The fantastic finish to the Vikings' game against New Orleans took Gophers men's hockey coach Don Lucia back to his youth and watching the 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers-Oakland Raiders playoff game.
"It kind of reminded me when I was a young kid and saw Franco Harris and the Immaculate Reception.''
The Vikings' improbable win also took Lucia back to the night of April 6, 2002, at Xcel Energy Center, when his Gophers first forced overtime in the NCAA championship game on Matt Koalska's goal with 53 seconds left in the third period, then beat Maine 4-3 in overtime on Grant Potulny's power-play goal.
"You play to the end, that's the bottom line. There's some crazy finishes. … You've gotta have belief to the very end,'' Lucia said. "Sometimes you need a little luck and somebody on the opposing team to make a mistake. That's what sports is — a game of opportunity and a game of mistakes.''
RANDY JOHNSON
