Business Etiquette | Mikhail Nilov (Pexels)
Business Etiquette | Mikhail Nilov (Pexels)
Matthew Gleason scored 3:09 into overtime to lead Colorado College to its first road playoff sweep in program history with a 3-2 victory over 7th-ranked Western Michigan Saturday night at Lawson Arena.
With the victory, the Tigers advance to next weekend's NCHC Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul, Minn., for the second time and is the first No. 7 seed to advance to the league's final four. Colorado College advanced to the Frozen Faceoff in 2019 following a three-game series win at Western Michigan.
Gleason pounced on a rebound for his fourth career game-winning goal after WMU goalie Cameron Rowe saved a shot from Patrick Cozzi to give the Tigers its first postseason overtime win since March 15, 2014 (3-2 at North Dakota). Logan Will also collected an assist on the play by winning a faceoff and sending the puck to Cozzi.
Kaidan Mbereko posted another spectacular outing in the net for the Tigers, making 28 saves, including three in overtime.
Western Michigan freshman Ryan McAllister scored first for the second straight night. Max Sasson found McAllister at the right circle and he placed a wrist shot past Mbereko at the 10:32 mark of the opening period.
The Tigers struck just 14 seconds later when Stanley Cooley stole the puck in the Bronco end and found Noah Serdachny, who beat Rowe from the slot at 10:46.
Serdachny had a golden opportunity for his second goal of the game, but Rowe stoned him on a breakaway five minutes into the second period.
However, Noah Laba put the Tigers in the lead with his 11th goal of the season at the 7:15 mark of the middle frame. Laba took a pass from Hunter McKown and fired a shot from the left circle that Rowe initially saved, but the puck snuck through Rowe's legs and past the goal line.
Sasson scored the only goal in the third period, collecting a rebound following a McAllister shot and placing it past Mbereko.
The Tigers outshot Western Michigan, 31-30, with Serdachny and Bryan Yoon each posting a team-high four. Each team was 0-for-1 on the power play.
Colorado College will play the league's top seed, Denver, in the NCHC semifinals on Friday, March 17 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. Game time is yet to be announced. For ticket info for the Frozen Faceoff, please visit www.cctigers.com/tickets.
Original source can be found here.