2002 MCHA Tournament Game
Recaps
Lawrence
Vikings Advance With 3-2 Win Over Northland
(Appleton, WI) - The Lawrence
Vikings opened the 2002 MCHA Tournament with a 3-2 win over Northland College in
the semi-final qualifier Friday (February 22) night at the Appleton Family Ice
Center. The host team won the battle of the second period in a game that
featured no scoring by either squad in the first or third periods of
the contest. Two goals by Andy Rozanski
(New Berlin, WI) and 18 saves in goal by Jim Pfeiffelmann (Kalamazoo, MI)
were enough for Lawrence to escape with the victory. The win improves Lawrence's
season record to 8-18-0 while Northland's season comes to a close at 5-21-0.
After a scoreless first, the offense came alive as both teams scored within :23
seconds of each other, with Lawrence grabbing the 1-0 lead at the 4:18 mark and
Northland getting the equalizer at the 4:41 mark. The teams would score on two
of the first three shots of the period, as the Vikings' Tom Conti (Dunwoody,
GA) found Rozanski in front for the first tally, followed by Darryl
Penner (Winnipeg, MTB)
feeding a streaking Ryan Becker (Lucky
Lake, SK) on a breakaway to tie the game at one apiece. Northland would
take a 2-1 lead on a nice re-direct goal from Penner at the 13:35 mark, but
Lawrence would fight back, lighting the lamp for two unanswered goals over the
remainder of the second period and holding the
Lumberjacks scoreless in the final period to end the 'Jacks season. Conti had assists on all three
Lawrence goals, while Penner (1G/1A) led Northland with two points.
With the win, Lawrence earned the right to advance and take on top-seeded Marian
College at 4:00 PM tomorrow (February 23) at the Appleton Family Ice Center.
That game will be followed by the other semi-final, which pits MSOE versus
Minnesota-Crookston.
Daigle's
Hat Trick Powers Marian College to 4-1 Win
(Appleton, WI) - The Sabre
hockey team used a hat trick from freshman Jon Daigle (Richmond, BC) and
20 saves from goalie Terry Dunbar (Duluth, MN) to earn the right to play
for the 2002 MCHA Tournament Championship with a 4-1 win over the Lawrence
Vikings on Saturday (February 23) evening in a conference semi-final at the
Appleton Family Ice Center. With the win, the Sabres move to 17-7-2 on the
season, winning their 11th straight game on the campaign and their 26th in a row
versus MCHA opponents. The Vikings drop to 8-18-0 and will play for the league
consolation championship.
After one period, the Sabres had out-shot their opponents 20-to-5 but had a lead
of just 1-0 to show for it on Daigle's first goal of the game. Marian would
extend the lead to 2-0 after two periods as Daigle would light the lamp again at
the 12:46 mark, this time on the power-play. After Mark Ewing (Langley, BC)
beat the Viking goalie just 2:37 into the final period, Lawrence got the
goose-egg off the scoreboard with a tally by Matt Melchiori (Appleton,
WI). That goal was the first a Sabre goaltender had given up in over
176 minutes of action dating back to the last goal scored against them on
February 9th. The Sabres would stop any momentum Lawrence had built when Daigle
completed his hat trick with an unassisted goal at the 13:33 mark of the third.
His three points led the Sabres; Mike Noel (Brownstown,
MI) added two assists. Jim Pfeiffelmann (Kalamazoo, MI)
had 37 saves in defeat for the Vikings.
As noted before, the Sabres will play for the 2002 MCHA Tournament Championship
against the winner of the MSOE/UM-Crookston semi-final. The championship
showdown will begin at 5:00 PM at the Appleton Family Ice Center tomorrow
(February 24). The Vikings will play the loser of the Raider/Golden Eagle game
in the MCHA Consolation, slated to begin at 2:00 PM on Sunday.
UM-Crookston
Outlasts MSOE 2-1 in Double-OT Thriller
(Appleton, WI) - The MSOE
Raiders and UM-Crookston Golden Eagles needed to play almost 100 minutes to
decide a winner in the other league semi-final on Saturday (February 23) night.
After all was said and done, Crookston put home the game-winner 98:42 into the
contest - a little over four hours after the game began. With the thrilling win,
the Golden Eagles improve to 8-18-0 on the campaign and set up a rematch of last
season's championship, as they advance to play the top-seeded Marian College
Sabres in tomorrow's (February 24) finale. The Raiders drop to 8-16-0 and will
take on the Lawrence Vikings in the consolation championship.
All of the scoring in regulation came in the first period, as Crookston took the
early lead when Adam Sprehe (Grand Forks, ND)
notched a power-play tally 11:13 into the contest. The Raiders would fight back
to tie the game, as Joe Swanson (Superior, WI)
found the back of the net at the 15:22 mark of the first to get the game to
1-1. That was what the scoreboard would read for over the next 80+ minutes, as
both teams had their scoring chances, but were turned away time and again by
great work in goal. Golden Eagle net-minder Joey Reese (Crookston,
MN) would finish the game with the victory and 46 saves, while
helping blank the Raiders on eight power-play opportunities. MSOE's Sam
Carrico (St. Paul, MN) would match save-for-save, finishing the game with 62
stops, including several of the spectacular variety in the overtime periods. The
thrilling game came to a close at the 18:42 mark of the second overtime, as
Crookston's Dustin Barton (Jamestown, ND)
sent home the game-winner - deflected off an MSOE skate - to send the Golden
Eagles to a shot at the tournament title.
As noted before, the Eagles will play for the 2002 MCHA Tournament Championship
against top-seeded Marian. The championship showdown will begin at 5:00 PM at
the Appleton Family Ice Center tomorrow (February 24). The Raiders will play
Lawrence University in the MCHA Consolation, slated to begin at 2:00 PM on
Sunday.
Lawrence
Forces Extra Session to Win Consolation
(Appleton, WI) - The Lawrence
Vikings are the 2002 MCHA Tournament Consolation Champions by virtue of their
thrilling 5-4 overtime win over the MSOE Raiders on Sunday (February 24)
afternoon at the Appleton Family Ice Center. The Vikings used dramatics to get
there, as they tied the contest with just :48 left in regulation and then won it
on their first shot-on-goal in the extra session as Ryan Blick (Canton, MI) lit
the lamp at the 1:56 mark of overtime. With the win, the Vikings complete their
season at 9-19-0; MSOE falls to 8-17-0.
-Opening
Face-Off- -MCHA Consolation Champions:
Lawrence Vikings-
The third-place game started back-and-forth, as MSOE took leads of 1-0 and 2-1
before going into the third period all tied at 2-2. Lawrence would score first
in the third, as Blick found Mike Burkhart (McKinney,
TX) at the 6:07 mark to stake Lawrence to their first lead of
the contest at 3-2 on the scoreboard. MSOE had their chances in the third, but
didn't catch fire until a player disqualification at the 6:07 mark. After that,
captain Ryan Moren (Lakeville, MN) took matters into his own hands, as
the MCHA Player-of-the-Year proved his worth with two goals in a span of just
fifty-six seconds, the first coming short-handed and the second giving the
Raiders a 4-3 lead at the 7:13 mark of the last period. After a time-out at the
18:50 mark, Lawrence pulled their goalie and it worked, as Andy Gillies (Hollywood,
FL) fed Mike Vernon (Fresno, CA)
for a crucial goal with less than a minute remaining to force the tie. In
the overtime, the Vikings would capitalize, as Blick would give the host school
the victory with his second goal of the game. Blick (2G/1A) and Gillies (3A) led
the squad with three points each; Vernon finished with two goals. Jim Pfeiffelmann (Kalamazoo, MI)
made 21 saves for the win. Moren's two goals paced the Raiders, while Sam
Carrico (St. Paul, MN) stopped 33 Viking shots-on-goal.
Sabres
Win 2002 MCHA Tournament Championship
(Appleton, WI) - The Marian
College hockey team concluded it's perfect conference season with a 7-3 victory
over UM-Crookston in the MCHA Championship on Sunday (February 24) night at the
Appleton Family Ice Center. The victory marks the Sabres 27th in a row
versus MCHA opponents - including a perfect 18-0 (16-0 regular season/2-0
post-season) in the 2001-2002 campaign. The Sabres wrap-up the season at 18-7-2
and winners of their last twelve consecutive contests. The Golden Eagles fall to
8-19-0. This was a re-match of last season's MCHA Championship game, as the
Sabres have now won two tournament titles in a row.
-Opening
Face-Off- -2002 MCHA Tournament Champions:
Marian Sabres-
Marian came out firing, out-shooting their opponents 19-to-7 in the first period
and scoring the first two goals of the contest in a 1:10 span, as tallies by Jon Daigle (Richmond, BC) and
captain Dan Odegard (Oakdale, MN) at the 9:34 and 10:44 mark of the first
set the pace of the game and slated the Sabres to a 2-0 lead. Crookston would
respond, as a Ben Perkins (New Brighton, MN)
re-direct of a Todd Chandler (Crookston, MN) shot put the Golden
Eagles on the scoreboard, trailing 2-1 after one period. The second period
brought more Sabre offense, as three unanswered goals by Odegard, Brad
Hawkins (Nepean, Ontario),
and Tom van Kasteren (Aylmer,
Ontario) would
give Marian a 5-1 lead. The Sabres would take advantage of the extra-man
opportunities, as they converted two power-play goals in the second. The Golden
Eagles would answer next, as Brock Anundson (Baudette,
MN) beat the Sabre
goalie at the end of the period to get Crookston back within three at 5-2 going
into the final period. The Sabres would put the game away late in the third, as
they would score two empty-net goals to ice the Championship victory. Hawkins
(1G/2A) and Daigle (1G/2A) paced the squad with three points apiece, while
Odegard's two goals were a game-high. Goalie Terry Dunbar (Duluth, MN),
who was named Tournament MVP after the contest, would make 26 saves.
"This team learned how to play at a high level this season," noted
Marian head coach Chris Brown. "They were focused on getting better
every day, whether in practice or in a game situation. They were never satisfied
and it shows in their win-loss record." He would then add, "This
season we made a big step in becoming a premier hockey program at the NCAA
Division III level." When asked about the finale, Brown commented, "I
thought we played a fantastic game. The roles were reversed from last season
when Crookston was the favorite and we were the underdog. They [Crookston] came
to play and wanted to be the first to knock us off this season. We came prepared
- tonight we played like champions."
After the contest, the 2002 MCHA All-Tournament team was named, as was the Most
Valuable Player.
The team was made-up of the following players:
All-Tournament
Team
Forward: Jon Daigle (Marian College)
Forward: Ryan Blick (Lawrence University)
Forward: Brock Anundson (UM-Crookston)
Defense: Ryan Moren (MSOE)
Defense: Dan Weymann (Marian College)
Goalie: Joey Reese (UM-Crookston)
-For the second straight season, Marian College goalie Terry Dunbar was
named MVP.
