March 21, 2008

Box Score

Detroit, Mich. - It took just over six minutes of overtime for a winner to be determined in the CCHA semi-final game between Miami and Notre Dame, but the RedHawks persevered and came out of the contest with a 2-1 victory.

In easily the most exciting finish of the season for the Red and White, senior defenseman Mitch Ganzak put a shot through a crowd in front of CCHA Goaltender of the Year, Jordan Pearce, and into the back of the net with only 3.4 seconds remaining in regulation, sending the game into overtime. The tally was Ganzak's 100th career point, making him the 41st member of Miami's Century Club, and only the fifth defenseman in school history to reach that mark.

Feeding off of the momentum gained at the end of the third period, junior defender Alec Martinez stepped into a slapshot from just inside the blueline, and placed his shot over the shoulder of Pearce. Martinez, who was honored by the league for his defensive play by being named the CCHA's Best Defensive Defenseman, netted his eighth goal of the season, tying him with Alaska's Tyler Eckford for the most goals by a defenseman in the CCHA this season.

Junior goaltender Jeff Zatkoff played tough through the entire 66 minutes of action, stopping 20 of the 21 shots Notre Dame tested him with, earning his 26th win of the year. In the victory, he lowered his CCHA-leading goals-against average to 1.66, and is now tied with Colorado College's Richard Bachman for the nation's highest saves percentage (.935).

The contest proved to be a defensive battle all the way through, with each goaltender keeping the opposition off of the scoreboard well into the third period. Fifteen minutes into the third stanza, Notre Dame's captain, Mark Van Guilder, nearly drew first blood, as he rang a shot off of the inside of the left goalpost of Miami's net. The shot was initially called a goal by referee Brian Aaron, but after reviewing the score, it was determined the puck never crossed the goal line.

Thirty seconds after the disallowed goal, Notre Dame forward Evan Rankin backhanded a shot on Miami's net that hit Zatkoff's catching glove and trickled into the cage.

Just as the game looked like it was going to draw to a close, with 3.4 seconds remaining, senior defenseman Mitch Ganzak wristed a shot through traffic in front of the Notre Dame net and past Pearce. The goal was Ganzak's second of the season and ninth of his career.

Six minutes into the overtime period, it was another Miami defenseman showing his offensive side, slapping a shot from the blueline into Notre Dame's net, sending the RedHawks to the CCHA Championship game for the second time in three seasons.

Miami will now play for the Mason Cup on Saturday night, as the team will take on the winner of the Michigan/Northern Michigan semi-final game. Tickets for the 7:30 contest are available at all Ticketmaster outlets or by calling Joe Louis Arena at 313-396-7575. NOTES:

Friday's semi-final game marked just the second time this season that Miami went into the third period in a scoreless tie with its opponent. The only other time was in the team's first game of the season against Vermont.

With an assist on Mitch Ganzak's game-tying goal, freshman forward Carter Camper is riding a four-game point streak, scoring three goals and chipping in four assists over that time. Camper has points in each of his three games since returning to the RedHawks lineup after missing the previous eight games due to injury.

After scoring the game-tying goal in Friday night's game with Northern Michigan, senior defenseman Mitch Ganzak became the 41st member of Miami's 100-point club. Ganzak joins Kevin Beaton, Dan Boyle, Andy Greene and Bobby Marshall as the only defensemen in school history to reach the 100-point plateau.

GAME'S THREE STARS: No. 3 - Jordan Pearce No. 2 - Jeff Zatkoff No. 1 - Alec Martinez

ATTENDANCE: 9471