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UW Oshkosh and Robert Morris University-Maroon took care of business over the weekend to punch their tickets to the NCHL Tournament.  UW Oshkosh defeated Michigan Tech 5-4 on Friday, but then lost 4-3 in overtime on Saturday.  RMU-Maroon swept Northern Michigan University by scores of 4-1 on Friday and 3-2 on Saturday, and then defeated Lewis University 7-2 on Sunday.  Both teams still have plenty of work to do as they seek to earn one of the first round byes.  

 

#12 UW Oshkosh takes 4 of 6 from Michigan Tech

 

There is no love lost between these 2 teams, who have a history of play close games and splitting series.  This series was a clear demonstration of that as the opening period feature 8 penalties and only 8 minutes of 5-on-5 hockey.  The Wolfpack struck first at 14:33 when Eric Keljo netted a powerplay goal.  The Titans would respond with 43 seconds left in the 1st period when Matt Edwards deflected a puck in on their powerplay.

 

Things would settle down in the subsequent periods as only 2 penalties were called the rest of the game.  Michigan Tech would retake the lead at 8:38 of the 2nd period thanks to a goal by Zach Lemke.  Just over a minute later Anthony Elsen would tie the game back up.

 

The Wolfpack would take a 3-2 lead 5 minutes into the 3rd period as Keljo got his 2nd goal of the night.  Brett Lessner would score for UWO 40 seconds later to knot it back up.  At 14:09, the Titans would take their first lead as Edwards scored his 2nd of the night.  UWO would take a 2-goal lead when Adam Stanton put home a puck at 16:46.  Michigan Tech wasn’t going to go down easy as Stephen Comperchio scored at 18:22.  The Wolfpack would pull their goalie with 41 seconds to go in the game, but Tony Francois came up with game-winning save with 12 seconds left to seal the victory for the Titans.

 

Francois got the win for the Titans after making 39 saves, while Cason Sjerven took the loss for Tech despite turning aside 24 pucks.

 

Saturday’s contest was an equally intense affair, but with much fewer penalties.  Jacob Gefroh opened the scoring for the Wolfpack at 3:46.  Jason Johnson would tie it up at 1 as he scored at 13:36 for the Titans.  Tech would take a 2-1 lead into the break as Bryan Reitter scored at 16:46.

 

Halfway through the 2nd period the Wolfpack would take a 3-1 lead thanks to a tally by James Unsworth.  The Titans would claw their way back as Logan Polack scored at 12:07 for UWO.

 

The 3rd period was a solid back and forth battle.  The Titans needed an extra-attacker to tie it up at 18:46.  The game-tying goal was scored by Owen Ahlstrom.

 

The Wolfpack wasn’t going to fall this time around.  Halfway through the overtime period, Stephen Comperchio got alone in the high slot and snipe a goal high-glove to give Michigan Tech the win and 2 much needed points in conference play.

 

Cutter Hurst got the win for Tech, while Eric Vela took the loss for the Titans.  Both goalies faced 36 shots in the game.

 

#7 Robert Morris University-Maroon Sweeps Northern Michigan University

 

Robert Morris University-Maroon continued their climb towards the top spot in the league by sweeping Northern Michigan University over the weekend.  The Eagles currently stand in 4th place, but they have the potential to earn the most points in the league.  

 

The Eagles and Wildcats played each other tough in the first period, but RMU-Maroon opened the game up in the 2nd.  Michael Melka started the 4-goal streak at 4:37 on the 2nd period.  His tally was followed up by Lucas Stover’s powerplay goal at 8:05.  Two minutes later Taylor Dignan made it 3-0.  Dominick Rovito put the game away for RMU at 16:40.

 

NMU was able to hold the Eagles scoreless in the 3rd period, but they were only able to score one goal at 16:25, by Dione Potila, to bring the game to its 4-1 final.

 

John Floro got the win for RMU-Maroon by making 25 saves, and Tyler Martz took the loss after seeing 58 shots.

 

Saturday saw the Eagles jump out to another big lead, but NMU was able to pull them in a little better.  RMU-Maroon scored 2 goals in 2 minutes to open the 1st period.  Vito Bruno scored at 2:04 and Zach Sargis scored at 3:56.  Early in the 2nd period Bruno scored his 2nd of the game to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead.

 

The Wildcats wouldn’t get on the board until 3 minutes were left in the game.  Matthew Husak scored at 17:00.  NMU pulled their goalie with a minute to go in the game, but couldn’t muster their 2nd goal until Potila scored with 1 second left on the clock.  Unfortunately it was too little, too late and they fell 3-2.

 

Mike Czupryn got the win this time for RMU-Maroon after stopping 19 shots, and Martz again took the loss after facing 41 shots.

 

RMU-Maroon Defeats Lewis University 7-2 To Wrap Up Weekend

 

RMU-Maroon completed its weekend sweep by taking down #8 Lewis University 7-2 in the first game of a split weekend series.  Game stats weren’t available at the time of the article.

 

Non-Conference

 

#10 Waldorf College had a huge weekend as they swept #6 DePaul University in Chicago.  They won 4-3 on Friday and 4-2 on Saturday.  This should help them get out of the #10 spot in the rankings that they’ve struggled to move above all season.  

 

St. Mary’s University of Minnesota dropped 2 games to #13 Northern Illinois University in Winona.  The scores were 8-2 on Saturday and 7-2 on Sunday.