Icecats finish on top

The third game for the Icecats in the American Collegiate Hockey Association's national championship tournament turned out to be inconsequential, but a drubbing of the Tigers salvaged UA's record at the tournament at 1-2.

"It was a great way to end the season," UA head coach Leo Golembiewski said. "It was absolutely huge that we finished out on a high note."

The Icecats will likely finish No. 5 in the final ACHA rankings, Golembiewski said.

The Icecats outshot Towson 42-18 as freshman Jason Morgan secured the only shutout of the tournament. Six different Icecats netted goals, with Mike Graves leading the charge with two. Ty Brush, Kyle Neary, senior Bob Majka, Marc Harris and Kevin Meehan each added goals to ensure the Icecats' victory, even if it did nothing more than soften the blow from losing out on a chance to play for the title.

Iowa State, the No. 1 seed, defeated defending champion Penn State, the No. 2 seed, 6-4 in Saturday's championship game.

No. 4 Ohio's 2-1 victory over No. 3 Michigan-Dearborn in the consolation game gave the Bobcats third place.

Despite missing the finals, the final memories for seniors Brian Meehan and Majka will be good ones.

"We put the hurt on Towson," Golembiewski said. "It was important for Bob and Brian to finish out like that."

Meehan finished his Icecat career with 122 consecutive games played, an Arizona record. "He's an Ironman," Golembiewski said. "Hell, he never missed a game."

Majka went out on top as well, scoring a rare goal in his final game as an Icecat.

The Icecats' youth leaves the team with a sense of hope for the future. By far the youngest team in the ACHA Tournament, the Icecats can look forward to another two years with center Harris and left-wing Paul Dorn on the ice.

"We're incredibly young," Golembiewski said. "I'm incredibly heartened by the overall effort this year and look forward to my future with these guys."

Ryan Finley can be reached at Ryan.Finley@wildcat.arizona.edu.