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MSU hockey gets revenge, eliminates Illinois to reach national quarterfinals

Alex Eisen/MDN Minot State forward Connor Navrot (93) skates up the boards toward the Illinois net Saturday afternoon at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.

FRISCO, Texas — For two and a half periods, the Minot State men’s club hockey team was in firm control.

The No. 6-seeded Beavers led 4-1 with eight minutes to go. However, a pair of goals in quick succession by No. 11-seeded Illinois turned the pressure up drastically.

Not willing to throw away the entire season, the Beavers managed to hold on late and added an empty-net goal for good measure to secure a 5-3 victory at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.

“That’s a national tournament game,” MSU head coach Wade Regier said. “You can’t sit back for a second against any team because everyone is good.”

More stressful than it needed to be, but still satisfying nonetheless – especially given the history between the two programs.

Alex Eisen/MDN MSU’s Johl Swedlo (74) navigates through traffic in the middle of the ice against Illinois on Saturday in the ACHA Division I Tournament in Frisco, Texas.

Illinois ended MSU’s season in the ACHA Division I National Tournament semifinals last season. Saturday afternoon, MSU knocked out the Fighting Illini to reach the national quarterfinals for an eighth straight season.

Payback complete.

“Feels great,” MSU forward Adam Wowryk said. “We knew (Illinois) wasn’t going to quit, and they showed that today… I thought we had a pretty good game overall. There are parts we have to clean up, but still one of our best games of the year.”

MSU’s Justin Metcalf opened the scoring in style.

A little over four minutes into the contest, Metcalf used an inside-outside deke to take the puck from the corner to the front of the net and then beat Illinois goaltender Jake Barnhart glove side.

“My linemate (Connor) Navrot did a good job keeping (the puck) in and getting it down low,” Metcalf said. “I just tried a move, it worked and somehow squeaked it by. My roommate Landyn Cochrane taught (the move) to me, so a little shout out to him.”

Three minutes after the dazzling goal by Metcalf, the Beavers were celebrating again.

Following a near disastrous mistake by MSU goaltender Breydan Effertz from behind his own net, the Beavers escaped with a 4-on-2 rush going the other way.

Defenseman Paul O’Connor fired the puck in from the boards, and Austin Kilian cleaned up the rebound on the other side of the net.

Doubling up the Fighting Illini on shots, 14-7, MSU took its 2-0 lead into the first intermission.

“There are some nerves and jitters with veterans and rookies,” Regier said. “That’s being human. So, being able to get a couple quick goals took some of that pressure off.”

Continuing Minot’s theme of unlikely goal scorers, senior defenseman Kyle Lipinski rifled in a shot from the point for his second goal of the season to give the Beavers a 3-0 lead in the second period.

“The puck popped out to me at the top of the circle,” Lipinski said. “I took a second to take a look and see what was open. Decided to throw it on net, found an opening and it went in.”

Regier added: “It was cycling and cycling and cycling, wearing them down. They collapse, the puck comes back to the point and then it’s in the back of the net. If we can continue to play that style of hockey, then we are going to be successful.”

Effertz lost his shutout bid late in the second period off a shot from Luke Forfar that he tried to push away with his blocker. But, the puck had a mind of its own and hopped over Effertz for a fluky goal.

“Bad break, bad bounce,” Regier explained.

Minot State restored its three-goal lead early in the third period with a 5-on-3 power play goal by Davis Sheldon, who had hit the crossbar and post earlier in the contest.

Just when the Beavers started to think they were home free, Illinois launched its comeback.

A backdoor pass from Thomas Kolaz to Kacper Ryba cut the deficit back to two, 4-2, with 7:49 remaining.

Two and a half minutes later, Tyler Opilka grazed the top of Effertz’s glove, clipped the post and went in to make it 4-3 MSU with 5:13 left.

“It can be a little stressful, but we just talked with each other and made sure we kept calm,” Metcalf said. “We just had to keep playing our game.”

Avoiding the unthinkable, Shain Scheschuk allowed the Beavers to breathe a sigh of relief with an empty-net goal with 18 seconds remaining.

Awaiting Minot State in the quarterfinals at 1:30 p.m. this afternoon is No. 3-seeded and defending national champions, Adrian College (Mich.).

MSU last played the Bulldogs in a two-game regular season series on Jan. 9-10, 2015, at Maysa Arena in Minot. So, it’s understandable why the Beavers are heading into this contest without a very detailed scouting report.

“Not a whole lot,” Lipinski admitted about his knowledge of Adrian College. “I don’t think I’ve played them in my four years here, so it will be a different test for us. But, I’m sure we will be up for it.”

Alex Eisen covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.

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