The University of North Dakota punched their ticket to the Frozen Four for the second straight season with a 4-1 victory over St. Cloud State University Saturday night at Scheels Arena.
UND goalie Zane McIntyre was named Most Outstanding Player of the West Regional after winning both games by saving 48 of 50 shots in 120 minutes of play.
UND will meet Boston University, the winner of the Northeast Regional, on Thursday, April 9.
The game did not start out the way UND would've like it to.
The Huskies scored just a minute and 29 seconds into the game. It came from Jimmy Murray on his fifth goal of the season. The UND players, though, were not concerned about the fast start.
"This group has been through an awful lot," said head coach Dave Hakstol. "If anything, it gave us a bit of a jot."
UND's senior Andrew Panzarella, who was playing due to Keaton Thompson suffering from an illness, would answer just under nine minutes into the first period with a shot from the blue line. It was Panzarella's first goal of the season and only is ninth game played of the year.
"[Nick] Schmaltz really carried me out there," said Panzarella. "It felt great. It was pretty cool."
The second period of the game resembled the second period of UND's game against Quinnipiac the night prior. Total domination.
UND had 11 shots on goal to SCSU's four. One of those 11 found the back of the net to give UND a 2-1 lead. It came courtesy of Drake Caggiula, an All-Tournament selection. It was his second goal of the regional.
"We just played with an edge," said Hakstol. "We played the game the way it was meant to be played. We played with a purpose."
Of the six National Collegiate Hockey Conference teams in the national tournament, five made the regional finals. Two of those five, Denver and Omaha, will play Sunday for a chance at the Frozen Four.
The strong showing by the conference is not unexpected, although some may argue that the strong showing the conference's crown jewel has been.
There was some uneasiness felt by UND fans coming into the regional but those feelings have been frimly put to bed.
"It feels pretty special," said goalie Zane McIntyre. "Guys came into the week really prepared."