The Californina University of Pennsylvania Mens’ Hockey team entered the Division-III ACHA National Championships (Fort Myers, Florida) with a reputation of having one of the most prolific offensive attacks in the nation and through two games, the Vulcans have backed up that statement.
The Vulcans (29-0, 2-0) who entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed out of the Atlantic region, opened up preliminary action Wednesday with an 11-4 victory over the Lansing Stars and continued their dominance Thursday morning with a 9-2 thrashing over the CSU-Northridge Matadors.
Despite out shooting CSU-Northridge 19-3 in the first period, the Vulcans trailed 1-0 after one period but there was never any concern from the Vulcans.
In the final forty minutes of the game, the Vulcans high flying attack went into high gear, scoring 9 unanswered goals, including 5 second period goals.
Senior Dan Tonini (3g) led the way for the Vulcans scoring 3 goals, while Tim Gleason (2g, 1a) and Josh Werner (2g, 1a) added 2 goals for the Vulcans.
Junior Ryan Jones (1g, 3a) and sophomore Nate Bohn (1g, 1a) also scored for California.
Jones who is one of the nations leading scorers, leads the Vulcans in the tournament with 10 points in two games.
Puck moving defenseman Nick Possa added 3 assists for the Vulcans. Possa ranks second for the Vulcans with 7 points in the tournament after recording 3 goals and an assist in the Vulcans 11-4 win against Lansing.
Goaltender Shane Bickar made 24 saves to record his second win of the tournament.
For the Vulcans, they are getting production from all areas of their lineup.
Under head coach Justin Berger, the Vulcans play an uptempo-style of hockey with a group of puck moving defensemen in Nick Possa, Joe Powell, and Tim Gleason that fuel the Vulcans transition game.
Top forwards Dan Tonini and Ryan Jones have combined for 15 points in two games, while the Vulcans are getting strong two-way play from the likes of versatile forwards Jeremy Hill, Nate Bohn and Anthony Battista.
One win away from advancing to the semi-finals, the Vulcans face Central Florida at 2:00 p.m. on Friday in what is expected to be their toughest test thus far.
The Vulcans who won the ACHA 2008 National Championship are just three wins away from claiming their second national title in three years.