Huskies, Bulldogs advance to WCHA Final Five in Grand Rapids

By @StefanKubus –

With the WCHA quarterfinals in the books, the semifinal match-ups are set for Friday, March 18 in Grand Rapids.

Ferris State will face Michigan Tech, while Bowling Green and Minnesota State will square off in the other semifinal game, ensuring one Michigan team will play for the WCHA title at Van Andel Arena.

Huskies top Alaska

The Huskies took their best-of-three series with Alaska, winning the first two games at home, a 7-1 win on Friday and a 5-3 victory the next night.

Junior defenseman Cliff Watson led the way Friday night with a goal and three assists. Joel L’Esperance, Jake Lucchini, Dylan Steman, Tyler Heinonen and Alex Petan also had multi-point outings. Jamie Phillips stopped 20 of 21 to notch his 22nd win of the year.

The next night, the Huskies had five different players light the lamp and ten with at least one point in the 5-3 win. Alaska struck first early at 2:27 of the opening period, but Alex Petan and Reid Sturos scored 31 seconds apart midway through the period to give MTU a 2-1 lead after the first 20 minutes, a lead the Huskies would not relinquish the rest of the way.

Bulldogs edge Wildcats

Ferris State topped Northern Michigan on consecutive nights in Big Rapids to take the best-of-three series, winning Friday by a 3-2 final and Saturday by a 5-2 decision. The Bulldogs moved to 6-0 all-time in WCHA quarterfinal games in the process.

On Friday, junior forward Kyle Schempp (Saginaw) potted the game-winning goal, a power-play marker and his eighth of the season, at 12:34 of the third period to make it 3-2. Freshman Darren Smith stopped 27 shots to earn his first career playoff win.

The Bulldogs followed it up with a 5-2 victory that saw junior Gerald Mayhew strike twice and add an assist to lead his group past the Wildcats. Junior forward Chad McDonald (Battle Creek) potted a goal and two helpers in the contest, as well. Smith stopped 21 of 23 shots to pick up the win in goal once again.

Mathias Dahlstrom and Atte Tolvanen split duties in net for Northern Michigan, while Robbie Payne (Gaylord) and Darren Nowick each potted a goal and an assist over the two-game series.