BISMARCK, ND – In pursuit of their first national championship, the University of Mary hockey team squares off in the American Collegiate Hockey Association Men's Division 2 national championship semifinals against Liberty University for the opportunity to play in the title game. The top seeds in each of their pools, the Marauders and the Flames face off at 6 pm tonight (Monday, April 19) in the ACHA semifinals from the Starion Sports Complex Schwan Cadillac Rink in Mandan, ND.
 
The other semifinal game features Iowa State University and Lindenwood University at 2:30 pm.
 
RECORDS
The top-ranked team in the country and the #1 seed in the tournament, the Marauders enter tonight's game with a record of 36-4-1-6 (W-L-OTL-T). UMary is 34-2-0-6 against ACHA M2 opposition. The Marauders only two D2 losses came at #3 Iowa State (4-1) and at #9 University of Providence (2-1)… Liberty, the 4^th overall seed in the tournament, is 12-7-0-2.
 
TOURNAMENT RESULTS
The Marauders finished pool play with a perfect 3-0 mark after defeating Davenport 6-0. Providence 3-1 and North Carolina State University 5-1… The Flames defeated Concordia (WI) 2-0, Aurora 8-5, and 2-time defending national champion Florida Gulf Coast 4-1.
 
LOOK AT LIBERTY
One of the top programs in ACHA M2, Liberty University has played for the national  title four times in team history (2006, 2016, 2017). The Flames are headlined by a pair of 1^st team All-Americans in forward Blake Flanders and goaltender Dakota Cyhaniuk. In 18 regular season games Flanders scored 17 goals and added eight assists. Cyhaniuk posted a 2.23 goals against average and two shutouts with a save percentage of .929. Trevor Graznow has had the hot hand for the Flames at the tournament, scoring four times and adding an assist in three games.
 
HOT
A dangerous weapon with the ability to score anywhere on the ice. Alex Flicek is tied for the team lead in goals (3) and points… All-American Johnny Witzke also has six points (2 goals, 4 assists)… UMary's leading goal scorer Seth Cushing has three goals and two assists… ACHA Player of the Year Zach Garrett has contributed a goal and three assists for four points… Riley Scanlon has posted a pair of goals and an assist.
 
BRICK WALL
The Marauders goaltending duo of Kyle Hayden and Conan Hayton have allowed just two goals over three games. In two starts, the All-American Hayden has allowed one goal and made 34 saves total in a 6-0 win over Davenport and a 5-1 win against North Carolina State. Hayton posted 26 stops against Providence in a 3-1 win.
 
HISTORY
The Marauders and the Flames have played four times this season with the Marauders winning twice and the two teams skating to a pair of ties… In a three-game series in Lynchburg, WV, on Oct. 22-24, the two teams tied 3-3 in the opening game (UMary won an epic shootout not reflected in team records) before UMary captured 3-2 and 4-1 wins. The two teams later met in Maryland Heights, MO, on March 5 and played to a 1-1 tie.
 
TICKETS
Tickets are now available online at www.umarytickets.com. Tickets prices for a daily session – good for both the Mandan and Bismarck sites – are $15 per person and $5 per youth ages 5 and under.
 
NATIONAL TOURNAMENT WEBSITE
For a complete breakdown of the ACHA M2 National Tournament, including pools and game times, visit www.achahockey.org/national-tournament/
 
FOLLOW THE MARAUDERS – BEK TV
The ACHA M2 national tournament semifinals and championship game will be televised on BEK-TV throughout North Dakota. Visit www.BEK.tv for times and channels.
 
FOLLOW THE MARAUDERS – KFYR 550 AM
KFYR 550 AM will broadcast all Marauders games live throughout the national tournament. Voice of the Marauders Jesse Rostvedt and UMary hockey voice and goalies coach Nate Speidel will cover all the action.
 
FOLLOW ALL THE TOURNAMENT ACTION – HOCKEYTV.COM
All ACHA M2 national tournament games will be streamed online only at www.hockeytv.com. Fans must register and purchase a package from www.hockeytv.com to watch online.
 
ALL-TIME RECORD
In three seasons of play the Marauders have an all-time record of 114-18-4-8… against ACHA M2 opposition the Marauders are 109-7-1-5.
 
HOME RINK DOMINANCE
The Marauders are 55-1 all-time at Schwan Cadillac Rink against ACHA M2 opponents… Including games against M1 competition UMary is 55-8-1-3.
 
HUNTLEY REPEATS AS COACH OF THE YEAR
The architect of a program that has taken ACHA M2 by storm in just three seasons, Dan Huntley was selected as the 2020-21 ACHA Men's Division 2 Coach of the Year. Under his lead, the Marauders rolled to a record of 33-4-6-1. Despite an incredibly aggressive schedule facing the nation's top teams, the Marauders suffered only two losses to ACHA M2 opponents in 37 games… This is the second straight season Huntley earned Coach of the Year honors. He joins an exclusive group of two-time recipients, including Bob Brinkworth (Florida Gulf Coast University), Chris Consentino (New York University), Alex Piotrowski (Michigan State), Joe Augustine (University of Rhode Island) and Chris Van Timmeren (Hope College). Huntley, Augustine and Van Timmeran are the only ones to win the award in back-to-back seasons.
 
GARRETT NAMED 2021 ACHA M2 PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Zach Garrett was selected as the 2020-2021 ACHA Men's Division 2 Player of the Year. The first Marauders player to earn Player of the Year recognition, Garett led all of Men's Division 2 with 56 points on 18 goals and 38 assists. He was seventh nationally in goals and first in assists. The 3-year team captain from Creighton, SK Canada, averaged 1.36 points per game this season. Garrett had three game-winning goals and finished the season at +29.
 
GARRETT, WITZKE, HAYDEN NAMED ACHA M2 ALL-AMERICANS
Zach Garrett also headlines a 2020-21 ACHA M2 All-American team featuring three Marauders. Joining Garrett on the first team is defenseman Johnny Witzke. Goaltender Kyle Hayden backstops the second team… Witzke makes an impact on the ice in all phases of the game. In addition to helping hold the opposition to less than two goals a game, the Bismarck, ND, is dangerous in the offensive zone. In his second season with the Marauders, Witzke produced 48 points in 41 games to rank third on the Marauders. He had 14 goals and 34 assists and finished the regular season at +39. In addition to three game-winning goals, Witzke scored eight goals and distributed 11 assists with the Marauders on the power play while scoring twice in shorthanded situations… Hayden is the third straight UMary goaltender to earn All-American honors, following in the footsteps of Aaron Nelson (2019 1st team) and Lance Knudson (2020 2nd team). The native of Albertville, MN, posted a record of 16-2-1-5 (W-L-OTL-T) on the season with a 1.98 goals again average and a save percentage of .929. He is the Marauders goaltender career leader in minutes played (2,935), saves (1,175) and shots faced (1,271). His four shutouts this season are one away from the school single-season record…In addition to Nelson and Knudson, Alex Flicek (2020 2nd team) is the Marauders other previous All-American.
 
MARAUDERS REMAIN ATOP THE FINAL 2021 ACHA M2 POLL
To no surprise, UMary owned the top slot for the fifth time in five polls. Right behind the Marauders in the top ten are Lindenwood University, Iowa State University, Liberty University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Marian University, Dakota College at Bottineau, North Carolina State University, University of Providence and Adrian College. The next ten include Williston Sate College, Trine, Aurora University, Concordia University, University of Jamestown, East Texas Basin University, Davenport University, Bowling Green, Brigham Young and the University of Minnesota Crookston.
 
RECORD VS THE RANKED
Against teams currently ranked in the national poll, UMary is a combined 33-2-4-0. The Marauders have faced Lindenwood (2-0-0-0), Liberty (2-0-2-0), Iowa State (4-1-1-0), Dakota College (5-0-0-0), Williston State (3-0-1-0), North Carolina State (1-0), Jamestown (6-0-0-0), Providence (7-1-0-0), Davenport (1-0) and Minnesota Crookston (2-0-0-0).
 
NUMBERS TO KNOW
.833 | The Marauders have a career winning percentage of .833 (114-18-4-8)
 
55-1 | The Marauders have lost just once at home to an ACHA M2 team in 56 games
 
144 | Marshall Tschida and Drew Lenertz have played in every Marauders game since the program took to the ice in September 2018, a streak of 144 straight games. The two have been paired together on defense for each game. 
 
98 | Alex Flicek owns the Marauders career record for goals with 98
 
102 | Marshall Tschida owns 102 career assists and is the second Marauders player to reach triple digits (Zach Garrett was the first)
 
104 | Johnny Witzke owns 104 career points. He is the 7^th UMary to reach the century mark in points, joining Alex Flicek, Zach Garett, Marshall Tschida, Garrett Moore, Andrew Huber and Seth Cushing.
 
16 | The Marauders went a school-record 16 straight games without a loss, winning 15 games and tying one from Dec. 5 until Feb. 26. The Marauders also had a 13-game unbeaten streak to start the year.
 
SUCCESS
In just three short seasons as a program, Marauders head coach Dan Huntley has led the UMary to a record of 114-18-8-4 (W-L-T-OTL) overall. The Marauders finished 39-5-2-1 in their inaugural season of 2018-19 and 39-9-0-2 in 2019-20. UMary is 36-4-6-1 in 2020-21 (W-L-T-OTL).
 
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