Last season, the Penn club ice hockey team proved itself to be among the top club hockey teams in the the region, compiling a 16-9 record and defeating powerhouses NYU and Indiana University of Pennsylvania, both of which went on to compete at Nationals.
Last weekend, the Quakers, now 29 players strong, began their 2001-2002 season with another milestone -- hosting their first tournament.
The Liberty Bell Invitational, held at the Class of 1923 ice rink, brought together three area rivals -- Drexel, La Salle, and Temple -- with proceeds going to benefit the American Red Cross Relief Fund.
The Quakers originally planned the event to be a fundraiser for the team, since their dues are, by far, the highest among club teams. However, the Red and Blue made a collective decision to shift gears in light of the tragic events on Sept. 11.
"The team as a whole decided that we wanted to donate what we could to help the people who suffered," senior Whit Matthews said. "Charity is something that we don't usually get to do, and it seemed like a timely situation."
The tournament was put on entirely by the Penn hockey team, with support by the Philadelphia Flyers and Phantoms. Both teams heard about the event from the Quakers' press releases, and the Flyers donated three autographed pucks while the Phantoms contributed an autographed stick. The memorabilia was raffled off during the weekend's festivities.
"They showed interest in the long-term," Matthews said. "If we do the event again, they definitely want to be involved."
On Saturday, in the first semi-final game, the Red and Blue crushed LaSalle, 10-0, with hat tricks by sophomore Aaron Wasserman and freshman Micah Cohen, the latter of whom was playing in his first collegiate game. Junior assistant captain Todd Leri also had two goals and two assists while Matthews added a goal and four assists.
"It was a good warm-up game, to get the feet going," Matthews said.
With the win, the Red and Blue advanced to meet Drexel, a victor over Temple on Saturday.
Against the Dragons, the Quakers held their own but eventually fell, 9-5, in a streaky contest.
Drexel came out strong, taking an early 3-0 lead. The Quakers responded, as Matthews and junior Daniel Remick each scored on rebounds to bring the Red and Blue within one goal with one minute to go in second period.
Drexel regained control and surged ahead to a 6-2 lead in the third period before the Quakers had a three-goal streak of their own, capped off by a Matthews goal on a pass across the crease from Leri.
The Dragons ended Penn's bid for an upset, though, with a short-handed goal and two empty-net goals in the last seven minutes of play.
"Drexel, they took it to us," Leri said. "They're ranked 13th in D-I club hockey, which is nothing to shake our heads about. Now we know what we have to work on."
The Red and Blue next take to the ice on Saturday, when they face Marist College at home.
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