The Rutgers Roller Hockey Division 1 & B teams finished off their regular season on a high note, with both teams going undefeated at the All Star Event in
Feasterville
,
PA.
The B team went 2-0-1, with dominating victories over
Temple
(12-1) and
Pittsburgh
(8-1). They ended the weekend in a 2-2 tie with northern conference rival
Buffalo
. The tie gave the Rutgers B team sole possession of second place in the conference, and will leave them seeded #3 overall at the ECRHA Regional Championships.They are likely to face #4 Buffalo and #7 Drexel in the Round Robin portion of the tournament.
The Division 1 team went 3-0-1, with wins over
Buffalo
,
Pittsburgh
, and
Penn
State
. The Knights began the weekend against conference rival
Pittsburgh
.
Rutgers
took command of the game early and led 5-0 midway through the second period. The game seemed to be all but over, but
Pittsburgh
had other ideas. The Panthers rallied on a power play goal to cut the lead to 5-1, and then proceeded to score three more unanswered goals. Desperately holding onto a 5-4 lead, the Knights relied on goaltender Matt Pokoj to stymie the furious Panther rally. With some clutch saves down the stretch, Pokoj kept the lead secure as
Rutgers
went on to win its first game of the weekend.
Later that evening, the Knights were set to play in their biggest game of the season; a grudge match with
Buffalo
with the central conference title up for grabs.
Buffalo
scored an early goal and lead 1-0 after the first period. The Knights quickly responded early in the second period, as sophomore Jeff Grabowski hit captain Anthony Tsigourakos with a beautiful lead pass. Tsigourakos made a nifty move around the defenseman and snapped the puck through the goaltender?s five hole to knot the game at one. Three minutes later,
Buffalo
responded with a goal to grab back the lead.
With the central conference title on the line, the Knights knew they needed a spark to take control of the game. Using his blazing speed, senior James Novak barreled down the left wing and cut to the net, flipping the puck off of the goaltender?s skate from a sharp angle to tie the game at 2. The Knights quickly regained the momentum in the game. As the second period wound down, sophomore Rob Fulton led an impressive rush through two
Buffalo
defenders and dished the puck to the team?s leading scorer, Andrew Brodsky. ?The Goose? slammed the puck into the
Buffalo
net with three seconds remaining in the period to give
Rutgers
the 3-2 lead.
Things were looking good for the Knights, as they were the proud holders of a 15-0 record when leading after two periods. In spite of this fact,
Buffalo
was not about to go down lightly, as they tied the game 3-3 less than two minutes into the third period. In a physical, defensive third period, the score remained tied as both teams tried everything to gain the advantage.
As 1:18 remained in the game, senior assistant captain Dave Gandelman led a two on rush into the
Buffalo
zone. With sniper-like precision, he quickly snapped a shot on goal, beating the goaltender to the stick side to give the Knights the lead! Trailing 4-3,
Buffalo
pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker and tried everything to penetrate the Knights? defensive shell. Blocking numerous shots, the Knights held off
Buffalo
?s late attempts at tying the game. Jeff Grabowski stole the puck and snapped it down the court into the open net, sealing the victory, and the conference championship, for
Rutgers
.
The momentum carried over into the third game of the weekend as Rutgers took on
Penn
State
. Junior Joe Tsigourakos got the start in goal, while defensemen Jeff Grabowski and James Kinosian shined for the Knights, as each tallied a pair of goals in the game. After two periods,
Rutgers
led 7-0, with additional goals from Brodsky, Tsigourakos, Lee, and Gandelman. In a display of defensive dominance, the Knights held the Nittany Lions to one shot in the third period, sealing an 8-0 victory. Joe Tsigourakos made 10 saves for the shutout and the Knights earned their third victory of the weekend.
The lone tie came in the last game of the weekend in a re-match against
Buffalo
. Having already clinched the Central Conference title, the game meant little in the standings.
Buffalo
jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, but the Scarlet Knights battled back with four unanswered goals. Rob Fulton opened the scoring first with a pretty backhand to beat the goaltender top shelf. James Novak continued the offensive display, notching a natural hat trick to draw the game even at four. Two minutes later, Anthony Tsigourakos led a rush down court and snapped a wrist shot over the goaltender?s glove which gave the Knights a 5-4 lead with three minutes remaining in the third period.
Buffalo
got a late goal to salvage the tie as the puck took a weird bounce off a
Rutgers
player in an attempted blocked shot. The game ended 5-5, with
Rutgers
finishing the regular season 15-2-1, good for second overall in ECRHA?s Division 1.
Rutgers will be in action again in two weeks, competing in the ECRHA?s Regional Championship tournament in
Feasterville
,
PA.
The #5 nationally-ranked Scarlet Knights will enter the weekend as the #2 seed in the tournament, and will begin the round robin in a pool with
Binghamton
and the #8 seed (TBD). The Knights will be looking to redeem themselves after a poor showing in the Regional Tournament last year, as Rutgers saw an almost definite bid to the National Collegiate Tournament vanish after allowing
Northeastern
University
to score the go-ahead goal with under two minutes to play in the round robin. That goal led to a 4-3 Northeastern upset victory over the most-improved Division 1 team of the 2004-2005 season, while leaving Rutgers players with the realization that they wouldn?t be boarding a plane bound for Fort Collins, Colorado in mid April. For the Scarlet Knights, the overwhelming desire to gain redemption for a disheartening, untimely end to their 2004-2005 season will fuel the team?s charge towards a Regional Championship this March.
Stay tuned to our website www.rutgersrollerhockey.com for the game times at the Regional Championships.
