Farmville, VA?Heading into the second half of the 2004-05 season, the Longwood Lancers have two major subtractions from their roster.  The biggest, literally, is the loss of 6?3?, 240-pound senior defenseman Matt ?Tank? Cullerton, who (finally) graduated.  It was also announced that Longwood will be without third leading goal scorer Matt Lusk (Jr., Virginia Beach, VA) for the remainder of the season.

Lusk is taking advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity to immerse himself in the culture and studies in the Hawaiian Islands for a semester.  ?Actually, Matt just wants an excuse to surf even more,? clarified senior forward Kelly Forman.  Lusk is expected to return to the team for the 2005-06 campaign, but perhaps only if the double-overhead swell loses its luster.

Matt Cullerton, the unquestioned emotional leader of the team, will be sorely missed.  Stories of his sometimes bizarre and temperamental behavior have already become team legend.  ?Whether he was hitting opponents so hard it?d break their helmets or giving his own teammates concussions the night before a game, we?re gonna miss the big, ugly meathead,? said junior forward TJ Dolan.  Cullerton served as team captain and was the instrumental voice on the team matters on everything from setting up lines, to game tactics and dictating how practices would be run.  ?Tank?s legacy will ultimately be helping to establish the tradition of Longwood hockey,? said new captain Andy Breed.  ?He tried to shape the team to his own angry outlook, but more importantly Tank laid the foundation for the younger guys to one day have a quality program.?

Cullerton was a co-winner, along with Dolan, of the inaugural Pink Puck award, for situational conduct most unbecoming of Longwood hockey.  It must also be noted he lost a career long competition with fellow rugged defenseman Danny Ferk to see which could compile the most penalty minutes, something he?ll likely agonize over for the rest of his days.

?One of the greatest things about having Tank on the ice was his presence,? scholarly sophomore defenseman Andrew Mendolia theorized.  ?Teams knew when the big guy was out there, they were going to have to pay for going into our zone, and usually that meant getting hit.?  Junior forward Jimmy Rixner concluded, ?He may have struggled with the intricacies of roller hockey [coming from ice hockey] but subtlety was never really Tank?s forte. Regardless, Tank was our leader and everyone looked up to him.  His impact on this team was immeasurable.?