Hofstra Headlines Huge Weekend
Shippensburg Prepares For Playoffs
ECRHA February 9th, 2006 at 6:00AM February 10th, 2006 2:04AM
The 16th ranked Shippensburg Raiders head into their final regular season weekend on a roll. The Raiders are unbeaten in their last 6 games (5-0-1), including a tie against then #1 ranked, and southern conference leading Neumann Knights. Two nationally ranked teams head to Shippensburg?s home rink in Harrisburg, PA, the #25 ranked Duquesne Dukes (7-6-1) and the #5 ranked Hofstra Pride (11-2-1). Along with them comes Penn State University at New Kensington Gladiators (0-14-0) and the Stony Brook Seawolves (4-8-2).
Friday night the Raiders start things off against the #25 ranked Dukes. The Dukes bring in a trio of all-stars, which include; Robbie Culbertson (21g-16a-37pts), Mike Joyce (35g, 7a, 42pts), and goaltender Jeff Ley (7-6-1, 5.36gaa). The last time these two teams came together, we saw the Raiders skate away with a 6-1 victory. If we are to see the same, the Raiders are going to need a hard fought effort from everyone. Including Captain Bryan Lowe, who has been on a tear recently posting most of his 4 goals and 6 assists this past weekend.
Saturday morning, the Raiders must get out of bed early to face off against the Stony Brook Seawolves. Shippensburg and Stony Brook have never met before, and the Raiders want to take the first game in the series as they attempt to move up in the playoff rankings. On the other hand, the Seawolves, are fighting for the 12th and final playoff spot, and are recognized around the league as one of the most improved teams in the second half of the season. Shippensburg wont take them lightly, as they need a victory if they want to secure themselves the best playoff seed as possible.
The third game brings the final meeting of the Shippensburg Raiders and Penn State University at New Kensington Gladiators. It was announced this week that Penn State wouldn?t be returning to the league next year. Shippensburg holds the all-time series record with a 3-0-0 mark, and holds the season series thanks to a 13-0 win in the first weekend of the season. Expect the Raiders to jump out to an early start, as they look to head into the final game of the season holding a 9 game unbeaten streak.
The final game of the season brings a closure to a tough 2005-2006 season, which saw the Raiders sluggishly start 3-5-0. Since that time, the Raiders have not lost, and if they could manage to win the 3 previous games, the Raiders would be 11-5-1 heading into their contest against the #5 Hofstra Pride. This game is likely on that would determine who would win the ECRHA Regular season title, with a win, it would likely go to the Pride, but with a loss it would head north to #1 SUNY Brockport, their first championship in history. Also to add to the story, Seniors Nat Barrick (83g-38a-121pts) and Kevin Jacoby (44g-38a-82pts) will be playing their final home games in Raiders uniforms. Barrick will finish as the all-time leader in goals, points, power play goals, and penalty minutes. Jacoby will finish 4th on the all-time scoring list for the Raiders. If that weren?t enough drama, the Raiders would love to take the championship away from the pride that eliminated the Raiders from playoff contention last year with a 7-6 overtime victory. In that game, the Raiders trailed 5-1 after storming back to tie it twice, in less than two minutes to force overtime. In overtime it appeared that Tommy Hagg would send the Raiders to the next round with, but when the puck bounced off his stick on the breakaway the Pride had new life, and found the back of the net two minutes later to seal the Raiders fate. With all this on the line, this should be a game that will be talked about until the Regional Playoffs, which are less those two weeks away.