2003 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament

Format

The first round of the postseason tournament featured a best-of-three games format. All ten conference schools participated in the tournament with teams seeded No. 1 through No. 10 according to their final conference standing, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with an identical number of points accumulated. The top five seeded teams each earned home ice and hosted one of the lower seeded teams.

The winners of the first round series advanced to the Xcel Energy Center for the WCHA Final Five, the collective name for the quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship rounds. The Final Five uses a single-elimination format. Teams were re-seeded No. 1 through No. 5 according to the final regular season conference standings, with the top three teams automatically advancing to the semifinals.

Conference standings

Note: PTS = Points; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against

Bracket

Teams are reseeded after the first round March 14–16, 2003 | RD1-seed1=1 | RD1-team1=Colorado College | RD1-score1-1=5 | RD1-score1-2=4 | RD1-score1-3=— | RD1-seed2=10 | RD1-team2=Alaska-Anchorage | RD1-score2-1=3 | RD1-score2-2=1 | RD1-score2-3=— | RD1-seed3=2 | RD1-team3=Minnesota | RD1-score3-1=3 | RD1-score3-2=5 | RD1-score3-3=— | RD1-seed4=9 | RD1-team4=Michigan Tech | RD1-score4-1=1 | RD1-score4-2=2 | RD1-score4-3=— | RD1-seed5=3 | RD1-team5=Minnesota State | RD1-score5-1=2 | RD1-score5-2=6** | RD1-score5-3=— | RD1-seed6=8 | RD1-team6=Wisconsin | RD1-score6-1=1 | RD1-score6-2=5 | RD1-score6-3=— | RD1-seed7=4 | RD1-team7=North Dakota | RD1-score7-1=1 | RD1-score7-2=3* | RD1-score7-3=3* | RD1-seed8=7 | RD1-team8=Denver | RD1-score8-1=4 | RD1-score8-2=2 | RD1-score8-3=2 | RD1-seed9=5 | RD1-team9=Minnesota-Duluth | RD1-score9-1=5 | RD1-score9-2=2 | RD1-score9-3=7 | RD1-seed10=6 | RD1-team10=St. Cloud State | RD1-score10-1=4 | RD1-score10-2=3* | RD1-score10-3=3

March 20, 2003 | RD2-seed1=4 | RD2-team1=North Dakota | RD2-score1=1 | RD2-seed2=5 | RD2-team2=Minnesota-Duluth | RD2-score2=2

March 21, 2003 | RD3-seed1=1 | RD3-team1=Colorado College | RD3-score1=4* | RD3-seed2=5 | RD3-team2=Minnesota-Duluth | RD3-score2=3 | RD3-seed3=2 | RD3-team3=Minnesota | RD3-score3=3* | RD3-seed4=3 | RD3-team4=Minnesota State | RD3-score4=2

March 22, 2003 | RD4-seed1=1 | RD4-team1=Colorado College | RD4-score1=2 | RD4-seed2=2 | RD4-team2=Minnesota | RD4-score2=4

| RD5-seed1=3 | RD5-team1=Minnesota State | RD5-score1=4 | RD5-seed2=5 | RD5-team2=Minnesota-Duluth | RD5-score2=6 Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

First round

(1) Colorado College vs. (10) Alaska-Anchorage

|1-1-1 = (Sejna, Clarke) Joe Cullen - 13:23 |1-1-2 = 16:33 - PP - Matt Hanson |1-2-1 = James Laux - 02:44 (Goolsby) Scott Polaski - 12:22 |1-3-1 = (Clarke, Petoit) Peter Sejna - GW - 05:43 (Sejna) Noah Clarke - SH - 12:44 |1-3-2 = 13:05 - PP - Vladimir Novak (Glencross, Parez) 13:22 - Dan Gilkerson (Roach) |goalie1-1 = Curtis McElhinney ( 16 saves / 19 shots ) |goalie1-2 = Chris King ( 44 saves / 49 shots ) |2-1-1 = (Canzanello, Clarke) Peter Sejna - PP - 09:05 (McElhinney) Tom Preissing - GW - 15:51 (Sertich, Stuart) James Laux - PP - 18:11 |2-2-1 = (Canzanello, Preissing) Peter Sejna - PP - 04:16 |2-3-2 = 13:03 - PP - Lee Green (Johnson, Shasby) |goalie2-1 = Curtis McElhinney ( 13 saves / 14 shots ) |goalie2-2 = Chris King ( 15 saves / 18 shots ) / Kevin Reiter ( 27 saves / 28 shots )

(2) Minnesota vs. (9) Michigan Tech

|1-1-1 = (Reinholz) Andy Sertich - 01:51 |1-2-1 = (Hirsch, Weber) Troy Riddle - GW PP - 08:42 (Hirsch, Sertich) Grant Potulny - PP - 14:51 |1-2-2 = 19:15 - PP - Chris Conner (Brown, Murphy) |goalie1-1 = Travis Weber ( 21 saves / 22 shots ) |goalie1-2 = Cam Ellsworth ( 29 saves / 32 shots ) |2-1-1 = (Riddle, Koalska) Grant Potulny - PP - 19:59 |2-1-2 = 08:55 - Colin Murphy (Conner, Singer) |2-2-1 = (Tallackson) Gino Guyer - SH - 04:35 (Harrington, Tallackson) Grant Potulny - GW - 09:23 (Potulny, Hirsch) Barry Tallackson - PP - 15:01 |2-2-2 = 15:41 - Brett Engelhardt |2-3-1 = (Martin, Ballard) Thomas Vanek - PP - 08:36 |goalie2-1 = Travis Weber ( 4 saves / 5 shots ) / Justin Johnson ( 11 saves / 12 shots ) |goalie2-2 = Cam Ellsworth ( 55 saves / 60 shots )

(3) Minnesota State-Mankato vs. (8) Wisconsin

(4) North Dakota vs. (7) Denver

|1-1-1 = No Scoring |1-1-2 = 03:22 - PP - Brett Skinner (Caldwell) 13:28 - GW - Luke Fulghum (Skinner, Bull) |1-2-1 = (Spiewak, Fylling) David Lundbohm - 08:44 |1-3-2 = 14:08 - Lukas Dora (Barber, Doell) 14:41 - Connor James (Halme, Drummond) |goalie1-1 = Marc Ranfranz ( 3 saves / 5 shots ) / Jake Brandt ( 8 saves / 10 shots ) |goalie1-2 = Adam Berkhoel ( 16 saves / 17 shots ) |2-1-1 = No Scoring |2-2-1 = (Parise, Schneider) Rory McMahon - PP - 13:13 |2-2-2 = 18:29 - PP - Greg Barber (MacKenzie, James) |2-3-1 = (Schneider, Parise) Brandon Bochenski - EA PP - 16:42 |2-3-2 = 14:23 - Ryan Caldwell (Fulghum, Dora) |2-4-1 = (Schneider, Fuher) Brandon Bochenski - GW - 00:46 |goalie2-1 = Jake Brandt ( 17 saves / 19 shots ) |goalie2-2 = Wade Dubielewicz ( 30 saves / 33 shots ) |3-1-1 = (Bochenski, Marvin) Zach Parise - 07:31 |3-2-1 = (Schneider, Parise) Mike Prpich - 19:19 |3-2-2 = 05:05 - Lukas Dora (Doell, Barber) 13:41 - PP - Connor James (Keith, Doell) |3-4-1 = (Lundbohm) Nick Fuher - GW - 18:56 |goalie3-1 = Jake Brandt ( 25 saves / 27 shots ) |goalie3-2 = Adam Berkhoel ( 37 saves / 40 shots )

(5) Minnesota-Duluth vs. (6) St. Cloud State

|1-1-1 = Brett Hammond - 00:27 |1-1-2 = 10:36 - PP - Jon Cullen (Malone, Eastman) |1-2-1 = (Stauffacher, Hammond) Marco Peluso - PP - 02:58 (Lessard, Stapleton) Beau Geisler - 03:19 (Peluso, Stapleton) Junior Lessard - 06:07 |1-2-2 = 17:56 - PP - Matt Gens (Cullen, Malone) |1-3-1 = Brett Hammond - GW SH - 03:08 |1-3-2 = 04:23 - PP - Jon Cullen (Motzko, Hendricks) 06:49 - Jonathan Lehun (Szabo, Hendricks) |goalie1-1 = Isaac Reichmuth ( 27 saves / 31 shots ) |goalie1-2 = Jason Montgomery ( 24 saves / 29 shots ) |2-1-1 = (Anderson, Francisco) T. J. Caig - PP - 11:57 Tim Stapleton - SH - 18:56 |2-1-2 = 17:24 - Peter Szabo (Hendricks, Lehun) |2-2-2 = 17:17 - Matt Hendricks (Doyle) |2-4-2 = 09:00 - GW - Mike Doyle (Malone, Wright) |goalie2-1 = Rob Anderson ( 17 saves / 19 shots ) |goalie2-2 = Jake Moreland ( 30 saves / 33 shots ) |3-1-1 = (Otten) Evan Schwabe - 09:15 |3-1-2 = 03:44 - Ryan Malone (Motzko, Hendricks) |3-2-1 = (Anderson) Drew Otten - 04:57 (Stapleton, Caig) Nick Anderson - PP - 05:59 (Stauffacher, Hammond) Beau Geisler - GW - 10:45 |3-3-1 = (Lessard, Geris) Brett Hammond - PP - 04:40 Brett Hammond - SH - 05:59 Tim Stapleton - EN - 18:18 |3-3-2 = 03:57 - SH - Ryan Malone (Doyle) 10:19 - Matt Hendricks (Cullen) |goalie3-1 = Isaac Reichmuth ( 22 saves / 25 shots ) |goalie3-2 = Jake Moreland ( 29 saves / 35 shots )

Quarterfinal

(4) North Dakota vs. (5) Minnesota-Duluth

|1-1-1 = (Schneider, Lundbohm) Brandon Bochenski - 07:12 |1-1-2 = 08:48 - Matt Mathias (Schwabe) |1-3-2 = 14:47 - GW - Junior Lessard (Czech, Francisco) |goalie1-1 = Jake Brandt ( 25 saves / 27 shots ) |goalie1-2 = Isaac Reichmuth ( 31 saves / 32 shots )}}

Semifinals

(1) Colorado College vs. (5) Minnesota-Duluth

|1-1-1 = No Scoring |1-1-2 = 05:57 - Neil Petruic (Stauffacher, Hammond) |1-2-1 = (Cullen) Colin Stuart - SH - 00:56 (Polaski, Stuart) Trevor Frischmon - 00:56 |1-2-2 = 10:34 - Junior Lessard (Brosz, Geisler) 12:41 - Tim Stapleton (Hammond, Lessard) |1-3-1 = (Sejna, Stuart) Tom Preissing - PP - 09:05 |1-4-1 = (Leibel) Brett Sterling - GW - 07:18 |goalie1-1 = Curtin McElhinney ( 20 saves / 23 shots ) |goalie1-2 = Rob Anderson ( 37 saves / 41 shots )}}

(2) Minnesota vs. (3) Minnesota State-Mankato

|1-1-1 = (Ballard) Barry Tallackson - 04:42 |1-1-2 = 01:54 - Grant Stevenson (Joseph, Forscythe) |1-2-2 = 14:30 - PP - B.J. Abel (Bassett, Stevenson) |1-3-1 = (Ballard, Martin) Grant Potulny - PP - 01:58 |1-4-1 = (Riddle, Harrington) Thomas Vanek - GW - 03:57 |goalie1-1 = Justin Johnson ( 14 saves / 16 shots ) |goalie1-2 = Jon Volp ( 46 saves / 49 shots )}}

Third Place

(3) Minnesota State-Mankato vs. (5) Minnesota-Duluth

|1-1-1 = (Stevenson, Joseph) Cole Bassett - PP - 19:04 |1-1-2 = 03:20 - Tim Hambly 12:12 - Junior Lessard (Petruic, Brosz) 19:45 - Tyler Brosz (Caig) |1-2-1 = (Bassett, Stevenson) Shane Joseph - PP - 12:19 (Bassett, Abel) Shane Joseph - PP - 13:06 |1-2-2 = 02:22 - Josh Miskovich (Czech) |1-3-1 = (Dubel, Joseph) Adam Gerlach - 13:00 |1-3-2 = 06:15 - Steve Czech (Anderson, Francisco) 12:05 - T. J. Caig (Lessard) |goalie1-1 = Jason Jensen ( 7 saves / 10 shots ) / Jon Volp ( 27 saves / 30 shots ) |goalie1-2 = Isaac Reichmuth ( 23 saves / 27 shots )}}

Championship

(1) Colorado College vs. (2) Minnesota

|1-1-1 = No Scoring |1-1-2 = 01:29 - Grant Potulny (Guyer) 01:49 - Gino Guyer (Potunly, Tallackson) 05:25 - GW PP - Grant Potulny (Vanek, Koalska) |1-2-1 = (Preissing, Canzanello) Kevin Ulanski - PP - 19:46 |1-3-1 = (Smaagaard) Jon Waibel - 05:13 |1-3-2 = 06:41 - PP - Peter Sejna (Clarke, Canzanello) |goalie1-1 = Curtis McElhinney ( 21 saves / 25 shots ) |goalie1-2 = Justin Johnson ( 36 saves / 38 shots )}}

Tournament awards

[[List of WCHA All-Tournament Team|All-Tournament Team]]

• F Grant Potulny* (Minnesota)
• F Junior Lessard (Minnesota-Duluth)
• F Shane Joseph (Minnesota State-Mankato)
• D Tom Preissing (Colorado College)
• D Keith Ballard (Minnesota)
• G Justin Johnson (Minnesota)

• Most Valuable Player(s)

Tournament Three Stars

• 3 Justin Johnson (Minnesota)
• 2 Peter Sejna (Colorado College)
• 1 Grant Potulny (Minnesota)

References

References

1. "Minnesota Men's Team History".
2. (2003-03-16). "WCHA men's Hockey 2002-03 Week 25". USCHO.com.
3. (2003-03-22). "WCHA men's Hockey 2002-03 Week 26". USCHO.com.
4. (2003-03-14). "Colorado College 5, Alaska-Anchorage 3". USCHO.com.
5. (2003-03-15). "Colorado College 4, Alaska-Anchorage 1". USCHO.com.
6. (2003-03-14). "Minnesota 3, Michigan Tech 1". USCHO.com.
7. (2003-03-15). "Minnesota 5, Michigan Tech 2". USCHO.com.
8. (2003-03-14). "Denver 4, North Dakota 1". USCHO.com.
9. (2003-03-15). "North Dakota 3, Denver 2". USCHO.com.
10. (2003-03-16). "North Dakota 3, Denver 2". USCHO.com.
11. (2003-03-14). "Minnesota-Duluth 5, St. Cloud State 4". USCHO.com.
12. (2003-03-15). "St. Cloud State 3, Minnesota-Duluth 2". USCHO.com.
13. (2003-03-16). "Minnesota-Duluth 7, St. Cloud State 3". USCHO.com.
14. (2003-03-20). "Minnesota-Duluth 2, North Dakota 1". USCHO.com.
15. (2003-03-21). "Colorado College 4, Minnesota-Duluth 3". USCHO.com.
16. (2003-03-21). "2003 WCHA Semifinals". Inside College Hockey.
17. (2003-03-22). "2003 WCHA Championship". Inside College Hockey.
18. (2003-03-22). "Minnesota 4, Colorado College 2". USCHO.com.
19. "2009-10 WCHA Yearbook 129-144". WCHA.
20. (2003-03-22). "2003 WCHA Championship". Inside College Hockey.