MCRHL Championships Spotlight ? Edition 4

Team: Michigan B Wolverines Record: 14-4-0 overall, 6-2-0 league First-round opponent: Ohio State B, Saturday, March 6 at 12:00 PM Michigan B is the team that three teams were fighting to avoid in the first round over the last month of the season, and Ohio State B is the team that lost that fight. Currently the Wolverines are ranked 11th in the nation among B teams, and their only four losses came to A teams and the two teams above them in the standings. The challenge for the Wolverines will be first to get by the dangerous Buckeyes in the first-round, and then find a way to eliminate Eastern Michigan B and Western Michigan B. Without accomplishing that feat, it would be hard to believe that this team would get invited to the national championships, although it certainly is possible with their overall record and ranking. Michigan is backstopped mainly by Greg Simms, who appeared in 17 of 18 contests. There are no less than seven Wolverines with double-figure point totals, lead slightly by Nick Jordan. It will be interesting to watch and see how this team fares in Wixom, its home arena. Team: Ohio State Buckeyes Record: 15-8-1 overall, 13-7-0 league First-round opponent: Eastern Michigan, Saturday, March 6 at 10:00 AM The Buckeyes will meet Eastern Michigan for the fourth time this season on Saturday, in what has been one of the most spirited rivalries at this point in the MCRHL. The Buckeyes surprised almost everyone in Evendale, OH, beating the #1 ranked Michigan State Spartans 4-1 to lock up fourth place in the region and earn the right to wear white jerseys in the first round. More importantly though, they matched EMU?s accomplishment of knocking off the Spartans and jumped ahead of the Eagles in the standings. These two have been at it all year, and it should be a great one on Saturday. OSU is lead in scoring by two players, Jeff Nagle, and Ryan Emrick, who have both scored at key times throughout the year. Unfortunately, this is another team that tends to put itself in a whole with a lot of penalties, which should make for an interesting dynamic on Saturday against another penalty-plagued squad. The Bucks are fourth in the league in power play goals, and are facing a team that has not scored very many on the power play this season. Therefore, if OSU can stay out of the penalty box and Eastern gets in penalty trouble, look for this to be the key stat of the game, as it tends to be in so many post-season contests. Team: Michigan Wolverines Record: 16-10-2 overall, 13-6-1 league First-round opponent: Illinois State, Saturday, March 6 at 10:00 AM The Michigan Wolverines have been somewhat of an enigma this season, almost quietly finishing third place in hopes of locking up a national tournament invitation. However, UM finished just one point ahead of fourth and two points ahead of fifth, again showing the parity of the MCRHL and emphasizing the importance of tournament play. Without a doubt, Michigan will need a strong showing to prove they are in the elite nationally. The key game to finishing third place though was a somewhat surprising win over Eastern Michigan 10-7 in the last game of the season. This turned out to be the difference between third and fifth place. They must be careful not to be too happy with the seed though, as they will play a tough Redbirds squad in the first round, who is hungry to make an impression. Michigan?s method of operation is a slower, puck-control style, and the key to winning with that style is taking advantage of opportunities when they are presented, which the Wolverines did with regularity during the season. Jon Ross and Danny Mooney split time in goal, while Brian Hartmann, Chuck Nguyen, and Derek Samsel carry the scoring load. Will playing at home be an advantage to Michigan? They sure hope so as they start their quest on Saturday to be the first recipient of the Haschel Cup. Stay tuned for more team spotlights and news on the MCRHL Championships at MCRHL.com.