LAS VEGAS — North Dakota didn’t surrender a single goal at the Sioux Falls Regional, beating Merrimack and Quinnipiac by a combined score of 8-0.
The Fighting Hawks were No. 2 in the country by NPI this season, and their 5-1 loss to Minnesota-Duluth in the NCHC semifinals was their only loss of the season by more than three goals. When the puck dropped Thursday at T-Mobile Arena for the first of two semifinals at the Frozen Four, they were the deserved favorite.
On the other side of the ice was a Wisconsin team that went on a six-game losing streak in January, four of which were on home ice. A Wisconsin team that four weeks ago lost 7-1 on home ice to Ohio State in the Big Ten quarterfinal. A Wisconsin team that, with five minutes left in the third period of the Worcester Regional final against another top-seeded team in Michigan State, trailed 3-1.
The Badgers had five drafted prospects in their lineup on Thursday. North Dakota had twice as many, plus a potential top-five pick in this year’s draft.
But that hasn’t always mattered in college hockey. In fact, it rarely has. Badgers head coach Mike Hastings’ track record at Minnesota State and now Wisconsin (this being his third trip to the Frozen Four between the two of them, relying on gamers, experience and a clear identity more than star power) is proof of that.
And on Thursday, Wisconsin played to that identity.
Led by their puck pressure and against the backdrop of a more green than red crowd, the Badgers took the play to the Fighting Hawks, forcing a North Dakota blue line that has been a strength into turnovers. The Badgers beat the Fighting Hawks to pucks, won races and earned their way back to the NCAA national championship game for the first time since 2010 — and a chance at their seventh national title — with a 2-1 win.
“It doesn’t have to be Mona Lisa,” Hastings said. “You just have to make sure you’re living another day.”
Simon Tassy opened the scoring, jumping off the bench and going bar down with 7:06 left in the first period. Half a minute later, Ryan Botterill split a gap in North Dakota’s defense to quickly make it 2-0.
At the end of 20 minutes, shots were 18-4 for Wisconsin.
“You can go to nerves. There’s (a) lot of different things you could attribute it to. I think in the end, they came out ready to go, and we came out flat,” North Dakota defenseman Keaton Verhoeff said. “It’s heartbreaking.”
North Dakota had five power-play opportunities in the second and third periods to find a way back into it, but a Wisconsin team whose penalty kill was 70.9 percent on the season, sent the Fighting Hawks back down into their own zone again and again, asking little, frankly, of goalie Daniel Hauser.
North Dakota scored late, with Ellis Rickwood’s goal from Dylan James and Ben Strinden cutting the lead to 2-1 with 52.7 seconds remaining, but it just felt like the Fighting Hawks were on the back foot for most of the game.
“It wasn’t our best,” Fighting Hawks forward Cole Reschny said. “I mean, obviously, that first period was tough. And you get down this late in the year, it’s tough to come back.”
Keaton Verhoeff’s late-season struggles
Early on this season, Verhoeff was the presumptive No. 1 D in this year’s class. He was a minute eater for Canada as an underager at U18 worlds in Texas, its captain at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and then scored four goals in his first nine college hockey games in nonconference play. Then the points dried up as he and the North Dakota staff tried to build his defensive game on their third pairing in anticipation for the NCHC tournament and then the national tournament. And over the last few weeks, as the games got tougher, I thought he had a hard time with the pace of play. In the NCHC semifinal against Minnesota-Duluth, he was minus-4 and played 16:26.
In the regional, he played 13:04, a season low, and 16:50. On Thursday, he struggled from his very first shift, repeatedly getting hemmed in and icing the puck, stumbling over his feet (a concern I’ve had since U17s in Sarnia almost two seasons ago now), getting caught flat-footed and running around in his own zone. Even with the caveats of his age (still 17 because of his summer birthday) and the stage, it was alarming. He’s not in my top three D in the class at the moment, and there are some clear developmental areas he’s going to have to improve upon to reach his full potential.
He should go to U18s at the end of the month to end his draft year on more of a high note. — Scott Wheeler
North Dakota’s tough start
There’s a saying around the North Dakota hockey program — “Sioux Time” — which refers to how the Fighting Hawks are typically five minutes early for things, from bus departures to meetings. They were even 10 minutes early for the scheduled arrival at T-Mobile Arena for Thursday’s semifinal against Wisconsin.
But the Fighting Hawks didn’t start on time when the first period opened, getting put under siege by the Badgers for the first 15-plus minutes. They were sloppy in their breakouts and neutral zone passing, with Wisconsin seemingly one or two steps ahead. The Badgers scored twice within 27 seconds after the midway point of the period, with Botterill ripping a blast from the top of the circle, and Tassy’s shot trickling through Jan Spunar. It could have been a lot worse had Spunar not been so sharp in the early going.
The Badgers outshot North Dakota 18-4 in the first, and it didn’t feel that close. Ultimately, it was a hole that the Fighting Hawks couldn’t dig out of. — Joe Smith
The season-defining PP
With the Badgers holding a 2-0 lead, North Dakota’s biggest push came in the second half of the second period. That included when the Fighting Hawks had 1 minute, 57 seconds of a five-on-three power play. Then shortly into it, Badgers captain Ben Dexheimer left the game after blocking a Will Zellers one-timer. So Wisconsin, with two defensemen in the box, was down another for a short period of time.
In a gut-check time for both teams, Wisconsin came out on top, killing the power play. There were a few good looks for North Dakota, with the best a one-timer from Verhoeff. Hauser made the initial glove save, but the puck bounced loose. And North Dakota’s Tyler Young tried to swat it in but missed.
The Fighting Hawks had three power plays in the second period — their best chance to come back — and couldn’t convert. — Smith
Excellent goaltending on both ends
The two freshman goalies stole the show in the early game. Hauser was pitching a shutout until North Dakota’s lone goal in the final minute. He stopped 21 of 22 shots and was ahead of the play all game, playing confidently at the top of his crease.
Wisconsin’s penalty kill did an excellent job of keeping North Dakota’s shots to the outside, and Hauser read the passes so well that he was waiting for one-timers to get to him on several occasions. The Fighting Hawks made a push over the second half of the game but struggled to solve Hauser.
“We know he’s going to bail us out multiple times a game, which he did again for us tonight. That’s been the difference this year, he has been unbelievable, a rock back there for us,” Dexheimer said.
On the other end, Spunar was just as good, if not better, for the Fighting Hawks. He held North Dakota in the game despite being outshot and outchanced. Early in the game, especially, Wisconsin was all over North Dakota, forcing turnovers off the forecheck and with good sticks in the neutral zone.
Spunar made several key saves in the opening minutes, including a one-timer from the doorstep, before Wisconsin eventually broke through with two quick goals late in the opening period. After that, Spunar shut the door for the remainder of the game to give the Fighting Hawks a chance. Pushing for offense, North Dakota gave up several odd-man rushes, but Spunar stood tall to keep it a two-goal game throughout. He stopped 35 of the 37 shots he faced. — Jesse Granger
