2006-2007 NCRHA National Champions!
SUNY Stony Brook Takes Two Titles This Season
ECRHA April 12th, 2007 at 9:45PM
In what has been an incredible emotional roller coaster ride this year, the Stony Brook Seawolves concluded the 2006-2007 season by winning the NCRHA DII National Championships. After beating Neumann College in March for the ECRHA DII title, the Seawolves had their sights set for a national title. Stony Brook began pool play by going 3-0, defeating Washington (St. Louis) 9-6, Nevada 7-5, and UT-Dallas 11-0, giving them a #2 seed going into elimination rounds.
Their next opponent would be the University of San Diego Toreros, who would take the early lead on Stony Brook, who would battle back and defeat San Diego by a final of 5-3, placing Stony Brook in the "Elite Eight". Next up for the Seawolves would be the University of West Chester, who Stony Brook had eliminated in the ECRHA semifinals less than a month ago. The rematch between the two rivals yielded the same result, as Stony Brook sent West Chester home again. From there it was on to the final four, which featured Stony Brook University, Neumann College, St. Louis University, and Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL).
The Seawolves certainly felt the world against them, as the hometown crowd of UMSL let the boys from New York know how they felt about them. Unfortunately for UMSL that wouldn't be enough to beat Stony Brook, as the Seawolves won the tight defensive battle 4-2. In a surprise result, defending national champs Neumann College fell in overtime to the St. Louis University Billikens, setting up a Stony Brook vs. St. Louis match-up for the national title.
The first period would see both teams feeling each other out, neither side yielding too many scoring chances. In the second, Stony Brook was able to tally one goal to take the lead into the third period, where the Seawolves have been deadly all season. They showed yet another hometown crowd why they were the best in the nation by putting three more pucks in the net to win the National Title by a final score of 4-1.
With the season now over, Stony Brook has no plans of slowing down. They know that they now have a bullseye on their backs, and that's just the way they like it. Coaches Joe Tamburino and Peter Castellano have already begun to fill the gaps that will be left by graduating students Craig Brodmerkel, Damon Vetere, Ardjent Kalezic, and Mike Giordano. Congrats to the boys from the Brook, they have certainly earned their title of National Champions.
Season Highlights:
- Stony Brook went 13-0 in postseason play (ECRHA and NCRHA Championships)
-Stony Brook finished the regular season by going 25-1-1, bringing their 2006-2007 record to 24 wins, 3 losses, and 2 ties.
-Stony Brook had no team members named to the NCRHA All-Star team. Interesting...