March 21, 2008

Final Stats  l Notes l Quotes

DETROIT, Mich. - Miami junior defenseman Alec Martinez scored 6:06 into overtime to lead the No. 3-ranked RedHawks in a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over the No. 11-ranked Fighting Irish on Friday (March 21) at Joe Louis Arena.

Miami advances to the CCHA Championship game for the third time in program history and will face the winner of tonight's 8:30 p.m. game between Northern Michigan and Michigan. The Championship game is slated to begin at 7:35 p.m. and will be televised on FSN in high definition for the first time.

The teams traded power-play opportunities early in the first period, but Miami garnered the best chance of the two when Martinez boomed a shot from just inside the blue line. The attempt ricocheted off the end boards to the front of the net, where it was scooped up by left winger Ryan Jones. The senior's shot was denied by the Irish netminder, junior Jordan Pearce, who also covered up freshman forward Pat Cannone's follow-up shot.

Through 20 minutes of play, the RedHawks out shot Notre Dame by an 11-3 margin.

With a two-on-one breakaway, Miami was again thwarted by Pearce. Junior forward Justin Mercier carried the puck into the zone joined by freshman center Carter Camper. Mercier elected to keep the puck, wristing a shot that was absorbed by Pearce to negate the odd-man rush.

Neither team could put the puck in the net during the second stanza and the game remained knotted at 0-0.

Senior right wing Mark Van Guilder gave Notre Dame a chance to take the lead with the man advantage. Van Guilder's hard shot got past Miami's junior goalie Jeff Zatkoff but the puck pinged off the far goal post to keep the game even.

With time winding down in the game, senior right wing Evan Rankin ended the scoreless deadlock with his eighth goal of the season at 15:30. Freshman center Ben Ryan snagged a pass deep in his zone from sophomore forward Dan Kissel and walked the puck into the left face-off circle. Ryan sent a backhand dish to Rankin, whose quick shot fooled Zatkoff and lit the lamp, giving Notre Dame the 1-0 lead.

Senior blueliner Mitch Ganzak forced the game into an extra session with second goal of the 2007-08 campaign at 19:56. Camper collected a pass from sophomore forward Jarod Palmer and blasted a shot that was turned aside by Pearce. The big rebound was grabbed by Ganzak, however, and the senior's slap shot from the left face-off circle found its way through traffic to tie the contest at a goal apiece.

In the overtime period, Martinez's eighth tally of the season gave Miami the sudden-victory win. Junior forward Brian Kaufman threw the puck up to Martinez just inside the blue line, and the rearguard's shot from the top of the slot gave the RedHawks the 2-1 win.