Dramatic OT victories send Huskies, Bulldogs to WCHA Final Five in St. Paul
By @SKubus –
The teams are set for the WCHA Final Five, and there’s a pair of Michigan clubs in the hunt for the league title and a bid in the NCAA tournament.
No. 4 Michigan Tech and Ferris State join No. 2 Minnesota State and No. 13 Bowling Green in the tournament to crown the king of the WCHA, which takes place in St. Paul, Minn. March 20 and 21 at the Xcel Energy Center, home of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.
In the first of two semifinal match-ups, Michigan Tech will host Bowling Green, while Ferris State will look to upset Minnesota State. The two winners square off Saturday for the Broadmoor Trophy and WCHA crown.
The Huskies and Bulldogs each swept the competition in their respective weekend series en route to the Final Five, and did so in dramatic fashion.
In Friday night’s action, Michigan Tech’s Tyler Heinonen scored the game’s only goal and it came 118 minutes and 49 seconds into the contest, a three-overtime game against Alabama-Huntsville that marked the longest contest in Michigan Tech history, second-longest in WCHA history and seventh-longest in NCAA history. Jamie Phillips stopped 32 shots on the night and set a new school record with his fifth shutout of the season.
Phillips extended that record the next night, stopping 18 shots for his sixth shutout in a 3-0 victory. Houghton native Blake Hietala and Hancock native Tanner Kero each potted a goal and an assist, Heinonen added two helpers and Mark Auk (St. Clair Shores) scored the other Huskies goal. The team improved to 12-1-1 over its last 14 games.
Highlights from Michigan Tech’s weekend series:
Ferris State, meanwhile, ended up being the only road team to win its first-round series, with a 4-1 victory over the Bemidji State Beavers Friday night. In Saturday night’s tilt, the Bulldogs went the distance. It wasn’t quite as long as the Huskies’ game, but FSU completed the sweep in the third overtime frame, as a Kyle Schempp (Saginaw; New York Islanders prospect) goal sealed the 3-2 victory. Fresh off becoming his school’s all-time winningest goalie, St. Clair native CJ Motte stopped 66 of 69 shots on the weekend.
Ferris State entered the season ranked No. 9 in the country, and though the season didn’t go quite that well, the team may be catching fire at the right time; the Bulldogs are interestingly 7-1-1 in their last nine outings.
Highlights from Ferris State’s weekend series: