November 25, 2003
ACRHA Finishes Fall Semester
The ACRHA ended the fall semester schedule in Raleigh last weekend on
The ACRHA ended the fall semester schedule in Raleigh last weekend on November 8th and 9th. The top teams in each division continued to expand their leads while also taking on each other along the way with NCSU handing Elon it's first lost of the year by the score of 6-3. Other big games included a 5-5 tie between ECU and UNC-Charlotte where James Nowicki tied the game for the Pirates with only 8.9 seconds left in the 3rd. And Duke knocking off ECU on Sunday by the score of 11-7, pushing Duke into 2nd place in the DII standings over WCU.
After the first five games during Saturday action being one-sided the fans at the Carolina Sportsplex got a game that would go down to the wire when UNC-Charlotte took on ECU. The 49ers jumped out to an early lead with a goal by Mike Lorusso only 1:51 into the game and kept the lead going into the 2nd period, but the Pirates tied the game at 3-3 behind goals from Craig Matijow, John Leonard, and James Nowicki after two periods. With 1:05 left in the game, Mike Lorusso scored his 5th goal of the game to put the 49ers ahead by one. Down by one, ECU continued to put pressure on the 49er defense and with 8.9 seconds left in the game, James Nowicki tied the game at five ending the game in a tie. Mike Lorusso scored all five goals for the 49ers, while the Pirates were lead by Nowicki who ended with 2 goals and assist.
In the next game, Duke took on Davidson. The Davidson Tigers who had not one a game all year going into the game were hoping to break that streak against the Blue Devils. After two periods though, Davidson down 8-2, bounced back with six unanswered goals, pulling them within one, only to end up with another lost 9-8.
In the 7:30 pm game on Saturday, Elon took on UNC-Charlotte in their first match-up of the year. In a hard-fought game, Elon kept 49er leading scorers Mike Lorusso and Joe Lefebvre to only 2 points, but coming off assists on goals to Nic Gilliam. Bill Stone had a breakout game tallying his first two goals of the season both coming late in the 1st and 2nd periods and Elon took home the win by the score of 6-4.
In the last game of the night, ECU took on USC who came off a big win over UNC-Charlotte [6-5] at the last event in Raleigh. The game was back-and-forth the entire game with the game at 3-3 going into the 3rd, but late in the period, ECU forward John Leonard took a wrist shot that beat USC goalie Tony Jones glove side to clinch the victory for the Pirates 6-5.
The biggest upset of the weekend came when Duke took home a big win against ECU by the score of 11-7. Down 7-6 after two periods, the Blue Devils lead by Richard Williams and Jeff Lake put up 5 unanswered goals in the 3rd to bring home its biggest victory all season. Dave Campbell made 33 saves in route to the win and Williams ended with 4 goals and 2 assists.
In the final match-up of the weekend and the most anticipate rematch of the season was NCSU taking on Elon. Coming into the game, Elon was 10-0-1 with the lone tie coming against NCSU in their first matchup of year 3-3 in Charlotte. NCSU's lone lost came against UNC-Charlotte in their first game of the year by the score of 7-2. The Wolfpack jumped to an early 3-0 lead after the first period behind goals by Chris Hickman, Ryan Cedermark and Mike Downer. Hickman tallied another goal early in the 2nd off a pass from Corey Millet to extend the lead to 4-0. Elon got on the board later in the 2nd with a power-play goal by JR Shortall. Elon was able to put two more goals in the net late in the 3rd, but only too late and Elon took it's first lost of the year by the score of 6-3. Justin Sanders stopped 22 shots in the victory for the Wolfpack.
After the first five games during Saturday action being one-sided the fans at the Carolina Sportsplex got a game that would go down to the wire when UNC-Charlotte took on ECU. The 49ers jumped out to an early lead with a goal by Mike Lorusso only 1:51 into the game and kept the lead going into the 2nd period, but the Pirates tied the game at 3-3 behind goals from Craig Matijow, John Leonard, and James Nowicki after two periods. With 1:05 left in the game, Mike Lorusso scored his 5th goal of the game to put the 49ers ahead by one. Down by one, ECU continued to put pressure on the 49er defense and with 8.9 seconds left in the game, James Nowicki tied the game at five ending the game in a tie. Mike Lorusso scored all five goals for the 49ers, while the Pirates were lead by Nowicki who ended with 2 goals and assist.
In the next game, Duke took on Davidson. The Davidson Tigers who had not one a game all year going into the game were hoping to break that streak against the Blue Devils. After two periods though, Davidson down 8-2, bounced back with six unanswered goals, pulling them within one, only to end up with another lost 9-8.
In the 7:30 pm game on Saturday, Elon took on UNC-Charlotte in their first match-up of the year. In a hard-fought game, Elon kept 49er leading scorers Mike Lorusso and Joe Lefebvre to only 2 points, but coming off assists on goals to Nic Gilliam. Bill Stone had a breakout game tallying his first two goals of the season both coming late in the 1st and 2nd periods and Elon took home the win by the score of 6-4.
In the last game of the night, ECU took on USC who came off a big win over UNC-Charlotte [6-5] at the last event in Raleigh. The game was back-and-forth the entire game with the game at 3-3 going into the 3rd, but late in the period, ECU forward John Leonard took a wrist shot that beat USC goalie Tony Jones glove side to clinch the victory for the Pirates 6-5.
The biggest upset of the weekend came when Duke took home a big win against ECU by the score of 11-7. Down 7-6 after two periods, the Blue Devils lead by Richard Williams and Jeff Lake put up 5 unanswered goals in the 3rd to bring home its biggest victory all season. Dave Campbell made 33 saves in route to the win and Williams ended with 4 goals and 2 assists.
In the final match-up of the weekend and the most anticipate rematch of the season was NCSU taking on Elon. Coming into the game, Elon was 10-0-1 with the lone tie coming against NCSU in their first matchup of year 3-3 in Charlotte. NCSU's lone lost came against UNC-Charlotte in their first game of the year by the score of 7-2. The Wolfpack jumped to an early 3-0 lead after the first period behind goals by Chris Hickman, Ryan Cedermark and Mike Downer. Hickman tallied another goal early in the 2nd off a pass from Corey Millet to extend the lead to 4-0. Elon got on the board later in the 2nd with a power-play goal by JR Shortall. Elon was able to put two more goals in the net late in the 3rd, but only too late and Elon took it's first lost of the year by the score of 6-3. Justin Sanders stopped 22 shots in the victory for the Wolfpack.