For the third time in team history, the Yeshiva University roller hockey team is going into the Eastern Collegiate Roller Hockey Association's regional tournament with plenty of confidence. After finishing the season 13-5 they stand as the 5 seed in the league, a perfect spot for a team of plucky underdogs who know they have a lot to prove. Boasting the third best goal differential in the league, the team has to like their chances to make a solid run through the playoffs.
 
Underdogs have a history of excelling in this 6-team tournament and Yeshiva is hopeful they can continue the trend. "We know that we're not one of the favorites going into the weekend but we feel that we are the best team in this division and come Friday we're going to play like it," said third year defenseman Benjy Shulman.
 
Coming up big won't be an easy task for the Macs. The tournament kicks off in Feasterville, PA on Friday March 2nd with an 11:00 AM game Friday morning against Penn State University (13-4-1). If Yeshiva pulls out a win, they'll have to reload quickly as they move on to a 2:00 PM against the Northeastern University (16-1-1), the #1 ranked school in the country.
 
Kicking off the weekend on the right note will be important for the Macs. The tournament is double-elimination, meaning that if a team loses two games they are eliminated from competition and their season is over. Yeshiva is already at a disadvantage because they have to automatically forfeit a game on Saturday March 3rd for Sabbath observant. That means that the room for error is effectively 0 in their games on Friday.
 
"Yes, it's definitely not ideal but there's nothing we can do about it," said Yeshiva University head coach Elyashiv Gemara. "Our season ended last year also because of a Shabbat day forfeit. It's inspiring in a way that we have no hesitation at all. We don't play games on Saturday, period, and we have to compensate by taking advantage of what games we can play in."
 
Unfortunately, the same exact scenario happened last year as well. After beating Penn State in the Friday morning game, YU dropped a contest to Northeastern before forfeiting a Saturday game to Oswego, ending their season on a sour note, before ultimately winning a bid to the National Tournament in Fort Myers, Florida.
 
Being a team from Yeshiva University brings with it a lot of pride and the team is excited that they can know also share the spotlight with the YU basketball team. The basketball team kicks off their NCAA tournament, the first in program history, the same day that the hockey team takes the court for their regional tournament.
 
"Amazing, it's really incredible," said captain Ari Drazin. "All the teams in YU work tirelessly to get better and I feel like right now is the best time for YU Athletics. Every team nowadays is competitive is showing what it means to be a Maccabee. We play hard and at the same time we can be mensches on the court and continue to lead strong Jewish lives."
 
Letting the world know what YU is made of is something that the roller hockey team is used to. After winning the D4 championship in their inaugural year and then catapulting themselves to the Elite Eight in the National Tournament in D2 last season, they know that they can't afford to take their foot off the gas pedal.
 
"Last year it was all new for all of us. We were in D2 for the first time and just trying to keep up with the other elite teams playing and, thank god, we fared very well," commented captain Donny Fuchs. "This year we've been working endlessly to achieve our dream of winning a national championship and that starts with this weekend in regionals. We have the team to do it and we'll stop at nothing."