MSU semifinal loss shouldn’t put a damper on great story
Monday night, the Minot State hockey team’s American Collegiate Hockey Association national championship dreams came to an end.
The No. 1 seeded Beavers suffered a heartbreaking 4-2 loss at the hands of the Illinois Fighting Illini in the ACHA semifinals, finishing one game short of competing for a national title for the second straight season.
MSU certainly had its chances to score the game-tying goal late in the third period and outshot the Illini 48-22. The Beavers didn’t get outshot by a single team all season, had several nagging injuries and finished with a 38-3-1 overall record.
Another postseason loss is disappointing, sure, but the Beavers shouldn’t hang their heads for long.
They ran into a hot goaltender, took one too many penalties and had to compete with one of maybe three teams in the ACHA that can skate with them for a full 60 minutes. Not to mention, a single-game elimination postseason format always leaves the chance for the unexpected.
Plus, look at what the senior class, 10 players in total, accomplished:
– A record of 133-21-6 in four years.
– A 57-game winning streak at Maysa Arena.
– Back-to-back nationals appearances where the Beavers were ranked the No. 1 team in the tournament.
So if you see any of the seniors – Morgan Martelle, Craig Fournier, Bryce Lipinski, Lyndon Lipinski, Robby Moar, Eric Bollefer, Shan Scheschuk, Sam Briscoe, Derrick Brooks and Austin Yano – around Minot, tell them thank you.
They poured their hearts out on the ice each night for the Minot community, and gave us a pretty good product to watch in the process.
MSU’s graduating class didn’t end their hockey careers with a national championship, but they set a standard of excellence that will be very difficult for future Minot State teams to replicate.
Let’s just say MSU head coach Wade Regier better get rolling on recruiting.