February
16, 2008 - The second day of playoff action
is now over and the championship participants have
been decided. #2 Lindenwood advanced after their thrilling
4-3 overtime win over #3 Ohio, while the #1 Illini's
4-1 win over #5 Kent State gave them the nod for the
big game.
Day two started out with #4 Iowa State taking on #6 Eastern
Michigan in the game to determine the 5th and 6th place finishes.
Eastern Michigan started off quickly as Steve Kardel score
just a minute and a half into the game for the Eagles. The
Cyclones dominated the rest of the period however, starting
off with two power play goals, scored by Pete Majkozak and
Mike Lebler, followed by a even strength goal from Bill Adolph
to give ISU a 3-1 lead at the end of the first. The Cyclones
would tack on two more goals in the second, starting off
with a short handed goal by Pete Majkozak, and Jordan Pascale
netting the 5th Iowa State goal. Eastern would finally get
the puck into the net from a shot by Nick Kang late in the
second, but that would be the end of the Eagles scoring.
The Cyclones were far from done however, adding 4 more goals
in the third period. Josh Westbrook would start the scoring
frenzy for the Cyclones, while Mike Murtaugh added the last
3 goals for the natural hatrick and the 9-2 ISU win. The
win has the Cyclones finishing the playoffs in 5th place
while the Eagles leave in 6th.
The next game up would decide the 7th & 8th place finishes
as #7 Western Michigan took on #8 Robert Morris College.
Ian Heinzen would get Robert Morris on the board first, but
Western's Sean McWhorter would answer back just 53 seconds
later, tying the game at 1-1. The Eagles would recapture
the lead just 33 seconds later with a goal from Chris Malick.
Robert Morris would take over the second period, netting
four unanswered goals. The Eagle's Ross Lane would start
the scoring for RMC, while Matt Olson, Bobby Carlson, and
Kevin Lee finished up giving the Eagles a 6-1 second period
lead. Western Michigan opened up the third period with a goal from Jerry Taylor, but Robert Morris would answer back and the two teams would swap six more goal between them. For Western Michigan Sean McWhorter would score two more goals, for the hat trick, with Steve Koich also adding one to the Stallions total. The Eagle's Steve LaFrenier would put in the first and last goals for Robert Morris in the period, while Matt Olson would have a goal sandwiched between them. The Eagle would hold off any comeback attempts from the Stallions to win the game 9-5, taking 7th place while Western Michigan would end up with an 8th place finish.
The next game was played by #2 Lindenwood against #3 Ohio University. The game, which would determine who would go onto play in the championship game, had a slow start with only two penalties the whole period and a total of only 17 shots made by both teams. The first goal was scored by Ohio with 3 minutes to go in the first by Brett Mulnar, assisted by Bill Hemann and JJ Plutt. The next goal wouldn’t
come until JJ Plutt capitalized on a powerplay opportunity
halfway through the second, aided by Steve Osacky and Brett
Mulnar. Four minutes later, Dave Fitzgerald would score once
again for Ohio, with the help of Brandon Fackey, helping
Ohio put in two goals in their seven shots. It seemed like
the game was set going into the third period, with Lindenwood
under by three goals, and starting out the period with a
penalty, but the game was to get more interesting, with a
goal by Carson Hamill, assisted by Jake Ebner and Kyle Rickermann
three minutes into the period. 42 seconds later, Justin McLaughlin
would score one more for the Lions on the powerplay, with
the help of Larry Kopecky and Trais Bokina. A minute and
a half later, Jake Ebner would score his own goal on the
powerplay, with the help of Carson Hamill and Steve Balint.
For the rest of the period, Lindenwood had a new vigor, and
the Bobcats were starting to get nervous of a game they thought
was sealed. Close to the end of the first overtime period’s end, Henry St. Arnault was given a hooking penalty, giving the Bobcats of Ohio the advantage. It wasn’t enough, though, as Larry Kopecky stole the puck from an Ohio player, and went one on one with goalie Paul Marshall, slapping the puck into the back of the net. The unassisted, short-hand goal gave Lindenwood the opportunity to play in the CSCHL Championship game, defeating Ohio University.
The last game of the night featured #1 University of Illinois and #5 Kent State. The game started slowly, with both Mike Burda of Illinois and Ryan Gregory of Kent State unwilling to allow a single shot through (stopping 9 shots and 22 shots in the period, respectively), but with a minute and a half to go, Drew Heredia netted a goal for the Illini, assisted by Jason Nemeth and Johnny Liang, giving the home team a one goal advantage heading out of the first period. The second period didn’t bring much more excitement to the table, but the U of I’s Jordan Pringle scored a goal early in the second, assisted by Joey Resch and Tom Connell. With only three penalties in the period and no more scoring, the Illini sat on top coming into the third period 2-0. Kent State’s Kye Budziszewski was handed a hooking penalty, and the Illini capitalized on their advantage, with Jordan Pringle netting another goal, with the help of Alex Park. Pringle’s name wasn’t soon to fade away in the game, when he was called for an interference call six minutes later, sending him in the box. Kent State decided to try their unusual powerplay method, by pulling their goaltender Ryan Gregory and putting six forwards out on the ice. The unorthodox strategy worked, with Eddie Martin sneaking one by Mike Burda, with the help of Kevin Colleran and Chris Hourigan, bringing Kent State back into the game. It wasn;t enough, though, because after becoming shorthanded with the penalty of Jon Moser, they decided to pull their goalie once again, at the very end of the game. It didn’t work, though, as Tom Connell broke away with a pass from Brad Hoelzer, scoring in Kent State’s open net and sealing the deal, sending the University of Illinois to the Championship game.
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