GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Calvin claimed its first Vezina Cup Trophy title since 2006 with a scintillating 3-2 victory over Oakland University Saturday night at Patterson Ice Center.
Saturday's contest marked the final contest of a two-week long Midwest Collegiate Hockey Conference Tournament and pitted a Calvin team out of the MCHC West Division and an Oakland team that came out of the MCHC East Division. Calvin entered Saturday's contest ranked No. 1 in the latest ACHA Division III Top 25 poll while Oakland came in ranked No. 4.
Calvin (19-3-1) scored all three of its goals in the first period and hung on down the stretch to seal the pulse-pounding win.
Oakland (24-3-2) put Calvin on its heels by scoring just 58 seconds into the match to grab a 1-0 lead.
Senior
Brock Hearth scored just five minutes later however to tie the score 1-1. Junior
Josiah Lambers and freshman
Bennett Eisma drew assists on the play. Junior Joel Dielman fired home a shot off feeders from seniors
Myles Radersma and
Owen Duiker less than two minutes later to Calvin a 2-1 lead.
Calvin gained a two-goal lead on a tally by junior Thomas Postal off a feed from sophomore
Nathan Sova to build a 3-1 advantage it would take into intermission.
Oakland scored just 1:14 into the second period to close within one at 3-2 but Calvin's defense turned off the faucet on the Oakland attack the rest of the way.
Senior goalie
Ryan Worosz was particularly stout for the Knights, helping secure his third straight Vezina Cup Tournament win as Oakland outshot Calvin 40-28.
COACHES COMMENTS: "Couldn't be more happy for this group of guys," said head coach Austin Huizenga. "Tonight was a battle. Our guys faced it head on and got the job done. To win this tournament for the first time in 20 years, the guys and coaching staff are so happy. We'll enjoy this win and start to prepare for the (ACHA D3) Nationals Tournament in St. Louis."
CALVIN HOCKEY DIRECTORS' COMMENTS: "What an accomplishment by these young men," said Calvin Director of Hockey and Calvin ACHA Division I Head Coach Josh Petrusma. "It's been 20 years since we last won this tournament back when we had one team which also competed at the ACHA Division III level at the time. We made the decision to split into two teams (ACHA D1 & ACHA D3) roughly 10 years later and the D3 team has built its way back up again after starting anew after we became two teams. I am incredibly proud of the work they've put in over the past couple of seasons that have led up to this moment Coach Huizenga has done an amazing job leading these young men and I'm excited to see them continue their journey at the (ACHA) National Championships in a few weeks.
NEXT UP: Calvin will prepare for the ACHA Division III National Tournament in St. Louis, Missouri. The tournament is slated for March 18-22. The tournament field and bracket is expected to be announced soon.
