November 30, 2004
Missouri to Visit MCRHL in Big Match-up Weekend
The Missouri Tigers of the Great Plains Collegiate Inline Hockey League have decided to venture all the way to Sterling Heights, Michigan this weekend to take on three MCRHL squads (Miami, Western Michigan, and Michigan). The increase in cross-regional play has been significant this season, with Illinois already having played in Saint Louis and many MCRHL teams to follow this season. Combined with the 2005 NCRHA Winter Invitational, many MCRHL teams will get a large share of national competition before the national championships.
Along with the Missouri match-ups come many big MCRHL games that will have a significant impact on the standings heading to the semester break. The Miami Redhawks, currently ranked 18th in the country and turning a lot of heads, will play #3 Eastern Michigan and #8 Michigan State along with a game against Missouri. Two of the Redhawks three losses have come against these two squads by a combined score of 23-6. Miami may be a contender to make the national tournament come the end of the year, but these two games will go a long way to show whether or not they?re ready to contend for an MCRHL championship. Either way, this is a much improved squad which has played with heart all season long.
In another slightly intriguing match-up, the Ball State Cardinals will take on the Michigan Wolverines twice on Saturday evening. Ball State is currently 1-6-0 in league play, and the Wolverines have an even 3-3 record at this point. This is a huge set for the Cardinals though, as 2 losses would put them at a pretty big disadvantage for making the MCRHL Championships at the end of the year. Additionally, Michigan does not hold a stellar record by Michigan standards at this point, and a sweep of BSU along with a big game against Eastern Michigan could get them on the right path heading into next semester with a better outlook on the season.
In the Development Division, the #3 and #6 ranked B teams nationally will face-off on Sunday morning. Eastern Michigan B currently holds the higher ranking and higher standing, giving Michigan State B their only league loss this year in the first game of the season, 6-1. Because Conference B East is shaping up to be the toughest conference in the Development Division, this is a big game for both teams in efforts to secure a top 2 spot and a berth in the MCRHL Championships. Dayton and Michigan Tech will also play all three of the games in their season series in an attempt to catch Northern Illinois for the Conference A title.
Stay tuned to MCRHL.com for scores and standings updates, along with news about the regular season and NCRHA Winter Invitational.