BYU Wins Sixth MCLA Championship 16-13 Over Virginia Tech

RICHMOND, Va. — In a tournament full of remarkable individual performances for Brigham Young (20-1), the Cougars got even more of them in the title game of the MCLA National Championships Presented by New Balance to defeat Virginia Tech (16-2) and win their sixth National Championship.

The Cougars ran away from their last two opponents in the second half and this game looked early looked as though the Cougars would run away from the Hokies right away.   The Cougars jumped out quickly scoring four goals in the first six minutes and change.  Hutton Murphy fed Gavin Taylor on the first two possessions and Taylor finished on both opportunities.  The first goal was on a throwback from Murphy and the second on a wing to wing skip.  Taylor would finish leading all scorers with eight goals.  Mason Quick scored his first goal of the day on a face dodge underneath the approaching defender.  Quick added his second goal just a minute later when he finished a feed on the crease after a long dodge drew a Hokie slide.

The game looked like a runaway and it seemed as though things were headed for a coronation.  The Hokies had different ideas.  Jack McKenzie started consistently winning faceoffs.  Virginia Tech got their first goal when they skipped the ball from behind to Austin Ashley who then fed  Tanner Snow on the crease and he finished inside.  The Hokies would score again after catching the Cougars in a sloppy subbing situation.  Cougar goaltender Easton Wilkey made the initial save, but Dylan Lange snagged the rebound and slipped it home.  Virginia Tech pushed their run to three goals when Matthew Patrone dodged from behind all the way to the top of the formation before feeding Jacob Blibaum on the pipe who brought the Hokies within one.

The Cougars answered with a Stew Vassau goal down the lefty alley, but not to be outdone, Logan Popow for the Hokies drove the alley and scored a goal of his own.

The first quarter that started out looking like a rout was at hand ended with the Cougars leading 5-4.

After a high scoring first quarter, the game slowed in the second quarter.  The Hokie defense started getting sticks in passing lanes and getting the second slides dialed in-taking away skip passes and inside looks.  Jack McKenzie continued to have success at the faceoff dot feeding the Hokies the ball to help slow down the Cougars.  Easton Wilkey, who finished the game with 22 saves, made a save on a low shot and sparked transition for the Cougars and Mason Quick scored his third goal of the game.  The Cougars dared Virginia Tech goalie Gavin Larsen to carry the ball during their clears and Larsen carried into the offensive zone multiple times.  As Larsen carried into the offensive zone and passed to the attack, the Cougars lost track of Zachary Morgan who shot through a check and scored to bring the Hokies back within one.

The Hokies would tie the game on an extra man opportunity when Tanner Snow beat Wilkey with a low to high rocket from the wing.    On the next possession, Gavin Taylor made up for his penalty, sneaking from behind and scoring to put the Cougars back up by one.

Virginia Tech had the last possession of the quarter and called timeout.  The Cougars came out of the timeout in their zone defense and Austin Ashley found Jacob Blibaum sitting in a soft spot inside and he tied the game with 8.8 seconds remaining.  The game would remain tied at halftime.

Early in the third quarter the Hokies took the lead by one twice, but both times the Cougars answered right back.  The Cougars then scored five straight goals to take a 13-9 lead.  Three of the five goals came from Hutton Murphy.  The Hokies cut the lead to 13-10 when Aidan Fitzsimmons scored his first goal of the season giving the Virginia Tech sideline life as the third quarter ended.

The opening goal of the fourth quarter would be huge.  Neither team could find paydirt in the opening possessions.  It would be familiar faces who answered the call for the Cougars.  Mason Quick fed Gavin Taylor inside with 10:05 remaining to put the Cougars up four.  On the next possession it was Hutton Murphy again to extend the lead to five.

Matthew Patrone scored back to back goals to bring the Hokies within three, but the Hokies could not close the gap further.  Gavin Taylor and Jacob Blibaum traded late goals as the Cougars won 16-13.

The Cougars got dominant individual performances from Taylor with eight goals, Quick, with three goals and two assists, Hutton Murphy with four goals and three assists, and Easton Wilkey with 22 saves.

Cougars head coach Matt Schneck credited their preparation saying, “We planned for this day from our first practice all the way back in September.”

The sixth title brings them into a tie with Colorado State for the most MCLA Division I National Championships.