After a great start to their respective conference tournaments, Colgate and Miami University suffered crushing defeats in the semifinals on Friday night. Miami lost to the 14th ranked Western Michigan team, 6-2 in the CCHA Tournament, with Reilly Smith scoring the only goals for Miami -- his 28th and 29th of the season. Miami handed WMU nine power play chances in the game and three goals on the man-advantage gave the lower-ranked team all the firepower they needed.
Miami will face Bowling Green today at 2:35 in the third-place game, although their season will likely not be over after this weekend. Miami, nationally ranked for most of the season, will be headed to the NCAA tournament starting next week. There's hope that Miami could make some noise and make it to the Frozen Four in Tampa Bay April 5th and 7th.
Austin Smith and Colgate, however, will see their season end today. Colgate lost 6-2 to Union in the semifinals and will play for 3rd place in the ECAC Tournament today at 3:30 pm. Smith recorded just a single assist in the game.
With Smith's college career now over, it's likely he'll sign an ELC soon with the Stars and hopefully could end up in Austin to play with the Texas Stars and begin his pro career with just a few weeks remaining in the AHL season. It will be some great experience for a prospect who has enjoyed a heck of senior season and is a finalist for the Hobey Baker after leading the nation in goals.
We'll have more on the Stars prospects on Tuesday.