The "Harris Cup"

2003 MCHA Tournament Game Recaps

Golden Eagles Claim Second Title in Four Years
-Courtesy of the Minnesota-Crookston Sports Information Department
The Golden Eagles win their 2nd MCHA Championship in the past four years as they defeat two-time defending champion, Marian College on Sunday (February 23) evening at the Crookston Civic Arena.

Jay Tupa (Fargo, N.D.) scored an unassisted goal with three minutes left in the first period to put the Golden Eagles up by one.  The fast paced first period had the Golden Eagles dominating the shots on goal as they out shot Marian 18-4. 

In the second period Ben Perkins (New Brighton, Minn.) took a rebound off a Adam Coe (Bemidji, Minn.) blast and snuck it past the Marian goalie for the power play goal, putting the Golden Eagles up by two at the 16:40 mark of the second period.  Todd Chandler (Crookston, Minn.) also assisted on the play.  The period would end that way with the Golden Eagles putting six shots on net to Marian's eight.

    
-The Golden Eagles celebrate their big 2-1 defeat of Marian College-

Marian mounted a come back in the third period as they were in no hurry to turn over the crown they had owned the past two years.  Pat Telford (Tomah, Wis.) took a Brad Hawkin's (Nepane, Ont) pass and whizzed it over the shoulder of Golden Eagle goalie Erik Kraska (Plymouth, Minn.), to bring the Sabres within a goal with just under two minutes gone in the period.  The final eighteen minutes, Kraska played brilliantly, grabbing eight saves the rest of the period on his way to the victory and the Tournament MVP. 

Lawrence Repeats as Third Place Winner in OT
(Crookston, Minn.) - For the second straight day, Lawrence University went into overtime on Sunday (February 23) afternoon in the MCHA Tournament. Sunday's final score worked out much better for the squad, as the Vikings defeated the MSOE Raiders by a final score of 2-1 in extra time at the Crookston Civic Arena. The third place finish is the third straight for Lawrence, as they conclude 2002-2003 with a team-record 12 wins on the season. The Raiders were playing their third game in three days at the tournament, coming up just short in the end.

          

MSOE did score first, with Rob Kaufman (Gig Harbor, WA) finding the back of the net at the 18:08 mark of the first. Raider goalie Adam Blomfield (Anchorage, AK) kept the Vikings off the scoreboard for most of the first two periods, as Lawrence found the equalizer when Matt Melchiori (Appleton, WI) ripped one past Blomfield 6:45 into the period. The third period went scoreless as Blomfield posted 29 saves in regulation and Lawrence goalie Daniel Ljung (Avesta, Sweden) finished with 20. The Vikings defense stepped up, as they killed all 6 of MSOE's power-plays, including a 5:00 major at the start of the third. The game was heading towards a tie until Brad Barton (Colorado Springs, CO) tallied his second goal in two days with the game-winner at the 3:59 mark of the extra session to give his team the 2-1 victory.

Golden Eagles Stop Late Rally to Force Familiar Finale
-Courtesy of the Minnesota-Crookston Sports Information Department
(Crookston, Minn.) - The two hottest teams at the end of the MCHA regular season faced off in the MCHA Tournament semi-final match up as the #1 seeded Golden Eagles faced the #4 seed Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders before a crowd of 515 at the Crookston Civic Arena.

The Golden Eagles came out firing in the first period as they posted ten quick shots in the first eight minutes of the game.  However, MSOE countered the early attack with one of their own as they fired 12 shots on Golden Eagle goalie Erik Kraska (Plymouth, Minn.).  Both Kraska and MSOE goalie Adam Blomfield (Anchorage, AK) were spectacular as they kept the first period scoreless.  The Raiders killed three penalties while facing only five shots on the power plays.  UMC was able to kill two minor penalties in the period but faced an onslaught of shots from the Raiders as they posted 9 of their 12 shots on the power plays.  

Scott Mack (East Grand Forks, N.D.) scored the first goal of the game for the Golden Eagles four minutes into the second period with his tenth goal of the season.  The Golden Eagles went up 2-0 when Mike Alvestad (Grand Forks, N.D.) ripped a slap shot over the shoulder of Blomfield for a power play goal. Ben Perkins and Scott Mack assisted on the goal by Alvestad.  UMC would end up doubling MSOE in shots for the second period by a count of 10-5.   Kraska was again huge in the period which was highlighted by a glove-snatching save on a slap shot from the point.

MSOE put together a comeback in the third period as they scored two goals to tie the game at 2-2.  James Shipley (Oak Park, IL) scored the first goal for the Raiders at the 8:01 mark.  Andy Eisch (Crystal Lake, IL) followed five minutes later with a breakaway goal of his own.  The game would remain tied until Jeff Johnston took a Shawn Carlson pass and skated up ice, beating the defenseman and making a centering pass to Patrick Knutson who put in the game winning goal.  An empty net and a power play advantage for MSOE would be nullified when UMC was able to win the last two face offs and cleared the puck out of the zone.  

Marian College needed overtime to defeat Lawrence University (Appleton, Wis.) by a score of 3-2 OT.

Sabres Pull One Out in Overtime
(Crookston, Minn.) - The Marian College hockey team won a thriller on Saturday (February 22) afternoon, putting away the Lawrence Vikings by a final score of 3-2 in overtime at the Crookston Civic Arena. With the win, the Sabres will advance to Sunday's (February 23) MCHA Championship. They will play the winner of the UM-Crookston/MSOE game that is scheduled for 7:00 PM this evening. The victory improves the Sabres record to 14-10-2 on the 2002-2003 season.

Most of the scoring occurred in the first period, as Dan Odegard (Oakdale, MN) staked Marian to an early 1-0 lead at the 2:43 mark of the first on a redirected shot in front of the goal. Midway through the first, Lawrence pulled even at 1-1 when Brad Barton (Colorado Springs, CO) beat the Sabre goalie. Marian would use one last breakaway at the end of the period to take their second lead of the game, as Dan Weymann (Oakdale, MN) scored to give the #2 seeded squad a 2-1 advantage at the end of the first. After a scoreless second, the Vikings would tie the game once again when Nick Neyler (Madison, WI) evened the score with a tally at the 11:10 mark of the period. Both teams had their chances in regulation, but the goalies made the saves when they had to to force the extra session. In overtime, Brad Hawkins (Nepean, Ontario) sent the Sabres to their fifth straight appearance in the MCHA Tournament Championship game 2:48 into the final period with the game-winner. Weymann paced the Sabres with 3 points on his goal and 2 assists, while Marian goalie Bob Berg (Antigo, WI) earned the win with 21 saves. Berg increased his career record between the pipes to 14-0-1 in the process.

MSOE Uses Big Third Period to Advance
(Crookston, Minn.) - The MSOE Raiders broke open what was a close game on Friday (February 21) night at the Crookston Civic Arena. After leading by a slim 2-0 margin heading into the third period against Northland College, the Raiders found the back of the net four times in the third to cruise to the 6-0 win in the MCHA qualifier. With the victory, MSOE advances to play top-seeded UM-Crookston on Saturday (February 22) night, starting at 7:00 PM. The Lumberjack's 2002-2003 season comes to a close with the loss.

Midway through the first, the Raiders finally broke through, as Andy Eisch (Crystal Lake, IL) scored at the 10:20 mark. MSOE would push the advantage to 2-0 after two periods, but were held back time and time again by Lumberjack goalie Louis Newstrom (Isanti, MN). Newstrom made 31 saves on 33 Raider shots through the first two periods. The third period was the difference on the night, as MSOE took a 3-0 lead at the 4:17 mark and put the game away with three goals in the final 5:57. Joe Connors (Chicago, IL) and James Shipley (Oak Park, IL) both had two goals. Adam Blomfield (Anchorage, AK) made 22 saves in pitching the shut-out.