MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO – The University of Mary title defense continues marching forward as the Marauders moved out of pool play into the 2022 American Collegiate Hockey Association Men's Division 2 semifinals. Using a pair of 1
st period goals, the Marauders skated past Northeastern University 3-1 in a matchup between two teams that entered the game undefeated in pool play.
Defending national champion UMary will face Lindenwood University in the ACHA M2 semifinals. The puck drops between the Marauders and the Lions – the de facto home team in the tournament – at 8 pm on Thursday, March 17, at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, MO.
The other semifinal contest features Dakota College at Bottineau against Florida Gulf Coast University. The winner between the Marauders-Lions and the Lumberjacks-Eagles will meet in the championship game on Friday, March 18.
In a hard-fought contest between two of the nation's top teams, the Marauders broke out on top midway through the opening period.
Coming out of the media timeout,
Kyler Moore intercepted a Huskies clearing attempt in the neutral zone and broke down the right boards into the corner. Spotting
Tanner Eskro firing down the slot, Moore slid a pass into the crease that Eskro buried into the net for a 1-0 UMary lead at 10:33.
Just 92 seconds later the Huskies knotted the game when Shane Coen jammed home his 4
th goal of the tournament. It was the first time an opponent had pulled even with the Marauders in the tournament.
A breakaway by the Marauders snapped the tie at 14:26. A give and go between
Seth Cushing and
Alex Flicek resulted in Flicek firing a shot from the left circle past Huskies goalkeeper Franklin Fee into the top right corner of the net. The first goal of the tournament for the Marauders all-time scoring leader sent UMary into the first intermission with a 2-1 advantage.
Neither team could find the net in a physical second period. The Marauders just missed on several scoring opportunities while All-American netminder
Kyle Hayden came up with a spectacular save on a Huskies shot in the closing minutes to keep UMary in front.
The Marauders kept pressing the Huskies defense throughout the third period before finally breaking through with an insurance goal by
Garrett Freeman. Picking up the puck just outside the Marauders blue line, Freeman raced unfettered down the right boards. Keeping the puck on a 2-on-1 opportunity, Freeman whistled his second goal of the tournament past Fee to seal the win.
Making his second start of the week and sixth overall in an ACHA tournament, Hayden remains undefeated in the postseason. In his six starts Hayden has allowed two total goals and owns four shutouts.
The victory extends the Marauders win streak to 18 games, a program record. UMary improves to 36-4-1-2 (W-L-OTL-T) overall this season. Against ACHA M2 teams the Marauders are 34-2-0-2 this season without a loss to an M2 team since October 15, 2021.
The Marauders won Pool D with a perfect 3-0 mark. Northeastern went 2-1 in pool play. With a 5-2 win over Indiana, Wisconsin finished 1-2 and the Hoosiers went 0-3.
Earlier this season UMary and Lindenwood skated to a 2-2 draw on the Lions home ice at the Centene Community Ice Center on November 20 in the Lindenwood University Showcase. The Marauders won a subsequent shootout 2-1.
Lindenwood ranked 4
th in the final ACHA M2 poll of the season and went 2-1 in pool play, defeating Liberty University 4-2 to earn a spot in the semifinals.
The Marauders are 8-0 all-time at the ACHA M2 national tournament, outscoring the opposition 38-4.
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