Neumann and Hofstra Get Top Billing In Sewell, NJ

While the puck will continue to drop this weekend at the Choice Inline Roller Hockey Center in Sewell, N.J., the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy have taken its toll on the east coast and the ECRHA was no exception to the damage.

Teams such as Stony Brook and Vermont were unable to commit to making the trip down to New Jersey, causing scheduling changes within the ECRHA. Senior ECRHA staff also felt the wrath of Sandy as numerous staff were without power for over 72 hours following the storm (This weeks ECRHA Roundtable was delayed to next week as a result).

 

Stony Brook team President Harrison Last said it’s been a crazy last couple of days for the Seawolves. “A house around the corner from me was literally cut in half by a tree,” Last said. “Most of Long Island does not have power and intersections are hell.”

 

Stony Brook held a team vote and decided against making the trip to New Jersey. Even though his team can’t make it off Long Island this weekend, Last said his team is attempting to do what they can to help.

 

“Since we aren’t going this weekend, we are currently looking into volunteering somewhere on Long Island in need of help,” he said.

 

Thankfully, most teams were able to continue the weekend as scheduled. In a division I contest, Hofstra will face Neumann University.

 

Hofstra enters their second regular season tournament with an undefeated 3-0-0 record. The Pride are shaping into a top contender for the ECRHA division I crown after only being scored on once in their first three wins. Jared Occhicone grabbed the three wins including two shutouts in net for Hofstra.

 

Chris Culot tallied a big 14 points for the Pride with four goals and Pat Rosa leads in goals scored with eight and 11 points overall. John Gunn will look to add to his power play goal-a-game pace as well, he has three through three games.

 

Neumann has also recorded a solid start to the regular season after coming away with a 2-0-1 record, following their first tournament.

 

Shane Fox has led Neumann in goals and points thus far with seven goals and ten points. Along with his counterpart at the other end in this contest, Michael Maczynski also strung together a good start to the season between the pipes for Neumann. Maczynski played in all three games for the Knights, only allowing four goals while recording a 1.33 GAA and a shutout. Neumann is also sporting one of the most successful power plays in the ECRHA with a 55.6% success rate.

 

Neumann head coach Lee Strofe said the two teams have had a long history against one another, including several tough games.

 

“It brings out the best of both teams,” Strofe said.

 

The two teams will face off at noon on Nov. 3, Neumann leads the all time record against Hofstra, 4-0-0, including a win in this year’s Columbus Day event.

 

In a division II match up, Rutgers University will face the University of Massachusetts Minutemen.

Rutgers comes into the game with a 2-0-1 record after defeating Cornell and Albany, along with a tie against Binghamton. Jeffrey O’Connell leads the Scarlet Knights with ten points while the “Mike” duo of Mike Breen and Mike Kosinkski tie for the team lead in goals with four. Matthew Strickler has handled a tough work load thus far recording 72 saves already on the young season.

 

UMass also left their first tournament with a ten point scorer in Corey Bauman. Though the Minutemen come into the weekend with only a 1-2-0 record, the team has performed well. Their lone win came against Vermont in a 7-5 contest. Both losses were both by only one goal to Northeastern, 3-2, and against Boston, 6-5.

 

On Friday, the Minutemen get another shot at Northeastern and will face off against Drexel later on in the day. They’ll round out the weekend against Rutgers at 11 a.m. Sunday.

 

Diving back into division I action, two teams looking to put a tough start to the year behind them face off in Rowan University and Temple.

 

Rowan enters with a 1-3-0 record while Temple is still winless at 0-4-0. Rowan’s had a tough time getting their offense going, but leading scorers Anthony Santiago and Bobby Scalley will try and ignite Rowan. Santiago’s six points leads the team while Scalley is right behind him with four.

 

Rowan’s lone win on the year came against the same Temple team on Oct. 13. Todd Hankel recorded 21 saves in the win and Santiago tallied two of his four goals.

 

Despite the four game losing skid for the Owls, captain Matt Pemper is optimistic it won’t continue much longer.

 

“We’re looking to show the ECRHA what we can bring to the table,” Pemper said.

 

Even at 0-4-0, Temple isn’t far off from being 3-1-0 with a close game to Rowan in their first game and one-goal losses to both Towson and West Chester.

 

Though not the most powerful offensive squad, Temple has one of the top defensive teams in the ECRHA. Backstopping that defense is Ben Dahms, who’s made 98 stops so far this season.

 

“He’s been phenomenal in net for us,” Pemper said.

 

In the first meeting between Rowan and Temple, Rowan recorded two second period power play goals to secure the win.

 

Nick’s Picks:

Nuemann performed well in the first meeting between the two and will again here in a 4-2 win.

Despite being only 1-2-0, UMass will leave this weekend with at least one win. UMass, 4-2.

Temple’s battled hard and is looking to flex some muscle this rematch, they’ll win it, 3-1.

Notes: Stay updated with any scheduling changes at ECRHA.net.