1999–2000 North Dakota Fighting Sioux men's ice hockey season

1999–00 North Dakota Fighting Sioux men's ice hockey season
NCAA Division I National Champion Badger Showdown, champion WCHA Tournament, champion NCAA Tournament, champion
Conference	2nd WCHA
Home ice	Ralph Engelstad Arena
Rankings
USCHO	2
USA Today	1
Record
Overall	31–8–5
Conference	17–6–5
Home	14–4–1
Road	9–4–4
Neutral	8–0–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Dean Blais
Assistant coaches	Scott Sandelin Mark Poolman Jeff Bowen Lee Davidson
Captain(s)	Peter Armbrust
Alternate captain(s)	Lee Goren Jason Ulmer
North Dakota Fighting Sioux men's ice hockey seasons « 1998–99 2000–01 »

The 1999–2000 North Dakota Fighting Sioux men's ice hockey season was the 58th season of play for the program. They represented the University of North Dakota in the 1999–2000 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season and for the 49th season in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). The Fighting Sioux were coached by Dean Blais, in his 6th season, and played their home games at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

After getting knocked out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years, North Dakota was champing at the bit for another chance to prove themselves. Led by Peter Armbrust, Lee Goren and Jason Ulmer, three seniors who had won a national championship as freshmen, the Fighting Sioux entered the season as one of the favorites to compete for a championship.

Relying heavily on junior netminder, Karl Goehring, the team began their season with an almost flawless start. After taking three out of four points on the road from long-time rival Minnesota, North Dakota travelled east and swept #7 Clarkson. While they got a fight in the second game, the win established the Sioux early on and they rose up to #1 in the polls in early-November.

Goehring didn't drop a match until his 10th game of the season. While backup netminder Andy Kollar started the following game, that was due mostly to the weakness of the opposition. Goehring was back in net the very next contest but allowed 6 goals for the second consecutive game. Kollar was put in goal for the next four games and while his numbers weren't spectacular, UND won three of the matches. However, Kollar lost the starting job after a poor performance against Denver, one of the weaker teams in the conference. The two would continue to share the goal crease for the remainder of the season, though Goehring did retain the lion's share of the starts.

After the loss to Denver, North Dakota flirted with the #1 ranking after winning the Badger Showdown. A couple of weeks later, however, Wisconsin got its revenge by sweeping the Fighting Sioux and establishing themselves atop the conference standings. UND could little afford to lose any of its remaining games if it wanted to continue as the regular season WCHA champion. A split with Minnesota the very next weekend put them in a precarious position while a near sweep at the hands of St. Cloud State all but ended their chances at a 4th-consecutive conference championship.^[1]

North Dakota righted the ship in February and rounded out the final four weeks of the regular season without a loss. In the team's 5–0 win over Michigan Tech, Karl Goehring set a new program record with his 5th shutout of the season. When the team entered the postseason, he had pushed the mark up to 6 and was one of the top goaltenders in the nation. Both he and Jeff Panzer were named as First Team All-Americans and UND entered the conference playoffs as the #2 team in the nation.

North Dakota began their postseason run at home against Denver and, though their offense faltered in the second game, the Fighting Sioux were too much for the Pioneers to handle. Before the next round began, however, Goehring was diagnosed with a concussion and the team had to rely on Andy Kollar to take them the rest of the way.^[2] The sophomore held the fort and allowed North Dakota's offense to carry the team to victory, including a win over top-ranked Wisconsin in the WCHA championship game.

North Dakota moved up to #2 in the polls but still remained behind Wisconsin. While that left the team as the #2 western seed, it did provide UND with a buy into the second round of the tournament. While Goehring was still sidelined, North Dakota received a gift when the lowest-seeded team, Niagara, pulled off an upset in the first round. UND dominated in the first and third periods to end their postseason losing streak and propel themselves into the Frozen Four.^[3]

Despite Kollar's performance in Goehring's absence, as soon as their primary starter was cleared to play, head coach Dean Blais put Goehring back in net. Any worries about the move were banished in the national semifinal when Goehring earned his 8th shutout of the season, defeating defending champion Maine in the process. The win sent UND to the championship game with just Boston College remaining in their way. The two teams were evenly matched in the first period, with both scoring 1 goal on 13 shots. BC got a lead in the second period but afterwards the team started playing a more defensive style. Lee Goren tied the game early in the third period and both teams struggled to find chances thereafter. with less than 6 minutes left in regulation, Goren assisted on Jason Ulmer's go-ahead marker and then potted an empty net goal to seal the match and give North Dakota its seventh national championship.

Player	Position	Nationality	Cause
Jason Blake	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Los Angeles Kings)
Jesse Bull	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Lubbock Cotton Kings)
Adam Calder	Forward	Canada	Graduation (signed with Rochester Americans)
David Hoogsteen	Forward	Canada	Graduation (signed with Straubing Tigers)
Jay Panzer	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Greenville Grrrowl)
Tom Philion	Forward	United States	Graduation (retired)
Jeff Ulmer	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (joined Team Canada)
Jason Price	Defenseman	United States	Left program (signed with Tucson Gila Monsters)
Brad Williamson	Forward	Canada	Graduation (Signed with Cincinnati Cyclones)

Player	Position	Nationality	Age	Notes
Ryan Bayda	Forward	Canada	18	Saskatoon, SK
Jason Endres	Goaltender	United States	22	Grand Forks, ND
Ryan Hale	Forward	United States	20	Colorado Springs, CO
Adrian Hasbargen	Defenseman	United States	20	Warroad, MN; transfer from Alaska–Anchorage
Chris Leinweber	Defenseman	Canada	17	Calgary, AB
Jason Notermann	Forward	United States	20	Rochester, MN
Tim Skarperud	Forward	United States	21	Grand Forks, ND
Ryan Sofie	Goaltender	United States	20	Baxter, MN
Kevin Spiewak	Forward	United States	20	Schaumburg, IL
Jeff Yurecko	Forward	United States	19	Edina, MN

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
		Ryan Sofie	Freshman	G	5' 7" (1.7 m)	134 lb (61 kg)	1979-06-04	Baxter, Minnesota	Flagstaff Mountaineers (WSHL)	—
1		Karl Goehring	Junior	G	5' 8" (1.73 m)	159 lb (72 kg)	1978-08-23	Apple Valley, Minnesota	Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks (USHL)	—
3		Trevor Hammer	Junior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	1978-09-23	Roseau, Minnesota	Roseau High School (MN-HS)	—
4		Lee Goren (A)	Senior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	1977-12-26	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Minot Top Guns (SJHL)	BOS, 63rd overall 1997
5		Chris Leinweber	Freshman	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	1981-11-02	Calgary, Alberta	Calgary Canucks (AJHL)	—
6		Tim O'Connell	Senior	D	6' 4" (1.93 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1977-10-26	Grand Forks, North Dakota	Fargo-Moorhead Bears (USHL)	—
7		Travis Roche	Freshman (RS)	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	1978-06-17	Grande Cache, Alberta	Trail Smoke Eaters (BCHL)	—
8		Mike Commodore	Junior	D	6' 4" (1.93 m)	231 lb (105 kg)	1979-11-07	Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta	Fort Saskatchewan Traders (AJHL)	NJD, 42nd overall 1999
9		Jason Ulmer (A)	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1978-12-20	Wilcox, Saskatchewan	Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL)	—
10		Bryan Lundbohm	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1977-08-24	Roseau, Minnesota	Lincoln Stars (USHL)	—
11		Peter Armbrust (C)	Senior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1977-12-03	Edina, Minnesota	Edina High School (MN-HS)	—
14		Adrian Hasbargen	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	1979-07-14	Warroad, Minnesota	Lincoln Stars (USHL)	—
16		Kevin Spiewak	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	1979-05-03	Schaumburg, Illinois	Omaha Lancers (USHL)	—
17		Jeff Panzer	Junior	F	5' 7" (1.7 m)	159 lb (72 kg)	1978-04-07	Grand Forks, North Dakota	Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks (USHL)	—
18		Tim Skarperud	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	1978-02-06	Grand Forks, North Dakota	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)	—
19		Ryan Bayda	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1980-12-09	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	Vernon Vipers (BCHL)	—
20		Wes Dorey	Junior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	1976-08-31	Edmonton, Alberta	Weyburn Red Wings (SJHL)	—
21		Jeff Yurecko	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	1980-08-24	Edina, Minnesota	Edina High School (MN-HS)	—
22		Pat Kenny	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1977-07-08	Edmonton, Alberta	Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)	—
23		Aaron Schneekloth	Sophomore	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1978-07-15	Calgary, Alberta	South Surrey Eagles (BCHL)	—
24		Brad DeFauw	Senior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1977-11-10	Edina, Minnesota	Apple Valley High School (USHS-MN)	—
25		Ryan Hale	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	1978-11-07	Colorado Springs, Colorado	Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)	—
26		Jason Notermann	Freshman	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	176 lb (80 kg)	1978-12-02	Rochester, Minnesota	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)	—
27		Chad Mazurak	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1978-04-18	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Lincoln Stars (USHL)	—
28		Paul Murphy	Sophomore	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	1977-08-08	Manvel, North Dakota	North Iowa Huskies (USHL)	—
29		Mike Possin	Sophomore	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	1977-06-19	St. Cloud, Minnesota	Twin City Vulcans (USHL)	—
30		Jason Endres	Freshman	G	5' 8" (1.73 m)	146 lb (66 kg)	1977-04-19	Grand Forks, North Dakota	Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks (USHL)	—
35		Andy Kollar	Sophomore	G	5' 11" (1.8 m)	141 lb (64 kg)	1977-04-16	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks (USHL)	—

^[1]

^[5]

USCHO did not release a poll in week 23.^[6]

† incoming freshman