SAINT PAUL, Minn. – For the second time in a week, the SCSU Huskies and the Wisconsin Badgers will meet at the Xcel Energy Center. Last week, it was SCSU defeating Wisconsin for a chance at the WCHA title. Tonight, the teams have a rematch with a trip to the Frozen Four in Detroit on the line. The attendance here was paltry, announced at just over 7,200, with nowhere near that many actually in the building. The fans were either quiet because there were so few of them, or their cheering was absorbed by the sheer size of the building. The loudest group of fans was a handful of maybe 25 NMU fans decked out in full regalia of hard hats and fluorescent wigs, all the while facing a fan base that needed to travel less than an hour to support their squad. Game One: NMU vs SCSU In the first game of the day, SCSU faced off against the Northern Michigan Wildcats in a game that neither team seemed to want to win. Both sides looked to be content to play end to end hockey without taking many shots on goal or creating much traffic in front of the net. There were certainly flashes of offense, with both teams creating breath taking chances and trading 99 shots on goal, but those opportunities were interrupted by long periods of both teams dumping the puck deep and changing lines, neither team creating a strong forecheck on most dump ins. As the game wore on, the finality of the game looked to sink in as both teams finished the third period strong and the game needed two overtimes to settle it. In the end, SCSU’s Tony Mosey deflected a shot from Garrett Roe past NMU’s Brian Stewart, who had 50 saves on the night, and SCSU won its first ever NCAA Frozen Four tournament game. Game Two: Wisconsin vs Vermont Top seed Wisconsin had an easier time dispatching Vermont in the second game. The Badgers power play scored on its first three opportunities, giving them enough to secure a shot at SCSU for a berth in the Frozen Four. The Catamounts had upset story written in their notebooks after the first period, being up 2-1 after the opening frame. However, in the final two periods, Vermont had little to no effective offensive chances, with the highly touted Wisconsin defense tightening up after giving up the lead. Wisconsin’s offense, not to be outshined by the defense, took 42 shots on Catamounts goalie Rob Madore and had more solid scoring chances than could be tracked. If not for Madore, this game could have gotten out of hand quickly. Even the Catamounts 6’ 6” defenseman Kyle Medvec, a Minnesota Wild draftee, was invisible on the ice. The story of the night will be Vermont’s inability to stay out of penalty trouble, and that they gave Wisconsin too many chances to win. The Catamounts stayed in the game, until the very end, but Hobey Baker finalist Blake Geoffrion netted the game winning goal at the 19:16 mark of the third period. Regional Final: Wisconsin vs SCSU With two teams from the WCHA facing off for a chance to go to the Frozen Four, the expectation would be that the fan bases would respond by filling some seats, but with the lack of attendance at yesterday’s games, that expectation needs to be tempered. Expect another mostly empty building witnessing a hard fought, well played hockey game between two teams very familiar with each other. The author can be reached at bryan.reynolds@prohockeynews.com
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