Notre Dame Coach Jeff Jackson has been praised for his defensive system. But heading into the Fighting Irish’s first national championship game, Jackson chose not to focus on Boston College’s top player, the junior forward Nathan Gerbe.
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“It’s not a matter of shutting down one player; it’s about playing as a team against the other team’s top players,” Jackson said Friday. “We don’t shadow people. We don’t do anything different than on a nightly basis.”
But Gerbe, a 5-foot-5, 165-pound dynamo, probably warranted an exception.
Gerbe had a hand in all of Boston College’s goals Saturday night, leading the Eagles to their third national title with a 4-1 victory over the Fighting Irish.
The score was 3-1 when Notre Dame (27-16-4) appeared to cut its deficit with just over 15 minutes left in the third period. But Kyle Lawson’s goal was disallowed after a video review showed that he had propelled the puck into the net with his skate.
Thirty-six seconds later, the Eagles (25-11-8) scored when Gerbe’s pass from behind the net set up Ben Smith for a goal.
Gerbe, a Sabres." href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/hockey/nationalhockeyleague/buffalosabres/index.html?inline=nyt-org">Buffalo Sabres prospect from Oxford, Mich., impressed the sellout crowd of more than 18,600 at the Pepsi Center. He had two goals in the championship game and three in the Eagles’ 6-1 semifinal victory Thursday against North Dakota.
“He was a tremendous player on the weekend and on the biggest stage,” Jackson said. “Gerbe’s a heck of the player. He’s dynamic. God bless the small guy.”
In four N.C.A.A. tournament games, Gerbe scored seven goals, tying three players for the most in one tournament. He was an easy choice as the most outstanding player of the Frozen Four.
“It’s just numbers to me,” Gerbe said, adding that winning the title was his motivation.
“We’ll do whatever it takes to get that,” he said.
The only thing Gerbe fell short of here was winning the voting for the Hobey Baker award, which was announced Friday. The award, for the nation’s top player, went to Kevin Porter of Michigan.
Gerbe ensured that Boston College did not become the Buffalo Bills of college hockey. Had the Eagles lost to Notre Dame, they would have been the first team to lose three consecutive national title games. Boston College lost to Michigan State last year and to Wisconsin in 2006.
Instead, Gerbe and his teammates lifted a trophy that had not been won by a team from the eastern part of the country since Boston College last won the title, in 2001. The Eagles also won the title in 1949.
“If you win a national title, your season never ends,” Boston College Coach Jerry York said. “You’ve got unbelievable spinoffs from this — trips to the White House and Fenway Park.”
Jackson might have erred in not focusing enough on Gerbe, but he and his team made significant strides.
Notre Dame’s trip to the Frozen Four was the first in the program’s 40-year history. By defeating New Hampshire and the defending champion, Michigan State, in the West Regional two weeks ago, the Fighting Irish became the first No. 4 regional seed to reach the Frozen Four since the field expanded to 16 teams in 2003.
But Notre Dame’s highlight this season was its 5-4 overtime upset of Michigan, the nation’s top-ranked team, in the semifinals on Thursday.
Still, Jackson will probably have images of Gerbe flying around his head all summer.
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