Tigers Repeat as ECRHA Division I Champions
Towson heads to Colorado after close call
ECRHA March 8th, 2005 at 7:55AM March 8th, 2005 8:07AMThe Division I team reaffirmed their dominance of the Eastern
Collegiate Roller Hockey Association this weekend at the 2005 ECRHA
Championships, winning the DI title for the second year in a row.
In round-robin play, the Tigers stomped #7
Drexel and #12 Pittsburgh, 12-3 and 7-0, respectively. After
reseeding for the elimination rounds, the Tigers squared off against
Pitt yet again in the quarterfinals to virtually the same result, a 9-3
win. In the semifinals, Towson faced what many considered to be
the team to beat, #2 Rhode Island. Many had picked URI and Towson
as the matchup for the ECRHA DI Final, but a 3-3 tie against Maryland
in round-robin play dropped URI to the #4 slot after reseeding and
guaranteed that only one of the two teams could advance to the
final.
From the drop of the puck,
those in attendance knew that Towson had their work cut out for them
against the speedy, physical Rams offense and formidable
goaltending. After the Rams extended their lead to 4-2 on a
power-play goal with only 6:12 remaining in the third period, the
Tigers tried unsuccessfully for the next three minutes to put a puck by
URI goaltender Rob Serratelli. Just when it looked like all hope
was lost, captain Jim Tamburino (Hicksville, NY) scored with just 1:23
remaining to pull Towson within one goal. Just fifteen seconds
later, Tamburino struck again, scoring off a pass from senior Roy
Pumphrey (Glen Burnie, MD). With momentum now in their
favor, senior John Deise (Bel Air, MD) broke the tie with 0:41 left in
the third off a pass from junior Gene Gsell (Sayreville, NJ) to propel
the Tigers to the Division I Final against #4 Rochester Institute of
Technology.
While
the final lacked the drama of the semifinal, the Tigers still earned a
hard-fought win against one of the top teams in the region, defeating
RIT 5-2. Towson was led by graduate student Chris Harrell
(Virginia Beach, VA - 5A), sophomore Greg Pantaleo (Center Moriches, NY
- 3G), and Gsell (2G). Goaltender Mike Burke (Medford, NY) made
23 saves to earn the victory.
The Tigers
were awarded one of twenty-four bids to the 2005 Collegiate Roller
Hockey National Championships on Monday, March 7. They will head
to OD's Sports Complex in Fort Collins, Colorado from April
13-17. For more details on the tournament, visit http://www.ncrha.org/championships/.