North Dakota wins NCAA hockey title

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Drake Caggiula was determined to not leave the Frozen Four without North Dakota’s eighth national hockey title.

The senior forward scored two third-period goals in his final college game, and the Fighting Hawks got a short-handed goal and three assists from freshman Brock Boeser in a 5-1 victory over top-seeded Quinnipiac on Saturday night.

“I just played like it was my last weekend because it was, and I wanted to lay everything out there that I could for this university,” Caggiula said. “They’ve done so much for me, and I wanted to give everything I could back. There’s no better way to repay the university than by giving them a national championship.”

Cam Johnson had 32 saves for the Fighting Hawks (34-6-4). They won their first national title since 2000 and pulled within one of Michigan for the record.

Caggiula scored in each of North Dakota’s four postseason wins and was named the tournament’s most outstanding player. He also had two goals in a 4-2 victory over Denver that sent the Fighting Hawks into theFrozen Four final for the 13th time.

Quinnipiac (32-4-7) lost in the title game for the second time in four seasons. The Bobcats trailed 2-1 entering the third period, but their hopes for a first championship faded quickly when Caggiula beat goalie Michael Garteig twice in just over two minutes to break the game open before a crowd of 19,358.