The boys from Richard Stockton got off to a rough start at ACHA D3 Nationals, dropping a 9-0 decision to Florida Gulf Coast University. Whether it was the awe at being there for the first time, the overall speed of FGCU or something else, they were dominated on the ice and on the scoreboard. The good part to the story is that the boys played their hearts out in the next 2, losing a 2-1 decision to Colorado State in which they outplayed the Rams from about halfway through the game, and then dropping a 5-3 decision (including an empty netter) to the eventual National champs, Adrian College of Michigan.
Lots of lessons learned from this first trip. Among them are that everyone comes to play every shift, the best teams are 4 lines deep, and speed of the game is so much faster (including way less stoppages in play). A win would have been nice, but the team must have done a little something right in the last 2, recovering to be ranked #14 nationally when the tournament was over and done with.
Congrats to the seniors – Lou Siderio ©, Kevin Heumann (A), Alex McCabe (A) and Sean Driscoll – you’ve been an inspiration to those that will follow. Thanks to head coach Ian Walterson and his assistants Jay Turcotte and Chris Costa – better things are coming your way.
Canlan Ice Sports Vineland
2111 Industrial Way
Vineland, NJ 08360
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
7:00 PM Florida Gulf Coast vs Richard Stockton
Thursday, March 15, 2012
7:15 PM Colorado State vs Richard Stockton
Friday, March 16, 2012
7:15 PM Adrian Gold vs Richard Stockton
A big 3-1 win over Alvervia on Saturday sends the Ospreys onto their first ever trip to ACHA Nationals! A great effort from top to bottom, as injuries to key players made some role players key contributors. Late 3rd period goals by Kevin Heumann and Al Morelli were the difference.
On Friday night, the boys from Richard Stockton took it to the University of Albany, winning by a 5-2 score in the opening round of the Atlantic Regional Qualifier for the ACHA National Tournament. In order to qualify for the National Championships, the Ospreys will have to defeat league rival Alvernia, who have taken it to RSC in 2 wins over the Ospreys this season. In past seasons, our guys have beaten Alvernia during regular season matchups only to lose when playoffs rolled around. Perhaps a reverse can happen when the teams meet on Saturday at 12:30 in York, PA.
Richard Stockton College will head to the ACHA D3 East Regionals in York, PA this Friday night to face University of Albany. The Ospreys of Stockton finished the regular season ranked #8 in the East Region. Teams 1 and 2 get automatic seeds to National and teams 3-10 play a single elimination tournament in York with the top 2 finishers also making nationals. The Stockton program, in it’s 6th season qualified for regionals for the first time this year, finishing with a 13-8-2 record.
The final weekend of the season featured an all New Jersey game at the famous Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City where Stockton faced D2 Monmouth University, with the Ospreys topping the Hawks by a 6-3 score. The season ended with a road win over Wagner by a 6-5 overtime score. Al Morelli scored on a penalty shot after a Wagner player threw his stick at the puck on a Stockton breakaway