GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- There's a popular ad for a donut company that features the slogan 'America runs on Dunkin'.
The University of North Dakota men's hockey team can now begin its run toward the WCHA Final Five in St. Paul next weekend and perhaps the NCAA Frozen Four in Washington, D.C., in early April, thanks to its on Duncan.
Senior captain Ryan Duncan (Calgary, Alberta) scored what stood up until well after the game ended as a pure hat trick (three goals in a row in one period) tonight to power the Fighting Sioux to a 4-3 win over Michigan Tech to sweep the WCHA best-of-3 playoff series 2-0.
The win advances the Sioux on to the Final Five for the seventh straight season, where they'll play in the semifinals next Friday against an opponent to be determined.
Duncan made his final home game at Ralph Engelstad Arena a memorable one in front of a sellout crowd of 11,719.
The leading scorer for UND, Duncan erased Tech's 1-0 lead with power-play wrist shots at 8:30 and 10:31 of the second period to put the Sioux ahead for good. He followed that with a rebound goal at 11:46 for his 19th goal of the season, tops on the team.
After many video reviews of Duncan's second goal after the game ended, though, it was credited to Sioux junior center Chris VandeVelde (Moorhead, Minn.), as the Duncan's shot went off him on the way into the net. It was VandeVelde's 16th goal, second only to Duncan among the Sioux.
Still, Duncan finished the night with two goals and one assist for a big three-point game.
Sophomore Matt Frattin's (Edmonton, Alberta) 13th goal of the season, coming at 5:29 of the third period, proved to be the winner. Jordan Baker had chopped UND's lead to 3-2 late in the second period and Drew Dobson pulled the Huskies to within 4-3 with 3:35 left in the game, but the Sioux hung on.
Afterwards, the Sioux were presented with the MacNaughton Cup as WCHA regular-season champions, an honor they clinched a week earlier in Madison, Wis. With fireworks exploding overhead, league commissioner Bruce McLeod presented the prestigious trophy to the Sioux to the tune of a thunderous ovation from the fans.
Each player took a turn hoisting the prized trophy, as did those Sioux not dressed for tonight's game, along with all the coaches and off-ice personnel.
Then the Sioux posed for a team picture with the MacNaughton Cup, the 14th time the school has won that trophy, most of any league school.
"It's something that hasn't really sunk in yet, that I'm never going to play in this rink again,'' Duncan said. "It's something I'll look back on and have very fond memories of.''
The Sioux fans will always remember their captain, too, who won the Hobey Baker Award two seasons again as the nation's best player and carried his team to victory and on to the Final Five tonight.
His near-hat trick isn't what will stick with Duncan.
"Probably the most important thing for me was being able to lift that Cup and share it with my teammates,'' Duncan said.
As one of eight seniors on this team (24-12-4), they went out on a blaze of glory.
"That's something you can carry with you and with your buddies for the rest of your life,'' he said of sharing the MacNaughton Cup with his teammates. "It's not going to be the hat trick I remember, it's the team picture and celebrating with my teammates in the lockerroom for the last time.''
Even normally-stoic head Sioux coach Dave Hakstol flashed a big smile when he hoisted the MacNaughton Cup high over his head.
"I smile all the time,'' Hakstol insisted.
Michigan Tech (6-25-7), which finished in last place in the WCHA, put up a spirited battle, outshooting the Sioux 27-19 and taking the early lead.
But the Huskies had no answer for Duncan's sniping, his two goals coming on wrist rockets high on the short side of the goalie, his favorite spot for four seasons.
"What there is there is just poise and a real will to win there,'' Hakstol said of Duncan. "He did the job that you expect a captain to do in this program. He can very proud of that.''
The biggest goal the Sioux accomplished this weekend, tho, was not celebrating with the MacNaughton Cup. It was moving on to the Final Five and another step closer to a fifth straight trip to the Frozen Four.
"It was real nice way to finish the weekend and the season here on home ice,'' Hakstol said of the MacNaughton presentation. "But what we were trying to accomplish this weekend was to get down to the Final Five. It's no easy task to get there -- but we got the job done.''
The Sioux will go into the Final Five as the No. 1 seed by virtue of winning the league title. It will be UND's sixth time there as the No. 1 seed since the league switched to the Final Five format in 1992-93.
Sioux senior defenseman Brad Miller (Alphraetta. Ga.), had two assists, giving him five assists for the weekend. UND sophomore defenseman Jake Marto (Grand Forks) had two assists as well.
"It's the first time we've had the chance to carry the trophy around the Ralph,'' Miller said. "I don't think there's anyway to describe it.''
Simply amazing might cover it, since the Sioux were in ninth place in the WCHA on Dec. 12 before going 15-2-3 since the calendar flipped to 2009.
SIOUX NOTES: Duncan's three-point night gave him 170 career points, tying him with Tony Hrkac for 15th on UND's all-time scoring list ... Duncan led the Sioux with four shots on net, followed by Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and Matt Watkins (Aylesbury, Saskatchewan) with three each . . . Sioux freshman goalie Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta) finished with 24 saves won his 24th game, second-most for a rookie in school history behind Ed Belfour's 29 wins in the 1986-87 season.
Virg Foss reported on UND hockey for 35 years for the Grand Forks Herald until his retirement. He now covers UND home games exclusively for fightingsioux.com. Contact him directly at virgfoss@yahoo.com.
