Whether it takes three hours or three years to achieve, redemption is always sweet – and well worth the wait.
In 2006, Northwestern was having a dream season. It was one of its best seasons under coach Paul Stevens, who was later named Big Ten Coach of the Year. The current seniors were freshmen then, but still played a large role in the team’s 21-11 Big Ten record.
Heading into the conference tournament as the No. 2 seed, the Wildcats were optimistic about their chances to capture a Big Ten championship. But after splitting its first two games, NU was shocked in an elimination game against Michigan, ending NU’s picture-perfect season with an 8-3 knockout win.
“There are not too many people here who are fans of Michigan,” senior Tony Vercelli said.
In 2008, the Cats were vying for yet another Big Ten tournament bid. This time though, NU was in the hunt for the sixth and final seed. But in the final series of the season, Michigan won three of four games, establishing their presumed dominance over NU once again. This year, the Cats were determined to change that.
“If you can’t get pumped up to play a team like Michigan,” senior Tommy Finn said, “you don’t have the right juices flowing.”
The back-to-back wins meant more to NU than just picking up its first Big Ten series win. The Wolverines came into the series needing to sweep the Cats in order to have a chance to make the Big Ten tournament. The Cats decided to give them a taste of their own medicine.
“Going into the weekend, the only thing we knew is that we had a chance to knock someone out of the tournament,” Finn said. “It feels good to play a role when there are only three games left and you have so-called ‘nothing to play for.'”
With everything to play for, Michigan, a team that had won the conference championship three years in a row, did not control its own destiny. It needed sixth-place Purdue to be swept if the team wanted to even make the tournament.
Purdue ended up winning, eliminating Michigan. But knowing that the Wolverines could have never made the tournament after the Cats’ 10-6 win, gave NU a sense of pride.
“The past few years, Michigan has dominated the Big Ten,” freshman Paul Sneider said. “To just turn around in one season and play a part in them not making the Big Ten tournament is great. That’s huge for us that we had a part in that and we finally beat them.”
For the seniors, the chance to play spoiler and knock out Michigan was even more special.
“To keep them out of the tournament in our senior year, after winning these two games, is just a little icing on the cake,” Vercelli said.
After a 2009 season that might not have gone the way NU had hoped, and on a day honoring the graduating seniors, the opportunity to play spoiler against their arch-rival was a perfect parting gift, especially for Stevens.
“I think the big thing was that a couple of the upper classmen had a conversation with me,” he said. “The seniors took it personally after what happened three years ago and said its time we put an end to their streak of going to the Big Ten tournament. And they all found a way to rally the troops this weekend.”
