Reading, Pa. (Dec. 5, 2010) - The Crusaders bookended a three-game weekend with two lopsided wins on the outside, and one major disappointment in the middle. The Vern closed out the fall semester with convincing wins at home over Shippensburg University and Widener University sandwiched around a conference showdown loss to Neumann University. Friday night's 9-3 victory over Shippensburg, and Sunday's 10-0 shutout over the Widener University Pride was a consolation, considering the weekend's highlighted Saturday evening tilt with Neumann University resulted in a disappointing 5-2 loss on the road.

Alvernia enters the Christmas break ranked #7 in the Atlantic Region but may lose considerable ranking positions after the second ranking period is announced on Friday Dec. 11. The Vern, for the second straight year struggled after first ranking period success, this year dropping five games to ranked teams in a seven game stretch. The Vern returned from the Empire Classic Tournament in Vineland. NJ (Nov. 19-21) with three consecutive losses although they were placed in the Pool “A” bracket which featured the toughest opponents in the tournament, losing back-to-back 6-3 games to California University of Pennsylvania and Farmingdale State.

The final weekend wrap-up heading into the break showed some promise despite the Neumann loss. The Vern easily handled the Neumann University Knights 7-5 in the first game on Oct. 31 but ran into a high powered fast team the second go around. The 5-2 loss on Saturday night was slightly closer than the final score shows, as the game remained in the balance until the final three minutes of regulation. Junior Mike Christie (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) who played outstanding created a break- away on a two-man disadvantage, drawing a rare penalty shot opportunity. Christie came up wide on his forehand deke, with the puck sliding outside the near post.

A tough game which was dominated by Neumann who peppered 41 shots on Vern goaltender Mike Restuccia (Chester Springs, Pa./Bishop Shanahan). Restuccia known as “Stuch” to the Alvernia faithful, managed to keep the Vern within striking distance all game, deflecting numerous waves of attack from a potent Neumann offense.

If Alvernia's first star on defense was Restuccia then it can't be denied the games offensive first star was Alvernia senior forward Eric Ryan (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley). Ryan was easily the most dominant player on the ice Saturday night and once again came back home to his comfort zone in Aston, Pa., electrifying the crowd with two twine snapping gems. The Crusader's may have been outplayed for two and a half periods but the final ten minutes may be the most revealing period of hockey all season. It appeared the Vern has once again turned the corner and understand how good their potential is when faced with adversity. If the second semester needs a turning point it may have occurred late in Saturday night's loss.

Sunday's semester-ending finale at the Body Zone was a 10-0 whitewash of Widener. Freshman net minder Patrick Murray (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) recorded Alvernia's first shutout of the season and moved his record to 2-1 on the season. Murray still getting acclimated in the Vern's three man goaltending rotation performed marvelously considering limited action this semester. An exceptional backstop and not backup, Alvernia loses nothing in the net when they play anyone of their three headed goaltending tandem. Jim Fynes (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) and Murray combined with Restuccia could be argued as top goaltender for most hockey clubs in the area.

Offensive stalwarts over the weekend series included Christie's Sunday hat trick against Widener and two goals each for Eric Phillips (Rivers Edge, NJ/River Dell Regional) and Patrick Dolan (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) Alvernia leading goal scorer Kevin Mengel scored a hat trick on Friday night and added one on Sunday to swelter his offensive numbers higher. The Crusader's blue liners added some offensive punch with a two goal game from Junior Ian Meiskey (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) on Sunday and defensive partner Travis Gold (Columbia, Pa./Hempfield) added two goals over the weekend. Freshman defenseman Kevin Meers (Morgantown, Pa./Twin Valley) finished his first half of hockey scoring on both Friday and Sunday adding yet another dimension to this multi talented player.

The Vern will take a long winter break and return to action Jan. 22 vs. Bucknell University in Sunbury, Pennsylvania.