MCHA Players of the Week
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.
| MCHA Concludes Regular Season Action |
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| Written by Chris Zills |
Monday, February 21 2011 |
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Adrian swept a pair of games from MSOE in a battle of two Top-10 teams to earn its fourth-consecutive MCHA regular season crown. The Bulldogs and Raiders came in tied and AC took care of business Friday, with goalie Brad Fogal saving 35 of 36 shots - including a penalty shot - in the 3-1 victory. The win was historic for Fogal, giving him 88 in his career to break the NCAA record.
The other three series all featured splits, with the home teams winning all three games on Friday. Marian and Northland split their series, with the LumberJacks posting a 4-1 win Friday and the Sabres responding with a 6-1 win Saturday.
Lawrence wrapped up the #2 seed in the Northern Division with a victory, topping Finlandia, 7-5 Friday before the Lions closed out their season with a 6-3 win on Saturday. Lastly, Lake Forest and Concordia split a home-and-home series, with the Foresters winning the opener, 5-3, and the Falcons also closing out their campaign with a victory in the 5-4 decision Saturday.
Four years after beginning a program from scratch, Adrian College seniors leave their names all over the MCHA record book on offense and defense. Prior to the Bulldogs joining the MCHA, just two former players recorded over 100 career points in Finlandia's Josh Paquette (130 on 47G/83A) and MSOE's Lee Swallow (120 on 45G/75A). That list is now seven members long with the addition of five Bulldog seniors. 1. Shawn Skelly - 161 (73G/88A) 2. Eric Miller - 131 (60G/71A) 3. Mike Dahlinger - 125 (34G/91A) 4. Brad Houston - 119 (55G/64A) 5. Sam Kuzyk - 102 (45G/57A)
In addition, Skelly (73), Miller (60), and Houston (55) now make up the top three in career goals. Dahlinger (91) and Skelly (88), who traded places down the stretch, now make up the top two career assist leaders and Quinn Waller is the all-time leader in assists (76) and points (87) by a defenseman. Lastly, Brad Fogal leaves as the MCHA's all-time leader in career wins with 70 (as part of a 70-1-1 record, second place is 37 wins) and with 72 games played. He also is second all-time in goals against average at 1.68 and save percentage at .934. He also broke former St. Norbert College goalie Kyle Jones (2005-08) career NCAA record for wins and is now at 89-10-2. All game dates and times for the first round are available on the MCHA schedule page. The chase for the Harris Cup starts this weekend with the first round of the playoffs Feb. 25-27. The opening round is a two-game series with possible mini-game. The winners will advance to the MCHA Harris Cup Four, hosted by Adrian College at the Arrington Ice Arena.
Players of the Week -Adrian College Bulldogs senior goalie Brad Fogal (Sharon, ONT) is the MCHA Player of the Week for his work in the nets in the Top-10 showdown with MSOE with the league title on the line. On Friday, he turned away 35 of 36 shots, including a penalty shot in the championship-clinching, 3-1 win on the road. He kept Adrian in the game after being outshot 26-11 after two periods, with the win giving Fogal the career NCAA record at 88. His 89th came the next day with 27 saves in the 3-1 victory. He was also a main contributor to the Raiders' 0-for-12 showing on the power play for the weekend. Other nominees: Nicholas Hewko (Northland), Jonathan Bellotti (Lawrence)
-Marian University Sabres freshman goalie Josh Baker (Canton, Mich.) is the MCHA Defensive Player of the Week. He started the week coming on in relief in his team's loss Friday, stopping 14 of 15 shots to earn the start the next day. On Saturday, he topped that with saves on 25 of 26 attempts for a .951 save percentage for the weekend.
-Adrian College Bulldogs freshman forward Josh Cousineau (Penetang, Ontario) is the MCHA Freshman of the Week for his work in the title-clinching series. AC scored six goals on the weekend and Cousineau had a part in half. He had an assist on the first goal on Friday then followed up with a power play goal and an assist on Saturday. |
The 13th season of play in the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association has come to a close and tournament play begins this upcoming weekend. Second-seeded MSOE hosts Lake Forest College in one division, while second-seeded Lawrence University welcomes Northland College in the other. Adrian College and Marian University have earned byes as the division champions.
