Western Michigan earned its first Frozen Four appearance in program history, defeating UMass 2-1 last Saturday at the Scheels Arena.
The Broncos scored two unanswered to skate past the hot and lucky, according to Gopher fans, Minutemen in the Fargo Regional Final. This past weekend, Fargo was filled with overtime, one-score games and chaos.
The Broncos won their regional semifinal against Minnesota State 2-1 in double overtime before advancing to the Frozen Four with a win over UMass.
The bigger weekend drama happened shortly after that game at the Scheels Arena last Thursday.
UMass stormed back from a 3-1 deficit, scoring three unanswered goals in the third period to defeat the Minnesota Gophers 5-4 in overtime.
The Minutemen advanced to their first regional final since their national championship-winning season in 2020-21. Two days later, Western Michigan destroyed their chances of winning another.
A missed tripping call in overtime led directly to a UMass game-winner against Minnesota. Leaving Gopher fans, players, and coaches in shock.
One coach was happy with the way it played out, and one was not. You can guess who took what side pretty easily.
“This is the third straight NCAA game that’s gone into overtime since we’ve won the national championship,” UMass Head Coach Greg Carvel told the Grand Forks Herald. “Three in a row have gone to overtime, and we lost the last two. I just kept telling myself, ‘It’s our turn to win. It’s our turn.”
“The way the kids were playing in the third, the shots were pretty lopsided, and you could just feel it. I didn’t have to say a lot going into overtime. Crazy little things decide the game. But we were due,” he said. “I did a lot this week with the team about being ready for overtime, and it paid off. The thing about coaching these kids… if you keep saying things enough, they believe it. That was important that we had a mindset, and I’m just happy that it paid off.”
Gopher Head Coach Bob Motzko expressed his feelings about the officiating postgame, showing displeasure with two missed calls that both led to goals for UMass’s Aydar Suniev.
“What did you feel?” Motzko asked media members postgame. “Two goals tonight… we all get the mandate from the NCAA on sportsmanship, and I’ve got to be up here. I shouldn’t be sitting here right now. Two goals tonight. Two,” Motzko said. “First one, the guy got his head taken off with a high stick. Then that ended their season. UMass had a hard push in the third period, but that got them started on that first goal they scored. We didn’t change anything, then the big goal by [Snuggerud]… you all know.”
Gopher faithful can debate whether the referees should have called the tripping or not, but the result is final. The region’s second-seeded Gophers season was over whether they agreed with the call or not.
The Broncos will play their NCHC rivals the Denver Pioneers in St. Louis on May 10.
Elijah Andrews is the Dakota Student Sports Reporter. He can be reached at elijah.andrews@und.edu.
