MCRHL Championships Spotlight ? Edition 3

Team: Michigan State B Spartans Record: 8-11-0 overall, 4-4-0 league First-round opponent: Illinois B, Saturday, March 6 at 11:00 AM Michigan State B is the highest seeded team in the B Division with a 4-4-0 record, by virtue of the highest goal differential (+1) in the group of three teams. Although the Spartans have a sub-.500 record overall, four losses came against Active Division teams, and their overall goal differential was +9, emphasizing the number of close losses they?ve suffered. Danny Horen and Nick Simmonds lead the Spartans in overall points, but three other players are within 4 points of the leaders. This is one of the deepest B teams in the division, and each line seems to have the same ability. They don?t take a lot of penalties, and don?t tend to beat themselves, which is why they are in so many close games. Expect the first-round game against the Illini to be just as close, as the two split the season series. If they do make it out of the first-round, however, the Spartans will have to find a way to get around Eastern Michigan B and then potentially Western Michigan B. The Spartans are 0-4-0 against those opponents, and will need to pull something off to earn an invitation to the national championships. Team: Eastern Michigan Eagles Record: 19-8-1 overall, 12-7-1 league First-round opponent: Ohio State, Saturday, March 6 at 10:00 AM Eastern Michigan is one of three MCRHL teams who have at least one national championship to their credit, theirs coming in 2001 in Division II. Right now, however, the Eagles are in a very tough spot nationally. With the Division I tournament field limited to 24 teams this year, it?s going to be a pretty big accomplishment just to be invited. It currently looks like Eastern Michigan, Ohio State, and maybe even Michigan are currently in a precarious position to be selected. EMU finished just one point out of fourth place, which points out the parity in the league and the implications of tournament performance for many of these teams. They have a couple of big bright spots on their resume. One is being one of only two teams all season to defeat the #1 ranked Michigan State Spartans, and the other being a semi-final appearance at NARCh Winternationals in Las Vegas. The Eagles defeated some sturdy national competition before losing 3-2 to runner-up Central Florida. Those games alone tell you this team has potential. The Eagles do have a loss to Illinois and a tie against Ball State though, which kept them out of fourth place. And those games point out that EMU can be vulnerable, especially when it comes to penalties. The Eagles racked up an incredible 230 penalty minutes in regular season play, second only to the Broncos of Western Michigan, who lead the league far and away. So EMU will have to come ready to play their first game of the tournament against the Buckeyes, a game to definitely make sure and see. The Eagles are 2-1-0 against the Buckeyes this season, and both teams need a good tournament to shore up their chances of making the national championships. The MCRHL will be selling Championship t-shirts at the event for $15, so plan on picking up your souvenir on Saturday while supplies last. Stay tuned for more team spotlights and news on the MCRHL Championships at MCRHL.com.