Pride and Passion
Division II, B, and Junior College teams gave everything in their NCRHA champions
MCRHL August 24th, 2009 at 3:51PM August 24th, 2009 3:55PM
by Richard Graham
Favorites fell, new champions were crowned and hearts were broken…
at least, until next year. Next year, however, will be too late for
many seniors who are moving on to graduation.
Held at the Sportsplex in Feasterville, PA, from April 2-5, the
2009 National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association’s National
Championships drew teams from across the nation. There was much drama
and excitement in Division II, B Division and the Junior College
Division games. Teams in those three divisions chased their collegiate
inline hockey dreams just as hard as the Division I teams did, and the
passion they showed during the tournament rubbed off on spectators and
league administrators alike.
DIVISION II RESULTS AND WRAP-UP
Quarterfinal: Grand Valley 5, West Chester 4
Semifinal: Central Michigan 10, Neumann 4Semifinal: Grand Valley 7, Missouri State 2
Final: Grand Valley 9, Central Michigan 7
Quarterfinal: Grand Valley 5, West Chester 4
On Saturday evening, April 4, the West Chester University of
Pennsylvania Golden Rams, with 16 wins, one loss and one tie in the
regular season, missed a penalty shot with no time remaining on the
clock against Grand Valley State University Lakers that would have tied
the game at 5-5, given the Rams a two-man advantage in overtime and an
almost sure win. Though it wasn’t a championship final, it was surely
one of the most exciting games in the tournament. West Chester, down
5-2 early in the third period, got a power play goal by Brian Ems at
3:19 and a goal by Bob McLaughlin at 11:42 to tighten the game up at
5-4. That’s when the real drama began.
With just seconds left in regulation, with Grand Valley holding a
shaky one-goal lead and with a man in the penalty box, Grand Valley’s
Nick Boyle threw his stick to try and knock away a pass. A delayed
penalty ensued, and the final few seconds of regulation elapsed. At the
end of regulation, Grand Valley’s Ryan Gendron took a roughing call,
which meant that if a penalty shot was scored and the game tied, the
Lakers’ would be down two skaters in overtime – which is basically a
death sentence in roller hockey.
Tim Saraceni lined up at the center faceoff dot to take the
penalty shot. The game clock showed 0:00. Saraceni, whose NCRHA bio
listed his favorite hockey moment as “scoring the game-winning goal in
overtime in my High School Championship game,†was forced to circle and
wait while the referee explained the situation to the Grand Valley
bench. Then the whistle designating the penalty shot could commence was
heard. Saraceni wasted no time – he raced first to his left and then
down the slot toward Laker goalie Keith Chapman’s stick and blocker
side. Saraceni deked once, Chapman bit, and then Saraceni fired a shot
directed toward an opening on the (his) right side of the net – and the
puck clanked squarely against the post. Chapman pumped his glove and
stick in jubilation and was swarmed by his teammates. Saraceni skated
far back into corner of his own zone and slammed his stick down in
frustration. He was joined by his teammates who consoled him, and then
he and the rest of the Rams immediately skated to center rink for the
traditional hockey handshake. The Rams’ players were obviously
disappointed, but they showed great class in defeat.
Championship Game: Grand Valley 9, Central Michigan 7
Division II was assured of a new champion in 2009, as both the
defending champion Neumann College Knights (who lost to Central
Michigan in the semifinals) and the last year’s runner up, the West
Chester Golden Rams, were out of the picture.
Still, this year’s championship game was be a wild one, a
barnburner from the start, with eight goals scored in the first period
alone, with the Grand Valley State Lakers holding a 5-3 lead as the
first period ended. The Lakers padded their lead in the second, and the
Central Michigan Chippewas started the third period down 7-4. The
Lakers made it 8-4 on a hat-trick goal by Nick Boyle before the
Chippewas reeled off three straight goals, two of which were power play
goals, to inch within one, at 8-7, at 6:36. However, Nick Boyle scored
his fourth goal of the game to give the Lakers an insurance goal, at
9-7. At 9:30, Central Michigan’s Chad Spezia was called for tripping,
and arguing vociferously, Spezia was hit with game-ejection and
game-disqualification penalties. There was no scoring beyond that
point, and the Grand Valley State Lakers had won their first Division
II championship.
Division II Quotebook
Nick Boyle, the captain of the Grand Valley State Lakers, scored
four goals and an assist in the championship final against the Central
Michigan Chippewas: “It’s pretty amazing. It’s only our team’s fourth
year in the league. I played pretty well. Neumann and West Chester –
for us to come out on top is amazing. Our goalie Keith Chapman saved us
a lot. He made big saves for us to keep us in it.â€
Ryan Gendron, president of the Grand Valley State team: “If you
had told us we’d be here at the beginning of the season, we wouldn’t
have believed it. We started with just a few core guys. It feels
amazing. We’d lost to Central Michigan in regionals; that makes it so
much better. This is my third year, and it’s the culmination of
everything that everybody on the team worked for. Both of our seniors,
Tony Switkowski and Nick Boyle, deserve a lot of credit. Tony has
become a regular, and as a senior, it means that much more.â€
After Central Michigan knocked Division II powerhouse Neumann out
of the tournament, 10-4, Chippewa player Kyle Mouch said, “We knew that
we had to come out hard and skate fast. We had to play tough defense;
that was the focus of our game. We knew that we had to work it down
low, and keep it going. Our power play was the difference; that’s how
we get all of our goals.
After losing to Central Michigan, Neumann goaltender Sean Yingling said, “It’s
a disappointment. I’m a senior. You don’t want a game like that to end
your career. I give a lot of credit to our team. Things don’t go your
way all the time, and you have to go out with class. We did.â€