DEARBORN, Mich. – For the first time in program history, Lawrence Tech Ice Hockey has claimed the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) tournament title. The Blue Devils did it the hard way, winning three games in three days to claim the tournament title and a berth to the ACHA national tournament.
Former Riverkings forward number 28, Hogan McNeish, is playing for Lawrence Tech University, now wearing number 18 for the Blue Devils. McNeish is taking full advantage of his scholarship pursuing a dual degree at LTU; Architecture and Civil Engineering. McNeish scored the first home goal for LTU this season, scored the last goal of the regular season for LTU, and made the Dean’s List proving that success is more than what happens on the ice.
The Blue Devils defeated and top two seeds in the tournament on consecutive days. In the semifinals on Saturday, LTU scored the golden goal in overtime to upset #2 Cleary. #1 Indiana Tech used some overtime magic of its own to defeat #4 UM-Dearborn in the semifinals and setup Sunday’s matchup.
The Blue Devils came out firing with Bradley Scott scoring unassisted in the seventh minute of the first period. Indiana Tech found the equalizer in the 17th minute with a power play goal from Michael Dalaly, assisted by Ryan Doucette. Lawrence Tech created some breathing room in the second period, outscoring Indiana Tech 2-0. The Blue Devils got goals from Adrian Gonzalez-Marin and Maximus Nguyen.
That lead would not hold for long as Indiana Tech scored goals in the third and fourth minutes of the third period to stun LTU and knot the game up. Joey Mocnik scored the first and Ethan Dominy (Ethan is also a former Riverkings player) scored the equalizer. The game remained tied 3-3 until late in the third when a Warrior defensive miscue opened an opportunity for Adrian Gonzalez-Marin who did not squander it, finding the net at the 15:39 mark for the game winner.
Lawrence Tech is the first number three seed to win the WHAC hockey tournament.
The Blue Devils secured a bid to Nationals and faced off against the University of Mary, ranked 10th nationally. LTU held the lead until just past the midway point of the third period. A late goal gave Mary the eventual win but the Blue Devils went toe to toe with the 10th ranked team in the country and nearly pulled it off.
Congratulations to Hogan McNeish and the LTU Blue Devils!