NY HOCKEY March 2014
VOLUME 3 ISSUE 6
ONLINE
IN SITY #1 I R A V E R NV KENMO SECTIO D N A E LEAGU
POTS
DAM GIRLS SHARES T HE 20 VARS 14 ITY T ITLE
SHARES THE SKANEATELES RSITY TITLE 2014 GIRLS VA
HISTORY MADE: NYS Girls Varsity Ice Hockey Has Co-Champions! Kenmore Takes 3rd WNYGVIH Section VI Championship and 1st League Championship Lysander Welcomes Home a Soldier/Coach/Hockey Dad!
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In This Issue: Bison Beat........................................... 43 Buffalo Stars Hockey.................48-50 Cazenovia Hockey........................... 47 Central Section................................. 17 Coaching with Gridley................... 11 East Section....................................... 27 Empire State Games..........................4 Fenton................................................. 45 Hockey Insight.................................. 14 Iroquois Boys Hockey..................... 46 Kenmore Girls Hockey............ 51, 58 North Section.................................... 32 NYS Girls Varsity..............................5-9 NY Spotlight: Collins....................... 16 NY Spotlight: Blais........................... 18 OHL....................................................... 63 Olympics............................................. 10 Putnam Award.................................. 62 Section V Hockey............................. 56 Super Sunday.................................... 40 Tournaments..................................... 65 Tournament Results........................ 66 West Section..................................... 38 WNYGVIH............................................ 59 Women’s College Playoffs............. 68
Dear Readers, It’s hard to believe that the 2013-14 season is quicky drawing to a close and that Championship match-ups are being played as we publish this issue. We’ve traveled to the New York State Girls Varsity High School Championship in Clayton; saw a couple pond hockey games as we traveled to and from the rink in Clayton; had an extraordinary invitation to cover the homecoming of a soldier who coaches his son’s team in Lysander and witnessed the Olympic hockey games (via TV of course) and visited a newly renovated local arena and the President’s Day Tournament they host. Your invitations keep coming and we wish that we could fulfill each one; but with a small staff of three and a State as large as NY, it’s not possible. But we appreciate your invites and urge you to keep sending them and we’ll do our best. If we don’t make your event/tournament, please send us the results. You’ll see some new advertisers in this issue. We welcome World Hockey Centre who offer hockey camps and this year have a special one for girls and especially welcome “The Puck Hog,” books authored by a hockey Mom geared for children. We welcome back KiPo Chevrolet, Buffalo Icemen LaCrosse, New Edge and Rob’s column, Great Skate and the Buffalo Stars. We’re looking at cutting our issues down by one and combining the June/July issue. This is due to vacations, yours and ours. We will return to full monthly issues in August with tournament information. So if you want to run tournament ads this fall, August will be the issue. Okay, enjoy this issue which includes lots of photos from the New York State Girl’s Varsity Championship; Lysander’s special day and watch for some we took while traveling around. You never know when your team may end up in a photo! See you at the rink, Randy Schultz Publisher Randy@nyhockeyonline.com
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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Empire State Games / Page 4
Empire State Winter Games Results The North kept the 2014 Empire State Winter Games Hockey Trophy in Lake Placid after Adirondack beat West 4-3 in the Gold Medal Game. New York City took home the bronze. On opening day Central and New York City went to 7-1 in favor of Central with Goalie Lauren Dahm facing made 40 saves. New York’s Stewart put in their lone goal. Adirondack shut Hudson Valley out 3-0 in Game 2. Adirondack played game that had balanced scoring powered by Farmer, Kilbourne-Hill and Raville. Hudson Valley’s Goalie Sophia Kokkonis was outstanding in net facing 38 shots on goal. The West opened scoring in game 3 and with less than a minute left, NYCs Stewart got the winning goal past Lauren Orynawka closing the game 3-2. With no score in the first period, Hudson Valley opened the scoring at 14:46 of the second and Central answered back with two in the second and one in the third to beat Hudson Valley 3-2. Shawnee Oberholtzer opened the scoring at 7:09 in a 4-0 shutout over Adirondack. Ashley Schneegold made 13 saves for the West and Christina Emery made 17 saves for ADK. The game was closer than the score indicates with both teams having opportunities and the West keeping Adirondack from scoring. Adirondack and New York City played to a 4-3 victory for ADK in Game 6. Both goalies played outstanding in a highly paced offensive game resulting with 56 shots on goal in total.NYC’s Leah Danley made 22 saves and ADK’s Christina Emery made 28. The West prevailed in the seventh game of the series with a 5-2 win over Central. West’s Alyssa Dollendorf had two goals and Katie Stack had a goal and an assist. West Goalie Ashley Scheengold made 25 saves with Central splitting the goaltending duties between Hotaling and Dahm, making a total of 19 saves on 24 shots.
New York City went on to beat Hudson Valley 7-1 with Hudson Valley’s Rossi having the single goal, assisted by Longo. NYC had a productive second period with four goals. Stewart and Couzin had 6 points between them and Hudson Valley’s goaltender Kokkonis saw 52 shots. Adirondack was up next against Central and beat them 2-1. They opened with a scoreless first period and ADK’s Bero put one in at 1:33 of the second, unassisted to start the scoring. Central answered back and the game-winner was scored by Andrea Kilbourne-Hill at 1:36 sending the North to the gold medal game. The West beat Hudson Valley 8-0 in order to advance to the Gold Medal round. Lauren Orynawka made 16 saves for the West and Hudson Valley’s goaltenders split duties with Kokkonis facing 25 shots, saving 20 and Haggary facing 7, saving 4. NYC found themselves facing Central in the Bronze Medal Game on Sunday morning. Central fought back from a two-goal deficet to tie and send the game into overtime. At 1:37 of second overtime Cherie Stewart got one past NYC’s goalie to take the Bronze to the City. Again in the Gold Medal game it looked like overtime would determine the winner after the West’s Shawnee Oberholtzer, assisted by Katie Stack, tied the game at 3:32. Howevetr at 2:52 Powas put one in the net, assisted by Kilbourne-Hill and ADK took the gold for the second consecutive year. (I apologize for not having first names, but I didn’t receive full rosters. If anyone has them, I’d love to have a copy for my files)
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NYS GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP / Page 5
NYS Declares Co-Champions in Girl’s Varsity Ice Hockey CONGRATULATIONS POTSDAM & SKANEATELES
Game 1 Skaneateles vs Beekmantown
www.nyhockeyonline.com By Randy Schultz Photos by Janet Schultz
“Co-Champions.”
That was the term that blared from the speakers inside the Clayton Recreation Park Arena in Clayton, NY. Following nearly three hours of end-to-end competition, including four over-time periods, the Skaneateles Lakers and Potsdam Sandstoners were declared to be co-champions of the 2014 Varsity Girl’s Ice Hockey State Championships. The final score after 75 minutes of play read 2-2. W h o w o u l d have ever thought when the day began that these two teams, so opposite of each other, no true champion would be crowned. Fans in attendance that day certainly learned a few lessons. The first being “never judge a book by its cover.” To look at the Skaneateles team bench you could easily see that they had more than 20 players, with several of the players forced to stand behind the regular bench. Potsdam had 16 skaters listed, including three goalies. You could easily see Skaneateles being able to roll out three forward lines as well as three pairs of defensemen. Potsdam would have two lines as well as four de-
NYS GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP/ Page 6 fensemen. But as the game wore on you could see that there was a reason Potsdam was in the championship contest. They had played the style of a short bench for most of their season. Numbers didn’t mean anything to the Sandstoners. It is a good bet that both teams knew their fate the day before. In the opening round of the playoffs Skaneateles, the Section 3 Champions, faced the heavily favored Beekm a n t o w n Eagles, the Section 7 Champions. Like Skaneateles, Beekmantown had a large bench and could play the Lakers line for line. In the end, Skaneateles defeated Beekmantown, 6-2, in what many considered an upset. The Lakers opened up the scoring early in the first period with a goal by Caroline McGuigan The Eagles would tie it up late in the period on a goal by Katie Matott. Skaneateles scored the loan goal of the second period, with Madison Singler scoring. Beekmantown would tie up the
score, 2-2, early in the third period on a goal by Kallie Villemaire. Less than a minute after that goal, the Lakers took the lead for good on a goal by Paige Postalwait. The Lakers would go on to score three more goals in the period, including tallies by Riley Donahue, Madison Singler and Sarah Sauda. In the late game Potsdam, the Section 10 champs, faced-off against the Kenmore Bulldogs, Section 6 champions. Like Potsdam, Kenmore had a short bench of players. In addition the Bulldogs were without their top player and leading scorer, Jill Battista, who was unable to make the trip due to personal matters. It was the second year in-a-row Kenmore was in the champions h i p series. The two teams were scoreless in the first period. Potsdam finally broke the scoreless tie with a goal early in the second stanza by Ally Miller. Miller would come back with another goal, which turned out to be the winner, 10 minutes later in the second period.
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NYS GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP/ Page 7
Game 2 Kenmore vs Potsdam Kenmore scored a goal late in the third period by Hannah Gallivan, but it would not be enough as Potsdam won, 2-1. Lauren Pray was outstanding in goal for the Bulldogs, especially when her team was outshot in the second period, 14-0. The Championship contest was a nail biter all the way. After a scoreless opening period, Skaneateles opened the scoring early in the second period on a goal by Sarah Sauda. Potsdam would tie the score late in the second on a goal by Ally Miller. The Sandstoners would take the lead, 2-1, with less than four minutes remaining in regulation time, on a goal by Kalie Grant. But just 25 seconds later the Lakers would tie it up on a goal by Claire Michel. Following four OT periods (7:30 each) the game was declared a tie with co-champions. Many considered it a “Game for the Ages.” “Don’t let that Potsdam bench surprise you,” commented Skaneateles coach, Michael Major following the championship game. “Those are 10 very talented girls that he was running through that cycle. They are very skilled. “Getting past Beekmantown was huge for us the night before. We had played two other times this year and split with them. “We knew we were in the hunt for this title. And now to come away with the State Championship, we’re very excited.
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NYS GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP / Page 8
“In the end the girls were a little frustrated. They wanted to keep going, but the rules are the rules. “In the end we are the State Champs and that is something great to take back home with us.” Potsdam coach, Joe Stark, admitted that things looked a bit “thin” at times for his team. “We were playing two lines and three or four back on defense,” said Stark. “Then at one point we were playing about nine and when we took a couple of penalties, things got a bit thin for us. “We played smart when we had to. We have good balance with our lineup. “We’re just not deep. But all the girls left everything they had on the ice. “We had a great crowd here and a great venue. In the end it was a great weekend for girls hockey.”
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2014 NYS Girls Varsity Ice Hockey Co-Champions Skaneateles and Potsdam After four Overtimes, a tie!
NYS GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP/ Page 9
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Olympics / Page 10
Paralympic Olympics Begin March8 Team USA will take the Ice against Italy on March 8 when the Paralympic games open in Sochi. South Korea is their opponent the following day and Russia will face-off against the Americans on March 11. That game will be televised on NBCSN at 3 p.m. The 5th-8th placement games will be held March 12; semi-finals March 13, 7th and 5th place games March 14 and the Medal rounds are scheduled for March 15. The Gold Medal game will be televised on NBC at 1 p.m. In addition, the Semi-finals will be televised at NBCSN at 5 a.m. and noon. All games are being played in Shayba Arena. Watch for New York natives Adam Page, Lancaster, and Paul Shaus, Buffalo to be on the ice. Both play for the Buffalo Sabres Sled Hockey Team. Team USA is coached by Jeff Sauer of Wisconsin.
U.S. Women Fall to Canada in Gold-Medal Game By USAHockey.com
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eghan Duggan (Danvers, Mass.) and Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.) scored and goaltender Jessie Vetter (Cottage Grove, Wis.) turned away 28 shots, but the U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team fell to Canada, 3-2, in overtime of the gold-medal game at the Olympic Winter Games.
Results from Sochi
defender and past Vetter. MariePhillip Poulin knotted the score with 55 seconds remaining in regulation before winning the game on a power play at 8:10 of the extra session. The 2014 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team won its third silver medal in Olympic competition and finished the 2014 Olympic Winter Games with a record of 3-01-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L).
by Janet Schultz Janet@nyhockeyonline.com
Team USA held an 11-9 shots advantage in a back-and-forth first period, but neither team was able to break through for the game’s first score until Duggan converted midway through the middle frame. After a turnover in the neutral zone, Jocelyne Lamoureux (Grand Forks, N.D.) wheeled into the zone and tried to drive the puck towards the net, but it was knocked off her stick in the left circle. Duggan swooped in, retrieved the puck and fired a hard wrister through traffic over Canadian goaltender Shannon Szabados’ glove. Carpenter doubled the U.S. lead at 2:01 of the third stanza with a power-play marker. After gaining possession of the puck and setting up in the offensive zone, Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Idaho) threaded a pass from the far circle to Carpenter sitting on the backdoor. Carpenter one-timed the puck over the left leg of Szabados, off the pipe and in. Kelli Stack (Brooklyn Heights, Ohio) tallied the second assist on the play. Team Canada cut the U.S. lead to 2-1 at 16:34 of the period when Brianne Jenner slipped to the middle of the ice, shot a puck off an American
Team USA Falls to Finland in Bronze Round With a 5-0 loss to Finland Team USA returned home without a medal. With a 1-0 loss to Canada in the semi-finals, they found themselves up against Finland. With outstanding goaltending by Tuuka Rask and two goals by Teemu Selanne the Fins were on their way. That coupled with several penalities by Team USA the thoughts of the Bronze were defeated. This was Finland’s fourth medal since NHL players took to the ice in the Olympic games.
Notes: ...Four-time Olympian Julie Chu carried the United States flag into the Fisht Stadium as the representative of the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team to close the Sochi Olympic Winter Games tonight.
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Coaching With Gridley / Page 11
Coaching With Gridley! by Chuck Gridley
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coaches or parents yelling from the sidelines, telling us how best to play our game. Whatever it was, I could not wait to get to the canal on those Saturday mornings. I cherish the memories of playing hockey on the Erie Canal to this very day. Recently, I had the opportunity to bring a sled hockey team that I coach to Clayton, NY for an outdoor event. We were invited to play an exhibition game against the Ft. Drum Wounded Warrior Team. For those who are not familiar, sled hockey is an adapted version of ice hockey played in a sled, which resembles a large skate. You move the sled with sticks, which have picks on the opposite end of the stick blades. Otherwise, the game is the same….it’s hockey! Most of the players have lower body disabilities. Some have degenerative diseases that affect their lower extremities, others are missing a leg. One thing that all of them have in common is that they had never played hockey outdoors. There were just no opportunities for a disabled person to play sled hockey outdoors. So this was a first for all of them. It was a bitter cold night on the shores of the St. Lawrence. The wind was blowing, which brought the temperature down even further, to somewhere around 0. This did not dampen their enthusiasm. The ice was incredible for an outdoor venue…smooth and extremely fast. The players on both teams were flying up and down the ice with smiles as wide as that river. It made me remember my early days on the Erie Canal, and brought a few frozen tears (the happy kind) to my eyes. The Winter Olympics just ended. While watching the bobsled competition the other night, I started thinking about how much that sport has changed. Pictures of the early bobsleds are great. They were really just modified versions of the sleds we used to use as kids to slide down our neighborhood hills.
The Ice, The Sun and a Game That We Love!
e have all watched with delight in recent years as outdoor hockey has exploded into the mainstream. It started with the NHL’s “Winter Classic” a few years ago and has since expanded with the addition of the new “Stadium Series”. There was even an NHL game played outdoors in Los Angles, California this winter. There have also been outdoor AHL and College games. The question is what is our fascination with hockey being played outdoors? If you are a person of a certain age (I will admit that I am 54), you probably had the experience of playing hockey on a frozen lake or pond as a kid. I can tell you that I have many fond memories of being dropped off on Saturday mornings at a section of the Erie Canal, not too far from my house. The ice usually was not very good….uneven and rough, with reeds sticking through it in spots. Sometimes we had to shovel the snow off the ice. We would spend a few minutes grooming our “rink”, and then we would drop the puck and play. Maybe it was the fact that we were outside in the sun and fresh air. Maybe it was the fact that we got to make the rules…….and that sometimes there were no rules at all. Maybe it was the fact that we had no
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GRIDLEY CONTINUED / Page 13 duced by the best automobile designers in the world. Medals are decided by a difference of hundredths of a second. Things have changed dramatically from those early days of the first bobsled competition. You could not argue the fact that the bobsleds of today are much faster than those used when the sport began. But there was something pure and honest about those early sleds and the men that rode them down the hill. Maybe it’s that purity that we crave. Maybe that’s why we enjoy watching those outdoor games. It brings us back, however brief, to a time when it was just the ice, the sun, and a game that we love.
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As time went on, competing countries hired coaches, who analyzed every movement in the push, the steering, etc. They put their bobsled teams into training programs to get them into the best possible condition for their events. They invested in research to improve the speed of the sleds, which are now so high-tech that they are designed and pro-
Chuck Gridley, Coach in Chief NY District chuckgridley@aol.com (Pictured is Gridley coaching his CNY Sled Team; Janet Schultz Photo))
Not Just For Hockey Players Christie Casciano’s
“The Puck Hog” “The Puck Hog”--Sophia’s team wants to be the best in the league, but their biggest challenge is not an opposing team, it’s Eddie, their puck-hogging teammate. Will a pivotal moment on the ice and a trip to a Syracuse Crunch game convince Eddie to change his ways? “This delightful book for children ages 6 to 9 teaches an important lesson about teamwork. Set in Syracuse, where Casciano is a TV News Anchor and mother of two hockey players, the book focuses on a tough hockey team’s struggle with the title character, a dominant scorer who won’t pass the puck. The book presents coping mechanisms for players who find themselves facing teamwork challenges and can start discussions between sports parents and their children.” ...Positive Coaching Alliance
Also available: “The Puck Hog, Volume 2 -- Lake Placid” is a mystery around hockey in
the Village of Lake Placid. Just when it looks like victory is within reach, it all falls apart for the team right before the gig game. Now they need a miracle! Can Sophia unlock the mystery in time?
To get your copy Order through Amazon.com or For an Autographed Copy: Go to Casciano’s “The Puck Hog” Facebook Page
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Hockey Insight / Page 14
Hockey Insight by Tom Barnett
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ebruary. It’s that time of the year in which teams are in a groove; the consistent repetition, season-long instruction and diligence have imprinted every player while the results, retention and execution are obviously visible and command nearly every shift. Preparation for important seeding, rivalry games and final tournaments takes on increased significance, the well planned, precisely-timed crescendo underway and gaining momentum. No matter when the season actually began or how long the dogs have been out hunting, no matter age, level of play or even how tall one may be, you can begin to see the finish line from here. For many, this final chapter of the season is not only exciting and to be cherished with so many lifetime memories, this ending is also a welcome and well-timed blessing and a natural opportunity to get away from the game and recharge. Looking forward to reading a book, riding a bike and simply being a kid are possibilities. For others, this period clearly offers a rich opportunity to switch gears with brand new challenges from other sports like lacrosse, swimming and baseball. Parents and players are able to reconnect with alternative friendship groups while developing additional skill sets. For still others – those who consider hockey a sole investment and another form of oxygen in their bloodstream – this season is simply a momentary and even undesired blip on the radar that leads directly to the spring league and on to year ‘round hockey.
Regardless of the camp you’re in, this particular moment in time inevitably means a look to next year. As a program administrator, it is my time to begin the process to catalog and deconstruct the current season and project a bit moving forward. A major focus for me: coaching. It should be yours. It is easy to get caught up in the minutiae of this ‘tweener time: what’s best for development, the ‘end’ game and how to get there, and hopping programs like rats off a sinking ship as well as managing (read: fending off) recruitment while others conspire to create the super stud 6U team to conquer North America and beyond! This is the time of year when past and future begin to meet, when the story of the lessons learned begin to reveal themselves. You’ll recall the famous political adage, “It’s the economy stupid.” For hockey, it’s all about the coaching. I’ve been toiling on a private dissertation on the subject and I call it informally: The Coaching Gap. With nearly three-quarters of registered players leaving the organized game by age 12, my research indicates that instruction, or lack thereof, and the relative quality of those that deliver it, remain responsible for a large portion of that sad attrition rate. But I think things may be looking up. Recently I received a call from an active and enthusiastic administrator involved with USA Hockey in Colorado. Our conversation was as enjoyable as it was wide-ranging, as we discussed a variety of subjects from ADM to marketing, from the development to competitive level, along with sharing fun and anecdotal stories. I was informed that our Shamrocks program has an outstanding retention rate, not only of our players, but coaching as well. I was asked to what I attributed that positive news. (Continued on Page 15)
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My answer is easy: a culture and product that people want to be a part of, shared values and an environment that they contribute to, and a beneficial dividend from a mutual investment. What’s different, however, is the coaching: our staff don’t just coach I added, they coach our mission. All the aforementioned are true, and important, but the ‘coaching’ issue then dominated the balance of our conversation. Experience at the rink is of course, driven in large part by the coach. He or she is truly the first line of hockey. But, just like the players themselves, there is wide range of personalities, talents, agendas, attitudes, experience and the results vary just as much. Meet the Coaching Gap. Importantly, this game, as most youth sports, is driven by the volunteers and we cannot, nor should not, ever take them for granted. Coaches must be honored, as the game simply cannot function without the system in place. But the gap between good and not so, is very, very real and unfortunate and, ultimately impactful to a commensurate degree. We all have stories. We just need to create more positive ones. Are there solutions? Yes, no doubt and USA Hockey is addressing much of this and advancing an ever-improving coaching education component. But there needs to be an equally significant, coordinated and active parallel response and participation among the associations themselves to establish an in-house education element that
Hockey Insight / Page 15 dovetails with the national programs. For instance, we believe that our coaching staff not only instruct and must be the very best they can be on the ice, but are also in-fact outward and purposeful representatives of our program --and at all times. That means that each of the coaches need be armed with culture-specific education, a clear and concise set of the accurate tenets, rules, protocols as well as standards and expectations of the program for which they coach. Continuity and consistency are vital, as well as the belief that rules matter, traditions critical and that the families are the customer. And it all needs to be cultivated every day. Like everything else, it takes a plan, preparation, vision and a clear understanding of who you are as a program, what you what to be, and then… don’t waver. We provide a full season instructors’ program starting with our coaching orientation class prior to each season that incorporates both on-ice and classroom components. We provide the information necessary to enable our staff to be successful including CPR, First Aid, our distinct concussion management course and return-to-play protocols, often augmented by guest speakers. Importantly, we establish concretely and precisely how to move forward as a leadership team compatibly aligned with our regulations and procedures that define our direction and objectives and sets the tone for the season. It is a sacrifice for excellence. We also meet as a group once a month throughout
the season and end with our essential season ‘deconstruction’ meeting. Being well informed and on the same page goes a long way to eliminating those weak links that become those negative new stories and unfortunate experiences. Yes, it is now that time of the year allright. While we now peek just a pinch to next season, it’s also time we look at an important issue and how it impacts our children’s development and overall experience. Is it the jersey color, the rink location, the practice-to-game ratio, friends or any number of other commonplace factors that elicit our interest and investment? Likely. However, with so many families enlightened and now looking for fun, perspective, challenge, as well as the right fit to fit their short and long term hockey goals and the very best experience for their time and resource investment, it’s clearly evident --now more than ever-that is it more than jersey color or the rink location and practice-togame and even friends that determines that positive result. Who is leading your child? 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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hen three year starting goaltender Troy Grosenick left Union College a year early to sign a pro contract, the question all around the ECAC was who would be his replacement in the Dutchmen net? It turns out they didn’t need to look far from home. After playing in a combined 23 games over his first two seasons in relief of Grosenick, who helped the team reach the Frozen Four in 2010-11 and a second consecutive Cleary Cup and an NCAA appearance last season, junior goaltender Colin Stevens is enjoying a career year with a 17-4-2 record with four games remaining in the regular season. But he wasn’t just in the back-up role for the past two seasons. Union has been on his radar since he was a kid growing up ten miles away in Niskayuna. The product of Hudson High School attended prep school at Albany Academy before leaving town to join the Boston Jr. Bruins in the Eastern Junior League. There he earned Goaltender of the Year honors in 2009-10 and was a league allstar in 2010 and 2011 before joining Union for the 2011-12 campaign as a true-freshman (18 years old). He also was called up briefly to the U.S. National Development Under-18 Team in 2009 when starting goaltender Jack Campbell was competing in the World Juniors. “The Jr. Bruins organization has a great reputation for sending players into college hockey and beyond, so when the opportunity pre-
NY Spotlight / Page 16 sented itself I jumped on it,” said Stevens. The son of Barbara and Arthur Stevens had played 13 consecutive games for Union entering the final weekend in February and 25 total despite earlier missing seven games due to injury. “When you play more games, what I’ve benefitted the most from is being able to get in a rhythm and gain confidence,” said Stevens.
sively, was second in the country in winning percentage. “He’s been here for three years,” said Union third year head coach Rick Bennett. “He sat for two and he said this summer ‘it’s my net, it’s my turn.’ He put in a good summer, he got hurt and we didn’t have him for a while, but through that adversity he really battled through it, kept a good head and took care of himself and he was rewarded for that and got back to tiptop shape. “I gave him a break the one game in St. Cloud (December 13th), but since then he just kind of took over and it’s like here we go and it’s (the job) is his to lose. You don’t want to let the back-up quarterback in the game and that’s what Colin is doing right now. It’s his net and he wants it.”
Colin Stevens: Not Far From Home by Warren Kozireski
“My first few years I was in a back-up role, but this year I’ve been able to get into a rhythm and it’s helped me a lot. As of February 20th, the 6’2”, 175 lb. stood among the top20 nationally in goals against average, top-30 in save percentage and, m o s t impres-
CENTRAL NEW YORK HOCKEY
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NY Spotlight / Page 18
A Special Welcome Home For a Special Hockey Dad! By Randy Schultz Randy@nyhockeyonline.com Photos by Janet Schultz
With the winter that Baldwinsville has had this year, adults and kids alike have been able to make a lot of snowballs. But back in January members of the Lysander youth hockey team came up with an idea that snowballed into a memorable event. On February 23 the Lysander Youth Hockey Association’s peewee team welcomed home 1st Sergeant Greg Blais. They honored him prior to the start of their hockey game at the Greater Baldwinsville Ice Arena. For the past 30 years Blais has served as a hockey official at the youth, high school and collegiate levels. He’s currently an assistant coach with his son’s youth hockey team at Lysander. Blais is a member of the Syracuse-based Army Reserve 770th Engineer Corps. The First Sergeant recently returned from his fourth deployment since 2003. It was during that last deployment that the idea was hatched to somehow honor Blais upon his return home.
“We began thinking about this back in the middle of January,” said Steve Ficarra, head coach of the Lysander peewee team. “A group of us got together with an idea. “As time went on more and more came aboard and wanted to become involved.” From there the snowball continued to grow. “Greg has been a big part of our organization,” added Michael Carni, president of the Lysander Youth Hockey Association. “He’s been involved in coaching as well as refereeing. “More importantly Greg has
been a good friend to all of us. And this was a chance for us to honor not only Greg but all of the men and women who serve in the military for our country.” The peewee team wore camouflage jerseys as part of the ceremony as well as in their game against the Auburn Icehawks. “The company that we work with that supplies us with our uniforms really stepped up to the plate and helped defray the cost of the special uniform for us,” remarked Glen Chwala, assistant manager of the team. “It was just another case of that snowballing effect this event had on the community.” As part of the ceremony a U.S. Army Color Guard presented the colors and 15 yearold Julia Goodwin, a sophomore singer from C. W. Baker High School, sang the National Anthem. For Blais, the man of the hour, he was truly humbled by the event. “It was kind of shocking and unexpected,” stated Blais, who is married to Nancy, and has three children including Sami, Tommy and Gabi. “It was a big emotional for me. “I think it’s great for the kids to be involved with an event like this. It’s something they want to do and I’m thankful for it.” The Massena native, who is an electrical designer for a local engineering firm, continued. “Hockey is my favorite sport,” said the 50 year-old Blais, who has been in the Army Reserve for 28 years. (Continued on Page 19)
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NY Spotlight / Page 19
Preparing for the Ceremonial Puck Drop
“I really enjoy working with
the kids, both as an official and as a coach. “To say it’s been fun is an understatement. You get a lot out of this game when you are working with the kids.” His last deployment was to Afghanistan, where he and his unit were stationed with multinational units and regular Afghan units, was from July 2013. Blais and his 30 unit team were collectively known as the “Dirty 30.” Blais had patches made for his unit as well as for his peewee team. Ironically they wore the patch on their uniforms the weekend before his ceremony, winning the 21st annual Rink Rat Tournament in Albany. “It’s an honor to serve our country,” concluded Blais. “But it’s nice to get back to the kids and hockey as well.”
(continued from Page 10)
In Goal on His Dad’s Special Day with everyone’s sticks wrapped in Yellow!
Blais Behind the Bench
A TV Interview and one with NYHOL’s Randy Schultz
The Blais family receives their speciallydesigned jerseys!
Chu walked with representatives from the dozens of countries and hundreds of athletes who marched into the stadium to thunderous applause. “I’m completely humbled and kind of in shock; I never imagined that this would happen, especially knowing how strong the U.S. delegation is,” said Chu, who won her third silver medal. “Our team has so many inspiring athletes who I’ve gotten a chance to root for. This is special and I don’t
take it lightly. Thank you for this great honor. ...Phil Kessel was selected by the directorate as the top forward in the 2014 Olympic men’s ice hockey tournament. Kessel was also voted to the media all-star team. He was the only American player honored in both categories. Kessel finished the tournament with five goals and three assists, to lead all forwards in the tournament. His five goals tied for the most scored by any player in the tournament.
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Central New York Men’s College Hockey Report
beaten streak, a six-game winning streak and earned wins over secondranked Ferris State, No. 18 Vermont and 13th-ranked Clarkson durby Warren Kozireski ing the run plus Wkozires@brockport.edu backstopped the Raiders to a 2-2 tie with No. 1 MinneBROOME CCC sota and helped the Raiders win the shootout to advance to the Mariucci With five conference wins Classic title game. through mid-January, a postseason Sophomore forward Kyle Baun berth was a possibility for the Hor- was named ECAC Player of the nets, but they couldn’t get another Week for the period ending January and settled for a 9-9 campaign and 26th after he tallied Colgate’s first missed the postseason behind 10-5- hat trick of the season and the first 1 Hudson Valley CC. of his career in a win over St. Law Freshman Cory Della Stua (Pitts- rence. Freshman forward Andrew ford) led the squad with 28 points Black (Buffalo) was named Rookie and 15 goals with classmate Mi- of the Week for the same period as chael Ferranti (Binghamton) also in he registered three points on a goal double-figures with ten goals. and two assists. Defenseman Spiro Goulakos won the same award two weeks latCOLGATE er after he tallied his first career hat trick against Cornell—the first by a The Raiders secured a first round defenseman in the country this seaplayoff bye and were three points son. from securing second place overall Tyson Spink scored his first colwith two home games remaining in legiate hat trick against Princeton the regular season. February 22nd. Charlie Finn was rewarded for his 6-1-1 record in the month of January as he was named ECAC Hockey Goalie and Rookie of the Month. He had a seven-game un-
Central Hockey / Page 20 CORNELL The Big Red got swept in a home weekend for the first time this season, but bounced back with a pair of road wins and were two points from clinching fourth lace and the first round playoff bye that goes with it. The junior class was the driving force with Brian Ferlin leading the team with 12 goals and 24 points, defenseman Joakim Ryan making a bid for ECAC postseason honors with 21 points and Joel Lowry and John McCarron also with 20 or more points. Junior defenseman Jacob MacDonald scored his first collegiate goal January 25th against Clarkson. Freshman Jeff Kubiak followed January 31st with his first against Yale that helped him earn ECAC Rookie of the Week honors. Senior goaltender Andy Illes (Ithaca) was ECAC Goaltender of the Week for the same period after stopping 71 of 74 shots on the two-win weekend. Freshman forward Jake Weidner netted his collegiate goal February 14th against Union. Freshman defenseman Clint Lewis added his first February 22nd at Princeton. Cornell has recorded at least one shutout in each of the last 18 seasons, but were still seeking their first shutout this season. The last time the Big Red went a full season without posting a shutout came during the 1994-95 season under former coach Brian McCutcheon. (Continued on Page 21)
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(Continued from Page 20)
The school announced The Frozen Apple, a NYC based game played at Madison Square Garden and begun in 2012, will continue with a matchup against Penn State University on November 29, 2014.
CORTLAND The Red Dragons dropped their first four games in February and missed the SUNYAC playoffs for the sixth consecutive year. Junior Nick Zappia had his best season as he led the team with 27 points and ten goals. The team will need to retool its offense with the departures of seniors Adam Bevilacqua, Mike Henrici and A.J. Moyer, who finished 2-3-4 on the scoring list. Senior defenseman Stephen Nardi (Plainedge) plus forward Mack Swartz will also need to be replaced as will goaltenders Lyle Rocker and Matt Balkwill, who played all but 15 minutes in net this past season. Freshman goaltender Michael Staversky (Penfield) played his first collegiate minutes February 22nd at Plattsburgh.
ELMIRA A pair of overtime losses on the season’s final weekend cost the Pioneers a share of the league title, but their second place finish means a first round bye and home ice for the semi-finals. But in 2013, both
Central Hockey / Page 21
top seeds lost in the ECAC West one game semi’s, so nothing is given. Alexander Taulien was named ECAC West Rookie of the Week February 3rd.after recording his first career hat-trick while also assisting on another goal in an overtime win over ranked Utica. Josh Burnell was named ECAC West co-Player of the Week for the period ending January 26th after he tied his career high with four points and then netted the game-winner one night later as the Soaring Eagles swept the weekend. Jarryd ten Vaanholt won the same award February 9th after he scored the game’s opening goal, assisted on the tying goal and scored the eventual game-winner against Hobart.
HAMILTON At 4-11-2, the Continentals were locked into ninth place in the NESCAC knocking them out of the postseason. Michael DiMare led the team in scoring with 27 points and had 93 career with freshman Robbie Murden right behind at 24 points—third in the conference in rookie scoring. DiMare, Evan Haney, Dom Jancaterino, and goaltender Joe Quattrocchi all completed their collegiate careers.
HOBART A third place regular season finish in the ECAC West gave the
Statesmen a first round home playoff game against sixth place Nazareth, a team they were 1-1-1 against in the season series. Sophomores Mac Olson, Ben Gamache and Bo Webster all bettered their freshman campaigns and surpassed the 20-point mark. Tim Keegan was named ECAC West Goaltender of the Week February 3rd after a 5-1 win over Nazareth on 35 of the 36 shots and earned his first collegiate victory.
MOHAWK VALLEY CC The Hawks finished the regular season with five wins; just two of those coming against a community college team—County College of Morris in New Jersey. Individual player stats were not made available.
MORRISVILLE The Mustangs completed their season with a 5-17-2 overall record and just two conference wins. Freshmen forwards Darren Young, John Doyle and Jordan Carvalho plus sophomore defenseman MarcAntoine Chaput finished atop the team scoring list. The squad will lose only four seniors to graduation, but top goaltender Christopher Azzano will be missed. Other seniors were Ryan Marcuz, Daniel Morello and Mike Dolman, but none were on the roster as of the end of the campaign. (Continued on Page 22)
www.nyhockeyonline.com Elmira Jackals Youth Hockey:
A few notes as we begin to wrap up our 2013-14 season: *Anyone interested in being a coach with EJYH for the 2014-15 season MUST complete a coaching application by Monday, March 10. Click here or go to the home page of our website (www.elmirahockey.com), click on ‘Online Forms’ and then click on ‘Coaching Application.’ *Evaluations for this year’s coaches will be posted on the website on Monday, March 3. The deadline for Coach Evaluations will also be Monday, March 10. *Squirt and Peewee Evaluations for 2014-15 teams will be held Tuesday, March 11- Thursday, March 13. Evaluation Guidelines will be posted soon. *Because of Evaluations, the March Board of Directors meeting has been changed to Wednesday, March 5 at 6pm. *Good luck to all the Snowbelt teams participating in JAM tournaments this weekend! *Congratulations to our Midget team for winning their JAM Championship last weekend- there are pictures on the website! (Continued from Page 21)
OSWEGO A third place finish gave the Lakers a first round home game against sixth place Fredonia in the SUNYAC playoffs. The Lakers failed to earn a point in a conference weekend February 14-15 against Geneseo and Brockport. It marked the first time that has happened since the 2003-04 season at Plattsburgh and Potsdam. They also were blanked in playoff weekends in 2005-06 and 2004-05 against Plattsburgh. The loss to Brockport was their first in 11 years and one day. Five different players had 20 or more points led by Matt Galati’s 30 followed by Mike Montagna (Fulton), Kenny Neil, Alex Botten and Bobby Gertsakis Krystian Yorke scored his first career-goal February 7th against Morrisville.
Central Hockey / Page 22
Central New York Hockey News and Notes Around Central New York: ...Valley Hockey’s Pee Wee Travel Team are the 2013-14 Central Champions. ...In the Central Sectional Finals it was 14U Camillus over Syracuse 5-1 and 12U Camillus over New Hartford 2-1. ...The Ithaca Pee Wee Travel teamwon the President’s Day Invitational in Wilkes Barre, Pa. ...Ithaca’s Squirts won the Saratoga Tournament. ...The Onondaga Thunder Bantam and Pee Wee travel teams move on to the State Tournament in Amherst after taking the Central Sectional. (Continued on Page 23)
UTICA The Pioneers clinched their second consecutive regular season title with a 10-4-1 conference record and they finished with a 5-1 run after four straight overtime games. “We’ve been snake-bit all year and even ours wins early we were squeaking by,” said head coach Gary Heenan. “It’s the way the year has been going; the guys who score goals aren’t scoring goals. It’s not going our way and it’s frustrating.” Trevor Hertz, Ridge Garbutt and Jon Gaffney all had more than 20 points. Luc Boby was named ECAC West Rookie of the Week February 9th after he netted three goals, including two game-winners, to help the Pioneers defeat visiting Neumann twice. Hertz was ECAC West Player of the Week February 2nd after netting two goals and adding one assist as the Pioneers went 1-1 at Elmira College.
www.nyhockeyonline.com Central Notes Continued ...Salmon River Midget Tournament Results included West Carleton Warriors in first; Fulton in second. ...The Binghamton Jr. Senators Bantam B won the Troy Albany Rink Rat Tournament. The Pee Wee B team won the President’s Day Skate and Ski Tournament and the Squirt A won the 2014 President’s Day tournament in Pittston, Pa. ...Syracuse announced that Jefferson beat Syracuse 9-0 in Consolation Game 1 in the Blazers President’s Day Showdown and Buffalo Regals best Clifton Park, 2-1 in Consolation Game 2. There was no winner listed in the Championship match-up of Rochester vs Pittsburgh at the time of publication release. ...The Lysander Lightning Bantam Snowbelt team finished in first place at the conclusion of the regular season. Under Coach Boshart are Gehrig Sarosy, Kelan Diaz, Andy George, Jacob Abbey, Matt Galanti, Deric Keyes, Chris Speelman, Carson Church, Parker Lane, Jacob Boshart, Will Molini, Josh Smith, Danny Stehle, Kenney Stehle, Luke Kuchinski and Brad Collier. ...The Liverpool Warriors Varsity Ice Hockey Team ended with a 127-1 record and a #2 seed in the National Conferece. The following players received All-League honors: Dalton Horton, Kody Gaulke, tommy Bianchi, Steven Kozikoski, T. Muolo, Kyle Terzini, Rocco Leone.
Central Hockey / Page 23 Vaskivuo ECHL Player of Week Mike Vaskivuo of the Elmira Jackals was named the SherWood Hockey ECHL Player of the Week for Jan. 27-Feb. 1. On behalf of Mike, a case of pucks was donated to EJYH by Sher-Wood Hockey. Since beginning sponsorship of the award in 2000-01, SherWood Hockey has donated more than 29,000 pucks to youth hockey organizations in ECHL cities. A native of Helsinki, Finland, Vaskivuo is sixth in the ECHL with 42 points (13 goals, 29 as-
sists) in 35 games with Fort Wayne and Elmira. Since being acquired by the Jackals in a trade on Jan. 6, he has recorded 21 points (8 goals, 13 assists) and a +13 rating in 12 games. Vaskivuo has tallied 197 points (79 goals, 118 assists) in 235 career pro games.
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Central Hockey / Page 24
Central Women’s College Ice Hockey Report by Janet Schultz Janet@nyhockeyonline.com
in chemistry. Hamel graduated from Northwood School and is a native of Ithaca. She is Utica’s goaltender and will graduate from the health studies/ physical therapy program.
Syracuse
Utica College Utica defeated SUNY Potsdam 6-4 in the final regular game of the season. With the Pioneers jumping ahead of Potsdam in the ECAC West Conference standings they earned the hosting rights for the first round of the ECAC West Conference Tournament. The Tournament is taking place at press time. The Pioneers will face Potsdam at noon on March 2 at Utica Memorial Auditorium. The Pioneers closed out the regular season with a 16-8-1 overall; 9-6-1 conference record and Megan Myers on the top of the scoreboard with 18 goals and 17 assists for 35 points this season. As the season closes the Seniors Caitlyn Moccaldi, Megan Myers, Vanessa Maines, Alicia DiCenzo, Jennifer Hamel, Kristen Beckman will play their final games in the conference playoffs. Moccaldi is from Clinton and played for the Clinton High Boys team. She is a defenseman majoring
Syracuse Class of 2014 (Alphabetically) Kallie Billadeau, Jenesica Drinkwater, Akane Hosovamada, Cara Johnson, Brittney Krebs, Caitlin Roach, Margot Scharfe, Sadie St. Germain (Syracuse Photo)
Congratulations goes to Head Coach Paul Flanagan on his 319th win over Lindenwood making him the ninthwinningest coach in women’s college hockey history at Syracuse. He is currently the sixth-winninget active coach behind Bill Mandigo (Middlebury DIII), Michael Sisti (Mercyhurst), Shannon Milley (Minnesota-Duluth), Mike Carroll (Gustavus Adolphus, DIII) and Mark Johnson (Wisconsin). Last season Flanagan became the 10th coach in Syracuse’s women’s history to reach 300 wins, that was also
against Lindenwood. The win was his 70th at the helm of the Orange. Jessica Sibley was named the CHA Rookie of the Month for January. She recorded 7 points in eight games in January helping the Orange to a 6-2 record during the month. Both goals game during the first three-point game of her career, a 5-4 win over RIT. She has 19 points in 27 games and the second-most goals and third-most goals on the team and ranks tenth in the nation in rookie scoring. On February 17 Larissa Martnyiuk earned the CHA Rookie of the Week honor after scoring a team-high three points that weekend. Senior Forward Cara Johnson was named Syracuse Athlete of the Week for February 24. Johnson scored 3 goals and an assist over six games, the most goals scored by a SU player in that span. Included were her first game-winner and her assist was on a game-winning goal. Margot Scharfe (pictured below/ Syracuse Photo) scored the only Syracuse goal in a 3-1 loss to RIT; but that goal made her Syracuse’s All-Time Leading Scorer with 40 in her ca-
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Colgate Class of 2014 (Alphabetically) Stephanie Giannopoulous, Caroline Potolicchio, Jocelyn Simpson, Rachel Walsh, Megan Wickens, Taylor Volpe (Colgate Photo)
reer. Syracuse had an Olympic connection with alumnae Stefanie Marty competing in her third Olympic games for the Swiss National Team.
Colgate
Among Jocelyn Simpson’s long list of accomplishments in her four years at Colgate she can now add “nominated for the 2014 Hockey Humanitarian Award” to it. As an education major and assistant team captain, Simpson has dedicated much time to community service working closely with autistic children. She began working at a camp called “Stepping Stones” which works with special needs children and later joined “Project Oz,” a program that uses drama, music and recreation programs to help children navigate social situations. For four years she has organized the team’s annual Autism Awareness game/fundraiser, raising more than $38,000 for Autism Speaks. Her latest program is a Learn to Skate program for autistic children. The recipient of the award will
Central Hockey / Page 25 be named at the 2014 Men’s Frozen Four. Rookie Hannah Rastrick tallied her first career goal in a 1-0 win over Princeton. Colgate Seniors played in their final regular season game in a 3-0 loss to #9/10 Quinnipiac. Graduating are Stephanie Giannopoulos, Caroline Potolicchio, Simpson, Taylor Volpe, Rachel Walsh and Meghan Wickens. The Raiders ended their regular season with a 10-22-2 overall and 7-15-0 ECAC conference record.
Elmira
tering her career-high from the previous day by recording 56 saves in over 63 minutes in goal. Plattsburgh put the game-winner past her late in overtime. On February 15 Tanis Lamoureux hit her 100th career point with 29 seconds remaining in the opening period against Cortland. She received EC Athlete of the Week honors after a three-point weekend that led her to her century mark. The Soaring Eagles Class of 2014 ended their regular season paly with a 4-1 victory over Neumann University. That clinched their share of the ECAC West regular season crown for the first time since 2008-09. Seniors Briana Saltstone had her second multi-goal game in two days with four goals; Lamoureux had two assists bringing her career points to 103; Marshall made 29 saves to secure her 15th victory of the season; Ella Stewart put the Soaring Eagles on the scoreboard first in the second game against Neumann. The Soaring Eagles now turn their attention to the post-season ECAC West Tournament. They ended the regular season with a 20-4-1 overall;
Ashley Ryan was named to the ECAC West Weekly Honor Roll (Feb. 4) after helping Elmira remain perfect in the ECAC West. The junior recorded four points in two games and two assists bringing her points per game average to 1.74. She had the gamewinning goal in a win over Buffalo and her second game-winning goal of the season. On February 7 the Soaring Eagles Pinked the Rink with funds raised going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Goalie Lisa Marsall was named Elmira’s Athlete of the Week for February 10 after she had one of the best weekends of her career, spliting a pair of games with #1 Plattsburgh. The Senior recorded a Elmira’s Class of 2014 then career-best 37 (Alphabetically) Katie Gaskin, Jocelynne Hudgins, Tanis Lamousaves for a 2-0 vicreux, Lisa Marshall, Briana Saltstone, Ella Stewart, tory. She continued the next day shat-
www.nyhockeyonline.com 15-1-0 conference record. Elmira is seeded second with Plattsburgh in the #1 position for the playoffs begining March 8.
Oswego
Laker Melissa Seamont received ECAC honors as the West Player of the Week and Bridget Smith earned the Goaltender of the Week honor for Feb-
ruary 16. Both had pivotal roles in a weekend sweep of Utica College and putting them in third seed. They wrapped up their season on February 22 with a 2-0 loss to #1 Plattsburgh and a 16-8-1 overall and 10-5-1 conference record. Oswego hosts the ECAC West Championship first round against #6 Buffalo. Goaltender Tori Trovato set a career-high 40 saves in the game against Plattsburgh. Following the game Oswego recognized its graduating class which includes Olivia Boersen, Jocelyn St. Clair, Mady Paul, Melissa Seamont, Emma Smetaniuk, Megan Hagg, Leslie Jarvis, Chelsea Hunt and Catherine Cote. Hunt is a native of Buffalo and played hockey with the Buffalo Bisons.
Cortland
Graduating from the Red Dragons are Gina Tomei and Caralie Fennessey. The Red Dragons ended the season with a 4-19-2 overall and 3-12-1 conference record. Niamh O’Connor had six goals and six assists for 12 points on the season followed by Katie Gili with 4 goals/5 assists.
Cornell
Goaltender Lauren Slebodnick was named ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week for February 4. This was her 7th career ECAC Weekly honor. Slebodnick made 20 saves and didn’t allow any goals in picking
Central Hockey / Page 26 up her 63rd and 64th career wins, mostly for the Big Red. She is also second in the record books for goals-against average at 1.55 and in shutouts with 17. Junior Forward Jillian Saulnier was named ECAC Player of the Week for February 11 after scoring 2 goals and 2 assists, including a last-minute overtime goal to beat Colgate. Saulnier is fifth in the nation for goals per game at .72 and points per game with 1.52. The Big Red end their season 20-5-4 overall and 14-43 in the ECAC which now pits them against Princeton in a best of three playoff in the ECAC Quarterfinals February 28-March 1. Cornell’s alumni made history with the Olympic Team Canada as they took the 2014 Gold Medal in Sochi. Brianne Jenner started an epic comeback for Team Canada with a goal with 3:29 to go in regulation. Marie-Phillip Poulin tied the game with a pass from Rebecca Johnston with 56 seconds to play and the game-winner came from an assist from Laura Fortino.
Hamilton
In their final game at Russell Sage Rink, Hamilton Seniors led the Continentals past Bowdoin College 4-1. They then went to Colby where they wrapped up their season in the NESCAC with a 2-1 loss. Hamilton will lose seven players to graduation including Tori Bogen, Julia Williams, Stephanie Lang, Hannah Jaiven, Gigi Fraser, Jillian Tokarczyk and Nikki Haskins. Tokarczyk is from North Tonawanda and played for the Buffalo Bisons. The Continentals close out the season with a 8-14-2 overall and 2-12-2 NESCAC record.
Hamilton’s Senior Class (Alphabetically) Tori Bogen, Gigi Fraser, Nikki Haskins, Hannah Jaiven, Stephanie Lang, Jillian Tokarczyk, Julia Williams (Hamilton Photo)
East Hockey
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East Hockey / Page 28
Eastern New York Men’s College Hockey Report by Warren Kozireski
Wkozires@brockport.edu
Van Natter finished with 30 points— the first time he reached that plateau in his college career—to lead a pack of six upperclassmen on the team scoring chart, including Louis Balzano (Staten Island), who had 35 points in 71 career games heading into the postseason.
R.P.I.
year.” With an injury to starting goaltender Rob Tadazak, freshman Parker Gahagen (Buffalo) stepped in and made 42 saves to pick up his first collegiate win in the UConn game.
ARMY
HUDSON VALLEY CC
The Black Knights finished last in the 12-team Atlantic Conference and were headed to the road for the first round of the playoffs. They will play the fifth place team in the first round after snapping their 13 game winless streak with a road win at UConn to provide a little momentum heading to the final weekend of the regular season. Freshman forward C.J. Reuschlein led all Army players with four points on two goals and as many assists, including a career-best three point game, and was rewarded with Atlantic Hockey Association Rookie of the Week honors for the week ending February 16th. He was leading the team in scoring and was vying for a spot on the AHA All-Rookie team. “Our guys are working and we have a lot of guys getting a lot of experience,” said head coach Brian Riley. “Each game the plan is to hopefully get better and be playing our best hockey at the end of the
The Vikings ended the regular season 10-6-1 and seeded fourth for the NJCCA national championships they hosted before falling to topseed Monroe CC 10-0 in the semifinals. Goaltender Ricky Piper finished the regular season second in the nation in goals against and third in save percentage while Willie Huber (Hopewell) and James Murphy (Long Island) each surpassed the 20-point mark in their final junior college campaigns.
MANHATTANVILLE The Valiants won the last game of the regular season to squeeze into fourth place and earn home ice for a first round playoff game with Neumann. They were 1-0-1 headto-head this past season. Senior Luc
With one weekend remaining in the regular season, the Engineers could finish anywhere from fifth to ninth. Fifth through eighth would secure home ice for a first round playoff best-of-three series. Ryan Haggerty stood third in the nation in goals and top-ten in points per game while senior Brock Higgs beat his three-year combined goal total of 13 with his 14th of the season at Cornell. “The last four or five weeks I think we’ve been playing pretty good,” said head coach Seth Appert. “We had a good start, but we weren’t playing that good. Five weeks ago we just focused on trying to be a good playoff team. Every day in practice and every game since we wanted to inch a little closer. If we want to get where we want to go, we’re going to have to go on the road at some point and beat some good teams.” Scott Diebold (Buffalo) was named ECAC Goaltender of the Week for the period ending January 26th after he posted a 2-0-0 record with a 1.50 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage and made 53 saves on 56 shots against two ECAC Hockey opponents. (Continued on next page)
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East Hockey / Page 29
East Women’s College Report by Janet Schultz Janet@nyhockeyonline.com
RPI will loose Seniors Madison Marzario, Missy Mankey, Toni Sanders, Jordan Smelker and Nona Letuilgasenoa to graduation.
Manhattanville Manhattanville
ended it’s regular season with their second consecutive overtime game this season as they tied the Beacons of UMass Boston 1-1. Freshman Emma Rucinski scored her first collegiate goal giving the Valiants their only goal on the day. For the seventh consecutive season, the Valiants host the ECAC Quarterfinal game. They Union Class of 2014 finished fourth in the ECAC East (Alphabetically) Elsa Bruestle, Ashley Johnson, with a 8-13-4 record and 6-7-3 in Maddy Norton, Mac Purvis, Stefanie Thomson the conference. (Union Photo) Seeded fourth they were eliminated from the Tournament afUnion tering a 3-0 loss to fifth-seed UMass Union said goodbye to five seniors Boston. including Elsa Bruestel, Mac Purvis, Despite a rough season this year Stephanie Thomson and Co-Captains the Valiants return all but one player. Ashley Johnston and Maddy Norton. Senior Caitlyn Beauvais had her col They closed out the season by lege career end with the loss. forcing an overtime with Clarkson, Sydney Asselstine was selected to ending with a 2-1 loss. the ECAC East First-Team All-Confer The Dutchwomen finished the ence. She leads the Valiants with 29 season with a 9-24-1 overall and 4-18- points on the season and was select0 conference record. Coach Claudia ed as a forward. She finished the reguAsano Barcomb became the win- lar season in the ECAC East second ningest coach in program history and in goals scored and third in points per Senior Stefanie Thomson finished game, averaging 1.16. second in program history with eight career power play goals.
RPI
The Engineers lost their final game to St. Lawrence giving them a 10-20-3 overall and 6-14-2 ECAC record.
(Men’s Hockey Continued from Page 28)
Jerry Knightley ’65 was inducted into Rensselaer’s Ring of Honor February 7th becoming the seventh member in the prestigious club. The Engineers were shutout by Clarkson January 31st—the first whitewash of Rensselaer by the Knights in 17 years.
UNION The Dutchmen captured their third Cleary Cup—given to the ECAC regular season champions— and a first round bye for the ECAC playoffs. Senior forward Daniel Carr became Union’s all-time leading Division I scorer with his 132nd career point after netting a thirdperiod goal January 31st against St. Lawrence. He moved ahead of Craig Ferero for fourth in Union scoring at all levels with 141 points and two games remaining in the regular season. Shayne Gostisbehere ranked first in Hobey Baker fan balloting, collecting 19,673 votes as of February 23rd leading a field of Johnny Gaudreau of Boston College and Ryan Faragher of St. Cloud State. Phase one of fan balloting runs through March 9, but it counts for less than 1% of the total. Sophomore Theo DiPauli notched his first collegiate goal February 8th against Yale.
www.nyhockeyonline.com East Items ...Freeport Arrows Hockey Pee Wee and Bantam Major teams are joining the Midget 18U team as members of the AAA Division of the Eastern Junior Elite Prospects League for hte 2014-15 season. This move exposes players to junior style showcases, games and off-ice conditioning. The 18U,Bantams, PeeWees EJEPL team will continue to compete in the Long Island Amateur Hockey League’s Tier 2 AA conference and will compete in a full season for States and Nationals. For more information contact Chris Hogan at CHogan@optonline.net. ...Alex Kovalev has joined the Westchester Express AAA travel team as a Coach. He will head up the 2004 Squirt Major Express, bringing a wealth of knowledge and coaching experience. Kovalev won the 1994 Stanley Cup as an NHL player. ...The Lady Bulldogs are gearing up for the post season after completing their 12th season in an exciting fashion. The 14U, 16U and 19U teams will be heading off the to NYS Championships. ...The Bedford Bears will hold their Spring Clinic beginning March 24. These are eight, one-hour ice sessions led by Coaches Halewicz, Scavelli and Mendohlson. Go to https//bedfordbearshockey.sportngin.com/register/form/761401021 ...The Green Machine Icecat Amateur Hockey Club is fielding a Midget Major 18U team next season. For more information email info@icecathockey.com ...Bronxville’s Midget U16 team won the Hudson Valley Hockey League Championship with a 3-1 win over Palisades. The Pee Wee TB team also won with a thrilling 4-3 overtime win over Palisades. The Pee Wee Midget team is also heading off to the States Tier III Tournament in Amherst. ...Greater New York City Ice Hockey’s Stars Bantam AA and Midget 16U teams will compete at the States. The Squirt AA, Bantam AA and Midget
East Hockey / Page 30 teams took first place in the Long Island Amateur Hockey League. ...The Long Island Gulls 2003’s defended their LIAHL title beating the Westchester Express 5-4. The 2004 Gulls won the LIAHL by defeating the Long Island Royals 5-3 and the 16U team beat Valley Forge in a two-game set. Gull’s Simon Butala has committed to the University of Maine for the Fall 2016 season. He is a member of the Midget U16 team. The Gull’s had an outstanding show at the High Performance Hockey League Showcase in Michigan defeating the Rocky Mountain RoughRiders 8-2 and the Wilkes Barre Scranton Knights 3-2. Their only loss came at the hands of the Chicago Young Americans, 5-2. ...Millbrook Youth Hockey is forming a Girls U12 team for the 2014-15 season. If enough girls come out they may also field U10 and U14 teams. For information email Shertzog44@yahoo.com ...The NY Bobcats finished 23-15-1 in the Empire Hockey League, placing #5 in the playoffs and now will play #12 Boston Junior Rangers. ...The NY Cyclones Squirt AA team won the Congressional Cup at the Ashburn Ice House in Virginia on President’s Day. They beat the Quakers 5-2 for the win. ...Mariner’s Squirt Minors beat the Palisades Predators 4-1 for a playoff spot. ...Westchester Vipers Bantam 99 team won the Patroits Day Tournament at Niagara University (Niagara Junior Purple Eagles). They then won the East Sectional to move on to the States. ...The Palisades Predators Squirts won the Hudson Valley Tournament and the Pee Wee, Bantams and Midgets are heading for the State Tournament. ...Pelham’s Squirts played in the Empire State Games and ended with a 2-1 record for a Bronze Medal. They beat Tri-County of Brockport after a 3-3 tied game with a goal in overtime for the 4-2 win. The team included forwards Ethan Cohen,
www.nyhockeyonline.com Jack Dougherty, Christopher Gaine, Peter Gallucci, Michael Mitrione, Ben Rosenberg, Henry Smith, Tyler Staropoli, Luke Walsh, defensemen Myles DiFrisco, Johnny Heaney, Jordan Hurd, Marco Miceli, Sammy Ross, Maddie Samaan, and goalies Josh Lebowitz and Ben Madden.
Brewster Hockey Joining New League
Building on the tremendous success during the 2013-2014 season, the Brewster Hockey Associtation, with the 2000 Westchester Express Elite AAA team and the Brewster Ice Arena will be hosting for the second season the Brewster AC Team for the U14 (2000 birth year) Bantam Major for the upcoming the 2014-2015 hockey season and adding Bantam Minor 2001 and Pee Wee Major 2002. The team will play a highly competitive schedule including league games with both Eastern Junior Elite Prospects League (www. ejepl.com) and the Long Island Hockey League (www.liahl.com) in addition to a very competitive non-league schedule against top teams in the Northeast and Mid-Atantic areas in both tournament and non tournament play. Returning veteran coach Tim Henning will serve as the head coach for his second season of the U14 club. Coach Henning has played for over 40 years up through the collegiate level, over 25 years coaching / leadership experience at various levels, has achieved numerous competitive milestones as both a coach and player at various levels and is a level 4 certified USA Hockey coach. In addition, veteran coach and player Ray Padilla, will return to the coaching staff. The team will be working closely with the Express Coaching Staff and Jeff Devenney, Director of Player Development and Coaching Coordinator, on and off
East Hockey / Page 31
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the ice for skill, team, player and organizational development throughout the season. The 2001’s will be coached by Joe Lunny. Joe has been with the Brewster Staff for over 5 years and brings years of professional playing experience after being Holy Cross’ all time leading scorer. The Pee Wee Major 2002’s will also participate in the new venture.
North Hockey
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Northern New York Men’s College Hockey Report by Warren Kozireski
Wkozires@brockport.edu
CLARKSON The Golden Knights were stumbling down the stretch with just two wins and a tie between January 24th and February 22nd. They had clinched a first round playoff home series, but were holding out hope fourth place finish and a first round bye; three points out with four points outstanding. Clarkson has played in an NCAA-high 22 one-goal games, going 13-7-2 in those contests as of February 27th. Senior Allan McPherson was atop the team scoring chart and just five points from reaching the century mark and one from his 40th goal in his career. The Knights shutout RPI January 31st—the first whitewash of Rensselaer by the Knights in 17 years. Sophomore forward T.J. Moor left the team after 17 games.
PLATTSBURGH The Cardinals secured second place in SUNYAC and a first round bye for the SUNYAC playoffs. Thirteen players have accumulated ten or more points led by Alex Jensen (27) and Dillan Fox (23). Senior defenseman Barry Roytman (Staten Island) reached the 100 career games played mark February 21st against Cortland and celebrated with a +3.
North Hockey / Page 33 POTSDAM A late season five game unbeaten streak was not enough to make up for a one win first half as the Bears were eliminated from the SUNYAC playoffs for the first time in three years. Billy Pascalli (Deer Park) was named the SUNYAC Player of the Week for the week ending February 9th with a five-point weekend including the game-tying goals in both contests. Tommy Telesca (Selden) connected for his first collegiate goal February 1st at Geneseo. The Bears will need to replace the offense of top scorers and senior Mike Arnold and Adam Place. The only other seniors are defenseman Nick Avgerinos and Kevin Carpenter.
ST. LAWRENCE The Saints were one point away from hosting a first round ECAC playoff series with two games remaining. Otherwise they head to the road where they are 5-3-3 in conference. Senior Greg Carey leads the country in assists per game and was second in points per game. He was one point shy of 180 career. St. Lawrence boasts far-and-away the nation’s top power-play unit at 28.5% (43-151), but were slumping a bit of late. 40 percent of the Saints’ goal total this season has come with the man-advantage. Gavin Bayreuther and Matt Weninger were named Rookie and Goaltender of the Week respectively for the period ending February 9th. Bayreuther assisted on four goals in the Princeton game and scored his seventh of the year at Quinnipiac. Weninger stopped 24 of 25 shots in a 7-1 win over Princeton and came back with 31 saves on 33 shots in a 3-2 win over thirdranked Quinnipiac. Rookie defenseman Mike Graham scored his first career goal—a game winner against Union January 31st.
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North Women’s College Report by Janet Schultz Janet@nyhockeyonline.com
North Hockey / Page 34 in that the teams have asured that they will face each other in an ECAC West first found playoff game in a No. 4 and No. 5 seed matchup,” said a Potsdam press release. Well it has come, Potsdam will face Utica in the first round of the Quarterfinals in Utica. Potsdam closed out the regular season with a 12-9-4 overall and 7-5-4 ECACW record.
Potsdam
February started out with the Bears holding off Buffalo State for a two-game sweep and earning them their third straight playoff berth and fourth in the last five seasons. Rochester native Jordan Ott (Rochester Edge) continued to excel in her freshman year with the club as she earned ECAC Rookie of the Week honors several times (7 in 14 weeks). She had 2 goals/3 assists in the sweep over Buffalo; she leads the team in scoring with 27 points in 18 games. Along with Ott (pictured, Potsdam Photo) on February 17, Amanda Lucky was named to the ECAC East Honor Roll. Lucky had seven points against Canton. She scored a goal and an assist in the first-game loss and then had a hat trick and two assists in the Bears 5-2 win over Canton. The fivepoint day was a personal best for the Assistant Captain. On February 22 the Bears faced Utica and each time the Pioneers took the lead, the Bears responded. Utica had 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3 leads but a Potsdam goal always followed. “The stubbornness of each team is fitting
Clarkson Class of 2014 (Alphabetically) Vanessa Gagnon, Eric Howe, Carley Mercer, Shelby Nisbet, Vanessa Plante, Jamie Lee Rattray, Brittany Styner (Clarkson Photo)
Clarkson
The Golden Knights enter the ECAC DI playoffs as the top seed and host 8th seed Dartmouth in a best-out-ofthree series. The Knights closed out their season with a 25-4-5 overall and 16-2-4 ECAC record. They clinched the regular season title for the first time in the program’s 11-year history, ending Cornell’s four-year reign a the top of the Conference. “Our coaching staff is extremely proud of our team on their accomplishment,” said Co-Head Coach Matt Desrosiers.
www.nyhockeyonline.com “They have worked hard throughout the entire season to put themselves in the position to challenge and ultimately win the ECAC regular season championship. “We couldn’t be happier for each individual in that locker room,” he concluded. Erica Howe and Genevieve Bannon were recognized by ECAC Hockey for their efforts in leading the Golden Knights to a weekend sweep on the road in league play. Howe was named ECAC Goaltender of the Week and Banon was named Rookie of the Week for February 19. Graduating from the program are Brittany Styner, Vanessa Plante, Shelby Nisbet, Carly Mercer, Vanessa Gagnon, Jamie Lee Rattray and Erica Howe.
Plattsburgh
The Cardinals recognized their graduating players at Senior Night on February 1. Six players will play their final games in the playoffs including Jenny Kistner, Allison, Era, Chelsea VanGlahn, Jordan Caldwell, Sydney Aveson and Ali Vakos. Shannon Stewart and Katelyn Turk were named ECAC West Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, for February 4. Stewart put in one of 10 goals in a win over Potsdam and then tallied 3 assists. She capped off the evening with her team-leading 14th goal of the season with 2:32 left in the second period. Turk contributed 2 goals and an assist in a 10-0 victory over Potsdam. Sydney Aveson has been se-
North Hockey / Page 35 lected as one of six amateur athletes featured in the February 10 issue of Sports Illlustrated’s Faces in the Crowd. She is in the midst of a career year as the Cardinals senior goaltender posting a 15-1-1 record. She has a D III-best 0.41 goals-against average and a .978 save percentage. Aveson has allowed seven goals on 324 shots as 11 of her 15 victories have come in the form of a shutout. With the remarkable numbers she has put up this season, Aveson continues to rewrite record books. Earlier she became the all-time program leader in shutouts before setting the new Division III career shutout mark on January 25. She had 28 career shuts before the article which is more than any other DIII men or women’s goaltender. Aveson is a two-time First Team All Amerian and has been named The ECAC Women’s West Goaltender of the Year twice. With a 2-0 win over Oswego, the Cardinals finished the regular seaodsn 23-1-1 overall and 15-1-0 in conference play. They received a firstround bye in the ECAC West playoffs.
St. Lawrence
Witha 3-2 win over RPI the Saints finish the regular season 13-17-3 overall and 12-7-3 in conference play. Kailee Heidersbach had her third goal in a four-point weekend for the Saints. Honored following the game were seniors Mel Desrochers, Rylee Smith and Dayle Wilkinson. The Saints finished fifth in the ECAC Hockey
standings and travel to Quinnipiac for the best-of-three playoff series.
Canton The Roos celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day by inviting local girls and young women to their women’s hockey game. The 2014 theme for NGWSD is “Passing the Torch, Blazing the Trail!” “This is a great opportunity for our women to serve as role models and share the love of sports and exercise with our youth,” said Head Coach Melissa Lomanto. Canton’s Jessica Kistabish was selected as one of the Roos of the Week. She had a hat trick, including the game-winner, in a 4-3 overtime win at Potsdam on February 15. The freshman netted her first score of the night on a power play with 34 seconds left in the first period, tieing the game. She had her 15th goal of the season at 12:29 of the third giving the Roos a 3-2 lead and then came through in the clutch at 1:25 into overtime to net her second power play goal for a 4-3 victory. This was the Roos first season competing against a complete NCAA schedule. They closed their season with a 8-14-3 record, matching their win total from last season. With no seniors on the team, the Roos will come back in full force in 2014-15.
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North Hockey / Page 36 North New and Notes ...Clifton Park: The Girls 12U Regional Team defeated Ogdensburg 11-0 and Potsdam, 3-2 in the North Zone Section Championship. ...Norfolk/Norwood: Congratulations to the Varsity Icemen on their Section X Championship. ...Plattsburgh Youth Hockey: the 14U Girls took the North Section Championship and head to the States. ...Saranac Lake Pee Wees are off to the State Championship. ...Saratoga’s Bantam A are going to the State finals as one of the Elite 8 in the State. ...Tri-Town Squirts, Pee Wees and Bantams are heading to the States. ...Tri-Town Minor Hockey hosted the NYSAHA Tier III U12 Northern Zone State Sectionals in February at the Tri-Town Arena. Five area teams participated including Chazy, Louisville, Norfolk-Norwood, Ogdensburg and Tri-Town. Tri-Town’s Timberwolves came out undefeated and go on to the States as #1 seed from the Northern Zone. Louisville placed second after a close battle with Chazy and will enter the state tournament as the #2 seed. Both are competing in the Tier III U12 State Championship in Batavia March 2-4.
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West Hockey
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West Hockey / Page 38
WNYGVIH Class of 2014 Honored
During the last home stands for the teams in the WNYGVIH Federation, the senior class members were recognized. We congratulate these girls and wish them well as they move onto new adventures and challenges. We hope to have the rest of the Senior write-ups for the next issue of NYHOL.
Amherst/Sweet Home Katz These Seniors have been members of the Federation since its inception four years ago. Madeline Grisko--The Amherst student plans to play hockey at the collegiate level and is looking at RIT, Miami of Ohio and Oswego. Missy Mallon--This Amherst student will be attending Buffalo State Colleege in psychology or criminal justice and is looking for a spot on the Bengals hockey team. Brianna Stressinger--Coming from Sweet Home she will study early childhood education at a college to be determined. Katelyn Koester--Also from Sweet Home Katelyn will be attending RIT. Madison Kather--In her fourth season she was unable to play due to an injury. Madison was found supporting the Katz from the bench. She is going on to Clarkson to study physics and math. Joining the team this season were Rachel Ruback, Jenna Battaglia and Emily Bitka. These girls also played hockey for the first time this season. Rachel will be studying environmental science at a college yet to be named. Jenna will be attending Colorado Mountain College and Emily will be found on the lacrosse team at Syracuse University.
Kenmore
Three members of the Kenmore squad will say good-bye. Jill Battista has played since her freshman year. She was the first and only girl from Kenmore to be a member of the Inaugural Team four years ago. She played her youth hockey with the Buffalo Bisons and also went o to play junior hockey in Canada. Academically, Jill has been an honor student throughout her career. She plans to play college hockey and is looking at Plattsburgh, Oswego, Elmira, RPI and Merrimack College. She will major in physical therapy. Kaeli Mathais has played hockey for 14 years including with the Niagara Purple Eagles, Buffalo Hornets, West Seneca
Wings and currently with the Cazenovia Chiefs. She is a threesport athlete who has earned honors in field hockey, ice hockey and track. She is an honors student and is part of the International Baccalaureate Programme at Kenmore West. She will continue her success at Williams College majoring in science. Kaeli is the person who scored the first Kenmore girl’s hockey goal in her first game in her freshman year and has been on the team that won the Section VI Championship three years and now the League; plus had the opportunity to travel to the NYS Girls Varsity Championships for the past two years. Brianne Mathias has also played hockey for 14 years and has been a teammate of Kaeli’s in the same organizations over the years. She is also an outstanding field hockey player earning All WNY Honors. Her academic average is a weighted average of over 100 as part of the International Baccalaureate Programme at Kenmore West. She is looking at Middlebury and Kings Colleges focusing on bio chemistry.
Lancaster/Iroquois
Caitlin Horvatits took to the ice at four years old and hasn’t stopped. She played with the boys in the Buffalo Regals organization and then moved to the Regals girl’s travel program. After two seasons she moved to the Buffalo Bisons, going to the Nationals in San Jose and placing third. This season she played with Lancaster/Iroquois, Buffalo Bisons 17U NTB and the Cazenovia Chiefs 19U travel team. She will study biomedical engineering and is looking to RIT, Gannon and the University of Buffalo. She hopes to continue playing hockey. Kara Orlowski is a senior at Lancaster and plans to attending college with a focus on physical therapy. She currently plays for the Cazenovia travel team, on their way to a state tournament. Kimberly Corrie comes from Lancaster HIgh and has played center and right wing for 7 1/2 years. She has been with the Buffalo Regals for four years and has also played in the Hamburg Hawks and Niagara County Coyote organizations. Her plans are to attend Oswego to study psychology in hopes of becoming a
www.nyhockeyonline.com child psychiatrist. Kimberly is looking at playing collegiate club hockey. Meghan Fonfara learned how to skate at two years old in her native Canada. She played on a team at age four with her brother. Meghan has played mainly boys hockey up until her junior year of high school. She has played for the Niagara Falls Rapids, St. Catharines CYO Chaos, and the Buffalo Bisons. She has made a verbal commitment to Elmira to study nursing and continue her hockey career.
Monsignor Martin
West Hockey / Page 39 Nichols
The Nichols team joined the league this season but these girls are not unfamiliar with hockey as they are members of the Nichols Prep School B Team. This year’s senior class include: Margaret Janiga, goalie, who has committed to Lourdes University to play lacrosse and study education. Marissa Janiga, forward, is undecided about her college but hopes to study physical therapy. Kathryn Darling has committed to play ice hockey at Sacred Heart and study physical therapy. Emily Certo will attend the University of New England, play soccer and enroll in Pre-Med. Jennifer Sauter will study physical therapy at a college yet to be determined. Nicolette Tomani will be attending Mercyhurst and in their Intelligence Studies/Homeland Security program.
West Seneca
Senior Forward Kayle Madej graduates from Nardin Academy and heads off to Daemen College to pursue a degree in Physical Therapy. She will be spending her spare time as a volunteer fire fighter. Senior Defenseman and Forward Marielle Buffamonte comes from Mount Mercy Academy and has narrowed her college choices to John Carroll University or Ithaca College to pursue a career in communications. She plans on playing lacrosse. Assistant Captain and Defenseman Shannon Moran is also graduating from Mount St. Mercy Academy. She hasn’t made a college choice but plans to study Human Resource Management at either Kings College, Marist College or John Carroll University. Shannon, Kayle and Marielle are inaugural members of the Monsignor Martin team and the WNYGVIH Federation. Power Forward and Team Captain Rachel Lenard joined the team when she transferred to Nardin Academy as a sophomore. She has committed to Oswego State University where she will pursue a degree in criminal justice/minor in psychology. She will be playing for the Lakers under North Tonawanda native and Coach Diane Dillion. Watch for #21 next season!
In four years of West Seneca Central Schools Girl’s Varsity Ice Hockey Team this girl has stood out. Erin Gehen has been the backbone of the team since she stepped on the ice as the smallest player four years ago. Her play has grown and she has become a prolific scorer including the honor of being the first to score 100 goals in a career. She holds every other scoring record possible in the 8-team league. Erin has 108 goals, 69 assists for 177 points in just 72 games. According to Coach Brian Hillery Erin’s “attitude, effort, skill and determination to be great has really helped the other girls become more interested in the game.” “She has left an incredible mark on not only the West Seneca Central School’s team, but also on all of local girl’s hockey,” concluded Hillery. Erin plans to attend Buffalo State College and play for the Bengals.
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www.nyhockeyonline.com SUPER SUNDAY 2014: DAY ONE City Honors/Cardinal O’Hara had an amazing comeback at First Niagara Center on Sunday By Alex Pagliano - Digital Content Intern
West Hockey / Page 40
WNY Super Sunday Winners Head to State Finals!
ay one of the 30th Annual Super Sunday High School Hockey Championships is in the books, and it ended with one of the most exciting finishes in recent history. The action concluded on Monday with three more championship games at First Niagara Center: Monsignor Martin Association, Federation Small School Championship and the Federation Large School Championship.
D
St. Joe’s 4 - Canisius 1 St. Joe’s Thomas Heyden scored the game-winning-goal 17 seconds into the third period for the school’s first WNYHSCHL Large School Championship since 1994, as the Marauders defeated rival Canisius 4-1 on Sunday at First Niagara Center. “We’ve been stressing to get back here,” St. Joe’s head coach Sean Elliot said. “It’s great to get out back ahead here and get the win.” After two periods, St. Joe’s led
Cheektowaga 4 Starpoint 3 (OT) Championship MVP Michael Swacha scored his second goal of the game 5:45 into overtime, as Cheektowaga rallied back to defeat Starpoint 4-3 on NYHOL Thanks the Buffalo Sabres Sunday at First Niagafor the use of these reports! ra Center. Swacha and teammate Jordan PoCanisius 1-0. Championship MVP cobello each recorded two goals Brendan Hurley beat Canisius to capture Cheektowaga’s 10th goaltender Tyler Sekuterski underWNYHSCHL Small School Chamneath the glove with just over one pionship. minute remaining in the opening “The kids never quit,” Cheekperiod for the game’s first goal. towaga head coach Steve Ferrenti Seven seconds into the third no said. “We got a lucky goal to get period, Ian Fitzgerald launched a us into overtime and then Michael puck that bounced past St. Joe’s (Swacha) put it away for us.” goaltender Trevor Krzemien from Cheektowaga trailed 3-2 with center ice to even the score. under 80 seconds to play, but Po Just 10 seconds later, Heyden cobello found the back of the net deked from the right of Sekuterski for the second time to even the to add the decisive score. score. Pocobello launched a point “It’s about how you respond,” shot that trickled through a crowd Elliott said. “The puck took an unof players and ultimately past Starfortunate bounce. But, our team point goaltender Garrett Varisco to picked up (Krzemien) right away, send the game into overtime. and that’s exactly how you want to As the overtime clock dwinrespond.” dled, Cheektowaga turned up the Jacob Donn placed a rebound pressure. With 2:45 remaining, past Sekuterski on the power play Swacha buried a rebound past an to expand the Marauders lead to outstretched Varisco for the win. 3-1 with 5:37 remaining. Canisius “The goal was great,” Swacha said. pulled Sekuterski with the man advantage late, but the Crusaders were unable to find the back of the net. Peter Masters added an empty net goal with seven seconds left to etch the final into the record books.
www.nyhockeyonline.com “This is a special moment for us. The whole team contributed and earned a team victory.” Pocobello opened the scoring for Cheektowaga 4:34 into the opening period when he beat Varisco five-hole unassisted from the slot. Starpoint would match before the end of the period, as Jordan Parrish outworked two Cheektowaga defensemen for the puck just outside of the crease to even the score. Parrish recorded the lone score of the second period. Teammate Andrew Murchison centered the puck Parrish who wristed the shot past Cheektowaga goaltender Jordan Meyer. Trailing 2-1 entering the third period, Cheektowaga would tie things up. Varisco stopped the original shot from Anthony Cybulski, but was unable to stop the rebound by Swacha. Starpoint would regain the lead at 10:32 as Jacob Wildt redirected a point shot on the power play. The Senators were unable to hold the lead, as Pocobello and Swacha scored consecutive goals at the end of the third period and in overtime to end the game. City Honors/Cardinal O’Hara 7 Olean 4 Headed into the second intermission, City Honors/Cardinal O’Hara (CHCOH) trailed Olean
West Hockey / Page 41 4-0. Cam Brickey had scored three goals over the first 21:21 of action and the Eagles had controlled the flow of the game. But the third period would change everything. City Honors/Cardinal O’Hara scored seven unanswered goals over the duration of the third period on Sunday to capture the WNYHSCHL Mixed School Championship over Olean by a score of 7-4. John Liberti led CHCOH with six points on four goals and two assists. Sophomore goaltender Rachael Farmer held Olean scoreless for the final 29:39 of regulation. “I thought we were dead in the water,” CHCOH head coach John Dunn said. “I read them the riot act [after two periods]. I don’t do that very often. I knew that we could pull this off. It was just unbelievable.” “We knew our players had skill,” Dunn said. “It was a tall order, but we knew that we could do it.” CHCOH scored two goals in the first 49 seconds of the third period. Liberti beat Olean goaltender Brady Zambanini on the backhand from just inside the right faceoff circle. Defenseman Sam Hamlett tucked a point shot past Zambanini 27 seconds later to cut the lead in half. Liberti scored consecutive goals to erase the deficit midway through the third period. Liberti beat Zambanini highglove from the slot on the power play at 3:15 and deked
to beat the sprawling goaltender with under 11 minutes to play. “I worked hard,” Liberti said. “I was able to put the puck in the net. There’s not much more I can say. It’s just an amazing moment.” Liberti found teammate Collin Rampado for the game-winninggoal. Liberti and Rampado worked the two-on-one to perfection, as Rampado converted the right-hand wrist shot from the slot. Nick Kindzia expanded the CHCOH lead to two goals at 4:51. Kindzia went coast-to-coast and deked Zambanini for the insurance goal. Liberti added his fourth goal with the empty net to cap off the unprecedented run. The Hawks carry their momentum to the state competition next weekend in Long Island, N.Y. SUPER SUNDAY 2014: DAY TWO Niagara-Wheatfield’s third consecutive championship highlighted Monday’s games
By Joe Ray - Digital Content Intern
Niagara-Wheatfield’s third consecutive league title highlighted Monday’s three championship games at day two of the 30th annual Super Sunday High School Hockey Championships. St. Joe’s 4 – Bishop Timon-St. Jude 2 After a shaky start to the season led to a 6-10 record, head coach Rich Crozier rallied his St. Joe’s squad in the face of adversity. Their journey back to the top of the Monsignor Martin Association concluded with a gritty, hard-fought 4-2 victory over Bishop Timon-St.
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Jude. St. Joe’s goaltender and championship MVP Peter Chopra was phenomenal in net for the Marauders, stopping 29 of 31 Timon shots in the win. Dominic Perna led all scorers in the game with two goals and an assist. Connor McKenna and Nicholas Zenger also scored as St. Joe’s beat Timon for the second straight year in the Monsignor Martin championship. “This one’s a little bit different from last year,” Crozier said. “Obviously we’re playing some great hockey at the right time. There was certainly a lot of pressure last year to win it. This year, we felt that we needed to peak at the right time, and thankfully for our sake that happened.” Jack Robinson and Justin Blake scored for the Tigers in the loss. Most notably, St. Joe’s was able to keep Section VI’s leading scorer, Timon forward Connor Fields, off the scoresheet. “They’re a great team,” Crozier said in reference to Timon. “We needed to change some things up. I’m just proud of these boys that they bought into it. As a couple of coaches alluded to, we’ve been fortunate enough over the last year or two that we’ve been able to just put a system together and flex our muscles. “The plan was to stop certain players on their team, and the fact
West Hockey / Page 42 that after 15 minutes they hadn’t scored on us, that was a relief and certainly it started to build even more momentum for us to believe we could do this.” Chopra’s play in net led the way for the Marauders, and the goaltender was awarded the team’s hard hat after the game for the effort exerted in limiting the Timon attack. Crozier was quick to credit Chopra for keeping the team in the game. “Here’s a kid that had a devastating loss last year in the championship, 3-2 in overtime. It’s a tough way to lose a game, and you know he had something to prove. Peter’s been fantastic; he was outstanding against Canisius [in the semifinals], and then today as well. He was the MVP, in my opinion.” Having senior leadership from players like Perna was a huge boon for Crozier’s squad as they turned their season around. “Dom’s a unique talent, and we’re very fortunate to have him. I would agree that we leaned on our senior leadership, and then a couple of those younger guys that were here last year.” St. Joe’s will now travel to Long Island to compete in the NY State Catholic high school hockey championship. The Marauders will take on St. Anthony’s at Nassau Coliseum on March 1 at 6:15 p.m. Williamsville East 3 – Kenmore East 2 For the third time in four seasons, the Williamsville East Flames and Kenmore East Bulldogs met in the Federation small school championship. After win-
ning in 2011 and losing in 2012, Williamsville East found the perseverance to defeat the Kenmore East Bulldogs this time around by a score of 3-2. Senior captain Jason Cohen led the Flames with two points in the game, including the game-winning goal in the third period. “Coach [Mike Torrillo] always just says get it to the net, we do that all the time in practice. I just saw it there, I actually tried to get it to my buddy [Alex] Finley up in front, but the puck was just laying there. I was having a pretty bad game, so I just redeemed myself and kept going at it, and it crossed the line. It was the best feeling in the world.” Cohen has been a member of all of the last four Williamsville East teams to appear in the championship game. This win was his second with the Flames, the other being a win over Kenmore East back in 2011. Cohen and the Flames lost to Kenmore East and West Seneca West in 2012 and 2013, respectively. “First year we won, it was the best year of my life. Second year we came back against these guys, and they took it to us pretty hard [Kenmore East won that game by a score of 9-2]. Continued on Page 54)
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Bisons Beat! Buffalo Bison 12U GIRLS News
(Submitted by the Buffalo Bisons) The Buffalo Bison 12U Tier 1 girl’s team participated in the October “Fire on Ice” tournament in Rochester, NY and played against some of the top competition from the USA and Southern Ontario. Drawing a round robin schedule that included the No. 4 ranked Tier 1 USA team East Coast Wizards (Major1) and the No. 6 ranked Canada Tier 1 team Belleville Bearcats, the team competed well, but fell short of advancing to the playoff round after four games. January finds the Bisons finishing up their Lower Lakes Female Hockey league regular season and in pursuit of a playoff spot in the Peewee A division. They started the month with a 3-3 tie at Kitchener, and will look to gain a few more points to advance to the playoffs. The team will also be playing against another highly ranked USA Tier 1 team in February to prepare for states, with games scheduled against the No. 11 rated Tier 1 USA New Jersey Colonials. After a weekend tournament at Toronto Leaside in early March, the mostly 11 year old team will look forward to competing in the New York State 12U Tier 1 tournament against the Syracuse Nationals in Rochester, NY. After an early season 3-1 loss to Syracuse, the Bisons will look to avenge their loss and repeat as State Champions. The Buffalo Bison 12U team is currently ranked No. 21 in the MyHockey rankings for USA Tier 1 Teams.
MOHL Hockey
The Bantam MOHL Team (Coach Tony Corigliano) won their Division at the Cleveland Rock n Roll Tournament this past Weekend. After a 5-5 Tie in the First Game (blowing a 4-1 Lead with 8 minutes left), the Team clamped down and allowed only 3 Total Goals in the following 4 Games, winning 3-0 in the Final. They competed against a Team from Pittsburgh, 2 Teams from Ohio and a League Team from Cheektowaga. Patrick Sabato was awarded Tournament MVP.
Pee Wee MOHL D
Cleveland Tournament results for the Rock N Roll Cup in Cleveland this past weekend. The Bison Hockey Pee Wee MOHL D team battled some tough competition from Rochester, Southtowns and Pittsburgh. They went to the Championship Game in their Division and lost a tough battle to the Arctic Foxes. The boys played hard and deserve a little shout out!Notes: ...The Pee Wee Major team, coached by Bob Maulucci, defeated Clarence 4-1 to win a berth in the NYS Championship.
Amherst Youth Hockey Announces AYH House Programs are completely open to non-residents. The Tier I, Tier II and Girls Travel Programs are also open to non-residents, but on a limited basis. Complete details on this can be found on the AYH website under the Association tab. www.amherstyouthhockey.org. Try-outs for the upcoming 2014-2015 Travel season will March and April. The specifics on date, times, and levels can be found on the AYH website!
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West News and Notes the WNY area and beyond. She retired from her position as a public relations assistant at Niagara County Community College after 38 years. Janet now works on the NY magazine as well as WNY Hockey Report. Around the West Section
NYHOL’s Schultz Recognized (Above Bill Pavone presents Janet with the Dr. James Rusin Award)
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anet Schultz, women’s columnist, photographer and designer for New York Hockey Online Magazine was recognized by the WNYGVIH Federation for her support. She was given the Dr. James Rusin Award for her “Honoring Dedication and commitment To Girls Varsity Ice Hockey in WNY.” Last year’s recipient, Kenmore’s Bill Pavone, made the presentation at the WNYGVIH Championships. “Janet was there from the beginning attending meetings with the parents group, covering the showcase games and being the one true media constant throughout the whole process,” said Pavone. “She attends as many games as she can and has made girl’s and women’s hockey one of her priorities. “Without the efforts and support of people like Janet, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to see our young women represent their high schools playing ice hockey.” “Dr. Rusin would be proud!” Pavone concluded. Janet has covered hockey for over 25 years, along with her husband Randy, a well-known hockey reporter in
...Amherst will be the site of the NYS Championships for Tier I on March 7-9. ...Volunteers are needed for the Girl’s Tier II Nationals to be held at the Northtowns Center in Amherst on March 2-6. If you’re interested contact Renae Gattozzi, nyrmg@ msn.com ...The Amherst Knights Squirt Major Select team won the President’s Day tournament in Tonawanda. ...The Depew Saints have awarded Thomas Parinili the Eric Christopher Ness Award for the first time of the honor. Ryan Stefaniak was the recipient of the Miller Award and Tim Setteducati, the Swiech Award. ...Monroe County Youth Hockey’s South Pee Wee A team had an overtime 2-1 victory over Perinton in the Empire Championship. They end the season with a 4-11-1 record. The MCYH Squirt B team won the EAHC Championship with a 3-1 win over Perinton and close out with a 15-3-2 record. The Monroe Bantam Minor Tier I team won the President’s Power Play Tournament with a 5-0-0 record. ...The Rochester Monarch’s 16U team qualified for the NYS Tier I 16U Tournament March 14-16 in Amherst. ...Perinton’s Pee Wee B team won EAHC championship in a shoot-out. ...Rochester’s Squirt Mixed Team took the President’s Power Play Championship. ...The Tri County Shamrock Tournament originally scheduled for March 14-16 has been cancelled. ...West Seneca’s Bantam Tier II team won the Mid-Winter Classic in Jamestown defeating Butler Valley 3-2. ...West Seneca’s Mite team is featured in a Basil commerical. Watch for them on TV. ...
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Fenton Having AllAmerican Season
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he last 12 months have been a dramatic change for Lawson Fenton. Fenton went from playing for the Stars (Buffalo) to developing into a star for the Rochester Junior Americans Empire team. He has transformed from having to find a way to keep the sport fun while suffering through a very disappointing season to enjoying his new surroundings while preparing for a playoff run in the USPHL. “We knew we had something special when we signed Lawson,” states head coach Jeff Kolcon. “We played the Buffalo Stars several times last year. We would put 20 or 30 shots on Lawson before we could break through. He was tough. What Lawson saw in one period last year in shots is equivalent to a whole game for most other teams.” Lawson posted a record of 0-16 for the Stars with a 6.43 goals against average. Despite those stats, Rochester did not hesitate to sign Fenton as soon as he was available. “Most coaches would stop any discussion about a player after looking at those numbers,” says Kolcon. “If we would not have watched him perform so strongly against our team, we would have laughed him off.” This year, the only one laughing is Fenton. He finished the regular season with an Empire Division best 25-2-0-1 record, along with a goals against average of 2.71 and a .910 save percentage, both solidly among the top ten overall. His solid play in net helped lead the Junior Americans to the Empire Northern Conference title with a 36-3-0-1 record. Last year, Fenton’s team was a nearly exact opposite with a 3-35 record. Associate head coach Tom McDonald thinks Fenton has played even stronger than his numbers would suggest. “We have played our entire roster in many games. Some of our younger players are still developing and that has affected some of Lawson’s numbers,” says McDonald. “But when you look at his performances against the top teams like Florida, Syracuse, and Boston, his stats are incredible.” Fenton and the Junior Americans have found great success this season despite having played the toughest schedule in the Empire Division. Only two of their games have been against non-playoff teams while nineteen games have been played against top six ranked teams in the division. The Junior Americans will be counting on Fenton to continue his strong play in the USPHL playoffs. (Article submtted by Rochester Junior Americans)
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Iroquois Chiefs Report JV Lose in OT
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n truly heartbreaking and gut wrenching fashion the JV Iroquois lost in overtime 4-3 on Friday, February 21 to league champions West Seneca West. The JV Chiefs played their hearts out and regardless of score the team played brilliantly. Playing any team with seven more players is difficult and the Chiefs played aggressively through their fatigue. Alex Held lead the way with two highlight worthy goals. His first goal was on a 2 on 1 opportunity where he knocked his own rebound out of the air to score and his second goal was just a pretty as his quick hands beat the West goalie clean on a breakaway. Continuing his great play was 8th grader Cam Ellis. His greasy slick moves against a stout defensive pairing allowed him to find time and space to beat the WSW Indians over the left glove. Freshman, Jamie Bonn, centered the defensively sound second line and frustrated the Indians top line all night. The defensive corp of Garret Miller, Patrick Marrone, Owen Creighton and James Garvey played big minutes and were sensational even while exhaustated. Not to be forgotten and getting special notice from the opposing coach was goaltender Colton DeGrace. He unbeatable for most of the night. In the end the Chiefs may have lost on the scoresheet but in the minds of their opponents and fans they were winners.
Chiefs End Playoff Run
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he Varsity Chiefs played three games Feb. 14 and 15. The final two playoff games were against Starpoint in back to back meetings on Friday and Saturday night. The final local game of the season was on Monday. Both of the Starpoint games were highly physical, littered with penalties, and non-stop action. The Chiefs finished their playoff run with a 3-1 win on Friday and lost 7-1 on Saturday. Friday’s game brought a strong defensive battle from the Chiefs, and enough offense to secure the win. Steve Kaufmann provided the offense with 2 goals and an assist with Ryan Marshall adding the third. Strong defensive performances were shown by Richard Karalus, Andrew Wil-
son and Aiden Abraszek in the 3rd period to minimize a Starpoint comeback. Maverick Blachowicz was stellar in net making many point blank saves throughout the game to keep the Chiefs in the lead. Saturday brought a 7-1 loss to the Chiefs who couldn’t pull out the win. The lone goal of the night was scored by Mark Morganti off an assist by Kaufmann. The Chiefs played their last game before their state tournament on Monday night versus Southwest/Maplegrove. The Chiefs came out with a poor start going down 3-0 early before Aiden Abraszek netted the first goal to cut the deficit to two. Andrew Wilson added the second to bring the Chiefs within one but Southwest would add a late second period goal to lead 4-2 after two periods. Southwest would add a 5th early in the 3rd, but then goalie Rob Bauer shut the door for good. Richard Karalus scored the 3rd Chiefs goal on the power play, assisted by AJ Takac and Aiden Abraszek. A minute later Iroquois struck again, making the score 5-4 on a goal by Abraszek assisted by Ryan Marshall. Andrew Wilson tied the game off assists by Marshall and Abraszek. The two teams headed to overtime tied at 5, where Mark Morganti netted the game winner, off an assist by Aiden Abraszek, taking the game 6-5.
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A.J. Takac gets ready to faceoff against Lancaster during Sunday night’s game. Takac netted two goals for the night. (Iroquois Photo)
Cazenovia Girls Claim Success This Season
Chiefs End Regular Season With Win Against Lancaster The Iroquois Chiefs Boys Hockey team finished the regular season on Sunday night with a 5-4 win against Lancaster. Chief’s defenseman Andrew Wilson set the tone with strong physical play in the first minutes of the first period. Iroquois gave up the lead three times in a jam-packed first period, but answered each time with goals by Aiden Abraszek (assisted by Steven Kaufmann), Steven Kaufmann (assisted by Aiden Abraszek), and A.J. Takac (with the assist by Andrew Wilson). Heading into the second period, solid offensive performances were shown by Pat Stenzel and Jonathan Lavis, their efforts leading to two Chief goals. The first of two second period goals was shot by Steven Kaufmann (assisted by Ryan Marshall and Aiden Abraszek), and the other, an unassisted goal by A.J. Takac (his second of the night). Stenzel, Lavis and Danny Taggert each created opportunities throughout the period. The score was 5-3 at the end of the second. The Chiefs had a strong defensive third period, maintaining the lead until the last minute of the game, when Lancaster added one more to the board. That would not be enough, as Iroquois secured the win against Lancaster 5-4. (Stories submitted by Iroquois Hockey)
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he Cazenovia 19u Lady Chiefs have taken home their second and third first place trophies of the season starting with a five game undefeated series at the Adirondack Northtstars Winter Classic. The girls beat teams from Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Rochester to take home the banner. The goalies took home 4 out of 5 shutouts; the defensive team kept all but 3 goals from slipping by. The power forwards outscored their opponents 19-3. The final game vs. the Connecticut Northern Stars went all the way to a shootout, where forwards Erin Gehen and Caitie Horvatits each popped one in the net for the win. The Lady Chiefs took home their third first place trophy at the Sarah Backstrom Tournament in Erie, PA the first weekend in February. The girls had a fascinating undefeated run, beating teams from Pennsylvania, Toronto, Barrie and Chicago. They outscored their opponents 16 -2; their goalies once again recording 2 out of 4 shutouts; their strong defense only allowing 2 goals to get by them. The forwards were outstanding, keeping the pressure on and playing most of the series in their opponent’s defensive zone. The Cazenovia 19u Lady Chiefs are currently listed as the #3 team in the nation. (My Hockey Rankings) (Top Photo: Adirondack Winter Classic Winners; Bottom: Sarah Backstrom winners)
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Stars’ Players Honored His goal this season is to become a better player.
Buffalo Stars Youth Spotlight Player February 2 Trevor Rice Pee Wee Major Team The Clarence seventh grader enjoys technology with an interest in a career in Engineering. His favorite NHL player is Daniel Briere and his favorite NHL team is the Buffalo Sabres. He enjoys sports, neighborhood activities and reading. His favorite music is rock and his favorite food is mexican/tacos. At 12 years old, the 5”2” hockey player plans to have fun and improve on his positions this season. Trevor also plays football and baseball.
February Student Athlete of the Month Dylan Folger U15 Midget Team Dylan is on the high honor roll at North Tonawanda High School with an grade point average of 98. He is a winger for the Stars and has been a member of the Stars for three seasons. He also plays junior varsity hockey for North Tonawanda High School and travel soccer for NWAA and varsity soccer for NT. He has competed at the Olympic Training Facility in Ohio in soccer. The ninth grader enjoys math and science and plans a career in the science field. His favorite NHL player is Nathan Gerbe and his favorite college team is Michigan State. He enjoys video games and reading and his favorite food is pizza.
Youth Spotlight Player for February 9 Breyden Dixon Pee Wee Major Team Breyden is 11 years old and plays forward for the Stars. He is in sixth grade and his favorite subject is science. He plans on being an entrepreneur. His favorite NHL player is Sidney Crosby and his favorite NHL team is the Pittsburgh Penguins. Breyden also enjoys roller hockey, golf and running. HIs favorite food is chinese. Breyden’s goal for this season is to score more goals and more assists. More Spotlight Players on Page 50
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Squirts Place Second in Three Rivers Cup Tournament The Buffalo Stars Squirt Mixed team had another successful weekend, this time in Pittsburgh from the 14th to the 16th. The Stars had their entire roster ready to go, except for center Kenny Fox, who was on a family vacation. The team knew missing one of their key centers would mean everyone needed to step up, and that they did. The Stars first game was on Friday afternoon against the Arctic Foxes. With most of the team coming straight from a 4-hour car ride into the rink, nobody would have been blamed for thinking this would be a rough game for the Stars. However, strong plays in all three zones lead to a 3-2 victory. Goals came form Ian Schrader, Bobby Rydzewski and Dylan Klodzinski, with assists from Sam Staerker and Crosby Juliano. Klodzinski’s goal came with just 25 seconds left in the game, and capped off a strong third period that included two penalty kills. The second game of the tournament was to be played at 7am Saturday morning, and, because of a 50 minute drive, the squirts and their families would have to hit the road shortly after 5am. Knowing this, Coach Justin Mullen asked the players to stay out of the pool and be in their rooms by 9pm Friday night. While other teams could be heard running through the halls of the hotel until after midnight, the Stars listened to their coach and found themselves well rested the next morning. The team was so rested, in fact, that they played what might have been their best game all year and won 7-1. Each of the first 5 goals came from different players, including Cameron Smith, Logan Schwartz, Kirk Mohawk, Dylan Klodzinski and Nolan Smith. Mohawk went on to score another, and Klodzinski added another goal and three assists for a 5-point game. Bobby Rydzewski earned the teams second playmaker. Other assists game from Sam Staerker, Ian Schrader, Paul Rydzynski, Nolan Smith and Cameron Smith. Goaltender Noah
Kuras didn’t face too many shots, but made key saves on some early chances that would have given the opposing Pittsburgh Aviators hope. Several parents commented that they could see the Stars putting all of the pieces together in this game; chipping the puck to get it out, dumping the puck when pressured, and playing their positions in the defensive zone – all points that the coaching staff has stressed this year. After watching Team USA beat Russia in a shootout back at the hotel, the Stars returned to the rink for a Saturday afternoon matchup against the Lawrence County Lightning. The Lightning would prove to be a tough opponent, twice coming back from 2-goal leads the Stars had built up. The Stars couldn’t hold on for the win, giving up two goals in the final 5 minutes of the game, but held strong defensively in the final minute to keep the game at a 4-4 tie. Goals again came from Rydzewski, Klodzinski and Schrader, and forward Crosby Juliano added the fourth goal in the third period. Staerker earned another assist for points in 3-straight games, and Mohawk added two assists for his third and fourth tournament points. The tie would ensure that the Stars would be the only undefeated team going into the next round. Later that evening, as scores from other games came in, the Stars learned their efforts landed them in first place and gave them a bye directly into the 2pm championship game on Sunday. Sunday’s championship game appearance meant the Stars were guaranteed hardware yet again, making them 2 for 2 earning trophies in tournaments this year. The coaching staff mentioned that they had never seen the team so ready to go like they were for this game; the players ran their own pre-game warmup and had time in the locker room to talk to each other. Unfortunately, there comes a time for every team when they are just missing that spark needed to push them, and that came for the Stars in this game. (Continued on Pg. 50)
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Spotlight Player of the Week for February 16 Alex Augustine Midget U15 Team Alex has been with the Stars for one year on defense. He is a sophomore at Alden School and is on the Merit Roll. Alex also plays JV Hockey, Basketball and is a member of the Track team during his Split Season of hockey. He enjoys math and plans on being a CPA. His favorite NHL’er is Thomas Vanek and his favorite hockey team is Michigan State. Alex’s hobbies include fourwheeling and boating and he also enjoys pasta and country music. His family are his role models because “they are awesome.” His Uncle Dave is his personal hero because “he is really funny.” This season Alex plans to become a better hockey player.
Youth Spotlight Player for February 23 Connor Robinson Pee Wee Major Team Connor is 11 years old and plays defense. He is a seventh grader and his favorite subject is science. Connor plans to become an FBI Agent or enter law enforcement. His favorite NHL player is Anze Kopitar and his favorite team, the Los Angeles Kings. He enjoys playing all sports and his favorite food is spaghetti. Connor’s role model is his Dad because he teaches him all kinds of things that he will use in life. Police officers are his personal heros because of their dangerous job. Connor also plays lacrosse, baseball and runs track. His goals this season are to become a better player and have a successful season.
From the beginning it was clear that the boys were drained from their weekend, but they fought on regardless and even scored the first goal of the game – something that did in every game of the tournament. Rydzewski scored that lone goal, with Mohawk and Klodzinski adding to their assist totals. The opposing South Hills Panthers came back with three unanswered goals, despite some great saves in between from goaltender Noah Kuras. The game was not a total loss, however, as the Stars were able to kill off a 5 on 3 situation late in the 2nd period, and kept the Panthers off the scoreboard for the entire second half of the game. The Stars even had the chance to pull their goaltender for an extra attacker, and generated some quick chances in the final minutes of the game. They showed through their efforts that they were more than worthy of their silver medals and the accompanying team trophy. Although not everyone officially contributed on the score sheet, this team knows that when one person scores “we all score.” Andrew Allen, Nick Botzenhart and Joshua Cooper made great defensive plays all weekend, and Garrett Brown came up big, especially with a few excellent shot blocks as he charged the opposing defensemen. The coaches of this team couldn’t be more proud of how these players have grown over the past season. They know the benefits of keeping a group of kids together so they can learn from and about each other and this game, and this season has shown the change that can bring. Being a mixed team, not all of these players will be moving up to Pee Wee, but the memories and knowledge gained this year will follow all of these players in the years to come. “Thank you for bringing us together as a team!”
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third period, 3 by Kenmore and 2 by West he Kenmore Varsity Girls Ice Hockey Seneca giving Kenmore a 4-2 win and Team were one of the first teams place in the semi-final round. to join the WNYGVIH Federation Kenmore and Amherst/Sweet four years ago. They have made their Home had the first game of a doublemark by taking the Section VI Chamheader in the Semi-Finals. Kenmore pionship three times and now they got on the scoreboard with two have secured the League Champigoals in the first period, another in onship for the first time. the second and an empty netter in Following a weekend trip to By Janet Schultz the third to secure a 4-0 shutout. In Clayton, NY to play in the New Janet@nyhockeyonline.com goal for Kenmore was Lauren Pray. York State Varsity Girls Ice Hockey Monsignor Martin’s chance to Championships, they returned home head to the finals ended with a 4-1 for a Monday night start to the League loss to Lancaster/Iroquois in the semiplayoffs. final game. Lancaster scored two in The playoffs began at 4:30 p.m. with the first period, a shorthanded goal in #6 Frontier/Orchard Park playing #3 Monthe second and then dropped the third in at signor Martin (the reigning champion). Like 9:25 of the second. Monsignor Martin’s Marielle most of the games during the season, a winner couldn’t have been predicted. Monsignor Martin got on Buffamone scored at 13:05 of the third for Monsignor Martin’s lone goal. the scoreboard in the first Kenmore, at the top of with a shot by Madeline the heap for the first four Stoklosa and again in the years and Lancaster/ second by Captain Rachel Iroquois at the bottom Lenard. However Frontier/ all four years met in the Orchard Park answered in Championship. Valenthe third on a power play tine’s Day will be a day goal by Karley Baker, asto remember for both sisted by Frangelica Bautz teams as the game gets and Meghan Roche. and a started with Lancaster/ hint of OT flew around the Iroquois scoring in the arena. However, it was not first period on a shot by to be and Monsignor MarFonfara. Second period tin moved on to the semigoes scoreless and its finals by taking the game still 1-0 Lancaster/Iro2-1. quois. Game 2 found fourtime last place Lancaster/ (Continued on Page 58) Iroquois on the winning side with a 4-0 win over firstyear Nichols. Scoring were Meghan Fonfara, Caitlin Horvatis, Jenelle Piatt and Brianna Colucci. Horvatis also had an assist. Lancaster/Iroquois headed to the semi-finals for the first time. Scoreless going into the second period of the third match-up, Amherst/Sweet Home put three on the boards in the second and Williamsville answered back with two in the third, which again made everyone think “overtime.” However that was not the scenario as the Katz beat Williamsville 3-2 and headed to the semifinals. The final game of the night would be Kenmore against West Seneca. Another scoreless first period and then at 11:30 of the second Kenmore’s Emily King put one past the West Seneca goalie. Five goals came in the
Kenmore Takes It All!
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BROCKPORT 11 years and one day. That was the period between wins for the Golden Eagles against Oswego until their 3-2 win February 15th on the road CANISIUS as part of their four-game season-ending winning streak that launched them into fifth place in the SUNYAC. They played Buffalo State in the first round of the playoffs. The team found offense The Griffs locked up a in the second half of the first round home playoff seconference schedule averries, but had won just two by Warren Kozireski aging 3.6 goal per game. of their last seven games Wkozires@brockport.edu Sophomore Chase Nieuheading into the final weekwendyk led with a careerend of the regular season. best 24 points with senior In two-game series Chris Cangro, sophomore against Atlantic Hockey defenseman Chris Luker (New Hartford/Jr. Sabres) and freshman Jake Taylor also foes this season, the Griffs are now 6-3-1 in the first game but just 3-5-2 in the finale. at 20 points or better. The four game winning streak was their first since the 2009-10 season, but their first against all confer- Senior goaltender Tony Capobianco (pictured above) recorded his sixth career shutout February 14th ence opponents in over 15 seasons. against Air Force tying him for the most in the program’s Division I history with Bryan Worosz (2001-05) and Andrew Loewen (2006-10). BUFFALO STATE Freshman defenseman Geoff Fortman scored his first collegiate January 25th against Mercyhurst. The Bengals 6-6-4 conference record landed them in fourth place and a first round home playoff game ERIE CC against Brockport. The two teams slit The Kats finished the regular season 15-10 and the season series. Junior Dan Turgeon (Monroe CC) led the team with seeded third for the NJCCA national championships in 25 points in his Division III season with senior Mike Hudson Valley where they were shutout in the semiZanella (Ithaca) and freshman Taylor Pryce right be- finals by number-two Williston State. Freshman Jacob Macchioni (Blasdell) finished fifth hind. in the nation with 31 goals while he and sophomore “Pryce is a very powerful skater who not only when teammate Brad Ferrell (East Amherst) were 4-5 in points he hits guys, but when he gets the puck on his stick he has the ability to beat guys wide; he’s scored some big with 31 and 30 points respectively. goals for us,” said head coach Nick Carriere. Their .500 season was their worst in-conference since the two win 2009-10 campaign.
Western New York Men’s College Hockey Report
www.nyhockeyonline.com FREDONIA The Blue Devils won just one regular season game in February, but with two ties, earned enough points to finish in the sixth and final playoff position. They headed to Oswego for a first round game. “We’ve had some success there in the past,” said head coach Jeff Merideth. “To go on the road in the playoffs is actually not a bad thing. In a one-shot deal, there is a lot of pressure on the team that is home and we’re a six-seed; who cares about us? And you go to a mid-week game, even with the most faithful of followers, and it will be half full. I’d rather be on the road half full than at home half full honestly.” Stephen Castriota (Bellport) and Jared Wynia were the only two with ten or more goals while senior Matt Owczarczak (Buffalo) and defenseman Ryan Wilkinson were in double-figures in assists.
GENESEO Earning their first regular season SUNYAC since the 1989-90 season and their first 20-win season since 1990-91 (23-4-3), the Knights have home-ice advantage for the SUNYAC playoffs. “I was in high school,’ said eighth-year head coach Chris Schultz when asked where he was in 1989-90. “I was an RIT fan and it wasn’t too many years after that that I was recruited by Duff (former Geneseo head coach Paul Duffy) to play here, so I was young. “It’s tough to get to the top, and it just makes me respect what Plattsburgh and Oswego have done interchanging championships for so many years. It is so incredibly hard to play consistently all year and not give up games to teams you should beat and the hard part next year is staying there.” Justin Scharfe (Webster) led the squad in scoring while senior Zachary Vit completed his stellar career with a 17 goal campaign and reached 120 career points.
West Section / Page 53 MONROE CC After advancing to the finals with a 10-0 win over host Hudson Valley CC, the Tribunes lost in the final for the second consecutive year to Williston State 2-0. The game marked the final one in program history as it was announced prior to the season that the school was dropping the sport.
NAZARETH Seven of the team’s season total of eight wins came during the 2014 portion of the schedule and the Golden Flyers finished last, but just one point out of fifth in the tight ECAC West. They traveled to third place Hobart for a first round playoff game. The Golden Flyers swept the ECAC West weekly awards for the period ending January 26th with Scott Dawson winning Player of the Week after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime of a 2-1 victory over Utica; Ed Zdolshek Goaltender of the Week for his pair of upset victories over the weekend by stopping 80 of 82 shots for a .976 save percentage and David Seward (Williamsville/Junior Sabres) Rookie of the Week after he scored two goals Saturday to help Nazareth to a 4-1 upset win over Geneseo. Zdolshek was again selected the week ending February 9th after helping Nazareth split a pair of ECAC West Conference games with Manhattanville with 54 saves.
NIAGARA With two games remaining in the regular season, the Purple Eagles had clinched a first round home playoff game thanks largely to a run of five wins over seven games from late-January to early February. Junior Isaac Kohls matched his goal output from his first two years combined while sophomore Hugo Turcotte eclipsed the 20 point mark for the first in his career and was second on the squad in scoring. (Continued on Page 61)
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Western New York Women’s College Hockey Report by Janet Schultz Janet@nyhockeyonline.com JDSchultz3663@gmail.com
Buffalo
The Bengals have had a rough start to their season, going winless through the majority of 2013-14. However, they had a comeback at the end and beating Cortland 3-2 on January 25 and then Neumann 3-2 on February 15. They also tied Neumann and New England. With Cortland sweeping Chatham and Elmira beating Neumann in ECAC West play the Bengals secured the final playoff spot and face #3 Oswego in the first round/quarterfinals. Buffalo faces the loss of Melissa Ash (#9/Binghamton), Emily Cornett, Christina Zandri (#26/ Baldwinsville) and Jordan Lee to graduation. Ash is a native of Binghamton and graduated from Chenango Valley High school. She is a Forward who played for the Syracuse Stars. Zandri comes from Baldwinsville and played her hockey with the Syracuse Stars organization. She is also a forward. This was Head Coach Candice Moxley’s first season behind the bench.
West Hockey / Page 54 RIT
The RIT women earned a dramatic 2-1 overtime win against CHA rival Syracuse to garner a third seed in the conference tournament. Senior Melissa Bromley scored the game-winner 2:31 into overtime to give RIT a weekend sweep over Syracuse. The Tigers will host Penn State for a best-of-three series at press time. This is the second straight season they have been seeded third. RIT closes out the regular season 16-15-3 and 11-72 in the CHA, their second year in the conference. Coach Scott MacDonald will lose three Seniors, Captain Melissa Bromley (#28), Erin Zach (#20) and Kourtney Kunichika (#26), giving the team a strong start to the 2014-15 season.
The Tigers raised over $8,000 for Wounded Warriors when they auctioned off camouflage jerseys they wore during a special Salute to Troops night.
www.nyhockeyonline.com (Continued from Page 42) The third year was a nail-biter. But I love the team this year, we all have good chemistry and work for each other, and it was nice to get the win.” The game began at a rapid pace, with Williamsville East’s Mike Mostowy and Kenmore East’s David Christopher trading goals in the game’s first four minutes. That tie would last until 23 seconds into the second period, as Trevor Pray gave the Bulldogs their only lead of the game. Dylan Cicero beat Kenmore East goaltender Luke Stewart at the 8:25 mark of the second period with assists from Cohen and Matt Steffan, and then Cohen’s thirdperiod goal proved to be the one to clinch the championship. Niagara-Wheatfield 3 – Williamsville North 2 Before the year, the NiagaraWheatfield Falcons set out to do what no Section VI team had done before: win three consecutive championships. It took three goals for the Falcons to win that third championship over the Williamsville North Spartans by a score of 3-2. Justin Durkee, the Falcons’ leading scorer, provided the gamewinning goal at 8:49 of the second period. Domenic Senese and
West Hockey / Page 55 James Stenzel led all NiagaraWheatfield scorers with a goal and an assist each. Williamsville North got on the board early with two goals in the first 1:46 of play on Falcons goaltender Nate Sommers. Zach Kurbiel got the scoring started 59 seconds into the first period, followed by Brian Couto just 47 seconds later on a long shot from the point that made its way through a maze of players in front. After the quick start, NiagaraWheatfield head coach Rick Wrazin had to help his team wipe the slate clean and play a much better game over the final 43 minutes of regulation. “It wasn’t the way we wanted to start the game, that’s for sure,” Wrazin said. “I can’t say enough of how I proud I am [of the team] for coming back after dropping two. You see a lot of good teams, in a game like that, have that kind of start and end up giving it away. They hung in there, they came back.” While the Falcons were held scoreless most of the first, they controlled much of the possession through the period. NiagaraWheatfield finally got on the board with 1:01 left in the first period on a goal by Senese. The second period was where the game was won by the Falcons. Just over six minutes into the period, Stenzel beat Spartans goaltender Matthew Ladd assisted by Senese and Dakota Becker. At the 8:49 mark of the second, it was Durkee who found the puck to the right of Ladd and bur-
ied the rebound for the eventual game-winning goal. Durkee, who was also named MVP of the game, was at a loss for words talking about the feelings of scoring the championship-winning goal. “It feels good, I don’t really know how to explain it,” he said. “I just remember [forward Matt] Paonessa was in the corner, and they were all over him for that shift. He just passed it in front, and I was stunned at first when I got it, but eventually I put it in. He’s unbelievable at passing so I knew I was going to get it.” Wrazin acknowledged that the secondary scoring was necessary to pull out the win against a great team like Williamsville North. “For us, we counted on our one line most of the year, so it’s great to see it spreading around in the playoffs. We knew we had guys that could do it; they were squeezing the stick a little bit earlier in the season. When it comes time for the playoffs, everyone’s got to play the same way and they got back to playing hockey the right way and now the points and the goals are coming for them.” The three-time defending champions were elated that they met the lofty goals set before the offseason. The win against Williamsville North represented a tremendous accomplishment for the Niagara-Wheatfield program. “We had the goal of the ‘threepeat’ from the start, but we didn’t say it,” said Wrazin. “We said early on it was our goal to win the third, and then we decided we weren’t going to talk about it again. We knew we wanted it, and I can’t say enough how proud I am of them for bearing down at the end of the season.”
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NY Spotlight / Page 56
Section V Boy’s High School Hockey By Warren Kozireski
W
ebster-Schroeder won their first sectional championship and Fairport took their first in six years in the finals played at RIT’s Ritter Arena.
Class B
anything more. (Webster) Thomas has a ton of banners hanging at the rink and now we finally have one.” The Warriors clinched the title as Montgomery scored an empty net goal with 23 seconds remaining and was named Offensive Most Valuable Player. Winn took Defensive Most Valuable Player and Schuler was named Most Valuable Player.
Schroeder, the sixth seed in Class B with an 11-7-2 regular season record, went 4-0 in the postseason Class A with wins over crossRick Altienas presents Jackson Charron with the Thomas Nichols Scholarship Fairport avenged town rival Webster with Jody Gage looking on. (Section V photo) an overtime defeat to Thomas, Aquinas, HilMcQuaid that ended ton and Victor to earn their season last year their first sectional title in the semi-finals to beat the Knights this season—again since Webster split into two high schools. In the title game, the Warriors jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the semi’s—in triple overtime on a goal by Quinn Wiwhen Casey Winn redirected a perfect pass from the corner edemer. That vaulted them into the final against a Greece Thunder team that advanced by defeating Churchville-Chili by Joe Schuler at 6:36 of the first period. They made it 2-0 when Matt Montgomery pounded in and top-seed Pittsford to advance. After a scoreless first period, the Red Raiders got on the rebound of a Schuler shot on the power play at 11:59 of the board first at 4:10 of the second on a Pat Doud slapshot the second period. Victor threatened in the third as David Farrance had from the right point with assists from Nick Musshaven. his shot from the right point stopped as was the rebound They made it 2-0 in the final minute of the second as Cody attempt from Kyle Pooler. Three minutes later a wrister from Howatt wristed a screen shot through the goaltenders legs Eric Haney went off the glove of Schroder goaltender Ryan with assists to Alex Schoepfel and Cameron Gebhardt. The Thunder put on some pressure in the third. With Buetel and dribbled wide of the net. “We played a tough schedule and it helps when you’re 7:30 left in regulation, Codey Mazeau forced a turnover tested all year and I think that really came into play when it and passed to Anthony Fedele, who backhand attempt was came down to it; we knew how to win those tough games,” stopped by Fairport goaltender Ethan Kaiser. A late Thunder powerplay netted just one shot on goal and they pulled said Schuler. On the first goal, Schuler said “we work on that power their goaltender with 1:31 remaining, but two penalties neplay all the time in practice with the backdoor look. I can’t gated any chance to tie. Fairport’s Jared Carlston scored a five-on-three powsay enough about these guys. We knew we could do it be- er play goal off an assist by Wiedemer to seal the title at cause we knew what we had.” Buetel stopped 16 shots to pick up the shutout. “It feels 14:17. really good. We worked hard all season and couldn’t ask for “We had a terrible third period; they were all over us,”
www.nyhockeyonline.com said Fairport’s sophomore goaltender Ethan Kaiser. “We played good defensively though and were able to get it out of the zone when it mattered. In the locker room we said that defense was first.” “I’ve been waiting three years for this,” said senior defenseman Pat Doud. “Sophomore year we lost to Victor and last year to McQuaid in the semi’s in overtime. Especially senior year I couldn’t ask for anything more. (On his goal) “I had an open lane. (Nick) Musshaven gave me the pass and I just walked in and let it rip. I saw it hit the twine and I couldn’t be happier. At the beginning of the year when we lost to Brighton and went on a losing streak, I never thought we would win the championship. But team bonding really helped halfway through the year and here we are.” Fairport’s Nick Musshaven was named Offensive Most Valuable Player, Kaiser, who made 21 saves in the shutout, Defensive Most Valuable Player and Howatt Most Valuable Player.
Scholarship Spencerport senior Jackson Charron was named the 2013-14 recipient of the Thomas Nichols Scholarship between Section V hockey’s Class A and B championship games held last weekend at Ritter Arena on the RIT campus. Charron was second on the Rangers this past season with 13 goals and added nine assists to help his team to a 13-7 record and second place in the West Division. Charron is the oldest son of Rochester Americans Hall of Famer Craig Charron.
Sedia & Gridley Continued / Page 57 All-League Division I Pittsford’s Greg Weyl was named Player of the Year after his 22 goal— 44 point campaign. Teammates Tim Foster (47 points), Chris Perna and Danny Kelly (league-leading 15 wins) were First Team selections at forward, defense and goaltender respectively. Brighton’s Ernie Clement 52 points) and Greece Thunder Anthony Fedele (35 points) were the other two First Team forwards while Jared Kachaylo of Penfield was the other First Team defenseman. Named to the Second Team were Joe Schuler (F) and Ryan Winn (D) from Webster-Schroeder, Quinn Wiedemer (F) and Ethan Kaiser (G) of Fairport, Brian Wall (F) from Penfield and Zach Buccholz (D) from the Greece Thunder. Pittsford’s Steve Thering was named Coach of the Year.
All League Division IIEast Victor freshman defenseman David Farrance was named Player of the Year after leading the division with 31 goals while teammate Christian Portland (division leading 11 wins) was First Team Goaltender. Aquinas forwards Jimmy Diliberto (league leading 61 points) and Connor Hynes (37 points) along with defenseman Trevor Dennis were also First Team selections as were forward Graham Gooch (38 points) and defenseman Theo Cup of Irondequoit. Second Team forwards were Kyle Pooler (Victor), Anthony Thurston (Irondequoit) and Ben Myles (Canandaigua). Defenseman were RJ Miller (Victor) and Matt Comanzo (Irondequoit) and the Goaltender was Justin Nevinger (Aquinas).
Rick Giuffrida of Irondequoit was named Coach of the Year.
All League Division IIIWest Hilton forwards Sean Robson and Frank Gaffney were named First Team as was defenseman Alex Whitehair. Defenseman Brian Mangene was a Second Team selection. Robson and Gaffney tied for the team lead in points with 42 each and combined for 46 of the team’s season total of 102 goals. Whitehair tied for third on the squad in assists and led Cadets defenseman with 23 points while Mangene finished with nine points as a shutdown defenseman. Spencerport forward Brandon Corey, defenseman Aidan Conolly and goaltender Ryan Shirano completed the First Team. Corey led the team with 25 goals and tied for the team lead with 35 points, Conolly led all team defenseman with 16 assists and 19 points and Shirano was in net for all 13 team wins while sporting a 2.89 goals against average. Churchville-Chili forwards Ryan Cosgrove and Connor Hoyng were Second Team picks after finishing 1-2 on the Saints in scoring with 34 and 27 points respectively. Brockport senior forward Brandon Henshaw was named Division III Player of the Year after leading the entire league with 35 goals and finishing second with 54 points in 20 regular season games. Hilton’s Chris Monfiletto and Spencerport’s Jason Rich were named coCoaches of the Year in Division III.
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Kenmore’s Emily King puts one past the Lancaster/Iroquois goalie and the game is tied 1-1 and remains that way when the buzzer sounds. The first overtime goes scoreless but at 1:37 of the second overtime, Lina Mirabella shoots in the winning goal and Kenmore becomes the WNYGVIH Federation Champion. While shots on goal are not kept for the league, the goalies in this league need a lot of the credit for the close games. If you haven’t attended one of these Girl’s Federation games, make sure to do it next season. They are full of action, skilled hockey and a lot of last minute action to determine a winner!
West Hockey / Page 58 Some Photos from Championship Game! by Janet Schultz
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West Hockey / Page 59
WNYGVIH ALL LEAGUE NAMED N GEHE
LENARD
MALLON
First Team:
Forwards: Erin Gehen (Williamsville), Rachel Lenard (MMHSAA), Missy Mallon (Amherst/Sweet Home) Defense: Rachel Grampp Williamsville), Maddy Grisko (Amherst/Sweet Home) Goalie: Lauren Pray (Kenmore)
Second Team:
GRISKO
Forwards: Meghan Fonfara (Lancaster/Iroquois), Sarah Scolnick (Williamsville), Jill Battista (Kenmore) GRAMPP Defense: Kaeli Mathias (Kenmore), Megan Ruekauf (Lancaster/Iroquois) Goal: Theresa Meosky (Williamsville) PRAY
Honorable Mention:
Forwards: Caitlin Horvatits (Lancaster/Iroquois), Marissa Janiga (Nichols), Jordan Roetzer (Williamsville), Olivia Smith, (Kenmore) Emily King (Kenmore) Defense: Brianna Colucci (Lancaster/Iroquois), Amelia Gajewski (MMHSAA), Grace Simmons (Kenmore), Jessica Urbank (Orchard Park/Frontier), Shannon Moran (MMHSAA), Kathryn Darling (Nichols), Renee Lauer (Amherst/Sweet Home) Goal: Madeline Norton (Lancaster/Iroquois), Mikaela Ditonto (Orchard Park/Frontier), Margaret Janiga (Nichols), Madison Aston (Amherst/Sweet Home), Brianna Gawronski (MMHSAA), Abbie Mutton (West Seneca)
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High School Hockey / Page 60
2014 Women’s Summer Dra� League
Intended for Female Players ages 14 and up Wednesday Evenings beginning April 16th at 6pm
*Designed for female players ages 14 and up *Week 1 will be used to evaluate players. Teams will be picked for the remaining weeks and actual games will be played. *All sessions will be held at the Northtown Center at Amherst 1615 Amherst Manor Drive Williamsville, NY 14221 All Participants will be required to have WNY Roller Hockey Membership ($30) Membership is effective from Sept. 1, 2013 – August 31, 2014 membership forms will be available at the rink during registration
12 Week Session—$65 (player) $50 (goalie) *A full season schedule will be posted on our web site. Please check on Rink Calendar for dates and �mes. *For more Informa�on please contact Eric Haak—716-903-2658 (Eric@wnyrh.com) or Jason Flowers— 716-903-2658 For addi�onal informa�on on all of our programs visit
www.wnyrh.com
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Goaltender Adrian Ignagni was named AHA Goaltender of the Week, while freshman Vincent Muto (Niagara Falls) pocketed Rookie of the Week honors for the week ending January 26th. Muto collected three helpers in NU’s conference sweep of the Tigers moving him into the top spot among defenseman scoring on the Purple Eagles. He finished the weekend with eight shots, and a plus-3 rating. Ignagni stopped 69 of 70 shots in the two wins against RIT for a save percentage of .986 and his first collegiate shutout.
R.I.T. The Tigers ended a nine-game unbeaten streak with a rare win at Air Force and had two games remaining to determine where they would play the first road postseason game in their Division I history. “We’ve got a long way to go as a team,” said head coach Wayne Wilson. “This isn’t a (goaltender Jordan) Ruby problem and it’s not a (goaltender Mike) Rotolo problem, this is a team problem.” Webster’s Dan Schuler had more than doubled his five-goal output from his freshman season with 11 over the first 32 games. Defensemen Nolan Descoteaux came into his senior season with 16 points in 103 games. This season he has 17 points on five goals and 12 assists in 28 games, including an eight-point January. Caleb Cameron scored his first collegiate goal February 14th against Mercyhurst.
OTHER AREA NOTES:
• Junior goaltender Derek Mohney (Amherst) of Curry College was named ECAC Northeast Goaltender of the Week for the period ending January 26th after he was 2-0 on the week including 25 saves and a shutout against SUNY Canton on January 23rd. • Robert Morris sophomore Terry Shafer (Penfield) was named Atlantic Hockey Association Goaltender of the Week for the period ending February 9th after he backstopped the Colonials to three key road points
High School Hockey / Page 61 against RIT. He picked up his first collegiate shutout January 31st against Army and his second February 15th against Niagara. He also was co-GOTW the week ending February 16th. • Brockport native Domenic Trento has committed to play at UMass-Lowell next fall. He is in his second season with the New Jersey Hitmen of the Premier League in the USPHL where he led the league in scoring with six games remaining in their regular season. • Spencerport native Shane Prince netted his first professional (AHL) hat trick January 26th as Binghamton defeated Albany.
Rochester XTreme Hockey League Comes to Lakeshore!
C
urrently entering it’s 14th season, the RXHL is expanding to the Lakeshore Hockey Arena to in 2014! The largest and most popular spring program in Rochester with over 400 players, the RXHL offers divisions for Ponies, Mites, Squirts, Peewees, Bantams, and a highly competitive High School/Junior level that attracts Rochester’s best players. Be sure to check out the link below to see which programs are offered at Lakeshore. Founded in 2001, the RXHL has grown from 8 teams, to more than 40 today. The league runs from early April through late May, finishing before Memorial Day weekend. Unique rules apply to RXHL games including penalty shots for all penalties, and tag-up off sides which helps improve game flow. All games are scored live on Pointstreak, a powerful software which provides detailed statistics in real time. The goal of the RXHL is to offer a local, competitive, and affordable option for kids who are looking for a fun way to end the season. The RXHL offers a unique opportunity for players to play with and against players they may normally not have the chance to. We have players that come from as far west as Batavia, and as far east as Oswego! The expansion allows the RXHL to add to the variety of competition by playing cross-over games against RXHL teams from different locations. We’re very excited about this season and look forward to seeing everyone this spring! For more information on RXHL programs and to register, please check out www.rochesterxhl.com
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T
he first annual Tyler Putnam Awards is scheduled for March 21. The NewEdge Hockey Training Company will be awarding the prestigious Tyler Putnam Award to players from 17 local youth and high school hockey organizations. The award winners are selected by their respective organizations and must meet the Tyler Putnam Award winner criteria of hard work, commitment, and dedication to the game of hockey that Tyler himself was known for. Tyler’s dream was to play for his High School Hockey team, The Irondequoit Eagles, Junior Hockey, Division I Hockey and ultimately Professional Hockey. Tyler was able to realize two of those dreams, having played for The Irondequoit Eagles as an eighth and ninth grader and then with the Maksymum Junior team here in Rochester, NY. At the conclusion of his first Junior season, Tyler was well on his way of realizing his next dream as he was offered roster spots on five Junior A teams from Rochester, Minnesota to San Diego, California. In July of 2011, Tyler’s hockey dreams ended tragically when he died of an illness called “meningococcemia”, which is an infection that affects the bloodstream. Tyler was known for his high energy, incredible work ethic, and desire to achieve his goals. Tyler has been memorialized with a banner hanging above the ice in Lakeshore Hockey Arena as well as by a memorial helmet sticker that dawns the symbol of a hard hat – a symbol of Tyler’s hard work and dedication to the game that he loved.
West Hockey / Page 62 The formal presentation of the First Tyler Putnam Awards will be made at the Whittier
House in Rochester. Each recipient will receive a very special commemorative plaque and will be honored on the NewEdge Hockey website, their respective organizations website, The Tyler Putnam Foundation website as well as in various media outlets. Participating Programs:
Aquinas High School Hockey Program Brockport High School Hockey Program Canandaigua Youth Hockey Rochester Edge Girls Hockey Program Greece Athena High School Hockey Program Greece Olympia/Arcadia High School
Hockey Program Hilton High School Hockey Program Irondequoit High School Hockey Program Maksymum Hockey Program Monroe County Youth Hockey Perinton Youth Hockey / Rochester Monarchs Rochester Grizzlies Rochester Youth Hockey / Rochester Alliance Spencerport High School Hockey Program Tri-County Youth Hockey Webster Schroeder High School Hockey Program Webster Thomas High School Hockey Program
Not only is a an award program like this well over due, the benefits of the program reach much deeper than memorializing an amazing young man and hockey player, recognizing exceptional hard work and dedication by local, young athletes, but it donates 100% of surplus funds to local and national charities.
Recipients of the 2014 Tyler Putnam Award Hockey Program
Aquinas High School Brockport High School Canadaigua Youth Rochester Edge Girls Greece Athena High School Hilton High School Irondequoit High School Maksymum Hockey Monroe County Youth Perinton Youth/Rochester Monarchs Rochester Grizzlies Spencerport High School Tri-County Youth Webster Schroeder High Webster Thomas High
Recipient
Trevor Dennis Mitchell Henshaw Ben Myles Abilgail Weltman Trevor Brown Austin Bull Theodore Cup Thomas Grammatico Spencer Nuccitelli Nick Charon Max McNally Jackson Charron Cameron Dony Billy VanApeldorn Alex Puluci
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Ontario Junior Hockey / Page 63
OHL All-Stars Selected
T
he Ontario Junior Hockey League announced the OJHL First and Second AllStar Teams. Among them are three players from New York State, Nick Desimone, East Amherst; Shane Bennett, Grand Island and Pat Egan, Rochester. 1st Team All-Star G – Kevin Entmaa (Aurora Tigers) D – Nick Desimone (Buffalo Jr. Sabres) D – Michael Prapavessis (Toronto Lakeshore Patriots) F – Taylor Best (Whitby Fury) F – Steve Hladin (Georgetown Raiders) F – Liam Kerins (North York Rangers) 2nd Team All-Star G – Nathan Perry (Cobourg Cougars) D – Alex D’Oliveira (Cobourg Cougars) D – Tyler Mayea (Trenton Golden Hawks) F – Shane Bennett (Milton Icehawks) F – Pat Egan (Buffalo Jr. Sabres) F – Mike Panowyk (Whitby Fury) F - Brett Seney (Kingston Voyageurs) Goaltender – Kevin Entmaa (Aurora Tigers) Defence – Nick Desimone (Buffalo Jr. Sabres) Playing his first season in the
OJHL, the 19-year old rearguard was a pillar on the back-end for the Buffalo Jr. Sabres, anchoring the club’s power play while providing a steadying presence in the defensive end. The native of East Amherst, New York finished fourth on the Sabres and second overall among OJHL defenders with 51 points in 52 games played this Nick Desimone, Buffalo Jr. Sabres, East Amherst season, helping the (Timothy T. Ludwig/OJHL Images) club capture a second consecutive West Di51 games played while being named vision title, while earning Gongshow the OJHL Gongshow Gear SouthGear South-West Conference PlayerWest Conference Player-of-the-Month of-the-Month runner-up honours in in November. Bennett was a member October. He fired home 13 goals, also of the OJHL South-West Conference second best in the league, and his 38 All-Star Team that finished as runnerassists were tied for third among reup at the Central Canada Cup All-Star arguards and 19th overall among all Challenge to the QJAAAHL. skaters. Desimone would be named Buffalo Jr. Sabres forward Pat to the OJHL South-West Conference Egan is a native of Rochester, New All-Star Team and would help them York. Leading the club in scoring, he finish as runner-up at the 2013 Central finished third among all scorers with Canada Cup All-Star Challenge as the 78 points and 13 power play goals, only defenceman to record two goals while finishing fourth overall with 47 in the tournament. He is committed to assists in 51 games played. Egan was join Union College next season. Bennett’s teammate on the South2 West Conference All-Star Team at the Milton Icehawks forward Shane Central Canada Cup. Bennett is a native of Grand Island, New York. Named a 1st Team All-Star (Submitted by the OJHL) in 2012-13, Bennett finished fifth with 36 goals and fourth with 77 points in
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NYS Tournaments / Page 65
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 Clinton Central NY Squirt Invitational March 7-9 Onondaga Tournaments thunder Rumble Tournament March 14-16 Salmon River 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 Bob Mercurio Extreme Freeze Mite Tournament: March 7th - 9th dgrzeszczuk@twcny.rr.com
EAST Clifton Park Mite March Madness X-Ice Jamboree Marh 8-9 Schenectady 2014 Shatterpoint Tour-
nament Squirts, March 7-9 Pee Wees, March 14-16
WEST Cazenovia Founders Scholarship Tournament March 8 - 10; 15-17; 22-24 www.Cazhockey.com Wheatfield Blades Mite March Madness Tournament February 28 - March 2 West Seneca Luke Gould Memorial Tournament March 21-23 Contact Jim Bowen, 716777-1396 jbowen@sahlen.com Tonawanda Lightning Tournament March 9 - 16 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.
March 21-23 Hyde Park Ice Arena Open to Midget U15 AA; U16 AA and AAA; 18U AA sportsnia@aol.com
Buffalo Stars Niagara Falls Classic Hockey Tournament
Buffalo Stars Tryouts 2014-15 Monday, March 10 @ Holiday 7:30 p.m. Squirt Minor (2005) & Squirt Major (2004) 8:30 p.m. Peewee Minor (2003) & Peewee Major (2002) Tuesday, March 11 @ Hyde Park 6:45 p.m. Mite (2006-07) & Squirt Minor (2005) 7:45 p.m. Peewee Major (2002) Wednesday, March 12 @ Holiday 5:45 p.m. Mite (2006-07) & Squirt Major (2004) 6:45 p.m. Peewee Minor (2003) & Peewee Tier 3 All participants must present a release from their current organization in order to participate in the tryout. Release required even from House League. Tryout fee: $15 per session -- Coaches will be announced Feb. 15
Contact: SportsNiag@aol.com General Information: Pete Preteroti, 685-1122 or online at www.buffalostars.com
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FEBRUARY TOURNAMENT RESULTS Niagara Falls (NY) President’s Day Tournament 2014
Hyde Park Arena Teams participating from NY, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Tennessee and Canada. Squirt Minor Champions: Milton Winterhawks Squirt Mixed Columbus 5-1 over Niagara Junior Purple Eagles. To get to the finals NJPE beat Mt. Lebanon Hornets 3-0 and Olean Arrows 8-0 and had a 4-1 loss to Columbus. Squirt Major Lancaster Firebirds 3-0 over West Seneca Wet Seneca tied Lancaster in game 1; beat Strongsville 4-0 and Artic Foxes 6-2. Pee Wee Minor Milton beat Olean Arrows 5-1. Olean beat Lincoln Blades 6-1; Lancaster 4-3 and Gilmore Sabres 8-1 to get to championship. Clifton Park went 0-2-1 in the tournament. Pee Wee Mixed North Bay Trappers beat Canandaigua 1-0 in Championship. Olean beat West Seneca 4-2; lost to North Bay 4-0. Canandaigua went 5-2 over Team Comcast, 7-3 over Lancaster, 4-3 over Olean and 5-1 over West Seneca to get to finals. West Seneca lost to North Bay (4-2) and Olean (4-2). Pee Wee Major Nashville over Milton 3-1 for the Championship. Bantam Minor I Steel City beat Strongsville 4-3 for the Championship. Southtown Stars had two losses and a tie.
NYS Tournaments / Page 66 Bantam Minor 2 Niagara County Coyotes beat Columbus 8-1 for the Championship. Earlier the Coyotes lost 5-4 to the Tonawanda Lightning and had a 9-0 win over the Reston Raiders. The Tonawanda Lightning lost 0-1 to Columbus and beat the Reston Raiders 4-1. Bantam Mixed Oakeville beat Amherst 5-0 to take the Championship. Amherst beat Strongsville and the Southtown Stars, tied the Wheatfield Blades heading into the championship round. The Niagara Junior Purple Eagles lost their three games against Lancaster, Oakeville and Clarence. Clarence beat the Purple Eagles, lost to Lancaster and tied Oakeville. The Wheatfield Blades tied hometown rivals Southtowns Stars and Amherst, both 3-3 and then beat Strongsville 1-0. The Southtowns Stars tied the Blades, lost to Amherst and beat Strongsville. Midget 16U The Buffalo Stars beat Southpoints 7-1. They also had a 10-2 win over Prince William Hockey. (There was no champion listed on the scoresheet) Niagara Falls will host the Niagara Falls Championship Cup on March 14-16 at Hyde Park Arena.
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Snowbelt JAM Tournament Results (as of February 23)
2014 John Abbott Memorial (JAM) Tournament Midget at Elmira Teams: Elmira, Camillus 1, Ithaca, Auburn, Camilius 2 and Salmon River Elmira 11 and Ithaca 2; Camillus 2, 4 and Salmon River 0 to head into the finals. Final: Elmira 3 over Camillus 2 3-1 for the Championship Teams: Binghamton, Corning, Onondaga, Oswego and Lysander Onondaga 4, Corning 3; Lysander 2, Binghamton 9 Final: Binghamton shut out Onondaga 9-0 for the Championship
Whitestown Tournament February 14-16
Division A Champions: Whitestown Divison A Second Place: New Hartford Division B Champions: Oswego Great Lakes Division B Second Place: Valley Hockey Division C Champions: Corning Division C Second Place: Lake City Police
2014 Robert Esche Squirt Tournament Teams: Whitestown Wolfpack, Bethlehem Eagles, Ithaca Bears, Valley Eagles, Binghamton Jr. Icemen, Saratoga Blue Knights, Schenectady Chargers, North Franklin Shamrocks, Camillus Cougars, Canton Bears, Leitrim Hawks,
NYS Hockey / Page 67 Squirt A Champions: Leitrim Hawks Squirt A Finalist: North Franklin Shamrocks Squirt B Champions:Schenectady Chargers Squirt B Finalist: Ithaca Bears Squirt C Champions: Canton Bears Squirt C Finalist: Binghamton Jr. Icemen Most Valuable Player Awards (by team) Whitestown Wolfpack: Carter Urbanke, Aidan Elbrecht, Ethan Vernold, Trent Dowd, Kristian Matthews, Eric Suprunchik, Trevor Nelson, Michael Calcagnino Bethlehem Eagles: Nicholas Demarco, Charlie Spollen, Luke Napierski, Charles Mulligan, Michael Losavio, Robert Hazaz, Matthew Witkop, Josh Lotlow Ithaca Bears: Tyler Kirk, Timmy Kiely, Brett Wilcox, Shea Baker Valley Eagles: Evan Carter, Andrew Heyman, Cameron Walsh, Thomas Rioux Binghamton: Domenico DeRigo, Logan Ciganek, Cameron Fuller, Colin Perney Saratoga: Mac Connor, Julia Amodio, Shifan Shaffe, Timothy Robinson Schenectady: Kevin Defelippo, Beau Potter, Kyle Kristel, Connor Rafferty, Andrew Hastings, Nicholas Pike, Nathan Dominikoski, Anthony Zaccaria North Franklin: Connor Lewis, Chase Lewis, Jared Showen, Gavin Avery Camillus Cougars: Holden Phillips, Logan Granato, Trenton Procopio, Jack Mellen Canton Bears: Joshua Aldous, Kenneth Griswold, Andrew Johnson, Tanner Hazelton, Leitrim Hawks: Corbin Dimmell, Francisco Sanchez, Samuel Millette, Brooke Dodd
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Women’s College Playoffs / Page 68
Women’s College Play-offs (As we know them as press time 2/23/14)
2014 ECAC
Quarterfinals (best of three) No. 8 Dartmouth vs No. 1 Clarkson Friday, February 28, 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 1, 3:30 p.m. Sunday, March 2, 2 p.m if necessary No. 7 Yale at No. 2 Harvard Friday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m. Saturday, Mar. 1, 4 p.m. Sunday, Mar. 2, 4 p.m. if necessary
Semi-Finals Saturday, March 8 #1 Plattsburgh vs Lowest Remaining Seed at Plattsbugh Highest Remaining Seed vs #2 Elmira at Elmira Championships Sunday, March 9 at 3 p.m.
College Hockey America (CHA) Championships First Round
No. 6 Princeton at No. 3 Cornell Friday, Feb. 28, 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 1, 2 p.m. Sunday, March 2, 2 p.m. if necessary
Friday, February 28-Sunday, March 2 at Campus sites #6 Penn State at #3 RIT, Friday at 7:05 p.m.; Saturday at 2:05 p.m. and Sunday at 2:05 p.m. if necessary.
No. 5 St. Lawrence at No. 4 Quinnipiac Friday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m. Saturday, March 1, 4 p.m. Sunday, March 2, 2 p.m. if necessary
#4 Lindenwood at #4 Syracuse Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. Sunday if necessary.
Semi-Finals, site will be on campus of highest remaining seed after quarterfinals) Saturday, March 8, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Championship Game Sunday, March 9 at 1 p.m.
ECAC West Championships Saturday, March 1 #3 Oswego State vs #6 Buffalo at Oswego, 3 p.m. Sunday, March 2 #4 Utica vs #5 Potsdam at Utica Memorial Auditorium, Noon
Final Seedings
NESCAC #1 Middleburgy #2 Amherst #3 Williams #4 Bowdoin #5 Weslyan #6 Trinity #7 Colby #8 Connecticut College #9 Hamilton
Quarterfinals being held March 1 Semi-finals and Final on March 8 and 9 Games played at highest seeded college.
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