And here are the early results out West...
West Regional – Loveland
#1 – Minnesota Duluth v. #4 – Ohio State
The top-seeded and two-time defending National Champions Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs met up with the Ohio State Buckeyes in the opener here in Loveland, Colorado for the first of two West Regional Semifinals. Minnesota Duluth got off to a quick start, as Hobey Baker finalist Scott Perunovich whistled a slapshot past OSU netminder Tommy Nappier to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 just three minutes into the game. Ohio State pushed back strong, and midway through the opening frame earned a powerplay when Quinn Olson hauled down Gustaf Westlund behind the Bulldog net. The Buckeyes would capitalize with the man advantage, as Carson Meyer ripped a wrister from the slot that beat Duluth’s Hunter Shepard on the stick side and knotted the score at 1 apiece. Shepard and Nappier held the skaters off the board the rest of the way in the first period, and after twenty minutes of action, Duluth and Ohio State were tied 1-1. Ohio State controlled the second period of play, drawing two minor penalties, and launching 13 shots on goal. However, Hunter Shepard, going for his ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament victory between the pipes, was up to the task, stopping all 13 attempts on net. Minnesota Duluth nearly took the lead in the waning seconds of the second period when Dylan Samberg’s wrister from the near boards deflected off a Buckeye defensemen and to the stick of Cole Koepke. Unfortunately for the UMD Sophomore, his wrister flew over the top of a wide open net, and through two periods of play, the sides remained tied at 1. Ohio State jumped out again in the third period, launching three shots on goal in the opening 90 seconds, but Shepard again was in control keeping the Buckeyes off the board. Finally, about six minutes into the third frame, Ohio State solved Shepard for the second time. Matt Miller kept a bouncing puck in along the near boards and cycled it behind the Bulldogs’ net where it found Quinn Preston’s stick who in turn found a streaking Ronnie Hein in the slot, who ripped a one-timer past Shepard on the glove side to give the Buckeyes a 2-1 advantage. Duluth pushed into a new gear following the OSU goal, and swarmed Nappier. Midway through the third period, Duluth earned a powerplay, but despite launching four shots on net with the man advantage, were unable to knot the score. Nappier continued his strong play, keeping the Bulldogs off the scoreboard as the clock continued to wind down. However, with just over a minute to play and with an extra attacker, Duluth’s Nick Wolff sent a wrister in on net that Nappier stopped, but Justin Richards found the rebound at the top of the crease and popped the puck over Nappier’s blocker and into the back of the net to tie the game at 2-2. At the end of regulation, the score remained tide and the sides prepared for overtime. Both squads had great opportunities in the extra frame. Duluth’s Quinn Olson corralled a rebound at the bottom of the far circle, but his wrister found nothing but Nappier’s glove, who managed to slide over just in time and glove the puck. Later in overtime, Ohio State’s Tanner Laczynski won a puck-battle behind the UMD net, and found Matt Miller all alone at the top of the slot. Miller unleashed a one-timer that looked destined for the back of the net, but Shepard showed that his glove was equal to Nappier’s, robbing the Buckeye blueliner. Finally, just over halfway through the overtime session, OSU’s Wyatt Ege ripped a wrister from the near blueline that looked like it was going to go wide. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, it hit Dylan Samberg’s backside, and landed right on Carson Meyer’s stick in the slot, who roofed a wrister past the out-of-position Shepard to push the Buckeyes into the West Regional final with a 3-2 overtime victory.
