March
21, 2003
MAAC Semifinals
Mercyhurst, Quinnipiac set up summit meeting
Other
Tournament Coverage
After squeaking
by with one-goal wins in the quarterfinals, you might have thought
that Mercyhurst and Quinnipiac's status as the class of the MAAC
was in jeopardy.
So much for
that theory.
For the third
straight year those two teams will meet for the MAAC Tournament
title, with the conference's NCAA Tournament automatic bid on
the line. They advanced in convincing fashion, with Mercyhurst
disposing of Bentley, 10-2, and Quinnipiac jumping out to an early
lead against Holy Cross and holding on, 3-0.
Mercyhurst
10,
Bentley 2
Team
Goal
Str
Time
Assists
First
Period
1-M
Dave
Borrelli (8)
EV
19:13
David
Wrigley, Adam Rivers
Second
Period
2-M
Erik
Johnson (8)
EV
1:11
S.
Reynolds, M. Carter
3-M
Mike
Carter (9)
EV
1:56
E.
Johnson, S. Reynolds
4-M
Dave
Borrelli (9)
PP
3:40
A.
Rivers, D. Wrigley
5-M
Adam
Tackaberry (8)
EV
6:06
M.
Muldoon
6-M
David
Wrigley (15)
EV
7:35
Unassisted
7-M
Marty
Rychley (3)
EV
13:27
A.
Rivers
Third
Period
8-M
Peter
Rynshoven (11)
EV
0:57
N.
Brown, M. Chambers
9-M
Marty
Rychley (4)
PP
4:08
Unassisted
1-B
Troy
Wiebler (4)
EV
9:24
T.
Calabro, J. Chase
2-B
Ryan
Lessnau (8)
PP
10:49
J.
Chase, B. Goodwin
10-M
P.J.
Hiscock (8)
EV
16:01
A.
Tackaberry, T.J. Kemp
Goaltending
B:
Simon St. Pierre, 27:35, 16 saves, 6 GA; Geordan Murphy, 32:25,
14 saves, 4 GA
M:
Andy Franck, 60:00, 38 saves, 2 GA
Penalties:
B 5/10; M 7/22
Power
Plays: B 1-5; M 2-4
Attendance:
1,312
A 6:24 span
early in the second period wrapped up Mercyhurst's berth in the
finals. The Lakers scored five times in that stretch, and just
past the midway point of the second period they led, 7-0.
The game was
actually scoreless for the first 19 minutes, before freshman Dave
Borelli recorded his first of two goals on the day at the 19:13
mark of the first. The Lakers rode the momentum of that late goal
when they returned to the ice, erupting for a six-goal second
period.
Bentley didn't
hold back, and actually outshot Mercyhurst, 17-15, in the second
period, but Laker goaltender Andy Franck stopped all 17 Falcon
bids. He finished with 38 saves on the day and didn't allow a
goal until it was already 9-0.
Bentley –
which was picked to finish last in the conference by the coaches
– sees its surprise season end in the semifinals at 15-19-0.
The nightcap
was a much more tame affair, although again, a burst of goals
helped the favorites advance. Quinnipiac scored just 3:39 into
the game on Michael Bordieri's fifth of the year.
With goals
from big guns Matt Froehlich (his 21st) and Matt Craig (his 18th)
just 5:50 apart, the Bobcats grabbed a 3-0 lead and chased Holy
Cross rookie Tony Quesada in favor of Ben Conway.
Conway didn't
allow a goal the rest of the way, but it didn't matter thanks
to the efforts of Quinnipiac goaltender Jamie Holden. Making his
first start after missing six games with an injury, Holden posted
his first shutout of the season. He stopped 30 shots along the
way, including 14 in the first period as his teammates built the
3-0 lead.
Quinnipiac
3,
Holy Cross 0
Team
Goal
Str
Time
Assists
First
Period
1-Q
Michael
Bordieri (5)
EV
3:39
J.
Kelly
2-Q
Matt
Froehlich (21)
EV
11:07
M.
Craig, J. Testa
3-Q
Matt
Craig (18)
EV
16:57
M.
Froehlich, W. Winkler
Second
Period
No
Scoring
Third
Period
No
Scoring
Goaltending
HC:
Tony Quesada, 17:13, 7 saves, 3 GA; Ben Conway, 40:53, 11
saves, 0 GA
Q:
Jamie Holden, 60:00, 30 saves, 0 GA
Penalties:
HC 4/8; Q 8/16
Power
Plays: HC 0-5; Q 0-1
Attendance:
1,456
WHAT'S
NEXT
The Lakers
and Bobcats get a day off before they meet in the MAAC title game
for the third consecutive season. Faceoff is set for noon on Sunday,
meaning that this will be the last bid to be decided before the
NCAA Tournament Selection Show is held Sunday night at 6 p.m.
Mercyhurst's
last loss to Quinnipiac was the Bobcats' victory in last year's
title game; the Lakers won this season's series, 2-0-1. Franck
was especially sharp in their most recent meetings, a Mercyhurst
sweep at Quinnipiac Jan. 17-18. He stopped 66 of the 68 shots
he faced that weekend.