Reading, Pa. (Feb. 12, 2012) - The Crusaders, who are riding high after receiving their first ever Atlantic Regional bid, validated the achievement by sweeping the final two games of the regular season.  The Crusaders (20-4-2) won the weekend's highlighted game over the #3 ranked Neumann University Knights (18-2) who entered the game with a perfect 9-0 DVCHC conference record.  The late Saturday matinee game served as a great spring board for Alvernia heading into next weekend's opening round regional contest with #6 Farmingdale State College.
 
A fitting story for the four Alvernia seniors who were being recognized before playing in their last Crusader home game.  Goaltender Jim Fynes (Philadelphia, Pa. / Roman Catholic HS) turned in an exceptional performance between the pipes recording 39 saves on 42 shots.  Fynes made a handful of potentially game saving stops in the first period helping maintain a scoreless tie heading into the first intermission.
 
The Vern rallied in the second period despite surrendering the opening goal off a Neumann power play.  Trailing 1-0 early in the period, the Vern began to pelt Neumann with offensive thrusts which finally resulted with senior captain Christian Baron (Philadelphia, Pa. / LaSalle College HS) redirecting a shot from senior defenseman Ian Meiskey (Lancaster, Pa. / Hempfield HS).  Baron's deflection resulted in his 14^th goal of the season.  The 1-1 tie gave a huge momentum push that amounted to the Vern pummeling 22 shots on Neumann in the second period alone.  The Neumann Knights held strong but with just four seconds remaining in the period Kevin Mengel (Gilbertsville, Pa. / Boyertown HS) chased a pass from Kyle Kopervas (Marlton, NJ/Wyoming Secondary) deep into the Neumann defensive end flipping a nifty forehand over the goaltender for a 2-1 lead.
 
The hard-working Crusaders returned to the final period with no signs of letdown, once again firing quality shots and outskating the Knight's top lines.  Senior Sean Castineira (Philadelphia, Pa. / Roman Catholic HS) scored at the 3:43 mark of the final period for a 3-1 lead. The Vern's eventual game winner followed only three minutes later with freshman Anthony Galeano ( Brooklyn, NY / St. Edmund Prep )  firing a hard snap shot from just inside the Crusader offensive blue line.  Galeano zipped the puck just inside the nearside post using a Knight defender as a smoke screen.
 
The Crusader's protected the 4-1 lead and added another from Baron.  Neumann made life interesting for several minutes scoring two quick strikes with just under five minutes left. The 5-3 margin grew insurmountable for the Knights with only several minutes remaining.  Freshman Brian Callahan (Willow Grove, Pa. / Upper Moreland HS) skated into the top of the offensive circle and fired a low slapper splitting the five-hole and sealing the victory.  
Alvernia derailed Neumann's bid for an undefeated conference record and more importantly solidified their threat to challenge for DVCHC supremacy while boosting moral heading into the Atlantic Regionals hosted this weekend in York, Pa.