'Cats Make Statement To Ncaa
DETROIT, Mich. â€Ã‚“The NMU hockey team made a statement to the NCAA Tournament Committee onSaturday in the third place game at the CCHA Super Six. Ohio State and NMU werefighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The â€Ã‚˜Cats showed why they should be invited by defeating the Buckeyes4-1. NMU now stands at 22-17-2 on theseason while OSU is 25-12-5. Thepairings for the NCAA Tournament will be announced on Sunday, March 23rdat 6:00 p.m. (Eastern) on ESPN. â€Ã‚œI toldour guys before the game that the puck is going to drop, the best team is goingto win and the best team should advance,â€Ã‚ Walt Kyle, the NMU head coach,said. â€Ã‚œThat is the way that we lookedat the game.â€Ã‚ÂÂ
The Buckeyes jumped out to a 1-0 lead when R.J. Umbergerscored a goal at 12:06 of the first period. Dirk Southern tied the game with his 11th goal of the seasonat 15:23 of the opening period. JamieMilam and Jimmy Jackson assisted. â€Ã‚œWeknew it was going to be a battle from the start,â€Ã‚ Jackson said.
Milam scored a power-play goal at 12:37 of the second periodto give the â€Ã‚˜Cats the lead for good at 2-1 with his fifth goal of theseason. Juha Alen and Alex Sawrukassisted on the goal. Bryce Cockburn madeit 3-1 with his 17th goal of the season at 3:20 of the thirdperiod. Jackson picked up his secondassist on the night. Mike Stutzel madeit 4-1 with his 27th goal of the season at 12:14 of the thirdperiod. Cockburn and Peter Micheluttiassisted.
Both teams had 10 power play opportunities.
The â€Ã‚˜Cats season could be over or they could be playing inthe NCAA Tournament. They will find outlike everyone else on Sunday.
