2007 NCAA Hockey West Regional

Pepsi Center - Denver, Colo.

March 25, 2007

Game 3: No. 3 North Dakota def. No. 1 Minnesota, 3-2 OT

North Dakota

Head Coach: Dave Hakstol

Q: Opening Statement

A: I think it goes without saying that we're very happy to be moving on. This was just a tremendous hockey game tonight. It was very similar to a game played eight days ago. The next thing I want to do is give Minnesota their proper due, they are a tremendous hockey team, one week ago they made an extra play in overtime, and were the better team in overtime, and won our WCHA championship. Tonight in a very similar game, I thought we had the better momentum and were able to win the game. Minnesota is just a tremendous hockey team, they played extremely hard. But for our guys I couldn't be prouder or happier, for our players for what they accomplished this weekend. We came here with one goal in mind, and that was to get back to Grand Forks, with the opportunity to prepare for St. Louis, that is where we're at, and all of the credit goes to those guys', tremendous leadership and tremendous respect for each other.

Q: Talk about the play of (Chris) Porter's line

A: This might have been a game that (Chris) VandeVelde, (Chris) Porter, and (Matt) Watkins won to a certain degree in the first period. I thought every shift they had possession in the offensive zone, they cycled the puck extremely well in the offensive zone, they protected the puck extremely well and to my recollection in the first period they created two or three good scoring opportunities, that they didn't score on. That wears a team down that is playing defense, those are three big strong guys that have really taken on that role and have started to take pride in playing that way. It was just a tremendous performance, and as it turns out, Chris Porter on a wrap around, very deservingly gets the game winner.

Chris Porter, Sr., Forward

Q: Talk about the five minute major and how killing that off was good for your team.

A: I thought it was a good kill for our team, it kind of gave us some momentum as penalty killers we only have 6 or 7 guys so we try to keep our shifts really short. We did the best that we could whether we were out there for 10 seconds or longer. Unfortunately for us a couple minutes later they got another power play and scored. It was a big kill for our team and it did give us a big boost and a lot of confidence.

Phillippe Lamoureux, Jr., Goalie

Q: After last night's tough night, were you able to put that game behind you quickly?

A: Starting out in the game yesterday, I couldn't stop a beach ball, I don't really try to focus on my mistakes in a game or save percentage or how many goals went in, I just try to focus on hockey and playing a hockey game. It took me awhile to kind of get in the game yesterday, but its not about me, its about the team and the guys in the locker room. I'm not going to quit on them, if I have a rough start I'm just going to pick it up and do the best I can for them and give them a chance to win the hockey game. Fortunately for me they were able to back me up by scoring eight goals. I was able to make saves that you could call turning points in the game. That's my role. 

Ryan Duncan; So., Forward

Q: Three years in a row going to the Frozen Four, what's the key ingredient in this team?

A: I think it's a combination of a few things. You have to give a lot of credit to our coaches for helping us develop throughout the year and getting us ready at the right point, and helping us peak at the right point. Another thing is that we have a lot of core leaders, who have a lot of character in our room. We had a rough first half and battled through a lot of adversity. And I think that that's paid off and it's helped us down the stretch.

Minnesota

Head Coach: Don Lucia

Q: Opening Statement

A: This was the type of game I expected. It was much different from our matchup in the Final 5 a week ago. Tonight was more cautious because there was more on the line. They make the play in overtime that they needed to make to win the game. I congratulate them. They now have to carry the WCHA banner in the NCAA Tournament.

I'm proud of my team, and especially the captains two of them who are here with me.

It's hard for them now, but to look back there's three prizes and we got two of them. It was a great year for us to get 31 wins and to win the regular season and championship.

I'm proud of them tonight. They laid it all on the line and played a great game.

Q: You didn't look like you had enough energy in overtime

A: We got our rear ends handed to us on face offs. You always start on defense and it carried over into overtime. So you start your first 15-20 seconds on defense and you have no energy. We got maybe one or two shifts on offense and we would get a good shot, but we couldn't sustain it.

We had some chances in overtime, but this week it was their turn.

Alex Goligoski, Jr., Defenseman

Q: What can you say about your energy in the overtime period?

A: That was the kind of game it was, slow and controlled. They just ended up making the final play in overtime.

Q: Was North Dakota that strong in the overtime?

A: They might have had a little more in the bag at the end. That's the way the game was, but we had our chances and they had theirs. At the end they went on a little spree and got some shots off and they ended up getting a bounce at the end of the game.

Q: Will you return to Minnesota to play hockey next year?

A: I don't know. I don't think that's an appropriate question now after a game, especially after a loss like this one. I'm not even thinking about that right now. I'll cross that bridge when it comes.

Mike Vannelli, Sr., Center

Q: Did you let up in the overtime period?

A: No. They are a good hockey team. They had us on our heels. I wouldn't discredit our team at all by saying we let up.

Q: How tough is it to play your last game for Minnesota?

A: Obviously it's tough. The last four years have been pretty fun and we've been able to accomplish a lot.  It's tough to end it like this.