Forward 18 Baden bei Wien, AUT

Roster April 15, 2003.

Season standings Note: PTS = Points; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against

Schedule and results

!colspan=12 style="color:white; background:#862334; " | Regular season

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|- align="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" |colspan=11|Minnesota Won Series 2-0

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NCAA Championship (W1) Minnesota vs. (NE1) New Hampshire

Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st MINMatt DeMarchi (8)Smaagaard 10:58 1–0 MIN UNHSean Collins (22) – PPMartz and Aikins 19:41 1–1 2nd None 3rd MINThomas Vanek (31) – GWKoalska 48:14 2–1 MIN MINJon Waibel (9)Vanek 51:25 3–1 MIN MINBarry Tallackson (8) – PPGuyer and Harrington 53:34 4–1 MIN MINBarry Tallackson (9) – ENPotulny 58:31 5–1 MIN Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st UNHColin HemingwayCharging 8:57 2:00 MINKeith BallardRoughing 11:35 2:00 UNHJustin AikinsHooking 13:12 2:00 MINGarrett SmaagaardHitting after the Whistle 18:01 2:00 2nd UNHPatrick FoleyCharging 22:33 2:00 MINThomas VanekCross-Checking 23:10 2:00 UNHBrian YandleInterference 35:27 2:00 MINJudd StevensObstruction Holding 38:39 2:00 3rd MINJon WaibelHooking 48:59 2:00 UNHNathan MartzRoughing 51:43 2:00 UNHTim HorstHooking 58:46 2:00 MINJake FlemingSlashing 58:46 2:00

Shots by period Team 1 2 3 T New Hampshire 7 9 11 27 Minnesota 16 14 15 45

Goaltenders Team Name Saves Goals against Time on ice UNH Mike Ayers 40 4 59:28 MIN Travis Weber 26 1 60:00

Scoring statistics Name Position Games Goals Assists Points LW/RW 45 31 31 62 60 C 45 26 25 51 50 D 45 12 29 41 78 C 41 9 31 40 26 D 45 9 30 39 32 C 41 13 16 29 10 F 43 9 15 24 30 C 23 15 8 23 12 RW 32 9 14 23 18 F 41 10 9 19 36 D 45 4 14 18 60 F 40 9 8 17 18 D 44 8 9 17 130 D 44 5 8 13 12 C 33 3 10 13 4 W 18 5 5 10 12 D 44 3 6 9 12 F 21 2 7 9 4 D 24 3 4 7 16 F 34 1 4 5 12 D 20 2 2 4 20 D 16 1 3 4 10 RW 16 0 2 2 4 D 10 0 1 1 6 G 14 0 1 1 0 G 34 0 1 1 0 Bench - - - - - 14 Total 189 293 482 686

Goaltending statistics Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals against Saves Shut outs 34 1993 18 6 7 83 761 2 .902 2.50 14 764 10 2 2 37 285 0 .885 2.90 Empty Net - 3 - - - 2 - - - - Total 45 2761 28 8 9 122 1046 2 .896 2.65

Awards and honors Honor Player Ref Thomas Vanek NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Paul Martin AHCA West Second Team All-American Travis Weber NCAA All-Tournament Team Paul Martin Matt DeMarchi Thomas Vanek Thomas Vanek WCHA Rookie of the Year Grant Potulny WCHA Most Valuable Player in Tournament Paul Martin All-WCHA First Team Keith Ballard All-WCHA Second Team Thomas Vanek Troy Riddle All-WCHA Third Team Chris Harrington WCHA All-Rookie Team Thomas Vanek Grant Potulny WCHA All-Tournament Team Keith Ballard Justin Johnson

Players drafted into the NHL 2003 NHL entry draft

= NHL All-Star team= NHL All-StarPlayers are identified as an All-Star if they were selected for the All-Star game at any time in their career. = NHL All-Star and NHL All-Star team= Did not play in the NHL Round Pick Player NHL team 1 5 Thomas Vanek Buffalo Sabres 3 78 Danny Irmen † Minnesota Wild 3 87 Ryan Potulny † Philadelphia Flyers 4 136 Mike Vannelli † Atlanta Thrashers 5 165 Gino Guyer Dallas Stars † incoming freshman

References

External links Official website