In 1998, Michigan's Josh Langfeld scored an overtime goal to beat Boston College, 3-2, in Boston to win the NCAA hockey championship. Two years earlier, Brendan Morrison scored an overtime goal to give Michigan a 3-2 win in the NCAA hockey championship against Colorado College. Going into overtime with the score tied 2-2 on Saturday night, Michigan was hoping for history to repeat itself, this time against Minnesota Duluth in Minnesota at the 2011 Frozen Four.
Unfortunately for the Wolverines, Michigan did not capture its third NCAA hockey championship (in overtime) in the Red Berenson era. On Saturday night it was Minnesota Duluth's turn for some magic, and it came in the form of a goal by Kyle Schmidt 3:22 into the extra session. The goal gave the Bulldogs a 3-2 victory and their first ever NCAA hockey championship.
This game got to overtime thanks to an eventful first two periods and a quiet third, at least as far as the scoreboard was concerned. Michigan appeared to get the scoring started in the first five minutes of the game, but the dreaded intent to blow the whistle rule resulted in a potential goal being waved off. As a result, the scoring didn't officially get started until Ben Winnett captured his second goal in as many games in the first period. This one came off a faceoff when he slapped a shot past goaltender Kenny Reiter.
Minnesota Duluth got the game's next two goals in the second period. Travis Oleksuk scored by smacking a bouncing puck into the net, and Max Tardy got a power-play goal thanks to a deflection sending the puck right back to him on a pass and leaving the net wide open.
Michigan tied the game up when Jeff Rohrkemper backhanded the puck into the net at the 17:46 mark of the second. He was the only player in a scrum that could find the puck, and his backhand beauty evened things up.
In the third period, Minnesota Duluth was inches away from taking the lead, but Michigan's Greg Pateryn did his best Shawn Hunwick impression and cleared the puck out of the crease as it was about to trickle across the goal line. On the ensuing Michigan possession Carl Hagelin came down the ice on a two-on-one with Louie Caporusso, but Minnesota Duluth's Kenny Reiter stoned Caporusso's shot.
In the overtime period, Minnesota Duluth controlled the action and sustained pressure in Michigan's zone. The Wolverines had trouble gaining possession of the puck, and once they finally did they couldn't clear it into the Minnesota Duluth zone. As a result, Michigan couldn't complete a line change, leaving tired bodies on the ice. Minnesota Duluth took advantage when Brady Lamb and Travis Oleksuk set up a perfect play. Kyle Schmidt got the puck in front of the net and shot it by Hunwick, who couldn't make a desperation save. The puck went into the net for a goal and set off a celebration for the Bulldogs, who are the 2011 NCAA hockey champions.
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