Union College won its first NCAA hockey championship Saturday night, defeating the University of Minnesota 7-4 in a wild, high-scoring game at the Wells Fargo Center.
With the Gophers leading 2-1 midway through the first period, the Dutchmen unleashed a flurry of shots, scoring three goals in a 1 minute, 54 second span. Union’s Mike Vecchione, a native of Saugus, Mass., tallied the equalizer with four minutes remaining in the period, and just 57 seconds later, Eli Lichtenwald gave the Dutchmen the lead.
Daniel Ciampini, who netted a hat trick against Boston College on Thursday to lead his team to the championship game, capped off the scoring spree, burying a rebound shot from the slot.
The Golden Gophers cut the deficit to one goal in the second period, but they couldn’t capitalize on scoring opportunities as Union’s stingy defense managed to hold off Minnesota.
Shayne Gostisbehere, Max Novak, Kevin Sullivan and Mat Bodie also scored for Union, while Colin Stevens made 36 saves on the night.
Photo via Twitter/@NCAAIceHockey
