Ice Hockey Season Comes To An End

Pirates fall to Mountaineers in semifinals

3/2/07

Jared Jackson, Staff Writer

The ECU hockey team went into this past weekend's Blue Ridge Hockey Conference Tournament as the No. 1 seed, as it finished the regular season with a 14-1 BRHC record. Despite beating Appalachian State twice in the regular season and clearly outplaying the Mountaineers Saturday night, the Pirates season came to an abrupt end with a 5-2 loss. Appalachian State beat Clemson Friday night to move on to play the Pirates on Saturday.

The Pirates two goals came by sensational freshman defenseman Dan Duda. One goal was assisted by Seth Percy, while the other was unassisted. ECU out shot ASU 34-25 but the Mountaineers were efficient, scoring five goals on less chances.

"Obviously this weekend didn't go as we had hoped it would," said Falcon. "I think that it was a good wake up call for us; I think we kind of went into the weekend thinking that the trophy was polished and ready for us and all we had to do was show up. Last year we were the underdogs and really didn't have anything to lose, this year we were the ones with the target on our backs."

Backup goalie Connor Brearley added that he has never felt more proud to wear the purple and gold.

"I think everyone was extremely upset with the way our season ended, I feel very bad for the seniors who don't have the opportunity to get back at them next year," said Brearley. "Certainly no one wants to end on a loss, so hopefully we will take something from this weekend and regroup in the off season and put a championship team on the ice next year. It's not like the whole season was a disaster, I was very proud to be a part of such a great hockey team this year and we had a lot of success in the regular season, in fact, I have never been more proud to wear any other jersey than I am when I pull the ECU jersey over my head."

The Pirates have now played in the BRHC tournament two years in a row in only two years of the program's existence. Last season ECU lost 6-4 in the conference championship to a powerful Richmond team. This season the Spiders held on to their title by crushing ASU, 9-1.

ECU started the year 9-1, but stumbled down the stretch. The Pirates went 7-6-1 in the second half of the season. While ECU played some of the toughest teams in the region, the Pirates were good enough to finish with a 14-1 mark in the BRHC regular season.

"I'm very happy with where we are as a second year program," said Falcon. "We're one of the top teams in the South region and have gained respect from some of the best [Division III] programs in the nation. This program can really only get better and we're continuing to see increased support from the community, volunteers and the media. It's going to be exciting to see where this team goes from here. I certainly don't think that you can let one loss define this team and this program, we'll move on and next year we'll be better."

ECU is now focused on next season. While the Pirates lose four players, they are bringing in some exceptional talent for the 2007-08 season.

"Next year we already have some great talented freshmen and transfers coming in," Falcon said. "We're only losing four players and will have a solid core to build around. I think that next year's team will be improved in all areas offensively and defensively. Look for a tougher schedule that we hope will give us the opportunity to advance to Nationals. We're also going to do whatever we can to get more home games so our fans can enjoy more great hockey in Greenville."

Falcon added, "However, we're looking to add a new manager and we always need volunteers to help on game days as well as in other areas." Fans interested in helping with the team can find contact information on ecuicehockey.com

This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.