Box Score GENEVA, Ill. – MSOE hockey had not hit the ice for game action since February 27th when they beat Lake Forest 6-1, but the Raiders needed to get back into gear quickly as they took on Aurora in the Harris Cup south semifinals. The Red and White scored twice early and the defense took them the rest of the way as they advance with a one goal victory.
FINAL SCORE - Harris Cup South Semifinals
No. 3 Seed MSOE RAIDERS – 2
No. 2 Seed Aurora – 1
HOW IT HAPPENED
MSOE (9-5-1, 3-4-1 NCHA South) entered the playoffs tied with Aurora (5-6-0, 4-4-0 NCHA South) with 12 points each but the Spartans won a tiebreaker to send the Red & White on the road for tonight's single game elimination Harris Cup divisional semifinal round. Both teams brought their all to the point where no one was able to score an even strength goal this evening. Adem Arifi and Stuart Harley set up Brandon Turer for the games first goal on the power play less than five minutes into the opening period. MSOE made it 2-0 when Nigel Nelson scored on the man-up advantage, this time at just over the five-minute mark thanks to helpers from Kevin Paganini and Jack Nickels. The Raiders entered the final 20 minutes with a two-goal lead, and they would go on to need both of them. The Spartans finally scored at the 4:20 in the third and outshot the Red & White 13-6 in the period. However, the MSOE defense held their ground and netminder Logan Halladay stopped every shot but that lone goal as the Raiders down the Spartans and advance to the divisional championship round.
RAIDER REMARKS
- Tonight marks the Raiders first Harris Cup victory since they beat Adrian 3-1 in the quarterfinals back on February 15, 2019.
MSOE STAT TRACKER
Shots – Kevin Paganini (8)
Goals – Brandon Turer & Nigel Nelson (1)
Assists – Four with one
Points – Six with one
Saves – Logan Halladay (34)
WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders will now move on to play No. 1 seed Adrian in the divisional championships. The two-game series (plus mini game if necessary) will take place this Friday and Saturday in Michigan.
For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at www.go-raiders.com. You can also follow the Red & White on Twitter @MSOE_Raiders and @msoe_raiders on Instagram.
