May 5, 2003
A Special Season
The Drexel University Roller Hockey Club (DURHC) today announced that
the club's B team has won the Philadelphia Collegiate Roller Hockey
League (PCRHL) Championship. The PCRHL Southeastern Conference
Champions faced Lehigh in the best-of-three series, with the Dragons
sweeping their way to the title. Drexel returned to the championship
after losing in the 2002-2003 final to Neumann College 'A'.
After a successful regular season campaign and a first place overall finish in the PCRHL at 13-3-0, Drexel 'B' maintained this high level of play in the playoffs, vying for the school's first PCRHL crown.
In the first round they soundly defeated Ursinus College, 7-1. Leading the attack for the Dragons were Jon Salemno (2 goals, 1 assist) and Patrick Elston (1g, 2a). Jeff Riley picked up the win in net.
In the SE Conference semifinals, the Dragons defeated University of Pennsylvania-2, with a final score of 7-1. Goalie Jeff Riley picked up his second 1-goal game in a row with several stellar saves throughout the game. Matt Stern led the offensive attack with 2 goals and 2 assists. Pat Nguyen scored his first goal of the playoffs and Bryan Humphreys notched 2 shorthanded goals late in the game to end any hope of the Quakers.
In the SE Conference Final, Drexel faced off against a familiar opponent in Neumann College. Neumann would tally the game's first goal in the opening minute, but Drexel would strike several times just minutes later to open the game up 3-1. After a chippy game with numerous Neumann penalties, the Dragons came out victorious with a 7-3 win. Bryan Humphreys had a hatrick in the contest and Anthony Leusner scored his first goal of the playoffs. Sean Hoy and Chris Axt also scored for the Dragons. The defensive combination of Eric Lui and Bryan Bowker was once again a stone wall, ending many offensive attacks by Neumann. Netminder Jeff Riley picked up his third win of the playoffs.
The PCRHL Finals took place on the weekend of May 2, 2003 at Marple Sports Arena. In the only meeting between the two teams in the regular season, Lehigh defeated Drexel 3-2. The PCRHL Finals, however, were a different story.
On Saturday, May 3, Lehigh and Drexel squared off at 3pm. An early powerplay goal by Patrick Nguyen got the Dragons on the board. Drexel dominated on both ends of the rink throughout the game. With Lehigh's goalie pulled at the end of the game, Jon Salemno scored an empty netter to seal the win for Dragons, with a final score of 6-3. All 3 of Lehigh's goals were scored on the powerplay. Drexel led the series 1-0 and hoped to close out the season as champions in Game 2 of the series the following day.
In a complete turnaround from the first game of the series, Lehigh came out storming. Both teams had numerous offensive chances in the first period, but the Mountain Hawks' lone goal gave Lehigh an early 1-0 lead. With the score unchanged in the second, DU's Patrick Nguyen skated the puck into the offensive zone and drew both Lehigh defenders, leaving Bryan Humphreys wide open in the slot. A nifty backhander by Nguyen enabled Humphreys to score and left the game tied 1-1. The score stayed this way until six minutes remained in the contest. Sean Hoy worked the puck into the offensive zone and fed Matt Stern who shelved the puck to give the Dragons their first lead of the game, 2-1. With Lehigh down a man late in the game, yet still pressing for the tying goal, defenseman Eric Lui sprung loose with the puck. He fed a wide open Humphreys who buried his second on the afternoon. A late Lehigh powerplay goal made the score 3-2, but the Dragons killed off the clock and remained the last team standing as the 2002-2003 PCRHL Champions.
Drexel 'B' finished the season as ECRHA (13-7-6) and PCRHL (18-3-0) Champions with an overall record of 31-10-6, including an outstanding 9-1 record in the playoffs.
Members of the championship team include:
Coach - Brian Smith
1 - Jeff Riley
6 - Jon Salemno - (A)
7 - Bryan Bowker
8 - Pat Elston
9 - Bryan Humphreys - (C)
10 - Anthony Leusner
12 - Sean Hoy
15 - Chris Axt - (A)
18 - Josh Dawson
39 - Eric Lui
81 - Patrick Nguyen
97 - Matt Stern
After a successful regular season campaign and a first place overall finish in the PCRHL at 13-3-0, Drexel 'B' maintained this high level of play in the playoffs, vying for the school's first PCRHL crown.
In the first round they soundly defeated Ursinus College, 7-1. Leading the attack for the Dragons were Jon Salemno (2 goals, 1 assist) and Patrick Elston (1g, 2a). Jeff Riley picked up the win in net.
In the SE Conference semifinals, the Dragons defeated University of Pennsylvania-2, with a final score of 7-1. Goalie Jeff Riley picked up his second 1-goal game in a row with several stellar saves throughout the game. Matt Stern led the offensive attack with 2 goals and 2 assists. Pat Nguyen scored his first goal of the playoffs and Bryan Humphreys notched 2 shorthanded goals late in the game to end any hope of the Quakers.
In the SE Conference Final, Drexel faced off against a familiar opponent in Neumann College. Neumann would tally the game's first goal in the opening minute, but Drexel would strike several times just minutes later to open the game up 3-1. After a chippy game with numerous Neumann penalties, the Dragons came out victorious with a 7-3 win. Bryan Humphreys had a hatrick in the contest and Anthony Leusner scored his first goal of the playoffs. Sean Hoy and Chris Axt also scored for the Dragons. The defensive combination of Eric Lui and Bryan Bowker was once again a stone wall, ending many offensive attacks by Neumann. Netminder Jeff Riley picked up his third win of the playoffs.
The PCRHL Finals took place on the weekend of May 2, 2003 at Marple Sports Arena. In the only meeting between the two teams in the regular season, Lehigh defeated Drexel 3-2. The PCRHL Finals, however, were a different story.
On Saturday, May 3, Lehigh and Drexel squared off at 3pm. An early powerplay goal by Patrick Nguyen got the Dragons on the board. Drexel dominated on both ends of the rink throughout the game. With Lehigh's goalie pulled at the end of the game, Jon Salemno scored an empty netter to seal the win for Dragons, with a final score of 6-3. All 3 of Lehigh's goals were scored on the powerplay. Drexel led the series 1-0 and hoped to close out the season as champions in Game 2 of the series the following day.
In a complete turnaround from the first game of the series, Lehigh came out storming. Both teams had numerous offensive chances in the first period, but the Mountain Hawks' lone goal gave Lehigh an early 1-0 lead. With the score unchanged in the second, DU's Patrick Nguyen skated the puck into the offensive zone and drew both Lehigh defenders, leaving Bryan Humphreys wide open in the slot. A nifty backhander by Nguyen enabled Humphreys to score and left the game tied 1-1. The score stayed this way until six minutes remained in the contest. Sean Hoy worked the puck into the offensive zone and fed Matt Stern who shelved the puck to give the Dragons their first lead of the game, 2-1. With Lehigh down a man late in the game, yet still pressing for the tying goal, defenseman Eric Lui sprung loose with the puck. He fed a wide open Humphreys who buried his second on the afternoon. A late Lehigh powerplay goal made the score 3-2, but the Dragons killed off the clock and remained the last team standing as the 2002-2003 PCRHL Champions.
Drexel 'B' finished the season as ECRHA (13-7-6) and PCRHL (18-3-0) Champions with an overall record of 31-10-6, including an outstanding 9-1 record in the playoffs.
Members of the championship team include:
Coach - Brian Smith
1 - Jeff Riley
6 - Jon Salemno - (A)
7 - Bryan Bowker
8 - Pat Elston
9 - Bryan Humphreys - (C)
10 - Anthony Leusner
12 - Sean Hoy
15 - Chris Axt - (A)
18 - Josh Dawson
39 - Eric Lui
81 - Patrick Nguyen
97 - Matt Stern