It has been a long time coming for the Gettysburg Bullets ice hockey team. Three years ago the Bullets lost to Salisbury in the quarterfinals. Two years ago Gettysburg lost to George Washington in the semi-finals. Last season the Bullets were one win away from taking the championship but lost to Loyola in the championship. So this season was the Bullets year and all the hard work and dedication paid off as the Bullets won their first Mason Dixon title in over ten years.

The playoff tournament began on Friday evening where Gettysburg would face off against Bucknell in the first quarter-final game. The game started off very well for the Bullets as less than a minute in to the game freshman Eddie Rupp banged home a rebound and put the Bullets up by one. The game stayed in the Bullets favor as with less than a minute left in the period junior Phil Deyette rifled one past the netminder for a two goal lead at the end of the first.

The Bullets hoped to take the momentum in to the second period but it was the Bisons of Bucknell that took the momentum with an early powerplay goal. Minutes later they would capitalize again and tie the game at two. However, with less than a minute remaining again in the period, while on the powerplay Deyette once again blew a wrist shot past the goaltender to give the Bullets the lead 3-2.

In the third period Gettysburg had to hang on to their lead. They did even more as senior Luke Archambault scored on a breakaway pass from sophomore Ryan Flanagan giving the Bullets another two goal lead. But Bucknell would not give up. Midway through the period they were awarded a two man powerplay and capitalized not once but twice and just like that the game was once again tied. The third period ended with the score knotted at four and as the Bullets headed in to overtime they did so a man down. Gettysburg was able to kill off the penalty but were not able to score to win the game, and this game was heading to a shootout.

The Bullets hoped to have the same outcome as they had a week previous in Salisbury. But the nerves were running high as the Bullets season came down to this shootout because if they lost there would be no tomorrow. But standing strong and showing no signs of nerves was once again Bullets goaltender, senior Rich Sommerkorn, who stopped all four of Bucknell's shots. It was freshman Matt Simeoni who completely faked out the goaltender and scored the winning goal for Gettysburg, who went on to win 5-4. They would now face Salisbury in the semi-final game.

The Bullets faced Salisbury the week before and narrowly escaped with a shootout victory. Gettysburg would have to be on its game if they wanted to give their coach's nerves a break. It certainly started well for Gettysburg as they were awarded two early powerplays and sophomore Mark Bouchard and Flanagan netted the first two goals of the game. Before the end of the period the Bullets would net two more with Archambault and freshman Mike Schopp tallying their first of the game.

Carrying the commanding four goal lead in to the second period the Bullets were not finished as Archambault netted his second of the game less than two minutes in to the period. Next the Bullets were awarded another powerplay and this time it was senior Tom Swon who gave Gburg a powerful six goal lead. But Salisbury was not going quietly as they scored two quick goals, one on the powerplay narrowing Gettysburg's lead to four goals.

Gettysburg did not want a repeat of the previous night where they sacrificed the lead once again. But this would be a solid night for Gettysburg as two minutes in to the period Schopp would net his second of the game. Gburg showed how deadly their powerplay was by netting two more powerplay goals from Simeoni and Deyette. Salisbury would sneak one more past Sommerkorn, but it would not nearly be enough as Gettysburg rolled to a 9-3 victory. So now the scene was set as Gettysburg would now face off against Alvernia in the championship game.

Emotions were running as high as the nerves on Sunday at the Hersheypark arena. The players on Gburg who were on the team last season knew they had been here before and knew how devastating it would be not to finish this playoff run. Gettysburg knew that Alvernia was not nearly going to be the team Salisbury was, as Alvernia rolled in their semi-final game as well over Catholic 11-2.

Despite their confidence and determination the first period did not start off the way the Bullets had hoped. Less than two minutes in to the period Alvernia would tally first with a deflection past Sommerkorn. The game began with Alvernia matching lines against Gburg's top scoring line of Deyette, Archambault, and Schopp. The Bullets tried to thwart this effort but they were not the home team and were not granted the last line change. So the Bullets knew to get the job done they would need to rely on the rest of their scoring lines. Three minutes after Alvernia's goal Simeoni would score on a nice pass from senior Dave Frascarelli tying the game. With minutes remaining in the first it was the Bullets second scoring line again, this time on the powerplay with a laser no-look pass from senior captain Jackson Ferguson to Frascarelli who one-timed it home for the Bullets first lead of the game.

Like every game in the tournament Gettysburg had the lead going in to the second period. They would even increase that lead as Bouchard and Simeoni came down on a two-on-one and Simeoni flipped a pass through the Alvernia defender to Bouchard who poked it home. The Bullets now lead by two midway through the second period. However, Gburg found themselves shorthanded and Alvernia capitalized with their own powerplay goal pulling within one. But minutes later it would be Jackson Ferguson who would be on the receiving end of a sweet pass from senior Ben Flint and put it past the Vern goaltender to give the Bullets a two goal lead once again.

As Gettysburg entered the third period they knew they were only twenty minutes away from their first Mason Dixon title in over ten years. But they started the period too timid and allowed the Crusaders to pull within one goal. The time seemed to wind down slower than ever and the final ten minutes seemed to last ten years. Both teams exchanged chances and Alvernia had one chance where to point blank rebounds were turned away by Sommerkorn. As time wound down Alvernia pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker and threw everything they had at the Bullets in the final minute. But Gburg stood their ground and the time finally expired and the Bullets wait was over. They were the Mason Dixon Champions!

The celebration began and before they received their trophy the tournament MVP was announced and it was none other than Gettysburg's goaltender Rich Sommerkorn. The long wait was over and the Bullets had finally captured the title.

     
The Bullets would like to thank all of their fans for their support throughout the tournament. The Bullets would like to also thank Dan Strawhecker, and the Hersheypark staff for all their help. And we would also like to extend a special thanks to the following people for volunteering their time to help with the tournament: Christina Coble, Leona Deyette, Ron Deyette, Bill Groff, Andrea Gunther, Karen Hinkle, Terri Laufer, and Jacci Sargenti. Thank you to everyone for your support all year as this would not have been possible without it. See you next season!

Photos courtesy of Laufer Images
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