Freddy's three thoughts of the game ...
1. Good finish: Minnesota State went 8-1-1 in its last 10 games of the season, including this weekend's impressive sweep of rival Bemidji State. The Mavericks ended up with 27 wins in the regular season, which appears to be a team record (the overall record, including playoffs is 30). MSU and Northern Michigan, which moved into second place in the standings on Friday, were the only upper-division teams to sweep this weekend. Will those two teams meet in the WCHA championship game in three weeks? Stay tuned!
2. No rust: My game story (linked below) has info on Mathias Israelsson's rare start, but it's worth mentioning here, too. With Dryden McKay playing so well in goal, Israelsson hadn't played since a Dec. 15 start at Bowling Green, a game he got pulled from. He sure looked good Saturday, though, stopping 22 shots. Coach Mike Hastings said he wanted to give him a start to make sure he was ready if need be in the playoffs. "I'm happy for him because he does really put a lot of effort and energy into what he does everyday to be prepared to get the call, like he did tonight," Hastings said.
3. Senior salute: Before the game, seniors Max Coatta, Ryan Schwalbe and Alec Vanko were honored, along with a nod to their incoming classmate Daniel Brickley. Schwalbe and Vanko haven't played much the last couple of seasons but got a chance. Vanko appeared in four games this season before Saturday, and Schwalbe dressed for the first time this season. Each had one penalty. Hastings talked about their preparation, as he did about Israelsson's: "Both those guys, anything that we've asked them to do behind the scenes, extra workouts, so they're physically prepared to go out and play if we need them, that showed tonight."
Read my game story here.
Around the WCHA: Bowling Green 7, Alabama Huntsville 1 ... Ferris State 3, Lake Superior State 2 ... Northern Michigan 3, Michigan Tech 0 ... Alaska at Alaska Anchorage (late)
Next week's WCHA first-round playoff pairings look like this:
• 8-Alabama Huntsville at 1-Minnesota State
• 7-Alaska at 2-Northern Michigan
• 6-Michigan Tech at 3-Bowling Green
• 5-Bemidji State at 3-Lake Superior State
No comments:
Post a Comment