#5 Blue Hens upset bid falls short, fall 2-0 to #1 Lindenwood in Final Four

The #5 UD Fightin' Blue Hens battled hard for 60 minutes in their semifinal matchup with top-seeded and two-time defending national champion Lindenwood University, but came just short of an upset as they fell 2-0 in front of yet another packed crowd at the Fred Rust Arena on Tuesday night.

After advancing to the Final Four through a comeback double-overtime victory over #4 Adrian College, many questioned how much the Blue Hens would have left in the tank. However, UD pushed the Lions to the wire and even controlled play for large chunks of the game with the traditional St. Louis-based powerhouse.

Lindenwood took the lead late in the first period on a partial breakaway by Colin Long, as he deeked to his backhand and placed a shot high to the blocker side of sophomore goalie SJ Broadt (Marlton, NJ). The goal seemed as if it would deflate the Blue Hens but they roared back in the second period.

Freshman Mike Piet (Robbinsville, NJ) and junior Andre Menard (Basking Ridge, NJ) each were denied on breakaways by LU goaltender Robi Cavallari in the middle frame and a rebound goal that flipped up and over Broadt with just over minute to play in the period prooved to be the backbraker for Delaware as that concluded the scoring.

Lindenwood played a very disciplined and sound defensive game as they successfully shut down the Hens powerplay and gave up just 24 shots on goal. Delaware however, was also bailed out by their penalty-kill consistently throughout the game and may have given the Lions even less scoring chances, but they were able to capitalize twice on their 24 shots.

The run to the Final Four was a tremendous accomplishment for the team, who failed to make the tournament last year finishing as the #15 ranked team in the ACHA and being bounced out by automatic bid winners. This was Delaware's third appearance in the Final Four in the past five years, as they lost to Penn State and Lindenwood in the semifinals in 2007 and 2008.

Lindenwood went on to lose the championship game to second-ranked Davenport (Mich.) University 3-2 in overtime on Wednesday in the Fred Rust Arena. It is Devenport's fourth consecutive national title, as they had won the previous three at the ACHA M2 level.

Sophomore goalie SJ Broadt (Marlton, NJ) and senior captain Brandon Weiner (Bridgewater, NJ) were recognized for their play in the tournament being selected for 2nd-Team All Tournament. It is Weiner's second time being honored by the ACHA as he also made second team All-Tournament in 2008.

All-Tournament Selections:

2010-2011
Tournament Most Valuable Player
Forward	#22	Bobby Collar	Davenport
1st Team
Goalie	#30	Robi Cavallari	Lindenwood
Defense	#12	Colin Long	Lindenwood
Defense	#20	Kevin Brojek	Davenport
Forward	#20	Cory Spradling	Lindenwood
Forward	#53	Jonathan Juliano	Davenport
Forward	#51	Brit Ouellette	Davenport
2nd Team
Goalie	#33	S.J. Broadt	Delaware
Defense	#13	Brandon Weiner	Delaware
Defense	#8	Jonathan Gulch	Ohio
Forward	#91	Alex Roth	Lindenwood
Forward	#81	Grant Gorczyca	Lindenwood
Forward	#17	Sean McKenzie	Davenport