game's first goal in the 16th minute. John Perpich added a second marker early in the second but the two-goal lead seemed to wake up the Huskies who proved a much stiffer test in the middle period. George Lyle cut the lead in half and sent the match into the third with Minnesota clinging to a narrow margin. The Huskies, however, fell apart in the last 20 minutes, allowing Minnesota to outshoot them 14–3 and score twice more to gain a three-goal edge. High-scoring sophomore Mike Zuke netted MTU's second goal of the game but it came with less than a minute remaining and Minnesota won its first National Title. Team Captain Brad Shelstad was named as the Tournament MOP and found himself on the All-Tournament Team along with teammates Les Auge and Mike Polich. Minnesota had none of its players make the AHCA All-American West Team while Shelstad was the only member of the Gophers to make an All-WCHA Team, earning first-team honors. Minnesota had not been expected to compete for a national championship and even after the win Pat Phippen was at a loss for how to explain their surprise title. This was due in part to Minnesota being the first team since Boston College in 1949 to win a championship with a team made up of primarily American players and were one Eric Lockwood game away from playing an entire season with only native Minnesotans. The All-American team was one of the most important wins for USA Hockey as it demonstrated that American players could compete with Canadians and gave professional teams one more reason why they should give US players a chance. The win by Minnesota was felt in the 1974 NHL amateur draft when Minnesota went from have no players taken in either of the previous two years to eight alumni selected in 1974. Standings Schedule |- !colspan=12 style="color:white; background:#862334; " | Regular Season |- !colspan=12 style="color:white; background:#862334; " | |- !colspan=12 style="color:white; background:#862334; " | |- align="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" |colspan=12|Minnesota Wins Series 10-5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" |colspan=12|Minnesota Wins Series 5-4 |- !colspan=12 style="color:white; background:#862334; " | Roster and scoring statistics Goaltending statistics 1974 championship game (W1) Michigan Tech vs. (W2) Minnesota Players drafted into the NHL/WHA 1974 NHL amateur draft 1974 WHA Amateur Draft † Incoming Freshman.‡ Sundberg played for Minnesota in 1972–73. References Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey seasons Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota