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UND goalie saves Sioux

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Also by Tyler Mason:

UND goalie saves Sioux (March 31, 2008)
Hockey earns surpising spot in NCAA's (March 24, 2008)
Take notes on March (March 24, 2008)

by Tyler Mason

Monday, March 31, 2008

The old saying in college hockey is that goaltending wins championships.

With Sunday’s 3-2 overtime victory, the play of North Dakota netminder Jean-Philippe Lamoureux showed why his Fighting Sioux could very well contend for the NCAA title.

Lamoureux stopped 41 of Wisconsin’s 43 shots on the night, using nearly every piece of equipment he had. He also made 38 saves in UND’s opening round win over Princeton, earning him the Midwest Regional’s Most Outstanding Player award.

“Lamoureux gave them a chance to win,” UW goalie Shane Connelly said. “I think that just gave them the confidence.”

With his team trailing a desperate Badger team, Lamoureux made the big saves when Wisconsin threatened to put the game away. Michael Davies was robbed by Lamoureux’s glove in the first period on a power play opportunity; Matthew Ford was unable to poke the puck past the stretching netminder, sprawled out in the butterfly; Ben Grotting and John Mitchell were both unable to beat the senior with time running down at the end of regulation.

It was a common trend all night.

“It’s tough when you’re going up against a hot goalie,” forward Ben Street said. “He’s done that all year. We knew that was going to happen. Our game plan was to get pucks and bodies at him, and there were a few times that he left a rebound there and we just didn’t have a guy there to bang it in.”

Davies had perhaps the most notable failed chance to put one past the UND goaltender as he gathered the puck and skated on a breakaway towards the Sioux net. After skating to his left, Davies was able to get Lamoureux to commit and slide across the crease. But the Wisconsin forward couldn’t get enough on the shot, firing it into the goalie’s chest.

“If he could put it upstairs from where he was, or go bar-down, you have to tip your hat to the guy,” Lamoureux said of Davies. “Coming in on a breakaway with speed, it’s a difficult play. I was confident in my decision-making and fortunate I made the save.”

Lamoureux also had the posts to back him up on a few Badger shots Sunday. Wisconsin freshman Kyle Turris fired a shot that hit the right pipe and bounced through the crease but never wobbled its way past the goal line. Defenseman Davis Drewiske also drew iron on a power play chance early in the second period.

The bounces off the post seemed to go Wisconsin’s way Saturday night against Denver. Several Pioneer shots caromed off the pipes, providing a sigh of relief for Connelly.

“He had his best friend, the pipes, there a couple times,” UW head coach Mike Eaves said of Connelly Saturday.

But against North Dakota, the posts befriended Lamoureux.

“[Denver] hit the posts last night, and Shane had them strapped on. And tonight, Mr. Lamoureux did,” Eaves said. “Talk about little things making a difference.”

The only bad break Lamoureux did catch Sunday was on Wisconsin’s second goal of the game with just 39 seconds to play in the second period. Defenseman Cody Goloubef fired a wrister from the point that went wide, and the puck took a funny hop off the backboards and bounced off Lamoureux and in.

But what could have been a back-breaking goal that put UND down two proved to be the final time UW would tinge the twine.

“I think certainly Wisconsin got a lucky break on that second [goal] at the end of the second period,” Lamoureux said. “It could’ve been demoralizing for a team to give up a goal and a two-goal lead going into the third on top of that. But we regrouped collectively. It’s a position we’ve been in before this year, and our big-time leaders stepped up and made big plays for us.”

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