Preview of MCRHL Championships

The playoffs are here.

This will be the first regional championships since the Midwest Collegiate Roller Hockey League realigned so an intense and competitive day of college roller hockey is to be expected. All the action will take place on Saturday, March 2 at Joe Dumars Fieldhouse in Shelby Township, Mich.

Division 2

The Division 2 playoffs will kick off the weekend with a matchup between one-seed Grand Valley (13-2-2) and four-seed Henry Ford (4-12-3) at 8:00 a.m. GVSU won both games during the regular season, by a combined score of 13-3. GVSU goaltender Anthony Benvenuti posted a 17-save shutout in the team’s last meeting.

GVSU’s leading scorer, Jesse MacIntyre, is among the best in the nation with 25 goals and 54 points in just 17 games.

HFC’s Dominic Stankiewicz has had a stellar season, accumulating 20 goals and 43 points in 12 games, while also suiting up in net for six games.

In the 9:00 a.m. game, two-seed Western Michigan (10-5) and three-seed Miami (10-9) battle for the third time this season, with each team winning one game respectively. The total score of those two games – 11-11. Their last meeting came on Feb. 9, seeing WMU win 6-4.

WMU’s Jacob Anderman is leading the way for the Broncos with 32 points in 15 games, while goaltender Eric Gaudreau is in the midst of a phenomenal first season that has seen him post two shutouts. WMU comes in as winners of eight of their last nine games.

Miami is currently riding a three-game winning streak, led by their top two leading scorers Owen Benben (55 points in 19 games) and Ethan Clearfield (39 points in 18 games).

The Division 2 playoff format is setup as a two-game elimination, besides the championship game, which is a winner take all contest with puck drop coming at 8:30 p.m.

Division 3

Divisions 3 and 4 will have a best-of-three series between their top two teams.

Top seed Ohio State (7-6) takes on Akron (4-9) with Game 1 starting at 11:00 a.m., followed by Game 2 at 3:00 p.m. and Game 3 at 7:15 p.m.

The season series between these two is tied at one game apiece with OSU winning the last meeting on Feb. 10, 13-4.

OSU is currently on a four-game winning streak led by leading scorer Richard Grant (34 points in 13 games) and reliable goaltender Nate Montgomery.

On the other side, Akron has lost five of their past six games, but top scorers Mike Smith (35 points in 13 games) and Vincent Murdock (28 points in 13 games) look to change that this weekend.

Division 4

The three-game series for Division 4 involves rivals, Michigan State (14-5) and Grand Valley (8-7). Game 1 takes place at 10:00 a.m., followed by Game 2 at 2:00 p.m. and Game 3 at 6:00 p.m.

MSU has won all three games between these two teams this season, by the combined score of 14-6.

GVSU aims to reverse their luck against MSU and in order to do so, leading scorers Andrew Budai (21 points in 15 games) and Justin Sims (20 points in 15 games) will be looked upon to accomplish that feat.

MSU comes in as winners of their past four games and are paced in scoring by Noah Laino, who has 19 goals and seven assists in just 15 games.

With the MCRHL Championships this weekend being the final event before the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Championships in Rochester, N.Y. on April 10-14, teams will look to improve their seeding or attempt to just earn a spot at nationals, providing a compelling day of roller hockey for the MCRHL.

The entirety of the event schedule can be found here.