Record: 16-7, 8-2 MDCHA
Head Coach: Tom O'Connell
Assistant Coaches: Craig Plue, Chris Santiano, Tom Scogna
Postseason: Mason Dixon College Hockey Association Finals – Catholic 2, Alvernia 1


Reading, Pa (Mar. 2, 2009 ) - At Alvernia University, the sports programs are adept to entering new conferences. The varsity teams had just entered the Freedom Conference this year for the 2008-09 school year, and are already moving to the Commonwealth Conference for the upcoming 2009-10 year. The Ice Hockey team knows what it feels like to be the new kids on the block. Just last season, they entered the Mason Dixon College Hockey Association (MDCHA), where they finished 20-4 and managed an appearance in the conference finals in their first season there. This 2008-09 season was no different – the team finished 16-7 and advanced to the conference final game yet again.

The Ice Hockey season is a very long one, starting in September and ending in February. The Crusaders started strong, winning five of the first six games. The Crusaders lost starter and captain Ryan Kelly, who was a huge driving force for the offense, but also gained goalie Mike Restuccia, who was beyond impressive in the net.

The Crusaders had an astonishing 90 goals this season, with opponents only managing 29. Leading Scorers were sophomore Anthony Froio with 13 and freshmen Christian Baron with 10. Geoff McGrath and Pete Cirard had eight each, and Eric Ryan and John Caputo finished the season with six each. Josh Cohen, Michael Gilmore and Ian Meisky all tallied five each.

Freshmen goalie Mike Restuccia was 6-1 on the season with an impressive 233 saves and .907 save average. Restuccia had a 2.95 goals-against average.

The Crusaders began their season on September 27 with the 3-2 win over Neumann, followed by the 10-0 slaughtering of Widener and 7-0 assault on Kutztown University. Their first loss of the season came with the 7-2 loss to PSU-Brandywine. The longest winning streak of the season dated from October 17 through December 5 in which the Crusaders totaled eight wins. After the Christmas Break, the Crusaders came out strong with three straight wins over Kutztown, Gettysburg, and Mt. St. Mary's. Unfortunately, those three wins were followed by three straight losses to PSU-Delco, Dickinson, and Farmingdale State.

At the end of the regular season, top-seeded Alvernia University earned a first-round bye in the MDCHA Championships. In the Final, Alvernia met with Catholic University, who they had defeated 8-1 back in October. Sadly this postseason meeting between Catholic and Alvernia did not have the same outcome; the lone goal for the Crusaders came from leading scorer Anthony Froio in the 2-1 loss to Catholic University in the MDCHA Final.

The Crusaders lost 4-3 in the Championship Game to Gettysburg College last season.

In the heartbreaking similar endings of these past two seasons, there are positives to focus on. Last season, 20 players on the roster scored at least one goal on the season. This season, that statistic was improved to 22 players scoring at least one goal on the season, with six players scoring at least one game-winning goal.

The Crusaders have definitely made a name for themselves in the MDCHA, making two appearances in the Championship series in their first two years in the conference. Hopefully, next year will be another success in terms of wins and losses, but a change in the final result will be welcomed.