NCAA Hockey Tournament 2011: Notre Dame, North Dakota Move On, Complete Frozen Four Field

Sunday’s NCAA hockey tournament action saw the final two teams advance to the Frozen Four. In the Midwest Regional Final, the North Dakota Fighting Sioux crushed the Denver Pioneers 6-1 to advance, while in the Northeast Regional, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame squeaked by New Hampshire.

North Dakota 6, Denver 1: At the end of the first period of Sunday’s game, it looked as though we might’ve had a close battle on our hands. Mario Lamoureux gave the Sioux a 1-0 lead on a shortie five minutes in, but with a second left in the period, Jason Zucker answered for Denver.

As the second period began, though, North Dakota asserted their dominance. They hit, they skated, they looked like they were on another stratosphere. Denver simply couldn’t hang. It became 3-1 after the second period, but by the time the final horn sounded, the score was an embarrassing 6-1.

Notre Dame 2, New Hampshire 1: It was the complete opposite of the offensive show of force that the Sioux put on, as the goaltending stole the show in the Northeast Regional Final. Irish goalie Mike Johnson made 38 saves against the Wildcats on Sunday to lift his team to the Frozen Four.

Johnson was especially key late in the third period. After losing a shutout bid a little more than midway through the period, Johnson and the Notre Dame penalty killers were tested by a UNH squad hungry to tie the score at 2-2. Johnson made sure that didn’t happen, and ultimately, the Irish were able to squeeze by with the win.