Dream Come True!

UMSL Tritons are the National Champs

GPCIHL April 8th, 2009 at 3:50PM May 21st, 2009 3:49PM

This is the final draft of an article that will appear in next week's edition of Hockey Stop, a publication available at most rinks and hockey retailers in St. Louis. More championship coverage, including video, is on the way...but here's something to whet your appetite:

The streak is over -- and UMSL is king.

On Sunday in Philadelphia, the University of Missouri-St. Louis Tritons rocked inline hockey to its core, pulling off a dramatic 5-3 victory over the Lindenwood Lions and claiming UMSLâ€™s first NCRHA Division I college roller hockey national championship.

Lindenwood had won seven national titles in a row, including a victory over UMSL in last seasonâ€™s national championship in Colorado Springs.

But this year, the Tritons, a team assembled and nurtured by hardworking former player and current club executive Ben Lambert, 26, peaked at the right time under the guidance of first-year head coach Jaime Schulz, 49.

UMSL rolled through six games at Nationals, picking up confidence and momentum, to set the stage for a rematch that ended up being one of the classic games in NCRHA history.

Fifth-year senior Blake Propp (Francis Howell Central) was the hero for UMSL, scoring with 17 seconds left in regulation to break a 3-3 tie. PJ Tallo (McCluer) sealed the victory with an empty-net goal, his fifth point of the game.

Jimmy Steger (Francis Howell), one of two true freshmen on the UMSL roster, was the winning goaltender.

Tallo, the â€™07 McCluer graduate who was UMSLâ€™s best player from the day he arrived, topped off his second collegiate season with his best performance yet. He had points on all five UMSL goals. The 19-year-old megastar fed freshman Danny Dwyer (Francis Howell) for a power-play goal that tied the score 1-1 in the first period, then gave UMSL a 2-1 lead early in the second period with a power-play goal of his own.

Lindenwood tied the score when Jeff Hill (Francis Howell North) scored on the power play at 5:11 of the second, but Tallo had an answer, putting UMSL back on top 3-2 just 36 seconds later.

Reigning national MVP Kyle Gouge (Francis Howell) had a quick response of his own, scoring at 6:10 to tie the game 3-3.

Usually this is where Lindenwood takes control and rolls to a comfortable victory. The Lions were 5-0 against the Tritons this season, with three of their wins coming by two or more goals, including a 6-0 blowout in the Great Plains regional championship game.

But Steger and his teammates, including outstanding veteran defensemen Andy Meade (Fort Zumwalt South) and team captain Adam Clarke (Windsor) stood their ground against the furious LU attack into the third period. As the minutes ticked away, UMSLâ€™s confidence grew.

And in the final minute of the game, history was made.

With less than :30 to play, Tallo rushed the puck into the LU zone, crossing the rink toward the right wing. He spun a behind-the-back pass to Propp, who was closing in on Lions goaltender Dave Thomas (Northwest HS).

Thomas stood his ground, forcing Propp to play a waiting game. As he closed in, his shooting angle narrowed, but still Propp waited for an opening. Proppâ€™s patience paid off. As he stickhandled his way to the goal line, seemingly out of danger, with nothing to shoot at, Propp suddenly fired a bad-angle wrister that banked off Thomasâ€™ skate and in, setting off a wild celebration that left Propp so fatigued and overcome with emotion that he was unable to take the floor for the final 17 seconds.

With UMSL ahead 4-3, head coach Jaime Schulz deployed his four star defensemen â€“ Tallo, Clarke, Meade, and Marty Gwozdz â€“ to close out the victory. As soon as it was dropped, Tallo blasted the puck into the LU zone, draining valuable seconds off the clock. The Lions would have just one chance. LU rushed up the floor, but their shot sailed high and around the glass, where Tallo picked it up and fired it into the empty LU net, sealing the championship.

UMSL TRITONS â€“ 2009 NCRHA DIVISION I NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

#6 Jason Holzum

#8 Jake Shepard

#11 Blake Propp

#16 Gus Maloney

#17 Aaron Schulz

#18 Jeremy Scott

#22 Marty Gwozdz

#23 Danny Dwyer

#29 Eric Thompson

#33 Jimmy Steger

#38 PJ Tallo