Wednesday, March 21, 2012

FGCU Wins ACHA D2 Title



Behind third-period power play goals from Evan Goetz and Dan Echeverri, the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles dethroned Grand Valley State 4-2 for the ACHA D2 crown on their home ice Tuesday afternoon.

GVSU - the team that advanced from the tournament's Pool D with a 4-2 win over the Ice Lions Sunday - turned a 1-0 deficit after the first period into a 2-1 lead entering the third, only to subquently see the the result flipped back the other way. The Brothers Wilhelm, Brad and Chad (aside: their parents may be pure evil) provided the goal scoring for the Lakers, who won the 2011 national championship with a win over Michigan State.

A repeat was not to be, however. The Eagles needed only 61 total seconds on the two third-period GVSU penalties to swing the score in their favor. Goalie Ryan Lynch made sure it held up, as he turned aside 47 of 49 shots. That Lakers' Josh LaVigne was also stellar in defeat, making 36 saves before FGCU's 40th shot found a vacated cage to seal the win.

The two teams advanced to the championship game with decisive semifinal wins on Monday. Pool C winner Florida Gulf Coast topped Pool A victor Michigan State 5-2, while Grand Valley State thumped Pool B's William Paterson 7-2.

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