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The Roundup - Championship Edition

By Paul Evans, 03/15/18, 12:15PM EDT

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High School Champions Crowned; Indiana Tech, Notre Dame Continue Quest

The High School hockey season had its grand finale this past weekend, and there were plenty of fireworks to be sure.  Trine, Indiana, and Indiana Tech all battled hard but fell just short of their goal of a National Championship, while Indiana Tech (NAIA) and Notre Dame (NCAA D1) continue their quest for a title.

ISHSHA High School Championships


HSE entered the tournament as the #4 seed and left as the 3A champion

The Indiana State High School Hockey Association championship games were held this past weekend at the SportONE Parkview Icehouse in Fort Wayne -- a much more convenient venue than the previous weekend's pool play games in South Bend.  Four games were on the slate, and three of them featured the top two seeds in each class.

Class 4A

The top class gave us the showdown everyone wanted to see -- Culver v. Central Indiana.  Arguably the two best teams in Indiana High School hockey this season, these two heavyweights duked it out to a 5-5 tie at the end of the regular season, and the rematch was just as entertaining.

After trading jabs through the first round, the Eagles landed the first punch early in the second period.  The Knights would answer back a couple minutes later and hold serve until Culver potted one in the final minute of the frame.  Mr. Hockey nominee Andrew Fralich knotted the game at 2-2 with eight minutes to play, and Elias Aidun would give CI its first lead of the night a few ticks later.  Yet the Eagles remained unruffled, scoring twice in the final five minutes to reclaim the lead and nab the crown with a 4-3 victory.

Class 3A

We dubbed this one the 'working man's class' as it was the only bracket that didn't showcase the top two seeds, and both teams used everything they had in the tool box.  If the Class 4A was a heavyweight bout, this one was a good ol' fashioned street brawl.  Sixth-seeded Crown Point would open the scoring on the first of two goals from Brendan Hegeduis in the first, and the two clubs would trade blows throughout the next two periods.  The Bulldogs would open up leads of 3-1 and 4-2, but fourth-seeded HSE would find an answer each time.  Scoring three times in the final 1:01 of the second, HSE would take it's first lead of the game into the final frame.  The third period would belong to the goaltenders, as Crown Point's Cole Thompson and HSE's Caleb Harris would turn aside every advance.  Jacob Kessinger finally pierced Thompson's armor to stretch the lead to 6-4, and HSE would weather the final frantic three minutes to take home the hardware.

class 2A

The hometown Leo Lions might have had the crowd in their corner, but Lady Luck was camped out on the Columbus bench.  The Lions were playing with a bit of a chip on their shoulder, having been passed up in the seeding by third-place Carroll and ending up in 2A, but Columbus proved to be the class of the Class.  The Icemen took a 1-0 lead at 5:14 into the first period and never looked back, adding three more to account for the 4-0 final.  Columbus netminder Cameron Stattenfield was brilliant between the pipes, with some help from a determined defense.  Mark Mayhew led the Icemen with two goals on the day.

class 1a

The Fort Wayne League may have felt a bit slighted with their seeding, but the FW ended up  with three teams playing for a state title.  But unlike the Hoosier League, which also had three teams playing on the final day, two of the clubs from the host city ended up vying for the 1A championship.  While the Lions were soundly beaten in 2A, the Spartans and Panthers refused to give any ground until the very end.  Homestead and Summit City swapped scores throughout the first two periods, but Jared McKinley's tally at 12:33 of the second would prove to be the game winner, making the Panthers the day's first champion.


ACHA D2


Brandon Bornkamp lead the first-year Thunder to the ACHA Division II National tournament

No one ever really expects a first-year program to have much success early on, as history has proven time and again.  But much like the Vegas Golden Knights, who continue to stun the NHL with their incredible inaugural season, the Thunder have taken the ACHA by storm.  Trine began their ambitious quest by starting not one but four hockey teams, and built a shiny new arena to house them all.  While the NCAA D3 teams' first foray ended with predictable results, the ACHA clubs exceeded expectations.  The M3 team finished with a .500 record and a #14 ranking in the North region, which was certainly noteworthy.  But the M2 dominated from start to finish, earning an automatic berth in the National tournament with a 29-0-2 record and the Central region's second-ranked team.

The Thunder performed honorably in their first-ever postseason appearance, but they quickly found out why the playoffs are called the 'second season'.  Falling behind 6-2 with less than a period remaining, Trine battled back to close the gap to one before suffering their first loss of the season to New Hampshire.  The Thunder would drop the second game in pool play as well, this time falling 5-4 to Toledo, before rebounding to record their first playoff victory with a 7-4 win over Northern Arizona.  Brandon Bornkamp finished second in the tourney with five goals, while Adam Schaffer recorded five assists to end up in a sixth-player tie for third.


ACHA D3


The Hoosiers returned to the ACHA DIII regional tournament for the 2nd year in a row

The Hoosier State sent two representatives to the North regional tournament in search of a berth at the National Championships.  Making it's second straight postseason appearance, Indiana looked to improve on last year's performance when they battled hard but bowed out in the first round to eventual champion Aquinas.  This time around, the Hoosiers managed to survive their showdown with rival Michigan 4-3, but fell to #4 Oakland 7-4 to end their title hopes.

Much like the Hoosiers last season, the Indiana Tech Warriors made their first-ever playoff appearance this year, coming in at the #9 seed.  The Warriors squared off against the Grizzlies as well, dropping a tight battle 3-2.

Despite neither team advancing to the National Championships, both continue to show steady improvement and have a solid chance to return in 2019.


NAIA


The Warriors struggled in the second half but seem to have righted the ship just in time for the NAIA tournament

There was no shortage of excitement surrounding Indiana Tech this season.  Not only did the M3 team advance to the ACHA regional tournament for the first time, the return of NAIA hockey provided a host of opportunities for the young program as well.  The Warriors roared through the first half of the schedule with nary a hiccup, but could never seem to regain that same form after returning from the winter break.  Just as things looked as if they were starting to come together, Tech dropped their semifinal match up 2-1 to Aquinas, missing out on a chance to claim the WHAC Championship on their home ice.

Despite the setbacks, a chance a the big prize still awaits.  Indiana Tech enters the NAIA National Championships as the #2 seed and will take on #3 Lindenwood-Belleville on Friday afternoon, with the winner advancing to the title game on Saturday.  The Warriors swept all four games from the Lynx this season, but beating them for a fifth time will be no easy feat.

 


NCAA D1 Men


After claiming the regular season title, the Irish look to add B1G Tournament Champions to their list of accomplishments

After falling to eventual champion Denver in last season's Frozen Four, Notre Dame was faced with finding a replacement for stud goaltender Cal Petersen if they wanted a chance at a return engagement.  Initially, they thought they had found their answer in USNDT netminder and incoming freshman Dylan St. Cyr.  But when St. Cyr stumbled after a promising start, the Irish turned to sophomore Cale Morris, who responded better than anyone could have hoped.  Morris, who as a freshman appeared in only one period last season, went on to lead the nation in save percentage (.946) and is tied for first in wins with 23.  The B1G Player of the Year and a Hobey Baker finalist, Morris and the Irish will square off against Ohio State in the conference tournament championship this Saturday at Compton Family Ice Arena.