Improbable run ends in national championship

As the warm Florida sun got hotter, so did the IU men’s Hockey team at the American Collegiate Hockey Association National Championship.\nFor a team that barely advanced out of the first round of regionals, simply making it to the national championship was an accomplishment. But IU’s title trip turned sour in 5-2 loss in the National Championship to Davenport.\nIU began the tournament in round-robin pool play. IU’s first foe proved to be no match for the surging Hoosiers, as they manhandled Central Connecticut State 7-3. Later, however, No. 1 seed Colorado convincingly defeated Indiana 6-1. IU senior Dan Karlander described the matchup against Colorado as “a total meltdown.”\nWith their record at 1-1 in pool play, it seemed nearly impossible for the Hoosiers to advance. Michigan had beaten both its opponents and stood on top of the pool at 2-0. Colorado had also beaten its opponent earlier in the day and stood at 2-1. For IU to advance, they needed to beat Michigan by five goals and hold them to zero in order to satisfy the fourth tiebreaker-margin of victory.\nDetermined to accomplish its goal, the team took the ice. Two power plays and three goals later, IU found itself up 3-0.\n“We all looked at each other on the bench after it was 3-0, and we knew we could go for it,” senior forward Matt Henderson said.\nA scoreless second period by both teams intensified the drama, as IU still needed two more goals to advance.\n“Everyone knew what they needed to do,” sophomore defenseman Tyler Bohmansaid. “It was the toughest we had played on defense all year.”\nWith five minutes left in the game, IU sophomore forward Adam Logue scored with a quick shot off the back of the net. With two minutes remaining, the team made its final run.\nJunior forward Adam Fishbein, junior forward Daniel Keeney and Karlander surged down the ice. Fishbein, puck in hand, rushed a 20-foot shot, which missed the net and banked off the glass, spinning back in front of the goal. Keeney rushed toward the puck and beat the defenders to the spot with the goalie out of position. Keeney picked up the banked miss and quickly put it in the net.\n“We went absolutely insane,” said Karlander, who made first team all-tournament alongside freshman goalie Justin Lincoln.\nBut the game wasn’t over yet. An intense final two minutes ensued, and an overall team effort stunned Michigan as they were ousted from the semifinals.\nIU faced Grand Valley State in the semifinals, a team they lost to twice to in the regular season. Grand Valley State’s 7-1 pounding of IU on Nov. 30 was its worst margin of defeat in the season.\nIn the first period, IU got off to a 1-0 lead, but a fluke goal tied the game. The score remained 1-1 until the third period when freshman forward K.C. Madock scored off a pass from sophomore forward Brandon Dornish during a power play. Karlander scored the final goal, and combined with a strong defensive effort, sealed IU’s first appearance in the national championship in eight years.\nIU met powerhouse Davenport and faced its third contest in less than 24 hours. Davenport came out strong and led 2-0 until Fishbein made a swift pass out of the corner to Keeney, which resulted in a quick shot, a blocked puck by the goalie and a tap in by Karlander. IU grew more confident, but it was depleted when Davenport scored with five seconds left in the second period.\n“They were celebrating like the game was over.” Karlander said. “That was a dagger.” \nDown 4-1, IU had a face-off in Davenport territory. Karlander won it and quickly passed back to Henderson, who nailed a shot off the goalpost. The rest of the way, IU played as aggressively as they could, but the team ran out of gas and came up short, losing 5-2.\n“There were lots of emotions.” Karlander said. “It was the last game of some of our lives.”.