Sunday Update...

The Minnesota Gophers tied the best of three WCHA first round playoff series 1-1 last night with an overtime win over the Mavericks. On Friday, it was the Mavericks who dominated most of the game and had to weather the late storm from the Gophers, eventually giving MSU the double overtime victory. On Saturday it was an exact opposite of Friday's game. Minnesota dominated most of the game and weathered a late storm from MSU, with UM winning the game in the first overtime. UM's Alex Kangas and MSU's Mike Zacharias have been brilliant the entire series, shutting down the opposition on nearly every scoring chance. They have become the focus of this series, and tonight should be no different as each team should be playing with great desperation to save their respective seasons.

Here is what we do know:

With the loss last night, the Mavericks slipped into a tie for 11th place in the PairWise rankings with the Gophers. With the top 16 teams going to the NCAA tournament, it is realistically the top 12 that can actually plan one going to the NCAA tournament. With upsets in other conferences and automatic bids from teams nowhere on the PairWise map considered, it is the top 12 that everyone is shooting for.

That said, the winner of tonight's game will essentially punch their ticket to the tournament, and the loser will have to sit and wait to get a final spot. That is not a good feeling, and you can bet that each team is going to give it everything they've got so they can control their own destiny. Minnesota probably needs it a little more than the Mavericks because MSU has a better record and a better resume, so the Gophers are essentially in a do-or-die situation. They knew that coming into the series, and they certainly played that way last night. Aside from this being a wonderful intra-state rivalry, Minnesota is fighting for its season, and the Mavericks do not want to leave anything to chance, so we should be in for an incredibly entertaining and intense hockey game tonight. I expect this game to be no different than the first two.

We also know this:

Michigan Tech used a late goal to send the game into overtime with North Dakota, where the Huskies then capitalized on a power-play opportunity to force a third game in Grand Forks. Colorado College, Denver and St. Cloud State each swept their respective home series and are awaiting the final two members to join them in the WCHA Final Five.