ST. PAUL, Minn. — A school with a rich hockey tradition like Minnesota will always attract the area's top talent. But that hadn't translated into a title for the Gophers since 1979.
Third-year coach Don Lucia was finally able to get the Gophers to play up to their ability.
"This team had to be prodded," he said. "Things didn't come easy. The struggle was to try to get them to believe what an opportunity they had and not to waste it."
Defenseman Jordan Leopold accomplished what escaped the three previous Gophers to receive the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey's best player— and a championship in the same season.
"We had a book to write, and tonight it just worked out for us," Leopold said. "Still, it was pretty stressful at times. I wasn't even born in '79, so it's been a long time coming for this university."
Adam Hauser heard his share of criticism throughout his four-year career despite being the school's career leader in most goaltending categories. But nobody's trying to discredit him now.
Minnesota capped a thrilling comeback Saturday with a 4-3 overtime victory over Maine, the Gophers' first title since 1979.
For Hauser, it was a fitting finish. Strong through the first two periods, he let in two goals in the third to give Maine a 3-2 lead with less than a minute.
It took a goal by Matt Koalska to with 52.4 seconds remaining in regulation to tie it, giving the Gophers a chance to win in overtime on Grant Potulny's power-play goal 16:58 into the extra period.