The 2004-05 Drexel A roller hockey team competed yesterday, Sunday, October 3rd, in a grueling, 8-plus hour single day tournament, finishing in second place. Drexel competed in the tournament with two West Chester University teams, Delaware County Community College, and Neumann College.

In the first contest of the day at 2pm, Drexel skated to a 4-0 shutout of a speedy West Chester #1 squad. Senior goaltender Eric Simons turned away all shots he faced, including masterfully handling rebounds and spotting shots through traffic, in posting his first shutout of the early season. Freshman forward Andrew Nguyen led all scorers with 1G and 2A (+3), using his quick hands and speed to setup Senior forward Bill Sherwood for two goals.

At 4pm, Drexel faced off against West Chester #2, easily dismissing the Rams junior squad by a final of 7-1. Senior defenseman Dany Dakko tallied a shorthanded marker and two assists.

At 6pm, Delaware County Community College met the Dragons with a \"less than full\" bench, and with about 8 minutes remaining the second half, Drexel completed a 8-0 mercy-kill. Senior forward Jason Cassidy posted a hatrick and an assist (+4), and goaltender Simons notched his second shutout in three contests.

In the first playoff matchup at 8pm, Drexel again faced DelCo, this time in a much tighter matchup ending in 4-2 Drexel victory. After DelCo rallied to within one goal late in the second half, Junior defenseman Patrick Cummins found a burst of speed to clear two DelCo defenders and to release a lightning quick shot past the DelCo netminder to ice the game for Drexel.

Finally, at 9:20pm, the tournament came full-circle as Drexel again met with West Chester #1 in a rematch of the first game of the day. Capitalizing on Drexel\'s defensive miscues and turnovers, West Chester dispatched the Dragons 4-1 in a very impressive victory for the Rams, who will return to the ECRHA\'s Division II after a year\'s absence. Drexel\'s 9-skater bench was unable to quell the 3-line attack of West Chester. West Chester jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first half. Pat Cummins began a Drexel surge early in the second half with his 4th goal of the tournament, only to be shortly rebutted by a Rams goal. West Chester added a late marker to ensure their tournament win.

Eric Simons: 5 GP, 5 goals against, 1.00 GAA