Minnesota Duluth reached the Frozen Four with an epic win in the fifth overtime
Six hours of hockey.
We’re not talking Cawlidge Hawkey here. None of that grating Northeast accent in this post.
This is Midwest hockey and …. well, I don’t know how to write out a Minnesota accent. I think it’s like, “Oh, dontcha know there was a good game the other night and also here is a lovingly crafted pie I just baked.”
But this was a very good game, one that took more than six hours (or 142.13 of playing time) to complete. In the end, the two-time defending champion Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs won the longest game in NCAA Tournament history 3-2 in the fifth overtime to return to the men’s Frozen Four:
Start time: 7:32p ET
End time: 1:42a ETMinnesota Duluth wins it in the FIFTH OT & advances to the Frozen Final Four
pic.twitter.com/KBKFj3hA8q
— The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) March 28, 2021
Slow motion, better angle:
GAME. WINNER.
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— Bulldog Productions (@UMD_Productions) March 28, 2021
That’s freshman Luke Mylymok, who appeared in all of 11 games this year, scoring off the rush on the 119th shot of the game. (I hereby decree that all Fifth OT goals scored in hockey, anywhere and everywhere, are now and forever known as “Mylymoks.”)
Mylymok hadn’t played a game in exactly a month, so maybe he had really fresh legs?
No. 1 seed North Dakota had tied this game by scoring two goals in the final two minutes after pulling its goalie.
North Dakota nets a pair in just under a minute to send the game to OT!
pic.twitter.com/j3vIf1i6EJ— Bet The Pucks (@betthepucks) March 28, 2021
Hilariously, the highlight package for this game stretches *16 minutes.*
Fighting Hawks coach Brad Berry had a wonderful way of putting the game into perspective after the crushing loss. From the Grand Forks Herald:
“It will probably go down as one of the most memorable games, even though we lost the game in overtime,” UND coach Brad Berry said. “That’s what sports is. I told the guys after the game, ‘This is life. This is what life is. It’s not fair.’ At the end of the day, we could have argued all day who should have won the game. . . we felt we had a very good opportunity. We had a ton of opportunities to win the game. We felt it wasn’t fair that we didn’t win the game. But again, that’s what sports is, that’s what life is. You keep moving on.”
Well said.
