CCHA Quarterfinals Update 2
#7 Michigan vs #3 Western Michigan (U-M wins series 2-0)
-Michigan came out of the locker room and totally dominated Western from start to finish 5-1 to advance to Joe Louis Arena for the 24th(!) straight season. they are absolutely ROLLING at the moment. They outshot WMU 29-23 going 1-3 on the PP while killing off all 5 WMU power plays. Racine was fantastic in goal. Kevin Lynch, Sinelli, DeBlois, and Guptill (who had 2) were the M goal scorers. Western Michigan was #13 in the pairwise and these two losses probably eliminate them from the NCAA Tournament.
#9 Bowling Green vs #2 Notre Dame (ND wins series 2-0)
-Notre Dame completes the sweep by holding off Bowling Green 4-3 in South Bend. ND outshot BG 34-32. Both teams converted two power plays each. ND scored twice in the first and were answered by two BG goals in the second. ND took another two goal lead with 8 minutes to go, but BG scored 13 seconds later to make things interesting. However, Notre Dame held them off the scoreboard the rest of the way to advance to Joe Lous next weekend.
#5 Ferris State vs #4 Ohio State (series tied 1-1)
-Ohio State fought off elimination tonight by beating Ferris 3-1. Ferris scored 3 minutes into the game but could not put anymore into the OSU net as the Buckeyes would score the next three for force a game three tomorrow evening in Columbus. Ohio State outshot Ferris 38-28. Both teams coverted one power play each.
#11 Michigan State vs #1 Miami (series tied 1-1)
- MSU scored 20 seconds into the game, but Miami scored the next 4 to even their best of three series at one. Miami dominated most of the game outshooting State 37-17. Miami failed on their only power play of the game (a 5 minute major) while State scored on 1 of 4. Miami did score shorthanded though. Game 3 will take place tomorrow evening in Oxford.
Semifinal Scenarios
Michigan and Notre Dame have already punched tickets to Joe Louis next weekend, but will have to wait until tomorrow night to see who they will play:
- Miami and Ohio State win: U-M vs Miami and ND vs OSU
- Miami and Ferris State win: U-M vs Miami and ND vs FSU
- Michigan State and Ohio State win: U-M vs OSU and ND vs MSU
- Michigan State and Ferris State win: U-M vs FSU and ND vs MSU
I will post the final matchups tomorrow once the two game threes go final. Both Semifinals should be televised on Fox Sports Detroit (last I checked), but times will be determined later in the week.
Can you imagine the size of the egg on the face of the CCHA if 3/4 teams at JLA are B1G teams?
March 16th, 2013 at 10:12 PM ^
Sweet, thanks for the summary. As someone who hasn't been following hockey all year (and isn't too familiar w/ how the tourney makes its selections), is our only hope for making the NCAA tourney to win the CCHA tourney or can our recent (and hopefully upcoming) run possibly impress enough to buy us a ticket to the dance? Sorry, that was a long sentence.
If we win the CCHA, we'll finally be back to .500.
Which is a different way of saying we need to win the CCHA.
If we win the CCHA, we'll be above .500(!!!!!)
March 16th, 2013 at 10:00 PM ^
So....go State?
Why does this always happen, in every sport?
March 16th, 2013 at 10:02 PM ^
It was 24-7 when it was either 4 or 5 to 1. A lot of those shots came after the game was all but decided.
And go Michigan State. I'd rather not play Miami...although it did go well for us last we were fighting for our playoff lives against Miami in the semis
March 16th, 2013 at 10:08 PM ^
it seemed like Michigan didn't score on ANY odd man rush all season until that 4 on 1
March 16th, 2013 at 10:04 PM ^
March 16th, 2013 at 10:06 PM ^
TUCs are basically the top half of D1. So no.
It did help Cornell move up to 19th despite their 10-0 loss tonight.
March 16th, 2013 at 10:20 PM ^
Michigan came into the series with 3 votes in the poll. A sweep of the #9 team could possibly move them into the Top-20.
March 16th, 2013 at 10:52 PM ^
The polls mean nothing. The PWR is what you need to be paying attention to.
A TUC is any team with an RPI over .500. Michigan became a TUC tonight.
EDIT: USCHO is not loading for me at the moment, so I really can't get into too much more depth at this time.
March 16th, 2013 at 11:18 PM ^
Our RPI is .0532.
The poll ranking has it's purpose, as it should serve as a morale boost for the players. A month ago this team had 10 wins and needed two just avoid being Red's worst team ever.
March 16th, 2013 at 10:46 PM ^
No. There's far too much ground to make up. Michigan likely has to leapfrog about a dozen teams. One more win won't do that.
March 16th, 2013 at 11:06 PM ^
Even if Michigan somehow managed to move into the top 16, which they won't, they wouldn't be eligible for the tournament. A team needs a record of .500 or better to get an at large bid, and Michigan is 1 game under .500 (17-18-3), so anything less than the conference championship would leave Michigan ineligible for a postseason bid.
March 16th, 2013 at 11:14 PM ^
You know, I didn't even think of that aspect. I just operated under the assumption that this team couldn't climb into the top 15 to be dealing with an at-large in the first place.
March 17th, 2013 at 12:27 AM ^
Thanks for reminding me that Wisconsin ruins hockey too.
March 16th, 2013 at 10:11 PM ^
March 16th, 2013 at 10:13 PM ^
LET'S GO!!!
March 16th, 2013 at 10:17 PM ^
opposite of the the UM hoops season. Makes no sense and could lead to serious drinking problems. Still not sure how either team has changed their season so dramatically...
March 16th, 2013 at 10:34 PM ^
There is no Red Wings thread and I cannot start one. However, did anyone else see the uniforms the Canucks are wearing? They are pretty terrible and are maroon and cream colored.
March 16th, 2013 at 10:59 PM ^
the Vancouver Millionaires...I think they are decent
March 16th, 2013 at 11:07 PM ^
March 16th, 2013 at 11:12 PM ^
Those uniforms look great!
March 16th, 2013 at 11:12 PM ^
Throwbacks, and a massive improvement on their usual drab bland corporate zeroes.
Like our jerseys tonight, except for the # on the front and the odd choice of the block M to start the word 'Michigan'. Nice colour and striping though.
March 16th, 2013 at 11:33 PM ^
just maize and blue like the football jerseys...I have been waiting for hockey to do this for years. Even the dumb odd sized M doesn't bother me...I got the jersey as a Christmas present
March 16th, 2013 at 11:04 PM ^
Andy Iles let in 5 goals on 19 shots so they pulled him in the 2nd when Quinnipiac was up 5-0
They brought in their backup Omar Kanji who promptly let in 4 goals on 6 shots so they brought Andy Iles back in who let in another goal on 7 shots. Rough time out there today
March 16th, 2013 at 11:17 PM ^
Duplicate. Please disregard and delete.
March 16th, 2013 at 11:16 PM ^
If I were a betting man, I would put money on Miami and Ohio tomorrow night. The clock is bound to strike midnight on MSU here shortly, and Ferris has never won a road playoff series. Ever. While I would very much like to see it happen, I don't see it in the cards for Ferris.
March 16th, 2013 at 11:26 PM ^
Guess the Lawson Lunatics couldn't afford the 5 dollar tickets this weekend... #GoBlue
March 16th, 2013 at 11:34 PM ^
the players were awesome on it tonight after the game...
March 17th, 2013 at 12:01 AM ^
My back's gonna hurt from all the sweeping the boys in blue are doing. #GoBlue
— Travis Lynch (@TravisLynch20) March 17, 2013
March 16th, 2013 at 11:57 PM ^
Michigan is 31st in the PWR. They have 15 teams to climb over in order to even be in a position for an at-large bid. Two wins over the top 2 teams in the country wouldn't do it.
It's cut and dried: It's win 2 next weekend, or the NCAA tournament streak dies at the Joe.
March 17th, 2013 at 12:07 AM ^
Red Berenson
"I'm really proud of them. That's what coaching's all about. I've always said you know, you never give up on a player, and you never give up on a team. I'm glad they never gave up, and I know that I never gave up."
"It's always been Michigan. Our stock's been going up and down like General Motors, but nevertheless we're getting better, we've got a little mojo going, and we're headed to Joe Louis. Hopefully, they have fun."
Alex Guptill
"It's one of those nights where the puck always seems to be on your stick. Guys made good plays to me, and I had some good chances, and I got robbed early in the game, but we made plays."
"It's a completely different feel in the room right now. You can hear people screaming and yelling, so yeah it's an exciting feeling, and we're looking to keep things going."
Kevin Lynch
It's always been in the back of our minds, especially a couple months ago when we thought that we were going to end it. Coach did a great job telling us to take it game by game and shift by shift. That's what we've been doing, and that's why we're winning."