2004 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament

The 2004 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament involved 16 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college ice hockey. It began on March 26, 2004, and ended with the championship game on April 10. A total of 15 games were played. This was the first season in which the Atlantic Hockey sent a representative to the tournament. Atlantic Hockey assumed possession of the automatic bid that had been the possession of the MAAC after it collapsed and all remaining ice hockey programs formed the new conference.

2004 NCAA Division I men's
ice hockey tournament

2004 Frozen Four logo
Teams	16
Finals site	FleetCenter Boston
Champions	Denver Pioneers (6th title)
Runner-up	Maine Black Bears (5th title game)
Semifinalists	Boston College Eagles (18th Frozen Four) Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (3rd Frozen Four)
Winning coach	George Gwozdecky (1st title)
MOP	Adam Berkhoel (Denver)
Attendance	96,327
← 2003  NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournaments 2005 →

The University of Denver, coached by George Gwozdecky, won its sixth national title with a 1-0 victory in the final game over the University of Maine, coached by Tim Whitehead before a record crowd of over 18,000 people at Boston's FleetCenter (now known as the TD Garden). While Denver's Gabe Gauthier scored the game's only goal, the game is best remembered for Denver surviving Maine's six skaters to three skaters advantage in the final 90 seconds of the contest.^[1]

Denver goaltender Adam Berkhoel was named the tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Game locations

Albany

Grand Rapids

Manchester

Colorado Springs

Boston

2004 Regionals (blue) and Frozen Four (red)

The NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Championship is a single-elimination tournament featuring 16 teams representing all six Division I conferences in the nation. The Championship Committee seeds the entire field from 1 to 16 within four regionals of 4 teams. The winners of the six Division I conference championships receive automatic bids to participate in the NCAA Championship. Regional placements are based primarily on the home location of the top seed in each bracket with an attempt made to put the top-ranked teams close to their home site.

First round and regional finals

• East – Pepsi Arena, Albany, New York — Host: Rensselaer
• Midwest – Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan — Host: Western Michigan
• Northeast – Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire — Host: New Hampshire
• West – World Arena, Colorado Springs, Colorado — Host: Colorado College

Frozen Four

• FleetCenter, Boston

Qualifying teams

The at-large bids and seeding for each team in the tournament was announced on March 21, 2004.^[2] The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) each had five teams receive a berth in the tournament, Hockey East had three teams receive a berth in the tournament, while Atlantic Hockey, College Hockey America (CHA) and the ECAC each received a single bid for their tournament champions.

West Regional – Colorado Springs							Northeast Regional – Manchester
Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Appearance	Last bid	Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Appearance	Last bid
1	North Dakota (1)	WCHA	29–7–3	At-large bid	19th	2003	1	Boston College (2)	Hockey East	27–8–4	At-large bid	24th	2003
2	Denver	WCHA	23–12–5	At-large bid	17th	2002	2	Michigan	CCHA	26–13–2	At-large bid	27th	2003
3	Miami	CCHA	23–13–4	At-large bid	3rd	1997	3	New Hampshire	Hockey East	20–14–6	At-large bid	14th	2003
4	Holy Cross	Atlantic Hockey	22–9–4	Tournament champion	1st	Never	4	Niagara	CHA	21–14–3	Tournament champion	2nd	2000
East Regional – Albany							Midwest Regional – Grand Rapids
Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Appearance	Last bid	Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Appearance	Last bid
1	Maine (3)	Hockey East	30–7–3	Tournament champion	14th	2003	1	Minnesota (4)	WCHA	26–13–3	Tournament champion	28th	2003
2	Ohio State	CCHA	26–15–0	Tournament champion	4th	2003	2	Minnesota-Duluth	WCHA	26–12–4	At-large bid	5th	1993
3	Wisconsin	WCHA	21–12–8	At-large bid	20th	2000	3	Michigan State	CCHA	23–16–2	At-large bid	23rd	2002
4	Harvard	ECAC	18–14–3	Tournament champion	19th	2003	4	Notre Dame	CCHA	20–14–4	At-large bid	1st	Never

Number in parentheses denotes overall seed in the tournament.

^[3]

Brackets

East Regional Regional semifinals March 26 Regional Finals March 27             1 Maine 5 4 Harvard 4 1 Maine 2* 3 Wisconsin 1 2 Ohio State 0 3 Wisconsin 1*

Northeast Regional Regional semifinals March 27 Regional Finals March 28             1 Boston College 5 4 Niagara 2 1 Boston College 3* 2 Michigan 2 2 Michigan 4 3 New Hampshire 1

Midwest Regional Regional semifinals March 27 Regional Finals March 28             1 Minnesota 5 4 Notre Dame 2 1 Minnesota 1 2 Minnesota–Duluth 3 2 Minnesota–Duluth 5 3 Michigan State 0

West Regional Regional semifinals March 26 Regional Finals March 27             1 North Dakota 3 4 Holy Cross 0 1 North Dakota 0 2 Denver 1 2 Denver 3 3 Miami 2

Frozen Four

	National semifinals April 8					National championship April 10
	E1	Maine	2
	NE1	Boston College	1
						E1	Maine	0
						W2	Denver	1
	MW2	Minnesota–Duluth	3
	W2	Denver	5

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Regional semifinals

^[4]

East Regional

(1) Maine vs. (4) Harvard

March 26[5]	Maine		5 – 4		Harvard	Pepsi Arena	Recap
No Scoring		First period			17:01 – Dylan Reese (Johnson, Du) 19:43 – Brendan Bernakevitch
(Damon) Todd Jackson – 02:56		Second period			01:09 – PP – Dennis Packard (Pettit) 16:47 – PP – Ryan Maki
(Jankus, Mushaluk) Mike Hamilton – 03:55 (Shields) Prestin Ryan – PP – 06:14 Michel Léveillé – 12:47 (Levielle) Greg Moore – GW – 15:50		Third period			No scoring
( 29 saves / 33 shots ) Jimmy Howard / ( 7 saves / 7 shots ) Frank Doyle		Goalie stats			Dov Grumet-Morris ( 41 saves / 46 shots )

(2) Ohio State vs. (3) Wisconsin

March 26[6]	Ohio State		0 – 1	OT	Wisconsin	Pepsi Arena	Recap
No Scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			12:03 – GW – Dan Boeser (Earl, Carlson)
( 26 saves / 26 shots ) Dave Caruso		Goalie stats			Bernd Brückler ( 20 saves / 21 shots )

Midwest Regional

(1) Minnesota vs. (4) Notre Dame

March 27[7]	Minnesota		5 – 2		Notre Dame	Van Andel Arena	Recap
No Scoring		First period			00:54 – Cory McLean (Gill, Walsh) 19:18 – PP – Aaron Gill (Walsh, Globke)
(Vanek, Harrington) Matt Koalska – 00:26 (Harrington, Guyer) Danny Irmen – PP – 09:13 Thomas Vanek – GW – 16:24		Second period			No scoring
(Koalska, Ballard) Thomas Vanek – 11:52 Troy Riddle – EN – 19:24		Third period			No scoring
( 20 saves / 22 shots ) Kellen Briggs		Goalie stats			Morgan Cey ( 40 saves / 44 shots )

(2) Minnesota-Duluth vs. (3) Michigan State

March 27[8]	Minnesota-Duluth		5 – 0		Michigan State	Van Andel Arena	Recap
(Williams, Hambly) Evan Schwabe – GW – 12:16		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
(Anderson) Jesse Unklesbay – 01:14 (Peluso, Hardwick) Brett Hammond – 05:36 (Schwabe, Hardwick) Junior Lessard – 08:13 (Schwabe, Brosz) Junior Lessard – PP – 13:01		Third period			No scoring
( 23 saves / 23 shots ) Issac Reichmuth		Goalie stats			Dominic Vicari ( 11 saves / 15 shots ) / Matt Migliaccio ( 12 saves / 13 shots )

Northeast Regional

(1) Boston College vs. (4) Niagara

March 27[9]	Boston College		5 – 2		Niagara	Verizon Wireless Arena	Recap
(Forrest, Eaves) Patrick Eaves – PP – 14:23 (Adams) Ryan Shannon – 17:03		First period			03:35 – Joe Tallari (Ehgoetz, Cross)
Peter Harrold – GW – 13:06		Second period			18:11 – PP – Sean Bentivoglio (Clarke, Lackner)
(Voce, Shannon) Patrick Eaves – PP – 02:15 (Spina) Ryan Shannon – 07:13		Third period			No scoring
( 26 saves / 28 shots ) Matti Kaltiainen		Goalie stats			Jeff VanNynatten ( 34 saves / 39 shots )

(2) Michigan vs. (3) New Hampshire

March 27[10]	Michigan		4 – 1		New Hampshire	Verizon Wireless Arena	Recap
Brandon Kaleniecki – 01:05		First period			No scoring
(Gajic) Andrew Ebbett – GW – 09:45 (Gajic, Hensick) Eric Werner – PP – 12:06		Second period			No scoring
(Ebbett) Brandon Kaleniecki – 01:11		Third period			13:46 – Nathan Martz (Collins, Saviano)
( 27 saves / 28 shots ) Al Montoya		Goalie stats			Mike Ayers ( 34 saves / 38 shots )

West Regional

(1) North Dakota vs. (4) Holy Cross

March 26[11]	North Dakota		3 – 0		Holy Cross	World Arena, Colorado Springs	Recap
(Murray, Bochenski) Zach Parise – GW – 00:47		First period			No scoring
(Parise, Murray) Brandon Bochenski – PP – 18:23		Second period			No scoring
(Hale) Mike Prpich – 05:09		Third period			No scoring
( 21 saves / 21 shots ) Jordan Parise		Goalie stats			Tony Quesada ( 30 saves / 33 shots ) / Ben Conway ( 4 saves / 4 shots )

(2) Denver vs. (3) Miami

March 26[12]	Denver		3 – 2		Miami	World Arena, Colorado Springs	Recap
(Dora) Ryan Caldwell – SH – 07:01		First period			No scoring
(O'Leary, Veideman) Matt Laatsch – 02:25		Second period			07:04 – Marty Guerin (Sipotz, Nelson)
(Carle, Gauthier) Brett Skinner – GW PP – 06:35		Third period			17:37 – PP – Matt Davis
( 21 saves / 23 shots ) Adam Berkhoel		Goalie stats			Brandon Crawford-West ( 30 saves / 33 shots )

Regional Finals

East Regional

(1) Maine vs. (3) Wisconsin

March 27[13]	Maine		2 – 1	OT	Wisconsin	Pepsi Arena	Recap
Colin Shields – 01:32		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			17:38 – Rene Bourque (Gilbert, MacMurchy)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Mike Hamilton – GW – 03:27		First overtime period			No scoring
( 36 saves / 37 shots ) Jimmy Howard		Goalie stats			Bernd Brückler ( 26 saves / 28 shots )

Midwest Regional

(1) Minnesota vs. (2) Minnesota-Duluth

March 28[14]	Minnesota		1 – 3		Minnesota-Duluth	Van Andel Arena	Recap
No Scoring		First period			18:10 – Evan Schwabe
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
(Guyer, Tallackson) Grant Potulny – PP – 05:25		Third period			01:37 – GW – Luke Stauffacher (Caig, Peluso) 10:19 – Jesse Unklesbay
( 17 saves / 20 shots ) Kellen Briggs		Goalie stats			Isaac Reichmuth ( 22 saves / 23 shots )

Northeast Regional

(1) Boston College vs. (2) Michigan

March 28[15]	Boston College		3 – 2	OT	Michigan	Verizon Wireless Arena	Recap
No Scoring		First period			12:09 – Mike Brown (Burnes)
(Eaves, Eaves) Tony Voce – PP – 09:02		Second period			17:01 – Andy Burnes
(Harrold, Voce) Patrick Eaves – 15:16		Third period			No scoring
(Eaves, Harrold) Ben Eaves – GW – 10:08		First overtime period			No scoring
( 15 saves / 17 shots ) Matti Kaltiainen		Goalie stats			Al Montoya ( 42 saves / 45 shots )

West Regional

(1) North Dakota vs. (2) Denver

March 27[16]	North Dakota		0 – 1		Denver	World Arena, Colorado Springs	Recap
No Scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			17:31 – GW – Luke Fulghum (Bull, Dora)
( 16 saves / 17 shots ) Jordan Parise		Goalie stats			Adam Berkhoel ( 33 saves / 33 shots )

Frozen Four

^[17]

National semifinal

(E1) Maine vs. (NE1) Boston College

April 8[18]	Boston College		1 – 2		Maine	FleetCenter	Recap
No Scoring		First period			19:28 – Jon Jankus (Hamilton, Ryan)
(Collins) Ryan Shannon – 02:35		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			01:05 – GW – Dustin Penner (Hamilton, Lundin)
( 16 saves / 18 shots ) Matti Kaltiainen		Goalie stats			Jimmy Howard ( 40 saves / 41 shots )

(MW2) Minnesota-Duluth vs. (W2) Denver

April 8[19]	Minnesota-Duluth		3 – 5		Denver	FleetCenter	Recap
(Brosz, Schwabe) Junior Lessard – PP – 01:09 (Caig) Tyler Brosz – 04:34		First period			No scoring
(Schwabe, Stapleton) Junior Lessard – PP – 15:35		Second period			11:40 – Luke Fulghum (Dora, Carle)
No scoring		Third period			02:30 – Connor James (Skinner, Keith) 03:04 – Ryan Caldwell (Fulghum, Dora) 08:25 – GW – Lukas Dora (Skinner) 19:52 – EN – Greg Keith (James)
( 25 saves / 29 shots ) Isaac Reichmuth		Goalie stats			Adam Berkhoel ( 26 saves / 29 shots )

National Championship

(E1) Maine vs. (W2) Denver

April 10[20]

Maine

0 – 1

Denver

FleetCenter

Recap

Scoring summary[21]
Period	Team	Goal	Assist(s)	Time	Score
1st	DEN	Gabe Gauthier (18) – GW PP	James	12:26	1–0 DEN
2nd	None
3rd	None
Penalty summary
Period	Team	Player	Penalty	Time	PIM
1st	DEN	Max Bull	Checking from Behind	3:39	2:00
	DEN	Gabe Gauthier	Roughing	5:13	2:00
	Maine	Dustin Penner	Holding the Stick	5:13	2:00
	Maine	Mathew Deschamps	Obstruction Interference	11:49	2:00
	DEN	Max Bull	Cross-Checking	13:25	2:00
	Maine	Jon Jankus	Tripping	14:24	2:00
	DEN	J. D. Corbin	Holding	17:03	2:00
2nd	Maine	Todd Jackson	Tripping	26:26	2:00
	DEN	Gabe Gauthier	Cross-Checking	26:31	2:00
	Maine	Jon Jankus	Holding the Stick	26:31	2:00
	DEN	Jeff Drummond	HK	28:16	2:00
	DEN	Ryan Caldwell	Roughing	29:47	2:00
	Maine	Mike Hamilton	Roughing	29:47	2:00
3rd	DEN	Jeff Drummond	Obstruction Holding	43:24	2:00
	Maine	Prestin Ryan	Interference	48:09	2:00
	DEN	Jon Foster	Roughing	52:15	2:00
	Maine	Mathew Deschamps	Roughing	52:15	2:00
	DEN	Matt Laatsch	Hooking	57:51	2:00
	DEN	Gabe Gauthier	Delay of Game	58:26	2:00

Shots by period Team 1 2 3 T Denver 4 6 10 20 Maine 6 9 9 24

Goaltenders Team Name Saves Goals against Time on ice DEN Adam Berkhoel 24 0 60:00 Maine Jimmy Howard 19 1 58:39

All-Tournament team

• G: Adam Berkhoel* (Denver)
• D: Ryan Caldwell (Denver)
• D: Prestin Ryan (Maine)
• F: Junior Lessard (Minnesota-Duluth)
• F: Dustin Penner (Maine)
• F: Connor James (Denver)

* Most Outstanding Player(s)^[22]

^[23]

Record by conference

Conference	# of Bids	Record	Win %	Regional Finals	Frozen Four	Championship Game	Champions
WCHA	5	9-4	.692	5	2	1	1
CCHA	5	1-5	.125	1	-	-	-
Hockey East	3	5-3	.625	2	2	1	-
ECAC	1	0-1	.000	-	-	-	-
Atlantic Hockey	1	0-1	.000	-	-	-	-
CHA	1	0-1	.000	-	-	-	-

References

1. "Maine vs. Denver 2004 NCAA Hockey Championship Highlights". YouTube.
2. "Braketology: A Final Analysis". USCHO.com. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
3. "NCAA Division 1 Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
4. "Men's Division I Hockey 2003-2004 Schedule and Results — Week 27". USCHO.com. March 28, 2004. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
5. "Maine 5, Harvard 4". USCHO.com. March 26, 2004. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
6. "Wisconsin 1, Ohio State 0". USCHO.com. March 26, 2004. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
7. "Minnesota 4, Notre Dame 2". USCHO.com. March 27, 2004. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
8. "Minnesota-Duluth 5, Michigan State 0". USCHO.com. March 27, 2004. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
9. "Boston College 5, Niagara 2". USCHO.com. March 27, 2004. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
10. "Michigan 4, New Hampshire 1". USCHO.com. March 27, 2004. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
11. "North Dakota 3, Holy Cross 0". USCHO.com. March 26, 2004. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
12. "Denver 3, Miami 2". USCHO.com. March 26, 2004. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
13. "Maine 2, Wisconsin 1". USCHO.com. March 27, 2004. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
14. "Minnesota-Duluth 3, Minnesota 1". USCHO.com. March 28, 2004. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
15. "Boston College 3, Michigan 2". USCHO.com. March 28, 2004. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
16. "Denver 1, North Dakota 0". USCHO.com. March 27, 2004. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
17. "Men's Division I Hockey 2003-2004 Schedule and Results — Week 29". USCHO.com. April 10, 2004. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
18. "Maine 2, Boston College 1". USCHO.com. April 8, 2004. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
19. "Denver 5, Minnesota-Duluth 3". USCHO.com. April 8, 2004. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
20. "Denver 1, Maine 0". USCHO.com. April 10, 2004. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
21. "Denver 1, Maine 0". CollegeHockeyStats.net. April 10, 2004. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
22. "NCAA Division I Awards". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
23. "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2013.