LAWRENCE, MA ­ The University of Maine captured its fourth Hockey East Tournament Championship this past weekend, in a thrilling 2-1 win over Boston College with just 2.5 seconds remaining in the third period on a goal by sophmore forward and tournament MVP Niko Dimitrakos (Somerville, MA). The title is Maine's first since defeating Boston University 5-2 in 1993.

The 16th annual Hockey East Tournament proved to be the conference's most successful ever, with back-to-back sellouts and nearly 32,000 spectators attending over the course of the two-night event.

On Thursday, Hockey East held its yearly awards banquet and named New Hampshire's Ty Conklin (JR G, Anchorage Alaska) and Boston College's Mike Mottau (SR D, Avon, MA) the league's first ever KOHO Co-Players of the Year. Also receiving major honors were Boston University Head Coach Jack Parker as Bob Kullen Hockey East Coach of the Year and BU's freshman standout goaltender Ricky DiPietro as the league's Rookie of the Year.

All four Hockey East Championship semifinalist were selected to participate in the 2000 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. Maine earned a berth as the East Region's #1 seed and will face the winner of #5 Michigan and #4 Colgate. Boston University also will remain in the east as the #3 seed, and will face #6 St. Cloud. In the west, #3 seed New Hampshire will open with #6 Niagara, while #4 Boston College will square off against #5 Michigan State.

NCAA Regional action will be broadcast by FOX Sports Net New England, with coverage beginning on Friday at 9:30 p.m. with BC vs. Michigan State.
KOHO Player of the Week:
NIKO DIMITRAKOS, University of Maine ­ (SO F, Somerville, MA) scored game-winning goal in championship game with just 2.5 seconds left to list Maine over BC, 2-1.
Defensive Player of the Week:
MATT YEATS, University of Maine ­ (SO G, Innisfail, AB) sparkled for the Black Bears in net, making 70 saves on the weekend to earn all-tournament honors.
Hockey East Tournament Awards:
2000 HOCKEY EAST ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Niko Dimitrakos, University of Maine ­ SO F, Somerville, MA
Cory Larose, University of Maine ­ SR F, Campbellton, NB
Blake Bellefeuille, Boston College ­ SR F, Framingham, MA
Mike Mottau, Boston College ­ SR F, Avon, MA
Robert Ek, University of Maine ­ SR D, Lulea, SWEDEN
Matt Yeats, University of Maine ­ SO G, Innisfail, AB

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Niko Dimitrakos, University of Maine

 
  PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Lee Goren might someday find himself welcome in Boston. For now, though, Hub hockey fans will curse his name.

The North Dakota forward and Boston Bruins draft pick scored the tying goal and assisted on Jason Ulmer's game-winner Saturday night as the Fighting Sioux won the NCAA championship with a 4-2 victory over Boston College.

 
North Dakota's Mike Commodore opened the scoring at 3:48 of the first period.
Playing in the home rink of the Bruins' top minor league affiliate, Goren also added an empty-netter with 45.2 seconds left and was selected the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

"I don't know how that's going to work out," he said, noting that the Sioux also beat Boston University for the title in 1997. "I just need to keep going, keep working. Hopefully, I'll be in this building, or another building."

Karl Goehring made 21 saves for the Sioux in front of a partisan Boston College crowd just an hour south of its Chestnut Hill campus. The Eagles won in 1949 -- the tournament's second year -- but haven't won a title in any sport since then.

"I think that's a great motivating force for us to win another," coach Jerry York said. "We're focused, and we want to win the championship."

Jeff Farkas and Marty Hughes scored for BC, and Scott Clemmensen stopped 32 shots as the Eagles lost in the Frozen Four for the third consecutive year.

"We don't really think back to when we last won it. We just try to concern ourselves with this year," said Mike Mottau, the Boston College defenseman and New York Rangers draft pick who won the Hobey Baker Award on Friday as the top player in college hockey.

"To come up this short is very disappointing. But North Dakota is a great team and they deserve a lot of credit."

North Dakota trailed 2-1 after two periods but scored three times in the third -- and Goren had a hand in all of them, giving him 34 goals and 29 assists for the season. Although he is a senior, Goren had to sit out the 1997 title run because he played two games in a Canadian junior league.

"He wants to be a member of the Boston Bruins," North Dakota coach Dean Blais said. "He's a tremendous leader in the locker room. He's the vocal leader on the team. Guys respect him -- and how could you not respect a guy that's scored that many goals, and works that hard to get where he is."

Goren tied it 2:43 into the third when he took a drop pass from Ryan Bayda and put it through the legs of a defenseman and the screened goalie.

Ulmer rebounded Goren's shot with 5:38 left and slapped it into the net to give the Sioux a 3-2 lead. Clemmensen came out for an extra skater with 1:12 left, and Goren split the empty net from the blue line.

North Dakota took the lead just 3:48 into the game when Bryan Lundbohm's shot rebounded to Commodore on the right side of the net and he swept it in.

Boston College tied it with 3:13 left in the first period when Blake Bellefeuille one-timed a pass from Brian Gionta just under Goehring's right pad. The goalie fell backward -- almost sitting on the puck -- but Farkas was able to swipe it the last few inches over the goal line before he was checked into referee Matt Shegos.

The goal light never came on, and the teams kept playing. But as soon as Shegos could get to his skates he signaled a goal, which was confirmed by the replay official.

Hughes gave BC a 2-1 lead 6:51 into the second period when he came around the back of the net and stuffed it past Goehring.

Thursday, April 6
Goehring stops 30 shots in Frozen Four semis

  PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- North Dakota had to pick between the goaltender who set a school record for shutouts in the regular season and the one who won all three playoff games after the starter suffered a concussion.

"I guess we chose the right one," coach Dean Blais said Thursday after Karl Goehring stopped 30 shots to beat defending champion Maine 2-0 and put North Dakota in the NCAA title game.

"He's been pretty much headache-free for the last week. Based on that, and what he's done when he's 100 percent, he was the guy," Blais said. "But it was a tough decision because (backup Andy Kollar) has played so well."

The Fighting Sioux advanced to the Frozen Four final on Saturday night, when they will play the winner of Thursday's late semifinal between Boston College and St. Lawrence.

The leading goaltender in his conference during the regular season, Goehring was hit by a puck during practice before the playoffs and hadn't played since March 12. Kollar won three consecutive games to help the Fighting Sioux reach the Frozen Four and run his record to 11-2-1.

But for Thursday's opening semifinal, Blais picked Goehring, who led the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with a 1.95 goals-against average and set a school record with seven shutouts. This was North Dakota's first shutout in the NCAA tournament.

"I think he could tell he would be the guy," Blais said. "And Andy congratulated Karl. They're the best of buddies."

Blais didn't tell his goalies who would start until the pregame meal on Thursday morning.

"I didn't believe it until he told me," Goehring said. "But I knew I had to be ready to play regardless."

Kevin Spiewak had a short-handed goal and Bryan Lundbohm scored on a power play for North Dakota, which will play for its seventh title. Only Michigan has won more NCAA ice hockey championships, with nine.

Matt Yeats made 32 saves for Maine, which lost for the first time in 14 games (12-1-1). Maine was 0-for-7 on power plays while giving up a power-play goal and a short-handed one.

"It was the key to the game," coach Shawn Walsh said. "We didn't capitalize."

The Black Bears missed the net twice from close in over the final 90 seconds as they tried desperately to come back.

Maine, which was without its leading scorer because of a butt-ending penalty in the regionals, failed in a bid to be the first school to win consecutive NCAA ice hockey titles since Boston University in 1971 and 1972. The 28 years between back-to-back titles is the longest such streak in any NCAA sport.

"It's hard," Maine forward Ben Guite said. "There's a reason why nobody's done it in 30 years."

After a scoreless first period, North Dakota took the lead at 7:35 of the second, nine seconds after Peter Metcalf went off for slashing. Lundbohm coasted across the blue line and wristed it past Yeats on the stick side.

Spiewak made it 2-0 when he fought his way around on the left side and put the puck past Yeats low on the glove side at 13:35 of the second. With 2:27 left in the second, an apparent North Dakota goal was waved off when the replay official ruled that the whistle had blown.

Maine was not without chances. It had 5-on-3 advantages in the first and third periods. But the latter was cut short after 30 seconds when Brendan Walsh was whistled for a takedown, and the Black Bears couldn't score.

Providence, R.I.--With a powerful third period in which they scored three unanswered goals and limited Boston College to just four perimeter shots, the North Dakota Fighting Sioux came from behind to claim the 2000 NCAA title.

 Sioux senior forward Lee Goren tied the game early in the third, Jason Ulmer had the game-winner with six minutes to go, and Karl Goehring made 21 saves in the victory.

Championship Notebook
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The North Dakota Fighting Sioux made it a five-peat of sorts by winning the NCAA championship Saturday night -- the win was their fifth in five appearances in the title game. Their last four championships were in 1997, 1987, 1982, and 1980, and the last loss for the Sioux in the championship game was 1979, 4-3 to Minnesota.

DENIED AGAIN

The Boston College Eagles came close, but were unable to get the monkey best known as 1949 off their collective backs. The Eagles have not captured a national championship in 51 years, though they have appeared in the NCAA tournament 20 times over that period. In four of those 20 appearances, BC has reached the title game, losing to Michigan Tech in 1965, Boston University in 1978, Michigan in 1998 and North Dakota Saturday. All four of those losses came in New England -- three in Providence and one in Boston. Their one win in 1949 came in Colorado Springs, Colo.

HARD TO SAY GOODBYE

Every national championship game not only has the highs of the victors but the lows of the team that falls. BC senior captain Mike Mottau, who yesterday won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as college hockey's top player, displayed the difficulty of losing.

"This has been one of the best years of my life," said Mottau. "It's been a pleasure to play for Boston College and wear this sweater. I can tell you its not going to come off too soon. I'm going to go back and sit down and cherish the memories that I have. Tonight may be a disappointment, but there's been a lot accomplished at Boston College."

BICENTENNIAL DAY

The BC-UND title tilt marked the 200th game in Frozen Four history. The tournament, which began back in 1948 used to consist of four games -- two semifinals, a consolation and a championship. In 1990, the NCAA discontinued the consolation game, playing only the two semifinals and a national championship game.

TWOS ARE WILD

North Dakota became the 15th number-two seed to win the NCAA championship, the most of any seed and six better than the top seeds. North Dakota was the two seed in 1997 when the Sioux defeated Boston University in Milwaukee, Wis.

THAT'S WHY THEY PLAY 60 MINUTES

The Sioux trailed 2-1 through two periods, but for the fourth time on the season, rallied for a win (4-7-1). Conversely, it was only the third time that Boston College fell (22-3-0) when holding the lead through 40 minutes. Last season, the Eagles held a 1-0 lead over Maine through two periods in the national semifinal, yet fell 2-1 in overtime. The year before, BC led 2-1 over Michigan through 40 minutes, but fell that night, 3-2 in overtime.

PROVIDENCE KIND TO SIOUX FANS

The Sioux's championship was their seventh all-time, second most behind Michigan's nine. Three of those wins have come in Providence: in 1980, North Dakota defeated Northern Michigan, 5-2, and in 1982, the Sioux defeated Wisconsin by an identical score.

HOBEY JINX?

The Boston College loss extends the Hobey Baker jinx, as only three of the award's 20 winners have gone on to win the national championship that year. It was BC's Mottau who lost Saturday, meaning that only Paul Kariya (Maine, 1993), Lane MacDonald (Harvard, 1989) and Tony Hrkac (North Dakota, 1987) have won both the Hobey and the national title.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
 

Forwards    Jeff Farkas, Boston College
            Lee Goren, North Dakota
            Bryan Lundbohm, North Dakota
Defense     Mike Commodore, North Dakota
            Mike Mottau, Boston College
Goaltender  Karl Goehring, North Dakota

Most Outstanding Player: Lee Goren
 

-- Jim Connelly
 
 

"Well, certainly, we're all thrilled to have won the championship here in Providence again," said head coach Dean Blais. "It was a very unexpected situation. Six weeks ago, we never would have dreamed of it. I think we lost the WCHA title and it just worked in reverse. Instead of getting down, the guys really kicked it into gear.

"I thought we stuck with the game plan tonight. I didn't think we had a lot of undisciplined penalties. We were a little bit worried, obviously, going into the third period being down...but we got a great bounce when Lee scored the second goal, the tying goal."

"Full credit to North Dakota," said BC coach Jerry York. "They have an excellent hockey team. Going into the third period with a 2-1 lead...when they scored their second goal to tie, it kind of energized their club."

In typical North Dakota fashion, the Sioux were able to capitalize on turnovers and use their impressive speed to score transition goals. UND took the early lead on just its third breakaway of the game at 3:48 in the first.

Moments after Jason Ulmer's solo shot went north of the net and Scott Clemmensen stopped Jeff Panzer when Panzer and Bayda broke in two-on-one, Bryan Lundbohm and Tim Skarperud worked their way into the BC zone two-on-two having picked up the puck in neutral ice.

 Panzer joined Lundbohm and Skarperud to make it three-on-two just before Mike Commodore flew in out of nowhere to give the Sioux a two-man advantage. Lundbohm wound up from the left point--drawing Clemmensen to defend--and passed to Commodore, who was crashing in through the right circle. Commodore's shot found an essentially empty net for the 1-0 lead.

Jeff Farkas tied the game with a power-play goal at 16:47 on a quirky Blake Bellefeuille rebound. Bellefeuille shot at a wide-open net from the left circle, hitting Goehring, who sat on the puck but never controlled it. Right of the net, Farkas poked it in behind the Sioux netminder before Goehring had the chance to swipe the puck away from the goal line, and the first period ended 1-1.

Marty Hughes gave BC their only lead at 6:59 in the second, the lone tally of that period, on a feed behind the net from Brian Gionta, who picked up the puck along the boards after North Dakota failed to clear. Hughes wrapped the puck around the net and put it home between Goehring's left leg and the right post.

"At that time I was kind of disappointed, because it was kind of a goofy goal," said Goehring. "It hit my skate, popped up and went in. It's kind of frustrating from my standpoint because that's one I thought I could have had.

"But at the same time, I think it was a positive thing for us because to myself I said, 'All right. That's it. Let's bear down for the rest of the game. If they're going to get a goal it's going to be a great one.'

"At the same time, I think my teammates kind of rallied around that a little bit, too. We saw that we had to pick it up a bit. Obviously, we dominated in the third."

In the third, the Sioux and Lee Goren literally took the game away from Boston College.

"Going into the third period we had the lead, and they really took it to us early," said BC captain Mike Mottau. "We were back on our heels for most of the period. It's really difficult to swallow, but you have to give them a lot of credit."

 Goren said that even though they were down going into the third, the Sioux knew that they could come from behind and take the game.

"We came in the dressing room between the second and the third, and we knew we had a shot at it. Being down 2-1 to those guys is a tough thing to take...because they've got a heck of a team. We just said to ourselves, 'We win the period, we win the game.'

"I knew we could score [three] goals in a period. We scored five against BU in 1997 in the second period, and I knew we could do it against these guys. We went out and got three--we got one and we just rolled."

It was Goren who twice capitalized on blueline BC turnovers, scoring the goal that tied the game and taking the shot that led to the rebound that became Ulmer's game-winning goal.

Seconds after Clemmensen stopped Goren on the break, Ryan Bayda picked up the puck near center ice and skated in left with Goren on the opposite wing. Bayda dropped a pass back to Goren, who fired it home from the right circle at 2:43.

Midway through the period, Kevin Spiewak had a chance to give the Sioux the lead--again on the transition--but Clemmensen challenged far out of the crease and poked the puck away before Spiewak could shoot. Immediately on that turnover, the Eagles had their best chance to tie it up again on the resulting three-on-two, but Mottau's shot from the top of the left circle hit the post.

At 14:22, Goren and Ulmer rushed the BC net after forcing another BC neutral-zone turnover. Goren took the shot from the right circle, Clemmensen gave up the rebound to Ulmer, and Ulmer found the far side of the net from the left circle.

When Goren added the empty-netter at 19:14, Mottau slumped into the BC net while Goehring circled Sioux zone, waving his stick over his head--each player's gesture punctuating his respective team's reaction.

"That goal really hurt because I thought we had a chance to tie it up," said Mottau. "We had a flurry right in front of their net right before that, and the guys are always positive to the end.

"Things were just going through my mind. A little disappointing for me as a player. To have my college career come to an end like that--it's not the way I wanted it to be."

 Goehring joked, "I guess my teammates know my skating prowess when I get a little excited. Sometimes I can't control the adrenaline, and I was so excited when Lee drove home that empty-netter."

After being stopped on the break and hitting a post within the first three minutes of the third, Goren said, "I didn't think I could shoot the puck into the ocean, to be honest.

"That'll happen to anybody. I just kept working at it. Got a lucky bounce. That kind of gave us momentum and we just took it to them for the last 15 minutes of that period--we pretty much took it to them the whole 20, actually."

"I thought good things were happening, but I never thought we'd be in this position," said Blais. "I thought we had a chance. Once you get out here, anything can happen.

"You're playing against the defending national champion [Maine] and you've got Boston College, who beat us in a neutral site last year, with most of their players back. And we lost eight guys the year before. It was kind of a rebuilding year, but once I saw the freshmen start skating...I thought we had a pretty good nucleus."
 
 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
North Dakota 4, Boston College 2
4/8/2000 at Providence Civic Center
NCAA Championship

BOSTON COLLEGE FALLS IN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME TO NORTH DAKOTA
PROVIDENCE, RI -- The North Dakota Fighting Sioux scored the only three goals of the third period to come from behind and win the 2000 National Championship with a 4-2 win over Boston College. The win marks the seventh time in school history, and second time in four years, that the Sioux have earned the crown.

Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player Lee Goren was the hero for North Dakota scoring two goals and adding an assist for the Sioux.

Goren got the comeback started for North Dakota when his goal just 2:53 into the third period tied the game at 2-2. Ryan Bayda dropped a pass to Goren who used a defenseman as a screen to score the goal.

Goren would then assist on the game-winner at 14:02. Skating into the zone on the right side, Goren unleashed a slap shot that was saved by BC netminder Scott Clemmensen, but the rebound went right to Jason Ulmer for the tally that put UND on top 3-2.

Goren would close out the scoring with an empty-netter at 19:14. He finished the season as the national leader in goals scored with 34.

North Dakota took a 1-0 lead just 3:48 into the contest when Bryan Lundbohm took a shot from a tough angle at the bottom of the right circle and the rebound popped right out in front for Mike Commodore who quickly deposited the puck into the gaping net.

The Eagles would answer and tie the game at 1-1 with 3:13 left in the opening frame. North Dakota goaltender Karl Goehring made a terrific save on a Blake Bellefeuille one-timer from the left circle, but Jeff Farkas found the loose rebound behind Goehring and slid the puck just over the line for the power-play tally.

Marty Hughes gave Boston College a 2-1 lead at 7:59 of the second period. Brian Gionta's shot went wide, but Hughes was able to pull the rebound off the back wall for a wraparound goal to Goehring's left.

Goehring made 21 saves for the Fighting Sioux. Clemmensen finished with 32 saves for the Eagles.

With the win North Dakota finishes the year with a record of 31-8-5, while BC closes out its season at 29-12-1.
 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hockey Game Box Score (Final)
1999-2000 Hockey East Association
Boston College vs North Dakota (Apr 08, 2000 at Providence, RI)
 

Boston College (29-12-1, 15-8-1) vs. North Dakota (31-8-5, 17-6-5)
Date: Apr 08, 2000  Location: Providence, RI        Arena: Providence C.C.
Attendance:11484
 
 

 # Prd Time Team Typ Scored By                Assists
----------------------------------------------------------------
 1 1st 03:48 UND  EV Mike Commodore (5)       Bryan Lundbohm,
                                              Tim Skarperud
 2 1st 16:47 BC   PP Jeff Farkas (32)         Blake Bellefeuil,
                                              Brian Gionta
 3 2nd 07:59 BC   EV Marty Hughes (5)         Brian Gionta
 4 3rd 02:53 UND  EV Lee Goren (33)           Ryan Bayda
 5 3rd 14:02 UND  EV Jason Ulmer (18)         Lee Goren
 6 3rd 19:14 UND  EN Lee Goren (34)           -

SHOTS & PLUS/MINUS

                        |-Shots by Prd-|
## Boston College        1  2  3    Tot  G  A
---------------------------------------------
2  Bobby Allen.........  0  0  0      3  0  0
3  Mike Mottau.........  0  0  0      3  0  0
4  Brooks Orpik........  0  0  0      0  0  0
5  Bill Cass...........  0  0  0      2  0  0
6  Marty Hughes........  0  0  0      1  1  0
7  Rob Scuderi.........  0  0  0      2  0  0
8  Anthony D'Arpino....  0  0  0      0  0  0
9  Paul Kelly..........  0  0  0      0  0  0
10 Jeff Giuliano.......  0  0  0      1  0  0
11 Krys Kolanos........  0  0  0      4  0  0
12 Brian Gionta........  0  0  0      1  0  2
13 Blake Bellefeuille..  0  0  0      2  0  1
15 Ales Dolinar........  0  0  0      2  0  0
18 Mark McLennan.......  0  0  0      0  0  0
19 Jeff Farkas.........  0  0  0      2  1  0
21 Jeremy Wilson.......  0  0  0      0  0  0
23 Kevin Caulfield.....  0  0  0      0  0  0
27 Mike Lephart........  0  0  0      0  0  0
TM TEAM................  0  0  0      0  0  0
   Totals..............  0  0  0     23  2  3
 

                        |-Shots by Prd-|
## North Dakota          1  2  3    Tot  G  A
---------------------------------------------
4  Lee Goren...........  0  0  0      0  0  0
5  Chris Leinweber.....  0  0  0      0  0  0
6  Tim O'Connell.......  0  0  0      0  0  0
7  Travis Roche........  0  0  0      0  0  0
8  Mike Commodore......  0  0  0      0  0  0
9  Jason Ulmer.........  0  0  0      0  0  0
10 Bryan Lundbohm......  0  0  0      0  0  0
11 Peter Armbrust......  0  0  0      0  0  0
16 Kevin Spiewak.......  0  0  0      0  0  0
17 Jeff Panzer.........  0  0  0      0  0  0
18 Tim Skarperud.......  0  0  0      0  0  0
19 Ryan Bayda..........  0  0  0      0  0  0
20 Wes Dorey...........  0  0  0      0  0  0
23 Aaron Schneekloth...  0  0  0      0  0  0
24 Brad DeFauw.........  0  0  0      0  0  0
25 Ryan Hale...........  0  0  0      0  0  0
26 Jason Noterman......  0  0  0      0  0  0
27 Chad Mazurak........  0  0  0      0  0  0
TM TEAM................  0  0  0     36  4  4
   Totals..............  0  0  0     36  4  4
 

Goals by Period
Team   1  2  3  Tot
-------------------
BC     1  1  0 -  2
UND    1  0  3 -  4

Shots by Period
Team   1  2  3  Tot
-------------------
BC    13  6  4 - 23
UND   13 12 11 - 36

Power Play G-Att (Shots)
Prd      BC          UND
-----------------------------
Total  1-6         0-3

Penalties/Minutes by Prd
Prd      BC        UND
-------------------------
1st      4/8       7/14
2nd      0/0       0/0
3rd      0/0       0/0
Total    4/8       7/14

Officials:
Referee:Matt Shegos
Asst Ref:Bill Jones
Asst Ref:Jeff Fulton

GOALTENDERS

Boston College          Dec  MIN  GA EN   1  2  3 Svs
-----------------------------------------------------
30 Scott Clemmensen....  L  58:47  3  0  12 12  8  32
TM TEAM................     01:13  0  1   0  0  0   0

North Dakota            Dec  MIN  GA EN   1  2  3 Svs
-----------------------------------------------------
1  Karl Goehring.......  W  60:00  2  0  12  5  4  21
 

PENALTY SUMMARY

Prd Player               Team Min Offense              Time
------------------------------------------------------------
1st Aaron Schneekloth    UND    2 CROSS-CHECKING       06:33 PP
1st Jeff Giuliano        BC     2 HOOKING              10:02 PP
1st Ryan Bayda           UND    2 SLASHING             11:35 PP
1st Chad Mazurak         UND    2 HOLDING THE STICK    16:28 PP
1st Jeff Giuliano        BC     2 HOOKING              17:13 PP
2nd Chad Mazurak         UND    2 HOLDING              00:25 PP
2nd Tim O'Connell        UND    2 SLASHING             03:04 PP
2nd TEAM                 BC     2 TOO MANY ON ICE.     04:21 PP
2nd Ales Dolinar         BC     2 SLASHING             10:45
2nd Mike Commodore       UND    2 HOLDING              10:45
2nd Mike Commodore       UND    2 TRIPPING             14:26 PP

Win-Karl Goehring (19-6-4).  Loss-Scott Clemmensen (19-7-0).
Frozen Four All-Tournament Team
F-Jeff Farkas, BC; F-Lee Goren, UND (MVP)
F-Bryan Lundbohm, UND; D-Mike Mottau, BC
D-Mike Commodore, UND; G-Karl Goehring, UND
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

Hockey Game Box Score (Final)
1999-2000 Hockey East Association
Boston College vs North Dakota (Apr 08, 2000 at Providence, RI)
 
 
 

Boston College - Power Play Summary

Prd Start  End  Elapse Shots (Opp)
----------------------------------
SUMMARY: 6 opps, 0 shots, 1 goal, time 00:00

North Dakota - Power Play Summary

Prd Start  End  Elapse Shots (Opp)
----------------------------------
SUMMARY: 3 opps, 0 shots, 0 goals, time 00:00

BOSTON COLLEGE'S MOTTAU WINS 2000 HOBEY BAKER AWARD
 
 

PROVIDENCE, RI -- The Hobey Baker Memorial Award, college hockey's top individual prize was today awarded to Boston College star defenseman Mike Mottau. The Eagles senior captain is coming off a fabulous season helping his team reach the coveted NCAA Frozen Four Tournament.

Mottau, the 2000 recipient in the award's 20th year, was one of three candidates from Boston College, joining teammates Brian Gionta and Jeff Farkas as top ten finalists for this prestigious award. Mike's magnificent season has already been richly rewarded as he was named Hockey East Co-Player of the Year and the Defensive Defenseman of the Year. Not only was he tops defensively, he could also lend plenty of offense.

Finishing fourth in team scoring, Mike has 37 assists on the season and is averaging a point per game -extraordinarily good for a defenseman. This weekend he is capping off a brilliant collegiate career, ranking first overall in career games played as well as most points and assists by a defenseman for Boston College.

While the offensive numbers are outstanding, Mottau excelled in playing defense. The Eagles were ranked third overall in the nation for team defense and first nationally in penalty killing with his help, Mike commonly logged almost half a game in icetime.

A Communications major, Mottau won the highly regarded Walter Brown Award for the second straight year as the top American-born player in New England. All Eagles players are involved in community projects such as youth mentor programs and making hospital visits. Mike is a seventh round draft choice of the New York Rangers in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft and has aspirations of pursuing a pro career.

The Hobey Baker Memorial Award annually honors the top player in Division I college hockey in the U.S. An initial round of balloting is conducted with all 60 Division I college coaches submitting candidates for the ten finalists. These 10 names are advanced to the Selection Committee to determine the eventual recipient of the award. The Selection Committee is a geographically balanced group of 20 members composed of media, NHL scouts and college hockey coaches. Additionally, a fan vote conducted on-line was implemented this year allowing college hockey fans 1% vote in each round of balloting.

This marks the third consecutive year that a Hockey East player has earned the Hobey Baker Award, following Jason Krog in 1999 and Chris Drury in 1998. Hockey East has seen its players take home six of the last ten Hobey Baker Awards (David Emma-1991, Scott Pellerin-1992, Paul Kariya-1993).

Mike Mottau will be honored at a special banquet on Friday, April 14 at the Decathlon Hotel & Athletic Club in Bloomington, MN. In addition to Mike's night of recognition, the Hobey Baker Award Committee will bc honoring its Legend of Hockey, Badger Bob Johnson. Univ. of Wisconsin head coach Jeff Sauer will be presenting the honor and assistant coach and Bob's son, Mark Johnson will be accepting.

Providence, R.I.--It may not be fair to say that Jeff Farkas single-handedly beat the St. Lawrence Saints, but his unassisted goal at 18:03 of the third period broke a 2-2 tie to give Boston College the win it needed to advance to the NCAA championship game.

 And Farkas wasn't alone in his solitude. Fellow Eagles Blake Bellefeuille and Brian Gionta also tallied unassisted goals, while St. Lawrence's Charlie Daniels had a solo effort of his own.

Game Notebook
This was the first time all season that St. Lawrence did not win a game when leading after the first period (16-0-1 prior to the game). The Saints were 20-2 when leading after two.

But the Eagles are a great third-period team, outscoring the opposition 67-27 in the final stanza so far this season. "We talked in the locker room about how we never give up," said York. "We've come from behind before. Mike Mottau and Jeff Farkas and the other seniors talked about how we needed to keep our poise, work hard, and try to create some offense. "

"Morale was kind of iffy in the locker room," said Farkas. "The seniors talked about how we wanted to achieve something special, and how we we're going to keep plugging."
 
 

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BC set some milestones in the game. Blake Bellefeuille's unassisted goal was his 19th of the season and 50th point overall. He joins Farkas (57 points) and Gionta (54) in the 50-point club, the first time since the 1989-90 season that BC has had three 50-point scorers. Farkas now has 189 career points, just one behind Dan Shea ('88) for fifth all-time at BC.
 
 

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The Eagles are doing it with defense this season. Their 2.15 GAA was the third-lowest in the nation. "It's the lowest goals against we've had since 1966," said York. "We're very proud of that."

"We starting this season talking about how it's defense first," said Farkas, who led an aggressive BC backcheck that shut down St. Lawrence for the final 29:22 of the game.
 
 

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Big games are often decided by big players, and that was case tonight as BC's goals were scored by its three Hobey Baker finalists (Mottau, Farkas, and Gionta) as well as senior Blake Bellefeuille, who may be playing the best off all down the stretch.

"It was a goal-scorer's goal," said St. Lawrence head coach Joe Marsh of Farkas' game-winner. "A great goal by a great player."

"An NCAA highlight goal," was the way York described it.

Farkas said, "I got the pass on the boards and was just looking to get it in (the zone). Everyone kind of backed off, so I kept going. The guy kind of brushed off me and I made a move, took a shot, and it found the top corner."

Mottau's goal was a big momentum shift. After hitting the crossbar just seconds before, he got another chance.

"We just kept plugging away," he said. "(Marty) Hughes found me on top and I shot it again. The puck had eyes and found its way to the net."
 
 

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"No Regrets" was on the St. Lawrence dressing room wall all season, and the Saints were true to their motto.

"We didn't have the best years in my first two seasons here, said senior captain Dale Clarke. "If you would have told me that I'd end my career in the semifinals of the Final Four, I would have taken it. I think I can speak for the entire team when I say that no guy in the locker room has any regrets."

That was echoed by senior Justin Harney, who grew up in Massachusetts with older brother Joe, captain of the 1997 Boston College team. Harney played with and against many of BC's top players while growing up.

"I have no regrets about playing at St. Lawrence," he said. "It's unfortunate that things had to end this way as a senior, but you have to give credit to guys like Mike Mottau and Blake Bellefeuille."
 
 

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Marsh was philosophical about his team's dream season that ended two wins short of a national title.

"This is the best team I've had in terms of how the players worked together and got along," he said. "We're very proud our effort and I'm proud of the way this team played all year. We talked at the beginning of the season about how we wanted a playoff atmosphere every game. They competed every time."

In 1988 when St. Lawrence lost in overtime to Lake Superior State in the championship game, "I wasn't sure if we would ever get back to the championship," said Marsh. "In '88 I was a was a lot younger and had a lot more hair, and it was a different color, and I was a lot stupider. It was my third year as a head coach and we came within an overtime goal of winning the national championship. That team was loaded.

"But this (year's) team was special and gave a great effort all year long. They did everything we asked of them."
 

-- Chris Lerch
 
 

And, fittingly, Boston College's third Hobey Baker candidate, Mike Mottau, scored Boston College's second tying goal in the tight, back-and-forth game in which each team allowed the other little precious little space.

"I thought it was a tremendous effort by both teams," said Boston College head coach Jerry York. "I thought St. Lawrence played better in the first half of the game. We were really back on our heels and they really controlled that part of the game."

The Saints jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a goal by Jason Windle at 16:15 in the first. With St. Lawrence pressuring and BC unable to clear, Windle picked up Erik Anderson's feed from behind the Eagles' net and lifted the puck high on the short side for the first goal of the game.

"Somebody mentioned after the first period when we were up one-nothing, 'Hey, you guys can play with them.' That was a bulletin," quipped St. Lawrence head coach Joe Marsh.

 Bellefeuille's unassisted shorthander tied the game at 5:40 in the second. The BC senior won a footrace for the puck with Matt Desrosiers behind the St. Lawrence net, wrapped it around, shot, and scored--all in one fluid motion.

Daniels answered with his unassisted goal on the Saints' power play at 10:38. Taking the puck coast-to-coast on the right wing after a BC clear, Daniels had Eagles' goalie Scott Clemmensen dead to rights. The netminder committed down, and Daniels lifted the puck and over Clemmensen's legs for the go-ahead goal.

"We talked in the locker room about how we never give up, how we've played from behind before," said York. "Mike Mottau and Jeff Farkas, our seniors in particular--Kevin Caulfield, Blake Bellefeuille--said, 'Let's keep our poise, work hard, and try to create some offense.' It was very difficult to get goals there."

Mottau answered his own call with a great second effort to tie the game at 3:04 in the third.

It was four-on-four. I tried to join the play," said Mottau. "Jeff [Farkas] had the puck on the far side, he curled back and found me. I stepped around a guy and hit the cross bar. Then Hughes picked up the loose puck and found me up top on the blue line. I just wristed it through, and the puck had eyes and found its way to the back of the net."

In addition to keeping their poise, York said that the Eagles were trying to solve a stingy St. Lawrence defense that was limiting the number of quality offensive chances. "We were thinking maybe a rebound goal, or a deflection, and Jeff all of a sudden makes that tremendous...NCAA-highlight goal."

And it was.

 Farkas took the puck end-to-end to score the goal that won the game. "I got a pass on the boards and I was just looking to get it in and sort of pull up at the blue line to make a play. Everything sort of backed off a little bit, so I kept going. The guy went to hit me and sort of brushed off me. Another guy came at me and I made a move and just shot it and found the top corner."

Gionta added a hard-earned empty-netter at 19:59, digging his way out of the corner past two St. Lawrence players to get a shot.

Clemmensen made 26 saves in the win, while Derek Gustafson saved 28 shots he faced. The Eagles were 0-for-4 on the power play while scoring shorthanded; St. Lawrence was 1-for-4 with the man advantage.

"This team gave us this kind of effort all year long," said Marsh. "I thought our focus was great. I thought that they did everything they asked us to do and more.

"It was a pretty even game. It got down to a goal-scorer's goal. I guess the consolation is that it wasn't a cheap goal. It was a great goal by a great player. The three guys that scored tonight for them--Bellefeuille, Mottau, and Farkas--have done it all year. Their big-name players came up, as did ours."

Marsh said that the loss was one thing, but knowing that this team will no longer play together was equally hard to take.

"The guys here, as you know, what they've meant to this team--not just this year, but over the years--has been just incredible. I think they're indicative of what our effort's been like all year. These guys represent the best that our team has had to offer, day in and day out. I'm very, very proud them. I can't say I've ever been any prouder of any team we've ever had.

"There was great camaraderie, and it was a tough way to end the season, but I think they'll look back and know that we can play with anybody."

 "I thought we started slow, but came back stronger," said York. "St. Lawrence matched it. I think our level of play got better as the game went on, but St. Lawrence started well and stayed right with us through the course of the three periods."

Boston College meets North Dakota in Saturday's title game.

"I think North Dakota's got an excellent team," said York. "We played them two years ago in a very, very strong game by both teams.

"When you get to this level, like I've said before, you have to have good players, you have to work hard, and you have to get some bounces."
 
 

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BC, North Dakota Advance at Frozen Four
By Russell Levine
NHL.com

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (April 6, 2000) - Boston College took a giant step towards its first ice hockey national title since 1949 on Thursday night, defeating St. Lawrence, 4-2, to set up a Saturday championship showdown against North Dakota. The Fighting Sioux defeated Maine earlier in the day.
 

BC got third-period goals from all three of its three Hobey Baker award finalists to erase a 2-1 deficit and advance to the finals of the "Frozen Four," -- the NCAA Division I hockey championships.

St. Lawrence, perhaps the most unlikely of the four teams gathered in Providence, gave Boston College all it could handle.

BC trailed early in the third when, with the teams skating four-on-four, senior defenseman Mike Mottau lofted a wrist shot from the point that eluded St. Lawrence goalie Derek Gustafson through a screen. The goal, which tied the score at two, came moments after Boston College had hit the post for the third time in the game.

"The puck had eyes and found its way to the net," said Mottau, a seventh-round draft choice of the New York Rangers in 1997.

The score remained tied through a tight-checking period until another of the Eagles' Hobey Baker finalists, senior forward Kevin Farkas, pulled up just over the St. Lawrence blue line and rifled a shot that beat Gustafson high on the glove side with 1:57 remaining in the game.

"I got the pass on the boards and was just looking to get it in (the zone)," said Farkas, the Maple Leafs' third-round pick in 1997. "One guy brushed off me and I made a move, took a shot and it found the top corner."

The Saints pulled Gustafson for an extra attacker in the final minute, and had several good chances before Brian Gionta scored an empty-net goal as time expired.

"If there is any consolation, it was a great goal by a great player," said St. Lawrence coach Joe Marsh of Farkas' go-ahead tally. "You look at their (first) three goal scorers tonight, they came up big for them as usual. They came up big for them all year and they did again tonight."

St. Lawrence carried the play for much of the second period to take a one-goal advantage into the intermission.

With BC's Bobby Allen off for interference, St. Lawrence sophomore forward Charlie Daniels stole a clearing attempt and jammed the puck past goalie Scott Clemmensen for a 2-1 lead.

Boston College had tied the game at one on a spectacular individual effort by senior center Blake Bellefeuille. While killing a penalty, Bellefeuille chased Saints defenseman Dale Clarke into the St. Lawrence zone, stole the puck from him behind the net, then stickhandled out front and beat Gustafson with a quick wrist shot.

St. Lawrence scored the only goal of the opening period when Jason Windle gathered a rebound of an Erik Anderson shot in the slot and beat Clemmensen.

Earlier in the period, the Saints had an apparent power-play goal disallowed when it was ruled that Robin Carruthers had kicked the puck into the net.

"St. Lawrence played better the first half of the game," said Boston College coach Jerry York. "After the second period, we talked to the team and told them not to give up."

The loss ends St. Lawrence's bid for its first national title. The Saints arrived in Providence via an epic overtime win against Boston College. In the longest game in NCAA Tournament history, the Saints eliminated the Terriers, 3-2, on a goal by Robin Carruthers at 63:53 of overtime.

Boston College, making its third consecutive Frozen Four appearance, will play in the title game for the second time in three years. The Eagles lost in overtime to Michigan, 3-2, in the 1998 final.

In Thursday's first semifinal, North Dakota kicked off the Frozen Four by dethroning defending national champion Maine, 2-0.

Bryan Lundbohm and Kevin Spiewak scored second-period goals and goalie Karl Goehring made 30 saves as the Fighting Sioux blanked the Black Bears, ending Maine's bid to become the first back-to-back national champion since Boston University in 1971-72.

Lundbohm, a sophomore center, broke the scoreless tie on the power play at 7:35 of the second period, when he cut in and beat Maine goalie Matt Yeats with a wrist shot high to the stick side.

"I was not screened," said Yeats. "He cut in above the circle and took a quick wrist shot, and it went inside the post. It was a nice shot."

Exactly six minutes later, with Maine on the power play, Spiewak went around defenseman Doug Janik and caught Yeats too far back in his net, beating him on the far side to make it 2-0.

Spiewak, a freshman, didn't hesitate to think offense with his team a man down.

"If you continue to see open ice, you have to go for it," he said. "I knew the guys were smart enough to cover for me. We've seen (Yeats) play before, we saw the tape. We knew we could beat him low."

North Dakota nearly made it 3-0 four minutes later, when Peter Ambrust's shot dribbled through Yeats and was put in by Brad DeFauw. But after consulting the video replay, referee Matt Shegos ruled the whistle had blown before the puck went in and disallowed the goal.

Special teams were pivotal throughout the game, as Maine failed to capitalize on a pair of two-man advantages and finished 0-for-7 on the power play.

"(Special teams) was the key to the game," said Maine head coach Shawn Walsh. "If we go 1-for-6 on the power play, it's a one-goal game. Karl made some great saves and their defense is underrated, as is their team."

Goehring, who didn't find out he was starting the game until this morning, made several difficult saves in the final eight minutes to preserve the shutout.

"They had a few scrambles early and some good chances on the power play," Goehring said. "They had some great opportunities. You've got to give Maine credit for being a good squad."

The Sioux will be bidding for their second national title in four years and their seventh overall.

Providence represents a return to a traditional venue for the Frozen Four, which was held in Anaheim last year. This marks the seventh time the event has taken place in Providence, the sixth time at the Civic Center.

Monday, April 3, 2000

HOCKEY EAST MONTHLY HONORS FOR MARCH ARE ANNOUNCED
 
 

Maine Forward Niko Dimitrakos is Hockey East Player of the Month
Hockey East Tournament MVP NIKO DIMITRAKOS is the HOCKEY EAST PLAYER of the MONTH for March. he 5-11, 195-pound sophomore forward went 4-4-8 in seven games, with 3-3-6 coming in postseason play. A native of Somerville, MA, he scored the game-winner against Boston College in the Hockey East Championship with just 2.5 seconds remaining.
 

Niko Dimitrakos' March
Date Opponent Result Stats
3/3 at PC  6-6 T 1-0-1
3/4 at PC  3-2 W 0-1-1
3/9 Providence 5-3 W 1-2-3
3/10 Providence 5-4 W 0-0-0
3/17 Boston Univ. 4-2 W 1-0-1
3/18 Boston Coll. 2-1 W 1-0-1
3/26 Michigan 5-2 W 0-1-1
Totals   6-0-1 4-4-8
 
 

BU Goaltender Ricky DiPietro Is Hockey East Rookie of the Month
Boston University freshman RICKY DiPIETRO is the HOCKEY EAST ROOKIE of the MONTH for March. The 5-11, 185-pounder from Winthrop, MA, was 3-2-1 in six games, posting a 2.39 GAA and a .919 save percentage. DiPietro achieved a historical milestone, setting the record for most saves in an NCAA Tournament game (77), surpassing the previous record set by Chris Terrieri of Providence College in 1985 (65), in a 3-2 4OT loss.
 

Ricky DiPietro's March
Date Opp. Result  Stats
3/3  at MC 3-3 T (OT) 65 MP, 31 svs, 3 GA
3/10 UMA 4-2 W  60 MP, 13 svs, 2 GA
3/11 UMA 5-2 W  60 MP, 24 svs, 2 GA
3/17 Maine 2-4 L  58 MP, 25 svs, 4 GA
3/25 SCSU 5-3 W  60 MP, 23 svs, 3 GA
3/26 SLU 2-3 L (4OT) 124 MP, 77 svs, 3 GA
Totals  3-2-1    427 MP, 193 svs, 17 GA, 2.39, .919
 
 

BC's Scott Clemmesen Is Hockey East/Heaton Goalie of the Month
Boston College junior SCOTT CLEMMENSEN is the HOCKEY EAST/HEATON GOALIE of the MONTH for March. The 6-2, 200-pounder from Urbandale, IA, was 6-1-0 in eight appearances, posting a 2.29 GAA and a .913 save percentage. Clemmensen has lost just one game in MArch in his career and will make his third straight Frozen Four appearance in April.
Scott Clemmensen's March
Date Opp. Result  Stats
3/2  at NU 7-2 W  40 MP, 18 svs, 1 GA
3/5 BU 6-2 W  60 MP, 24 svs, 2 GA
3/10 NU 8-4 W  60 MP, 24 svs, 4 GA
3/11 NU 3-2 W  60 MP, 25 svs, 2 GA
3/17 UNH 2-1 W  60 MP, 20 svs, 1 GA
3/18 Maine 1-2 L  59 MP, 33 svs, 2 GA
3/24 MSU 6-5 W (OT) 72 MP, 17 svs, 5 GA
3/25 Wisc. 4-1 W  60 MP, 28 svs, 1 GA
Totals  6-1-0  471 MP, 189 svs, 18 GA, 2.29, .913

BC & MAINE ADVANCE TO FROZEN FOUR IN PROVIDENCE
Hockey East Continues Recent Streak of Postseason Success
 

LAWRENCE, MA -- Hockey East placed two teams into the Frozen Four and came just one crossbar away from making it three teams for the second consecutive year. Both Maine and Boston College have advanced to Providence, but the big story of NCAA Regional weekend involves the team who came up just short, Boston University, who fell in quadruple overtime to St. Lawrence by a score of 3-2. Lasting 123:53, the game shattered the record for longest NCAA tournament contest of 100:28 set by Maine and Michigan in the 1995 semifinals.

In this epic battle, freshman goaltender Ricky DiPietro (Winthrop, MA) set a new record for saves in an NCAA Tournament game with an unbelievable 77 saves. For his outstanding performance, DiPietro has been recognized as Hockey East Rookie of the Week.

The teams that previously held the record for longest NCAA tournament game also met up on Sunday with Maine defeating Michigan, 5-2. The defending National Champions scored all five of their goals in the third period, including a pair from senior Ben Guite (Montreal, QUE). One of Guite’s goals came on the man advantage, giving him a nation-leading 15 power-play goals on the season. The Black Bears will face North Dakota in the opening game of the national semifinals at 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 6 in Providence.

For the second consecutive year, Boston College advanced to the “Frozen Four” through the NCAA West Regional with wins over Michigan State (6-5 OT) and Wisconsin (4-1). In the Michigan State game, the Eagles scored all of their goals on the special teams with five power play goals, including the game-winner by Jeff Farkas (SR, F, Williamsville, NY) at 11:53 of overtime, and one shorthanded tally by West Regional MVP and Hockey East Player of the Week Blake Bellefeuille (Framingham, MA). Boston College will face-off against St. Lawrence at 7 p.m. in the second game of the “Frozen Four” on April 6.

Both of the national semifinal games will be televised on ESPN2, while the National Championship game will be on ESPN on Saturday, April 8 at 7:30 p.m.
KOHO Player of the Week:
BLAKE BELLEFEUILLE, Boston College - (SR, F, Framingham, MA) named West Regional MVP after registering 2-1-3 in two games for the Eagles.
Rookie of the Week:
RICKY DiPIETRO, Boston University - (FR, G, Winthrop, MA) set an NCAA record for saves in a tournament game with 77 while playing in the longest tournament game in history.
Defensive Player of the Week:
MIKE MOTTAU, Boston College - (SR, D, Avon, MA) captained his Eagles to third straight "Frozen Four" appearance and scored three assists on the weekend.
NCAA Regional All-Tournament Teams:
East Regional
Forward - Mike Comrie, Michigan
Forward - Andy McDonald, Colgate
Forward - Ben Guite, Maine
Defense - Justin Harney, St. Lawrence
Defense - Chris Dyment, Boston University
Goalie - Derek Gustafson, SLU / Rick DiPietro, BU

Most Valuable Player: Derek Gustafson, St. Lawrence
West Regional
Forward - Jeff Panzer, North Dakota
Forward - Blake Bellefeuille, Boston College
Forward - Jeff Farkas, Boston College
Defense - Mike Mottau, Boston College
Defense - Mike Commodore, North Dakota
Goalie - Greg Gardner, Niagara

Most Valuable Player: Blake Bellefeuille, Boston College
 
 

Scoring By Periods  Shots By Periods Penalties Power Plays
Maine 0 0 2 = 2   17 9 9 = 35 8-16 0-4
Boston College 0 0 1 = 1   9 15 11 = 35 6-12 0-6
Records: Maine (26-7-5 Overall, 13-7-4 Hockey East)
Boston College (26-11-1 Overall, 15-8-1 Hockey East)
Scoring Summary
Third Period
me-1 Cory Larose (Unassisted)   5x5 3:11
bc-1 Bobby Allen (Mike Mottau, Blake Bellefeuille)   6x5 19:20
me-2 Niko Dimitrakos (Cory Larose)   GWG 5x5 19:57

Goaltending Summary
 Goaltender Saves By Period
me-1 Matt Yeats (60:00 W)  9 15 10  = 34 (1 GA)

bc-1 Scott Clemmensen (59:41 L)  17 9 7  = 33 (2 GA)

Maine 2, Boston College 1
3/18/2000 at FleetCenter
Hockey East Championship

MAINE WINS HOCKEY EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
Black Bears Score Late To Defeat Boston College, 2-1
BOSTON, MA – Maine sophomore forward Niko Dimitrakos scored with just 2.5 seconds remaining to lift the University of Maine Black Bears to their fourth Hockey East Championship with a 2-1 victory over Boston College before a Hockey East single-game record 15,993 fans at the FleetCenter in Boston. The Eagles had come back to tie the contest with just :40 seconds remaining.

Senior Cory Larose won a face-off in the left circle of the BC end to Dimitrakos who skated around the defense and slid the puck past Eagle netminder Scott Clemmensen for the game-winner.

Boston College defenseman Bobby Allen tied the game at 1-1 at 19:20 with a slapshot from the top of the right circle on assists from seniors Mike Mottau and Blake Bellefeuille. The assist places Mottau into a tie as the all-time assist leader at Boston College.

After battling through two scoreless periods, Maine senior captain Cory Larose, the Hockey East Regular Season scoring champion, scored 3:11 into the third period, breaking a scoreless deadlock. Larose picked off a BC pass in the left circle, cut across the middle and lifted a backhander over Clemmensen.

The goaltending was terrific with the Maine’s Matt Yeats and Clemmensen each making spectacular saves multiple times during the contest. Yeats finished the game with 34 saves, while Clemmensen stopped 33 shots for the Black Bears.

Dimitrakos received the William Flynn Award as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Along with Dimitrakos, the following players were named to the All-Tournament Team: Maine forward Cory Larose, Boston College forward Blake Bellefeuille, Boston College defenseman Mike Mottau, Maine defenseman Robert Ek, and Maine goaltender Matt Yeats.

The 16th Annual Hockey East Tournament was the league’s most successful to date. Along with the single-game record set tonight, the attendance for both nights of the tournament was a record shattering 31,982.
 

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Hockey Game Box Score (Final)
1999-2000 Hockey East Association
Maine vs Boston College (Mar 18, 2000 at Boston, MA)
 

Maine (26-7-5) vs. Boston College (26-11-1)
Date: Mar 18, 2000  Location: Boston, MA            Arena: FleetCenter
Attendance:15993   Start time:8:05 pm   End time:10:40 pm  Total time:2:35
 
 

 # Prd Time Team Typ Scored By                Assists
-----------------------------------------------------------------
 1 3rd 03:11 ME   EV Cory Larose (15)         -
 2 3rd 19:20 BC   EX Bobby Allen (4)          Mike Mottau,
                                              Blake Bellefeuil
 3 3rd 19:57 ME   EV Niko Dimitrakos (11)     Cory Larose

SHOTS & PLUS/MINUS

                        |-Shots by Prd-|
## Maine                 1  2  3    Tot  G  A
---------------------------------------------
3  Doug Janik..........  1  0  0      1  0  0
4  Peter Metcalf.......  0  0  1      1  0  0
5  Robert Ek...........  1  1  1      3  0  0
7  Barrett Heisten.....  2  0  0      2  0  0
11 Lucas Lawson........  1  0  0      1  0  0
12 Ben Guite...........  0  0  1      1  0  0
15 Niko Dimitrakos.....  3  1  1      5  1  0
16 Dan Kerluke.........  2  0  0      2  0  0
17 Chris Heisten.......  1  2  1      4  0  0
18 Cliff Loya..........  0  0  0      0  0  0
21 Matthias Trattnig...  1  1  0      2  0  0
22 Tom Reimann.........  1  1  2      4  0  0
23 Martin Kariya.......  1  2  0      3  0  0
24 Jim Leger...........  0  0  1