Gophers Deck BU, Take On Tech
by Mike Monroe
Denver Post Sports Writer
Forget détente. Relations between the West and East deteriorated so badly
Friday night not even 20 shuttles by Henry Kissinger could patch things up.
In fact, Friday's NCAA hockey semifinal between Minnesota and Boston
University turned into all-out war, with Minnesota winning enough
skirmishes to emerge with a 4-2 victory before 5,204 frenzied fans at
University of Denver Arena.
The Gophers will meet Michigan Tech for the NCAA title Saturday night. It
will be the third meeting this year of the two teams, each having won once
during the regular Western Collegiate Hockey Association season.
Boston and Brown University were to meet for consolation honors Saturday at
2 p.m.
The Gophers dominated play in the third period, coming from one goal down
to score three times, with Mark Lambert scoring the winner just four
seconds short of the midway point of the period. Tom Vannelli had tied the
score at 2-2 4:32 into the period on a long, low shot from just across the
Boston blue line.
The goals, however, seemed secondary to a 10-minute, gloves-off,
bench-clearing, Pier Six brawl that erupted just one minute and eight
seconds after the opening faceoff.
Effects of the fight were numerous.
--Boston lost leading scorer Terry Meaghar [sic] to a game misconduct penalty.
--Minnesota lost defenseman Russ Anderson, also to a game misconduct.
-- The game was delayed nearly 30 minutes while officials considered the
various actions that might have been taken.
--The tempo of the game was firmly set, Boston's slick-skating style tossed
in favor of Minnesota's hard-hitting brand of hockey.
The first and last factors rankled BU Coach Jack Parker.
"That's a helluva trade," Parker fumed between drags on a cigarette. "A
defenseman for a 30-goal scorer."
Parker pointed out that Meaghar had drawn only 12 minutes in penalties all
season (he'd actually gotten only eight minutes), and charged that the
fight involving his star player was a premeditated attempt to have his key
forward tossed from the game.
Minnesota Coach Herb Brooks scoffed at that suggestion.
"There was nothing premeditated about it," he said. "It was just emotions,
the emotions of the situation."
Parker, who described the officiating with an expletive, was miffed at the
call that led to the melee.
"Our guy got speared in the stomach," Parker contended, "and then he
retaliated (by slashing). The Eastern official (Frank Kelly) was right
there for the faceoff and he lets it go, but the Western official (Dino
Panniccia) blows his whistle from the blue line and calls our guy for
slashing."
The genesis of the fight itself was a question of who was the "spittee" and
who was the "spitter". Both sides claimed one of their own was spat upon
by a representative of the other side as Meaghar skated to the penalty box
after being called for slashing.
Undisputable was the fact that Meaghar spit at the Minnesota bench and that
Minnesota trainer Gary Smith grabbed Meaghar's stick.
Minnesota drew first blood (none was spilled during the brawl) when Don
Madson lifted the puck over Terrier goaltender Brian Durocher after
Durocher had made three saves on shots by Reed Larson.
BU struck back with a pair of power-play goals, working the puck with
precision for scores by Ken Kuzyk and Mike Fidler to claim a 2-1 lead
heading into the final period.
Vannelli, skating despite and injury to his left knee suffered in the
second period, tied the score in the third, taking the puck from his own
end, beating a Terrier defender at center ice and firing just across the
blue line.
Lambert got the go-ahead goal slightly more than five minutes
later. Lambert won a faceoff to the left of Durocher and got the puck into
the slot, where Ken Yackel was being checked by two Terriers. The puck was
kicked back toward the faceoff circle and Lambert fired it past Durocher,
out of position as he concerned himself with Yackel.
The Gophers got an insurance goal with less than three minutes left when
Tom Younghans took a slick pass from Vannelli and skated in on Durocher
uncontested.
Brooks, who joked that he decided to go with Mohr in the nets "after two
out of three coin flips," said he would stick with his season-long pattern
of alternating goalies. That means Jeff Tscherne will get the nod for the
championship game.
Boston 0 2 0-2
Minnesota 0 1 3-4
First Period -- None. Penalties: Anderson, M :33; T. Meaghar, B.
(two-minute minor, game misconduct) 1:08; Anderson, M. (game misconduct)
1:08; Minnesota bench (served by Yackel) 1:08; Robbins, B. 3:41; Ling, M
14:05; Sunderland, B. 16:42;Gryp, B. 19:56; Younghans, M. 19:56.
Second Period -- 1. Minnesota, Madson (Miller, Reed Larson) 5:24; 2. Boston
, Kuzyk (Brown, Marzo) 8:07; 3. Boston, Fidler (Fay, Brown)
17:17. Penalties: Younghans, M. 4:30; Brown, B. 4:40; Fidler, B
(ten-minute misconduct) 4:40; Verchota, M. (two minute minor served by
Yackel, ten-minute misconduct) 7:30; Dudley, B, 11:56; Reed Larson, M,
13:33; Younghans, M, 16:24; Gryp, B, 18:14; Buckton, B, 18:32.
Third Period -- 4. Minnesota, Vannelli (Reed Larson) 4:32; 5. Minnesota,
Lambert (Yackel, Lind) 9:56; 6. Minnesota, Younghans (Vannelli,
Phippen)17:22. Penalties: Yackel, M, 7:36; Gryp, B, 7:36; Micheletti, M,
11:32; Miller, M, 18:56.
Shots on Goal Boston 13-8-10 -- 31; Minnesota 14-16-10 -- 40.
Goalies -- Boston, Durocher; Minnesota, Mohr. A. -- 5,204.
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