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TAMPA, Fla. – Ending a 16-year drought, No. 3/2 North Dakota won the 2016 NCAA National Championship with a 5-1 victory over No. 1/1 Quinnipiac Saturday night at Amalie Arena in the Frozen Four Final. With the win, UND (34-6-4) captures its eighth National Championship in program history and first since 2000. The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) also has its first national champion in the conference’s short three-year history.

Senior forward Drake Caggiula was named Most Outstanding Player of the Frozen Four, notching four goals and an assist in the two games, including a pair of goals in the title game against the Bobcats (32-4-7) as part of a UND three-goal third period. Joining Caggiula on the Frozen Four All-Tournament Team is freshman forward Brock Boeser, who totaled six points on a goal and five assists, including four points Saturday. Junior defenseman Troy Stecher and sophomore goaltender Cam Johnson, who allowed three goals total in the Frozen Four, also garnered All-Tournament Team honors.

The Fighting Hawks were on the attack from the opening puck drop with sophomore defenseman Tucker Poolman ringing the puck off the pipe three minutes into the game. UND broke through with 8:04 left in the opening period when freshman forward Shane Gersich back-handed in a rebound in front of the net. Boeser carried the puck into the zone and fed junior defenseman Gage Ausmus, who sent in a shot through traffic from the point that led to Gersich’s put-back.

North Dakota doubled its lead less than three minutes later when Boeser scored his lone goal of the Frozen Four, which came short-handed. Quinnipiac goalie Michael Garteig came out to try and clear the puck but Boeser stepped in the way to block the pass and then buried the puck in the open net with 5:44 left in the first period. The Bobcats did cut their deficit in half with 1:07 left in the period when Tim Clifton scored a 5-on-3 power play goal to make it 2-1.

The second period lacked the offensive firepower of the first as neither team found the net. Both teams had mini breakaways but Johnson and Garteig came up big in net to make saves early in the second stanza and keep it a one-goal game. QU’s Sam Anas hit his second post of the night later in the middle period while both teams put nine shots on goal during the 20 minutes as the game headed to the final frame still 2-1.

Once again North Dakota turned up the pressure in the third period, pulling away for the title. Only 1:21 into the last stanza, sophomore forward Nick Schmaltz stole the puck along the boards in the offensive zone and quickly fed a cross-ice pass to Caggiula at the back door for a tap-in and 3-1 lead. Caggiula sniped his second goal of the night only 2:20 later to make it 4-1. Boeser carried the puck toward net, was turned aside by a defensemen but centered to Caggiula for the goal.

With 9:19 remaining in the game, sophomore forward Austin Poganski capped the scoring and sealed the win by putting home a rebound in the top right corner after the initial shot by Ausmus was saved through traffic. As the clock hit zero, the Fighting Hawks flooded the ice and swarmed Johnson to celebrate the program’s first national championship in 16 years.

North Dakota finished with a 36-33 shots on goal advantage, including 16-13 in the first period. Special teams were key for UND, which held the Bobcats to only 1-for-4 on the power play. The Fighting Hawks were 0-for-2 on the power play themselves. Johnson totaled 32 saves to earn the win in net while Garteig made 31 stops.

North Dakota, which was appearing in its third straight Frozen Four and 22nd all-time, now ranks second alone in NCAA history with eight national championships, trailing only Michigan’s nine. Head coach Brad Berry, in his first year at the helm, became the first first-year head coach to win the NCAA national championship and is only the second coach to lead a team to the title in his first year as head coach at the school. UND finished the season with an .818 winning percentage, which is second in school history (1986-87), while the 34 wins were the most in the NCAA this season.

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