Miami clinches regular-season title on final night
March 2, 2013 10:26 PM
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – Miami clinched the regular-season title with a victory over Ohio State, while Notre Dame, Lake Superior and Michigan State also recorded conference wins on the final night of the regular season. Michigan earned a shootout win after playing to a 1-1 tie with Ferris State, while Alaska completed a sweep of Alaska Anchorage in non-conference play. In the best-of-three, first round of the playoffs on Mar. 8-10, No. 11 seed Michigan State will travel to Alaska to play the No. 6 seeded Nanooks, No. 10 seed Northern Michigan will play at No. 7 seed Michigan and No. 9 seeded Bowling Green will head north to take on No. 8 seed Lake Superior.
Oxford, Ohio – Miami took a 4-0, third-period lead and defeated Ohio State, 4-2, to clinch the regular-season title and earn a split with the Buckeyes. The RedHawks got a power-play goal from senior forward Curtis McKenzie, even-strength markers from freshman forward Riley Barber and sophomore forward Cody Murphy and the game winner, unassisted from sophomore forward Blake Coleman. Ohio State freshman defenseman Craig Dalrymple finished with a 1-1-2 scoring line and junior forward Alex Szczechura added a single goal. Miami freshman goaltender Ryan McKay stopped 28 shots in the win. Ohio State senior goaltender Brady Hjelle made 27 saves in the loss. As the No. 1 seed, the RedHawks earn a first-round playoff bye and home ice in the second round. The Buckeyes finish as the No. 4 seed and will have a bye in the first round of the playoffs before hosting No. 5 seeded Ferris State in the second round.
South Bend, Ind. – Notre Dame junior forward Nick Larson and freshman forward Mario Lucia each tallied a goal and an assist, and senior goaltender Mike Johnson made 26 saves, in a 4-1 win over Bowling Green that completed a sweep of the Falcons. Junior forwards David Gerths and Anders Lee each had single goals for Notre Dame. Junior forward Andrew Wallace scored the lone goal for the Falcons. Senior goaltender Andrew Hammond made 22 saves for Bowling Green. The victory clinched the No.2 seed for Notre Dame, and earned the Irish a first-round playoff bye and home ice in the second round. The No. 9 seeded Falcons will head to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., to take on No. 8 Lake Superior in the first round of the playoffs.
Marquette, Mich. – Lake Superior junior goaltender Kevin Murdock stopped 35 shots in a 3-0 shutout victory over Northern Michigan. All three of the Lakers’ goals came short-handed off the sticks of sophomore forward Stephen Perfetto, junior forward Kellan Lain and senior forward Domenic Monardo into an empty net. Northern Michigan junior goaltender Jared Coreau made 32 saves in the loss. The No. 8 seeded Lakers will host No. 9 Bowling Green in the first round of the playoffs. The No. 10 seeded Wildcats will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take on No. 7 seeded Michigan.
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State freshman goaltender Jake Hildebrand made 28 saves and senior forward Anthony Hayes scored a first-period goal to lead the Spartans to a 1-0 shutout win over Western Michigan and a weekend split with the Broncos. Western Michigan sophomore goaltender Frank Slubowski made 20 saves in the loss. Michigan State finishes as the No. 11 seed for the CCHA playoffs and will travel to Fairbanks, Alaska to take on the No. 6 seeded Nanooks. Western Michigan finishes as the No. 3 seed and earns a first-round playoff bye and home ice in the second round.
Ann Arbor, Mich. – Michigan’s senior forward A.J. Treais scored the only goal in the shootout to give the Wolverines a 1-1 tie/shootout win against Ferris State. Senior forward Kevin Lynch gave Michigan a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal in the first period before Bulldogs’ freshman defenseman Zach Dorer tied the game with his first collegiate goal in the second period. Michigan freshman goaltender Steve Racine made 24 saves, while Ferris State sophomore goaltender CJ Motte blocked 35 shots. The No. 5 seeded Bulldogs earn a first-round playoff bye and will travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on No. 4 seeded Ohio State in the second round of the playoffs.
Anchorage, Alaska – Senior forward Andy Taranto finished with a 2-1-3 scoring line to lead Alaska to a 3-1 win over Alaska Anchorage and the Alaska Airlines Governor’s Cup title. Junior forward Colton Beck opened the scoring for the Nanooks and freshman goaltender John Keeney made 19 saves in the win. The No. 6 seeded Nanooks will host No. 11 seed Michigan State in the first round of the playoffs.