ST. PAUL, Minn. — For a third straight season, North Dakota is the champion of the WCHA's Final Five.
The Fighting Sioux continued their late-season ascent Saturday in the Xcel Energy Center, drubbing Denver, 4-0.
"It's definitely huge," said North Dakota forward Brock Nelson afterward. "The guys battled back. It's definitely something special."
The Final Five title was North Dakota's sixth in the prestigious college hockey tournament since 1993. In securing their third straight Broadmoor Trophy, the Fighting Sioux became the first WCHA program to accomplish that feat.
North Dakota (25-12-3) bolted out to a 3-0 lead after two periods Saturday, scoring a pair of power-play goals. Then, with 12 minutes, 49 seconds remaining, Mark MacMillan put the game on ice, scoring an unassisted, short-handed goal on a breakaway. North Dakota also got two assists from Derek Forbort and 22 saves from netminder Aaron Dell.
The Fighting Sioux played disciplined, smart hockey as they turned back the Pioneers. North Dakota assistant coach Cary Eades described it as "real intelligent hockey."
"When you're tired," Eades explained, "you've got to play smarter."
The WCHA's All-Tournament team was littered with North Dakota skaters, including: Nelson, defensemen Forbort and Andrew MacWilliam, forward Mario Lamoureux, and goalie Aaron Dell.
"It was great tonight," said Dell, voted the Final Five's MVP. "They just couldn't handle us. Some desperation came into our game, and things started clicking."
