Author Archives: Andrew Parent

Owls to face off against St. Joe’s

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Temple’s matchup against St. Joseph’s is more than a divisional game Friday night, as the team also has the chance to clinch an early spot in the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.

The postseason chance seems to mean little to coach Ryan Frain, however, as he eyes the American Hockey Collegiate Association regional playoffs.

“The way I look at it is the regionals are the goal,” Frain said. “If you handle your business by beating the teams in your division and conference then you should be able to make the MACHA playoffs.”

Bigger news graced Frain’s computer screen a few days ago when the second set of rankings came out for the ACHA Division 2 rankings. Temple stayed locked in the ninth spot and in the mix for the regional playoffs.

“To be honest, when [Andrew] Trainor and Ted [Wood] and I talked to other coaches around the league, we thought we were going to stay at the No. 9 spot based on our performances against Toledo and Penn State,” Frain said.

The last time the Owls and Hawks clashed was on Nov. 8 when the Owls overcame a first-period shutout. Temple tallied six goals over the next two periods, while the Hawks managed two. The Hawks have an abysmal 2-16 record, but Frain is not taking this game lightly.

“When we go into games against St. Joe’s, it doesn’t matter if they are bad or not because it’s a divisional game,” Frain said. “You have to be able to get up for games like this. To them we are the big dog, if you will, as we are the first matchup against a ranked opponent out of the break, so we are going to have a target on our back.”

This is Temple’s first game back after almost two weeks removed from its last contest. Frain does not think rust will be a factor, due to the team’s practice schedule this past week.

“A break is always good after 19 or 20 games,” Frain said. “The guys got to spend time with their families and enjoy the holiday. We had a good week of practice this past Monday and Wednesday night and I think we are ready to go for these next four games that are huge. After the rankings have come in we know we will be facing No. 8 Delaware and No. 6 Rowan. I know the players know the importance of these games and I expect them to be ready to go.”

The Owls will face off against the Hawks at 9:20 p.m.

-Stephen Godwin Jr.

Owls to face Toledo in two-game set

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The first-ever matchups between the Owls and the University of Toledo this weekend will have major implications on the American Collegiate Hockey Association rankings that will come out on Nov. 23.

Toledo ranks sixth in the ACHA Southeast standings with a 7-4 record, while Temple sits in ninth with a 10-6 record.

“I think it is shaping up to be a good weekend,” Toledo coach Dan Conway said in an email. “The second ranking period is right around the corner and these are two big games for both of us.”

The two teams share similarities as both are loaded with veterans and each has endured hardships this season.

The Rockets have 16 upperclassmen on their 25-man roster to the Owls’ 13 on a 26-man roster.

Temple blazed through its first five games with a 4-1 record before stumbling through a six-game losing streak that stretched from Sept. 28 to Oct. 12. The Owls proceeded to win three-straight games and the team has won six of its last eight.

Toledo won its first two games, but then lost five straight. A seven-game winning streak helped salvage its season with a seven-game win streak that it is looking to extend tonight.

“We unfortunately dropped a few games early on, but I think a good part of that was due to the change in our strength of schedule,” Conway said. “We decided as a team that this was rock bottom for us. We had to get the mojo back. We know we have talented players and an end goal that we have to keep pushing towards. I think we are still trying to ride the wave we are on while not taking any of it for granted.”

Owls coach Ryan Frain arrived in Toledo at 4 a.m. this morning and held a short practice with the team earlier this afternoon at the Team Toledo Ice House.

Tonight’s game is at 9:30 p.m. with a second game taking place at 3:30 p.m.

Morgan to sit early, play spring semester

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Senior guard Jesse Morgan has decided to play out his final semester of eligibility in the spring, according to a CBS Sports report Wednesday.

Morgan will miss the Owls’ first 10 games of the 2014-15 season, and will become eligible to play starting on Dec. 18 for Temple’s non-conference matchup at the University of Delaware.

Temple had petitioned for Morgan to receive a full year of eligibility for the 2014-15 season, but the NCAA elected to maintain Morgan’s eligibility for one semester. On the American Athletic Conference media day at the New York Athletic Club last Wednesday, coach Fran Dunphy said the ruling allowed Morgan to choose whether to play out his semester of eligibility in the fall or the spring.

Originally a University of Massachusetts commit, Morgan averaged 13.4 points per game as a junior during the 2012-13 campaign for the Minutemen, before a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament ended his season. He transferred to Temple that summer and petitioned for eligibility for the 2013-14 season, but was denied a waiver by the NCAA.

After he regains eligibility, Morgan will join an experienced Temple backcourt that features senior Will Cummings, junior Quenton DeCosey and junior transfer Devin Coleman, who will play his first season with the team after sitting out in 2013-14, per the NCAA’s transfer policy.

Men’s basketball voted to finish sixth

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The men’s basketball team was picked to finish sixth out of 11 American Athletic Conference teams this season.

The poll results were announced at the conference media day at the New York Athletic Club Wednesday. Defending national champion Connecticut edged the top spot in the poll, while Southern Methodist were picked by The American’s coaches to finish second in the conference.

Memphis, led by All-Conference first-team selections Shaq Goodwin and Austin Nichols, were picked to finish third in the conference, while Cincinnati, Tulsa, Temple, Houston, South Florida, Central Florida East Carolina and Tulane rounded out the remainder of the poll.

The Owls’ backcourt duo of senior Will Cummings and junior Quenton DeCosey were selected as second team all-conference in a coaches vote. Cummings ranked sixth in the conference with 16.8 points per game in 29 contests last season, while DeCosey posted an eighth-best 15.4 ppg. in 31 games.

UConn senior guard Ryan Boatright was tabbed as The American’s preseason Player of the Year, while Huskies freshman Daniel Hamilton was voted preseason Rookie of the Year.

The Owls will kick off their season against American University at the Liacouras Center on Nov. 14. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

2014-15 Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Rank, Team (First-Place Votes)
1. UConn (6)
2. SMU (5)
3. Memphis
4. Cincinnati
5. Tulsa
6. Temple
7. Houston
8. USF
9. UCF
10. East Carolina
11. Tulane

Two second-half goals doom Owls

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After scoring two unanswered tallies in the second half, Connecticut defeated the Owls 3-1 at the Huskies’ Monroe Field on Wednesday night.

Temple (2-11-2), which has one win since Sept. 5, scored its lone goal when sophomore defender Stefan Mueller scored his first goal of the season off a feed from senior midfielder Willie Chalfant to tie the game at one apiece in the 50th minute.

The Huskies (6-6-1) soon scored twice in eight minutes to effectively put the game out of reach, though, the first of which came from sophomore forward Cyle Larin in the 56th minute. Sophomore forward Ethan Vanacore-Decker capped the scoring in the 65th minute.

UConn led the count in shots on target, 8-4, while the Huskies amassed 10 corner kicks on the night, compared to Temple’s three. Owls senior goalie Dan Scheck stopped five shots in net.

With the loss, the Owls dropped their fourth consecutive contest. They’ll play the last game at home of the season when Tulsa pays a visit Saturday at 2 p.m.

Boathouse sublease agreement reached

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Temple will enter into a 20-year sublease agreement with the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development to renovate the East Park Canoe House, where the crew and rowing teams store boats.

The Board of Trustees’ general body approved the decision at a Tuesday meeting in Sullivan Hall on Main Campus.

The university expects the project to cost $5.5 million, $2.5 million of which will come from the City of Philadelphia. H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest donated the remaining $3 million in February, which coincided with the city’s initial announcement of the renovation.

The expense report for the project, a part of the public agenda from the meeting, was signed by President Theobald on Sept. 17.

The lease for the Boathouse Row property includes two 10-year renewal options and would require Temple to provide and maintain public restrooms on the property.

-Joe Brandt

Aflakpui joins crop of verbal commits

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Less than two weeks after men’s basketball coach Fran Dunphy secured the word of four-star Haverford School recruit Levan Alston, Archbishop Carroll High School’s Ernest Aflakpui verbally committed to Temple on Sunday.

Aflakpui, a 6-foot-9-inch power forward out of Radnor, joins Dunphy’s current 2015 recruiting class that already included Alston and Ewing High School (New Jersey) shooting guard Trey Lowe.

Aflakpui is rated as a four-star recruit on ESPN.com, while Rivals.com has him as a three-star prospect.

Dunphy’s batch of three recruits matches his total number from Temple’s 2010, 2012 and 2013 recruiting classes. He pulled in one four-star recruit for the 2014 class in 6-foot-8 power forward Obi Enechionyia.

Alston marks Owls’ second verbal commitment of 2015 class

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Temple picked up a second four-start recruit via verbal commit Tuesday morning.

Donning one of his father’s old Owls jerseys, local product Levan Alston announced his verbal commitment to the university in a press conference, marking coach Fran Dunphy’s second such commitment for the 2015 recruiting class.

The 6-foot-4 Haverford School product garnered All-State honors after posting 16.5 points per game as a junior last season. He’ll join fellow shooting guard and AAU teammate Trey Lowe (Ewing, New Jersey) at Temple in Fall 2015, as Lowe verbally committed to the Owls as a four-star shooting guard in August.

In committing to Temple, Alston will be joining the alma mater of his father, Levan, who played for the Owls under former coach John Chaney in the mid-1990s.

Martinelli and Polley named to conference honor roll

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Junior midfielder/forward Jared Martinelli and redshirt freshman forward Miguel Polley were both named to the American Athletic Conference’s weekly honor roll this past week for their performances in a 2-0 victory against Cincinnati Saturday.

Martinelli scored the opening goal of the match in the first 10 minutes, recording his second goal of this season. He last scored in a 2-2 draw at La Salle on Sept. 13.
Polley, who flicked a back heel to Martinelli on that first goal, recorded a second assist when he flicked a ball to redshirt senior Chas Wilson, who calmly finished his chance to give the Owls a two-goal lead at the 48:56 mark during the second half.
The Detroit, Michigan native now has one goal and three assists this fall. Coach David MacWilliams talked about why Polley is able to facilitate so well in the midfield.
“Miguel’s a very talented player,” MacWilliams said. “[He] has that ability where he can slip people and he’s clever on the ball … he knew exactly where Jared was, he flicked it, and Jared did the rest, so it was a great combination.”
Temple travels to Tampa, Florida to face the University of South Florida at 7 p.m. Saturday night.

Injuries plaguing Owls amid early-season struggles

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Heading into the conference schedule, the men’s soccer team has numerous injuries on its roster.

Freshman forward Olli Tynkkynen was wearing a boot on his right foot, while freshman forward Joonas Jokinen did some light running around the practice field Friday at Ambler Sports Complex.
Meanwhile, sophomore defender Stefan Mueller has missed the last two games due to stomach pain, while freshman midfielder Felipe Loborio started practice with a brace on his right leg, but then sat out the last hour of practice.
Even with all the problems, Temple assistant athletic trainer Nathan Quebedeaux said most have a shot at playing against Cincinnati.
“We’ll see with Felipe [Liborio], Olli [Tynkkynen] and Joonas [Jokinen],” Quebedeaux said. “We’ll see how they respond with re-conditioning and treatment and we’ll go from there.”
Another player that has not seen action since Sept. 5 against Penn State is redshirt sophomore forward Donovan Fraiser. Coach David MacWilliams said Fraiser had violated “team rules,” but declined to comment further.