Towson\'s bid for a national championship ended on Saturday, April 18th, as the Tigers fell 3-2 in overtime to the University of Florida in the Elite Eight of the 2004 Collegiate Roller Hockey Nationals Championships in Anaheim, California.

After coming through round-robin play with a 3-0 record and victories over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, North Carolina State University and the University of Michigan, the Tigers drew a #2 seed for the championship round and a bye into the second round of the bracket. The University of Texas at Arlington needed overtime to defeat fellow ECRHA rival University of Buffalo, 5-4. With the win, the Mavericks moved on to face Towson in the second round of the tournament.

Two hotly-contested periods of some of the fastest up-and-down play in the tournament ended with the teams deadlocked, 2-2. Sophomore forward Gene Gsell scored only 46 seconds into the third period, and five minutes later the floodgates opened, as the Tigers reeled off three goals in 3:04 to extend the lead to 6-2. A goal by UTA\'s Mike Mania cut the deficit to three with 2:30 remaining, but any chance of a comeback was quelled when freshman forward Josh Stein scored 0:28 later off a feed from Gsell. Senior Jim Tamburino would add the final tally in an 8-3 victory. Goaltender Mike Burke had 23 saves for the win.

With the win, Towson advanced to the Elite Eight to face the University of Florida, who had defeated Texas and defending champion Cal Poly Pomona (Florida was the runner-up for the national championship in 2003.) After one period of scoreless play, the Gators jumped out to a 2-0 lead off goals by Christopher Lee and Jeff Patneaude. At 11:07 of the second, Gene Gsell continued his scoring tear, burying a pass from Josh Stein to bring the Tigers back within one at the end of two periods. Despite numerous scoring chances in the third, the Tigers were thwarted by Florida goaltender Ben Wiles, who would later be named top goaltender for the tournament. With under two minutes remaining and needing a goal to stay alive, Towson pulled their goaltender. The move paid off, as Jim Tamburino took a pass from Gsell and found the back of a wide open net to tie the score at 2-2 with only 1:05 remaining in regulation. After narrowly missing a chance for a game winner late in the third, the Tigers had momentim going into overtime.

That momentum ended early, however, as a turnover deep in the Towson zone led to a Adrian Fure goal off Jeff Patneaude\'s rebound only 32 seconds into OT. Towson finished in sixth place overall for the tournament.

For further information, visit the 2004 Collegiate Roller Hockey Championships web site at http://www.ncrha.org/championships.