Game Detail

Keizer's lone goal leads Raiders over Sabres

By Chris Zill, MCHA Public Relations Director

Defense was the name of the game in the second semifinal Friday night at Arrington Ice Arena, with Milwaukee School of Engineering earning a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Marian University in the MCHA Tournament.
Jordan Keizer scored the game-winner in the first period and goalie Nick Kohn (pictured) made 29 saves to record the shutout, helping the Raiders advance to tomorrow’s championship game.

“That was good playoff hockey – that’s what it’s all about,” MSOE head coach Mark Ostapina said. “A 1-0 game, I think it’s great and shows that both teams are very competitive. Both goalies played outstanding and that is the key. Both teams proved themselves on both sides of the puck. I am proud of MSOE, without question, but Marian also did a phenomenal job – definitely a worthy opponent.”

Kohn was at his best in the third, making 10 total stops – several of the highlight variety. Marian made one final push at the end, pulling the goalie for the final 63 seconds. But, the Raider defense held, with the Sabres getting off three shots – two on target – but both stopped in traffic by Kohn.

“For a freshman, we just know how good he (Kohn) is,” Ostapina said. “Coming out of juniors, he played for the Chicago Hitmen and it was always ‘helter-skelter’ in that situation. Bringing him in, we know he could play and that if anyone could deal with situations like that, it was him.”

Keizer netted the only goal of the game at the 8:42 mark of the first period, throwing in a rebounded shot off the goalie’s pads from a tough angle for his 17th of the season. That came just minutes after Marian failed to take advantage of a great chance, with Kohn making a nice stop on a breakaway by Tyler Klein.
“That’s Jordy Keizer - Jordan has been doing that his whole career,” Ostapina said. “He always seems to rise to the occasion when others can’t. He’s a very special individual and when the puck is on his stick, you never know what is going to happen.”

Marian goalie Josh Baker was almost as good, making 26 saves, including a handful of great saves in the second. That period was just as even as the first, with MSOE maintaining the 10-9 shot edge to make it an even 19-19 after two.

MSOE was the only team to take advantage of a scoring opportunity in an even first period, with the Sabres actually holding a 10-9 edge in shots in the first 20 minutes. The game ended with the Sabres holding a 29-27 edge in shots overall.

The Raiders will now take on Adrian College, which advanced with an 8-0 win over Northland College in the first semifinal of the evening. The puck will drop on the MCHA Tournament Championship Saturday at 4 p.m. Links for live stats and live video are available on the MCHA schedule page.

FOR SCORES AND RESULTS:https://mchahockey.com/schedule-results/2012-13-results
FOR LEAGUE STANDINGS:https://mchahockey.com/standings/2012-13-standings

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT;Chris Zills, MCHA Director of Public Relations