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Illini
return home with a 5th place finish
The Illini's second game took place on Friday putting them up against the fifth ranked Minot State Beavers. In what looked almost like a replay of game one, the Illini came out strong with Rogers, Coleman, and Roesch scoring three first period goals, and again it looked like a sure Illini win. In the second period the Illini again came out flat and the Minot Skaters played a physical game. The Illini let the Beavers back into the game giving up and early power play goal and they built on that momentum. Minot State put in their second goal halfway through the period, and then the Illini gave up yet another power play goal two minutes later letting the Beavers tie the game at three. In the third period the Illini came out to play and have several chances but just could not get the puck past the Beaver goaltender. Two thirds of the way through the period the Illini again gave Minot State a power play opportunity and they took advantage of it and took the lead as well. At just over the fifteen minute mark the Illini had a chance to tie the game as they skated five on three with to Beavers in the box serving penalties, but the struggling power play units were unable to convert and Minot was able to hold off the Illini and to win the game 4-3, propelling themselves to the final four and sending the Illini to the fifth/sixth place game. As Saturday started out, four teams, Washington & Jefferson, West Chester, Arizona State, and Towson were already eliminated and ready to head back home, for four more teams Saturday was to be their last day to play. The first game on Saturday was to determine seventh and eighth places and put Weber State, who gave Ohio a run for their money with Ohio finally wining in the second overtime period the night before against Iowa State who was blown out by Penn State less than twelve hours earlier. Weber State came back with four third period goals to take the seventh place spot and giving Iowa Sate the eighth place. The fifth and sixth place game looked like a matchup from the CSCHL Tournament just a couple weeks earlier as the Illini faced the Wolves of Michigan Dearborn. In the first period Rogers and Roesch put two Illini points on the board and the Illini took the 2-0 lead into the locker room with them. In the second period shadows of previous games seemed to loom about as the Illini let the Wolves back into the game giving up another power play goal halfway through the period. In the third period the Illini came out powered up and with less than a minute off the clock Brian Coleman skated into the Michigan zone through defenders, fell down yet still controlling the puck, got back up headed to the net and put the puck into the net giving the Illini the two goal lead once again. Two and a half minutes later Ari Aberman would get the puck into the net making a 4-1 game. As the game wound down two Illini found themselves in the box serving time, and to try and get back into the game, UMD pulled their goalie giving them the six on three advantage. The Illini power killers and netminder Tim Danlow held off the Wolf attack to win the game 4-1 and taking fifth place. The later games put Rhode Island against Ohio and Penn State against Minot State in which the favored teams came out victorious, setting up the Sunday Games. On Sunday Rhode Island and Minot State faced off for third and fourth place, and with 39 seconds left in the offensive game, Minot State put in the game winning goal, making it a 7-6 Beaver win. The last game of the day is one many were expecting, number one ranked Penn State versus number two ranked Ohio. With a 2-0 first period lead at the end of the first it looked like another Penn State title in the works, but Ohio battled back and then took the lead. Penn State tied the game once again but as the game wound down Ohio put in what would be the game winning goal, giving the Nation Tournament title with the 5-4 win. |
