Eagles dominate North Dakota, move to finals

On the surface, North Dakota had it all: the crazy fan support, reminiscent of the Cameron Crazies at Duke, the annoying "Let's Go Sioux" chant that so many rivals seem to have, the eye-catching cheerleaders who looked like they came straight from the SEC. Even the revenge factor was on the Fighting Sioux's side, as they had been eliminated by Boston College in two straight Frozen Fours.

One thing they didn't have, though, was the better team. Or Nathan Gerbe.

Behind the Hobey Baker nominee, BC rattled off four first-period goals en route to an impressive 6-1 victory. The onslaught began just seven minutes into the game, and it continued well into the second period.

At 7:08 of the first, BC drew first blood off a goal in transition. Following a near-goal for North Dakota, Eagles forward Kyle Kucharski intercepted a Fighting Sioux pass at the blue line and skated down ice on an odd-man rush, before passing the puck to right wing Andrew Orpik.

Orpik wasted no time in throwing the puck at the net, and it slid through diving North Dakota goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux's legs for a 1-0 lead.

BC was not about to look back yet, however. Just over five minutes later, Gerbe scored his first goal of the game on a shorthanded effort to give BC a 2-0 advantage.

The speedy left wing capitalized on another Fighting Sioux mistake. Gerbe picked up a loose puck in nearly the identical spot that Kucharski had minutes before, threw it ahead, caught up, and buried a wrist shot past Lamoureux.

He wasn't finished. Not even close. Two minutes later, the junior scored off another incredible individual effort. Center Brian Gibbons sent a strong pass to a streaking Gerbe on the left wing, and as he entered the offensive, he fired a hard shot at Lamoureux. The rebound skirted wide to the right, and Gerbe skated around the back of the net, picked up the puck, and sent another shot past the hapless North Dakota goaltender for a 3-0 lead just 15 minutes into the contest.

Amazingly, the Eagles had another goal in their back pocket before intermission. With less than 15 seconds remaining, center Dan Bertram beat Lamoureux again on a one-timer from line mate Pat Gannon.

Despite skating into the locker room with a 4-0 lead, the Eagles were not about to let up. During the break, BC coach Jerry York said his team did most of the talking. "We have kind of a veteran crew who has been in a lot of big stage games," York said. "Before I walked into the locker room, I heard them talking about things (saying), 'Let's pick up our game, play with what we have, and let's not get carried away.'"

Their words could not have rang truer. At 6:37 of the second period, Gerbe scored his third goal of the game on the power play.

His hat trick goal came on assists from Ben Smith and Bertram, who worked the puck around the offensive zone before finding Gerbe in the slot. Gerbe then lifted the puck over Lamoureux's pads for his 33rd goal of the season.

Just over five minutes later, the Eagles put the icing on the cake when Gerbe found Smith for a 6-0 lead. The wing skated down ice with Smith on a two-on-one odd man rush, before flipping the puck to the center. Smith then punched the puck past Lamoureux for the Eagles' final goal of the day.

While the rest of the game saw only one more tally, when North Dakota's Jake Marto ruined BC goaltender John Muse's shutout attempt at the 18:44 mark of the third period, the play became increasingly physical. Eagles' defensemen Mike Brennan and Nick Petrecki delivered several crushing hits as the Fighting Sioux grew frustrated.

The physicality did not concern York. "We want to be like that every shift of the game," he said. "Sometimes your playmaking ability is a result of good physical hits. But we've got some real physical players. Nick Petrecki and Tim Filangieri are pretty physical."

Another player who joined the defensive play was Gerbe, who York alleged is "perhaps playing his best hockey (of his career) right now." Gerbe was involved in several scuffles, highlighting his outstanding overall play. "He's just so quick and dynamic that he's dangerous whenever he has the puck," York said.

To say that Gerbe is dangerous was an understatement on Thursday night. Although the forward finished with four points, his contributions on the ice far transcended any box score.

He simply willed an outstanding team into the championship game - an impressive feat, but not his ultimate goal.

"I thought tonight was another great game from our club and it's showing how good we can be at times," Gerbe said. "We just have to keep that going," he noted, foreshadowing the importance of Saturday's game.