Minnesota-Duluth's magical postseason finally came to an end after six straight postseason wins when Miami knocked them off 2-1 in the West Regional Final.
The key point in the game came in the middle of the second period. Miami took a 1-0 lead on a beauty of a shorthanded goal by Justin Mercier. UMD looked to have answered back with a powerplay goal, but video replay showed Justin Fontaine's skate was in the crease disallowing the goal.
To makeup for the tough call, Duluth was gifted three questionable powerplays over a span of less than two minutes. Miami killed it off and less than a minute after the final penalty went off the board, Chris Wideman, victim of the weakest of the three calls, blasted a shot from the point that was tipped by Mercier for what would turn out to be the winning goal.
Duluth looked like maybe they had another miracle in them when they scored with two minutes left, but Miami was able hang on for the win to earn the trip to DC.
There's no shame in losing for Duluth. They made it further than anyone expected. You have to feel good for Miami. They've had an excellent program for a number of years now, but just haven't been able to break through with that big win in the NCAA tournament. If anything, this year has proven the randomness of the tournament, meaning it was only a matter of time before it finally happened for Miami. It's maybe a little ironic that this wasn't their best team, but that's the way things happen sometimes.