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.
| Postseason Positioning Still up for Grabs in Final Week |
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| Written by Chris Zills |
Monday, February 13 2012 |
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In the Southern Division, The Bulldogs inched their way towards a fifth consecutive MCHA regular season crown after knocking off Concordia University by scores of 9-2 and 5-1. They improved to 15-2-1 in league play, good for 31 points and a slim 2-point lead over MSOE. The Raiders did what they could, sweeping past Lake Forest by scores of 4-0 and 6-1 to improve to 14-3-1 (29) points and remain right on the heels of the Bulldogs. The Raiders also hold the important tiebreaker of the two teams end up sharing the division crown by virtue of their 2-1-1 record versus AC in the regular season.
The other playoff team in the South can be either the Foresters (6 points at 3-15-0) or the Falcons (6 points at 2-14-2), depending on what happens this week, but Lake Forest does hold the tiebreaker after going 3-1 heads-up against CUW this season.
In the Northern Division, the Vikings held their ground by taking a pair from Finlandia by scores of 5-2 and 4-2 to improve to 10-5-3 and, with 23 points, remain tied with the Sabres for the division lead with identical records. Marian got past Northland, 4-3 and 3-1, but Lawrence holds the tiebreaker after posting a 2-0-2 record in the 2011-12 season series.
The other playoff spot in the North currently belongs to Finlandia, who at 7-11-0 has 14 points and a two-point cushion over the LumberJacks, who are 5-11-2 (12 points). That season series was split 2-2, so it would come down to goal differential in the series if the two teams tie for third in the division.
The upcoming schedule features Adrian at Finlandia, MSOE at Northland, Lawrence taking on Lake Forest and Marian battling Concordia.
Left to right: Josh Cousineau (Adrian) ... Connor Toomey (MSOE) ... Anton Olsson (Lawrence) -Adrian College Bulldogs sophomore forward Josh Cousineau (Penetang, ONT) is the MCHA Player of the Week after his five-point weekend (3G/2A) kept AC in line for its fifth-straight regular season title. He started things out with a goal and assist Friday and followed that up with two more goals and an assist Saturday while also finishing +4 for the weekend.
--Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders senior goaltender Connor Toomey (Burlington, MA) claims the MCHA Defensive Player of the Week after another 2-0 weekend kept MSOE's hopes alive for a division crown. He stopped 59 of 60 shots on the weekend (.983 save percentage) and posted a 0.50 GAA. His shutout Friday tied the Raider career record. The honor marks the 12th time in his storied career he has been the Defensive Player of the Week.
-Lawrence University Vikings goaltender Anton Olsson (Stromstad, Sweden) is the MCHA Freshman of the Week after his performance kept LU in first place in the division. Making his second career start against a Finlandia team that had won six of seven coming into the series, he made 38 stops for a save percentage of .950 to record his first collegiate victory. |
There is still plenty to be decided heading into the final week of the regular season for the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association, as not only are division championships still up for grabs, but so too are the fates of whether or not teams will advance to the postseason. After a weekend that featured four sweeps - Adrian College, MSOE, Lawrence University and Marian University all went 2-0 - the stage is set for a thrilling and exciting final week of regular season play in 2011-12.
