Bob Iwabuchi

Iwabuchi was recruited to North Dakota by John Gasparini and became a member of his first recruiting class when Gasparini was named head coach in 1978. Iwabuchi had to beat out Bill Stankoven and Mel Donnelly, two veteran Sioux netminders for the starting role. The pressure and excitement of his position caused Iwabuchi to vomit before most games which endeared him to his teammates, some of whom had the same issue. Iwabuchi became a hit as a freshman, helping the team finish atop the WCHA standings, defeating Minnesota in their final game to do so. Iwabuchi finished second in the nation in both goals against average and save percentage and was named as an All-American. He led UND on a run through the conference tournament and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eleven years. The Fighting Sioux received the top western seed and downed Dartmouth in the semifinal. In the championship, Stankoven got the start but allowed three goals to the Golden Gophers in the first period. With the team down by 2, Iwabuchi was in goal to start the second and he performed well in relief, turning aside 17 shots. After the team had cut their deficit to 1, Neal Broten scored a one-in-a-million goal over a sliding Iwabuchi to put Minnesota back ahead by 2. UND scored mid-way through the third to get within one again but a post got in the way of a tying goal and UND saw the championship slip away.