The University of Minnesota hockey team claimed its first national title since 1979 by defeating the University of Maine (26-11-7 overall) Saturday in St. Paul, Minn.
Led by senior defender Jordan Leopold, the Gophers won 4-3 in overtime. With less than a minute to play in regulation, Minnesota sophomore forward Matt Koalska tied the game sending it to the extra session. In overtime, sophomore forward Grant Potulny notched the game-winner in the process, ending the Gophers' title drought. In front of a rowdy home crowd and with Leopold assisting on the game-winner, it was a storybook ending for the Gophers, who finished the season 32-8-4 overall, the most wins since 1991.
The Gophers led through most of the game, until a third-period goal from Black Bear junior forward Robert Liscak brought Maine to its first lead of the game. Koalska's goal then tied the game and sent the teams into overtime.
The attendance of 19,324 was a record crowd for a national title hockey game. This is the fourth title for the University of Minnesota, with previous titles coming in 1974, 1976 and 1979.
The Gophers' success was mirrored by the success of Leopold. Leopold became the recipient of the Hobey Baker Award April 5. The award, college hockey's top honor, was given to Leopold after he notched 20 goals and 47 points prior to the NCAA Championship. In addition, the senior was named Western Collegiate Hockey Association Defensive Player of the Year.
With the win over the University of Maine, hundreds of Gopher hockey fans blocked traffic on Minnesota's campus, celebrating the victory.
According to the police, students protested an attempted dispersal of the crowd by throwing rocks, bottles and snowballs at police officers.
The riots continued as people overturned paper stands, started fires in the streets and broke vehicle windows. Twenty-five people were arrested.
The women's softball team traveled out east this weekend to Ohio State and Penn State and added one win and three losses to its record, now at 4-4 Big Ten, 21-13 overall.
The Badgers opened the road trip by splitting a two-game series against Ohio State, putting up a 2-0 win Friday but losing 6-0 Saturday.
Friday, junior pitcher Andrea Kirchberg recorded her milestone 30th shutout, as the rest of her team outhit the Buckeyes, 10-3. Sophomore infielder Meghann Reiss and junior second-baser Anna Jones batted in runs for Wisconsin.
The team was not as productive Saturday, as the team had only four hits compared to OSU's 11. Although Wisconsin came close to scoring in the fourth and seventh innings, the team could not produce and came up empty-handed.
UW's losing streak continued Sunday as Penn State swept the Badgers, 5-1 and 4-1. The Nittany Lions had 18 hits in the two games, while UW managed only nine. Senior outfielder Kerry Hagen and junior outfielder Mandy Liles were the only two Badgers to score in the series.
A 5-2 win over Indiana Saturday gave the Wisconsin men's tennis team its only win in the last five games. The Badgers, who traveled to Indiana to face the Hoosiers and the Purdue Boilermakers over the weekend, brought their season record to 2-4 in the Big Ten and 8-8 overall.
Saturday, the Badgers got off to a sluggish start, as the duo of sophomore Scott Green and senior Scott Rutherford earned the only doubles point. However, the team rallied back, winning five of its six singles matches.
While the Badgers dominated on the court Saturday, the team could not quite pull off a second victory, as they lost to the Boilermakers, 4-3.
