Minnesota Duluth's signature hockey moment came at Xcel Energy Center in 2011, when Kyle Schmidt's goal 3 minutes, 22 seconds into overtime gave the Bulldogs a 3-2 victory over Michigan and the program's first national championship.
Seven years later, coach Scott Sandelin still sees that breakthrough as program-changing.
"It changed it a lot,'' Sandelin said Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center during Frozen Four news conferences. "We had the 1983-84-85 group that had sustained back-to-back tournaments under Mike Sertich. We got [to the Frozen Four] in '04, but to win it and do something for the first time it's tremendous exposure nationally for your program. I'd say it's helped in recruiting. … It's helped in a lot of different ways.''
Sandelin stressed how important the title was for the players, too.
"When you get to these stages, it's about what the players go through,'' he said. "When you go through those together, it's pretty special. We didn't wait for a 10-year reunion with that group; we did it after five years. And they wanted to do it every year.''
The Bulldogs have built on that success, adding an NCAA runner-up finish last year with a 3-2 loss to Denver in the final, and now they're back in the Frozen Four. With a national championship, a second-place finish and a third Frozen Four trip, UMD has had more NCAA tournament success in the past decade than any other Minnesota team.
"It's done a lot for our program and put us on the map,'' Sandelin said. "But you can't get lazy with it. You've got to keep working.''
Battling brothers
Minnesota Duluth's Anderson brothers — sophomore forward Joey and freshman defenseman Mikey — are known for being intense competitors, even against each other. When asked which of the Andersons would come out of the corner after a battle for the puck, both Bulldogs captain Karson Kuhlman and junior forward Parker Mackay called it a tossup.