Being a "defending champion" won't (and shouldn't) get you anywhere.
I does in recruitment![]()
AC Men may or may not win the MCHA. Victory in the conference does not give me a lot of hope for good things like last season. They did not show me much out of conference this season and this worries me. The MCHA is a very weak conference this season outside MSOE.
Go Bulldogs and give us a 5th straight Harris Cup Title and keep working hard in the NCAA's![]()
Adrian. They are the higher seeded team in their respective region which means they get to host in any inter-regional games.
And if Elmira was so fortunate to win that game, they'd be right back on a bus to Oswego on Friday for the NCAA Quarterfinals after getting back to Elmira at what 6 am on Thursday?
This is going to be a 2-part post. I don't know if I'll cover everything (or anything, for that matter), but here goes anyway.
It's over.
MSOE beats Adrian 4-3 in overtime to take the Pool A and end Adrian's season. It was a good game, and a pair of nice comebacks, but not enough. We were in real trouble not 5 minutes into the game as MSOE banged in 2 quick goals before we tied it after 2. The 3rd goal was off of a nice tip by one of the Keizers (go figure), and then the OT goal was, well, an OT goal. Overtime goals generally aren't pretty, and once you realize that, it makes things much easier to deal with.
We didn't get screwed. We didn't play poorly. We just got beat. I wondered privately whether this was just MSOE's year, but I never said anything except to one person, and not much at that. Turns out that it is.
Adrian has nothing to apologize for. Like I said, we played well and got beat. It happens. As a matter of fact, sooner or later this was going to have to happen for this league to grow. It sucks from my perspective, but it doesn't make that statement any less true. We got our shot. We didn't take full advantage of our opportunity to get into the NCAA tournament.
Show's over. And what a show it was...
Hammer:
Understand your disappointment but the sting will go away as recruits start so sign for next year. Only one team goes away happy every year. Congrats to the Bulldogs and the Raiders for very good seasons. My opinion is that Adrian has forced the remaining teams in the MCHA to get better and in the end that is really what you want. This is why I get so irritated with the whole NCHA/WIAC issue as SNC has forced the other teams to get better and they have causing a great NCHA league that anyone could have won this year.
I know it must sting for the Adrian faithful. The downside of having such a strong program is that you have forced everyone else in the conference to get better. Four years ago we would not have witnessed three, one goal Harris Cup games.
Thank you for your kind words.
Once Adrian joined the MCHA, two things happened. 1) The poundings they administered forced teams to raise their own games or face getting steam-rolled for the foreseeable future, and 2) That made 7 D-III teams, allowing the league to qualify for the Pool A. That's one incredible tool for recruiting that the league did not have in the past.
As for the NCHA/WIAC fiasco, I think I've made it pretty clear that I don't like what is happening one bit. ...