Men O\' War Clinch Playoff Spot
March 24, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Burlington News Release
Lexington, KY- The Men clinched a playoff berth in style on Sunday night. The Men beat the Rivermen in Peoria 1-0 in a shootout. The win clinched a spot in the Kelly Cup playoffs for the Men in their inaugural season. For the week, the Men went 2-2-0 with wins in Johnstown and Peoria and losses in Wheeling and Cincinnati. This week, the MOW finish off their regular season schedule with two games in two nights. On Friday, the Men close out their home regular season schedule vs. the Reading Royals. Saturday, the Men travel to Greensboro to play the Generals.
Wednesday, March 19thâLexington 3 at Johnstown 4 SO
The stakes were high in Johnstown as the Men O' War beat the Johnstown Chiefs 4-3 in a shootout for their biggest win of the season. The win helped the Men pull away from the Chiefs in the battle for the final playoff spot in the ECHL's Northwest Division. Ben Storey scored the shoootout game winner as goaltender Dan Murphy stopped five of six Chiefs in the shootout. Joe Vandermeer had his hand in all three Lexington goals with one tally and two helpers. Storey also added a goal and an assist in regulation. Ryan Fultz added the other regulation MOW marker.
Friday, March 21st-Lexington 0 at Wheeling 4
Lexington fell to the Nailers 4-0 on Friday. Dmitri Doulebenets scored twice, and Nailers' goalie Mike Valley stopped all 30 Lexington shots for his third shutout of the season. Lexington was shutout for the seventh time this year and third time in their last five road games.
Saturday, March 22nd âLexington 2 at Cincinnati 3
Cyclones' rookie goalie Peter Hamerlik held off a late flurry of Lexington shots in the last seconds to secure his first pro win. Lexington ended a goalless drought of 111:52 by scoring their first goal in nearly two games late in the third. Justin Van Parys broke the drought with his second goal of the season. Brett Draney scored less than a minute after Van Parys to cut Cincy's lead to 3-2, but the Men were never able to tie the game. With the win, Cincinnati took sole possession of third place in the division jumping over Lexington by one point in the standings.
Sunday, March 23rd âLexington 1 at Peoria 0
The Men O' War clinched their first trip to the playoffs in their first season with an amazing 1-0 shootout win over Peoria. Dan Murphy got the shutout in regulation as well as in the shootout for his 21st win of the year. Murphy stopped 27 shots in regulation and all four shooters in the shootout for the playoff-clinching win. Lexington's Ben Storey and Alex Mathieu scored in the shootout helping Lexington seal the win. The Men got some help from Toledo who beat Johnstown 5-4 in Toledo finishing the playoff race.
UPCOMING GAMES ......
The Men round out their regular season schedule with a home game vs. Reading on Friday and a trip to Greensboro on Saturday. The Royals dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Men the last time the teams met on February 21st at Rupp Arena. The Men are 1-2-1 vs. the Generals with all four meetings coming before the All-Star Break. The Generals earned a shootout win on opening night at Rupp Arena.
MOW Tracks
Dan Murphy has played in 21 consecutive games in the Men O' War net. Murphy is 10-10-1 over that stretch...The Men will face either Peoria or Toledo in the first round of the ECHL playoffs.
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