2002–03 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey season

200203 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey season
NCAA Division I National Champions
WCHA Tournament Champions
NCAA Championship Game, W 51 vs. New Hampshire
Conference T-2nd WCHA
Home ice Mariucci Arena
Rankings
USA Today/AHCA 2
USCHO.com 2
Record
Overall 2889[1]
Home 1446
Road 943
Neutral 500
Coaches and Captains
Head Coach Don Lucia
Captain(s) Grant Potulny
Alternate captain(s) Paul Martin
Nick Anthony

The 200203 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's hockey season, winning the Western Collegiate Hockey Association tournament championship and the NCAA national championship. The team was coached by Don Lucia and played their home games at Mariucci Arena.

The WCHA tournament championship was Minnesota's twelfth and its first since the 199596 season. It was their fifth NCAA national championship and marked the first time the team had won back-to-back national championships.

Roster

Goaltenders
# State Player Year Hometown (Previous School) Previous Team
31 Minnesota Travis Weber Sophomore Hibbing, MN (Hibbing High School) USNDT - NAHL
33 Minnesota Justin Johnson Sophomore Ham Lake, MN (Blaine High School) Lincoln - USHL
34 Minnesota Dustin Smieja Freshman St. Paul, MN (St. Paul Johnson High School)
Defensemen
# State Player Year Hometown (Previous School) Previous Team
2 Nova Scotia Peter Kennedy Freshman Brookfield, Nova Scotia (Cobequid Educational Centre) Ottawa Jr. Senators - CJHL
3 Minnesota Chris Harrington Freshman St. Cloud, MN (St. Cloud Apollo High School) Omaha - USHL
4 Minnesota P.J. Atherton Freshman Edina, MN (Edina High School) Cedar Rapids - USHL
6 Minnesota Judd Stevens Sophomore Wayzata, MN (Wayzata High School) Green Bay - USHL
10 Minnesota Paul Martin A Junior Elk River, MN (Elk River High School)
13 Minnesota Keith Ballard Sophomore Baudette, MN (Millard North High School) Omaha - USHL
19 Minnesota Matt DeMarchi Senior Bemidji, MN (Manly Central High School) North Iowa - USHL
20 Minnesota Joey Martin Junior Rogers, MN (Buffalo High School) Omaha - USHL
Forwards
# State Player Year Hometown (Previous School) Previous Team
5 Minnesota Jon Waibel Junior Baudette, MN (Pioneer High School) USNDT - NAHL
7 Minnesota Gino Guyer Freshman Coleraine, MN (Greenway High School)
9 Minnesota Andy Sertich Freshman Coleraine, MN (Greenway High School)
14 Minnesota Chad Roberg Senior Duluth, MN (Duluth East High School)
16 Minnesota Nick Anthony A Senior Faribault, MN (Shattuck-Saint Mary's) Twin Cities - USHL
17 Minnesota Garrett Smaagaard Sophomore Eden Prairie, MN (Eden Prairie High School)
18 North Dakota Grant Potulny C Junior Grand Forks, ND (Red River High School) Lincoln Stars - USHL
21 Minnesota Troy Riddle Junior Minneapolis, MN (Valley High School) Des Moines - USHL
23 Minnesota Tyler Hirsch Freshman Bloomington, MN (Shattuck-Saint Mary's)
24 Minnesota Matt Koalska Junior St. Paul, MN (Hill-Murray High School) Twin Cities - USHL
25 Minnesota Jerrid Reinholz Sophomore Ramsey, MN (Anoka High School) UMD, Des Moines - USHL
26 Austria Thomas Vanek Freshman Graz, Austria (O'Gorman High School) Sioux Falls - USHL
27 Minnesota Barry Tallackson Sophomore St. Paul, MN (St. Paul Johnson High School) USNDT - NAHL
28 Minnesota Brett MacKinnon Sophomore Wayzata, MN (Wayzata High School) Cedar Rapids - USHL
29 Minnesota Jake Fleming Sophomore Osseo, MN (Millard North High School) Omaha - USHL

Season standings

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

Conference Overall
GP W L T PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#5 Colorado College 28 19 4 5 43 125 70 42 30 7 5 190 103
#2 Minnesota* 28 15 6 7 37 106 81 45 28 8 9 189 122
#11 Minnesota State-Mankato 28 15 6 7 37 116 104 41 20 11 10 155 144
#13 North Dakota 28 14 9 5 33 103 82 43 26 12 5 172 120
#14 Minnesota-Duluth 28 14 10 4 32 95 80 42 22 15 5 153 119
St. Cloud State 28 12 11 5 29 96 85 38 17 16 5 124 118
Denver 28 11 11 6 28 95 85 41 21 14 6 152 102
Wisconsin 28 7 14 4 18 61 101 40 13 23 4 93 134
Michigan Tech 28 7 18 3 17 77 116 38 10 24 4 109 154
Alaska-Anchorage 28 0 22 6 6 41 111 36 1 28 7 57 143
Championship: Minnesota
indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion
Final rankings: USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Poll Top 15 Poll

Regular season

# Date Opponent# Rank# Site Score Goaltender Record Points
1 October 12* vs. #15 Ohio State #1 Xcel Energy CenterSt. Paul, MN 72 Weber 100
2 October 18* @ #3 New Hampshire #1 Whittemore Center ArenaDurham, NH 55 (OT) Johnson 101
3 October 19* @ #3 New Hampshire #1 Whittemore Center Arena • Durham, NH 13 Weber 111
4 October 25 @ Michigan Tech #2 John J. MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, MI 54 Weber / Johnson 211 2
5 October 26 @ Michigan Tech #2 John J. MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, MI 33 (OT) Johnson 212 3
6 November 1* Alabama-Huntsville #4 Mariucci ArenaMinneapolis, MN 121 Weber 312
7 November 2* Alabama-Huntsville #4 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 42 Johnson 412
8 November 8 @ Minnesota State #3 Alltel CenterMankato, MN 23 Weber 422 3
9 November 9 @ Minnesota State #3 Alltel Center • Mankato, MN 74 Johnson 522 5
10 November 15 #7 Colorado College #8 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 37 Johnson 532 5
11 November 16 #7 Colorado College #8 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 22 (OT) Weber 533 6
12 November 22 Michigan Tech #9 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 42 Weber 633 8
13 November 23 Michigan Tech #9 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 21 Weber 733 10
14 November 29* Michigan State #9 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 55 (OT) Weber 734
15 December 1* #8 Michigan #9 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 13 Weber 744
16 December 6 @ Wisconsin #10 Kohl CenterMadison, WI 30 Weber 844 12
17 December 7 @ Wisconsin #10 Kohl Center • Madison, WI 32 Weber 944 14
18 December 9* Team Italy (exh.) Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 42 Weber 944
19 December 27*$ Yale #7 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 73 Weber 1044
20 December 28*$ #6 Boston College #7 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 21 (OT) Weber 1144
21 January 3 St. Cloud State #4 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 34 Weber 1154 14
22 January 4 @ St. Cloud State #4 National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, MN 33 (OT) Weber 1155 15
23 January 10 #1 North Dakota #7 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 24 Weber 1165 15
24 January 11 #1 North Dakota #7 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 63 Weber 1265 17
25 January 17* U.S. Under-18 Team (exh.) Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 60 Johnson 1265
26 January 24 Minnesota State #8 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 22 (OT) Weber 1266 18
27 January 25 Minnesota State #8 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 44 (OT) Weber 1267 19
28 January 31 @ Alaska Anchorage #7 Sullivan ArenaAnchorage, AK 40 Weber 1367 21
29 February 1 @ Alaska Anchorage #7 Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, AK 41 Johnson 1467 23
30 February 7 @ #1 Colorado College #7 World ArenaColorado Springs, CO 26 Weber 1477 23
31 February 8 @ #1 Colorado College #7 World Arena • Colorado Springs, CO 32 Johnson 1577 25
32 February 14 Wisconsin #7 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 52 Weber 1677 27
33 February 15 Wisconsin #7 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 81 Johnson 1777 29
34 February 21 @ Minnesota-Duluth #6 Duluth Entertainment Convention CenterDuluth, MN 54 Weber 1877 31
35 February 22 @ Minnesota-Duluth #6 Duluth Entertainment Convention Center • Duluth, MN 45 (OT) Johnson 1887 31
36 February 28 #13 Denver #7 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 33 (OT) Weber 1888 32
37 March 1 #13 Denver #7 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 85 Weber 1988 34
38 March 7 @ #2 St. Cloud State #6 National Hockey Center • St. Cloud, MN 53 Weber 2088 36
39 March 8 #2 St. Cloud State #6 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 11 (OT) Weber 2089 37
*Non-Conference Game. Hall of Fame Game. College Hockey Showcase. $Dodge Holiday Classic.
#Rankings from USA Today/American Hockey Coaches Association poll released prior to games.

Postseason

WCHA Playoffs

# Date Opponent# Rank# Site Score Goaltender Record
1 March 14* Michigan Tech #6 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 31 Weber 2189
2 March 15* Michigan Tech #6 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 52 Weber / Johnson 2289
3 March 21 vs. #9 Minnesota State #5 Xcel Energy Center • St. Paul, MN 32 (OT) Johnson 2389
4 March 22$ vs. #1 Colorado College #5 Xcel Energy Center • St. Paul, MN 42 Johnson 2489
*WCHA First-Round (best of three). WCHA Final Five Semifinal. $WCHA Final Five Championship.
#Rankings from USA Today/American Hockey Coaches Association poll released prior to games.

NCAA Playoffs

# Date Opponent# Rank# Site Score Goaltender Record
1 March 28* Mercyhurst #4 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 92 Weber 2589
2 March 29 #6 Ferris State #4 Mariucci Arena • Minneapolis, MN 74 Johnson / Weber 2689
3 April 10 vs. #4 Michigan #2 HSBC ArenaBuffalo, NY 32 (OT) Weber 2789
4 April 12$ vs. #3 New Hampshire #2 HSBC Arena • Buffalo, NY 51 Weber 2889
*NCAA First-Round (West Regional). NCAA Quarterfinal (West Regional). NCAA Semifinal (Frozen Four). $NCAA Championship (Frozen Four).
#Rankings from USA Today/American Hockey Coaches Association poll released prior to games.

Season Stats

Scoring Leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Thomas Vanek 45 31 31 62 60
Troy Riddle 45 26 26 52 50
Keith Ballard 45 12 29 41 78
Matt Koalska 41 9 31 40 26
Paul Martin 45 9 30 39 32

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

Player GP TOI W L SO Sv% GAA
Travis Weber 34 1994 18 6 7 .902 2.50
Justin Johnson 14 765 10 2 2 .885 2.90

References

  1. 200607 Minnesota Men's Hockey Yearbook. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics. 2006.
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