Goaltender Darren Delullo (Millersville, Md.) stonewalled a potent Navy attack, allowing only one goal on 41 shots, and propelled the Towson Tigers (12-13-1) to a 4-1 win in the 31st annual Crabpot Tournament. For his herculean efforts, Delullo was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Delullo made a career-high 40 saves, 19 of which came in the final frame, some in heart-stopping fashion. Towson’s defensemen did a phenomenal job of giving Delullo clear lanes to see the puck, blocking numerous shots from the point, and the group was extremely diligent in preventing Navy’s feisty forwards from creating an overabundance of traffic to build up in front of Towson’s net.

“For the first time ever, the Crabpot had four Maryland teams. To be able to have bragging rights in the state of Maryland is just nice for our guys.” said a jubilant coach Jon Mahaffee after the game. “This was a just a nice reward for the guys and their hard work and dedication that they have shown all season long.”

Pacing the Towson offense was Annapolis, Md., native, and team co-captain, Bobby Plant. Plant assisted on defenseman Jon Scharff’s (Neptune, N.J.) first goal of the season just over three minutes into the game to put the Tigers ahead and quiet the capacity crowd at McMullen Arena. With Towson clinging to a precarious 2-1 advantage late in the second period, and on a rare five-on-three power play, Christian Valvano (Randolph, N.J.) set up Plant with a beautiful pass and he rifled a shot which evaded Navy netminder Eric Anderson’s grasp. Then, on a five-on-four man advantage in the waning seconds of the period, Plant blasted the puck right past Anderson, and the Tigers had a three goal cushion heading into the second intermission. For his extraordinary efforts, Plant copped Player of the Game honors.

“We played ‘Navy style hockey’ tonight” quipped Mahaffee in reference to the fact that the Tigers never let up the entire night.

In addition, Towson, which stuck to its customary disciplined and methodical style of play, received great forechecking pressure from its forwards in the offensive zone. When backchecking, the forwards were effective in chipping the puck off the wall safely out to center ice to thwart any potential late-game heroics for Navy. By obtaining the lead so early in the contest, Towson was able to roll all four forward lines the entire game.

The Tigers advanced to the Crabpot final by defeating ECHA rival Maryland in the opening game of the tournament 7-4. Trailing 3-2 heading into the final stanza, the Tigers erupted for five goals. It marked the first time all season that the Tigers won a game when trailing after two periods. Freshman forward Andrew Higgins (Centreville, Md.) was selected as the Player of the Game after scoring three goals. Two of those goals came in the third period, one on the first shift to tie the game at 3-3, and the second one, scored with less than seven minutes remaining, proved to be the gamewinner.

“This weekend was so important. I told the guys I did not want [us] to back ourselves into the playoffs next weekend. They came out and responded just as I had hoped. These two victories have given us a lot of positive momentum going into the playoffs.”

One stellar save by Brian Glass (Erial, N.J.) on a penalty shot, and a well-placed wrist shot by forward Kevin Baum (Larchmont, N.Y.) propelled the Tigers to a 5-2 win Saturday and a split with Rutgers. The Tigers, who lost a gut-wrenching game the night before, improved their season record to 8-12. They have won three of four this month, outscoring their opponents 31-19. The Tigers have now been victorious in seven of their last 10 games dating back to last November.

Baum, a left shot, generated speed in the neutral zone, crossed the blue line, and skating toward the near post, fired a shot toward the far side which went right over the blocker of Rutgers netminder Frank Figarole into the back of the twine. N.J. native Glass, who had been fighting the puck in the first two periods, came up huge in the third, making key stops including the penalty shot. The call was, at best, questionable as Rutgers forward Jeff Katz was able to get off a clear shot in on goal as he evaded two Towson defenders.

Coach Jon Mahaffee mused: “The timing of that goal (1:19 into the third period) was critical. Recently, I haven’t been pleased with the way we have been starting and ending periods. For Baum to go in there and score a goal right away was just what the doctor ordered. That gave us a huge boost of energy.” Baum had a larger role at forward since Chris Wetzel was moved back to defense.

“Brian’s save on the penalty shot was huge. When I saw him save that penalty shot, I took a deep breath and just had this feeling that everything was going to be fine and we were going to finish it off. We definitely rode the emotion of that save the rest of the game. 

Coming off the 10-7 loss the night before, Mahafee let loose on the players after the game. To sum it up, he simply said, “the way we played was unacceptable.” “We had a heart-to-heart team meeting on the bus ride home.” Prior to Saturday’s game, Mahaffee commented that the dressing room was noticeably quiet. The players were focused and ready to go. “We finished our hits, we took the extra stride to get to the loose puck, we communicated, and we had that extra intensity that we had the previous weekend.”

Towson has a tough slate ahead, with three games in four nights this week, including two ECHA games versus Lehigh and Stony Brook.  All three games will be played at the Mount Pleasant Ice Arena, with the game vs. Lehigh being Wednesday night at 9:45 pm.

“I think we match up well with both of these teams (Lehigh and Stony Brook). Stony Brook really had our number in the first two games of the year. However, our team has done a 180 since then and I think this game could be a huge confidence booster for us before the playoffs.”

Tigers Eager To Kickstart 2008
Monday, January 7

After a month break for finals and the holidays, the Towson Tigers (5-11) are ready to return to the ice and make hay in the ECHA standings. The Tigers sport a 4-4 record in conference, and sit in third place. However, only one team (Maryland) has concluded ECHA play, and all spots after West Chester appear to be up for grabs.

Towson hosts league rivals Lehigh and Stony Brook later this month. The contest against Lehigh on January 23 (at the Reisterstown Rec Center, not Mt. Pleasant) is a make-up of the October 27 postponement. Towson defeated Lehigh for their first victory of the season behind a stellar effort from Brian Glass. Both games loom large for the Tigers in terms of both seeding and confidence heading into the ECHA tournament.

Players to watch in the second half are:

Jason Davis (16gp-14g-10a-24pts-40 pim), leads team in goals (14), points (24), power play goals (7) and gamewinning goals (3).

Mike Emmet (16gp-6g-10a-16pts-25pim).

Mike Pompa (13gp-3g-12a-15pts-12pim), leads team in assists with 12.

Tim Schlagenhauf (16gp-3g-6a-9pts-8pim), leads all Towson defensemen in assists (6), and tied for most points (9) with Chris Wetzel.

The three-headed tandem in goal of Jon Cipriano, Darren Dellulo, and Brian Glass as the Tigers fortunes rest in their gloves.

Led by stellar freshman forward Jason Davis (Eldersburg, Md.), the Towson Tigers defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers 3-1 and swept the Villanova Wildcats in a home-and-home clash to improve their record to 5-9 (4-2).

Davis had a career night against Villanova on November 17th, scoring four goals and chipping in an assist in the 7-4 victory. His four goals and five points are single-game highs for the Tigers this season.

“Jason has been playing great for us all year long. He is a very smart player who can create problems for other teams. He always seems to find the loose puck and buries his chances.“ praised coach Jon Mahaffee.

In analyzing the current four-game winning streak, Mahaffee opined, “We are doing the little things right. When we need to clear the puck out of the zone, we get it out. We have been playing very physical. Our power play has continued to produce in each game and the guys are staying disciplined in our system. So far, the goalie strategy has worked, and our ‘bullpen’ has held up.

“I think the main thing I have noticed recently is that the team has their swagger back. There is a bounce in their step at practice. They really seem like they are enjoying themselves right now. The guys are playing with more confidence and it is growing by the day. The players have kept building off the past few games and good things have been happening.”

After the Thanksgiving holiday, the Tigers have a tall order, playing a pair of games against West Chester (Penn.). The Golden Rams are presently undefeated in ECHA play.

Tigers Whitewash Terps
Wednesday, November 14

In what can only be described as an unorthodox coaching strategy, goalies Jon Cipriano (Levittown, N.Y.), Brian Glass (Erial, N.J.), and Darren Dellulo (Millersville, Md.) combined to post a 7-0 shutout against Maryland this past Saturday to even Towson’s ECHA record at 2-2.

Describing the goaltending situation, coach Jon Mahaffee stated “I told the guys that I’m going to run the goaltending like a bullpen, and it’s going to be by committee. They all know they’re going to play and they know exactly what period so they can be well prepared.”

Up front, three different Tigers scored a pair of goals: Jason Davis (Eldersburg, Md.), Matt Doyle (West Chester, Penn..), and Bobby Plant (Annapolis, Md.). For the third consecutive game, Chris Wetzel (Walkersville, Md.) scored a goal, and that came on the heels of a hat trick the day before.

“Chris Wetzel has just been playing outstanding hockey for us the past few weeks. He does the little things well, sees the ice well, and is very aware of what is going on. He has really jump-started our offense the past few weeks.

The Tigers power play erupted for eight goals in the weekend series against Maryland.

“I think the biggest key so far with our power play is that we have a good blend of players on both units. It’s not just our best shooters or our fastest guys out there. There is a blend of speed, creativity, power, and size.”