This Week in CCHA RinkRap: A Streak of Futility Put to Bed, a Brutal Commute, and Two Defensemen Achieve New Heights
Crossing the Icy Desert
The last time it happened was five season ago in a men’s conference that no longer exists. On November 1, 2019, Alex Barber slipped a puck past Dryden McKay in overtime, propelling Bowling Green to a victory over Minnesota State, a rematch of their 2019 WCHA title match. In the November game, Ty Eigner was in his first season at the helm of the Falcons and Lucas Sowder was a freshman for the Mavericks, the only remnants from that contest. That game became magnified over the years because it was the last time Bowling Green beat Minnesota State, a streak of domination that spanned their next 13 encounters. That streak came to a dramatic halt this past Friday.
It was another scintillating clash between these foes, a game that roared into the 60th minute tied at 3-3. Suddenly a puck bounced onto the Falcons unquestioned leader, and Ethan Scardina found himself on a breakaway with the game on his stick. He calmly broke the tie with a wrist shot, leading to pandemonium in the CCHA’s favorite Madhouse—Slater Arena.
“This is what you live for, it feels amazing” Scardina said in Friday’s triumphant post game. “They’ve been very good, the top of our league for I don’t know how many years.” For the historical record, Minnesota State has won six straight MacNaughton Cup championships, a streak spanning two different leagues. All of those Cup hoists in Mankato were under the leadership of the departed Mike Hastings. This past off-season, Eigner—like the rest of the CCHA coaching fraternity—sniffed opportunity after Hastings exited Mankato with his six-man bundle of scorers and staffers.
“Hey, this race is wide open now, who’s going to go get it?” Eigner said back in April. That optimism was quashed in September when Eigner’s leader scorer left a gaping hole when he transferred to Michigan Tech on the eve of opening day. Collateral damage included an alleged hazing scandal that put Scardina and linemate Seth Fyten on the shelf for the season’s first 10 games. BGSU went 2-8 over that span, and the Falcons season of promise appeared to be one of the bleakest in memory.
Those dark days were forgotten at 19:01 of the third period Friday night, as somewhere under the dogpile of orange and brown jerseys was the Falcons vindicated captain, celebrating a goal for the ages, or in this case, five long years. Scardina’s six-word epitaph to a 13-game losing streak bears repeating: “This is what you live for.”
The Long Slog
Immediately after Ferris State ended Lake State’s four-game CCHA win streak Friday night in Big Rapids, the two teams piled into their respective buses and plowed north to Sault Ste. Marie. Typical of a Michigan January, the primary route was a ribbon of white, as State Route 31 was the target of lake-effect snow blowing off frosty Lake Michigan.
“In hindsight, I would have looked to move our game here [in Big Rapids] to Thursday,” said Ferris coach Bob Daniels, whose commute to the Soo—including a five-mile traverse over the world’s longest suspension bridge—was extended by an hour due to the inclement weather.
The eight-hour transition between post-game shower and Saturday’s puck-drop resulted in wooden legs and a slow grind by both teams. Get over it said Lake State assistant D.J. Goldstein. Tough turnarounds are simply cold, hard facts of hockey life.
“These guys want to go on and be pro hockey players, that’s what it’s going to be at the next level,” Goldstein said during Saturday’s second intermission. “It’s going to be a long travel night and play again the next night, [they’ve] got to figure it out.”
With no shortage of irony, Saturday’s tilt was extended to overtime, and it was Ferris defenseman Travis Shoudy who made quick work of the extra session. The sophomore scored less than a minute into sudden death, his second snipe of the Bulldogs’ double-win weekend.
Getting noticed by pro scouts might seem hopeless while playing for a last-place team, but over the holiday break Shoudy found himself in the right place at the right time. Detroit Red Wings scouts have a permanent spot high in press row at Van Andel Arena, the home of their AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins. Two Wings staffers were in place to watch Michigan State at last month’s Great Lakes invitational when Shoudy scored a highlight-reel goal—similar to Saturday’s gem—against the Sparties in the GLI semis. It prompted a conversation between the Wings’ railbirds and a CCHA beat reporter. The men in red raised their eyebrows when they learned that Shoudy led all 80 GLI skaters with 14 assists.
Shoudy is conditioned to long bus rides from his time with Cedar Rapids in the USHL, and he retains his scoring touch despite lengthy commutes. The 21-year old is rapidly becoming a Division I star with a bright professional future. Shoudy is a guy who’s figured it out.
Second-Chance Points
Another CCHA blue-line star is Michigan Tech sophomore Matthew Campbell, a guy who missed all of last season as a healthy scratch for national champion Quinnipiac. The transfer is now getting max minutes in Houghton, and he has made the most of them. Against Bemidji, Campbell joined Shoudy with his own two-goal weekend: a seeing-eye wrist shot and a 55-foot bomb. In addition to his shooting prowess, Campbell’s clever stick skills help him dodge heavy forechecks to generate clean zone exits. He is reluctant to talk about personal achievements other than his small-increment gains. “I try not to think about the little successes,” Campbell said. “I want to go in and out of the rink each day and say I got 1% better. By the end of the year that adds up to a good year of improvement.”