BUFFALO, N.Y. — You can’t put a price on experience, and Minnesota Duluth, which will play in its third consecutive national championship game on Saturday, is the most experienced Frozen Four team in a while.
Boston College made three straight title game appearances from 2006 to 2008. UMD has matched that, and will try to be the first repeat champion since Denver in 2004-05. The Bulldogs are the first defending champion to get back to the Frozen Four since that Denver team did it.
The six juniors and three seniors on the Bulldogs’ roster have been there, done that. And they’re trying to do it again.
“I think experience, any time you can get that, is beneficial,” senior center Peter Krieger said Friday, a day before the Bulldogs play Massachusetts for the title. “We might not have the oldest roster, but having that experience is big.
“Coming in and knowing how hard it is to get here, what it takes to get here, cherishing every opportunity because we’ve been fortunate enough to win it last year, and we want that feeling again.”
Junior Riley Tufte agreed.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that have been in this position before, especially last year,” he said. “It’s my third national championship game. The way we’ve always approached it is, it’s just another game. You’ve got to win one more game. It’s definitely a cool spot to been in.”
When it comes to preparation, junior defenseman Nick Wolff said not much has changed over his three trips to the Frozen Four.
“Same thing as last year, the last two years,” he said. “We haven’t changed much, and it’s working for us.”
Minnesota Duluth’s rookies have taken advantage of the experiences of the three classes that came before them.
“Obviously, it rubs off,” said freshman Jesse Jacques. “It kind of helps everyone, just because they’ve been here.”
“We can give them a little help,” said Wolff. “[The freshmen] have been doing a great job, playing big roles on our team and they’re a big part of it. They’re one of the seasons why we’re here again.
“But we’re obviously here to help if they need it.”
The championship game does bring something unique to the table: The Bulldogs have zero experience against Massachusetts.
“It’s a team we haven’t played before,” said Tufte. “I think it would have been a little different if we would have played Denver, but we’re going to watch some video on them later today. It’s a new team, and it’s probably going to be a close game.”
Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin agreed. Experience is great to have, but it’ll be a new and different situation on Saturday night.
“When the puck drops, it’s a hockey game regardless of who’s played how many games,” he said. “Hopefully our guys, because they’ve been there, will start the game well and hopefully play their best game.
“It’s going to be a great hockey game.”
