October 3, 2011

A Deeper Look at Division II

ECRHA Division II Preview by Phil DaSilva

Albany Great Danes

Albany finished with just three wins last year but is looking for a big rebound year. They are relying on only four returning players from last year. Despite losing their top scorer from last year, they are hoping to bring in some new players to help pick up the load. The only returning defenseman is the captain, Todd Clark, with the other three remaining players being forwards. Albany is hoping Matt Grieco, coming off a tremendous first year, stays hot and continues to be a playmaker for them. Albany is anticipating playing Boston, as they always have tough battles on the rink and is a team they always look forward to playing. Last year they split games with them, with a 7-5 victory and then falling to them 4-5 at the All-Star Event in Feasterville. The Great Danes are looking to make a playoff push this year. They are hoping to make regionals this year by playing consistent throughout the entire year, something they had a problem with last year, throughout all aspects of the game. A fun fact about the Great Danes of Albany, their University is working on getting an outdoor rink put on campus to help better the program.

Binghamton Bearcats

The Binghamton Bearcats finished with a 12-8-1 record and won the ECRHA Division II Regional Championship. A key addition the Bearcat squad is an incoming freshman who is going to be the starting goaltender for Binghamton. The Bearcats have six returning players, four of which were top-scorers. In addition to the returning players, they are hoping to bring in two other players to round out the roster.

The matchup they are looking forward to is on November 11th, where they will be facing Northeastern, hoping to rekindle the rivalry. Binghamton is hoping to use off-season workouts as well as film sessions to prepare for the upcoming season. The Bearcats have set a high goal for this year, where anything less than reaching the finals at the National Tournament would be a disappointment.

Boston Terriers

The Boston Terriers finished the 2010-2011 regular season with a (8-9-1) record, falling just one point away from a Regionals birth. The Terriers are losing three core leaders from their team, four of their top-scorers, and three of their top defensemen. The season for them still looks promising as they have a talented group of freshman coming in. Boston is very excited to matchup against cross-city rival, the Northeastern Huskies. There is a possibility that the teams will play a home-and-home matchup, where both teams will host a game against each other at their home rink. The Terriers are looking for their young players to step up and fill in for the lost talent from last year. Boston has high hopes for this season, they are hoping to win their conference as well as regionals, and receive a bid to the National Tournament. This is Boston’s 12^th year with a team in the ECRHA, one of the longest active streaks in the league.

Cornell Big Red

Cornell wrapped up last year with its best regular season record in club history (9-5-4), ultimately making it past the pool play round in regionals to the elimination round, where they bowed out to Pittsburgh. Losing several seniors, Cornell has been recruiting heavily to replace three of the top five point-getters from the last season. Cornell hopes to continue its trend of winning low-scoring games by focusing on team defense and solid goaltending. Last year, the Big Red’s biggest margin of victory in the regular season was three goals. Never having been an offensive juggernaut, the Big Red return most of the same core from last year, so look for Cornell’s 2011-2012 playoff hopes to hinge on winning the low-scoring battles. Cornell looks forward to traveling to Lemoyne, PA for one of its regular season appearances. Lemoyne happens to be a favorite destination for the Big Red. Given its history, Cornell will rely on its quick offensive attack to keep opponents on their heels. Their success will depend on the Big Red’s ability to replace their offensive production, or be able to adjust and take an even bigger defensive approach to their game. Goaltender Nathan Lowry may be called upon to raise the bar for Cornell, even as he posted a very impressive 3.50 GAA last year.

Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens

Delaware finished their first year in DII with a record of 8-7-3. Their 19-point season was two points enough for them to make it to regionals as the 8^th seed with some help from Northeastern and Cornell both beating Boston in Connecticut. At regionals, they beat Pitt in their first game, fell to Northeastern, and then lost a tight game to the eventual champs, Binghamton, by two goals. Had they won that game they would have finished first in their pool, however with the loss, they were eliminated. For the upcoming season the Blue Hens are losing two solid defensemen and a great PK forward. They are also losing their captain and perennial All-Star Evan Cimino. However, their top three scorers and starting goaltender are all returning. Other key additions will add to their depth defensively and a very talented forward should help contribute to the offense. The Blue Hens are very excited to see what Queens College is going to bring to the table in Division 2, but the game they are most excited about playing is against Northeastern. The rivalry goes all the way back to when they both played Division III. They have never defeated the Huskies but are looking forward to the matchup. If Delaware is going to win the division this year, it will be because of their offensive depth. They are hoping to rely on their offensive threats to keep them in games as their young and inexperienced defense continues to grow.

Drexel Dragons

Last year the Drexel Dragons finished with a solid (11-4-3) record last year but is still looking to improve. The Dragons made a deep playoff run last year, eventually finishing fourth at regionals. The Dragons are losing their top two scorers from last year, Kyle Defelice and Pete Psyrris. They are hoping to replace them with some fresh new faces come tryouts. Drexel has a history of always being a tough opponent, but they are most excited for playing the Raiders of Shippensburg. They have a long and storied rivalry with them, and the games are always a battle. The Dragons are hoping to finish atop their division by having a solid all around regular season performance. Along with a strong regular season, they are hoping to make a deep playoff push. The biggest challenge for them is going to be getting all their new players up to speed on the style of hockey they play.

Millersville Marauders

The Millersville Marauders finished with a (3-14-1) record last season. Their best weekend occurred in Pottstown, PA where they compiled two wins and two losses. Their two wins came against Northeastern and Albany, while they lost to eventual champions Binghamton and Delaware. Their only other win came against Vermont at the All-Star Event in Feasterville, PA. The Marauders are hoping to turn things around this season and get back to where they used to be, being a competitive team and vying for a playoff spot. Millersville has a big rivalry with the Shippensburg Raiders. Their games are usually held at the Susquehanna Sports Center, where the two teams clash with many fans in attendance.

Northeastern Huskies

The Northeastern Huskies finished with a (12-6-0) regular season record last season, earning them the fourth overall seed at Regionals, where they were eventually eliminated by the Drexel Dragons. The Huskies are losing two major players from their squad last season. Ian Prescott, captain and team leader, graduated but is making the transition into a coaching role with the Huskies. Two year starting goaltender, Max Duncan, will also be gone due to graduation. The two spots have found replacements, bringing in a Northeastern ice hockey goalie and a big forward. The Huskies are highly anticipating playing the three teams that got to participate in Nationals last year, Binghamton, Pittsburgh, and Slippery Rock. The Huskies are relying on solid defense and good netminding to win them the Division II title. A big problem they must overcome is time spent in the penalty box. The Huskies are setting their goal high with a bid to the National Tournament. They are focused on obtaining this goal.

This past offseason several Husky players participated in the inaugural Bauer Cup, a roller hockey tournament held in Holbrook, MA. The team represented by Northeastern skaters took home the gold with Bryan Brown being named MVP of the tournament.

Pittsburgh Panthers

The Pittsburgh Panthers finished first during the 2010-2011 regular season. They fell just short of winning regionals, losing 3-2 in the finals to Binghamton. Pitt made a good run in Middleton, WI last year at the National Tournament. They defeated Denver in the first round of the playoffs but fell to the first year standout team from the SECRHL, Bethel University. The Panthers are bringing back four skaters and their goalie. They are looking at this year to be a rebuilding one, however they have found solid replacements for those who were lost. The Panthers have seemed to form a rivalry with Slippery Rock over the past few seasons, and they are really looking forward to that match-up this year. The Golden Panthers are going to fight to be one of the top teams in Division II again this year and are going to push hard for another run at the National Tournament. A fun fact about the Pittsburgh Panthers Club, they are the only sport left on campus that has not left their conference for the ACC.

Queens College

In Queens College’s first year in the ECRHA they managed to finish undefeated, albeit with three forfeited games due to ineligible players, which dropped them down to third place. Despite that little setback, they still managed to win the Division III Regional Championship. This year Queens College is making the jump to Division II, and they are very excited about it. They have just about the same squad from last season, with the exception of losing two defensemen. They were able to fill those spots up though in the offseason, bringing in two new defensemen to the fold. Queens College is very excited to participate in the event at Skate Safe, in Long Island. They believe this is a great opportunity to get fans to their games.
Queens College is very excited to see what Division II has in store for them, they believe they will be able to compete with these teams and have a chance to win Regionals and make it to the National Tournament.

Scranton Royals

The Scranton Royals finished in first place in Division III with an (11-1-0) record. Despite finishing atop of Division III, the Royals could not capitalize at Regionals, finishing in third, losing to Oswego. The Royals will be losing seven seniors, one of which was their top-scorer last year. However they are bringing in six new skaters, whom they are hoping can bring some speed to their offense. The Royals are looking forward to their match up against Queens College at Skate Safe in Long Island during the first event. The Royals and Queens met once last year, where Queens edged Scranton 5-2. Scranton’s keys for success this year are between the pipes as well as capitalizing on their opponent’s mistakes. The biggest challenge for the Scranton Royals this year is going to be developing ice hockey players into roller players. Everyone who is part of the Scranton Roller Hockey Club must participate in three or more community service events on or off campus, a great way to give back to the community.

Shippensburg Raiders

The Shippensburg Raiders finished with an (11-9-1) regular season record. They qualified for regionals, however only winning one game in the round robin, they did not qualify for the next round. The Raiders only have four returning players from last season. The Raiders are looking to rebuild this year, as they have a lot of young players. They are hoping to produce young, hardworking players to lead them to some victories. They believe that it is going to be a big challenge, creating a chemistry between a new squad. They are setting their bar at a .500 record. Players from the Shippensburg squad like to shout out random quotes from famous hockey movies to keep the mood light.

Slippery Rock Pride

Slippery Rock Pride

The Slippery Rock Pride finished the regular season with a (13-5-1) record, with a loss in the semi-finals at Regionals. After an Elite-8 finish at last year’s National tournament, Slippery Rock looks to improve from a year ago and make it even further. Slippery Rock returns eight players from last year’s squad while adding three new faces. Chad White, a junior from Murrysville, PA, and Ryan McGeehan, a junior from Grove City, PA look to continue their scoring pace as they both averaged over a goal a game last season. McGeehan, as well as Junior goaltender Christian Ricketts (Moon, PA), return this season after representing Slippery Rock in the All-Star game last season. Ricketts finished 3rd in goals against average (3.61) and 2nd in save percentage (.851). New players to the team are, Glenn Porter, junior (Pittsburgh, PA), Derek Drzemiecki, junior (Pittsburgh, PA), and Matt Rapp, junior (Pittsburgh, PA). Slippery Rock is looking forward to getting back to Nationals as everyone loved the experience last year. Their biggest challenge this year will be replacing the pieces they lost last season. The club has over sixty members and is growing with five total teams that compete locally and nationally.

UMass-Amherst Minutemen

The Minutemen of UMass-Amherst finished with a 9-2-1 record last season which was good enough for them to finish in second during the regular season in Division III. They continued their strong play into regionals without two key players, and just fell short, losing in the semi-finals. The Minutemen are making the jump to Division II this year and are excited to do so. Despite losing three seniors from last year squad, they are excited with the new players they have picked up. Among players that are returning are both their goaltenders, as well as Division III’s leading goal-scorer from last year, John Aprile. UMass-Amherst is looking forward to big games versus familiar opponents, Queens College and Northeastern, both of whom have knocked out the Minutemen in the semi-finals of regionals the previous two seasons. The Minutemen are looking for a strong finish this year in Division II. They are looking for strong support from their defensive squad as well as their two net-minders, as they believe scoring should not be a problem for them this year.
As the team in excited for the jump to Division II, they believe the adjustment may be tough, being that they have almost twice as many games which means they have to travel more, which could take a physical toll on the Minutemen. The Minutemen not only have high expectations for this year, but are building the club for years to come. A lot of members of their squad are highly active in fundraising for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. The club will be sponsoring the event this year in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Vermont Catamounts

The Vermont Catamounts finished with a 3-12-0 record last season. The Catamounts are looking to bounce back after a sluggish season. Their highlight of the season occurred at Skate Safe America, where they split their schedule, finishing with two wins and two losses. The Catamounts defeated Albany and Maine, but fell to eventual champions Binghamton, and Drexel. Their only other win came against Maine earlier in the season at the Sportsplex in Feasterville, PA. The Catamounts are hoping for a big turn-out at tryouts this year where they want to turn around their program big time this year. A fun fact about the Catamounts is that the closest event to them is at the Z-Rink in Glastonbury, CT, a mere 245 miles away.