MCHA Players of the Week
Brendan Sullivan, Lake Forest
Peter Emery, Lawrence
Plenty of storylines remain in place as the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association enters the final month of the regular season. In the Southern Division, Adrian College and MSOE both swept weekend series to remain deadlocked heading down the stretch. The Bulldogs (6-1 and 9-2 winners over Finlandia) and Raiders (2-0 and 4-2 over Lawrence) are now tied at 12-1-1 in MCHA play and, coincidentally, 15-3-1 overall. A head-to-head series to close out the regular season looms the final weekend.
| Skelly Breaks MCHA Career Points Record |
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| Written by Chris Zills |
Monday, February 15 2010 |
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The team now has 20 victories (20-3-0) for the third-straight season. It also claimed the No. 1 seed for the upcoming league tournament and also at least a share of its third-consecutive regular season league crown. On an individual basis, AC's Mike Dahlinger tied the season record of 35 assists and will look to break it this weekend. The team moved up a spot to No. 11 in this week's national poll.
Marian University, which at 16-2 in league play is the only team left that can still catch Adrian for a share of the league title, extended it's own winning streak to 12 in a row with a three-game weekend sweep of Lawrence, winning by scores of 5-2, 6-3 and 2-1. MSOE is also playing well, as the Raiders improved to 7-0-1 in their last eight games with a sweep of Lake Forest, winning 5-4 in overtime Friday and 4-2 Saturday. Lastly, Northland secured it's postseason spot, splitting with Finlandia to earn the third seed in the division. That stated, the seeds for the MCHA Tournament are set:
Adrian: at 18-0-0, the Bulldogs have claimed the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye. Marian: at 16-2-0, the Sabres can still earn a share of the regular season crown, are the No. 2 seed as the other division champion and have a first-round bye. MSOE: at 12-5-1 with 25 points, the Raiders are the No. 2 seed in the Southern Division. Lawrence: at 7-10-1 with 15 points, the Vikings are the No. 2 seed in the Northern Division. They hold the tiebreaker with Northland (3-1). Lake Forest: at 7-10-1 with 15 points, the Foresters are the No. 3 seed in the South. Northland: at 5-12-1 with 11 points, the LumberJacks are the No. 3 seed in the North, holding the tiebreaker with Finlandia (3-1).
The opening-round schedule looks like this: Friday, Feb. 26 Northland at
Saturday, Feb. 27 Northland at
Sunday, Feb. 28
The winners of first-round play (two games with a mini-game if neccessary) will advance to play in the Harris Cup Four at Adrian College. The weekend gets underway Thursday, March 4, with a postseason banquet at 6 pm (local time) on the Adrian campus. Tickets can be purchased in advance ($25) through Lesley Carson at 517-264-3156, fax (517-264-3882) or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Players of the Week -Marian University Sabres freshman defenseman Tommy Fitzpatrick (Ft. McMurray, AB) earns the MCHA Player of the Week honors for having a role in seven of the 13 goals his team scored in claiming all three games against Lawrence on the weekend. On Friday, he assisted on four of the five goals in a 5-2 win and was +2. Saturday, he netted a pair of goals and was +1 before adding another assist and a +1 rating in Sunday's 2-1 victory. His seven-point weekend gives him 28 on the season, breaking the Marian record for points by a defenseman of 27, formerly held by Matt Bobo. Other nominees: Sam Kuzyk (Adrian), Chad Moore (Northland), Todd Krupa (MSOE)
-Northland College LumberJacks goalie Daniel McIntosh (Calgary, AB) is the MCHA Defensive Player of the Week for his performance Saturday in a must-win game for his team. With Northland's postseason hopes on the line and coming off a loss Friday, McIntosh made his first appearance of the weekend Saturday and made 33 saves while keeping the opponent scoreless on the power play to propel the 'Jacks to a 4-3 overtime win. Other nominees: Michael Johnson (MSOE), Jeremy Klaver (Adrian), Tommy Fitzpatrick (Marian)
-Marian University Sabres freshman forward Dakota Dubetz (Chestermore, AB) gives his team two ofthe three weekly award winners as the MCHA Freshman of the Week. He tallied five points on the weekend, starting with two Friday. He lit the lamp and had an assist Saturday before tallying another goal in the 2-1 win SUnday. -Other nominees: Kraig Wright (Northland), Jordan Keizer (MSOE)
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What a weekend on the ice for the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association. For starters, there is a new career points leader, as Adrian College junior Shawn Skelly's (pictured at left) first-period goal Friday was career point number 131, moving him past former Finlandia University star Josh Paquette (130 points on 47G/83A from 2004-08) for first place on the all-time list. Skelly also broke the career goal mark earlier this season and will have a full year to add to his current total of 133 (61G/72) points and a shot at the all-time assist total of 83. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs kept winning, sweeping past Concordia to extend their league win streak to an impressive 53 games.
