Maybe the NCAA Division I hockey championship doesn't draw huge ratings around the country, but many people in Minnesota can attest to what a thriller the title game has become.

The talking heads on TV love to drone on about how many "classic" games are played in the NCAA basketball tournament. But this year the men's title game in basketball was hardly a classic as Indiana managed a whopping 52 points and lost by a dozen.

At the other end of the spectrum, the NCAA hockey final was decided in overtime for the fifth time in seven years.

Minnesota's Matt Koalska scored with 52.4 seconds remaining to tie the score in regulation. Grant Potulny's power-play goal in overtime then gave the Gophers their first NCAA hockey title since 1979. And in classic style.

Guy N. Limbeck

glimbeck@postbulletin.com

Around the Water Cooler, Page 2D