Frozen Four capsules

Last update: April 9, 2008 - 7:35 PM

North Dakota fighting sioux

28-10-4 record • Midwest Regional • No. 1 seed

The Fighting Sioux have won seven NCAA titles, the last in 2000. This is their 18th Frozen Four. Their schedule was rated the nation's toughest.

Goalie Jean-Philippe Lamoureux had a season-high 41 saves in North Dakota's 3-2 overtime victory over Wisconsin in the region final. Andrew Kozek's 18th goal of the season was the game-winner. T.J. Oshie and Ryan Duncan also have 18 goals; all three are junior forwards.

The Fighting Sioux are No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense, giving up only 1.76 goals per game. Lamoureux has the best goals-against average (1.64) and save percentage (.936) among all Division I goalies. The Fighting Sioux had a school record 18-game unbeaten streak (15-0-3) until they lost twice in the WCHA playoffs.

Four of North Dakota's key players are Minnesotans. Oshie is from Warroad. Sophomore forward Chris VandeVelde is from Moorhead, 6-7 junior defenseman Joe Finley from Edina and junior defenseman Taylor Chorney from Hastings.

Boston College Eagles

23-11-8 record • Northeast Regional • No. 2 seed

The Eagles beat North Dakota in the semifinals the past two years, 6-5 in 2006 and 6-4 last year. This season they met Oct. 19 at BC's Conte Forum in a game stopped after two periods because of poor ice conditions and fog. It ended as a scoreless tie.

BC is the third-highest-scoring team in Division I hockey, averaging 3.57 goals per game. The Eagles have 46 power-play goals in 42 games. Besides Nathan Gerbe, other top BC players are freshman forward Joe Whitney (10-40-50), freshman goalie John Muse (2.26 GAA) and sophomore defenseman Carl Sneep, who played for Brainerd High School (3-11-14).

Coach Jerry York has a 801-515-84 record in 36 seasons at three schools. He is the winningest active coach.

Michigan wolverines

33-5-4 record • East Regional • No. 1 seed

The Wolverines average 3.95 goals per game, second-best in Division I hockey, and give up only 2.00 goals, fourth-best. Michigan, which has a six-game winning streak, is led by Kevin Porter (33-29-62) and Chad Kolarik (28-26-54). Kolarik, another senior forward, is the nation's third-leading scorer.

"They make the difference on this team, there's no question," said Michigan coach Red Berenson, who has 12 freshmen on his roster. "I've never seen two seniors take over a team the way these two have and have everyone follow so completely."

Michigan is making its record 23rd trip to the Frozen Four and has won a record nine national titles, the last in 1998. The Wolverines beat the Irish 3-2 -- on a goal with 21 seconds left -- and 5-1 in mid-January in a Central Collegiate Hockey Association series. Goalie Billy Sauer has a 1.89 goals-against average.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

26-15-4 record • West Regional • No. 4 seed

One statistic that pops out with the Irish is their penalty kill, second-best in the nation at 89.6 percent. Jeff Jackson was the National Coach of the Year in 2007, his second year at Notre Dame, when the Irish won a school-record 32 games. This season the team struggled to score goals in the second half of the season, averaging only 2.05 goals in its last 21 games before the NCAA playoffs.

Junior right winger Erik Condra (15-23-38) led Notre Dame in scoring, but he suffered a season-ending injury to his left knee in the CCHA quarterfinals. The leading active scorers are two Minnesotans, sophomore forward Ryan Thang of Edina (17-13-30) and senior forward Mark Van Gilder (12-17-29) of Roseville. Van Gilder, a recruited walk-on, has played in 161 consecutive games. Goalie Jordan Pearce, the team MVP, has a 1.95 goals-against average.

ROMAN AUGUSTOVIZ