October 31, 2007

ECRHA Breaks Out the 2007-2008 Season

by Justin Brennan

Pre-Season Action

After an off-season full of changes, the ECRHA’s annual opening event took place at the Sportsplex in Feasterville, Pennsylvania the weekend of October 6^th. The Columbus Day Kickoff, as it’s known around the league, opened the season with with over 60 games. This exhibition weekend saw intense competition in all of the games. It also offered a glimpse into how some of those changes would pan out, as perennial DII competitor Hofstra moved up to DI along with the DII National Champions, the Stony Brook Seawolves. As always, the weekend did a great job of setting the stage for the first weekend of the regular season, which was right around the corner.

ECRHA Season Opener I

The following Saturday marked the opening of the 2007-2008 regular season at the Susquehanna Sports Center in Lemoyne, Pennsylvania. This tournament started off with Albany’s 4-2 defeat of the Shippensburg Raiders. The day’s action continued from there with Binghamton defeating DII newcomer Ramapo, Rutgers holding on for a close 5-4 victory over Pittsburgh in one of the weekend’s few DI battles, and the Nassau County Lions’ (DIII) defeating of both Pittsburgh (DI) and Delaware (DI) in cross-divisional contests. Sunday wrapped up with five more games, including a come from behind victory by Nassau over Rutgers to seal a perfect 3-0 record on the weekend. The Lions weren’t the only team to start off on the right foot, as the Binghamton Bearcats also walked off from the weekend with a perfect 3-0 start. The Shippensburg Raiders, at 3-1, weren’t far behind, and with their next event only a week away, they had a chance to add to their positive start.

ECRHA Season Opener II

The second ECRHA regular season event was held at Bladerunners in Harmarville, Pennsylvania. The tournament opened with back-to-back Cornell games. The Big Red’s Affiliate and DII teams both ended up losing, but the DII team rebounded with a big win over the Brockport Golden Eagles later that day. Both teams would finish the weekend at 1-2. In other DII action, Shippensburg and another DII newcomer, Slippery Rock, would battle it out, with the Shippensburg Raiders eventually holding on for a tightly contested 4-3 win. Meanwhile, DI action opened on the weekend with a 5-2 victory for the University at Buffalo Wings over Penn State. Buffalo extended their win streak to three games with an 8-2 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday night followed by a come-from-behind, 3-2 victory over RIT. After surrendering 2 first period goals, they shut the RIT Tigers out for the rest of the game while adding a goal in both the second and third to turn a 2-1 deficit into a hotly contested win. Games wrapped up early Sunday afternoon, with Penn State defeating Pittsburgh 8-4 in DI action and Brockport skating to a 5-3 victory over Shippensburg on the DII side. The next weekend promised to have some great games, and it undoubtedly followed through.

ECRHA Week Three

After successful events in Central and Western Pennsylvania, it was time for a tournament in Eastern Pennsylvania. Broomall’s Marple Sports Arena would be the host location of choice for games on the 27^th and 28^th of October. Perhaps one of the biggest stories of the weekend was that it marked the first regular season, DI appearance for the Stony Brook Seawolves. After a remarkable run to the DII National Championship, the Seawolves decided to move up to DI. As they showed this weekend, they are up to the task, running the table with four victories, none of which were by less than three goals. They will undoubtedly remain a team to watch as the season progresses. Of course, the Seawolves were not the only DI team in action this weekend. The game that Towson and the University of Rhode Island played would make sure that fact was known. A back-and-forth struggle between the two was settled in the closing seconds of the third period, as URI was able to put the puck home with less than 1 second remaining and pull away with an incredible 6-5 victory. Towson rebounded Saturday night to beat the University of Connecticut in definitive fashion, posting a 9-0 shutout.

On the Division II side, the Neumann Knights and West Chester Rams locked horns in a matchup of two of the region’s best DII teams. The Knights pulled away with a 7-4 victory, setting the stage for a great rematch when these teams next meet. The B Division also had its share of riveting games, with Stony Brook edging Drexel 4-3 in Saturday morning action. Stony Brook’s B team then lost a very close game to Towson’s B team, while Drexel B was able to rebound with victories against West Chester and Towson. This event was the first held at the Marple Sports Arena in Broomall, but the league will be returning in early December.

More to Come!

Despite being only three weeks in, there has been more than enough action so far to keep fans excited. With concurrent tournaments in Glastonbury, Connecticut and Lemoyne, Pennsylvania this weekend, there’s no doubt that the games will only get more intense. Please feel free to come and check out the best collegiate roller hockey players at any event this season! For more information or to find an event near you, please go to http://ecrha.net/schedule.php?show=allevents.