From the hospital to the ice, freshman goalie leads Marquette past Parkway West in playoff opener

Freeman had three different stays in the hospital dealing with tonsilitis before leaving for good Jan. 26. Still, he was a true game-time decision for Marquette as it began its postseason against Parkway West in the Mid States Club Hockey Association Challenge Cup round robin playoff round at Queeny ice rink.

Freeman not only played, he was a Kelly Green wall in front of the Mustangs’ net, making 16 saves to help push Marquette to a 2-0 win.

“It feels good to get a win,” Freeman said after posting his second shutout of the season.

Cade Eckert scored in the second period and Brock Wrisberg sealed it with an empty netter late in the third period for Marquette (14-3-4).

“They’re a really good freaking hockey team,” Marquette coach Gary Tockman said of the Longhorns. “They play well, they play smart, they pack the front of the net. We kind of made the mistake, we kept going behind the net which caused nothing but a turnover, so you’ve got to give credit to them.”

Freeman said he didn’t know he was playing until three hours before puck drop. Eckert said he was a big inspiration.

“Just going into the game, we were wondering if he’s going to play and he just stonewalled them the whole game,” Eckert said. “Just huge.”

Spencer Usry made 17 saves for Parkway West (11-6-4).

Marquette outshot Parkway West 9-2 in the first period, but Usry kept the game scoreless with several big saves to help kill off a pair of Mustangs power plays.

“The first opportunity to play in the Challenge in almost 20 years, the kids responded well,” Parkway West coach Brian Waddell said. “It was a real tight game. Under 20 shots. It’s a great opportunity for our organization to play against the top Challenge teams. We thought we did well. We thought we had chance, but it’s hard to win when you don’t score.”

Usry again came up big early in the second period with a pair of saves amid a Marquette flurry, including a stop on a point-blank rebound chance.

But Marquette cashed in on its third power play of the game as Eckert found the back of the net off a perfect feed from Wrisberg to make it 1-0 at 4:47 of the second.

“We were kind of struggling the first two periods and just a great pass by Grant Wrisberg,” Eckert said. “It was just my job to put it in.”

Freeman, though not tested early, was rock solid during a late Parkway West power play that featured several Grade A chances.

“It’s defiantly a struggle,” Freeman said of getting locked in without facing many shots. “Just kept stretching, just kept doing crease work.”

Freeman stood tall in the third period as Parkway West pressed for the equalizer, including coming out aggressively to thwart a possible breakaway.

“It was kind of a sloppy game, but we kept puck wide, tried to limit their shots, we had bodies laying out to block shots,” Tockman said. “That’s a character win.”

Playoff picture

The round robin consists of 10 teams in two groups of five. Only the top two from each group advance to the semifinals, making the margin for error slim. Marquette is the No. 3 overall seed and the second highest seed in Pool B, while Parkway West is the No. 6 seed overall and is the third-highest team in Pool B.

“Goals and goal differential, it might come down to that,” Waddell said. “Wins and losses are important, but for us it’s about the growth of the program and making sure we stay at this level long term.”

Up next

Parkway West takes on De Smet, the No. 2 overall seed, at Queeny on Friday night.

Marquette plays Oakville, the No. 9 overall seed, at the Centene Community Ice Center on Saturday night.