Oswego State junior forward Chris Muise's reaction followingthe final buzzer was all one needed to see to sum up how the OswegoState men's ice hockey team felt after a 4-1 loss to St.Norbert College in the NCAA Championship Game on Saturday night inLake Placid, N.Y. As the Green Knights mobbed goaltender DavidJacobson at the far end of the ice, Muise dropped down to the iceon all fours with his head buried in his gloves. The rest of theLakers watched the celebration occurring on the opposite side ofthe ice. Some players were down on one knee, while others werestanding in disbelief. After 19 grueling weeks and 27 punishinggames, the Lakers had finished just short of their goal to capturethe program's second national championship. St. Norbert's Cody Keefer, who netted the game-winning goalin the final minute of the 2010 NCAA National Semifinal against theLakers at the same venue, tallied a hat-trick for the GreenKnights, including the dagger with 2:53 remaining in regulation togive St. Norbert a three-goal lead. Keefer wasted no time giving his team the lead, scoring just 17seconds into the first period with a wrist shot from the slot thatbeat Oswego State junior goaltender Andrew Hare glove side. Keeferentered the game tied for the team lead in goals with captain JohanRyd with 15 goals. Oswego State appeared to rebound from the tough start, answeringjust over the mid way point of the first period on sophomoreforward David Titanic's goal to tie the game at one.Titanic's goal was set up by a turnover by St.Norbert's Mason Baptista in his own defensive zone. Juniorforward Chris Brown stole the puck and fed a pass to Titanic in theslot, who wristed a shot top shelf past Jacobson glove side. Jacobson would be flawless after that en route to being named thetournament's most outstanding player. Jacobson finished with29 saves on 30 shots faced, including 14 in the second period. The Green Knights recaptured the lead before the first periodintermission, as Brandon Hoogenboom delivered the eventualgame-winning goal off a nice cross ice pass from Reid Campbell at17:29 of the period. With possession of the puck to the left ofHare, Campbell rifled a pass through the crease that foundHoogenboom all alone in front of the net for the easy tap in. Despite being outplayed in the second period, the Green Knightscollected the only goal of the frame with Keefer's power-playgoal at 18:23. Following an interference penalty to junior forwardChris Ayotte, Keefer received a pass in front from behind the netand beat Hare with a one-timer to give St. Norbert a two-goal leadheading into the season's final 20 minutes of play. Keefer completed the hat trick with 2:53 remaining in regulationwith a breakaway goal to seal St. Norbert's secondconsecutive national championship and third in the program'shistory. Keefer's shot went right into Hare's padsbefore trickling out and over the goal line to end theLakers' hopes of a comeback. Oswego State had its chances in the second and third periods, butthe St. Norbert penalty kill unit kept the Lakers off thescoreboard for the final 40 minutes. The Lakers had consecutivepower play chances in the second period separated by just nineseconds of even strength play. But Jacobson stopped all four shotson net over the course of the four minutes. The same situation occurred in the third period, with the GreenKnights taking consecutive minor penalties spaced 15 seconds inbetween even strength play. The Lakers had three solid scoringchances during the two power plays, but Jacobson again stoned theOswego State offense. The Lakers finished 0-for-6 with the manadvantage, while St. Norbert finished 1-for-5. Hare finished with 21 saves on 25 shots faced for the Lakers. Hareended the season with a 21-4-2 record. Senior forward and assistant captain Ian Boots was named to the2012 NCAA All-Tournament Team, along with Keefer, Ryd andAmherst's Mike Baran. The Lakers finished the season with a 24-4-2 overall record. I am an expert from neckstraplanyards.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Card Holder Lanyard Manufacturer , Custom Woven Lanyard, Key Neck Lanyard,and more.
Related Articles -
Card Holder Lanyard Manufacturer, Custom Woven Lanyard,
|