December issue

NY HOCKEY DECEMBER 2013 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 3

ONLINE

An Arena Built With Passion!

This Month...

Hockey Beyond the Win! Stories that will move you * Three Photo Pages * High School Hockey Standings!

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From the Bench!

by Rob Sedia / Professional Hockey Instructor

(Due to personal commitments Rob’s column won’t appear this month; but he’ll be back in the New Year!)

IN THIS ISSUE...

Get Moving...........................................4 Coaching with Gridley......................6 Hockey Insight.....................................7 Lockport Ice..........................................9 College Coaches.............................. 11 Home Grown..................................... 13 Building An Arena........................... 15 Not Average Joe............................... 18 Central NY ......................................... 21 East NY................................................ 27 North NY............................................. 31 West NY............................................... 35 Depew Saints 45th.......................... 36 Photo..................................... 53, 54, 59 NYS Tourneys..............................57-58

Dear Readers: It is hard to believe that another holiday season is upon us. It seems as though we just finished that last slice of turkey and now the holidays are right around the corner.

While the season can be a busy one for many of us, hockey continues to play at all levels. A lot of hockey-related events are happening across New York State.

In this issue you will find articles on the Depew Saints, who are celebrating their 45th anniversary season and the news of a new hockey arena going up in Lockport.

Janet and I had the opportunity to visit Utica and came away with some great stories. One deals with former NHL goaltender Robert Esche and his new job with the Utica Comets.

The other took us north of Utica into Lewis County where we found a group of volunteers who have put a new spin on building an outdoor rink.

We also had the opportunity to travel to Rochester where we talked to the student manager for the men’s and women’s DI hockey programs. You will be blown away with his story.

Janet also keeps us up to date on the happenings around NYS in girls and women’s hockey and Koz brings us his usual look at college hockey.

I would also like to take this time to say that we’re sorry this issue came out a bit later than we expected. While Janet and I thought we could put all this together while visiting our daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren, those little boys have a way of getting our attention. While we always know that we have a lot to be thankful for, this Thanksgiving was especially nice. Our son-in-law, MSGT. Scott Adams, returned home following an eight-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.

As always, enjoy this issue of our magazine and please continue to pass it along to as many readers as possible.

From Janet, Koz and myself, we would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.

Best Wishes, Randy Schultz

NY Hockey On-Line (E-Magazine) 3663 Irish Road Wilson, New York 14172 716-751-6524 nyhockeyonline@ nyhockeyonline.com Publisher &Managing Editor Randy Schultz Randy@nyhockeyonline.com Designer/Photographer Janet Schultz Janet@nyhockeyonline.com

Columnists Warren Kozireski, Wkozires@brockport.edu Janet Schultz Randy Schultz Rob Sedia Chuck Gridley Tom Barnett NY Hockey OnLine is an equal opportunity employer.

Contents 2012 NY Hockey Online All rights reserved NY Hockey OnLine is published monthly at no charge and can be accessed via the publication’s website www.nyhockeyonline.com

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W

Ryder / Page 4

hen you walk into Holiday Twin Rinks there’s always a group of people watching with pride as their children learn to skate. It’s a normal scene with the younger skater using the walkers, older students doing their swizzles, skating backwards, some doing turns and crossovers and coaches being patient as by Janet Schultz each student in Skate Great’s Learn to Skate program goes at their own pace.

One group on this particular evening, however, had a lot to be proud of.

Four-year-old Ryder Kopasz was working hard. He wants to skate like Nathan Gerbe and play ice hockey; the dream of many boys and girls.

The difference is that Ryder was born with Fibular Hemimelia, a condition that affects only 1 in 400,000.

Fibular Hemimelia doesn’t allow the fibula to grow and in Ryder’s case, while the tibula was there, his right leg wasn’t.

Ted and Mindy Kopasz learned of the condition when she was 18 weeks pregnant.

“We went through all the stages of grief,” she continues. “It was really devastating for us because we didn’t know what to expect as first time parents. We wondered about what he’d be able to do and his quality of life.”

“Everyone goes through something and this is minor,” she says now. “It makes him better. It makes him work harder and not give up and say ‘I can’t.’ He drives us to do better.”

Before age one his right foot and two toes were removed and he was fitted with a prosthesis so he could walk.

Somewhere along the way, Ryder developed a love of ice hockey and the Buffalo Sabres. Although not sure when, Mindy can’t remember a time he didn’t love hockey.

“I don’t know,” said Ryder when asked why he loves it. He will tell you his favorite player is Nathan Gerbe.

Get Moving!

(The Story of a Little Boy’s Dream to Skate)

Mindy remembers him hearing the sounds of hockey from the TV and turning his attention to the game.

He learned his colors and numbers through the team logos and players.

“He was on his knees a lot so he would sit on the floor and play mini-stick hockey,” said his father, Ted. Ryder wanted to ‘skate like Gerbe’ so at age three Santa Claus delivered his first pair of ice skates.

“He would walk around the house with them on,” said Mindy.

However he quickly found out that the ice was slippery and he had to develop a mental toughness to skate.

“It took him a while to realize he couldn’t skate like Gerbe right away,” said Mindy.

“They see it on TV and then they come out on the ice and think they can do it the first time. When he couldn’t, he gets frustrated.”

Jessica Lauria, director/owner of Skate Great, understands that and worked with Ryder one-on-one for the

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Ryder / Page 5

first year. Now in his second year he is part of the Learn to Skate Program.

“It’s one thing for us to want to do whatever we can for Ryder and give him the opportunities; but then you get strangers, like Jessica who is now family, that want to do the something and it’s heart warming. We were overwhelmed and grateful,” said Mindy.

“Jessica offering to help Ryder and getting her coaches to help him took the fear away from him. They knew his limitations and they pushed him to do more.”

Jessica explains that at first he thought he could just walk on the ice, and then he found out it was slippery.

“There is a balance. You didn’t want to push him so he’d hate the sport and get frustrated, but at the same time you needed to let him know he could do it,” continued Jessica.

“It takes a little time to get confidence and learn that it’s okay to fall,” said Jessica, who goes on to explain that is normal for everyone learning to skate.

“He’d tell us his leg was falling off, or it hurt, and we would adjust the leg, encourage him to go back on the ice,” said Mindy. “They were firm but yet made it fun.”

“He has moved through all the levels at a normal and above normal rate,” explains Jessica. “After each level students are tested and Ryder passed.”

“I can’t imagine him not doing it,” said Mindy. “It’s such an integral part of who he is.”

Ryder likes all aspects of hockey. He’s learned the rosters, he notices line changes and while conducting this interview, he was over playing bubble hockey with his Dad. “He wants to play hockey, but he also likes to announce hockey,” said Mindy.

“At bedtime he asked me to sing a hockey song and all I could think of was “Oh Canada.” It’s been all hockey, all the time. He plays in the kitchen, he plays outside.”

“When we’d watch the games he would be on his knees, rocking back and forth like the players were doing at the start

of a game,” she remembers.

“We don’t want to pressure him into it,” said Mindy. “He loves it so much and asked over the summer when his skating was going to start up.”

“Being in the class has added excitement for him,” said Jessica, who didn’t tell one particular coach he had a prosthetic leg.

“He’s inspiring,” said Mindy. “It makes us say ‘he can do it’.”

Looking ahead Mindy sees him with a huge cheering section when he plays ice hockey.

“For a time Ted and I didn’t know if he could do it; how his leg would react to it. So now we can’t imagine him not doing it,” said Mindy.

Mindy explains that for Ryder life with prosthesis is normal; he knows nothing else. If he’s running around and his leg comes off, he sits down and puts it back on; if he has to get up in the middle of the night, he either crawls or puts his leg on. Each morning he gets up and puts it on like anyone else getting up and putting on their shoes.

“He doesn’t treat himself differently but he doesn’t know other people don’t do this,” said Mindy.

“He’s a positive, sweet and genuine kid and that makes him special and inspirational,” said Jessica.

An obstacle they overcame was the prosthesis he used for walking would swivel making the foot go in another direction causing him to fall. The Kopasz’s researched to see if there were specially made limbs for people who wanted to play sports.

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(Continued on Page 20)

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Coaching With Gridley / Page 6

Coaching With Gridley!

by Chuck Gridley

Giving Thanks for Giving Coaches

A

s part of our commitment to the Coaching Education Program, each District Coach in Chief is assigned to certain tasks and committees. I was asked by Mike MacMillan (National Coach in Chief) to be the Coaching Education representative for the Disabled Hockey Section.

Mike knew that I coach a Sled Hockey team in Syracuse, and that I have served as an Assistant Coach at the Sled Hockey National Camp. I also attend the Disabled Section meetings during USA Hockey’s Annual Congress and Winter Meetings whenever they do not conflict with our Coaching Section Mtgs. I guess he figured I was a logical choice.

I was happy to accept the assignment.

The first thing I did after taking the assignment was to look at the current situation with Disabled Hockey coaches. It seemed that we in the Coaching Education Program could a better job addressing the specific challenges faced by coaches of disabled athletes. One of the obvious ways to help them was to develop a coaching clinic geared specifically to these coaches. I was given the OK to do that, and with the help of a few people from the Disabled Section, I have had the opportunity to deliver this presentation twice this season.

The first was in Madison Wisconsin during USA Hockey’s National Disabled Workshop. The second was to a group of coaches in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Both of these clinics were attended by a small but diverse group of coaches. Our job as instructors in all of our clinics is to educate and inspire. I left both of these particular clinics feeling like I was the one who had been educated and inspired.

In Madison I met a father and son who were at the workshop to learn how to start a sled hockey team. The younger man had played hockey for much of his life and loved the game. His father’s connection to hockey was through watching his son play as a kid. Recently, the son was involved in a horrible accident that left his lower body

paralyzed. This young man (I’m guessing he was in his early to mid twenties) decided that he could use his love of hockey and his enthusiasm for the game to help others in similar situations. He is planning to start a sled hockey team. He is also planning to be the coach. This young man had an infectious smile.

You would think that it would be easy for him to be bitter and dwell on his misfortune. He seemed to refuse to look backwards……………

only to the future.

I’m pretty sure his future will include him and his dad coaching a sled hockey team. And the players on his team will have a little brighter future because of the opportunity that he is affording them.

This past weekend in Minneapolis I met a mother / daughter team. The younger woman said she had played hockey growing up. She had been coaching a floor hockey team for the Special Olympics for a few years. She heard there was a need for a coach for a Special Hockey team.

Special Hockey is for people with cognitive disabilities, such as Downs Syndrome. She gladly volunteered, and her Mom joined in to help. Mom was not a big skater. I know this because we were on the ice for 90 minutes during the clinic. Mom got off after the first 30 minutes. I asked the older woman why she decided to get involved. She said it was a nice way to spend time with her daughter, and that she wanted to help these kids if she could. Both of these women had big smiles the entire day during the clinic. They were giving up a Saturday to come to a rink in order to be certified to volunteer yet more time to coach kids with disabilities. Neither woman had a child in the program. They just wanted to do what they could to help make someone else’s life a little brighter.

This is the time of year when we stop and give thanks for all we have been given. I am thankful for having had the opportunity to meet some very special coaches who are using their talents and their love of hockey to help make other peoples live better.

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Happy Holidays!

Chuck Gridley New York District Coach in Chief

NY Hockey OnLine

Hockey Insight / Page 7

Hockey Insight

by Tom Barnett

I

f you are a native Western New Yorker and sports fan, you no doubt recall a couple of the eminent sports columnists who crafted hall-of-fame careers literally word-by-word as they entertained, informed and provoked by opining through the print vehicles of our local newspapers. I, for one, looked forward to those relatively rare offerings of “It’s one of those opinionated days” or the “Column as I see ’em”, special editions.

Well today, I pay homage to those that have paved this written path before me. It is one of those opinionated days and today, I’ll column as I see ‘em…

•Remember when the ‘Standard Player Release’ seemed to matter?

Hey, this is the United States of America and free, unrestricted movement and ability to choose are basic tenets of our liberty. However, last I looked, there are structures in place to assist in guiding us through the maze of life and to maintain balance and safety.

Adherence to those rules makes for smoother, clearer, sailing ahead.

That used to be the case in youth hockey as well. Families have and should indeed selfishly preserve the

right to seek the ideal hockey program opportunity and experience for their children (and given the near epidemic program-hopping it is clear they do) and pursue what they consider to be the very best fit for their objectives.

Why then, do we seemingly prefer the Wild West approach of today when it comes to effectively managing player movement between USA Hockey associations? I’ve heard it all: “My coach wouldn’t sign it.” “You don’t need one going from house to travel.” “It doesn’t apply to me, we moved residences.” “I never knew about that!” “It’s (fill in the blank), therefore it is not required for me.”

“No one ever told me about that!” I’m certain you could add more.

Yes, there actually are rules. The Standard Player Release is in place for a reason and functions for the protection of all involved. But with families ignoring it and the prevalence of associations not educating their families or requesting it, are they simply lip service? With no follow-though or conviction, why then do they exist at all?

•A very distinct and exciting World Series just concluded and it is nicknamed the “Fall Classic” for a reason. It’s a once-a-year tradition worth waiting for, with the best teams that battled all season to earn the right to be on display. It makes one wonder how year ‘round youth hockey and a heavy tournament schedule each year contribute to the burnout that’s

plaguing the game of hockey today.

How many finals can a youth player of any age be again and again asked to rise to the occasion, hear the same pre-game speech that this is now the most important moment more so than the moment two weeks before or the month prior to that?

How would the MLB players react and perform with 3, 4 or more World Series per season or NHL stars participating in a half dozen Stanley Cup finals per year? By the way, how many variations or times can a coach give that Herb Brooks speech in a year before even he gets bored?

•Shaking hands before the game – now that’s a brilliant stroke of genius. If that isn’t indicative of our collective and shameful abandonment of any semblance of obligation to teach respect, I’ll shake your hand right now! It is one thing to be proactive, and to maintain safety of course, but at the cost of reinforcing discipline, perspective and personal responsibility?

Sports are supposed to teach life lessons, but I guess it’s always easier to lower the bar. How is it not our obligation to nurture, correct, lead and raise the next generation as all have done before us? How does this define sportsmanship? How about a call for a minimum requirement of decorum if only to honor and underscore the authenticity of the iconic ad campaign we grew up with, “…It’s just a game”. It is just a game, right?

We can only hope that idiocy and lack of foresight skips a generation.

•Let’s hear it for the refs! That’s right, the on-ice officials who toil in the trenches all season and for whom we owe a great debt of gratitude. We, in our organization, always preach that the game could not take place without an opponent of course, or for that matter and just as important-

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Barnett Continued / Page 8

ly, without the integral referees who are vital in facilitating our game. As with coaches, players and teams, the referees’ skills and talents range from good to less than adequate. Certainly controlling the game and safety are vital, but imagine if a ‘fan’ followed you around at work while indiscriminately and verbosely critiquing everything you do or attempting to intimidate you? Maybe it is our culture, video reviews and the overt questioning of every single call ‘to get it right’. But this is youth hockey, and it isn’t the ref who goes offsides on a 2-on-1; he’s not the one who put too many players on the ice. They simply call it like they see it, just like you.

To be sure, I’ve never witnessed a referee overturning his call because of a coach’s bluster. I’ve watched a dad chase referees into their locker room and undress them in his own way, and a grandma (whom my guess would be never played the game nor aware of the rule book) berate a 12 year old ref in the parking lot after a game. Imagine that ref so reviled, abused and showered with taunts was your offspring.

•There’s been a lot of talk around here lately about “Tier 1”, “AAA”, “Elite”, “dynamic” on-and-off-ice training, juniors, college scholarships, as well as perfecting the narrow-focused conduit to the pros. Realizing that preeminent players do not simply materialize from thin air as ‘the next one’, remind me again where it is

they come from how and it is they get there in the first place? And with the already crowded numbers of Tier 1 organizations, still another decides to jump the queue. Some may argue this overabundance of elite levels is actually a detriment to overall development of those we’re trying to develop. I believe there is no doubt with the sheer enrollment numbers, that nearly enough talent is reaching and/or thriving at the advanced levels. I also believe this game inspires dreams, which should most certainly be supported. Focus more than ever however, appears to be on the end game. The end game doesn’t start with the signing of a letter of intent or hoisting the cup. There are steps in place, but are they working? Is there collaboration or a giant disconnect? No matter the number of AAA organizations geared to those being herded for those major next steps, their rosters will always be dwarfed by the masses playing the game.

Perhaps the focus and disproportionate catering to the elite level could be considered misplaced, and consequentially, structure and pathway to that level unsound and, in many cases, non-existent.

The greater the numbers, the broader the base of the pyramid and importantly, the higher and stronger the peak; the results of retention, development and progression suggest, however, that the apparently highly emphasized and coveted

peak is clearly out of proportion or difficult to find --even with the glut of options-- without a roadmap.

Could the model be upside down or flawed? There are only 8 Ivy Leagues schools --IN THE WORLD-- catering to the elite student, yet we have more elite organization concentration now in our own little hockey neighborhood! AAA players don’t simply fall like ripe mangoes from the trees. But why aren’t more players matriculating to the elite levels? It is terrific that the end game framework is looking to improve. Unfortunately the end game for most players occurs in development, in the darkest shadows, detached and nearly unrelated to its own progeny, the skating elite.

•So, as we conclude what for many is the initial month or so of the hockey season, what a blast, what promise, what fun. May that joy of new beginnings and infinite possibilities remain with you, front and center, all season.

Tom Barnett, a native Western New Yorker, participated as a player from the youth through collegiate level, and has been involved in coaching hockey and program development for more than 30 years. As founder and president of The Buffalo Shamrocks Hockey Club, a USA Hockey program, Tom was recognized by the National Hockey League as the 2009 recipient of the inaugural Mark Messier Youth Leadership Award.

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/ Page 9

Ice Returns to Lockport

Story by Randy Schultz; Photos by Janet Schultz

Rendition of the new Lockport Ice Arena

ly underway. approach different foundations and S p e a k e r s state agencies everybody recogThe old comes down, making way for the new. that day in- nized the demand and need for this cluded Otta- building,” said Ottaviano.“But getting t was a scene reminiscent of the TV viano, Lockport Ice Arena and Sports somebody to step up and be the first series, “Extreme Makeover: Home Center President; William B. May, money in was the most challenging Edition.” With MC John Ottaviano at the microphone and a group of Henrietta Grigg-Lewis Foundation thing. young hockey players in front of him, Executive Director; Michael W. Tucker, “That’s where the Grigg-Lewis he gave the command for them to Mayor of the City of Lockport; Gerald Foundation made this dream come K. Farnham, New York State Assembly true with the first money in. Once yell, “Tear that building down!”

With the command given a giant on behalf of Jane Corwin 144th Dis- they did that everyone else fell in line. excavator from Mulvey Construction trict; George Maziarz, New York State “The pressure was off. After that of Lockport took a chunk of concrete Senate, 62nd District; John R. Koelmel, it was a case of getting the right professionals to design it, manage it and out of the vacant former Jubilee su- President of Haborcenter in Buffalo. build it.

The Lockport Ice Arena and permarket, Sears and Twin Fair build “This has been long overdue.

Sports Center will feature two NHLing. With a cheering crowd looking on, the excavator continued until the sized ice rinks, spectator loading dock of the old building was seating for 630 people, a performance-training cennothing more than rubble.

The scene was all part of the ter and a community room.

Lockport Ice Arena and Sports Center There will also be space Groundbreaking ceremony held in dedicated to attract food late October at 34 Chestnut Street in service providers that will the city of Lockport. Construction is serve rink audiences and now underway for the long awaited downtown workers.

Several obstacles had arena project.

The $13 million, 93,500 square to be overcome to get to foot project is slated to open in the this point.

NYHOL’s Randy Schultz talks to John Ottaviano, fall of 2014. The demolition is current- “It was tough in the Lockport Ice Arena president. beginning because as you

I

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Lockport / Page 10

Lockport hasn’t had ice to skate on since the Kenan Center took down their rink over 25 years ago.

“This has been eight years in the making from the beginning planning stages to this point.

“We’ve actually got the first pad of the arena booked. The demand has been overwhelming.”

John “Tate” Pitrello, a member of the Lockport ice Arena and Sports Center Board, is pleased to see where the project is currently. But he knows that there is still a lot of work to do.

“Part of my job has been to go around to the different ice rinks in the area and the state and see what they have as far as ice programs,” remarked Pitrello. “I think this project is great for Lockport as well as all of Western New York.

“Everybody is going to benefit from this. We still have some more money to raise, but the biggest chunk is already in place.

“We’ve come a long way since our initial informal meetings we held at Hockey Outlet (in the town of Wheatfield) one night about eight years ago with John. We decided we would take a shot at it.

“And here we are today. Now

we’re looking ahead to tomorrow and the fall of 2014.”

As a fitting conclusion to the day, a local resident, Erik Bernardi, looked on at the proceedings holding the hockey jersey he wore during his youth.

It simply read, “Lockport Kenan Center.”

“That was my youth,” concluded Bernardi. “Now we look ahead to the future and where the kids will be playing.

“This is a great day for Lockport hockey.”

(Photos show Lockport Hockey players watching the demolition of the first part of the building, making way for the new; on the dias that day were Nick Wallenda, Senator George Maziarz and Ottaviano; Erik Bernardi displays the jersey he wore when playing at the Kenan Center Arena.)

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Coach Conduit

ew York State college hockey fans have been privileged to watch and enjoy some of the top coaches in the history of the game. As of the start of the 2013-14 campaign, there were 17 head coaches among the top-100 college hockey coaches all-time in wins who plied part or all of their careers behind the bench of a New York based team.

Current Boston College head by Warren Kozireski coach Jerry York stands atop the all-time coaching wins list with 935 career wins (and counting) with 125 of those earned behind the bench at Clarkson University. Army’s Jack Riley earned 542 wins before turning over the bench to first son Rob (297) and now son Brian, who himself surpassed 100 career wins last season.

Plattsburgh State head coach Bob Emery had 523 career wins as of the start of this season—just 19 wins from moving into the top-15—former Geneseo head coach Paul Duffy is 46th on the list with 358 wins over his 730plus games, Len Ceglarski (Clarkson) won 672 games, former St. Lawrence head coach Joe Marsh won 482 before retiring and Ned Harkness won 384 games behind a few benches including Union’s.

Others include current Colgate head coach Don Vaughan (329), former Potsdam and Elmira head coach Glenn Thomaris (318), current Cornell coach Mike Schafer (347), recently retired Cortland coach Joe Baldarotta (310), Mark Morris (306) from Clarkson and Buddy Powers 255 career wins including RPI and RIT. Some of today’s coaches played college hockey in the western New York area such as current Niagara head coach Dave Burkholder, who played goal for RIT, former Niagara head coach—now Colby College head coach Blaise MacDonald, who played defense for the same team, Chris Schultz (Gates-Chili) at Geneseo, who played for the Knights in the mid-1990’s and former Niagara Purple Eagles forward Nick Carriere who is behind the bench at Buffalo State.

But there are three coaches among the top-60 all time in coaching wins on the list—two active—who laced up the skates as a player for the same western New York college.

With unofficially only 154 victories in 575 contest over 38 seasons, Brockport has been far from one of the most successful programs on the ice, but Mercyhurst College’s Rick Gotkin, Fredonia’s Jeff Merideth and former

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Canisius College head coach and current D’Youville Athletic Director Brian Cavanaugh all wore the green and gold jersey during their playing careers.

Gotkin entered the 2013-14 season ranked 26th all-time on the coaching wins list with 453 over 24 seasons.

A defenseman during the 198081 and 1981-82 seasons after transferring from Canton, Gotkin spent one season post-playing career as an assistant coach at Brockport before moving to Division I RPI in 1986-87 and 1987-88.

He joined Mercyhurst in 1988-89 in the second year of the program’s existence and just began his 26th season behind the Lakers bench.

Gotkin “I attribute me to being in the top-60 to having great people around me,” said Gotkin. “Start with unbelievable assistant coaches and great student-athletes who have made me look a lot smarter than I am.

“I think we all love the game and played with or for a great guy like the late E.J. McGuire and Brian Cavanaugh was an assistant there when I played. (McGuire was born in Buffalo, played and coached at Brockport and was later an NHL assistant coach with Mike Keenan in Philadelphia and Chicago, a head coach with Portland in the AHL and an assistant with Rick Bowness in Ottawa before moving into scouting and becoming the head of Central Scouting for the NHL before his death in April 2011).

“I don’t think that I possess anything special or better than anybody else. I think we manage people and I’ve been blessed with great students.

“I don’t know about the other guys, but that’s how I feel.”

Gotkin has produced seven All-Americans, four Players of the Year, three Rookies of the Year and 17 all-conference selections over his now 25 seasons behind the bench with the Lakers, but he was far from the best player on his teams.

He recalls one locker room exchange with McGuire: “I remember Plattsburgh was killing us, which happened a lot, and back in the locker room E.J. was getting on

College Coach Conduit

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Coach Conduit

the defensemen about how we were playing the twoon-ones and he spun around and said ‘Gotkin—what do you do on a two-on-one’ and I said ‘I can’t speak for these other five defensemen, but I get up and slide down the bench to get a better view.

“From my vantage point I got to see and hear a lot and I think I learned and though it all, as much as the game has evolved with players, the equipment, the strategy— it’s still pretty much the same game. You’re still trying to win one-on-one battles, you’re still trying to get pucks to the net, so it’s still hard work, effort and commitment, but it’s still the same game.

Gotkin is ten wins from the top-25 all-time and, in his mid-50’s, could keep coaching long enough to reach the 600-plus wins needed to reach the top-ten.

Gotkin’s teammate with the Golden Eagles in the early 1980’s was goaltender Jeff Merideth, who has been behind the bench with Fredonia for 25 seasons. Typically considered the third goalie on the team, he didn’t see a lot of game action, but like Gotkin it allowed him to watch and learn.

He enters the 2013-14 season with 352 career victories as the Blue Devils head coach—just six from catching Geneseo’s Duffy for 46th all-time.

“I think you have to look at E.J. (McGuire) as the conduit for all three of us,” said Merideth. “E.J. was a very influential person in my life. I was a third string goalie and didn’t help that team do anything, but E.J. was a guy who made me feel like a started and he was influential in my coaching career because he guided me to get my master’s if I wanted to get into college coaching and to get a GA (graduate assistant) position.

“He was the one who contacted the coach at Ohio State, so I went out there to interview and getting the GA position. Without E.J. showing me the way I would never even be in this field.

“And I think you need to talk about Bill Greer also because when I finished at Ohio State I was Bill’s assistant for a year (at Brockport). Under Bill I finally came to the realization that I wanted to coach college hockey. It was working with Bill that I just got gobbled up by it.

“I think me and Brian and Rick just had great people to be with and people who really took an interest in us. I think about how I work things here to try to help guys out and it all goes back to E.J. McGuire and Bill Greer for me.”

Cavanaugh began the program at Canisius taking it from an idea to Division III to Division I, but hasn’t been behind the bench as a college coach in several years. Prior to Canisius, he was an assistant coach at Brockport under

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McGuire after his playing career there ended in the mid1970’s.

But he still stands 54th on the all-time college wins list with 342 victories having been passed by Cornell’s Mike Schafer late last season.

Now the Athletic Director at D’Youville in Buffalo, he has a similar story, albeit several years earlier than Gotkin and Merideth.

“I think all three of us can trace our roots to two things—E.J. McGuire and a love of college hockey,” said Cavanaugh. “Each of us is unique—Jeff was never a star, but loved the game and landed at a great school in a great location.

“Gotkin went to Mercyhurst and was there when college hockey was growing and they found the ECAC West and then the MAAC as a place to align themselves, which jumpstarted his success winning championships. And I found my comfort zone at Canisius after I grew up in Buffalo.

“For me I go back to Bob Pederson, who was our club hockey coach and started us at the Division III level. E.J. and I played for Bob, then E.J. was Bob’s assistant and then, when E.J. became head coach I became his assistant.

“We all did the hockey schools and coaching clinics and made connections, but a lot was driven by E.J. “I don’t think you can tie a coach’s success to their ability as a player on the ice and all three of us are evidence of that. I think we all learned skill sets at Brockport such as organization and hard work that has carried forward in our coaching careers so no of us is sloppy or unprepared for a game when it comes down to organizing practices or analyzing video.”

Three successful college coaches who all who played at the same college, but with the same common denominator of one person.

Merideth summed it up best: “E.J., before he was E.J. McGuire NHL, was one of us and, even after he reached the highest heights of the best league on the planet, we were always his guys.

“How lucky are we 30 some years later doing the thing that we love.”

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Legends / Page 13

Home Grown:

ROBERT ESCHE

by Randy Schultz

R

obert Esche stands in one of the tunnels leading to sections 102 and 103 of the Utica Memorial Auditorium. He looks out on the ice as the Utica Comets and Texas Stars go through the final stages of their pregame warm-ups.

From there it is back to his office, which is located in the interior of the Utica Memorial Auditorium, where he makes a couple of phone calls to check on other activities going on during the game.

For the former National Hockey League goaltender it is a routine he goes through every night as the President of the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League. It is certainly a different routine than he was used to as a player.

Esche, a native of Whitesboro, NY played in all or parts of eight seasons in the NHL (1998-2007) for the Phoenix

Coyotes and Philadelphia Flyers.

He spent a total of 14 seasons in professional hockey, including his final four in Russia.

So how did this former goaltender, who led the Flyers to the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, end up in Utica as president of the Comets?

“It actually started out about eight years ago,” said the 35 year-old Esche. “I own a restaurant in Utica.

“My business partner in the restaurant and I looked into doing something with the Aud. We looked at it from a community standpoint on how it would be an asset as opposed to a business for the Comets.

“But I kept playing hockey over the next few years and the idea sort of faded away. Then about a year ago a couple of friends of mine, Pat Donovan and Brian Noonan introduced me to Frank DuRoss.

“We started talking about the makeup of the Auditorium and how it is structured. We wanted to make changes in the building.

We wanted to bring another tenant to the building and that turned out to be the Utica Comets.

“I think it was something that was a long time in coming. It is a huge hockey area around Utica.

“I think the area as a whole has turned around immensely in the last 25 years. Major businesses have left over the years and in recent years some new businesses have come in.

“Overall, I thought the time was right for something new to come into Utica, hockey-wise.”

Esche’s hockey roots go deep into New York State.

“...when I went to the rink to play hockey, I never considered it a job.”

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Legends / Page 14

“I played my youth hockey in Whitesboro,” commented Esche. “Interestingly, football was my real love and I still do love the sport.

“Football is what I played the most while growing up.

Then one day my father asked me if I would like to play hockey.

“My younger brother was also playing hockey. So I said that I would take a shot at it.

“I got off the ice and I hated it. I still wanted football.

“But my father said that because we had spent a lot of money on hockey already he asked me if I would at least go to one more practice. He said that if I didn’t like it he would see what he could do to get me out.

“I went to that second practice and everything seemed to click. I picked everything up almost instantly.

“I felt confident and comfortable. There was no looking back after that.

“I was hooked on hockey.”

Like many other hockey players during his time, Esche played other sports besides hockey.

“I played football, baseball, basketball and even some tennis,” said Esche.

Does Esche believe that youth hockey players should be playing hockey all year long?

“That can be a ‘Catch-22’ situation,” responded Esche.

“I believe that parents should be involved in the decisionmaking and steer their child to be able to reach for the stars, make them goal-oriented, if that is what they want to do.

“On the other hand I believe that you can accomplish more when you do what you want to do. That means that if you want to play hockey all year long, then you play hockey all

year long.

“If you want to play a variety of sports throughout the year, including hockey, then go ahead and do that. I also believe that if you find something you really love to do, you will never work a day in your life.”

Is that what Esche is experiencing now?

“I’m as busy as I’ve ever been in my entire life right now,” answered Esche. “It’s enjoyable.

“It’s much like when I went to the rink to play hockey. I never considered it a job.

“I have fun everyday.”

When it comes to the topic of choosing a hockey career by going the college route vs. the junior route, Esche doesn’t favor one over the other.

“Again, I think it’s every individuals decision,” stated Esche, who played Junior Hockey with the Detroit Whalers of the OHL and was eventually drafted 139th overall by the Coyotes in the 1996 NHL Amateur Draft. “I know my parents were not thrilled when I chose to go the junior route.

“But I had been taught at an early age that when you make a decision, you have to stick with it. That’s what I had to do.

“I couldn’t blame my parents if things had gone wrong. I could only blame myself.

“You grow up so fast when you are playing professional sports. You have to be an adult at a young age if you want to be a pro.

“You can’t have a bunch of people making the decisions for you. I’m not saying what I did was right and I’m not saying it was wrong. “ W h a t I’m saying is that I made the decision and I have no regrets.”

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Lewis County / Page 15

F

orest Park Pavilion is located within the Lewis Coun- “But I think ours is a bit more special in the fact that ty Fairgrounds in Lowville. To see it between the we have people volunteering to help out that are really months of April and October it looks like any other involved in hockey. That’s why this is such a community open-air pavilion on a county fairground. affair.

But once November hits a major transformation takes “We have things for volunteers to inside the arena place. Dasher boards, glass and ice are added. and we have things for them to do outside of the arena.

Before you know it you have an open-air hockey rink. We contact the volunteers simply through the phone, But there is more to the story. emails, Facebook and word of mouth.

Lewis County has certainly come a long way since the “Whomever shows up to work we put them to work. days when all they had for a hockey rink was a flooded We prepare food and feed the volunteers.” tennis court.

There The Lewis is also anCounty Amaother area teur Hockey Asthat LCAHA sociation (LCAlooks to for HA) is the main help. reason for the “We rink being asalso depend sembled every on a lot of year. LCAHA ofdonations,” fers five differsaid Robin ent categories Maurer, the

by Randy Schultz for players to Associaparticipate in intions vicecluding a Mites p re s i d e n t .

Travel Team, “They come Squirts Traveling Team, Youth House League, Learn-toin from different sources “There is one big Skate and an Adult Men’s League. There is also open skate and around the comword that describes in sessions opened to the public at various times during the munity. just how the work winter.

There is also co “The Pavilion is used almost year ‘round,” said Tanya gets done to have a operation from other Roy, President of the LCAHA. “The building is used in the areas of the community. hockey season. summer for the County Fair.

“Anything we want to That word is: “It is also used for the Farmers Market, the Mennonite do in the building we VOLUNTEERISM.” Auction and other types of festivals that go on during the have to get approval --Tanya Roy (from the Agricultural spring, summer and fall. Our organization is allowed to move in following the final Farmers Market, which is the Society and the Village last Saturday in October. of Lowville) to do,” add “Believe it or not football is actually in here at that ed Roy. “But the upside time, or at least their equipment is. Depending on how to that is that they (the Village) pay for all the bills includfar the team goes in the playoffs for football will deter- ing heat, propane and electricity.” mine when we’re able to get into our locker room, which LCAHA provides a small town, old time hockey atmois where the football equipment is stored.” sphere, which takes people back to the days when they There is one big word that describes just how the might have played hockey on a pond. The LCAHA does work gets done to have a hockey season. That word is: not have official offices.

VOLUNTEERISM. Their offices are actually members of the board of di “We couldn’t do anything if it weren’t for volunteers,” rector’s homes. But it doesn’t end there. commented Roy. “They are truly the lifeblood of our orga- “If the roof leaks during the season, we’re not responnization, just like they are with any organization. sible to fix it. But we do have to live with the consequenc-

Building An Arena-Yearly!

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Lewis County / Page 16 would be covered with dirt, sand and other items.

“So we would pressure wash them before labeling them again so they could be stored. With the new matting we’ve purchased it will only take our volunteers a day to lay it all down, instead of four like it has in past.”

Time is of the essence when it comes to putting the rink together. First come the offices followed by the locker rooms.

Finally the ice is laid down. All told it is a seven-day process. But putting the rink together is the most time consuming.

To begin with all the material, including piping, plastic covering, boards, glass and curtains are all brought in by tractors, trailers and forklifts.

The floor is swept clean first. Everything is blown and swept out.

The plastic floor covering is rolled out and laid down next and is swept clean before the piping is laid. The lines are connected to the hoses at one end of the rink, rolled out and connected to the hoses at the other end of the rink.

All lines are tested.

A ny t h i n g l e a k s f o u n d have to be immediately repaired.

Even before that the boards are all placed around to form the rink, with each piece labeled from the year before.

Then This lines must all be straightened, laid out and the glass is

“We wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Tanya Roy stands where parents watch the game, usually on a snow bank, behind the players bench.

es of it if it is not fixed. But that has never really been a problem.

“We’re responsible for what happens inside the building. And that is from the beginning of November until the end of April.

“Actually, we can’t keep ice much past March 15. We do play some road games after that.

“The bottom line is we are at the mercy of Mother Nature when we make the ice and we’re still at her mercy when we want to melt the ice. If it stays cold in March we will continue to have good ice, even though we have probably turned off the chiller.”

Matting used for the players to walk on from the locker rooms to the ice is rolled down at the start of the season and rolled back up at the end of the hockey campaign. They actually label them every year when we pull them apart so they know how it goes together again the following year.

“When we began, we actually used milking parlor mats that are used on a dairy farm, “ explained Roy. “At the end of every season we would take them up and they

each one bled before putting down the water.

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/ Page 17

placed around the rink. Finally giant curtains are hung from the ceiling to protect the arena from blowing snow, dirt, wind and other elements of nature.

“Making the ice can take up to three weeks depending on weather conditions,” said Roy. “Volunteers actually take shifts when the ice is being put down. Those are shifts that go around the clock.”

Then comes more off-ice activity like registering the players.

“We outfit our players for free,” remarked Vanessa Schulz, Registrar and Secretary for the Association. “When the kids leave after being registered they go with a bag of equipment.

NYHOL’s Randy Schultz talks to volunteers Yvonne Schulz, Robin Maurer and “We do ask that players provide their Tanya Roy in what is currently serving as a locker room at the arena. own sticks and skates and protective gear.

But quite often we provide the stick and It’s a lot of work for those of us in the Association. It’s lot we provide the skates.” of work for the volunteers.

Then the season begins.

“But when you see the fun the players have on the “Because of our ice conditions at the beginning of ice it is all worth it. I guess that’s what it is all about. the season, we play several games on the road or even “We wouldn’t have it any other way.” practice on the road by going up to Alexandria Bay and Clayton, who have combined to become South Islands,” said Roy. “They have been very helpful with us.

“So has Pulaski to the south of us.

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“There are no seats in the arena,” said Roy. “People can NY Y HOCKEY stand in the one end zone and watch.

E-Magazine “What really becomes fun is when the snow builds up behind the players bench. You will then find parents and fans standing on snow banks behind the player’s Backside of the arena. benches watching the game.

“We even have cookouts going on during games. It is a great, yet safe, atmosphere.

“There are teams that love to come here to play us. Then there are teams that really don’t like coming to our rink.

“But in the end it’s all about the kids and players.

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Joe / Page 18

J

Anything But An “Average” Joe!

by Randy Schultz

oe Vicario should have been a baseball player. He would have made a great hitter.

Why? Basically because he has faced so many two strike situations in his 21 years on this earth.

Yet he hasn’t let a third strike knock him out. In fact, Vicario came into this world with two strikes against him.

He was diagnosed with Goldenhar Syndrome. That is a rare congenital defect that left Vicario with no left ear, left lung or left thumb.

In addition all the vertebrae on his left side are fused with his neck. His left arm is shorter than his right and he has no left kidney.

And, oh yeah, his aortic heart valve is bicuspid instead of the normal tricuspid.

Vicario loves watching reality shows like Survivor.

Many of Vicario’s friends would tell you that Joe could have written the show.

Vicario is a survivor. What else could you call a person who has had over 30 surgeries, most coming in his first 12 years of life?

Those 30 don’t include the two cancer surgeries and emergency abdominal surgery he had last winter.

But this isn’t a story about a baseball player or reality show star. It is the story of a college junior who loves hockey.

Vicario is a junior at the Rochester Institute of Technology. In addition to that the Amherst native is a student manager for the RIT Tigers men’s and women’s Division I hockey programs.

“My job is to coordinate the pregame meals, hang up the uniforms, clean the locker rooms and carry the coolers,” said Vicario. “Before I got to RIT I had emailed one of the coaches there.

“That email was forwarded on to Jeff Siegel (RIT’s director of hockey operations). Jeff brought me in and interviewed me.

“I was hired and here I am. I love RIT. It is my second home.”

Vicario is the son of Chuck and Martha Vicario. He has a younger brother, Jeremy and sister, Julia. Martha is a stay-at-home mom while Chuck works at a Goodyear Dunlop Tires plant.

“My mom is the one who really put me on the right path right from the beginning,” stated Vicario. “She has always told me to be strong, tough and stay positive.

“I really owe a lot to my parents.”

Vicario’s love of hockey comes from the fact that his dad played the game.

“My dad played for the Junior Sabres,” added Vicario. “I

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Joe / Page 19 always wanted to play hockey, but I couldn’t. “ T h e basic reason is because of all of the surgeries I’ve had I couldn’t play any contact sports.

“By being involved in hockey the way I am at RIT is the one way I can follow in my dad’s footsteps

the road. I got knocked down and now it was time to get up again and move on.”

Vicario will also tell you that in his life the positives outweigh the negatives.

“I’m a very positive person,” added Vicario. “If I see somebody who might be having a bad day I’ll ask them ‘why are you talking negative?’

“I tell the players here that even though they may have had a bad game, put it behind you. There is always tomorrow and there will be another game tomorrow.

“I know that you can’t win all the games. You win some and you lose some.”

Has Vicario figured out what God’s plan is for him?

“I have an idea,” answered the 21 year-old. “I never think negative.

“If I did, I wouldn’t be here right now. I think because of that I’ve been able to help others.

“I have to give a lot of credit for my positive attitude to my mother (Martha). She is my number one fan.

“What I’ve gone through, my mom’s gone through.

“Number two is the hockey team.

I have a whole support team here at RIT. “Jeff Siegel has been like a brother to me. We talk about a lot of things.

“Without Jeff I wouldn’t be here

“If you have a dream and you have a goal, go for it.

Don’t give up on it and keep on going.”

in the game.

“Hockey is also like a family sport to me. The team’s are like a family with me.

“We take care of each other her. I take care of them (the players and coaches) and they take care of me.”

Vicario admits that he takes life one day at a time.

“I live by this rule: ‘expect the unexpected,’” remarked Vicario, who majors in applied computer technology at RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf. “If a speed bump comes along in life, and I’ve hit a number of them, I can overcome it.

“I think that God has blessed me everyday. I get through everyday because of him.

“And I’m not afraid to share that. I think that God has a plan for me.

“When I found out that I had cancer, I could have taken chemo or radiation treatments. Instead, I chose surgery.”

Vicario will be the first to admit that the cancer did scare him.

“When you hear the word cancer, it is scary,” said Vicario. “But after a few minutes, I focused on the situation.

“I just looked at it as being another speed bump in

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Joe, Ryder / Page 20

at RIT. All of these people have kept me going.”

But it is Vicario’s positive attitude that keeps those who meet him and know him going.

“He is an inspiration to everyone, especially after you hear his story,” remarked Elio Raibi, a senior on the RIT men’s hockey team. “But even without his story he is such a positive individual.

“He brings a great attitude to the team every day. He is one of the guys on the team.

“We give him a hard time just like we do everyone else on the team. But he takes on as big a load in his capacity on the team as we do as players.”

(Ryder continued from Page 5) An anonymous donor gave them the opportunity to go to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago where a team of doctors listened to their challenges and developed a “hockey leg.”

Once Ryder was fitted and could walk on the leg, they took him to an on-ice session, making adjustments so that the leg was secure and comfortable for him.

When his final leg was present-

“It’s remarkable what Joe has gone through,” added Joe Venniro, executive director of Sports Information for RIT. “He’s a great kid, one of those guys you always pull for.

“He’s a great student as well. He carries a full load.

“He never complains about anything. Joe is just great to be around.”

So with everything that has happened to him in his life, what would Vicario tell people as words of advice?

“I simply tell people that if they have a goal, go for it,” concluded Vicario. “If you are going to be negative about it, you won’t get that goal.

“If you have a dream and you

have a goal, go for it. Don’t give up on it and keep on going.

“I have dreams. I’m going for them.

“I’m not giving up. As I post on Facebook, ‘I can and I will survive.’

“I’ll never give up.”

ed to him it was decorated with the Sabres logo and colors.

The cost of a special prosthesis is high and insurance companies won’t cover it because children grow out of them so rapidly.

“He also broke his indestructible leg in the first 30 minutes,” smiles Mindy.

That led to the formation of unLIMBited-Kids, an organization to help kids stay active and letting them do what they want to do. Thus the slogan “Get Moving!”

When kids outgrow their limbs, parts of it are customized for their body, while other mechanical parts (spacer, foot, other movable pieces) are the same. They decided to recycle those parts for whoever needed them and, through unLIMBited, have set up a Limb Bank.

“We want to make sure children can skate when their peers are doing it, not wait because they need to stop growing to get the limb needed for their activity,” said Mindy.

“We need to spread the word and make people aware of what we

are doing,” said Mindy.

“They are perfect the way they are,” says Mindy, when asked about what advice she would give parents going through a similar situation.

“If they want to do something, they will find a way to do it.”

UnLIMBited-Kids is run out of the Kopasz home at the present time. They are looking for financial donations, as well as donations of arms and legs with parts to be recycled and for people to spread the word and awareness.

For more information go to unLIMBited-Kids.com.

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Central Hockey / Page 22 games.

The team honored Dr. Ivan D. Gowan into The Silver Puck Club with its annual Silver Puck Award.

Dr. Gowan has been affiliated with Colgate University and Colgate hockey for 29 years.

The Russian Red Stars arrive at Starr Rink for a New Year’s Eve 4pm game before the team heads to Minnesota for the Mariucci Classic first weekend in January.

Central New York Men’s College Hockey Report

by Warren Kozireski

BROOME CCC The Hornets were 2-3 through their first handful of conference contests and were led offensively by freshmen Mike Ferrant (Port Crane) and Cory Della Stua (Pittsford) who each scored three points in their first game and each added two goals in a non-conference win over Elmira JV in early November.

COLGATE The young Raiders already had four road victories through midNovember and were off to a 4-2 conference start.

Goaltender Charlie Finn pushed aside 27 shots to earn his first collegiate win in his third start—a 3-1 victory over Princeton.

Emilio Audi netted his first collegiate goal against Quinnipiac and Ryan Johnston’s first collegiate goal that was the game-winner November 15th at St. Lawrence. Audi was also named ECAC Rookie of the Week for the period ending November 17th after tallying three points on a goal and two assists over two

CORNELL With just two of their first eight contests on home ice, the Big Red had just two wins over their first six ECAC tilts.

Senior goaltender Andy Iles of the Cornell men’s hockey team has been named one of 20 national candidates for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award. An acronym, for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.

Iles is one of seven players from ECAC Hockey on the list, joining Jack Berger (Princeton), Greg Carey (St. Lawrence), Brock Higgs (Rensselaer), Cole Ikkala (Union), Dennis Robertson (Brown) and Matt Zarbo (Clarkson).

Head coach Mike Schafer got his 350th career victory against

Princeton on November 1st becoming the 35th coach all-time to rack up 350 victories across all NCAA divisions. He is also just the third coach to pass 350 victories with Ivy League tenure, joining Ned Harkness (Cornell, Union and Rensselaer) and Tim Taylor (Yale).

The team had the most effective power play in the nation with a 31.7 percent conversion rate as of midNovember.

Their annual trip to Estero, Florida for the Florida College Classic is December 28-29 before the Russian Red Stars invade Lynah January 3rd.

CORTLAND The Red Dragons were one win away from equaling last season’s season total of three conference wins as of mid-November.

Senior defensemen Stephen Nardi (Plainedge) was SUNYAC Player of the Week for the week ending November 17th after his two-goal, one assist effort in Cortland’s weekend matchups versus Morrisville State.

Sophomore Jason Kenney and freshman Matt Esposito (Fayetteville/ Rochester Stars) each scored his first goal as a Red Dragon against Buffalo State. Casie Garrison (Cortland) got his first against Morrisville November 15th.

Sophomore Mike Davie (Brooklyn) netted the first goal of his career in a win over Morrisville November 16th. Senior goalie Mark Balkwill stopped 36 shots in posting his first victory as a Red Dragon in the same contest.

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Central Hockey / Page 23

ELMIRA Junior Josh Brunell was tied for second in the nation with four power play goals through mid-November. Sophomore Jarryd ten Vaanholt was one behind with three.

Freshman goaltender Sal Magliocco (Roslyn) had played every minute of the first seven games of the season and registered 42 saves against Nazareth November 9th.

The team is on the road until January 11th when they host Geneseo.

HAMILTON The Continentals rebuild continues with nine freshmen on the roster and 19 underclassmen in all.

The NESCAC season schedule starts later than most conferences, so their first games were mid-November, but they host five of their first seven and will play in the Winter Classic in Plattsburgh January 3-4.

HOBART Despite losing several key seniors, the Statesmen picked right up where they left off last season with one loss over their first six games. The squad has already surpassed the seasontotal last season of two ties.

Junior Robert Sovik was se-

lected the ECAC Men’s West CoPlayer of the Week for the period ending November 12th after posting three points in a 1-0-1 weekend including the game-winning goal in the final second to secure a 3-2 victory at Utica.

MORRISVILLE The Mustangs had one win and one tie over their first six conference games with two to play before the break.

Freshman forward Darren Young was named SUNYAC Rookie of the Week for the period ending November 12th. Young notched two tallies, including his first collegiate goal, in the Mustangs win over Buffalo State.

The team embarks on a seven-game road swing Thanksgiving weekend and don’t return to home ice until January 17th against Canton.

UTICA The Pioneers attempt to return to the NCAA tournament got off to a good start with five wins over the first six contests. The team had not allowed more than three goals in a game through that period.

Seniors Trevor Hertz and Adam Graf with junior defenseman Mike Baird were leading the way offensively as teams were shadowing Louis Educate in the early going in an attempt to shut him down.

Goaltender Nick Therrien played in all but one of the early games posting a 2.00 GAA and .927 save percentage.

The Pioneers host the U.S. Under-18 National Team December 14th before heading to Oswego the first weekend in 2014.

OSWEGO Losing 14 seniors hasn’t equated to losing this season for the Lakers who had just one overtime loss over their first four games.

Not unexpectedly there are seven freshmen among the team’s top ten in scoring led by Kenny Neil’s six points and five assists and Matt Galati’s four goals.

The lone New Yorker on the roster—Mike Montagna (Fulton)— scored in the win over Elmira.

Just two games in December for the Lakers, but January kicks off with the Pathfinder Classic when they host Curry, Utica and Wisconsin-Stout.

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Central Hockey / Page 24

Central New York Hockey News and Notes 10U Nationals Girls Win Vermont Stars Fall Foliage Classic

T

he 10U Syracuse Nationals Girls continue to play well at the Vermont Stars Fall Foliage Classic Tournament held this past weekend. They took home the first place plaque and went 5-0.

The 10U Girls were as stingy as it gets, not allowing a goal against all weekend. Their teamwork and passing also yielded 31 goals for in the five games played. The ladies earned wins over the NE Jr Falcons 6-0, Connecticut Polar Bears 4-0, Vermont Stars 7-0 (round robin game) and 8-0 (semi-final game), and in the championship game against the Connecticut Polar Bears 6-0. There were no single team stars, as every single girl on the team contributed to the victories with solid defensive efforts and offensive production. Everyone enjoyed the hockey atmosphere and surrounding Green Mountains of Vermont!

It was a great weekend of hockey!

Whitestown Hockey

Whitestown will be hosting three tournaments after the New Year including the Mark Mowers Peewee and Bantam House, Rob Esche Squirt House and Travel and the Bob Mercurio Extreme Freeze Mite Tournament.

The Mark Mowers will be held January 24 through 26; Rob Esche, February 7 through 9 and Bob Mercurio March 7 through 9. Games will be played at the Whitestown Facility, which has seen several improvements since last season. Improvements include installation of new rink lightin and a new refrigeration system.

For tournament information go to the Whitestown website or email Dave Grzeszczuk, WYHA Tournament Director at Dgrzeszczuk@twcny.rr.com or call (315) 697-7315.

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Central Hockey / Page 25

Central Women’s College Ice Hockey Report

by Janet Schultz Janet@nyhockeyonline.com

Utica The Pioneers are 3-2-0 overall as they enter December.

Prior to the Winter break they play Buffalo State College on December 1 and Hamilton on December 6.

Leading the scoring are Megan Myers with 3 goals and 4 assists and Gabrielle Schnepp, also with 3 goals and 4 assists.

Goaltender Jen Hamel has played in 5 games making 135 saves for a .925 save percentage.

On Friday, December 6 the team will Go Gold for Childhood Cancer Awareness with the competitors, Hamilton College, taking part. Funds will go to the Sharon Grady Fund and will be raised through auctioning off their special gold uniforms that will be worn that evening. Bidding starts at $100 and will rise by $5 increments. Anyone wanting to purchase a jersey can do so at a cost of $200.

Last season the Utica women raised $2,010 for the Alex McLaughlin family.

The Pioneers also had some fun at a recent Utica Comets game. The

girls were part of the crew that cleaned the ice between periods. (see photo page).

Syracuse

The Orange are 6-6-2 as they move into December. Only two games are scheduled before the team breaks for the holidays. They play Lindenwood on Cornell on December 3 and Lindenwood on December

6 and 7.

Leading the scoreboard are Nicole Renault with 2 goals/10 assists for 12 points; Nicole Ferrara, 6 goals/4 assists; Melissa Piacenti, 3 goals/7 assists and in 11 games played, Goaltender Kallie Billadeau (Mannsville/ National Sports Academy) made 325 saves and has a .934 save percentage.

Heather Schwarz was named CHA Rookie of the Week for November 11 after she scored her first collegiate goal and had an assist on the game-winning goal against Penn State.

Colgate

The Raiders are 3-11 as they enter December. They face Vermont on December 1 and then head off for winter break.

Miriam Drubel has 5 goals and 4 assists and Jocelyn Simpon has 3 goals and 2 assists. Rochester’s

Susan Allen has guarded the net in 7 games and has a .914 save percentage.

The Colgate Athletics department is kicked off their 2013 Gate Athletics Snowflake Holiday Drive on Nov. 16 . They will be accepting unwrapped toys through Dec. 10. The toys will be donated to the Interfaith Holiday Project, while perishable items and toiletries will be donated to The Hamilton Food Cupboard.

For donations brought to a men’s or women’s hockey game, fans get $1 off the ticket price for each donation (up to 3 donated items per ticket). For each contribution, donors get to hang a snowflake on the Colgate C in the Reid Lobby that will be displayed throughout the duration of the holiday drive

Elmira

With only a two-game weekend against Chatham on December 7 and 8 Elmira is 5-1-1 closing out November.

Ashley Ryan from the Rochester Edge has 4 goals and 8 assists for 12 points and Tanis Lamoureux has 4 goals and 6 assists as the leading scorers for the Soaring Eagles.

Lila Marshall has tended the net in 26 games and made 480 saves with a .939 save percentage.

Brooke Wilgosh was named ECAC West Player of the Week for November 19 as she led the team with 5 points (2g3a) in games against Potsdame.

Kyle Nelson was named ECAC Rookie of the Week for November 19 as she made her college debut in

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Central Hockey / Page 26

goal. She made 29 saves in a 3-0 shut out over Potsdam, Elmira’s first shut out of the season.

Oswego

The Lakers face Canton on December 6 and 7 at home as their final competition for the first semester. This is also the White Out Weekend for the school as they host a toy drive.

The Oswego State athletic department recently asked spectators to bring a non-perishable food item to any of the hockey games taking place in the Campus Center Ice Arena. The offerings from the community went to the Human Concerns Center Food Pantry on East 4th Street. Members of the food pantry, women’s ice hockey team, men’s ice hockey team, the athletic department and the campus community were in attendance when the food was donated.

Oswego is 5-1-1 after November with Olivia Boersen and Melissa Seamont leading the scoring with 2 goals and 4 assists and 2 goals and 3 assists, respectively.

Goaltender Catherine Cote has played in 4 games and has a .949 save percentage and Hamburg’s Bridget Smith (Mississauga Chiefs AAA) has played in 2 games with 43 saves and a .935 save percentage.

Cote was named ECAC Goaltender of the Week for November 19 after she started and completed both games against Neumann making 33 saves in a 2-1 overtime win and 17 saves in a 3-0 shut out in game 2.

Seamont was named to the ECAC Weekly Honor Roll that same week for her efforts in the overtime win over Neumann. She scored with 41 seconds left in OT.

Cortland

The Red Dragons are 1-5-2 as they head into the final leg of the first semester. They face Neumann at home on December 6 and 7 before the holiday break.

Leading the scoring are Niamh O’Connor with a goal and 4 assists; Akwesasne’s Sky Timmons (Salmon River High School) with 2 goals and an assists and Brooklyn’s Katie Gili (NJ Rockets) with a goal and 2 assists.

In goal is Deanna Meunier who has played in 6 games and made 204 saves on 218 shots.

Timmons was named Cortland’s Female Athlete of the Week after she scored her first and second collegiate goals defeating New England College 4-1 at the Oswego Classic.

Cornell

The Big Red are 8-0-2 and finish out the first part of the season against Syracuse on December 3.

Leading the scoring are Emily Fulton with 8 goals and 14 assists; Jillian Saulnier, 11 goals, 7 assists and Jessica Campbell, 4 goals, 13 assists.

Lauren Slebodnick has been steadfast in goal with 219 saves in 10 games and a .916 save percentage.

Anna Zorn (Churchville/Ontario Hockey Academy and Rochester Edge) is 1-1 in 10 games played.

Saulnier and Bunton were recognized by the ECAC as they were named Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week, respectively, for November 12. Saulnier had 6 points in wins over RPI and Union and Bunton had 2 points in the win over RPI, as well as her first collegiate goal as well as the game winner; she also leads the rookies with 5 points.

Bunton repeated the Rookie Honor on November 19 with 3 points against Dartmouth.

Hamilton

Hamilton is 1-3-1 going into December and they face Utica on December 6.

Leading the scorers are Gigi Fraser with 4 goals and an assist and Katie Parkman with 2 goals and 2 assists.

Sarah Schuchardt has tended goal in 3 games and Tori Bogen in 2 games. Schuchardt has 58 saves on 66 shots and Bogen has 44 saves on 51 shots.

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East Hockey

Nassau County Pee Wee Cubs Take championships

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East / Page 28

East Hockey News and Notes Nassau County Hockey

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he Nassau county peewee cubs won the Columbus Day tournament in Wallingford Ct. After winning the two first games in bracket play, the cubs lost to the New Hyde park ice cats, their rival in the LIAHL. . With both teams securing a spot in the finals, a rematch took place which saw the cubs winning 3-1.

Thanks to all the coaches, Tyler Vaykovich,Chris Wierzbicki, Nick Gorgone and Teegan Rowe.

After Columbus DAy they traveled to Delaware to play in the annual Thanksgiving tournament at the Pond Ice Arena. Here are the results:

Game1 vs Team Comcast

The cubs came out slow and were down 1-0 in the first period. The second period the offensive onslaught began. Jake Broccolo opened the scoring with the first of his two goals, Connor Holfester, Sean Dalton, Danny McClellan and Drew Goodman added goals for a 6-2 victory. This game also saw great forechecking from Daniel Van Laere and Alex Fedorowicz.

Game 2 vs Lawernceville Flames The cubs came out on fire. Sean Dalton opened the scoring with Drew Goodman getting 2, Danny McClellan,Connor Holfester, Russell Macias, and Ava Salerno adding goals for a 7-1 victory.

Game3 vs New Jersey Freeze Blue

Russell Macias opened the scoring with his first goal, and finished with a HAT TRICK, Danny Rau,KC (Kyriakos) Chatzia and Connor Holfester added goals for 6-3 victory.

SEMI FINALS vs New Jersey Freeze Grey

KC(Kyriakos) Chatzia opened the scoring with one of his two goals, Sean Dalton added with a HAT TRICK

of his own, Connor Holfester, Matthew Marrone,and Drew Goodman added goals. This game also saw a phenomenal single handed penalty kill by Danny McClellan.

Championship Game vs Union Thunder The cubs opened the game very slow, they were down 2-0 with 5 minutes to go in the first period when Connor opened the scoring to make it 2-1. In the second period with the cubs down 3-1 Russel’s slap shot got the cubs within one. In the 3rd period KC tied the game at 3 and then with 4 minutes left to go, Jake on a 2 on 1 gave Drew a great pass and he buried it into the back of the net for a 4-3 lead. With 4 minutes left to play, the cubs Nick DeBisceglia, Jack Heyen, Jake and goalie Ryan Mocklear shut out the Thunder from scoring. With Sean adding an empty net the final score was 5-3.

New York Raptors Report

by Michael Meyers

he New York Raptors won two games in their Thanksgiving Tournament placing them first.

They beat the New Jersey Dare Devils 10 -6 and followed that with a 9-6 win over the Long Island Blues. Both teams are major rivals for the Raptors.

T

More East News and Notes on Page 30

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NY Hockey OnLine

East Hockey / Page 29 tory with 29 saves over 14thranked Neumann, junior netminder Brian Fleming was honored as the ECAC West Conference Goaltender of the Week for the period ending November 10th.

The Valiants were 3-2 over their first five games this season—all ECAC West conference tilts. Mark Rivera led the team in goals while Luc Van Natter, defenseman Anton Racklin and Jake Mooney were all tied for the team lead in assists.

Eastern New York Men’s College Hockey Report

by Warren Kozireski

ARMY The Black Knights had just one win to show for their first nine contests and were last in the nation allowing 5.22 goals per game.

Maurice Alvarez recorded his first career hat trick and Clint Carlisle netted his first collegiate goal against Sacred Heart November 12th.

C.J. Reuschlein scored his first career goal against Merrimack October 26th.

Buffalo and Jr. Sabres product Parker Gahagen was still searching for his first collegiate win after starting once and appearing in two other of the first nine games.

HUDSON VALLEY CC The Vikings entered December with a 4-2-1 record with William Huber (Hopewell Junction) and James Murphy (Port Jefferson Station) leading the way with ten and eight goals respectively. Murphy (8) and Jordan Simpson were tops in assists.

Ricky Piper and Mike Fay (Farmingville) had split time evenly in goal through the early season stages.

MANHATTANVILLE After backstopping the Manhattanville men’s hockey team to a 3-0 shutout vic-

As predicted as the pre-season ECAC favorite in the coaches poll, the Engineers were ranked tenth nationally through the first six weeks of the campaign, though a mid-November stumble in their home-and-home with rival Union left a bad taste.

Junior forward Ryan Haggerty led the nation with 13 goals over his first 12 games with senior Brock Higgs adding eight. Jacob Laliberte, Matt Neal and Mike Zalewski (New Hartford) led the way with eight or more assists.

Scott Diebold (Buffalo) has emerged as the top goaltender after Winnipeg draft pick Jason Kasdorf’s season ended with a separated shoulder that needed surgery.

Higgs has been named a candidate for the 2013-14 Men’s Hockey Senior CLASS Award. A forward, he is one of the 20 players up for the award.

The Engineers play all five December games on home ice includ-

ing the USA Under-18 National Team on the 15th.

UNION The Dutchman played seven of their first 11 games this season on home ice, but the road was overly friendly with three wins and a tie through the Thanksgiving break.

Daniel Carr became Union’s alltime goal-scoring leader (at the Division I level) with his 60th goal scored at Harvard.

The assistant captain has amassed 116 points (60g-56a) to move into 10th place on Union’s career scoring list, which ranks third-best for the school’s Division I era. Carr has appeared in 128 consecutive games -- the longest active streak in the NCAA -- and stands fifth nationally among active players in career scoring.

Junior defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere was named ECAC Hockey Player of the Week for the period ending November 17th after he compiled four points (two goals, two assists) along with 14 shots on goal in Union’s sweep of 10thranked Rensselaer.

Senior Cole Ikkala has been selected as one of 20 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award, which honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition.

Ten finalists will be placed on the official ballot midway through the regular season.

Freshman D Jeff Taylor scored his first collegiate goal against Dartmouth.

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East Hockey / Page 30 Rookie of the Week with her goal and assists in a 2-1 win over Harvard and had her first collegiate goal in a 3-1 loss to Dartmouth.

East Women’s College Report

by Janet Schultz Janet@nyhockeyonline.com

Union College Union will face Quinnipiac, Princeton and the University of Maine before heading off on the holiday break.

They are 5-9-0 coming into December with Courtney Turner and Christine Valente leading the scoring with 4 goals and 6 assists each. Following closely is Maddy Norton with 2 goals and 8 assists.

Shenae Lundberg has goaltended for 14 games making 325 saves and holding a .890 save percentage.

She was named ECAC Goaltender of the Week for November 5 after leading her team to their first win of the season (3-0) over Dartmouth. It was Union’s first league win since January 2012. She also made 22 saves in a 3-0 loss to Harvard but not before holding off the nation’s top power play

unit from getting on the boards in two opportunities.

RPI is 4-81 as they come into December.

Next up is Princeton on December 6, Quinnipiac, December 7 and then they are on holiday break.

Taylor Mahoney leads the scoring board with 4 goals and 3 assists and along with her is Laura Horwood with 3 goals and 4 assists. In the net Kelly O’Brien has played in 12 games and made 230 saves on 250 shots with a .906 save percentage.

Katie Rooney was named ECAC

Manhattanville

Manhattanville comes into December with a 3-2-1 record and ends the 2013 year with Amherst on December 4 and a double-header versus Nichols on December 6 and 7.

Sydney Asselstine has 6 goals and 3 assists leading the scoring for the Valiants and Michele Meggiolaro has 3 goals and 6 assists followed by Alla Truan with 3 goals and 5 assists.

In goal it has been Kirsten Shaughnessy with 143 saves in 5 games played and a .929 save percentage.

East News and Notes Continued...

Tigers.

A tightly played game ended with a 4-3 win by the Tigers to take the division championship and the t the Ice House in Hackensack New Jersey’s Thanksgiving Classic 2013 the Palisades Preda- Predators with a 2nd place finish. ...High School Hockey news wanted. Anyone wishing tors Bantam B division finished 2nd overall in the finals. After going 2-0 in the round robin by beating the to send us information on East Section High school NJ Wild 9-0 on Friday night match and the squeaking hockey, please email Janet@nyhockeyonline.com.

by Montclair Blues 3-2 on Saturday they moved on to In Division I high school hockey news, Brian De;Savio has taken over the head coaching position the playoffs.

The Predators found themselves the one seed go- at Pearl River, replacing Tony Capone, who is staying on as an assistant coach. ing against the 4th seed Blues again in a rematch New Rochelle Head Coach Jim Tozzo retired that ended with the Predators moving to the finals after 34 years and the seventh all-time winningest with a 6-3 win on Sunday morning. coach in NYS high school hockey.

The Finals played Sunday afternoon matched the John Veteri has taken over as head coach of Predators against the number 2 seed Mamaroneck Somer/North Salem. (Continued on page 55)

A

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North Hockey

Bears Reopen Maxcy!

(Potsdam Photo)

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Northern New York Men’s College Hockey Report

by Warren Kozireski

POTSDAM The Bears were winless through their first six games and were allowing an alarming four-plus goals per game while doing it.

Scoring was also an early issue at just over two goals-per-game with senior Mike Arnold the leading goal scorer with three.

CLARKSON The Golden Knights were picked to finish last in the ECAC in the pre-season coaches poll, but got off to their best start through the first ten games since the 1991-92 campaign at 7-21 and improved to 10-3-1 and ranked 10th in the nation at press time.

A.J. Fossen tallied his first collegiate goal—the game-winner at Brown with just 1:53 remaining in regulation.

A huge home-and-home with rival St. Lawrence and the Catamount Cup in Vermont dot the December slate.

PLATTSBURGH Kevin Emmerling and Mathieu Cadieux were selected as the SUNYAC Player and Goalie of the Week, respectively, for the week ending November 10th.

Emmerling tallied his first four points of the season and Cadieux allowed just one goal and posted a shutout over the weekend to contribute to a pair of wins Dillan Fox was selected as the Player of the Week for the week ending November 3rd.

Head coach Bob Emery earned his 525th career victory against Geneseo in early November.

The Cardinals were unbeaten through their first five contests with just road games in December prior to the Winter Classic January 3-4 when they host Hobart, Williams and Hamilton.

During the first intermission of their first home game in the renovated Maxcy Arena, Potsdam’s 199596 SUNYAC Champion men’s hockey team was inducted into the Bears Hall of Fame during an on ice ceremony.

The team opens the new year on home ice January 3-4 versus St. Anselm to begin a five game homestand.

ST. LAWRENCE The Saints lost just once on the road through mid-November, but stumbled twice at home against Cornell and Colgate to fall out of the national rankings despite the efforts of Greg Carey, who was tied for the national lead in assists.

Brother Max was fifth in the country among rookies in goals per game with Gavin Bayreuther also among the top-20.

Freshman Woody Hudson (Greece) was off to a decent start with six points over his first 12 collegiate contests.

Both Carey’s were named ECAC Player of the Week and ECAC Rookie of the Week for the period ending November 12th.

The Saints play just three times in December with just one—December 6th versus Clarkson—on home ice.

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North Women’s College Report

by Janet Schultz

Potsdam

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otsdam is 3-4-2 coming into December and face Canton on December 3 and St. Michaels on December 6 and 7 before breaking for the holidays.

Brittany Lucky has a goal and 8 assists leading the scoreboard with Hilton’s Jordan Ott with 5 goals and 2 assists. Brittany’s sister Amanda has 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points and Jessica Silveria also has 7 points with a goal and 6 assists.

Goaltender Alexane Rodrigue made 265 saves in 8 games for a .977 save percentage.

Potsdam reopened Maxcy Arena with a win over St. Michaels.

Ott was named ECACW Rookie of the Week and Brittany Lucky was named to the Honor Roll for their performance in the wins over St. Michaels. Ott had her first collegiate career goal in the 4-3 win Lucky had three assists.

Clarkson

Clarkson is 12-3-2 coming into December. They will face the University of North Dakota on December 6 and 7 before closing out the first semester at RIT in the Frozen Frontier event on December 14.

Leading the scoring this season is Jamie Lee Rattry with 12 goals and 15 assists followed by Erin Ambrose with 9 goals/13 assists and Brittany Stynes with 5 goals and 16 assists.

Goaltender Erica Howe has been solid between the pipes with 304 saves in 17 games.

Christine Lambert was named Clarkson’s Student Athlete of the Week for November 17 after she scored 4 goals and had her first career hat trick. She was also named ECAC Player of the Week.

Plattsburgh

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lattsburgh is 7-0 as they finish the first semester off at the Panther/Cardinal Classic against Middlebury on December 1.

Bridget Balisy has 3 goals and 9 assists for 12 points followed by Allison Era with a goal and 11 assists for 12 points. Shannon Stewart has 8 goals and 2 assists.

In goal Sydney Aveson played 5 games and has 73 saves on 73 shots.

New York natives Mel Ames of Rochester and the Pittsburgh Elite has 3 goals and an assist; Rochester’s Maggie Kolcon has an assist and Buffalo’s Julie Duquette has 4 assists.

Balisy and Aveson were named ECAC W Player and Goalie of the Week for November 3. Balisy was named MVP at the Norwich East/West Classic with a four-point weekend. She opened the season with two gaols and an assist in the Cardinals’ 6-0 win over Norwich and the next ay added an assist on the loan goal in the Plattsburgh 1-0 victory over Manhattanville to lead them to the Norwich East/West Classic Title.

Aveson earned a spot on the Norwich East/West Classic All-Tournament Team posting a 2-0-0 record on the weekend with a pair of shutouts. She turned away all 18 sots in a 6-0 win over the Cadets and followed that with a 14-goal save in the 1-0 win over Manhattanville.

Aveson and Shannon Stewart both received Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) West honors for the week ending Nov. 10. Aveson was named Goalie of the Week while Stewart collected an Honor Roll selection.

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North Hockey / Page 34

Aveson earned Goalie of the Week for the secondstraight week. After recording 11 shots in the top-ranked Cardinals’ 8-0 win against Potsdam last Tuesday, she then posted a 16-save shutout against Castleton. The West Covina, Calif. native has four shutouts in four games for the undefeated Cardinals.

Stewart landed on the Honor Roll after registering five points last week. In the league-opener at Potsdam, she scored four of the Cardinals’ eight goals. The junior forward then assisted on the only goal scored against Castleton.

Mel Ames was named ECAC W Rookie of the Week for November 17. Ames recorded her first four collegiate points in Plattsburgh State’s weekend sweep against Buffalo State. The Rochester, N.Y. native picked up her first assist on the Cardinals’ third goal in Saturday’s 7-0 win over the Bengals. On Sunday, Ames tallied a hat trick in an 8-0 victory. Her first collegiate goal came at 8:52 of the second period before the rookie forward scored the last two goals of the game, including a short-handed goal, in the third period.

St. Lawrence

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ith no games in December the Saints close out their first semester with a 6-7-1 record. Leading the scoring are Mel Desrochers with 5 goals and 11 assists and Rylee Smith with 6 gaols and 9 assists.

Canton

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he Roos will end their first semester of play against Potsdam on December 3, Oswego on December 6 and 7, and Franklin Pierce on December 13 and 14. Going into those games they are 4-2-2.

Kailey Cree (Hogansburgh/Salmon River High School) leads the scoreboard with 4 goals and 7 assists and Jessica Kistabish has 5 goals and 4 assists. In goal Shayna Dominque has played in 8 games making 216 shots with a .935 save percentage.

High School Hockey (Sections III, VII and X) Boys and Girls High School Hockey is just underway in several sections but, with that said, here are the standings thus far (Dec. 6).

Girls Section III Thousand Island/Alexandria Bay stands in first place tied with Skaneateles, each with 1.5 points.

Girls Section VII Lake Placid is in first place with 3 points.

NY Hockey Online is in need of someone from each section, or team, to report scores and send photos for NY Hockey Online magazine. We are also looking for story ideas.

Contact Janet Schultz, Janet@nyhockeyonline.com for information on how you can help.

This information was taken from websites.

Girls Section X Massena and Canton are tied for first place with 3 points each.

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Boys Section X, Division 1 Massena has 2 points.

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Boys Section X, Division II Nowood-Norfolk, Malone and Thousand Islands/ Alex Bay each have 2 points.

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West Hockey

Happy 45th Anniversary Depew Saints Hockey Association!

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West Hockey / Page 36

Depew Saints Celebrate 45 Years of Hockey Excellence

By Randy Schultz

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Photos by Janet Schultz

“We truly believe that once you’re a Saint you’re always a Saint.”

orty-five years ago this hockey organization was known as the Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament.

They began as a group of 18 boys.

Today, nearly five decades later they have over 500 players, both boys and girls and 28 teams. During that time OLBS changed its name to the Depew Saints.

The rest, as they say, is history.

The 2013-14 hockey season marks the 45th anniversary of the Saints hockey organization. The hockey club has certainly come a long way since its early days.

Most of the kids who participate in the Saints organization today are from Depew, Lancaster, Clarence and the Williamsville areas.

“Bill Lynch, who organized the OLBS Saints, began playing almost on grass,” remembered Dave Borkowski, President of the Saints. “They used hoses and filled the area with water and had a small rink.

“But once more and more kids began to come, they figured that they couldn’t do it there anymore.”

So Lynch, along with a group of volunteers, began travelling to area rinks and rented ice time.

The team travelled on those weekends to Fort Erie, Ontario, and Niagara Falls and on a regular basis to Lockport’s Kenan Center.

“The only hours we had during that time was from 4 a.m. in the morning until 7:30 a.m.,” said Lynch. “They were very early hours, but we had a

great group of volunteers who would get up on those Saturday mornings and take the kids to their hockey games.

“When I look back at it now, this whole idea of the Depew Saints was a dream of mine. I wanted to give it a shot and give the kids an opportunity to play organized hockey.

“Once I saw that the kids would get up at those early Saturday morning hours, I knew they were hooked.

“At that time we had grown to 43 kids when we began travelling to Lockport.”

When the Depew rink was completed in 1971 the Saints changed their name to Depew Saints and became the rinks primary tenant.

The Saints even hosted a State tournament their first year in the rink for Squirts.

“I raised my hand, volunteered to do it and got

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West Hockey/ Page 37

it,” laughed Lynch, recalling that first New York State Amateur Hockey meeting he ever attended. “I figured that it would be a great way for our team to get the automatic bid, get into a tournament and see what we could do.

“It was a gamble worth taking and it paid off for our organization. And remember, we played in an open rink at that time.

“On the second day of the tournament the fog got so bad on the ice the players couldn’t see. So I called some guys I knew over at the Amherst Rink and they helped out by hosting the rest of the tournament over there.”

Today is a different story.

“We have a beginners program, six Mite teams, three Squirt, three Pee Wee, two Bantam and two Midget house teams,” said Borkowski. “Then we have travel teams from the Squirt level all the way up to Midget Major level.

“We have an ADM program for our Mites, Squirts and Pee Wee’s at the House level. We also have an ADM program for Squirt and Pee Wee Travel.”

Two of the more famous Saints playing in the National Hockey League today are the Foligno brothers, Marcus and Nick.

“We’ve had countless numbers of players who have come through our programs who have gone on to play hockey at the DI and DIII levels as well as community college level,” added Borkowski. “Currently we have the highest number of players we’ve ever had in the Saints organization.

“We have waiting lists for all of our House teams. Unfortunately we have to turn some kids away because we don’t have the ice.

“We rent ice at Buffalo State College and Nichols. But that still doesn’t take care of the problem of ice time.

“We need more ice, like a lot of organizations do.”

The golden era hockey for the Saints is considered by many to be the 1990’s especially the mid-1990s.

“We had multiple national champions at that time,” remembered Borkowski. “We had multiple State championships.

“Our Midgets won several champion-

ships.”

Borkowski and the rest of the Saints board members are trying to rebuild the organization back to what it was two decades ago.

“We’re building from the bottom up,” said Borkowski. “We’re building from our Mite program on up.

“We think it’s working and we’re building towards more championship teams in our organization. Our focus is skill development and more skill development.

“We want to make sure that we show the player a drill to do and then make sure that the players do it right. We want our kids to develop good skills right now.”

Lynch has his thoughts on today’s Depew Saints.

“Starting the organization was a great thing because nobody thought it would work,” stated the 78 year-old Lynch. “It’s given a lot of kids a lot of great times.

“When these kids hit the ice they had a look on their face like they were in heaven. And the best part of all is that after I left the Saints, others have kept it going for 45 years and that’s not easy.

“To me, keeping it going for 45 years is much, much better than simply starting it. I’m very proud of the people that are running the Saints now and who have run it in the past.”

(Continued on Page 52)

Dave Borkowski holding old jersey and sporting the new logo.

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West Hockey / Page 38

Rochester Prepares for Frozen Frontier

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reat progress is being made as Rochester prepares for the Frozen Frontier. The boards have been completely set up.

Check out their facebook page (www.facebook. com/RocRedWings) for complete rink construction photo gallery.

The photos to the left and below show the recent construction progress.

Amherst Youth Hockey

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he 34th Annual Top Gun Tournament and Second House Invitational Hockey Tournament will be held Friday, January 17 through Monday, January 20 at the Northtown Center in Amherst. Northtown is a four-pad facility located convenient to local tournament hotels.

Divisions include Mite Mixed (2005/2006), Squirt (2003/2004) Pee Wee (2001/2002) Bantam (1999/2000) and Girls House (12U) The Top Gun includes a 4-game minimum. All Mite games will be cross-ice, there is no gate fees and individual awards will be provided for all champions as well as player gifts for all teams.

There are a fine selection of tournament hotel accommodations offering discounted rates.Tournament sourvenirs will be available and the Northtown Center offers a fully-stocked Pro Shop.

Applications at www.amherstyouthhockey.org or contact Tournament Driector Steven Bengart, (716)838-4600 or bengartlaw@gmail. com

Bisons (two photos go here)

Bison Boys Bantam Minor

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he Bison Bantam Minor team is having a strong year. They are currently in first place in their WNYAHL division with a very competitive schedule. Additionally the team is currently ranked #38 for Tier II 2000 boys in Myhockeyrankings. com. They just competed in the Steel City Veteran Cup tournament and were Runners Up In their division.

Bison Boys 15U

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he boys recently participated in the Gene Harrington Tournament held in Niagara Falls, NY. They finished with a 1-1-1 record and made the championship game. After a hard fought battle the boys lost in double OT to a team from Canada.

Their reagular season ended very well with a 10-3-3 record which currently puts the team in first place for their division.

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West Hockey / Page 39

Bisons Girls 10U

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he girls recently participated in the RUSH Hockey Girls tournament held in Rochester, NY. The girls finished with a record of 1-2-1 after playing in four hard fought games in their first tournament as a team.

The Bisons Girls 10U team plays a 22 league game schedule in the Lower Lakes Female Hockey League and are currently 1-1-1 in league play. See attached picture.

Bison Boys Squirt Minor 10U

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he Bisons Squirt Minor team is off to a great start this year. They are 1-1 in the WNYHAL standings with a full schedule ahead. They took 2nd place in their first tournament showing at Niagara Falls (attached picture is from tournament). The team is showing great improvement with every game they play.

Bisons Girls 19U Team

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he Buffalo Bison Girls 19U Tier 1 Team led by Coach Scott Welch ended the first half of their split season with an impressive 17-105 record against some of the best competition in North America.

The team is currently ranked #9 in the country according to the MYHockey Rankings despite playing very few games with a full roster due to numerous injuries and illnesses The young, injury plagued team often competed against older Junior Canadian and US Teams in the Boston Beantown Classic Tournament, the NAHA College Showcase Labor Day Tournament, the Stoney Creek University Showcase Tournament,

and the US-Canada Cup Detroit College Showcase SuperSeries.

This year’s team has six girls already committed to Division I Hockey Programs (they include Providence College, two at Ohio State University, Colgate University, Syracuse University, and Union College) and four other girls set to play Division III hockey next season.

The girls are now preparing to play High School Hockey and will be back together in December for the East Coast Wizard’s Holiday College Showcase Tournament and then again in March to compete for the New York State and USA Hockey National Tier 1 Championships.

North Buffalo Rink Update

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he North Buffalo Rink has undergone many renovations during the past two years. The latest is the locker room expansion which features two large team rooms, each with four showers, two toilets and ample space for a team.

There is a new ref room, public restrooms, and a signature entrance from the parking lot.

The existing four locker rooms will be remodeled and changed into two rooms, one at each end of the rink.

These remodeled rooms will be larger to accommodate a full team.

In addition to the locker room expansion, Bison Hockey has partnered with the City of Buffalo to expand the parking lot.

The new parking lot will have 123 parking spaces which is a significant increase from our current 53 spaces.

Niagara Junior Purple Eagles

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he NJPE G12U team has been preparing for their upcoming GLGHL Q games in good fashion.

At the St. Catharines Girls Chaos Tournament early in November the NJPE squad won its first three games of pool play against the West Seneca Wings, Scarborough Sharks, and Vaughn Flames, before loosing to the Halimand Rivercats. The 3-1 record was good enough to earn play in the semifinal game against the Lakeshore Lightening. Unfortunately, the Purple Eagles lost to the Lightening 2-1 in a nail-biter that saw a flurry of pressure by the Eagles in the closing minutes.

NJPE opened league play on November 10 and walked away with a 3-0 victory against the Cazenovia Chiefs in a hard-fought game by both teams at Dwyer Arena.

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West Hockey / Page 40 Buffalo Regals

Amherst Mite Minor Selects Win Tournament The Amherst 2006 Select team won the Niagara Jr. Purple Eagle Thanksgiving Tournament in the Mite 7U/Mixed Division over the holiday weekend.

The team posted a 4-0 record by defeating the Niagara Eagles, Erie PA, and Cazenovia teams in the preliminary rounds. In the Championship game the team faced a tough Niagara Purple team. After Amherst took a 3-1 lead, the Niagara team stormed back to tie the game. The Amherst team continued to push the play late into the game with overtime looking inevitable. The game came to an exciting end when CJ Hurley scored the game winning goal after receiving a pass from Tyler Delisanti. The puck hit the back of the net just as the buzzer sounded. The successful weekend was a result of great team play, goal scoring from every player on the team, and tough goal tending by Noah Benderson.

Video of the goal can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1LBF4_4TGM. Pictured above are: Bottom- L-R Dylan Treadway, Luke Higgins, Goalie Noah Benderson, Anthony Higgins, Frank Palladino, and CJ Hurley. Top- L-R Tyler Delisanti, Peter LaJeunesse, Matthew White, Head Coach Bill Higgins, Hayden Blajszczak, and Jacob Lozo.

The Buffalo Regals 16u girls won back to back league games against the 17u Bisons with scores of 3-0 and 2-0 with both Amber Dubill and Madeleine Utz registering shutouts.

That brings their record against crosstown rival to 3-0 on the season and the wins moved the Regals over .500 in 17u AA division up in the Canadian Lower Lakes league. Quite an accomplishment for any area team at that level.

In addition, the Regals 16U have been the highest ranked team nationally from the area every week this season according to myhockeyrankings.com.

The girls also played very well and lost a close 2-1 game to the Chicago Young Americans, currently the 3rd ranked team in Country, during the recently completed Rochester Fire on Ice Tournament, proving they can compete with the best teams the U.S. has to offer.

The Regals then traveled to Pittsburgh’s Thanksgiving Tournament where they will be faced off against three more U.S. teams ranked higher then them in the rankings - Pittsburgh Elite, NJ Coloniels as the Milwaukee Admirals.

West Seneca Wings 12U Girl Program Coached by Larry Blas, the young team is led by New York State Champion returning players Katelyn Morris, Jillian Blas and Abby Chavet. Newcomer and co-Captain Catie Martinez has solidified the blue line and strengthened the play of the team. During the weekend of October 26, the team faced the Anaster Avalanche twice on Saturday and were able to capture two victories in the Lower Lakes Female Hockey League with 4-1 and 5-1 victories. The team followed the two wins with a solid 1-0 win over the Flamborough Flames the very next day.

14U Girls Program The 14U Girls program has had a busy start to their season. Playing in both the Western New York Great Lakes Girls Hockey League and the moving to the A Division of the Lower Lakes Female Hockey League in Ontario, the team has already played in five tournaments. A heartbreaking 1-0 loss in Rhode Island and 1-0 shootout loss in Rochester prevented

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the team from advancing in two of the tournaments.

Although there has been no tournament championship games for this young team, the team has gained valuable experience. Strong goaltending has kept the team in all games but finding the net has been a challenge. However, the team shocked the undefeated Oakville Hornets in their home opened with a stunning 1-0 win. Goalie Bri Gawronski was strong in net facing 56 shots while Bri Keppner surprised the Oakville goalie with a shorthanded goal. With three players returning from injury, the team posted a 2-0 victory over the Hamburg Hawks on Wednesday, November 6th with strong defensive hockey. Fiona Danahy and Cortney Stanieszewski scored for the Wings. Next up for the team is several games in Canada and the Niagara Purple Eagles tournament during the last weekend of November.

16U Girls Program Congratulations to the 16U Girls team for winning SILVER at the St. Catharines Chaos Fall Tournament during the weekend of November 1-3. The girls came out of the round robin with a 2-0-1 record, and then did a fantastic job with a 2-0 win over Stoney Creek in the quarterfinals. The girls brought skill and determination to the semi-final game and worked hard against a very strong Oakville Hornet team with a 3-0 victory. The Mount Forest Rams proved to be a tough opponent in the final game and outbattled the Wings with a 2-0 win. Coaches, parents and staff are all very proud of the girls and all look forward to an exciting season.

Buffalo Stars

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he Buffalo Stars 19u girls completed the preseason on winning note. They managed to take their rugged preseason schedule and turn it into a win in their first league game. This preseason has proven exceptionally difficult as they have a 2-1 record in their college series against college club teams and have played the balance of their preseason games against some stiff competition.

They have begun a rivalry with the Hamburg Hawks Sr B team which is composed of former Div I and Div III college players, and then the week before league play, they went up to St Catherine’s, Ontario and played against 3 Intermediate A level teams in tournament play. All of this has led them to an opening weekend of league play, defeating Erie Lady Lions 5-0 with a vast majority of the game being played in the opposing team’s end of the ice. They head off to Oswego to take on Skaneateles 19u girls in a weekend double header. Look for more good things from this exceptional group of girls.

Stars Coach Focus--Jason Hill and Mark Metzger

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ason began his college hockey career with Buffalo State College Bengals which reached the postseason in each of his four years. He set the program’s all-time record for assists (91) and tied the mark for points (131). As a senior he set the Bengals’ single-season record with 39 assists, which also ranked No. 1 in the nation for Division III players.

Hill was also honored as Buffalo State’s male athlete of the year. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business marketing.

His professional experience began with the East Coast Hockey League’s Wheeling Nailers, a AA affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins when he spent about three weeks with the team, competing with players from the American Hockey League being sent down, and prospects from Division I colleges and top-notch junior programs.

As a fouryear pro Jason has played in the IHL, CHL, SPHL, and the FHL leagues gaining valuable hockeylife experience.

Jason is a valuable added asset

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West Hockey / Page 42 skills coach, has plans to expand his business from the greater Buffalo area along with his focus on the Buffalo Stars player development program.

For more information about the Buffalo Stars visit us on line at: www.buffalostars.com

Buffalo Stars Reach for the Stars Clinics to the Buffalo Stars Skills coaching staff that brings an intense pedal to the metal attitude and work ethic that will be shared with the players.

The third addition to the Buffalo Stars skills coaching staff is Mark Metzger, a former Buffalo Stars Empire Junior Player who is a committed and passionate skills coach who brings an over-speed skill set like no other to the staff.

Mark started playing junior hockey at a very young age and worked very hard thru the levels first with the Junior Sabers and then on to the level of Major Junior “A” attending the main camp of the Rouyn Noranda (of the QMJHL). With NCAA D1 colleges on the door step Mark continued working hard and his hockey dreams & opportunities came to an abrupt end with major injury side lining him.

Mark then began to focus his passion for the game in a different direction; to build a player development program that not only trains players on the ice, but also helps them become hockey players with high moral fiber.

Marks’ player development efforts turned into the formation of his new company Precision Hockey which we are proud to bring to the Buffalo Stars player development efforts. Mark believes in teaching players that part of being a good athlete is having good character, being respectful of your coaches, your teammates, the officials, and anyone you encounter in the game.

Giving back to the community is equally as important as the skills that players develop. In addition to his work with player development, he published a book, “Winner or Loser — Winning Over Basic Youth Conflicts,” offering ways to develop character, values and relationships with others, in addition to a sub-focus on bullying.

Mark, who has aspirations of becoming an NHL

The REACH FOR THE STARS Spring Hockey Clinics will be just the thing for the House League or lower level Travel Player who wants to improve his or her skills in order to move to a higher level of hockey.

Each session will include 45 minutes of skating and stick skills and a 20 minute scrimmage. Jersey & Socks will be provided.

This program will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Holiday Twin Rinks in Cheektowaga starting April 24th. There will be a total of 20 On Ice Sessions as well as 4 Off Ice Training Sessions and 2 Classroom Sessions.

Start time for each session will be approximately 5:30 p.m. Group 1. Start time for each session will be approximately 6:45 p.m. Group 2 Cost for the program is $375 if paid in advance and is limited to 28 Positional Players and 4 Goaltenders. Goaltenders will be $195.

For information visit us on line at: www.buffalostars.com or email us at sportsniag@aol.com for an Application. Players selected to participate will be notified via email.

Two Buffalo Stars Move To Junior Hockey

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he Buffalo Stars Midget Program is pleased to announce that two of their U16 Full Season Players are making the move to Junior Hockey immediately.

Forward Austin Gallagher (left) has been claimed by the Springfield Pics of the Empire Junior league while Defensman Tim O’Connor (right) has been picked

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up by the Jersey Shore Wildcats of the Northern States Junior League.

“This is a bittersweet moment for us” said Stars U16 Head Coach Jerry Wheeler. “They are both great kids and fine hockey players and they will be missed.

However, this is a great opportunity for both of them and we wish them all the best of success” Tim O’Connor As a result the Stars U16 team has an immediate opening for a Forward and a Defenseman. If you are interested contact Coach Wheeler at icecoachjw@aol.com or Pete Preteroti at sportsniag@ aol.com

Buffalo Stars 16U Take Festival of Lights Tourney

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he Buffalo Stars 16U Full Season Team took to the ice in the Festival of Lights Tournament over Thanksgiving weekend. Their first game was Fri-

day where they took on the Seaway Valley Rapids. The scoring started within the first 2 minutes of the game on a break a way goal

by Ethan MacKrell who received a great pass from Andrew Husted. The team was fired up after that and continued to dominate the game. Mike Sokol and Christopher Botzenhart each had a 2 goal performance in the 6-1 win for the Stars. Holden Greene also tallied a goal.

Next up for the Stars would be the Toronto East Enders. The Stars did not fair so well in this game losing 6-1. Lone goal scored by Frank Bodami. On Saturday The Buffalo Stars would face the Markham Waxers and this game would decide who would advance to the Championship game. It was a very tight game with the Stars coming out with a 3-2 overtime win. Chris Botzenhart and Josh Evoy tallied in regulation and Mike Sokol scored the winning goal in overtime.

Sunday would see the Stars face off again against the Toronto East Enders for the Championship. The Stars came out to play this game and again would end up in overtime. Regulation goals were scored by Andrew Husted, Frank Bodami and Mike Sokol.The defense killed off a late penalty to make sure that they could get it into overtime. With the game not being decided in the 5 minute overtime they were headed to a shoot out.

Christopher Botzenhart scored the lone goal in

the shoot out as Vincent Goodrich turned away all 3 shots he faced.

This game was a total team effort by all players.

Congratulations to the Buffalo Stars 16U Full Season Team!! The Stars look forward to their next Showcase as they head to New Hampshire for the EJEPL Winter Showcase. Good Luck!!

Buffalo Stars Pee Wee Major Win Festival of Lights

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ver Thanksgiving Weekend, the Buffalo Stars Peewee Major team participated in the Festival of Lights Tournament at Hyde Park. Games started on Friday afternoon with a 2-2 tie against the Grundy Senators.

Friday night, the boys faced the Tonawanda Lightning and defeated them 1-0. Saturday afternoon, the boys were back at the rink to face the Bud Bakewell Bruins, and skated away with a 2-1 win. The team was headed to the Championship game!

The Championship Game was on Sunday afternoon, again facing the Bud Bakewell Bruins. It was a great game, ending in a 4-1 win for the Stars! The boys worked so hard this weekend and have the Championship plaque to prove it!!

Congratulations to the all the players and coaches on a great tournament and much deserved win!

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Stars’ Players Honored

Youth Player of the WeekBuffalo Stars Youth Spot- -November 17 light Player of the Week Anthony DePerno October 27-nthony DePerno is a member Michael Naples of the U16 Split Season Team

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ichael is a member of the Pee Wee AA team at age 11. The 5’6.5” left wing comes from Orchard Park and is in sixth grade. His favorite subject is social studies and he is considering several career opportunities.

His favorite NHL player is Herik Lundqvist and his favorite NHL team is the NY Rangers. He likes french fries, rap music and his favorite tv show is Big Brother.

Michael’s role model is his dad because he works hard to support the family.

He also plays basketball and his goal for this season is to improve his hockey game.

for the Midget U16 team.

Anthony played amazing hockey every shift throughout the entire tournament in Cape Cod the weekend of November 15.

His finest moment came in the final game against a very aggressive SRI team. He did not back down from the other teams hard-hitting players. Instead he remained very patient, persistent, and hardworking every time he took the ice. It all payed off when he finally scored his first goal of the season. His goal gave the Stars 16U split team the lead and really pumped up the bench.

By giving his team the lead against a team that thought they had a win in The Buffalo Stars Youth Player of the Week ending November 17th is Anthony DePerno of the U16 Split Season Team.

Anthony is 16 years old and plays forward. He comes from

Charlotte, North Carolina and is a junior at Lancaster High School. His favorite subject is science and his hobbies include dirt biking and fourwheeling. He enjoys most genres of music and is favorite movie is “21 Jump Street.”

He plans to play collegiate hockey and study Criminal Justice.

He currently is in the Academic Achievements Program in Criminal Justice that will give him 18 credits towards college.

His goal this season is to move to the AAA level.

His favorite hockey players are NHLer’s Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Pavel Datsyuk.

With the conclusion of the Split Season, Anthony will finish the season with the U18 Full Season Team.

Buffalo Stars Spotlight Player for November 24: Patrick Murphy

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atrick Elway Murphy is a defenseman on the Peewee Major Team. He attends Lancaster Middle School. The seventh grader likes social studies and plans to become a music teacher.

His personal hero is his Mom for she always cheers him on. “She works very hard, takes good care of our Dad and gives us everything and does nothing for herself.”

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son as the head coach of the Nichols Varsity Prep B Team.

“We are

By Janet Schultz very excited to be participating in the WNY Girls Varsity Ice Hockey League,” said Iafallo.

On opening day, Head of the Upper School Aranya Maritime dropped the puck in the Nichols arena.

Coach Iafallo gives words of encouragement before Nichols takes to the Coach ice for the first time as a member of the WNY Girls Varsity Ice Hockey Iafallo preFederation. viewed the season as follows: The team will have a balanced attack being lead by our seniors Jenny Sauter, Emily Certo, Kathryn Darling, Nicolette Tomani, Margaret Janiga and Marissa Janiga.

This group has a lot of hockey om Iafallo coaches the Nichexperience playing for different ols Girls Varsity team that has travel organizations in the area. joined the WNY Girls Varsity Underclassmen Liz Bourne and Ice Hockey Federation this season.

Mia Tirabassi are expecting to have Tom was an assistant coach key roles on this years team and with his son’s West Seneca team they were members of our Prep from 2000 to 2006 and, at the B CISAA Championship team in same time, served as assistant 2012, as were Sauter and Certo. coach on his daughter’s Bison’s Sarah Martin, Kayla Sienkiewicz, U12 - U19 team.

Elena Kotrides and Laren Hotung Son, Alex, is now a freshman at are players that we are expecting the University of Minnesota-Duluth to contribute to the teams sucess. and daughter, Juls, will be attendNewcomers Paige Kouimanis, Suing Ohio State University next year. san Kowalski, Sam Lazar, Melaina Both on hockey scholarships.

Higgins, Hailey Miller, Lilly Shu Tom is also the assistant coach man and Jillian Zamorski will fill with the Bison U19 girls team. the rest of the roster.

This is Coach Iafallo’s third sea-

WNYGVIH Grows!

WNYGVIH Nichols High School Preview

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WNYGVIH

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he WNY Girl’s Varsity Ice Hockey Federation opened their season on November 19 with Nichols hosting Amherst/ Sweethome Katz.

Nichols won their inaugural game in the WNYGVIH 4-1.

After that game, we traveled across town to Kenmore hosting Orchard Park/Frontier at Lincoln Arena.

It was the host taking the win 3-1 over visiting OP/Frontier.

The following day it was Lancaster, now joined by Iroquois) handing West Seneca a 10-3 loss at the Healthy Zone in East Aurora.

An exciting day for Lancaster’s girls who have seen few wins in four years.

Rounding out the week it was a 1-1 tie at the Monsignor Martin vs Orchard Park/Frontier game at North Buffalo and a 6-4 win for Amherst/Sweethome over Williamsville at Northtowns.

The last two games in November were played on November 22 with Kenmore upsetting West Seneca 4-2 and Nichols beating Kenmore 2-1 before a brief Thanksgiving break.

As we move into December Kenmore leads the league with 5 points, followed by Lancaster/ Iroquois and Nichols, each with 4 points. (stats are for December 1) Nichols and Lancaster/Iroquois celebrated their entrance into the league with ceremonial puck drops.

(Check out the Photo Page for opening week photos)

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Nichols Girls Sign Letters of Intent To Play DI Hockey

Pictured are (bottom row) Julianna Iafallo ‘14, Madison Sansone ‘14, Annika Zalewski ‘14, Alli Gasuik ‘14 In the top row are Teammates Ashley Songin ‘15, Rachel dePerio ‘16, Abby Welch ‘16, Maddi Welch ‘15, Olivia Zafuto ‘15, Ava Simoncelli ‘16, Michele Robillard ‘16.(Nichols photo)

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n Monday, November 18, five Nichols School seniors signed National Letters of Intent to play Division I hockey next year.

Julianna Iafallo ’14 will play hockey for Ohio State University; Allison Gasuik ’14 at Ohio State University; Brandy Streeter ’14 for Union College; Madison Sansone ’14 will play hockey for Providence College; and Annika Zalewski ’14 for Colgate University.

“Julianna has been dominating as a player her en-

tire career while excelling in the classroom as well.

She is a player who makes other players around her better,” said Nichols girls’ prep A hockey coach, Scott Welch. Over the last two years, she has accumulated 40 goals, 35 assists for a total of 75 points.

Iafallo has won seven New York State championships and appeared in two national championship games. She is recognized by USA Hockey as a top performer at her age level as she has been selected to attend USA Hockey National Camps.

“Alli is considered a leader by her teammates and the coaching staff. She possesses incredible hands and ESPN type of movesand has put up tremendous numbers over her three years with 76 goals, 64 assists for 140 points,” Welch said.

Alli has won seven New York State championships and appeared in two national championship games. She is recognized by USA Hockey as a top performer at her age level as she has been selected to attend USA Hockey National Camps.

Welch describes Streeter as being “an anchor to our defense.”

Over her career she has been asked to play against the other team’s top lines due to her ability to shut their offense down. Over the last two years, she has accumulated 8 goals, 16 assists for a total of 24 points.

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Streeter has won three New York State championships and appeared in two national championship games.

She is recognized by USA Hockey as a top performer at her age level as she has been selected to attend USA Hockey National Camps.

“Madison possesses tremendous speed which makes it extremely difficult for teams to catch her.

Her speed induces other teams to often panic with the puck and make mistakes,” says Welch. “She is consistently one of the hardest workers on the ice and has put up tremendous numbers over her three years with 59 goals, 54 assists for 113 points.”

Sansone has won 7 New York State championships and appeared in two national championship games.

She is recognized by USA Hockey as a top performer at her age levelas she has been selected to attend USA Hockey National Camps.

“Annika is very strong at both ends of the ice which allows her to be strong defensively as well as an outstanding playmaker. She possesses great character and leadership on and off the ice.”

Zalewski is recognized by USA Hockey as a top performer at her age level as she has been selected

More West Section News... ...Results from the November 10/11 West Section Tier I Midget Sections were: 16 U 1.Buffalo Regals 2.Rochester 3.Amherst 4.Hamburg 18U 1. Buffalo Regals 2 Buffalo Saints Host-Amherst ...Condolences to the family of Robert E. “Coach” Westphal. He passed away November 30 at the age of 77. Westphal was a long-time coach in the West Section and one of the founders of the Buffalo Regals Hockey Association.

to attend USA Hockey National Camps. She was also on a team that won the New York State Championship in 2013.

Nichols School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory day school serving grades 5 through 12. Located in Buffalo, N.Y., Nichols is nondenominational, with 560 students from across Western New York and Southern Ontario, as well as several international students. The dedicated faculty is focused on preparing students to thrive in the global community of the 21st century. Nichols provides access to challenging academic programs, and extensive athletic, art and cultural exchange programs.

Through leadership opportunities and community service projects, students develop strong work ethic, integrity, character and personal responsibility.

Founded in 1892, Nichols is accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools.

Visit www.nicholsschool.org.

Buffalo Stars Collect for Food Bank (submitted by the Stars)

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he Buffalo Stars month-long Food Drive to benefit the Food Bank of WNY is now underway. Players will be collecting non -perishable food items which will be given to the Food Bank of WNY. The Drop Off date for all food will take place at the Buffalo Stars Annual Christmas Party on December 21 at Holiday Twin Rinks from 2 to 8pm. This is the 21st year that the Buffalo Stars have conducted a food drive.

For more information about the Food Bank of WNY or the Buffalo Stars, visit on line at: www.foodbankwny.org

Tryouts at Buffalo Stars Organization

the Nichols School Arena.

Teams will be created for players in the 2000 through 1995 birth year categories. Tryouts will be held as follows: 9:30-10:45am for the 99, 98, and 97 birth year 10:45-Noon for the 96 and 95 birth year Noon-1:15pm for the 2000 birth year Tryout fee is $15.

Players are encouraged to register in advance for the tryout. Go to www. buffalostars.com for information.Go to the Spring Teams link on the site.

Contact us at sportsniag@aol.com if you have any questions.

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he Buffalo Stars will conduct tryouts for the Spring/Summer teams on Tuesday, December 31 at

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Tim Horton Backyard Classic Celebrates Fifth Year

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our rinks for the Tim Hortons Backyard Classic have been constructed at the Rose Garden Restaurant in Amherst . The annual outdoor hockey tournament is in its fifth year which raises money to benefit Hasek’s Heroes will be held January 11 and 12, 2014.

The rinks are constructed from donated materials and are put together by screwing together boards, laying down plastic and filling the rinks with water. To assist in this endeavor, the Canisius College hockey team as well as numerous volunteers from the community assisted.

The Backyard Classic hockey tournament was founded in 2007

by East Amherst resident Nicholas Penberthy, a junior at SUNY Cortland (www.cortland.edu).

For the first three years, the tournament was played on Penberthy’s East Amherst backyard ice rink, which his family sets up each winter at their home. In 2011 Penberthy expanded to a second Williamsville llocation and hosted

by Chris Taggart, who serves as CoChair of the event.

Last year’s event was hosted by the Angry Buffalo at the Rose Garden, 2753 Wehrle Drive in Amherst). The location was able

to handle the larger demand and will continue to host the event. In 2012, the event was renamed the Tim Horton’s Backyard Classic thanks to the generous support of Tim Horton’s Café & Bake Shop.

“Last year, we finally got the ice we were missing in 2012 and timed it just right. We had over 30 teams playing across four divisions (10U, 12U, High School and Adult),” said Penberthy.

More than $25,000 in monetary and supply donations fueled the most successful Tim Hortons Backyard Classic to the date. They anticipate an even bigger turnout this year and have expanded the tournament to be played over two days.

“This tournament has resulted in hundreds of inner city youth being introduced to the game of ice hockey, in addition to providing great community exposure for our organization,” said Sean Green, executive director of Hasek’s Heroes.

“Since its founding, the tournament is one of our leading fundraisers, providing more than $50,000 to

Hasek’s Heroes,” Green continued.

Penberthy is currently a part of the Honors College Students at SUNY Cortland and is pursuing a degree in Childhood Education. ”I believe a teacher has a responsibility to not only educate, but also help provide opportunities and experiences to students that they may not normally have access to,” explained Penberthy.

“I have seen the growth of the kids in the Hasek’s program and am looking forward to bringing these experiences into my own classroom one day.”

“With the involvement of Tim Horton’s Café & Bake Shop, the tournament is seeking to expand its reach to simultaneously playing hockey on more backyard ice rinks across Western New York and making it a regional fundraising effort to further grow these inner city hockey programs,” said Taggart.

To register for the 2014 Tim Hortons Backyard Classic please visit: www.timhortonsbackyardclassic.com.

(Photos are from last year’s Tim Horton construction and game. Janet Schultz Photo)

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BROCKPORT

CANISIUS

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reshman Nick Marinac led he Golden Griffins won their first game the team and was one of the against a non-conference, ranked optop-15 freshmen in the coun- ponent in Denver, but couldn’t use it for try in scoring through the first momentum as they managed just two wins seven games. In fact under- over seven games afterward. classmen held the top six spots on the team’s scoring Junior netminder Keegan Asmundson was named chart with sophomores Atlantic Hockey GoaltenChase Nieuwendyk, James der of the Week the final Ryan, Shane Cavalieri and week of October after stopdefenseman Chris Luker ping a career-best 36 shots (New Hartford) joined by in a road victory against freshman Jake Taylor. ranked Denver.

Marinac netted a hat Matthew Backhouse trick in his second collescored his first collegiate giate game and Andrew goal in the upset at DenParks garnered his first colver October 27th. The win

by Warren Kozireski lege goal in his first game. marked the first victory for The Golden Eagles final Canisius against a ranked conference games of the non-conference foe. first half happen December Kyle Gibbons recorded 6-7 at Fredonia and Buffalo State. a point in 13-straight games dating back to last season.

It is the longest streak by a Griff since Chris Duggan recorded a point in 15-consecutive contests from Jan. 15 to March 9, 2002. Gibbons has been named one of 20 BUFFALO STATE candidates for the Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible CC transfer Dan Turgeon led the for the award, a student-athlete must be a senior and Bengals with six goals and ten have notable achievements in four areas of excellence– points through the Thanksgiving holi- classroom, character, community and competition. day as the team started 3-2-2 in con- Defenseman Jake Hidi netted his first collegiate ference with two home games against goal November 19th against RIT.

Western New York Men’s College Hockey Report

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Geneseo and Brockport December 6-7 remaining in the first half of SUNYAC play.

Turgeon was tied for seventh nationally in rookie scoring while goaltender Kevin Carr stood fifth in Division III in minutes played and top-30 in save percentage.

The Bengals offense was in high gear scoring 14 goals over the first three games with freshman Adam Rossi leading the team with three tallies. Classmates Nick Berst (Depew), Taylor Pryce and Jake Rosen (East Amherst) had also scored their first collegiate goals.

ERIE CC

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atthew Berke (Williamsville), Brad Ferrell (East Amherst) and Jacob Macchioni (Blasdell) each led with five goals while Richard Larkin (West Seneca) had a team-high four assists and was tied for the team-lead with seven points over the Kats first seven contests.

Freshman Daniel Wenner (Lockport) was seeing the bulk of playing time in net.

The squad has three key road conference games in December.

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West Section / Page 50

FREDONIA

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ared Wynia led the squad with five goals—three with the man-advantage—to pace the Blue Devils offense heading to Thanksgiving.

The Blue Devils opened the season with their first victory at Oswego since spring 2011 as freshman Hunter Long made his first collegiate goal count with the overtime game-winner.

Freshman Chris Eiserman was seeing the bulk of playing time in net and both wins and the tie through the first seven games.

GENESEO

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he Knights offense was in high gear averaging fourand-a-half goals a game with juniors Tyler Brickle, Justin Scharfe (Webster) and Ryan Stanimir plus freshman Stephen Collins (Fairport) leading the way.

Hilton native Bryan Haude earned the top goaltending spot and was 5-1 with a .902 save percentage in seven games.

The Knights were playing two freshmen and three sophomores on defense most nights.

The team plays Nazareth as part of the Frozen Frontier in Rochester at noon on Sunday, December 15th in their final contest prior to the break.

MONROE CC

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ominik Gabaj was one of the top scorers in the nation with 29 points and 14 assists with Martin Matejcek and Pavel Kuzmin close behind at 24 and 22 points respectively for the Tribunes.

The team will host Erie CC after road trips to Mohawk Valley and Broome CC in December.

The college announced they will discontinue men’s ice hockey after the 2013-2014 season citing a continued lack of competition at the community college level as well as the increasing cost of effectively maintaining the program.

The National Junior College Athletic Association fields just eight teams, including MCC, and two of those are located in North Dakota. Only 12 of MCC’s 25 regular season games this year are against community colleges, with the remainder of the schedule filled with club and junior teams.

NAZARETH

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reshman Ben Blasko was making an early case for ECAC West Rookie of the Year with a teamleading nine points over the first eight games of the campaign. He scored his first collegiate goal in his first game against Utica.

Justin Corte scored his first collegiate goal against Brockport.

The team plays Geneseo as part of the Frozen Frontier in Rochester at noon on Sunday, December 15th in their final contest prior to the break as part of nine consecutive non-conference games. They don’t return to ECAC play until January 24th.

NIAGARA

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he Purple Eagles were just 3-8-1 overall, but have made those seven points count in conference games to put them in second place with three AHA games before the holiday break.

Freshman Kevin Patterson scored his first collegiate goal against Ohio State November 9th and Stephen Pietrobon got his first at Denver. First year goaltender Jackson Teichroeb picked up his first collegiate victory and shutout November 15th versus Army.

Senior defenseman Kevin Ryan (Eden) was named a candidate for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award and registered his 50th career point November 16th versus Army.

(Continued on Pg 55)

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Kevin Ryan

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West Hockey / Page 51

shots (.950 save percentage) in a weekend split for the Tigers against No. 10 Mercyhurst. On Friday, Binnington was brilliant, stopping 42 of 43 shots, including all 20 she faced in the third period in a 2-1 win. She was named the Buffalo State College game’s first star. On Saturday,

by Janet Schultz Binnington made 34 saves he Bengals are 0-7 under Janet@nyhockeyonline.com in a 3-2 defeat that snapped first-year Head Coach JDSchultz3663@gmail.com her unbeaten streak at sevCandace Moxley. They face en games. She is now 8-3-1 Utica December 1 and this season with a 1.97 goals Franklin Pierce December 7 against average and .933 save percentage. During her and 8 before breaking for the holidays.

Heading the scoring are Nikki Kirchberger (Buffalo/ unbeaten streak, Binnington was 6-0-1 with a 0.85 goals West Seneca West) with 5 goals and 1 assist for 6 points against average and .966 save percentage.

Western New York Women’s College Hockey Report

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followed by Jeyna Minnick (Rochester/Greece) with 2 goals/1 assist and Jackie Madison, 1 goal/2 assists.

Jordan Lee has been in the nets for 6 games with 204 saves and a .868 save percentage and Sarah Quigley, in four games with 71 saves and a .855 save percentage.

RIT

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unior forward Kolbee McCrea (Wawa, Ontario/Burlington Barracudas) and junior goaltender Ali Binnington (Oakville, Ontario/Mississauga Chiefs) of the RIT women’s hockey team were named the College Hockey America Player and Goaltender of the week, respectively, for the week ending Nov. 24, 2013. McCrea earned her first CHA weekly accolade of the season and second of her career, while Binnington earned the honor for the third straight week and seventh time of her career.

McCrea scored three of RIT’s four goals in a weekend split vs. No. 10 Mercyhurst at Ritter Arena. On Friday, she scored both RIT goals, including the game-winner in the first period, as the Tigers hung on for a 2-1 win. Her first goal on Friday was the 50th of her RIT career. On Saturday, McCrea scored RIT’s second goal that tied the game at 2-2 early in the third period before Mercyhurst score later in the third period to snap RIT’s five-game unbeaten streak, 3-2. McCrea leads the Tigers with seven goals this season, which is tied for second in the CHA. Binnington stopped 76-of-80

UB

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he Lady Ice Bulls had a tough start to the season, opening up against Rhode Island and North Eastern but they are improving and have already come along way getting their first wins against a local women’s team and 19-U team.

They are gaining confidence on the ice and learning to play as a team. with four more league games before playoffs in February- UMAA December 7 and 8 and Vermont January 25 and 26.

“These are big weekends for us and we are working towards getting our first league win,” said Coach Melissa Jechovich.

“With Keene State dropping out of the league, there are now only five teams in the ECWHL. “We are looking to continue to develop some of our younger players and looking to gain excitement for our program to continue building it for the future,” Jechovich continued.

At the end of November Mamie Talty, Christine Wolcott, Courtney Miller and Fallon Waxman each had 3 goals. Talty also logged 5 assists to lead the scorers with 9 points. Wolcott follows with 7, Miller and Waxman each have 5 points this season.

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West Hockey / Page 52

(Depew continued from Page 38) On January 25th the Saints are going to have a formal celebration at the Elks Club in Lancaster. Tickets will be $5 for the event, which includes a drink and finger foods.

“We’re hoping to reach out to anyone who has ever been a part of the Depew Saints organization,” said Borkowski. “We’re also going to have an alumni game on the same day.

“It should be a great day for the Saints, one that will add a great deal to their history.

players, but they are great people.

“These are players that today’s players could look up to. We want people to come back to our organization and see what’s going on.

“We’re looking for people to get involved in the Saints as volunteers. We’re looking for people to come back.

“We’re building towards the 50th anniversary.

It’s a chance to reconnect with people.

“We truly believe that once you’re a Saint you’re always a Saint.”

Depew Saints continued

“We have a great history with the Saints organization, one which we are proud of. We’ve had some stumbling blocks along the way, just like all organizations do.

“We’ve had a lot of great players come through the Depew Saints. And they’re just not great Patrick’s favorite hockey player is Wayne Gretsky and his favorite team, the Buffalo Sabres.

Patrick’s goal for this season is to score a goal and to make the highlight video at Lake Placid again. He would also like to improve shot and become a leader to the team.

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Buffalo Stars Players continued...

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Photo Page / Page 53

Photos from first week of WNYGVIH Games; by Janet Schultz

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Photo Page / Page 54

The Utica Women Clean Up at the Utica Comets Game!

Photos by Janet Schultz

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West Hockey / Page 55

(Continued from Page 51)

R.I.T.

Freshman blueliner Vince Muto (Niagara Falls) scored his first (and second) collegiate goals against Army. Sophomore Hugo Turcotte had his first collegiate hat trick and four-point game while Patrick Dvijak and Issac Kohls tied career highs with three-assist efforts in the same game—and 8-3 Niagara win.

The eight tallies marked the most goals in a game by the Purple Eagles since November 12, 2005 at Alabama-Huntsville (8) and the most in a home game Vince Muto since December 1, 2001 (8)—also against UAH. Turcotte was named the Atlantic Hockey Association Player of the Week by the AHA for his efforts.

Niagara and RIT play December 14th at 7pm as part of the Frozen Frontier held in Rochester.

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he Tigers had the eighth-best power play in the country through Thanksgiving with senior Michael Colavecchia leading the way with four extra-man tallies and 11 points overall.

Webster’s Dan Shuler and Ben Lynch had five and four goals respectively.

Jordan Ruby played in all but one of the first 11 games with freshman Mike Rotolo (Greece) making 26 saves and getting a win in his first collegiate start November 23rd against St. Lawrence.

Todd Skirving scored his first collegiate goal in a win over Robert Morris.

In their game at Penn State in October, the Tigers competed in a best-of-three shootout. It marked the first shoot-out in RIT history. The Tigers won 2-0 thanks to goals from Alex Perron-Fontaine and Colavecchia.

After losing to Air Force 3-0, the Tigers have now been shut out 17 times at the Division I level, with seven coming against the Falcons.

Niagara and RIT play December 14th at 7pm as part of the Frozen Frontier held in Rochester.

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East Section High School Continued from Page 30

Scott Miele took over the head coaching duties at Fox Lane.

Pete Thomas was named the head coach of the Ryetown/Harrison Titans. Thomas played for the Rye Garnets and has been a long-time assistant coach with the Rye team before heading to their rivals.

Mike Grean has taken over the helm of the Hendrick Hudson Sailors after serving as an assistant coach since their inaugural season in 2011-12.

The Pawling Tigers have named Matt Whitehurst their head coach after Bob Ried retired. Whitehurst was the assistant coach at Mahopac.

With the season just under way White Plains leads the Section 1, Division 1 (Large school) with a 4-00 record. Mahopac is in second with a 3-0-0 record.

At the Section 1, Division 2 (small school) its Pawling, Pearl River and Somers/N. Salem tied with 2-0-0 records. Horace Greeley is 2-0-1.

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Buffalo Stars Announce Elite Development Program

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he Buffalo Stars Elite Athlete Development Program will be geared towards the high end hockey athlete who aspires to reach the Junior and College levels of hockey.

This program will begin at the Bantam Major year and continue through Juniors. In the 2014-15 season, the Buffalo Stars will ice “Elite Development” teams at the Bantam Major, Midget U15, Midget U16 split season; Midget U16 full season, Midget U18 full season and (soon to be announced) Junior levels.

Full Season teams in this program will begin a 10 month training regimen that will follow the guidelines set forth in the USA Hockey American Development Model.

Our split season teams will participate with a slightly modified schedule.

Players will learn to compete. This will be the time to prepare athletes for the competitive environment, continue to refine technical skills and to develop their physical abilities. The focus will be on optimizing fitness preparation and to begin to specialize in hockey. Training will be individualized to the athletes particular needs in skill development, physical development and mental development.

During the 10 month period, players will participate in

West Hockey / Page 56 a 60-70 game schedule and participate in 150-160 on ice development sessions and 75+ off-ice sessions. Training will start in mid April and continue until mid June. Intense training then picks up with the start of training camp in August.

All players will be charted, evaluated and ranked on a monthly basis. The program will be overseen by a Hockey Development Council and all players and staff will be held to the highest standards of accountability.

Each team will have a Head Coach and 2 Assistant Coaches. In addition, there will be “organizational” coaches for Goaltending; Strength & Conditioning; Skating; Positional Development; and Nutrition.

New for 2014-15: The Buffalo Stars will enter our Bantam Major, U16 Full and U18 Full season teams into the Eastern Junior Elite Prospects League (EJEPL) in addition to their Western New York League schedule. The EJEPL was created to prepare players to become the Junior and College recruits of the future. The EJEPL is affiliated with the top Junior Development League on the East Coast---the newly formed Eastern Hockey League and is also affiliated with both the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League (MET), and the Atlantic Youth Hockey League (AYHL).

Players will be exposed to the EHL’s NCAA style practices--including systems, skill development, off-ice training techniques, and most importantly--academic guidance.

The U16 and U18 will also continue to participate in the National Junior Prospects Hockey League.

Coaches for our teams will be announced by February 1st.

Check the website for updates: www.buffalostars.com

Boys High School Hockey, Sections V and VI and Club Section V

Rush Henrietta has a 2-1-0 record with 4 points as they start out their season. Fairport is 2-0-0 after two games played and Schroeder is 2-2-0 after four in Division I.

In Division II Auburn leads with 3 wins in 3 games tied with Irondequoit, who also has 3 wins in 3 games. Canandaigua is 2-2-0 after four games played.

Spencerport recorded two wins and a loss after 3 games played for the first place position and Notre Dame of Batavia is 1-1-1 after three games.

McQuaid Jesuit plays as an Independent and has won all three of their games.

Section VI

Frontier and Lancaster lead the standings in Division I play.

After only a single game its Kenmore, Grand Island, Williamsville East and West Seneca East with wins in Division 2 play.

In Division 3 Niagara Falls, Lewiston Porter and Kenmore West tallied wins in their opening game.

McQuaid is leading the Independent schools after winning both their opening games.

The WNY Club Hockey opened their season the weekend of December 6.

NY Hockey Online is asking anyone with information on high school hockey scores and stories to contact Janet@nyhockeyonline.com.

NY Hockey OnLine

NYS Tournaments / Page 57

2013-14 NYS Tournament* Schedule (We have compiled this list from your emails, websites and NYSAHA site. If your tournament is not listed and you wish to do so, please email us at nyhockeyonline@nyhockeyonline.com or Janet@nyhockeyonline.com

CENTRAL Center State Mite Festival January 3 - 5 Pee Wee AA Travel and B House January 10-12 Bantam January 18-20 Squirt AA Travel and B House February 14-16 Mite Shamrock Shootout March 15-16 lassitc@morrisville.edu

Oswego 25th Annual John”Maggie” Mulkerin Invitational Tournament January 22-24 Midget 16U Travel and Midget House B mattallie23@aol.com 19th Annual Oswego Power Play Invitational January 17-20 Squirt Travel, Pee Wee Travel and Bantam Travel CoachAHA@twcny.rr.com

Cortland Youth Hockey Fire On Ice Tournament February 28 - March 2 Mite, Red, White, Blue and Tyke Cortlandyouthhockey.com

31st Annual Novelis Invitational January 24-26, 2014 Squirt, Pee Wee, Bantam house level teams tournaments@oswegohockey.com

Onondaga Tournaments Thunder Reindeer Rumble December 14-15 King of the Rink January 17 - 20, 2014 thunder Rumble Tournament March 14-16

Second Annual Girl Power Invitational, January 31-February 2 8U, 10U, 12U teams troman@nbtbank.com

Rome Regional Silver Stick Qualifying Tournament December 6-8 Rome Continued Rich Leferve Squirt House Tier II B November 29-December 1 Roy Austin Mite February 8-9 ejfree@gmail.com

24th Annual Port of Oswego Authority Mites Invitational February 14-16 Mites, (3 Divisions) tournaments@oswegohockey.com Salmon River House Invitational Squirt January 18-19 Bantam February 1-2 Midget February 15-16 PeeWee March 1-2 Mite March 15-16 sbnewton@me.com

Schenectady i 2014 Shatterpoint Tournament for Squirts -- March 7-9 Pee Wees -- March 14-16.

Go to www.schenectadyyouthhockey.com for details Whitestown Youth Hockey Mark Mowers PeeWee and Bantam House Tournament: Jan. 24th - 26th Rob Esche Squirt Travel & House Tournament: Feb. 7th - 9th Bob Mercurio Extreme Freeze Mite Tournament: March 7th - 9th dgrzeszczuk@twcny.rr.com

EAST Brewster Mite Cross Ice Jamborees Holiday Weekend, Dec. 26 Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 20 Presidents Day, Feb. 17 March TBA These are for beginner novice teams following the ADM Model.

Go to Brewster’s website for registration information.

NORTH Saratoga Bantam Tournament Dec. 13-15 Mark Woodcock Pee Wee Tournament, Jan 10-12 Connor La France Squirt/Midget 18U Tournament, Jan. 17-19, 2014

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NYS Tournaments / Page 58

Go to www.syhi.org More information on page xx of NYHOL. Saranac Lake Storm Ultimate Chili Pee Wee, January 3-5 Ultimate Chili Squirt, Jan. 3-5 Contact Craig Amell, craigamell7@gmail.com for Pee Wee and Josh Dann, joshdann@hotmail.com for Squirt.

WEST

Buffalo Stars Niagara Falls Classic Hockey Tournament March 21-23 Hyde Park Ice Arena Open to Midget U15 AA; U16 AA and AAA; 18U AA sportsnia@aol.com

Email us your tournament information: Janet@nyhockeyonline.com or Randy@nyhockeyonline.com

Jamestown Lakers Mid-Winter Classic, February 15-17.

The Mite Division is full ice. This is for Mites, Squirts, Pee Wee and Bantam teams. ccyhatournament@ stny.rr.com for information. Or call 716-969-7192.

Niagara Junior Purple Eagles Patriot Day Tournament February 14-17 For information on both email Tournamentdirector@ jrpurpleeagle.com Perinton Youth Hockey 24th Annual House Spring Tournament 2013/14 House A and B Teams In memory of Willard “Bud” Parker Jr. A Division: February 28 - March 2, 2014 B Division: March 7 -9, 2014 Thomas Creek Ice Arena, Fairport Contact Roger Salmons, BigThaw@perintonyouthhockey.org Tri County Youth Hockey 13th Annual David Bidelow Memorial Tournament March 19-23, 2014 Mite B, Mite A, Squirt B, Squirt A, Pee Wee B, Pee Wee A Held at the SUNY Brockport Ice Arena Includes Saturday Skills Competition (like the NHL) Light/Music/MC show for Championship Sunday Coaches Game Go to www.tricountyyouthhockey.com for more information and registration.

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NYHOL CLASSIFIED ADS Looking for a Gift: Give the gift of hockey through the Puck Hog books written by Christie Casciano. Go to her blog for ordering information: http://thepuckhog.blogspot.com

Do you have hockey equipment you need to sell or hockey equipment you need to purchase--submit an ad here in January for free.

Deadline to submit your ad is December 23.

Sell or look for “stuff” on NY Hockey Online.

Email your listing to Janet@nyhockeyonline.com Free for the 2013-14 Season!

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Photo Page / Page 59

NY Hockey On-Line in Ava, Missouri

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Y Hockey On-Line Magazine’s Publisher Randy Schultz and Columnist/Designer/Photographer Janet Schultz traveled to Ava, Missouri for Thanksgiving to be with family. While there they had the privilege of talking to Grandson Damian Adams’ fourth grade class and to his special Bear’s Den News Crew.

The News Crew publishes a newspaper which is printed and distributed by their local newspaper. The students, all fourth graders, gather the news, write their stories and take their photographs.

All the photos were taken by Damian Adams, with the exception of the one of him distributing copies of WNY Hockey Report, the other paper Randy and Janet work for.

Randy is available to talk to classes on the importance of reading and writing; and how a magazine/ newspaper is put together.

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