2015 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

2015 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Dates	March 13–21, 2015
Teams	8
Finals site	Xcel Energy Center; St. Paul, Minnesota
Champions	Minnesota State (2nd title)
Winning coach	Mike Hastings (2nd title)
MVP	Brad McClure (Minnesota State)
	WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments ← 2014 2016 →

The 2015 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was played between March 13 and March 21, 2015, at four conference arenas and the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. By winning the tournament, Minnesota State was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the WCHA's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

Format

The first round of the postseason tournament features a best-of-three games format. The top eight or ten conference teams participate in the tournament. Teams are seeded No. 1 through No. 8 according to their final conference standing, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with an identical number of points accumulated. The top four seeded teams each earn home ice and host one of the lower seeded teams.

The winners of the first round series advance to the Xcel Energy Center for the WCHA Final Five, a holdover from previous tournaments where it was used as the collective name of the quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship rounds. The Final Five uses a single-elimination format. Teams are re-seeded No. 1 through No. 4 according to the final regular season conference standings.[1]

Conference Standings

Note: GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against

2014–15 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings
	Conference record							Overall record
	GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#7 Minnesota State *	28	21	4	3	45	98	47	40	29	8	3	145	77
#9 Michigan Tech	28	21	5	2	44	103	48	41	29	10	2	144	74
#18 Bowling Green	28	17	8	3	37	87	66	39	23	11	5	119	93
Alaska^	28	14	12	2	30	75	69	34	19	13	2	92	81
Bemidji State	28	12	11	5	29	73	62	38	16	17	5	101	90
Ferris State	28	13	14	1	27	66	58	40	18	20	2	88	88
Northern Michigan	28	11	13	4	26	59	71	38	14	18	6	86	100
Alabama–Huntsville	28	7	20	1	15	44	95	38	8	26	4	62	121
Lake Superior State	28	7	20	1	15	44	91	38	8	28	2	60	131
Alaska Anchorage	28	5	21	2	12	52	94	34	8	22	4	70	107
Championship: March 21, 2015 indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup); * indicates conference tournament champion (Broadmoor Trophy) ^ indicates ineligible for postseason play due to NCAA sanctions Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 9, 2015

Bracket

Teams are reseeded after the first round

First round March 13–15					Semifinals March 20			Championship March 21

1	Minnesota State	9	4	—	1	Minnesota State	4
8	Lake Superior State	2	2	—	5	Ferris State	0

2	Michigan Tech	1***	3	—
7	Alabama–Huntsville	0	0	—				1	Minnesota State	5
								2	Michigan Tech	2

3	Bowling Green	3*	4	—
6	Northern Michigan	2	1	—

4	Bemidji State	1	2	—	2	Michigan Tech	5
5	Ferris State	4	3***	—	3	Bowling Green	2

Note: * denotes overtime periods

Results

First Round

All times are local.

(1) Minnesota State vs. (8) Lake Superior State

March 13, 2015
7:00 pm CDT

(8) Lake Superior State

2 – 9
(1–2, 1–4, 0–3)

(1) Minnesota State

Verizon Wireless Center, Mankato, MN
Attendance: 3,325

Game reference

Gordon Defiel (40:00)
Aaron Davis (20:00)

Goalies

Stephon Williams

Referees:
Keith Sergott
Kevin Langseth
Linesmen:
Matt Anderson
Rick Nelson

	0 – 1	9:12 – pp - Max Gaede (Jutzi, J. Nelson)
Stephen Perfetto – 10:14	1 – 1
	1 – 2	16:08 - pp - Bryce Gervais (Lafontaine, Leitner)
Gus Correale (Drapluk, Renz) - pp - 1:06	2 – 2
	2 – 3	5:18 - Casey Nelson
	2 – 4	7:35 - Brett Knowles (J. Nelson, Gaede)
	2 – 5	13:30 - pp - Matt Leitner (Franklin, C. Nelson)
	2 – 6	17:23 - pp - Matt Leitner (Lafontaine, Gervais)
	2 – 7	1:01 - Chase Grant (Lafontaine, Blueger)
	2 – 8	5:32 - pp - Dylan Margonari (Flanagan)
	2 – 9	12:42 - pp - Jean-Paul Lafontaine (Jutzi, Knowles)

30 min

Penalties

6 min

18

Shots

59

March 14, 2015
7:00 pm CDT

(8) Lake Superior State

2 – 4
(0–1, 1–1, 1–2)

(1) Minnesota State

Verizon Wireless Center, Mankato, MN
Attendance: 3,685

Game reference

Gordon Defiel

Goalies

Stephon Williams

Referees:
Keith Sergott
Kevin Langseth
Linesmen:
Matt Anderson
Rick Nelson

	0 – 1	3:21 - Bryce Gervais (Franklin, Leitner)
	0 – 2	2:24 - Dylan Margonari (Stepan, Flanagan)
Ryan Renz (Drapluk, Perfetto) - pp - 12:59	1 – 2
	1 – 3	0:46 - pp - Brad McClure (Palmquist, C. Nelson)
Austin McKay (Patterson, Spratte) - 7:29	2 – 3
	2 – 4	17:46 - Dylan Margonari (McClure)

12 min

Penalties

6 min

22

Shots

36

(2) Michigan Tech vs. (7) Alabama–Huntsville

March 13, 2015
7:00 pm EDT

(7) Alabama–Huntsville

0 – 1 (3OT)
(0–0, 0–0, 0–0, 0–0, 0–0, 0–1)

(2) Michigan Tech

MacInnes Student Ice Arena, Houghton, MI
Attendance: 3,038

Game reference

Carmine Guerriero

Goalies

Jamie Phillips

Referees:
Brad Albers
Brett Klosowski
Linesmen:
Dan Juopperi
Jamie Grace

0 – 1

18:49 - Tyler Heinonen (Vallis, Auk)

29 min

Penalties

12 min

32

Shots

77

March 14, 2015
7:00 pm EDT

(7) Alabama–Huntsville

0 – 3
(0–1, 0–1, 0–1)

(2) Michigan Tech

MacInnes Student Ice Arena, Houghton, MI
Attendance: 3,629

Game reference

Carmine Guerriero

Goalies

Jamie Phillips

Referees:
Brad Albers
Brett Klosowski
Linesmen:
Dan Juopperi
Jamie Grace

	0 – 1	14:35 - Blake Hietala (Kero, Heinonen)
	0 – 2	4:43 - pp - Tanner Kero (Heinonen, Hietala)
	0 – 3	5:45 - Mark Auk

14 min

Penalties

6 min

18

Shots

45

(3) Bowling Green vs. (6) Northern Michigan

March 13, 2015
7:00 pm EDT

(6) Northern Michigan

2 – 3 (OT)
(0–0, 1–0, 1–2, 0–1)

(3) Bowling Green

BGSU Ice Arena, Bowling Green, OH
Attendance: 1,475

Game reference

Michael Doan

Goalies

Tommy Burke

Referees:
Chris Perrault
Tony Czech
Linesmen:
Paul Tunison
Erik Froberg

Shane Sooth (Shine, Seckel) - 7:17	1 – 0
	1 – 1	10:48 - Mitchell McLain (Pohlkamp, Kucera)
Luke Eibler (Sooth) - 16:29	2 – 1
	2 – 2	18:36 - Mark Cooper (Valleau)
	2 – 3	19:32 - Tyler Spezia (DeSalvo, Berkle)

20 min

Penalties

19 min

40

Shots

52

March 14, 2015
7:00 pm EDT

(6) Northern Michigan

1 – 4
(0–0, 1–2, 0–2)

(3) Bowling Green

BGSU Ice Arena, Bowling Green, OH
Attendance: 1,915

Game reference

Michael Doan

Goalies

Tommy Burke

Referees:
Chris Perrault
Tony Czech
Linesmen:
Paul Tunison
Erik Froberg

Zach Diamantoni (Nowick, Payne) - 8:55	1 – 0
	1 – 1	9:59 - Tyler Spezia (DeSalvo, Walker)
	1 – 2	14:17 - Brandon Hawkins (Cooper)
	1 – 3	13:24 - Brandon Hawkins (Walker, Cooper)
	1 – 4	18:52 - pp - Brent Tate (Berkle, Valleau)

49 min

Penalties

8 min

20

Shots

42

(4) Bemidji State vs. (5) Ferris State

March 13, 2015
7:30 pm CDT

(5) Ferris State

4 – 1
(1–0, 2–0, 1–1)

(4) Bemidji State

Sanford Center, Bemidji, MN
Attendance: 2,218

Game reference

C. J. Motte

Goalies

Michael Bitzer

Referees:
Butch Mousseaux
Pete Friesema
Linesmen:
Matt Tyree
Matt Ulwilling

Zach Szajner (Mayer, Maloney) - 11:04	1 – 0
Ryan Lowney (Dorantes, Mayhew) - 15:07	2 – 0
Gerald Mayhew (Panetta) - 17:29	3 – 0
	3 – 1	13:24 - pp - Gerry Fitzgerald (L. Fitzgerald, Arentz)
Kenny Babinski (Buzzeo, McDonald) - en - 17:49	4 – 1

6 min

Penalties

6 min

19

Shots

22

March 14, 2015
7:00 pm CDT

(5) Ferris State

3 – 2 (3 OT)
(1–0, 0–1, 1–1, 0–0, 0–0, 1–0)

(4) Bemidji State

Sanford Center, Bemidji, MN
Attendance: 2,279

Game reference

C. J. Motte

Goalies

Michael Bitzer

Referees:
Butch Mousseaux
Pete Friesema
Linesmen:
Matt Tyree
Matt Ulwilling

Andrew Dorantes (Anselmini, Binkley) - pp - 15:17	1 – 0
	1 – 1	12:48 - Graeme McCormack (Brewer, Bauman)
Justin Buzzeo (Babinski) - 6:00	2 – 1
	2 – 2	11:23 - Brendan Harms (Beauvais, O'Connor)
Kyle Schempp (Lowney, Robertson) - pp - 6:40	3 – 2

14 min

Penalties

6 min

44

Shots

50

Semifinals

All times are local (UTC−5).

(3) Bowling Green vs. (2) Michigan Tech

March 20, 2015
4:00 pm CDT

(3) Bowling Green

2 – 5
(1–2, 0–0, 1–3)

(2) Michigan Tech

Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN
Attendance: 6,844

Game reference

Tommy Burke

Goalies

Jamie Phillips

Referees:
Butch Mousseaux
Pete Friesema
Linesmen:
Paul Tunison
Eric Froberg

Mitchell McLain (Mercier, Burke) - 9:40	1 – 0
	1 – 1	11:29 - Reid Sturos (Auk, Pietila)
	1 – 2	16:49 - Tyler Heinonen (Johnstone, Watson)
Brent Tate (Mingo, Walker) - 2:16	2 – 2
	2 – 3	5:23 - Tyler Heinonen (Johnstone, Neville)
	2 – 4	7:54 - Michael Neville (Auk, Johnstone)
	2 – 5	18:12 - en - Joel L'Esperance (Heinonen)

2 min

Penalties

6 min

24

Shots

32

(5) Ferris State vs. (1) Minnesota State

March 20, 2015
7:30 pm CDT

(5) Ferris State

0 – 4
(0–1, 0–2, 0–1)

(1) Minnesota State

Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN
Attendance: 6,844

Game reference

C. J. Motte

Goalies

Stephon Williams

Referees:
Kevin Langseth
Chris Perrault
Linesmen:
Matt Ulwelling
Matt Tyree

	0 – 1	12:24 - Brad McClure
	0 – 2	15:18 - Brad McClure (C. Nelson, Jutzi)
	0 – 3	18:16 - pp - C. J. Franklin (McClure, Williams)
	0 – 4	17:57 - en - Bryce Gervais

10 min

Penalties

8 min

25

Shots

25

Championship

All times are local (UTC−5).

(2) Michigan Tech vs. (1) Minnesota State

March 21, 2015
6:00 pm CDT

(2) Michigan Tech

2 – 5
(1–1, 1–0, 0–4)

(1) Minnesota State

Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN
Attendance: 8,204

Game reference

Jamie Phillips

Goalies

Stephon Williams

Referees:
Kevin Langseth
Chris Perrault
Linesmen:
Matt Ulwelling
Matt Tyree

Blake Pietila (Johnstone, Hanna) - pp - 6:04	1 – 0
	1 – 1	9:28 - Chase Grant (Stern, Blueger)
Alex Petan (Hanna, Johnstone) - pp - 2:44	2 – 1
	2 – 2	8:08 - Jordan Nelson (Huntebrinker, Stern)
	2 – 3	11:29 - Brad McClure (Huntebrinker, Palmquist)
	2 – 4	14:25 - pp - Brad McClure (Blueger, Jutzi)
	2 – 5	18:40 - pp - Brad McClure (Palmquist, Flanagan)

14 min

Penalties

6 min

25

Shots

28

Tournament awards

All-Tournament Team

F Tyler Heinonen, So. (Michigan Tech)
F David Johnstone, Sr. (Michigan Tech)
F Brad McClure*, Fr. (Minnesota State)
D Zach Palmquist, Sr. (Minnesota State)
D Brett Stern, Sr. (Minnesota State)
G Stephon Williams, Jr. (Minnesota State)

* Most Valuable Player[2]

References

"WCHA playoff central". U.S. College Hockey Online. Archived from the original on March 22, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
"Final Five MVP McClure Scores Three as Minnesota State Repeats as Broadmoor Trophy Champions". Western Collegiate Hockey Association. March 21, 2015. Archived from the original on March 22, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2015.

External links

Western Collegiate Hockey Association

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "WCHA playoff central". U.S. College Hockey Online. Archived from the original on March 22, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2015.

[2] "Final Five MVP McClure Scores Three as Minnesota State Repeats as Broadmoor Trophy Champions". Western Collegiate Hockey Association. March 21, 2015. Archived from the original on March 22, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2015.

2015 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournaments
Conference	Atlantic Hockey Big Ten ECAC Hockey East NCHC WCHA
National	NCAA