Re: 2020 NCAA Hockey Tournament - What If: A Simulation of the 2019-2020 Postseason
And now the Championship games coming in...
AHA Championship
Army v. Sacred Heart
The Army Black Knights and the Sacred Heart Pioneers faced off this evening in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament Championship Game. With both programs looking to win their first AHA Championship, and earn their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, a cautious effort unfolded in the first period, with Sacred Heart’s Josh Benson stopping each of Army’s five shots on goal, and Army’s Trevin Kozlowski fending off the Pioneer’s seven attempts on frame in the first period. After twenty minutes the game remained scoreless. The offense picked up in the middle frame, and just over four minutes after the puck dropped in the second, Vito Bavaro put the Pioneers ahead on a one-timer from the near circle. Braeden Tuck then solved Kozlowski again midway through the period to put the Pioneers up 2-0. Sacred Heart nearly took a three-goal lead heading into the second, but Kozlowski robbed Jason Cotton with a beautiful glove save after Cotton received a perfect cross ice pass for a one-timer from the far circle. Heading into the third, Army needed to make a charge, and the Black Knights got their opportunity early in the final stanza, when Todd Gohering was called for a major penalty for charging. Army wasted little time with the man advantage, as Dominic Franco potted a wrister from the slot to pull the Black Knights within one. As the major penalty was nearing its end, Zach Evancho equalized the game, finding a rebound and lifting a backhand past Benson. While both sides pushed for the go ahead goal the rest of the period, it would be SHU’s Jordan Kaplan who would prove to be the hero. With just under three minutes to play, Jeppe Urup put a wrister on net, but Kozlowski was unable to control the rebound, which went straight to Kaplan’s stick at the bottom of the far circle. Kaplan ripped a wrister into a gaping net to give Sacred Heart a 3-2 lead. That would be all the Pioneers would need, and when the final buzzer sounded, it would be Sacred Heart spilling onto the ice celebrating the AHA Title and NCAA Tournament berth.
ECAC Championship
Clarkson v. Cornell
Clarkson and Cornell met once again for the ECAC Championship in a rematch from last year’s title matchup. Trying to avenge last year’s overtime loss, Cornell jumped out of the gate strong. Ben Berard found the back of the net first on a laser from the near circle to put the Big Red up 1-0. Morgan Barron then added to the lead midway through the period on a powerplay tally to give Cornell a two-goal advantage. Clarkson responded just before the buzzer sounded to end the opening frame, when Nick Campoli launched an innocent wrister from just along the goal line by the far circle. The puck squeezed between Matthew Galajda’s shoulder and the post, and Cornell’s lead shrunk to 2-1 after twenty minutes. Galajda and Clarkson’s Frank Marotte held the skaters off the scoreboard in the second behind 9 and 11 saves respectively. Early in the third period, Cornell regained its two-goal advantage, this time thanks to a blast from the point by Alex Green that beat a screened Marotte. That would be all the Big Red would need. While Clarkson sent wave after wave of Green Knights forward, they were unable to solve Cornell’s defense. As the clock ticked down, the Big Red faithful erupted, and when the final horn sounded, Cornell won their first ECAC Championship in a decade with a 3-1 victory.
Big Ten Championship
Michigan @ Penn State
The Penn State Nittany Lions hosted the Michigan Wolverines in the Big Ten Championship Game. Michigan started off strong, as Jake Slaker found Cam York for an early tally to put the Wolverines up 1-0. Penn State roared back, scoring three consecutive goals, including a powerplay goal by Sam Sternschein, and even-strength goals by Liam Folkes and Connor McMenamin, which gave the Nittany Lions a 3-1 advantage after one period of play. Michigan responded early in the second. After an offensive zone faceoff win, Jack Summers launched a wrister on net that Penn State’s Peyton Jones fended off, but the rebound fell on Nick Pastujov’s backhand, who roofed the puck over Jones blocker to pull Michigan within a goal. Michigan continued its charge, tying the game midway through the second period on Slaker’s wrister that slid through Jones’ five-hole. Jones and his Michigan counterpart, Strauss Mann, held the skaters scoreless over the next twenty-five minutes, but with just over five-minutes to play, Penn State’s Aarne Talvitie ripped a wrister from the top of the near circle that beat Mann glove-side, and went bar down to put Penn State ahead 4-3. The Nittany Lions’ Evan Barratt added an empty netter with just under sixty seconds to play, and the home crowd erupted when the clock read all zeroes, as their Nittany Lions dispatched the Wolverines 5-3 to capture the Big Ten Championship.
Hockey East Championship
Maine v. Massachusetts – Lowell
The Black Bears and RiverHawks squared off this evening at the Garden with the Hockey East Championship on the line. Maine’s Jeremy Swayman, a Hobey Baker finalist, and Massachusetts Lowell’s Tyler Wall, staged an epic dual between the pipes, thwarting some of Hockey East’s and the nation’s finest scorers time after time to keep the game scoreless in the first twenty minutes. Lowell’s Carl Berglund had a grade A opportunity to put the RiverHawks on the board early in the second when Chase Blackmun’s shot from the point deflected off a Black Bear in the slot, and right onto Berglund’s stick at the bottom of the near circle. Berglund’s wrister was destined for the top shelf, but Swayman got his glove over just in time to keep the game scoreless. Wall then took his place on the highlight reel late in the middle stanza, when he kicked out Tim Doherty’s wrister from the slot out, but it went straight to Adam Dawe, who had Wall out of position. Unfortunately for Maine, Wall performed an epic double stack cartwheel save to keep Dawe’s wrister from finding the back of the net. After forty minutes of action the game remained 0-0. Finally, about six minutes into the final frame, Chase Blackmun won a puck battle near the blue line along the near boards, and then cycled the puck behind the net to Andre Lee, who quickly completed a wraparound on the forehand that snuck through Swayman’s pads and into the back of the net to give Lowell a 1-0 lead. That would be all Wall would need, as the Senior netminder completed his herculean effort in net by blanking the Black Bears the rest of the way. When the game ended, it was Massachusetts Lowell edging Maine 1-0 to capture the Hockey East Championship.
