Men’s hockey finished second in ECHA
By: Jordan Cope, Staff Writer
Towson finished second in the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association after falling, 10-3, to the Drexel Dragons on Feb. 25 at Hatfield Ice Arena in Colmar, Pennsylvania.
Drexel got out to a fast start and took a 4-0 lead into the first intermission after Billy Bascou, Matt Williams, Ryan Williams and Chris Rodrigue scored for the Dragons.
“They got the early bounces along with every call from the ref to be honest,” senior assistant captain Tim Tedesco said. “And after a couple of bad bounces, we just dug ourselves in a hole and couldn’t climb out of it.”
Senior assistant captain Andrew Devoe said the team’s poor start made matters worse.
“I think we came out flat and they played like they wanted to win more,” Devoe said. “Simple as that.”
Despite being down by four goals early, Tedesco said Towson stayed poised and felt that the game was still up for grabs.
“At that point we were very optimistic,” Tedesco said. “We just kept saying, ‘One shift at a time, one goal at a time, we got this.’”
In the second period, Drexel extended their lead to 9-1. Rodrigue netted two more goals to record a hat trick. Captain Tyler Woyshner, as well as Matt Williams and Nick Lombardi also scored for the Dragons.
The Tigers second period goal came off the stick of Niko Vonakis.
In the third period, the Tigers outscored Drexel 2-1 but ultimately came up short.
“I think toward the end of the game, the boys were obviously mentally frustrated,” Tedesco said. “But we never gave up.”
While the game didn’t even in Towson’s favor, Devoe said the team was very pleased with their accomplishments this season.
“We went into the playoffs the fourth ranked team in our conference and had just lost two straight games to number one Villanova,” Devoe said. “We weren’t even supposed to be in the championship.”
Tedesco and Devoe said aspirations are already high for next year’s team. The Tigers will look to win their second ECHA Championship within the past five years.
“I see a bright future for the guys next year,” Tedesco said. “If they get a couple new recruits to come in they can easily be right back in the championship next season.”
Devoe said Wednesday’s loss could serve as fuel for another run next year.
“I think there in great shape and for the younger guys on the team who haven’t won an ECHA Championship yet, hopefully yesterday’s loss will be motivation for them,” Devoe said. “I have no doubt they’ll be playing for the championship next year.”