Fans in attendance during the opening night of the 2006 NCRHA Collegiate Roller Hockey National Championships were treated to an exciting game when Towson University faced off against Western Michigan University in the opening game of the tournament for both clubs. 

Although the Tigers held the lead for a majority of the game, the Broncos never allowed Towson to open up more than a two goal advantage, seeming to find a way to answer every Tigers goal with a score of their own.  But in the end, the Broncos were unable to overcome a third two-goal deficit late in the game, ultimately falling to the Tigers by a 6-4 score. 

Towson struck first in the game when Greg Pantaleo (2 goals, 0 assists) put a quick wrist shot into the high left corner of the net over the blocker hand of Broncos goaltender Joel Miller (28 saves) 4:33 into the first period. Dane Houser (0 goals, 2 assists) set up the play by carrying the puck down the right wing boards before sending a centering feed to Pantaleo from the corner.

Western Michigan tied the game at 1-1 just 1:22 later when Dan Szlaga (1 goal, 0 assists) beat Towson netminder Mike Burke (33 saves) with a wrist shot low to the glove side from the center slot area with 6:05 remaining in the first period. 

Despite exchanging scoring opportunities in the final minutes of the first period, neither team was able to capitalize and the teams entered the second period tied at 1-1. 

The start of the second period continued the exciting pace of the first period with the teams generating multiple scoring opportunities and both goalies proving equal to the test.  Towson regained the lead 5:08 into the period when on the power play Chris Harrell (1 goal, 0 assists) buried a cross-rink feed from Houser to put the Tigers ahead by a 2-1 score.

Towson took their first two-goal lead of the game with 2:45 remaining in the second period when Pantaleo tapped in a back door feed from Jim Tamburino (1 goal, 1 assist) to put Towson up by a 3-1 score.  Tamburino set up the play by carrying the puck down the left boards and around behind the Western Michigan goal before feeding Pantaleo with a pass from behind the goal line.

The Broncos cut the lead to 3-2 with 0:47 remaining in the second period when Angelo Barduca (1 goal, 2 assists) carried the puck wide of the Towson defense with speed before cutting back across the goal mouth and beating Burke with a backhand shot inside the left post. 

Gene Gsell (1 goal, 0 assists) returned Towson to a two-goal lead 3:13 into the third period when he finished a backhanded centering feed from Josh Stein (0 goals, 1 assist) low to the left post.  Stein intercepted the puck along the right side boards and began to skate deeper into the Broncos zone prior to finding Gsell open off the left post from the right faceoff circle to put Towson ahead by a 4-2 score. 

Western Michigan answered back nine seconds later when Justin Dunn (1 goal, 0 assists) blasted a slap shot inside of the left post on the power play off a clean faceoff win with 8:38 remaining in the third period.  Off the faceoff win, Dunn received a cross-rink pass from Zach Beeman (0 goals, 1 assist) and stepped into a slap shot from the left point that beat Burke cleanly with a screen in front to bring the Broncos back within a goal at 4-3.

The Broncos had a great opportunity to tie the score when Towson was whistled for two minor penalties with 5:35 remaining, giving Western Michigan a two-man advantage for a full two minutes. Western Michigan peppered the Towson net with multiple shots and controlled the puck deep within the Tigers zone, but were unable to capitalize on any of their opportunities before Tamburino stole a cross-rink pass between the Broncos defense for a shorthanded breakaway attempt.  Tamburino made a forehand fake before pulling the puck to his backhand and finishing high into the left corner of the net with three seconds remaining in the four on two man advantage to give Towson a 5-3 lead with 2:38 left in the third period. 

Dave Kubert (1 goal, 0 assists) pulled Western Michigan back within a goal when his slap shot from the point deflected off Burke?s glove and the left post before crossing the goal line to make the score 5-4 with 2:00 remaining in the third period. 

But despite an intense effort at the end of the game with their goalie pulled for an extra attacker, Western Michigan was unable to score the game-tying goal as Towson was able to hang on for a 5-4 victory. 

Both teams will continue round-robin play Thursday afternoon when Towson faces off against Texas Tech at 4:30 PM and Western Michigan meets up with Colorado State at 5:30 PM.