ECRHA Division II Regionals Preview
West Chester Hold Top Spot
ECRHA February 16th, 2009 at 3:40PM February 16th, 2009 7:33PM
Cockeysville, MD - The ECRHA is proud to announce the schedule for the
2008-2009 Division II Regional Championship. The tournament will be
held this weekend at the Sportsplex in Feasterville, PA. The tournament
will feature a three game Round Robin, with the top eight teams advancing to a single-elimination bracket to decided the regional champion.
West Chester University, Neumann College and Rowan University have earned the top seeds in the three pools by virtue of finishing with the top regular season records. West Chester clinched their first regular season championship since the 2001-2002 season, while Rowan, in their first season in the ECRHA has performed like a veteran laden team.
POOL A
#1 - West Chester Golden Rams (16-1-1)
West Chester clinched the top seed of the tournament on the final weekend of the season the cap of an outstanding season. The regular season championship was the first for West Chester since the 2001-2002 season. West Chester becomes just the second team in ECRHA DII history to win multiple regular season titles (Neumann 4x's).
Pool Results: Drexel (Won 8-1, 4-2), Cornell (Won 10-1), Temple (Won 9-4, Won 6-4)
#6 - Drexel Dragons (10-7-1)
Drexel finished the season strong, winning six of the final nine games (6-2-1). The Dragons have been streaky this season, but have hung tough with many of the top seeds of the tournament. In their last meeting with top seeded West Chester, the Dragons allowed four power play goals in a 4-2 defeat.
Pool Results: West Chester (Lost 8-1, Lost 4-2), Cornell (Won 8-3), Temple (Won 7-3, Won 8-5)
#7 - Cornell Big Red (9-7-2)
Cornell was another team that finished the season on a strong note, winning seven of the final ten games of the season to earn the seventh seed. Cornell almost jumped over Drexel in the final game of the season when they came up just a goal short of upsetting 3rd seed Rowan in a heartbreaking 4-3 loss.
Pool Results: West Chester (Lost 10-1), Drexel (Lost 8-3), Temple (Won 3-2)
#12 - Temple Owls (4-13-4)
Temple was the last team to secure a berth in the regional championships, but teams should not be quick to dismiss the Owls, who have only suffered one loss in their previous eight games (3-1-4). The only loss in that span was to a tough Elon team from the SECRHL. Temple has played close to all the top teams this season and could be on the verge of pulling off some major upsets.
Pool Results: West Chester (Lost 9-4, Lost 6-4), Drexel (Lost 7-3, Lost 8-5), Temple (Lost 3-2)
POOL B
#2 - Neumann Knights (16-3-0)
The Neumann College Knights are the defending ECRHA DII Regional Champions and the defending NCRHA DII National Champions. The Knights are going to be looking to add another championship to the trophy case after a very good season that saw them hand West Chester their only defeat in decisive fashion.
Pool Results: Brockport (Lost 4-3), Slippery Rock (Won 11-5), Albany (Won 10-1)
#5 - Brockport Golden Eagles (11-3-4)
The Brockport Golden Eagles have returned to the regional championships are a years hiatus and have the credentials and ability to reach their second championship game in four years. Brockport had its biggest win of the season when they upset the second seed Neumann Knights 4-3 a month ago and will get a chance to do it again the pool play.
Pool Results: Neumann (Won 4-3), Slippery Rock (Tied 2-2), Albany (Tied 3-3)
#8 - Slippery Rock Rock (9-6-4)
Slippery Rock has shown they can compete with the top teams in the region and will have a chance with two regional favorites sitting at the top of the pool. Slippery Rock will need to find consistency and the ability to string together wins this weekend in order to advance. Slippery Rock has failed to win back to back games in a single weekend all season.
Pool Results: Neumann (Lost 11-5), Brockport (Tied 2-2), Albany (Won 6-0)
#11 - Albany Great Danes (4-9-5)
After reaching the regional championship game last season, Albany was hit hard by graduation and struggled over the course of the season. However, Albany is still a dangerous team as is evident by winning the Northern Conference despite a below .500 record. Albany's tie of Brockport is all the proof you need to show that anything can happen at regionals.
Pool Results: Neumann (Lost 10-1), Brockport (Tied 3-3), Slippery Rock (Lost 6-0)
POOL C
#3 - Rowan Profs (14-2-2)
In just their first season in the ECRHA, Rowan has proven themselves among the elite in the ECRHA. In one weekend this year, the Profs tied the top seeded West Chester Golden Rams and beat the second seeded Neumann Knights. With Rowan's ability to score goals they should be right there at the end of the tournament with a shot at the regional championship.
Pool Results: Shippensburg (Lost 7-2), Binghamton (Won 6-4), Millersville (Won 7-1)
#4 - Shippensburg Raiders (13-4-1)
The Shippensburg Raiders come into the game winners of ten of the last twelve games, including victories over pool favorite Rowan and pool opponent Millersville. Shippensburg has shown they can outscore teams but has had a hard time stopping the other team from scoring during their winning streak.
Pool Results: Rowan (Won 7-2), Binghamton (Won 7-6, Won 7-5), Millersville (Won 4-0, Won 5-4)
#9- Binghamton Bearcats (8-9-1)
After winning the first five games of the second semester, the Binghamton Bearcats became a victim of their schedule and dropped the final three games of the season against Rowan, Brockport and West Chester. With two games in pool play against the top five teams in the league, the Bearcats will need to overcome some adversity to advance to the second round.
Pool Results: Rowan (Lost 6-4), Shippensburg (Lost 7-6, Lost 7-5), Millersville (Lost 6-4, Won 2-0)
#10- Millersville Marauders (8-10-3)
The Millersville Marauders have struggled in the second half of the season after getting on track after a slow start to the year. Millersville has only one victory in their previous nine games, a 4-1 victory over SECRHL foe Virginia Tech. Millersville has shown in the past that everything changes in the playoffs and should be a hard opponent in all three games this weekend.
Pool Results: Rowan (Lost 7-1), Shippensburg (Lost 4-0, Lost 5-4), Binghamton (Won 6-4, Lost 2-0)