April 3, 2009
FAVORITES ROLL
The top teams did pretty much as expected on day one at the NCRHA Finals in Feasterville, PA.
by Richard Graham
There weren’t a lot of surprises yesterday on the first day of the
National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association National Championships,
held at the Sportsplex in Feasterville, Pennsylvania. Most of the teams
expected to win, did so.
Division I
The Lindenwood University Lions roared to an 11-1 win over the
Ohio State Buckeyes at 9 a.m., and then sliced up United States
Military Academy at West Point Black Knights like the famous scene in
Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 13-4.
Meanwhile, Lindenwood’s main rival in the tournament, the
University of Missouri-St. Louis Tritons, stuck a fork in Michigan,
12-2, and turned up the air conditioning on the Arizona State
University Sun Devils, 8-1.
The State University of New York at Buffalo Wings took a bite out
of the University of Missouri Tigers, 7-2, and then shot down the
University of North Texas Eagles, 11-0.
The Michigan State University Spartans were frugal and stern when
it came to allowing goals, crushing the University of Nevada at Las
Vegas 10-3 in their morning game, and then throwing a shutout against
Texas Tech in their evening tilt.
The University of Rhode Island Rams were the division’s other
two-game winner, as they knocked a couple of teeth out of the
University of Florida Gators, 5-4, and then twisted the tail of the
Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions, 5-1.
Division II
The favorites won in Division II as well, as the West Chester
University of Pennsylvania Golden Rams butted the Southern Illinois
University - Edwardsville Cougars, 11-2.
Owls are top carnivores and have very few natural predators, but
the Truman State University Bulldogs knocked the feathers off the
Kennesaw State University Owls, 12-4.
The University of California, San Diego Tritons continued the
winning theme [and bad puns] by knocking the University of Texas at
Dallas Comets out of their orbit, 11-1.
However, while the Neumann College Knights won their game against
the Grand Valley State University Lakers, it was a tight battle, with
the Knights finally sinking the Lakers, 6-5.
B Division
There was an upset in the B Division, as Michigan State upset
Lindenwood, 4-3, after having lost a three-goal first-period lead and
the game to Penn State (who scored seven straight goals) in the
morning. In other games, West Chester crushed Texas-Arlington, 13-0;
UMSL B defeated Central Florida, 4-2; Buffalo held off UC Santa Barbara
Gold, 4-1; and UMSL B held off West Chester, 5-4.
Jr. College Division
The Saddleback College Gauchos are the favorites in this four-team
division, and they unplugged the Suffolk County Community College
Lighthouses, 6-4, in their first game. The Lighthouses gained a measure
of revenge by defanging the Nassau County Lions, 5-2, in their evening
game. St. Charles Community College Cougars also defeated the Lions,
9-4.