The College of New Jersey Club Ice Hockey ^2008-2009

The Lions extended their winning streak to 11 games with wins over MACHA opponents Rowan and UPenn this weekend. The Lions haven't lost a game since October 4th, thrashing their opponents by a combined score of 97 to 47 during the 11 game tear. On Friday the Lions beat former GNCHC rival Rowan University by a final score of 10-5. The Lions survived a first period onslaught before pushing the game out of reach with a 6 goal second period. In a statistical anomaly, Scot McClintic finished with 4 goals, Vinny LaRosa had 3, Elie Klein tallied 2, and Chris Minda finished with 1 for the night. Scott Meredith made 30 saves in net, and defensive stalwarts Eric Castellazzo and Alex Gorden each had a pair of assists. The Lions finished the weekend strong with a 6-3 victory over UPenn in the final regular season meeting between the two teams. The Lions got to work from the drop of the puck, going to the locker room after the 1st period up 3-0. Both teams potted 3 goals in the second to finish out the scoring for the night. Scot McClintic put up a pair of goals, while Elie Klein, Alex Gorden, Eric Castellazzo, and Vinny LaRosa put home one apiece. Joe McCarty finished with 28 saves for the night. TCNJ faces local rival Rider University next Friday night before facing off against Muhlenberg on Saturday.

The Lions winning streak reached 9 games with wins over Seton Hall and Scranton. On Friday, the Lions closed out the season series with Seton Hall with a 7-5 win. Elie Klein was a force in front of the Pirate crease, and finished with 2 goals and 4 assists. Scot McClintic finished with a slightly less impressive 2 goals and 3 assists, while Alex Gorden, Jared LeBar, and Vinny LaRosa also scored for the Lions. The Lions hit the road on Sunday, taking on Scranton in one of the lowest scoring games in recent memory. The Lions jumped out to a 1-0 lead after two scoreless periods before Scranton equalized on a fluke goal in the dying moments of the 3rd period. The Lions came out hard in the overtime session, and were rewarded when Vinny LaRosa slammed home a rebound opportunity to make it two overtime victories in the last two weekends. The Lions return home next weekend, facing MACHA opponents Rowan and UPenn on the 14th and 15th.

Following their clutch overtime victory on Friday against Temple, the Lions did not let down against the Lafayette Leopards on Saturday, cruising to a 10-1 victory. Scot McClintic tallied another hat trick, and added a pair of assists in the game. Sophomore Elie Klein added 2 goals and 2 assists, while Brenden Crowe, Jared LeBar, and Glenn Reese registered a goal and an assist each. The Lions will attempt to stretch their winning streak to 9 next weekend when they face MACHA opponent Seton Hall on Saturday, and GNCHC member Scranton on Sunday.

Overtime heroics by Junior Scot McClintic lifted the Lions to a dramatic 8-7 overtime victory over the Temple Owls to close out the season series. McClintic took a pass from Elie Klein after a failed breakaway attempt by Temple's Jeff Pelus, and ripped a shot off the crossbar to end the back-and-forth game. McClintic finished with 3 goals and 3 assists, Sophomore Elie Klein added 3 goals and 2 assists, Vinny LaRosa had a pair of goals, and Alex Gorden finished with 2 assists. The Lions went 3 for 7 on the powerplay, and Senior Scott Meredith had 35 saves in the win.

The Lions picked up their first two MACHA wins of the season, taking 7-4 and 8-5 decisions over UPenn and Seton Hall. Sophomore Elie Klein had 2 goals and 3 assists against UPenn, and Senior Alex Gorden finished off his hat trick with a power play goal and the end of the 3rd. On Saturday the Lions received a 5 goal, 1 assist effort from Scot McClintic, and a goal and an assist each from Alex Gorden and Elie Klein. The Lions take the road again next weekend to play GNCHC opponent Muhlenberg.

The Lions went 2-0 this weekend, walking away with wins over Princeton and Scranton. The Lions played their first GNCHC opponent of the season on Sunday, rallying to beat Scranton by a 10-7 final score. Scot McClintic and Elie Klein tallied 4 goals and 2 assists each, and Alex Gorden finished with 3 assists. The Lions go on the road next weekend to face MACHA opponents UPenn and Seton Hall.

In their first home game of the 2008-2009 season, the Lions defeated the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers by a 7-6 margin. Senior Eric Castellazzo led the way with 2 goals and 2 assists, while Sophomore Elie Klein added 2 goals and an assist. Seniors Ryan Coraggio and Jared Lebar also tallied 3 assists each. Senior goaltender Scott Meredith made 45 saves in the win, and Senior Ex-Goaltender Dave Kababik picked up the game winning goal in his first appearance of the season. The Lions face Montclair State University at home tomorrow before their first league games the following weekend.

The Lions opened the 2008-2009 season at the Garden State Cup last weekend, going 1-1 to finish in 3rd place. In their first game of the season, the Lions were competitive with tournament host WPU, losing by a final score of 9-5. In the other semifinal Montclair defeated Rowan to set up the consolation game matchup between TCNJ and Rowan. The Lions made a strong showing with a 7-5 victory over Rowan, bolstered by 3 goals on the man advantage and a shorthanded goal. Junior Scot McClintic lead the team with 3 goals, Senior Ryan Coraggio had 2 goals and an assist, and Sophomore Elie Klein tallied a goal and an assist in the victory.

The Lions will kick off the 2008-2009 season at the Garden State Cup in Wayne, NJ. State rivals William Paterson, Rowan, and Montclair will join TCNJ for the weekend tournament hosted by the Blue Line Hockey Club. The Lions will open against William Paterson University on Friday, September 19th. Rowan and Montclair will face off in the other semi-final, with the championship and consolation games on Saturday, September 20th. For more information visit the Blue Line Hockey Website.

The Lions will hold their annual preseason training camp at the Loucks Ice Center on Friday August 15th and Saturday August 16th. Please contact Scott Meredith for more information.

The College of New Jersey Lions were accepted into the Mid Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association as a probationary member on Saturday April 12th, 2008. Also moving up to the MACHA were GNCHC rivals Rowan University. The Lions are excited about their move up to the MACHA, and are looking forward to building off of their successful 2007-2008 season.

The Lions would like to congratulate the following players for their achievements during the 2007-2008 Season...

Elie Klein - ACHA D2 Northeast 3rd Team All Region
Elie Klein - GNCHC MVP
Elie Klein - GNCHC All Star
Alex Gorden - GNCHC All Star
Ryan Coraggio - GNCHC All Star
Scot McClintic - GNCHC All Star

In addition, several Lions led the GNCHC in statistical categories...

Elie Klein - Most Points (55)
Scot McClintic - Most Goals (33)
Ryan Coraggio - Most Assists (28)
Scott Meredith - Lowest GAA (1.80)
Scott Meredith & Dave Kababik - Tie-1st in Shutouts (1 Each)