Hockey

The Lawrence University hockey team has been knocking on the door. Actually, it’s more like pounding on the door.

They will find out Saturday afternoon if they can finally break that door down at the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association Harris Cup semifinals at Adrian College.

Lawrence faces three-time defending league champion Adrian in the semifinals. The Vikings and Bulldogs have played three very tight games over the last year, including the 2010 Harris Cup semifinals, but Adrian has come out on top each time.

“From every game we take positives and negatives,” Lawrence coach Mike Szkodzinski said. “The positive is that we did compete with Adrian the last three times we played them. The negative is that we didn’t beat them. We know it’s going to take a tremendous effort to make that happen on Saturday.”

Adrian (21-3-1), ranked fifth in this week’s United States College Hockey Online poll, held Lawrence (14-12-1) off for a 3-2 victory in last season’s semifinals. Marian University (18-7-0) takes on ninth-ranked MSOE (21-5-1) in the other semifinal.

“At this point in the year you get a feel for the team, how everyone is feeling, how they are playing, and if they have the right mindset,” said senior captain and defenseman Jon Sheridan. “Honestly, I feel that we are all on board and believe that we are going to win on Saturday. Adrian is a good team, they have proven that for the past couple of years, but we are a good team as well.”

Adrian, which sports the nation’s current longest unbeaten streak at 14 games (13-0-1), is the top scoring team in the nation at 4.88 goals per game. Leading that prolific offense is senior forward Shawn Skelly, who has 36 points this season and 217 for his career.

Szkodzinski knows his team must improve from last weekend’s quarterfinal playoff series sweep of Northland College if it wants the opportunity to upset Adrian.

“We have to do a better job protecting the puck,” Szkodzinski said. “We turned the puck over way too many times (last weekend), it cost us a number of odd-man opportunities.”

Lawrence also has to stay out of the penalty box. The Vikings are third in the nation in penalty minutes, and Adrian is fourth. The Bulldogs ranks third in the nation on the power play and are converting at a 29.9 percent clip.

The last line of defense for the Vikings will again be senior goaltender Evan Johnson, who is coming off a solid showing against Northland. He stopped 52 of 54 shots last weekend and improved his numbers on the season to a .910 save percentage and 2.90 goals against average.

Szkodzinski said he has been buoyed by the play of his seven seniors and noted last weekend’s efforts of Johnson and forward Josh DeSmit, who had both game-winning goals against Northland.

“We’re pleased with the play of our upperclassmen,” Szkodzinski said. “It tells us our upper class has a strong desire to make something happen this year.”

The semifinal winners meet on Sunday in the Harris Cup championship game, and the winner gets an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. While that goal of playing in the NCAA Tournament is within reach, the Vikings are pushing it to the back of their minds.

“I think everyone at some point dreams the dream about winning this weekend and then moving onto the national tournament,” Sheridan said. “That’s a big part of why we all play hockey, but to be successful you have to focus on the moment and the task at hand. It’s not always easy to do that, and there is a time and place to have those dreams. When it becomes crunch time, you just focus on the moment.”

The only moment Szkodzinski is planning for is when they drop the puck against Adrian.

“Our sole focus right now is on the Adrian Bulldogs,” Szkodzinski said. “From a personal standpoint, it would be a special event (to coach a team in the NCAA Tournament). From a human standpoint, it would be natural to think what might be. We have a special group of kids here, but I wouldn’t be doing the team any justice to let my mind wander.”

Record falls again

Junior Nick Kerkman broke his own record in the weight throw at the Midwest Conference Championships last weekend. Kerkman took fifth place in the event with a throw of 48 feet, 11.5 inches. That broke his own mark of 48-8, which he set on Feb. 19.

The ‘shoe’ must go on

Freshman Curran Carlile finished fourth in the 5,000 meters at the MWC Championships last weekend. You’re thinking, OK, that’s pretty good.

Carlile’s race gets a whole lot better when you learn he ran most of the event with only one shoe.

Carlile was running neck-and-neck with another competitor for first place when they both swung into the second and third lanes to lap a slower runner. When Carlile cut back in from lane three to take the lead, the other runner stepped on his heel, and he lost his shoe.

Despite running several thousand meters with only one shoe, he finished less than 16 seconds behind the winner.

Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a weekly notes package written by Lawrence University Sports Information Director Joe Vanden Acker. It will feature teams and individual players, recap weekly awards or highlights and take a look at what’s ahead for the Vikings.

Mike Szkodzinski knows great things are possible.

The Lawrence University hockey coach has seen him team post some impressive wins during the campaign. As Szkodzinski prepares his team for the opening of the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs this weekend, he knows the Vikings can’t just show up and expect to win.

“We have a team that is capable of achieving some special things, but we’re also a team that needs to bring it’s A game the rest of the way in order to achieve the goals we’ve set for ourselves,” Szkodzinski said.

Lawrence hosts a MCHA quarterfinal playoff series with Northland College on Friday night and Saturday afternoon at the Appleton Family Ice Center. The winner advances to the Harris Cup Four at Adrian College on March 5-6.

The Vikings need to play well to defeat Northland, which has put together its best season in school history with a 9-14-2 record. Lawrence has beaten Northland in three of four meetings this year, but the Lumberjacks are coming off a weekend split against highly regarded Marian University.

“We’re going up against one of the hottest teams in the league,” Szkodzinski said.

The Vikings (12-12-1) wrapped up the regular season with a split against Finlandia University last weekend and clinched home ice with a win in the series opener. Finlandia, which scored 11 goals in the two games, then defeated Lawrence in the series finale.

“One of the staples of our program has been solid team defense, and that was definitely not the case against Finlandia. We were really disappointed with the way we treated the final game as if it didn’t matter,” Szkodzinski said.

“It’s nearly impossible to turn a switch on an off so we has coaches need to pay attention to every little detail. Attention to detail is the most important thing at the moment.”

On the flip side, Lawrence’s offense scored 10 goals last weekend. The Vikings also converted four of their nine power-play chances against Finlandia, and special teams loom as a key in the playoffs.

“We put up 10 goals this weekend and only one player had more than one. Scoring by committee was a goal this season so hopefully that’s a good omen heading into the playoffs,” Szkodzinski said.

“(Power play and penalty kill) are two things that can make or break a game at this time of the year. Everybody knows everybody so special teams are going to be a focus of the coaches.”

The Vikings also get sophomore forward Brad Scurfield, one of the team’s top scorers, back. Scurfield hasn’t played since being injured against MSOE back on Jan. 28.

“We’ve had some key injures over the past three months, and it looks like we’re going to be a little healthier going into Friday night,” Szkodzinski said.

Another key the Vikings bring to this weekend is playoff success. Lawrence has reached the Harris Cup Four semifinals in three of the past four seasons so this group of seniors understands what it takes to win in the postseason.

“At this time of the year, we always seem to see special play from our upperclassmen,” said Szkodzinski, citing seniors Evan Johnson, Jon Sheridan, Corey Garrett and Josh DeSmit. “Those guys are ready to leave a lasting impression on this program.”

Track headed to MWC meet

The Lawrence track team is headed to the Midwest Conference Championships this weekend at Grinnell College.

The Vikings are looking to improve on last year’s eighth-place finishes, and Lawrence sends an improved team on the men’s side. The Vikings have the defending men’s champion in the mile in sophomore Sam Stevens, who also placed fourth in the 800 meters a season ago.

The women’s team was dealt a huge blow this week when Rose Tepper, a NCAA Division III Championships qualifier in the high jump, was injured in practice. She will not compete this weekend but hopes to return for the NCAA meet on March 12.

Kerkman set throw record

Lawrence track standout Nick Kerkman was named the Midwest Conference Field Performer of the Week after breaking a school record.

Kerkman (Mequon, Wis./Homestead) set the Lawrence record in the 35-pound weight throw at the UW-Stevens Point Eastbay Invitational this past Saturday. Kerkman recorded a throw of 48 feet, 8 inches, to break the record of 45-7.75, which was set by Mike Pierquet in 2008.

Kerkman now holds a pair of Lawrence track records. He set the mark in the hammer throw of 145-1 during the 2010 outdoor season.

Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a weekly notes package written by Lawrence University Sports Information Director Joe Vanden Acker. It will feature teams and individual players, recap weekly awards or highlights and take a look at what’s ahead for the Vikings.