17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø

A cross country trip produced a national championship for the 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø club men's ice hockey team as the Knights captured the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division III National Championship with a 5-0 victory over the University of Georgia Saturday night. Saturday's championship game was played at the Alltell Ice Den — the practice facility of the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes. Saturday's victory over Georgia completed a three-day tournament run that saw 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø rip off four straight victories to capture its first-ever national championship. 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø finishes the year with a sparkling 29-1 record, establishing a new 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø single-season record for victories.

17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø sophomore forward Max Sieplinga of Grand Rapids Christian High School was voted the tournament's Most Valuable Player on offense and landed a spot on the all-tournament team for the second straight year. Sieplinga finished the tournament with four goals including the final goal in 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø's 5-0 win over Georgia Saturday night.
17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø opened the tournament with a 5-0 victory over the University of Richmond on Thursday morning and then topped South Dakota State 8-3 Thursday night.
In a Friday semifinal contest, top-seeded 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø met second-seeded Arizona State University which also happened to be the host of the 16-team tournament. Trailing 1-0 early on, 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø rallied for three first period goals to take a 3-1 lead and then broke open a 3-2 lead with two goals in the third including a game-clinching goal by junior Jason Koole (Tri-unity Christian HS) into an empty net that finished off a 5-2 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø victory.
"That was a huge victory," said 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø coach Mike Petrusma after the conclusion of the tournament. "We knew Arizona State was a high-flying offensive team and we knew it would be difficult winning in its own back-yard. That victory gave us a lot of confidence for the championship final."
In the final, 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø freshman goaltender Gregory Clark (LaPorte, IN) collected his second shutout of the tournament while the Knights scored once in the first and once in the second to take a 2-0 lead into the final period of play. Koole picked up 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø's first goal with sophomore Nick VerKuyl (Whitby, ON)scoring the second goal for the Knights.
"We felt pretty good about a two-goal lead," said Petrusma. "Our defense was sensational throughout the tournament and we felt that two goals was good enough to get the job done. At the same time, we wanted to keep attacking when the opportunities were there."
17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø did just that as Koole scored his team-leading sixth goal of the tournament early in the third period to give the Knights a 3-0 lead. 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø then went up 4-0 on goal by freshman Bryan Bandstra (Terrace, BC), only to suffer back-to-back penalties which gave the Bulldogs a two-man advantage. It soon became a three-man advantage as Georgia lifted its goaltender but Sieplinga made the Bulldogs pay as he won a faceoff, beat a gaggle of Georgia defenders on a sprint up the ice and lifted a shot into an empty Georgia net with 50 seconds left to play."
"Wow. What an accomplishment for this group of guys," said Petrusma. "We have such a wonderful blend of players who play so well together. We've got players from West Michigan, Canada and all over the United States but they're like a group of brothers who always look out for each other. I'm just tickled pink to see this group win a national championship."
17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø sophomore defensiveman Elijah DeGroot (Sarnia, ON) and VerKuyl were also named to the all-tournament first team.
Hope College took fifth at the tournament with a 3-1 record as the Flying Dutchmen split their first two games before rebounding to win their final two.
Other local players on the 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø ice hockey team included sophomore defensiveman Dave Veeneman (Grand Rapids Christian HS), sophomore forward Nate Heuker (South Christian HS), junior defensiveman Isaac Hoogland (Grand Rapids Christian HS) and sophomore forward Dan DeKorne (Grand Rapids Christian HS).
Prior to this season, 17cÆð²ÝÉçÇø had made two trips to the ACHA Division III Championships, finishing third in 1993 and in 2003.