2007 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament

2007 WCHA Men's ice hockey tournament
Dates	March 9–17, 2007
Teams	10
Finals site	Xcel Energy Center St. Paul, Minnesota
Champions	Minnesota (14th title)
Winning coach	Don Lucia[1] (3rd title)
MVP	Blake Wheeler (Minnesota)
Attendance	88,900
WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments ← 2006 2008 →

The 2007 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 48th conference playoff in league history and 53rd season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The 2007 tournament was played between March 9 and March 17, 2007, at five conference arenas and the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. By winning the tournament, Minnesota was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the WCHA's automatic bid to the NCAA 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: PTS = Points; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against

2006–07 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings v t e
	Conference								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#5 Minnesota†*	28	18	7	3	39	91	67		44	31	10	3	139	89
#8 St. Cloud State	28	14	7	7	35	89	70		40	22	11	7	127	99
#3 North Dakota	28	13	10	5	31	93	75		43	24	14	5	153	116
#15 Denver	28	13	11	4	30	73	73		40	21	15	4	107	95
Colorado College	28	13	12	3	29	79	74		39	18	17	4	111	98
Michigan Tech	28	11	12	5	27	69	64		40	18	17	5	90	87
Wisconsin	28	12	13	3	27	59	53		41	19	18	4	93	83
Minnesota State	28	10	13	5	25	81	99		38	13	19	6	106	132
Minnesota–Duluth	28	8	16	4	20	64	84		39	13	21	5	103	121
Alaska–Anchorage	28	8	19	1	17	62	101		37	13	21	3	90	124
Championship: Minnesota † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Final rankings: USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Top 15 Poll

Bracket

Teams are reseeded after the first round

	First round[2] March 9–11							Quarterfinal[3] March 15					Semifinals March 16					Championship March 17
	1	Minnesota	6	1	3
	10	Alaska-Anchorage	2	2*	1
													1	Minnesota	4
	2	St. Cloud State	1	3*	3***			6	Michigan Tech	0			7	Wisconsin	2
	9	Minnesota-Duluth	3	2	2			7	Wisconsin	4
	3	North Dakota	5	2	–													1	Minnesota	3*
	8	Minnesota State	2	1	–													3	North Dakota	2
	4	Denver	2	1	–
	7	Wisconsin	3	2	–								2	St. Cloud State	2
													3	North Dakota	6
	5	Colorado College	1	2	0
	6	Michigan Tech	2*	1	1

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

First round

(1) Minnesota vs. (10) Alaska-Anchorage

March 9[4]	Minnesota		6 – 2		Alaska-Anchorage	Mariucci Arena	Recap
(Gordon, Johnson) Jay Barriball - 06:56 (Goligoski, Gordon) Mike Vannelli - PP - 19:43		First period			14:49 - PP - Paul Crowder (Clark, Hunt)
(Goligoski, Vannelli) Jay Barriball - GW PP - 13:19 (Bostrom, O'Brien) Ryan Flynn - 14:54		Second period			09:17 - PP - Merit Waldrop (Beagle, Anderson)
(Gordon, Johnson) Blake Wheeler - 01:20 (O'Brien) Justin Bostrom - PP - 18:00		Third period			No scoring
( 23 saves / 25 shots ) Kellen Briggs		Goalie stats			Jon Olthuis ( 26 saves / 32 shots )

March 10[5]	Minnesota		1 – 2	OT	Alaska-Anchorage	Mariucci Arena	Recap
(Stoa, Kaufmann) Kyle Okposo - PP - 15:34		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			16:25 - Josh Lunden (Clark, Backstrom)
No scoring		First overtime period			05:45 - GW - Luke Beaverson (Kronschnabel, Bourne)
( 26 saves / 28 shots ) Kellen Briggs		Goalie stats			Nathan Lawson ( 25 saves / 26 shots )

March 11[6]	Minnesota		3 – 1		Alaska-Anchorage	Mariucci Arena	Recap
No Scoring		First period			05:43 - Kevin Clark (Lunden)
(Barriball, Vannelli) Ben Gordon - PP - 04:22		Second period			No scoring
(Flynn, Lucia) Mike Carman - GW - 08:44 (Lucia) Kyle Okposo - SH - 18:35		Third period			No scoring
( 11 saves / 12 shots ) Jeff Frazee		Goalie stats			Nathan Lawson ( 26 saves / 29 shots )

Minnesota won series 2–1

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

March 9[7]	St. Cloud State		1 – 3		Minnesota-Duluth	National Hockey Center	Recap
No Scoring		First period			No scoring
(Swanson, Stephenson) Dan Kronick - 09:01		Second period			00:33 - Bryan McGregor (Sharp) 14:46 - GW - Mike Curry
No scoring		Third period			16:58 - PP - Josh Meyers (Sharp, Raymond)
( 21 saves / 24 shots ) Bobby Goepfert		Goalie stats			Josh Johnson ( 27 saves / 28 shots )

March 10[8]	St. Cloud State		3 – 2	OT	Minnesota-Duluth	National Hockey Center	Recap
(Stephenson, Borer) Andrew Gordon - 16:10		First period			No scoring
(Kronick, Swanson) Ryan Lasch - PP - 09:46		Second period			09:46 - PP - Jordan Fulton (Garrison, McKnight)
No scoring		Third period			16:06 - Josh Meyers (Raymond, Sharp)
(Gordon, Fletcher) Nate Dey - GW - 17:01		First overtime period			No scoring
( 28 saves / 30 shots ) Bobby Goepfert		Goalie stats			Josh Johnson ( 42 saves / 45 shots )

March 11[9]	St. Cloud State		3 – 2	3OT	Minnesota-Duluth	National Hockey Center	Recap
(Raduns, Kronick) Ryan Lasch - 18:33		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			01:26 - PP - Bryan McGregor (Niskanen, Raymond) 07:00 - Nick Kemp (Geris)
John Swanson - 04:11		Third period			No scoring
(Borer) Andreas Nödl - GW - 11:33		Third overtime period			No scoring
( 67 saves / 69 shots ) Bobby Goepfert		Goalie stats			Josh Johnson ( 62 saves / 65 shots )

St. Cloud State won series 2–1

(3) North Dakota vs. (8) Minnesota State

March 9[10]	North Dakota		5 – 2		Minnesota State	Ralph Engelstad Arena	Recap
(Toews, Chorney) T. J. Oshie - 09:05 (Zajac) Kyle Radke - 18:03		First period			No scoring
(Chorney, Bina) Ryan Duncan - GW PP - 01:56 (Kozek, Kaip) Erik Fabian - 02:26 (Oshie, Lee) Jonathan Toews - 09:07		Second period			01:09 - PP - Kurtis Kisio (Mouillierat, Irwin) 16:22 - Mick Berge (Kalinski)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
( 29 saves / 31 shots ) Philippe Lamoureux		Goalie stats			Mike Zacharias ( 15 saves / 20 shots ) / Dan Tormey ( 18 saves / 18 shots )

March 10[11]	North Dakota		2 – 1		Minnesota State	Ralph Engelstad Arena	Recap
No Scoring		First period			No scoring
(Chorney, Toews) Ryan Duncan - PP - 12:45 (Fabian, Kozek) Rylan Kaip - GW - 18:28		Second period			15:43 - Joel Hanson (Kilburg, Harrison)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
( 23 saves / 24 shots ) Philippe Lamoureux		Goalie stats			Dan Tormey ( 25 saves / 27 shots )

North Dakota won series 2–0

(4) Denver vs. (7) Wisconsin

March 9[12]	Denver		2 – 3		Wisconsin	Magness Arena	Recap
No Scoring		First period			14:33 - Joe Piskula 17:44 - Ben Street (Klubertanz)
(Trotter, Veideman) Ryan Dingle - 05:14 (Gifford) J.D. Corbin - 15:44		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			15:36 - GW - Jake Dowell (Davies, Olinger)
( 34 saves / 37 shots ) Peter Mannino		Goalie stats			Brian Elliott ( 23 saves / 25 shots )

March 10[13]	Denver		1 – 2		Wisconsin	Magness Arena	Recap
No Scoring		First period			10:48 - Andrew Joudrey (Skille, Likens) 15:27 - GW SH - Andy Brandt (Carlson, Likens)
(Testwuide, Dingle) Rhett Rakhshani - 08:27		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
( 35 saves / 37 shots ) Glenn Fisher		Goalie stats			Brian Elliott ( 35 saves / 36 shots )

Wisconsin won series 2–0

(5) Colorado College vs. (6) Michigan Tech

March 9[14]	Colorado College		1 – 2	OT	Michigan Tech	World Arena, Colorado Springs	Recap
No Scoring		First period			No scoring
(Kilpatrick, Rau) Scott McCulloch - PP - 08:44		Second period			18:09 - Peter Rouleau (Shelast, Helminen)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			00:39 - GW - Jimmy Kerr (St. Louis, Gagne)
( 25 saves / 27 shots ) Matt Zaba		Goalie stats			Michael Teslak ( 26 saves / 27 shots )

March 10[15]	Colorado College		2 – 0		Michigan Tech	World Arena, Colorado Springs	Recap
No Scoring		First period			No scoring
(Cox, Kilpatrick) Scott Thauwald - GW - 15:02		Second period			No scoring
Andreas Vlassopoulos - 05:50		Third period			No scoring
( 29 saves / 29 shots ) Matt Zaba		Goalie stats			Michael Teslak ( 20 saves / 22 shots )

March 11[16]	Colorado College		0 – 1		Michigan Tech	World Arena, Colorado Springs	Recap
No Scoring		First period			12:59 - GW - Ryan Bunger (Kivisto, Lord)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
( 24 saves / 25 shots ) Matt Zaba		Goalie stats			Michael Teslak ( 18 saves / 18 shots )

Michigan Tech won series 2–1

Quarterfinal

(6) Michigan Tech vs. (7) Wisconsin

March 15[17]	Michigan Tech		0 – 4		Wisconsin	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
No Scoring		First period			01:45 - GW - Blake Geoffrion (Drewiske, McBain)
No scoring		Second period			02:42 - PP - Michael Davies (Joudrey, McBain) 04:14 - Andrew Joudrey (Klubertanz, Piskula)
No scoring		Third period			10:12 - Tom Gorowsky (Street, Klubertanz)
( 27 saves / 31 shots ) Michael Teslak		Goalie stats			Brian Elliott ( 26 saves / 26 shots )

Semifinals

(1) Minnesota vs. (7) Wisconsin

March 16[18]	Minnesota		4 – 2		Wisconsin	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
(Barriball, Schack) Blake Wheeler - 05:52		First period			19:16 - Davis Drewiske (Ford, Geoffrion)
(Lucia, Carman) Mike Vannelli - 11:00 (Goligoski, Vannelli) Blake Wheeler - GW PP - 19:56		Second period			01:37 - Jake Dowell (Olinger, Piskula)
Blake Wheeler - EN - 19:56		Third period			No scoring
( 29 saves / 31 shots ) Kellen Briggs		Goalie stats			Brian Elliott ( 21 saves / 24 shots )

(2) St. Cloud State vs. (3) North Dakota

March 16[19]	St. Cloud State		2 – 6		North Dakota	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
No Scoring		First period			16:20 - Jonathan Toews (Duncan, Oshie)
(Gordon, Dey) Andreas Nödl - 04:09 (Dey, Nödl) Andrew Gordon - PP - 10:06		Second period			05:19 - Chris VandeVelde (Porter, Watkins) 08:43 - GW - Chris VandeVelde (Watkins, Chorney) 12:29 - Jonathan Toews (Oshie, Genoway) 13:12 - Matt Watkins (VandeVelde, Jones)
No scoring		Third period			09:06 - Chris Porter (Kaip, Fabian)
( 29 saves / 35 shots ) Bobby Goepfert		Goalie stats			Philippe Lamoureux ( 25 saves / 27 shots )

Third Place

(2) St. Cloud State vs. (7) Wisconsin

March 17[20]	St. Cloud State		3 – 4	OT	Wisconsin	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
(Gordan, Dey) Andreas Nödl - 00:29		First period			12:39 - Jake Dowell (Carlson, Davies)
(Kronick, Swanson) Ryan Lasch - PP - 03:18 (Kronick, Lasch) John Swanson - PP - 10:20		Second period			18:38 - PP - Andy Brandt (Skille, Street)
No scoring		Third period			13:00 - Jack Skille (Joudrey, Klubertanz)
No scoring		First overtime period			04:50 - GW - Ben Street (Joudrey, Klubertanz)
( 29 saves / 33 shots ) Bobby Goepfert		Goalie stats			Brian Elliott ( 2 saves / 3 shots ) / Shane Connelly ( 24 saves / 26 shots )

Championship

(1) Minnesota vs. (3) North Dakota

March 17[21]	Minnesota		3 – 2	OT	North Dakota	Xcel Energy Center	Recap
No Scoring		First period			No scoring
(Lucia, Carman) Erik Johnson - 08:26 (Wheeler, Vannelli) Ben Gordon - 15:36		Second period			13:24 - PP - Taylor Chorney (Bina, Oshie)
No scoring		Third period			01:54 - PP - Ryan Duncan (Chorney, Bina)
(Barriball) Blake Wheeler - GW - 03:25		First overtime period			No scoring
( 23 saves / 25 shots ) Jeff Frazee		Goalie stats			Philippe Lamoureux ( 38 saves / 41 shots )

Tournament awards

All-Tournament Team

• F Blake Wheeler* (Minnesota)
• F Jonathan Toews (North Dakota)
• F Jake Dowell (Wisconsin)
• D Mike Vannelli (Minnesota)
• D Taylor Chorney (North Dakota)
• G Philippe Lamoureux (North Dakota)

* Most Valuable Player(s)

^[22]

See also

• Western Collegiate Hockey Association men's champions

References

1. "Don Lucia Year-by-Year Coaching Record". Retrieved July 16, 2013.
2. "WCHA men's Hockey 2006-07 Week 24". USCHO.com. March 11, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
3. "WCHA men's Hockey 2006-07 Week 25". USCHO.com. March 17, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
4. "Minnesota 6, Alaska-Anchorage 2". USCHO.com. March 9, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
5. "Alaska-Anchorage 2, Minnesota 1". USCHO.com. March 10, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
6. "Minnesota 6, Alaska-Anchorage 2". USCHO.com. March 11, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
7. "Minnesota-Duluth 3, St. Cloud State 1". USCHO.com. March 9, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
8. "St. Cloud State 3, Minnesota-Duluth 2". USCHO.com. March 10, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
9. "St. Cloud State 3, Minnesota-Duluth 2". USCHO.com. March 11, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
10. "North Dakota 5, Minnesota State 2". USCHO.com. March 9, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
11. "Minnesota 5, Minnesota State 3". USCHO.com. March 10, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
12. "Wisconsin 3, Denver 2". USCHO.com. March 9, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
13. "Wisconsin 2, Denver 1". USCHO.com. March 10, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
14. "Michigan Tech 2, Colorado College 1". USCHO.com. March 9, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
15. "Colorado College 2, Michigan Tech 0". USCHO.com. March 10, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
16. "Michigan Tech 1, Colorado College 0". USCHO.com. March 11, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
17. "Wisconsin 4, Michigan Tech 0". USCHO.com. March 15, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
18. "Minnesota 4, Wisconsin 2". USCHO.com. March 16, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
19. "North Dakota 6, St. Cloud State 2". USCHO.com. March 16, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
20. "Wisconsin 4, St. Cloud State 3". USCHO.com. March 17, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
21. "Minnesota 3, North Dakota 2". USCHO.com. March 17, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
22. "2009-10 WCHA Yearbook 129-144" (PDF). WCHA. Retrieved June 1, 2014.

External links

• WCHA official site
• 2006–07 WCHA Standings
• 2006–07 NCAA Standings