ECRHA Division I Regionals Preview
Rutgers Claims Top Seed
ECRHA February 16th, 2009 at 7:07PM February 16th, 2009 7:33PM
Cockeysville, MD - The ECRHA is proud to announce the schedule for
the
2008-2009 Division I Regional Championship. The tournament will be
held this weekend at the Sportsplex in Feasterville, PA. The tournament
will feature a three game Round Robin before advancing to a single-elimination bracket to decided the regional
champion.
Rutgers University and University of Buffalo have
earned the top seeds in the two pools by virtue of finishing with the
top regular season records. Rutgers clinched their first regular
season championship in school history, while last seasons regular
season champion, Stony Brook, finished in sixth place this season. The University of Buffalo has proven that they are one of the elite teams in the country and should have a good chance to defend their regional championship against the field of eight teams.
POOL A
#1 - Rutgers Scarlet Knights (18-1-1)
Rutgers finished up the best regular season in school history and
is favored to make their first appearance in the ECRHA Regional
Championship game. Rutgers only loss this season was to the seven time
defending national champion, Lindenwood, who has failed to lose a game
all season.
Pool Results: West Point (Won 3-0), Penn State (Won 7-3, Won 5-3, Won 7-2), Rhode Island (Won 8-6, Won 6-4)
#4 - Rhode Island Rams (13-4-3)
The Rams of Rhode Island started the season on an eight game
winning streak before finally falling to top seeded Rutgers. The Rams
have played at a consistently high level all season and are expected to
contend this weekend at regionals. Its important to remember that these
Rams are only two seasons removed from a trip to the national
championship.
Pool Results: West Point (Won 7-4, Tied 4-4), Penn State (Won 7-2), Rutgers (Lost 8-6, Lost 6-4)
#5 - Penn State Nittany Lions (11-8-1)
Penn State was having an up and down season before edging Central
Florida. After that game, Penn State went on to mercy Eastern Michigan
and hasn't looked back. The Nittany Lions should prove a tough test for
whoever shares the rink with them and could surprise a ton of people
come regionals.
Pool Results: West Point (Won 6-1, Won 7-3), Penn State (Lost 7-2), Rutgers (Lost 7-3, Lost 5-3, Lost 7-2)
#8 - West Point Black Knights (5-15-1)
West Point is widely considered the hardest working team in the
country and they bring a full effort into every game. While the Black
Knights have not had the results they were hoping for this season, they
still manage to gain momentum heading into regionals after a trip to
St. Louis that included top ranked Lindenwood and fellow national
championship contender UMSL.
Pool Results: Penn State (Loss 6-1, Loss 7-3), Rhode Island (Lost 7-4, Tied 4-4), Rutgers (Lost 3-0)
POOL B
#2 - Buffalo Wings (16-4)
The Buffalo Wings are the defending ECRHA Division I champions and the second seed for the regional championships. Buffalo is looking to become only the school to reach three straight regional championship games. Last season, Buffalo defeated Towson 6-4 to earn the title. Buffalo should be encouraged by their strong play against Lindenwood, Central Florida and Michigan State heading into the weekend.
Pool Results: Connecticut (Won 8-1), Stony Brook (Won 9-7, Won 6-3), Towson (Won 8-4, Won 7-3)
#3 - Towson Tigers (13-5-2)
The Towson Tigers, like Buffalo, will be attempting to return to the championship game. If the Tigers reach the final it would be for the fifth time in six years. Towson is one of the hottest teams in DI, losing only once in their previous elven games (9-1-1). Towson should be excited for regionals because there are plenty of rivalry games for them in the round robin.
Pool Results: Buffalo (Lost 8-4, Lost 7-3), Stony Brook (Won 9-8), Connecticut (Won 5-4, Won 12-4)
#6 - Stony Brook Seawolves (9-9-2)
Stony Brook has had a rough season this year after winning the regular season championship last season. The Seawolves finished with a .500 record and for the first time since their first season in the ECRHA, they come into regionals as an underdog. Stony Brook has won four of the previous five heading into the regional tournament and hopefully it carries into the regional tournament.
Pool Results: Buffalo (Lost 9-7, Lost 6-3), Towson (Lost 9-8), Connecticut (Won 8-1, Lost 6-4, Won 8-4)
#7 - Connecticut Huskies (6-12-2)
Connecticut comes into the regional tournament sporting a below .500 record but has shown many signs of possibly moving up to the next level. In the second semester, Connecticut has earned four of its six wins, including victories over Rhode Island and Stony Brook. Connecticut could surprise any team ahead of them in the standings and should be a fun team to watch.
Pool Results: Connecticut (Lost 8-1), Towson (Lost 5-4, Lost 12-4), Stony Brook (Lost 8-1, Won 6-4, Lost 8-4)