A hard fought second night of hockey saw the seeding hold firm as all higher seeded teams won their respective games and advanced to Sunday’s games, led by a tantalizing final between #1 St. Thomas and #2 Wisconsin.
In Semifinal #1, the Tommies outscored the Eagles by a goal in each of the first two periods. UST was able to hold the 2 goal lead against the Minnesota-Crookston push in the third to claim a 4-2 win and the first spot in the Championship game.
In Semifinal #2, the 0-0 deadlock held first for the first 45 minutes of the game, but after finally breaching the UWEC net, Wisconsin went on a 4 goal run to book a return trip to the WCCHA Championship game by a final score of 4-1.
In the first consolation semifinal, Minnesota and St. John’s traded blows throughout the game as SJU battled back twice to tie the game. Yet, the Gophers found the pullaway goals late in the 3rd to earn the 5-3 win.
In the second consolation semifinal, scoring was at the ultimate premium – so much so that it took almost 55 minutes for the first and only goal to come. It would be Minnesota-Duluth that finally broke the deadlock to get the tight 1-0 victory over Jamestown.
SEMIFINAL/CONSOLATION RESULTS:
5:00 PM, SR#1 – Semifinal #1 | #1 St. Thomas (4) vs. #5 Minnesota-Crookston (2)
7:30 PM, SR#1 – Semifinal #2 | #2 Wisconsin (4) vs. #6 Wisconsin-Eau Claire (1)
5:30 PM, SR#2 – Consolation Semi #1| #4 Minnesota (5) vs. #8 St. John’s (3)
8:00 PM, SR#2 – Consolation Semi #2 | #3 Minnesota-Duluth (1) vs. #7 Jamestown (0)
Six of the eight teams will continue on Sunday, as we bid farewell to St. John’s and Jamestown.
FINAL ROUND SCHEDULE:
10:30 AM, SR#1 – 3rd Place Game | #5 Minnesota-Crookston vs. #6 Wisconsin-Eau Claire | LIVESTREAM
11:00 AM, SR#2 – Consolation Final | #3 Minnesota-Duluth vs. #4 Minnesota
1:00 PM, SR#1 – WCCHA Championship Game | #1 St. Thomas vs. #2 Wisconsin | LIVESTREAM
Today’s 3rd place and Championship games can be viewed live, for free, on the WCCHA YouTube Channel. The Consolation final will remain accessible via LiveBarn (subscription required).