BY STEPHEN NESBITT For AnnArbor.com

ST PAUL, Minn. — Jeff Rohrkemper knew he didn’t belong there. But it didn’t help.

“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, gone in the blink of an eye,” Rohrkemper said, fighting back tears.

The little-used sophomore gave it his all, pitching in his third goal of the season to force overtime in the NCAA national championship game against Minnesota-Duluth Saturday night.

But Rohrkemper could only watch helplessly from the bench as Bulldog forward Kyle Schmidt plunged the final dagger into the Michigan hockey team’s season, wristing a shot past senior goaltender Shawn Hunwick to give Minnesota-Duluth a 3-2 victory and its first national title.

Everyone in the Michigan locker room understood that their run had defied all odds. They weren’t supposed to get out of their NCAA West Regional — headlined by Boston College, arguably the nation’s top team — and they certainly weren’t expected to get past No. 1-ranked North Dakota in the Frozen Four semifinal.

They did both, riding the hot goaltending of Hunwick and a few good bounces here and there.

But against Minnesota-Duluth, the puck luck ran out. The bounces started going the other way. Two Bulldog goals came off wayward deflections off Michigan defensemen — freshmen Jon Merrill and Mac Bennett.

Michigan coach Red Berenson admitted that his team didn’t play a championship-worthy style of hockey in the Frozen Four.

“They were the better team, even though the game ended in overtime,” Berenson said. “I didn’t think our team really got to play their best hockey this weekend, for one reason or another.”

But it wasn’t for lack of effort.

“We all know Michigan hockey, we don’t let up, usually we’re the more dominant team,” senior forward Louie Caporusso said. “We take pride in the cycle keeping the puck in their zone and putting pressure on them. I don’t think we had that for a sustained amount of time this weekend.”

This was the same team that came up just short of a Frozen Four berth last season, the same team that pulled together when two of its players were dismissed in mid-January, and the same Michigan team that rebounded from losing its probable starting goaltender Bryan Hogan to a midseason groin injury.

And two months ago, Michigan was torched by Miami (Ohio) in a two-game sweep in Oxford, Ohio. At that point, the season looked bleak.

Everything had to go right for these Wolverines to get within striking distance of a national title, much less entering the NCAA Final as a favorite.

The label “Cinderella” always seems misplaced with this team — Cinderella teams aren’t forecasted to win. Berenson has taken Michigan to 21 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, and the team is certainly expected to be an annual contender.

But this season was different. Everything was set for the Wolverines to take home their 10th national championship in magical fashion.

“I think everything was in line for the fairytale story, and unfortunately we came up short,” Hunwick said.

“Every guy in this room that’s returning is going to have a bitter taste in their mouth all summer long. Losing in overtime in the national championship game, you should be pretty easily motivated.”

Seven seniors won’t get that chance to return — several are expected to sign NHL contracts in the next days. But Hunwick will be back, and more importantly, Berenson will be back for the 28th year behind the Michigan bench.

“This is a really close group of guys,” junior defenseman Greg Pateryn said. “That is the biggest thing about this program — the family we make. … We all play for each other and I think that is a big part of Michigan.”