If anything, it looked like the blowout may go the other way in the early goings, as Southern Indiana opened up a quick 5-0 lead, before maintaining the lead at 9-4. The Panthers stormed back, though, scoring the next seven points in just under two minutes, taking an 11-9 lead with 15:53 remaining.

The teams remained within three points of each other before Drury started to pull away, going on a 10-2 run to take a 24-17 lead with eight minutes left. The Panthers extended the lead to 14 points before the Eagles whittled the lead down to nine points heading into halftime.

Unfortunately for Southern Indiana, Drury did not take long to permanently take a double-digit lead, scoring not even a minute in and then expanding the lead to 20 points just nine minutes in, 25 points with five minutes remaining, and finally settling on a 23-point margin of victory as neither team scored in the final 2.5 minutes.

Drury will take on the winner of today’s 2:30 game between No. 2 Indianapolis and No. 7 Northern Michigan. That regional semi-final will take place on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Continue checking back to the Lode for full coverage.

Tournament overview
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Michigan Tech’s official headquarters
GLIAC Women’s Basketball

Ticket information:
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Games

Friday, March 12
Game 1, 12 p.m.: No. 3 Drury vs. No. 6 Southern Indiana
Game 2, 2:30 p.m.: No. 2 Indianapolis vs. No. 7 Northern Michigan
Game 3, 6 p.m.: No. 1 Michigan Tech vs. No. 8 Northern Kentucky

Saturday, March 13
Game 4, 1 p.m.: No. 4 Wisconsin-Parkside vs. No. 5 Findlay

Sunday, March 14
Game 5, 1:30 p.m.: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner
Game 6, 4 p.m.: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner

Tuesday, March 16
Game 7, 6 p.m.: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner – NCAA Division II Sweet 16

Team profiles

No. 1 Michigan Tech

The Huskies have had 22 straight winning seasons and they have reached the NCAA Tournament 15 times in the program’s 35-year history, all in the last 20 years. The only team with more appearances is Northern Kentucky, fittingly Michigan Tech’s first-round opponent. The Huskies’ 25-win regular season was the best regular season finish in school history, and their 28 overall wins after winning the GLIAC Championship have tied the second-most in team history, behind the 30 wins by the 1992-93 squad. “Winning the GLIAC Championship was one of our team goals, and it was exciting for the team to be able to get it done against Northern in front of a crowd like that,” said head coach John Barnes.

This team is arguably the most prolific in school history, with six seniors on the team, four of which have surpassed the 1,000-point mark in their careers, including Katie Wysocky, who now holds the school record in points (1,862) and rebounds (1,197). Wysocky earned GLIAC player of the year honors before also claiming Daktronics Midwest Region Player of the Year and WBCA All-America Finalist honors as well. Barnes said, “I’m extremely proud of her. Through her four years, she has grown as a person and a player. Her records are great, but it’s great that she’s never concerned about the records and honors she has achieved.”

Sarah Stream is just two assists away from the career assist record held by Catherine Rottier and Dawn Zarling. Katie Zimmerman already owns every three-point record in school history, and needs to play just two more games to break Darla Inness’ record of 124. Danae Danen already owns the school record in blocks as well. The Huskies’ current 82.6 percent free throw mark is the best in school history, and if they maintained that percentage, it would be the third highest total of any NCAA team at any level ever.

Head Coach John Barnes has also been securing honors, being named the GLIAC Coach of the Year and also the Midwest Region Coach of the Year, the first since Darla Olson received the honor in 2001. He has won nearly 74 percent of his 207 career games. “It means a lot to me, especially since it’s my peers that vote on it,” said Barnes. “However, I would trade in all the honors to win the regional tournament this weekend.”

The community has recognized the quality of this team, showing up more than ever, as 21,574 fans have witnessed the Huskies’ 15 home victories in 16 games this season, nearly 4,000 fans more than the previous school record for attendance.

The team also prides itself on performance in the classroom, as all but one player has a GPA of 3.0 or better, and Katie Wysocky and Sarah Stream have been named Academic All-Americans.

In terms of playing style, the Huskies strive for defense first and a strong mix of offense through Wysocky and Danen down low with Stream orchestrating the offense, combining with Zimmerman to make a lethal outside game, with Tara Ferris being the variable offensive weapon who primarily prides herself on defense.

No. 2 Indianapolis Greyhounds
No. 3 Drury Panthers
No. 4 Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers
No. 5 Findlay Oilers
No. 6 Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles
No. 7 Northern Michigan Wildcats
No. 8 Northern Kentucky Norse

It’s hockey playoff time again and this weekend the Huskies will travel to Denver, CO, to face the top-ranked Pioneers. The Huskies finished the regular season 34 points behind the WCHA Regular Season Champs, but they seem determined to make the tenth playoff meeting between these two an interesting one.

The Huskies will be looking to avenge a pair of losses back on Feb. 19 and 20 to the Pioneers in Denver. They will also attempt to break a seven-game losing streak in the process.

The Pioneers

The Pioneers (25-7-4 overall) are led in scoring by captain Rhett Rakhshani (20-28=48). Rakhshani lead the WCHA in scoring this season with 35 points thanks to an injury to Wisconsin’s Blake Geoffrion. Rakhshani is also tied for fourth nationally in points.

Senior Tyler Ruegsegger (16-23=39) and sophomore Joe Colborne (20-18=38) are both always dangerous. Colborne leads the Pioneers in power play goals (10) and game-winning goals (7).

On the blue line, sophomore Patrick Wiercioch (6-19=25) and freshman Matt Donovan (6-12=18) lead a very young squad that continues to improve night in and night out.

The defense is anchored around junior netminder Marc Cheverie (22-4-3 overall, 1.97 goals against average, .937 save percentage). Cheverie may be the best goaltender in the country, with the second best goals against average, the second best save percentage and the most shutout (6) in the nation. He was the best goaltender in the WCHA during the regular season.

The Huskies

Injuries have really slowed the Huskies (5-28-1 overall) the last couple of weeks, but that hasn’t stopped the Huskies from scoring first in four of the last five games.

If he’s healthy enough to go, assistant captain Brett Olson (18-12=30) will lead the way just as he has all season offensively. His 24 points in WCHA play puts him in a tie for 19th in league scoring with a group that includes Ben Street of the Badgers and Jason Gregoire of North Dakota. Olson’s three shorthanded goals is tied for the WCHA lead with Mike Testwuide of Colorado College.

Captain Malcolm Gwilliam (14-14=28) has been on a hot streak of late, scoring four goals and seven points in his last six games. Gwilliam has 26 points in WCHA action, good enough to tie him for 16th in WCHA Scoring.

Freshman Steven Seigo (5-14=19) has hit a bit of a wall of late, struggling to score, but he still finished the regular season as the third-highest scoring Huskies’ skater. Senior John Kivisto (4-8=12) has also had a great season on the back end for the Huskies.

Freshman Kevin Genoe (4-18-1 overall, 3.55 goals against average, .904 save percentage) has struggled at times to find his footing, but he has done a good job of giving the Huskies a chance to win, night in and night out. His .903 save percentage in WCHA action is just .002 behind both Joe Howe of Colorado College and Scott Gudmandson of Wisconsin.

Sophomore Ploy Suthijindawong and junior Nathalia Rondelli cruised to an 8-3 win at number one doubles over Natalia Ramos and Elevandia Escacia. The Huskies’ top pair is now 16-5 on the season.

Sophomore Caitlin Hartley and freshman Chelsea Uganski, the Huskies’ number three doubles duo, earned an 8-4 win over Elena Gomez and Isabela Bonilla. This was the first win of the season for the duo.

The closest match came at number two doubles where junior Asel Otunchieva and senior Danielle Stoll struggled to a 9-7 victory over Sonia Ortiz and Gabriella Rodriguez. The pair improved to 4-2 with the win.

In the singles’ matches, the Huskies scored points at numbers one, four, and six.

Suthijindawong swept past Ramos at number one, 6-1. 6-0. Suthijindawong is now 19-1 on the season.
Freshman Kira Eck made short work of Silmarie Torres in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, at number four singles. Eck is 5-6 on the season now.

At number six singles, Hartley earned a tough, 6-4, win in the first set before downing Adriana Saedago, 6-1, in the second set.

On Sunday, the Lions jumped out to a 2-1 lead after doubles, and the Huskies struggled to keep pace.

Otunchieva and Stoll earned an 8-2 win over Christine Clyne and Gina Schifano for the lone Huskies’ point in doubles.
The Huskies earned points at numbers one, two, and three singles, but they weren’t easy.

Suthijindawong defeated Jeanette McDonald, 6-1, 7-5.

Rondelli earned a three-set win over Shaena Keefe at number two singles, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Rondelli is now 15-3 on the season.

Otunchieva earned the other Huskies’ point at number three singles after defeating Clyne, 7-5, 7-6.
The Huskies will face Olivet Nazarene Monday.

Matt Frattin put the Huskies (5-28-1 overall, 4-24-0 WCHA) on the power play just 1:25 into the game. The Huskies did a good job on the advantage, setting up their first goal of the game.

Baker beat Sioux netminder Brad Eidsness at 2:53, giving the Huskies the lead on his ninth goal of the season. Junior defenseman Deron Cousens and senior winger Drew Dobson each assisted on the goal.

Baker would leave the game in the second period with an injury.

The Sioux (20-11-6 overall, 15-10-4 WCHA) were in search of the third seed for the WCHA Playoffs, and came back flying, firing 13 shots at Huskies’ sophomore Josh Robinson. Robinson made every stop as the Huskies took advantage of their goaltender’s strong play.

Corey Fienhage took an elbowing penalty at the 4:41 mark of the second period, putting the Huskies on their fourth power play of the game, and they needed just under a minute to extend their lead.

Freshman winger Aaron Pietila hit Dobson in the offensive zone with the puck. Dobson found captain Malcolm Gwilliam in front of Eidsness, and Gwilliam beat him for the second straight night. Gwilliam’s goal, which came at 5:36, was his 14th of the campaign.

Robinson then went to work for the Huskies, making 19 of his 41 stops for the game, including several in succession more than once. Unfortunately, freshman defenseman Tommy Brown took a cross-checking penalty at 12:03. While Robinson was able to keep the puck out during the advantage, he surrendered a shot just after the power play ended.
Jason Gregoire cut the lead in half at 14:04.

Freshman defenseman Carl Nielson took an interference call just 47 seconds into third period. While the Huskies did a good job killing off the power play, they gave up the tying goal shortly after.

Gregoire notched his second goal of the night at 4:20 as he beat Robinson, who was slow to react to Gregoire’s shot.
The Sioux continued their attack, firing more shots at Robinson, forcing the Huskies’ netminder out of position, leading a goal from Mario Lamoureux at 7:12.

The Huskies finished two-for-five on the man advantage, while holding the Sioux to zero-for-seven.
Eidsness made 28 stops for the Sioux.

Next weekend, the Huskies will travel to Denver to face the No. 1 Denver Pioneers to open the WCHA Playoffs.

The first half was a complete back-and-forth battle, with both teams coming out of the gates strong.  The last games that each team played started out slowly, however tonight was different.  The game’s first basket went to Sarah Stream only 15 seconds into the game.  The Wildcats matched that, also scoring their first basket in the first minute of play.  Both teams continued to jockey for position.  When the buzzer went off signaling the first half’s conclusion, the scoreboard read 36-33 in favor of the visiting Wildcats.

The second half of action was much like the first half with both teams putting everything they had out onto the floor.  The crowd of 2,253 did not let their Huskies get down, though, as they provided some much-needed energy to the players.  The game remained extremely close, however, even with the crowd cheering the Huskies on.  The Huskies needed a little extra motivation if they wanted to pull this victory off, and that is exactly what Katie Wysocky gave them.  With 6:39 remaining in the game, Wysocky made a layup that changed momentum completely.  To some people this was just another layup for the 6-0 senior.  However, this was much more, as this was the basket that earned her the new school record for most career points.  With this momentum shift in favor of the Huskies, Northern needed to prove they were not out of it.  That is exactly what happened, as NMU brought the game to within two points with only 11 seconds remaining.  However, a Wildcat foul gave Tech a chance to seal the deal with two free throws. 

“It was an extremely tough game; I thought coach Mattson did an excellent job with his squad.  Every possession was sort of like a war,” said head coach John Barnes. “You want to put the ball into the senior’s hands because they have worked so hard to get there, and they came through for us there in the end.”  In response to the crowd tonight, Barnes stated that he thought again they were amazing.  “The energy they give us, every play that we create they were going crazy and just lifts us up.”

“For her [Wysocky] to break the all-time scoring record, at home, in the GLIAC Championship game, against Northern Michigan, you just couldn’t write it any better,” said Barnes about Katie Wysocky’s record-breaking performance.  Wysocky said, “It’s great, but I owe it to my teammates for giving me the ball in such great places.  We play such a great team game.” 

Wysocky surpasses the previous record for points scored, which was held by Jenny Postlewaite with 1,856 career points.  With the team-high 23 points, Wysocky currently holds the school record with 1,860 points.  Wysocky finished the game with 11 rebounds and two assists as well.  Tara Ferris finished tonight’s contest with 15 points, two rebounds and two assists. 

Overall, Michigan Tech shot 44 percent from the field and 53 percent from beyond the arc.  Northern Michigan finished the game shooting 44 percent and 35 percent, respectively.  Free throws were a big factor in this game and Michigan Tech went 19-22 including the last two points of the game that sealed the deal for them.  Northern Michigan went 12-17 from the line. 

Four huskies were named to the GLIAC All-Tournament Team: Katie Wysocky, Danae Danen, Sarah Stream and Tara Ferris.  Joining them on the All-Tournament team are Northern Michigan’s Steffani Stoeger and Findlay’s Laura Bardall.  Katie Wysocky earned the tournament’s MVP.

With this win for the Huskies, they pretty much have guaranteed themselves home court for the NCAA Regional Tournament next week.  The pairings will be announced tomorrow night via webcast on NCAA.com.  Check back with the Lode for complete coverage as the Huskies look to make an NCAA Championship run.

“This is a tough building to play in,” said Huskies’ head coach Jamie Russell. “Things were so disjointed with [injuries].”

The Huskies (5-27-1 overall, 4-23-0 WCHA) jumped all over the hosts right off the opening faceoff as sophomore Bryce Reddick just missed the net on the first rush down the ice.

After the teams settled in, the Huskies fought hard to stay with the Sioux (19-11-5 overall, 14-10-3 WCHA), nearly matching the hosts shot-for-shot. It would take a mistake for someone to score, and fortunately, that’s exactly what happened for the Huskies.

The Huskies had a bit of bad news during the opening frame as senior defenseman Mike VanWagner was knocked out of the game after taking a hard check.

Sioux defender Joe Gleason attempted to clear a puck out of his defensive zone with a backhand pass in front of his own net. Captain Malcolm Gwilliam intercepted the pass and buried the puck behind Sioux netminder Brad Eidsness at 17:02.

Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol and his staff made some changes for the second period and the Sioux responded, outshooting the Huskies in the second period, 21-2. Huskies’ goaltender Kevin Genoe was able to stop 18 of them.
Kristo notched the first Sioux goal at 10:22.

Darcy Zajac, brother of New Jersey Devils forward Travis Zajac, made it 2-1 at 10:49. David Toews, brother of Chicago Blackhawks’ captain Jonathan Toews, assisted on the goal.

The three-goal outburst was capped off by Ben Blood at 11:41.

To make matters worse for the Huskies, freshman forward Anthony Schooley was knocked out of the game after he took a wicked check. He earned a concussion for his troubles.

The Sioux came out strong again in the third period, taking advantage of the Huskies’ shortened bench as Zajac notched his second of the night 7:34 in.

Neither team could get much going on the power play until the Sioux earned their sixth of the night. Jason Gregoire extended the Sioux lead to four at 18:59.

Despite surrendering the two goals, Genoe made another 15 stops, making his total 43 for the game. Eidsness made 13 for the Sioux.

The Sioux went one-for-seven on the man advantage. The Huskies finished the night zero-for-six.
The teams will meet again tomorrow night for the final WCHA Regular Season game for both teams. Olson will again miss the game for the Huskies.

This game started off as a stalemate in the first few minutes of the game.  Both teams went back and forth, stealing the ball and missing shots;  that was until Sarah Stream got the games first points with 17:14 remaining in the first half.  Both teams fought back and forth the rest of the half with the largest margin only being four points.          

“In the first half I thought they [Lake Superior State] had an incredible amount of energy.  They played hard and smart,” said head coach John Barnes.  “I was happy to only be down by two playing against a team that was shooting that well and playing that hard.” 

The second half of the game started like the first with both teams fighting back and forth.  A three-point play gave LSSU a two-point lead with 13:35 left in the second period.  However, this is where the scoring would stop for LSSU for the next seven minutes, as Michigan Tech went on a 17-0 run taking a 53-38 lead.  LSSU scored on two free throws making the score 53-40 in favor of the Huskies.  The Huskies continued the outstanding offensive performance to close out the game.

In regards to the second-half performance, Barnes gave credit to both his defense and offense, saying that they both played well.  He also noted that LSSU did seem to “cool down a bit” in the second half, giving the Huskies a chance to score.  He also noted that he was extremely happy with the way his team played in this second half.  

With a crowd of 1,812 watching on, Michigan Tech surely had some support in this contest.  Barnes said that the crowd was “unbelievable.” “I have never heard as loud of cheers for blocked shots in my life,” said Barnes.  “If you’re tired and you just hear that kind of support it just raises your energy level.”
        Overall, Michigan Tech shot 31.4 percent from inside the paint and 50 percent from beyond the arc, while LSSU shot 53.2 percent and 47.1 percent, respectively.  Michigan Tech had three players play for 30-plus minutes in the contest, while LSSU had two with 30 or more.  
        Katie Wysocky led the team in points with 17 and rebounds with 14.  Teammate Danae Danen finished the game with 13 points, seven rebounds and two assists.   Sarah Stream led the team in assists with three and also had 11 points to her credit.  With this performance Wysocky moved within 18 points of setting the school’s career scoring record.  Stream also moved closer to the record for career assists – she needs only three more to surpass the record of 439 currently held by Catherine Rottier and Dawn Zarling.
        In the second game of the evening the Northern Michigan Wildcats squared off against the Findlay Oilers.  In this semi-final contest both teams came out extremely strong.  Earlier this season Findlay defeated NMU twice.  One of these victories came in overtime, and Northern surely wanted some redemption.  This game went back and forth all the way until late in the second half.  Northern Michigan turned on the accelerator and edged out a 71-64 victory advancing to the GLIAC Championship game to take on Michigan Tech.  
        “I am very excited about this game; it’s going to be a great crowd and a great atmosphere.  It does not get any better than this in tournament time,” head coach John Barnes said.  When asked about the history in the GLIAC Championship game with Tech and Northern, Barnes said, “I do not even know the history of this tournament.”  He added, “It is new teams, new players, new coaches; we will just throw the ball up and see what happens.”
        “I tell you what, it is going to be a great game, and the top two teams of the conference are going to be at it.  If we win great, if they win great; either way I am concerned about getting my team to the national title playoffs,” said Northern Michigan head coach Troy Mattson said about tomorrow’s championship showdown between the Michigan Tech Huskies and the Northern Michigan Wildcats.
        The GLIAC Championship game will take place tomorrow (March 6) in the SDC Gymnasium at 7 p.m.  Check back tomorrow evening for a full game recap of the GLIAC Championship game.

After dropping back-to-back 5-2 losses to the No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers to end the home portion of their schedule, the Huskies head back out on the road for their final WCHA series of the season against the No. 7 North Dakota Fighting Sioux.
The Sioux (18-11-5 overall, 13-10-3 WCHA) are fresh off a sweep of the Colorado College Tigers, and currently hold the final home playoff spot with 29 points.

Senior Chris VandeVelde (13-18=31) leads head coach Dave Hakstol’s squad in points. Sophomore Jason Gregoire (15-12=27) leads the team in goals and game-winning goals (5). Freshman Danny Kristo (12-15=27) is tops on the team in power play tallies with eight.

Juniors Derrick LaPoint (2-12=14) and Jake Marto (5-8=13) lead a blue line corps that became awfully young with the loss of captain Chay Genoway to injury back in late November.

Sophomore Brad Eidsness (17-8-4 overall, 2.20 goals against average, .910 save percentage) continues to provide the Sioux with tremendous play in the crease, giving his team a chance to win every night.

One other positive for the Sioux has been the return of junior forward Matt Frattin, who had been suspended during the offseason. Frattin has five goals and 11 points in 16 games since being reinstated.

The Huskies

The Huskies (5-26-1 overall, 4-22-0 WCHA) are marred in a five-game losing streak dating back to a 3-2 loss to the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs on Feb. 6.

They travel to Grand Forks, ND, this weekend with assistant captain Brett Olson’s (18-12=30) health in question, along with that of several other players. Captain Malcolm Gwilliam (12-14=26) will need to continue his strong finish to his senior campaign for the Huskies to remain competitive.

Junior Bennett Royer (4-6=10) notched another goal last weekend against the Badgers and now has notched all 10 of his points in the last 13 games.

Freshman defenseman Steven Seigo (4-14=18) had his streak of scoring at least a point a weekend snapped on Saturday night.  He still ranks among the leaders nationally for points-per-game by a rookie defenseman, sitting in a tie for fourth with .56 points per game.

Head coach Jamie Russell will likely start both freshman Kevin Genoe (4-17-1 overall, 3.48 goals against average, .904 saves percentage) and sophomore Josh Robinson (1-9-0 overall, 5.16 goals against average, .885 saves percentage) again this weekend. Both saw considerable action against the Badgers.

Future Huskies Watch

Hancock, Mich., native Tanner Kero, the 5’11” forward from the Marquette Rangers, continues to lead the North American Hockey League in goals with 29. Of those 29 goals, 12 have come on the man advantage and four have been game-winners. His 44 points put him in a tie for 19th in the overall scoring race.

Upcoming

In other Huskies’ news, while the team isn’t looking beyond this weekend, they will face the top-ranked Denver Pioneers in the opening round of the playoffs. The Pioneers are currently in the midst of a 10-game winning streak and facing their in-state rivals, the Tigers this weekend.

2010 Womens GLIAC Tournament Bracket

The Huskies defeated LSSU 72-67 in the Soo before rolling past them 84-68 just one week ago, but the Lakers will surely pose a difficult test on Friday. The No. 6 Lakers are coming off a 10-point victory over the No. 3 Grand Valley State Lakers in Allendale.

Lake Superior State won four of their last six regular season games, with the only losses coming to No. 1 Michigan Tech and No. 2 Northern Michigan.

Of course, one of the Huskies’ two losses this season came against Northern Michigan, and it could be a Tech/Northern GLIAC final on Saturday.

Findlay would be a scary opponent for Michigan Tech as well, as the Oilers took Tech to double overtime just a couple weeks ago before Tech miraculously pulled out the victory.

Stay tuned to mtulode.com for full coverage throughout the GLIAC, regional and national tournaments.