Rutgers Goes Undefeated in Home Event
D1 team improves to 12-1-0 overall
ECRHA November 22nd, 2005 at 10:04PM November 23rd, 2005 4:18PM The Rutgers Roller Hockey Club made history this weekend with it's first-ever undefeated weekend event. The Division 1 team earned a 4-0 weekend record, while the B team battled to a 3-0-1 weekend record in Rahway, NJ. The home crowd certainly helped to energize both teams, as the club continued to make it's mark as an ECRHA powerhouse this season.
The weekend opened with Rutgers B facing off against Penn State B. The Knights cruised to a 5-0 victory, with goaltender Joe Tsigourakos registering his first shutout of the season. Following this, the Rutgers D1 team defended its home court by taking on the Rhode Island Rams. Rutgers stormed out to an early lead and held on for a 5-4 victory, its second win over URI this year.
Later on Saturday, the Rutgers B team took on ECRHA rival Drexel B. Things looked bleak for Rutgers as the Drexel Dragons took a commanding 3-1 lead early in the first period. However, coach Ryan Trembley's masterful coaching paid off as Rutgers rallied from two goals down to tie the game at 3. The Knights capped off the impressive comeback by scoring the go-ahead goal late in the third period, giving the crowd a thrilling 4-3 victory.
Following this, the Rutgers D1 team took on the RIT Tigers in yet another rematch from the 2005 Regional Tournament. Earlier this season, Rutgers defeated RIT 7-6 in Long Island, NY. However, the Knights still hadn't earned the respect they deserved from that earlier victory, as many people from around the league picked RIT as favorites to win the rematch. Rutgers proved the naysayers wrong by taking a commanding 4-1 lead. Early in the 3rd period, RIT made a late comeback to cut the lead to 4-3. The Knights responded to RIT's efforts with 3 goals of their own, sealing the 7-3 victory over the heavily-favored RIT Tigers.
On Sunday morning, the Rutgers D1 squad was back in action in an exhibition game against Wentworth Institute of Technology, one of ECRHA's top Division 2 teams. The game was tied at 3 entering the 3rd period. However, Wentworth broke the 3-3 tie with under 5 minutes left to play in regulation. Trailing 4-3, Rutgers rallied on 2 goals by freshman Andrew Brodsky with under 2 minutes remaining. Senior James Novak added an empty net tally for good measure, as Rutgers came from behind to win the game 6-4.
Next up on Sunday was the Rutgers B team, as they faced Penn State B for the second time in the weekend. After taking a 5-0 beating by Rutgers on Saturday, the Nittany Lions stormed out of the gate to take an early 3-0 lead. The Knights didn't let the deficit keep them down, as they chipped away at the lead, eventually tying the game 3-3 late in the third period. With both goaltenders making pressure-packed saves, the game ended in a 3-3 draw.
Looking to complete another 4-win weekend, the Rutgers D1 team was slated to face Division rival Northeastern University in their final game of the day. The Knights had long awaited this game, as Northeastern eliminated Rutgers from the Regional Championship Tournament last March. Rutgers wasted little time exacting revenge on the Huskies, as the first period ended with Rutgers up 7-1. The Knights never let up, as they dominated the game on the way to an ECRHA-record tying 23-1 victory. By scoring 23 goals, Rutgers tied the record held by ECRHA powerhouse Suffolk Community College. Rutgers D1 improved their regular season record to 9-1-0 and their overall record to 12-1-0.
The weekend finished off with the Rutgers B team dominating the Hofstra Pride in a 7-3 victory. The win gave the B team a 3-0-1 record on the weekend, with their regular season record of 8-2-1 being good enough for second place in the Northern Conference of the B Division.
Both Rutgers teams will be traveling to Downington, PA the weekend of December 2nd to compete in their final event of the first semester. The weekend will be a showdown between Rutgers and Suffolk, with the clubs' A teams meeting once and the clubs' B teams playing each other twice. The weekend will be a true test for both teams, as the D1 team will also face SUNY Binghamton, Penn State University, and University of Delaware. The B team will be competing in rematches with Drexel and Binghamton.
SCHEDULE FOR DOWNINGTOWN, PA
D1
Saturday
8:00 AM vs. Delaware
2:15 PM vs. Penn State
8:30 PM vs. Binghamton
Sunday
8:00AM vs. Suffolk CCC
B
Saturday
11:15 AM vs. Suffolk
4:30 PM vs. Binghamton
Sunday
7:00 AM vs. Drexel
1:15 PM vs. Suffolk
