Lake Superior State swept No. 9 Miami out of the CCHA playoffs Saturday night. Propelled by another dominating performance by goaltender Jeff Jakaitis (43 saves), the visiting Lakers stunned the RedHawks 2-1. <\/p>\n
LSSU’s first-year coach Jim Roque was ecstatic with his team’s effort, especially considering the condition of his troops. “We had guys hurt. Our leading scoring (Troy Schwab) didn’t play all weekend. [Defenseman] Ryan Baird was puking all game on the bench. We didn’t even have a full lineup. We only dressed 17 skaters.”<\/p>\n
Senior Jeff Rainville continued his torrid tear, scoring two goals for a total of three this weekend. The Ontario native has been surging since the start of the CCHA playoffs. He totaled five assists last weekend against Ferris State. <\/p>\n
LSSU jumped out to an early lead 11:51 into the first period thanks to a Miami defensive lapse in its zone. Rainville forced a turnover right in front of the net and scored easily, glove side. <\/p>\n
After Miami evened the score with five minutes left in the contest, Rainville once again found the back of the net less than two minutes later, firing a shot over RedHawks’ netminder Jeff Zatkoff’s left shoulder from the slot.<\/p>\n
This was another instance where LSSU capitalized on a Miami mistake. The RedHawks were unable to clear the puck from their zone. Forward Trent Campbell was able to secure the puck and find Rainville for the assist. <\/p>\n
“Jeff Rainville scored two huge goals.” Roque said, elated with his senior’s recent play. “[The seniors] had tough seasons. [Rainville] thought he could have scored more. Dominic [Osman] and Trent Campbell, they thought they would have bigger years. It is just the perfect time to have a great playoffs. I’m so glad for them.” <\/p>\n
Daydreaming through most of the game, the arena came to life after the announcement that MU’s men’s basketball team claimed the MAC tournament title against Akron on a thrilling last-second shot, 53-52. This seemed to add a little spark to the RedHawks. Moments later, 14:45 into the third period, the Red and White were finally able to break through. Ryan Jones deflected an Alec Martinez shot for his first goal of the series. <\/p>\n
It appeared that the RedHawks were destined for overtime at the very least, before a costly mistake in their own zone led to Rainville’s winning score. <\/p>\n
Roque felt the RedHawks were a little off this weekend. “They were not sharp, like as far as crisp, you know? A lot of their passes weren’t where they needed to be. Even their defensive guys, [the puck] bounced over their sticks. The puck wasn’t exactly were it needed to be. They had a tough weekend, I think. I don’t know why.” <\/p>\n
The sweep in the second round of the CCHA playoffs may have cost the RedHawks a spot in the 16-team NCAA tournament, as Miami head coach Enrico Blasi conceded. “I’m thinking our season is over,” Blasi said, before allowing a little bit of hope to remain. “I have no idea, but the RPI and PairWise ranking, the way it works, sometimes it benefits you not playing.” <\/p>\n
NUMB3RS<\/b><\/p>\n
• It took referee Kevin Hall almost 30 minutes to call a penalty Friday night; he called four in the first five minutes Saturday. Hall only called four more penalties the remainder of the match.<\/p>\n
• The announced attendance of 2,264, approximately 200 fewer than Friday night, was slightly surprising. With Miami’s students away on spring break, plenty of good seats were available and being a Saturday night, it was thought that the Steve Cady Arena would be closer to capacity. It was so uncharacteristically quiet, RedHawks’ play-by-play announcer Greg Waddell could be heard live calling the entire game.<\/p>\n
• After platooning goalies Zatkoff and Charlie Effinger most of the season, the RedHawks scrapped the goalie-by-committee approach this series in favor of Zatkoff. <\/p>\n
• Miami outshot Lake State 45-26. <\/p>\n
• Jakaitis’ play was nothing short of remarkable. The senior, ranked second nationally in save percentage, stopped a combined 79 of 81 shots this weekend. <\/p>\n
• All four CCHA second-round contests ended in sweeps Saturday. With the exception of Miami, the favorites all advanced (Notre Dame, Michigan State, and Michigan). <\/p>\n
• This season MU and LSSU were placed in the same four-team CCHA cluster. As a result, MU and LSSU faced off with one another four times during the regular season in two home-and-away series. MU won three of the contests, including a February 10-11 home sweep. <\/p>\n
M.D. Sandwasher is a writer for Blogcritics.com.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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