Reading, Pa. (Jan. 28, 2006) - Alvernia jumped all over Moravian College early en route to a 7-4 victory.  Billy Heller opened the scoring late in the first period giving the Crusaders a lead and never looked back.  Matt Elston tallied a goal shortly after Heller to gain a comfortable two goal lead.
          Alvernia fired 15 shots on goal in the opening period and missed several golden opportunities to blow open the Moravian flood gates.  Freshman Brent Reed continued the Alvernia shot parade early in the second period, and notched his first collegiate goal.  Reed rifled a whistling rocket slap-shot from above the right wing circle which blew over the glove shoulder of a handcuffed Moravian goaltender. The freshman played his strongest game to date with a stellar performance from blue line to blue line.  
          The 3-0 advantage would be put in jeopardy as Moravian mounted a gritty onslaught of their own, pulling to within a goal entering the third period.  Alvernia’s defense had several defensive lapses surrendering oddman rushes to an opportunistic Moravian team.  Entering the final period the Crusaders faced a familiar scenario clinging to a lead and looking to break a season long bug-a-boo of failing to seal the deal.  Alvernia determined to change its fortune, pounded three quick goals in the opening ten minutes of the third period. 
          The first goal was a Moravian mix-up, which squirted behind a disoriented goaltender while trying to clear a misguided shot by his own defenseman.  Alvernia capitalized on this miscue and added two more insurance goals to provide some breathing room.  Senior Matt Elston redirected a pass from defensive pointman Michael Gilmore to keep the offense ignited.  Junior Brandon Ballantyne joined the scoring with his first goal of the season.  Ballantyne slid in behind the defense and stuffed home a crafty pass across the crease from the talented Freshman Bruce Hawthorne.  Hawthorne got rewarded for his relentless effort with a three point night that included two fine assists and cleaned up a nice little open net goal to send the crowd home satisfied. 
          Other notable performances include the steady play of Captain Tom Scogna who continues to quietly add to his point streak.  Ryan Kelly made a solid adjustment back to the blue line and injected his speed and aggressive play to a depleted defense.  Leading scorer Chris Pratt will remain on shelf with an aggravated ankle sprain.  The Crusaders look for back to back wins on the road and will head to Maryland to battle Frostburg State.