28 days ago, following a 9-8 loss at home to Capital, the thought of winning a fourth consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference Championship seemed unlikely for John Carroll. The Blue Streaks were languishing at 1-3 in league play and would need five consecutive wins -- and possibly help -- just to make the field.

Fast forward to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 4, and the landscape had been completely changed as John Carroll  defeated the Ohio Northern Polar Bears in the OAC Championship game 13-5.

Head Coach Joe Rautenstrauch did not even believe that his program could pull off such an amazing feat.

"Nope, nope, nope," admitted Rautenstrauch. "We did not even think we were going to make the playoffs."

The Blue and Gold went on to win five consecutive conference games, punching their ticket into the tournament for the fifth time in program history on the final Saturday. It was unlikely, even unimaginable — but it happened.

Even with a win against Ohio Northern on April 27 there was no guarantee that JCU would go dancing,The Blue Streaks not only had to win, but had to do so by six goals to have a chance. JCU beat the Polar Bears by eight goals to earn their spot in the four-team field.

They beat Ohio Northern once again today by eight points.

"It is really hard. Beating a team twice in a season is one of the hardest things to do in sports. For us, we felt like we did not have to change a lot," Rautenstrauch said. "We played our game. We felt confident going into today. We hammered home the point that if we play our game we will win and we won."

ONU came out firing on all cylinders, nearly cracking the ice with the first goal. The ball found the back of the net but the goal was waived off due to a crease violation.

John Carroll took advantage of the Polar Bear mistake, blitzing down the other end and finding the back of the net on a moment's notice. Junior Cam Gerard officially broke the ice on an assist from Skyler Blake, providing JCU with the initial 1-0 lead. Blake followed his assist up with a goal four minutes later.

Blake kept a strong offensive showing as the first quarter neared end, diving in-front of ONU goaltender Alex Pizarro and notching his second goal of the afternoon. As time expired in the first quarter, JCU held the 3-0 lead.

The Polar Bears once again had a prime opportunity to score as Max Weese had a perfect look from mid-field but his shot rang off the crossbar, sending the ball bouncing 30 yards away in the other direction. JCU had a prime opportunity themselves three minutes later, senior Patrick O'Grady almost had a goal but Pizarro had a spectacular save.

Apparently diving was the signature move for JCU, as Brendan Whitty dove and found the back of the net. The Blue Streaks held the 4-0 lead mid-way through the second quarter.

As the second half came to a close, the Blue and Gold shelled off two goals to take a 6-0 lead into the break. Junior Colin Corcoran and O'Grady contributed the two goals.

Ohio Northern sparked a fast start quickly into the second half. ONU scored their first goal 17 seconds into the third quarter and added another goal moments later, cutting the deficit to four goals.

The ONU scoring spree did not last long. Sophomore Kevin Hack shot a one-hopper into the west side net, increasing the Blue Streaks lead to 7-2.

Blake scored his third goal subsequently to Hack's, registering his seventh hat trick in eight games.

At the end of the third quarter, the Blue Streaks held the 8-3 lead.

Hack immediately scored in the fourth quarter, as the score began to feel out of reach for ONU. Whitty notched a goal 35 seconds later as JCU grabbed ahold of a 10-3 advantage.

"It always feels nice to contribute to the team. Especially in a conference championship game," Hack said when speaking upon his two scores. "It was an all around team effort and both our offense and defense have been clicking the past three games."

Over the final nine minutes, Blake took over by scoring two goals in just two minutes, bringing his team leading total to five for thr day. Whitty added the 13th goal, insuring a sufficient margin of victory. Blake has now scored five goals or more in six games this season but credits his many scores to the offensive game plan and help from his teammates.

"Honestly, I just stuck to the plan on offense, made back-cuts, made my dodges when I need to," Blake said. "All the other guys around me did their part too. They fed me and I was able to capitalize. "

ONU added two additional goals in the fourth quarter but their effort was not enough. Even though JCU beat Ohio Northern by eight goals for the second time this season, the Blue Streaks are well aware it was not easy.

"It is very tough to beat a team twice in a season. First time we played them, we had to give it everything we got," Blake said. "We showed them everything. We had to win by six. They had a week to go. They had an extra day. It is tough to beat a team twice. We somehow did it."

The Blue and Gold hold a 12-6 record on the season and will now make their way to the NCAA Tournament for the four consecutive season. Although JCU has exited the tournament with losses in the first round three of those four times, John Carroll feels they could raise some eyebrows.

"We have been shocking the conference this whole year," said Blake. "Hopefully we can shock again in the NCAA's."