Western Collegiate Hockey Association
Heidi Pelttari and the Bulldogs are the top seed in the WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF |
 |
2008 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF Set to Get Underway Saturday at DECC in Duluth, Tickets on Sale Now
March 4, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
MADISON, Wis. - Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota, Wisconsin and St. Cloud State, three of the top five ranked teams in the country and the top four seeds in the league's post-season tournament, make up the field for the 2008 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF, set for Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9 at the Duluth Entertainment & Convention Center (DECC) in Duluth, Minn. The tournament champion willl receive the league's automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.
WCHA regular season champion and No. 3-ranked Minnesota Duluth (29-4-1, .868) will face-off against fourth seeded St. Cloud State (18-14-5, .554) in the first semi-final on Saturday afternoon at 1:07 pm CT. UMD won all four of its regular season meetings against SCSU and has won 21 of its last 22 games.
That game will be followed by a semi-final matchup between No. 4-ranked and second seeded Minnesota (27-5-4, .806) and No. 5-ranked and third seeded Wisconsin (26-7-3, .764) at 4:07 pm CT. The Badgers, who went 2-1-1 vs the Golden Gophers during the regular season, are two-time defending WCHA playoff champions. Both teams are playing well - the Gophers are 21-1-3 overall since Nov. 18 while the Badgers are 16-1-1 since Dec. 8.
Saturday's winners will play for the championship on Sunday afternoon in the title game at 1:07 pm CT.
Tickets for the WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF are available at the UMD Ticket Office at (218) 726-8595.
All games from the 2008 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF will be streamed live via the league's official web site at WCHA.CSTV.com and WCHA.TV, with veteran announcer Jack Swanson doing play-by-play and former Minnesota coach Laura Halldorson handling color. WISC-TV (Channel 3) in Madison will also carry the games on its website, www.Channel3000.com. The championship game will be carried on tape delay by FSN North and FSN Wisconsin March 22 at 5 p.m.
Last weekend in the first round of the playoffs, Minnesota Duluth beat eight-seeded Bemidji State twice. On Friday, Feb. 29 the league-champion Bulldogs got a pair of goals from right winger Emmanuelle Blais, a shorthanded game-winning goal and two assists from left winger Laura Fridfinnson, and a goal and an assist from center Saara Tuominen enroute to a 6-0 victory Friday (Feb. 29) and on Saturday (March 1), the No. 3-nationally ranked Bulldogs ended the season of Bemidji State (4-29-3). Fridfinnson scored two goals and Sara O'Toole had a goal and an assist to lead UMD to a 5-1 victory.
Second place Minnesota easily took care of North Dakota at Ridder Arena. Last Friday, Bobbi Ross scored twice and Gigi Marvin notched the game-winning goal and added two assists as the Gophers won 3-1. No. 4-ranked Minnesota jumped to a 6-0 lead after the first period Saturday and ousted No. 7 seed North Dakota (4-26-6). Anya Miller had three goals for the Gophers in the 9-0 victory.
In Madison, Wisconsin continued its dominance over Minnesota State. Meghan Duggan had a goal and an assist and the Badgers scored a 4-2 over the No. 6 seed Mavericks last Friday. On Saturday No. 5-ranked Wisconsin blanked Minnesota State (11-21-2), 5-0, as Duggan had two goals, wingers Kelly Nash and Hilary Knight each had a goal and an assist, and Jessie Vetter had 16 saves in her 25th career shutout. Minnesota State has never beaten UW in 38 tries.
And at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, fifth-seeded Ohio State extended St. Cloud State to three games. The Huskies (17-13-5) took game one, 4-2, before 214 as left winger Meaghan Pezon had two goals and an assist, center Laura Fast netted the eventual game-winner at 13:51 of the third, and Kendall Newell had 31 saves. Ohio State got 30 saves from Liana Bonanno and bounced back for a 3-0 victory over St. Cloud Saturday. In the deciding game Sunday The Huskies held off OSU, 5-3. The loss ends Ohio State's season with a 17-17-3 overall record. Trailing 4-0 heading into the third period, the Buckeyes rallied with three goals (two from Erin Keys, and one by Jody Heywood) in the opening nine minutes of the third period. With OSU on a power play late in the game, Hogan of St. Cloud State scored shorthanded on a breakaway at 19:23.
In this week's (March 4) two women's Div. 1 national polls - the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll and the USCHO.com/CSTV Poll, the WCHA again had three of it's member teams ranked among the top 10. Minnesota Duluth is No. 3, Minnesota is No. 4, and Wisconsin is No. 5 in both polls. St. Cloud State also received votes.
This Week in the WCHA - 2008 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF - DECC, Duluth, MN Games for Saturday, March 8: #4 St. Cloud State vs #1 Minnesota Duluth, 1:07 pm CT; #3 Wisconsin vs #2 Minnesota, 4:07 pm CT.
Games for Sunday, March 9: Championship Game, 1:07 pm CT.
|
|
 |