MNHL PLAYOFFS: BEARS AND MONSTERS ADVANCE TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

The MNHL playoffs continued Saturday night with two 1 goal  differential semifinal matchups, as the Blue Bears and Green Monsters secured their spots in the Season 3 Championship Series.

Blue Bears 4 - Purple Reign 3

The Blue Bears erased an early deficit and held off a late comeback attempt from the Purple Reign to earn a hard-fought 4-3 victory.

The Reign opened the scoring midway through the first period when Bobby Lewis found the back of the net off a setup from Jacey Mathy. After a scoreless stretch, the Bears responded in the second period with three unanswered goals. Daniel Fuss tied the game at 1-1 on an assist from Chris Shepard before Drew Kelly gave the Bears their first lead, finishing a play created by Zac Creamer.

Less than seven minutes later, Dylan Putnam extended the advantage to 3-1, putting the Bears firmly in control heading into the third period.

Purple Reign refused to go away. Matthew Guida scored late in the second period to cut the deficit to one, and Bobby Lewis struck again early in the third to even the game at 3-3.

With the game hanging in the balance, Bobby Dorr delivered the game-winner for the Bears with just 1:17 remaining in regulation, assisted by Drew Kelly.

The Bears finished with a 23-12 advantage in shots and will now move on to the finals.

Blue Bears Scoring

  • Daniel Fuss (#91) - Assist: Chris Shepard
  • Drew Kelly (#13) - Assist: Zac Creamer
  • Dylan Putnam (#96)
  • Bobby Dorr (#41) - Assist: Drew Kelly

Purple Reign Scoring

  • Bobby Lewis (#4) - 2 Goals
  • Matthew Guida (#21)

Green Monsters 1 - Gold Rush 0 (Shootout)

The second semifinal required extra time and ultimately a shootout to determine a winner after both teams battled through regulation and overtime scoreless.

The Green Monsters controlled much of the play, outshooting the Gold Rush 37-28, but both goaltenders were outstanding throughout the game, turning aside every shot they faced through 44 minutes of hockey and overtime.

Neither team could solve the opposing netminder in the opening two rounds of the shootout. In the third round, Alana Russell stepped up and buried the eventual game-winning shootout goal for the Monsters. Gold Rush's Karen Shull-Archer was unable to answer, securing the victory.

The win sends the Green Monsters to the championship series, while Gold Rush sees its season come to an end after a competitive playoff run.

Championship Series Set

The MNHL Season 3 Championship Final is now officially set:

Blue Bears vs Green Monsters

The series will be played as a Best-of-Three Championship Series, with both teams looking to capture the MNHL title.

The Bears enter the finals after an offensive performance led by Drew Kelly and a late heroics from Bobby Dorr, while the Monsters advance thanks to strong defensive play, outstanding goaltending, and a clutch shootout winner from Alana Russell.

With two evenly matched teams and a championship on the line, the stage is set for what promises to be an exciting conclusion to the MNHL season.