Finlandia crowned MCHA champs Sunday

With just 51 seconds to play, Ryan Sullivan scored his second goal of the game to give the Finlandia Lions the MCHA Harris Cup title Sunday afternoon in Hancock over the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

"Wow, this is unbelievable, the feeling is just incredible," Finlandia head coach Joe Burcar said. "I am extremely happy for the players. They have paid their dues and are deserving of this. This is why you play the game."

The Lions were down 2-0 in the first period and saw MSOE tie the game at 3-3 with about six minutes to play, but emerged victorious in front of a packed house at the Houghton County Arena.

"We just kept battling," Burcar said. "This was two great teams on the ice. There were lots of ups and downs, but we kept pushing until we found a way."

Finlandia held a 3-2 lead when Keith Johnstone scored on a power play 11:06 into the third. MSOE never gave up, getting the equalizer when RG Flath scored his second of the day with 6:01 to play to knot the score at 3-3.

Just when everyone was thinking overtime, Sullivan gave his team the lead with a shot from just inside the blue line over the shoulder of the Raider keeper.

Josh Paquette tied the game at 2-2 in the middle of the second period, burying an unassisted goal after a turnover.

Sullivan's heroics earned him MCHA Tournament MVP honors, and he was joined on the All-Tournament Team by teammates Joe Beaudry and Marc Marcotte. MSOE's Jason Woll and Blair Hanberg and Lawrence 's Billy Siers and Andrew Isaac rounded out the squad.