Ann Arbor, Michigan- As was said in the pamphlet that was handed out at the ticket desk, Charlie Jones is quoted as saying that the highlight of last year's EMU Season for him was winning against #1-ranked Ohio University when he scored in a shootout. I think we can count this as a great highlight for this season. Charlie Jones's Hat Trick including the game winning goal, and game clinching goal in the third period helped give Eastern Michigan a hard fought 4-2 victory to complete the series sweep in conjunction with the 9-6 victory last night in Dearborn.

Tonight's game was simply put a very defensive oriented affair with both teams getting very few good opportunities to score throughout the game. This is evident by only 36 shots on goal being recorded for the game, which is a number that many teams pass through 2 1/2 periods. Also add into the mix that this was your prototypical EMU-Dearborn game with a lot of hitting and you have a pretty good idea about what happened. The scoring began 9:13 into the game on Dearborn's second shot by Mike Ross[Adam Stoner, Steven Galvan] to give Michigan-Dearborn a 1-0 lead. Eastern Michigan was however able to respond with 5:59 left in the first period on Charlie Jones's first goal, with assists being awarded to Derek Wilson and Aaron Diez on Eastern Michigan's second power play of the game. The first period concluded with the score being tied at 1.

The second period was very similar to that of the first period in the style of play. However, in the second period, EMU was able to get a few opportunities on the power play on some pretty obvious calls. The Eagles were able to take their first lead of the night with 10:52 left in the period on a goal from senior Jeremy Majszak[Jones] on the power play to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead. However, at the end of another EMU Power Play, Michigan-Dearborn was able to score the tying goal with 3:59 left in the period on a goal from Michael Crowley[Marino Santi]. Basically a bit of sloppy puck control and sloppy positioning led to Crowley being able to pound the puck past Gresham. The second period ended with the score being tied at 2.

The third period was another highly defensive period with both teams not doing a ton to risk the tie score. However, ultimately the play of the game came with only 2:31 left in the game as the Eagles were able to steal the puck from a Michigan-Dearborn skater in his own zone and had a 2 on 0 opportunity which Charlie Jones took full advantage of and gave the Eagles a 3-2 lead. Assists on the game winning goal went to Mike Opyd and Jeremy Majszak. Michigan-Dearborn then in the last minute after pulling goaltender Stephen Yu put on a furious rally to try to get the tying goal, but were unable to and Charlie Jones was able to from the offensive blue line score the hat trick clinching goal and a victory dive with 9.8 seconds left to put the Eagles ahead by the unachievable margin of 4-2. 

Overall, it was a very entertaining game and an expected game after the 9-6 shootout that happened in Michigan-Dearborn Friday Night. The game in my view was about as evenly played of a hockey game as you will see, except I personally felt that Michigan-Dearborn didn't seem to have the same sharpness that they had in the first meeting and in past games. It wouldn't shock me though if this was just simply the result of fatigue after playing such a wide open hockey game the night before. It will be interesting to see how the Wolves perform at the National Tournament.

Tonight's game was the final home game at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube for four seniors. All four of the seniors were an integral part of the successes that the Eastern Michigan Hockey Club had this season and in past seasons as well. As is traditional for my final recap of the season, the Swoop Zone would like to honor the achievements and successes of the four seniors. They are:

#9: Charlie Jones- Whenever the Eagles this season needed a critical goal or needed a critical play, it seemed as if Jones was always there to make it. In my opinion tonight's game was a great representation of his value on this year's team as he scored the critical goals in tonight's game. An excellent player for the Eagles.[Career Stats: 46 Goals, 99 Assists, 135 points, 100 PIM]

#14: Jeremy Majszak- Another solid player that seemed to play with a lot of grit and determination when he was out there on the ice. Concluded his career tonight was a goal and an assist on the game winning goal. [Career Stats: 23 Goals, 21 Assists, 44 points, 90 PIM]

#15: Derek Wilson- The captain of this year's Eastern Michigan Hockey team and a player who was a linchpin in keeping the team together on the ice and off the ice. I would also be ignorant if I didn't mention the amazing fan support that he had from his entire family and as it seemed at times from all of Riverview. [Career Stats: 23 Goals, 40 Assists, 63 points, 133 PIM]

#29: Tom Gresham- Just another in the line of good, solid goaltenders to have come through the EMU Hockey Program. Simply put, he opened up the eyes of everyone at the 2003 National Tournament where he impressed the ACHA Hockey Community. He definitely didn't disappoint in his senior season where a large number of the Eagles victories could be credited directly to his solid play, and some absolutely amazing saves in net.[Career Stats: 23-25, 1 Shutout]

*NOTE: All stats are based off of stats through January 28, 2006 plus any stats from today accumulated.

The Swoop Zone would like to applaud the efforts of these four seniors who played in their final game tonight. The Swoop Zone would also like to recognize the importance that this group of players has also meant to the EMU Hockey program as a whole. Considering the unfortunate things that happened during the 2003-2004 season, these players stuck with the Eastern Michigan Hockey program despite knowing that this team would not have the opportunity to compete in two National Tournaments. Simply put, regardless of record this season, I personally believe that people like the four of you have helped to keep the EMU Eagles Hockey Program going in the correct direction, and that needs to be recognized. It has truthfully been a treat and a pleasure to watch your performances on the ice. We wish you all well in your future endeavors on and off the ice.

Looking Ahead:
As has been emphasized by everyone in the circles around Eastern Michigan University Hockey, the Eagles will now travel to Kalamazoo, Michigan for the 2006 CSCHL Championships. Eastern Michigan is the #7 seed and will on Friday, face off against the #2 University of Illinois. Recall that the Eastern Eagles despite being swept by Illinois in Champagne, only lost the Saturday game by the score of 8-7. The game will be at 1:30 PM.

Thanks again for another great season of EMU Hockey and again I would like to thank everyone for reading!

For the final recap of the 2005-2006 Season: Go Green!
-Kevin