New York, NY -- The ice hockey team fell short of their goal to win the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division II National Championships this weekend, but still placed fifth in the nation, the best finish they have ever had.
The Violets had a 2-1 record in the tournament, which ran from Wednesday to Saturday, losing the pool and only their second game of the season to the University of Michigan (UMich), the eventual winner of the pool. UMich beat Miami University in the semi-finals, but lost to Life University in the finals, 5-2. Life became the champion for the second time in a row and the fifth time in six years.
Two years ago, NYU made the tournament for the first time, but lost all three games in their pool. Last year, the Violets walked away with a 1-1-1 record in their pool, good enough to place ninth in the nation.
"The first year we got to nationals, we were just happy to be there," senior Todd Portadin said. "Then, last year we played as best as we could and we did all right. This year, we busted our humps hosting it, and it's the first year [we've] had a winning record."
In the game that decided NYU's fate, the Violets lost to UMich Thursday night, 4-0. They put themselves at a disadvantage, recording nearly twice as many penalty minutes as UMich's Wolverines.
"I think we all played really well," senior Vinny Bruce said. "Things really didn't go our way. They got a couple good breaks and came out 2-0, and then we just weren't able to penetrate the middle of the ice and get any good scoring opportunities."
"We just started taking a lot of stupid penalties and we had a tough time winning some face-offs," Portadin said. "Momentum switched and we just couldn't get back on track."
"It was a good game," goaltender Brendan Hursh said. "Both teams played well, and they won. We haven't lost very often, so it was a tough pill to take. But, we tried, we did our best and we just didn't get the bounces."
After the game, the Violets knew that they had lost their chance of getting to the finals, since UMich was sure to beat San Jose State University (SJSU). They did, handily winning the pool and the game by a score of 7-0.
"We were in the locker room and it was kind of surreal at first," Portadin said. "It didn't really sink in until afterwards. Just tears, basically. It was just painful, realizing that it's your last chance, this is it, and you don't make it."
On Friday night, the Violets beat Robert Morris College (RMC), 7-0, each goal scored by a different Violet. They dominated the very physical game from start to finish. It seemed that they were always on the attack, and outshot RMC, 46-28.
Freshman Matt Weindel scored the first goal of the game, appropriately on a penalty shot. NYU was helped out by RMC's rough play, converting three of nine power play opportunities.
"I think we just came out really hungry to win this game after last night's loss," Bruce said after the game. "We really wanted to finish the year off on a strong note. We have a couple of seniors on the team that really wanted to go out on top, on a winning fashion."
UMich beat RMC Wednesday night, but only by a score of 4-1. Hursh, who recorded 89 saves in the tournament, said that NYU came out strong against RMC and wanted to prove how good they were.
"We were all really, really pumped up," Hursh said. "We wanted to win this game. Our fans and our family were in the crowd and it meant a lot for us all individually, as players, to finish the season on a good note."
Silver-tongued freshman Drew DeWitt offered another explanation.
"They lost because you can't bend steel, my friend," DeWitt said.
Both teams knew that it was their last game of the year, since UMich had beaten SJSU earlier that day. They had nothing to lose, and played like it. RMC racked up 77 minutes in penalties, and NYU fought back, adding 51 minutes of their own. It seemed rare when both teams had six men on the ice.
"After [the penalty shot] we opened them up in the second period," Hursh said. "That sort of took their physical play out of the game to the point where they would get more penalties, get in the box more, we'd score more goals."
NYU beat SJSU Wednesday night in what the players called the easiest game of the tournament. Bruce, DeWitt and Mark Branden scored a goal apiece and Justin McDermott contributed two for a final score of 5-0.
"You do everything you can all year; you work your ass off," Portadin said. "You know you're one of the better teams, and it's just frustrating. It hurts."
In the regular season, the Violets outscored their opponents, 3-1, and finished with their best record ever, 20-1-3.95,10,1