March
18, 2005
Atlantic Hockey Semifinals
One
Step Away for Bobcats
By
Doug Manners
| Quinnipiac
4, Bentley 1 |
| Team |
Goal |
Str |
| Time |
Assists |
| First
Period |
| 1-Q |
Matt
Craig (17) |
PP |
| 11:00 |
M.
Sorteberg, R. Cashman |
| 1-B |
Bryan
Goodwin (6) |
EV |
| 17:16 |
J.
Judd, J. Plattner |
| Second
Period |
| 2-Q |
Jamie
Bates (6) |
EV |
| 3:42 |
Unassisted |
| 3-Q |
Matt
Froehlich (14) |
EV |
| 8:22 |
M.
Craig, R. Cashman |
| Third
Period |
| 4-Q |
Matt
Froehlich (15) |
EN |
| 19:28 |
Unassisted |
| Goaltending |
| B:
Simon St. Pierre, 59:24, 29 saves, 3 GA |
| Q:
Jamie Holden, 60:00, 24 saves, 1 GA |
| Penalties:
B 5/10; Q 7/14 |
| Power
Plays: B 0-5; Q 1-3 |
| Attendance:
1,000 |
NORTHFORD,
Conn. – The seniors at Quinnipiac have learned the hard
way over the past three years that there are no guarantees in
life. After winning the MAAC championship and an automatic bid
to the NCAA Tournament as freshmen in 2002, there was a general
feeling that every season would end on the national stage.
But that hasn’t
been the case. Mercyhurst edged Quinnipiac in the MAAC finals
in 2003, and last year the Bobcats were upset in the first round
by Canisius, marking the first time at the Division I level that
Quinnipiac had failed to win a postseason game.
“You
almost take going to the NCAA tournament for granted when you
go there as a freshman,” senior Matt Craig said. “When
two years go by, you realize what an opportunity it is to go there.”
Not only do
the seniors want to end their collegiate careers on top, but Quinnipiac
wants to leave Atlantic Hockey as the league champions. The Bobcats
will compete in the much stronger ECACHL next season, and Quinnipiac
will likely struggle to win games during the next few years.
However, Quinnipiac’s
focus remains on this season. And the Bobcats can cap a successful
regular season with another trip to the NCAA Tournament if the
can defeat Mercyhurst Saturday night in the Atlantic Hockey championship
game.
The top-seeded
Bobcats earned that opportunity with a 3-1 victory over Bentley
in the semifinals. After a surprising victory against No. 2 seed
Canisius last weekend, the Falcons were looking to advance to
their first Division I conference championship game.
Bentley played
a strong first period, feeding off energy from its power play
to go into the first intermission with a 1-1 tie. But the Bobcats’
fore-checking wore the Falcons down in the second period, with
Jamie Bates stripping the puck from Bentley defenseman Jaye Judd
and scoring on a breakaway to tally the game-winner.
Quinnipiac
goalie Jamie Holden, who shutout Army in the quarterfinals game,
saved the Bobcats from falling behind in the first period and
kept Bentley from gaining the momentum it needed to upset the
Bobcats.
“Without
a doubt, I think he’s been the best goaltender in the league
over the past four years,” Bentley coach Ryan Soderquist
said. “Quinnipiac is a great team and they capitalized on
their opportunities.”
| Mercyhurst
4, Holy Cross 3 OT |
| Team |
Goal |
Str |
| Time |
Assists |
| First
Period |
| 1-M |
David
Wrigley (18) |
EV |
| 2:45 |
M.
Warren, P. Briggs |
| 1-HC |
Tyler
McGregor (21) |
EV |
| 3:30 |
P.
Napert-Frenette, A. McKay |
| Second
Period |
| 2-HC |
Dale
Reinhardt (11) |
EV |
| 5:37 |
J.
Sixsmith, C. Sullivan |
| 2-M |
Scott
Reynolds (7) |
EV |
| 7:20 |
T.J.
Kemp |
| 3-M |
Scott
Champagne (11) |
EV |
| 8:23 |
B.
Cottreau |
| 3-HC |
Andrew
McKay (10) |
PP |
| 18:13 |
P.
Napert-Frenette, T. McGregor |
| Third
Period |
| No
Scoring |
| Overtime |
| 4-M |
Ryan
Toomey (4) |
EV |
| 2:03 |
Unassisted |
| Goaltending |
| HC:
Tony Quesada, 61:43, 32 saves, 4 GA |
| M:
Mike Ella, 61:52, 36 saves, 3 GA |
| Penalties:
HC 9/18; M 9/18 |
| Power
Plays: HC 1-6; M 1-6 |
| Attendance:
1,000 |
LAKERS
FIND ONE-GOAL MAGIC
One-goal games
have been the kiss of death for Mercyhurst this season –
but not tonight. The Lakers entered the semifinals game with a
4-10 record in one-goal contests, but made that stat look worthless
when freshman Ryan Toomey scored 2:03 into the overtime period
to lift the Lakers to a 4-3 win over Holy Cross.
Toomey, who
won the face-off deep in the Holy Cross zone, put the puck through
a maze of players in front of the net and past Crusaders’
goalie Tony Quesada for the unassisted goal.
“I was
supposed to win the puck back to the ‘D’ and I heard
the Holy Cross coaches yelling, ‘get it out to the point.’
They looked so focused on getting it out to the point,”
Toomey said. “So I decided to take the chance. I went through,
took the shot and got the right bounce. The puck just squeaked
through and it was such a relief.”
Toomey’s
goal set the stage for one more Mercyhurst/Quinnipiac championship
game clash. The two teams met in the MAAC championship game in
2001, 2002 and 2003, with the Lakers prevailing twice.
“There
have been so many Mercyhurst/Quinnipiac championship games over
the years, maybe it’s almost fitting,” Mercyhurst
head coach Rick Gotkin said.
INCH'S
THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT
3.
Mike Ella, Mercyhurst
The Lakers’ goalie came up with a couple big saves
while Holy Cross was on the power play at the end of regulation.
Ella finished the night with 36 saves.
2.
Matt Froehlich, Quinnipiac
The senior forward took a pass from behind the net from
Craig and beat St. Pierre to give the Bobcats some breathing room
in the second period. He also added an empty net goal to finish
the Falcons off.
1.
Ryan Toomey, Mercyhurst
Freshman forward only had two shots on the night, but
made his last shot count to send the Lakers to their fourth conference
championship game in five years.
