Nyhol july august 2015

NY HOCKEY July/August 2015 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 9

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In This Issue: Central NY...............................16 Eastern NY...............................22 Janosz Goaltending.............15 Next Level Camp...................43 Northern NY...........................27 NWHL.......................................... 4 Putnam Awards.....................36 USA Festival.............................. 9 USA HHOF...............................10 NA3EHL....................................13 Western NY.............................31

Well the 2015-16 season is upon us and NY Hockey E-Magazine is starting its fifth season this Fall. We’ve made a few minor changes to the publication by coming our June, July and August news into a single Summer issue. Our readership seems to go down during that time, as does the news supplied to us.

We are also updating our mailing list utilizing the information provided on the New York Amateur Hockey Association website. We will send the link to the magazine directly to the Board of Directors listed via email. We are asking that someone on the Board forward the magazine link to their Coaches and players. Anyone wanting us to notify them directly can forward their email address to Janet@nyhockeyonline.com and they will be put on a subscriber list.

College and Universities, we will be sending to your Sports Information personnel and your team coaches. We ask that those individuals forward the information to their players; as we do not have player email addresses. Again if a player wants the link sent directly, have them forward us their information.

All other hockey organizations will receive the magazine through their Public Relations Office.

News, photos and story ideas should be send to Randy@nyhockeyonline.com (any news); Janet@nyhockeyonline.com (all women and girls) and Wkozires@brockport.edu (Juniors and Men’s collegiate).

Again this is a free publication, on-line only and supported by our advertisers and through our passion for the game.

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Columnists Warren Kozireski, Wkozires@brockport.edu Janet Schultz Randy Schultz Rob Sedia Chuck Gridley

Publisher &Managing Editor Randy Schultz Randy@nyhockeyonline.com

NY Hockey OnLine is an equal opportunity employer.

Contents 2014-15 NY Hockey Online All rights reserved

Designer/Photographer Janet Schultz Janet@nyhockeyonline.com

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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Around New York State / Page 4

NWHL HOLDS TRAINING CAMPS; DRAFT; SIGNS FREE AGENTS

T

he National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) is well underway and preparing to drop the puck in four cities in October. Two of those cities are in New York State. The NWHL chose Buffalo and New York City to be two of the four inaugural teams.

The Buffalo Beauts hosted a open camp on Saturday and Sunday, May 22 and 23 and the New York Riveters held there camp May 15 and 16.

General Manager Linda Mroz was super excited to have Buffalo chosen to be part of this historic move in women’s hockey.

“Where was this 15 years ago,” Mroz, a former Niagara University DI player asked.

“This gives women an opportunity to complete their collegiate career and continue their hockey career.

“And to be paid for it is unbelievable.”

Over 30 girls were in camp and

when Draft Day and Free Agency signings happened later in the summer, a large number of these girls found themselves signing with one of the four teams.

New York State natives in the Buffalo camp included Annmarie Cellino (West Seneca), Brooke Thompson (Rochester), Amanda Todd (Lancaster), Lauren Dahm (Baldwinsville), Kimberly Sass (East Amherst), Brigitte Cellino (Buffalo), Emily Pfalzer (Getzville), and Susan Allen (Rochester).

Also spotted on the ice skating with the hopefuls were Candace Moxley, coach of the Buffalo State Bengals Women’s Ice Hockey DIII Team and Rachel Hauser, coaching the Niagara University Purple Eagles Club Team since the closing the NU DI women’s program.

(I was unable to attend the NYC camp and haven’t had contact with the Manager to see who attended that one.)

Following the camps the NWHL held their first Draft. In the NHL format a draft preview and ranking was announced by two-time Olympian and freelance broadcaster AJ Mleczko Griswold. Among the top ten were 1. Alex Carpenter, F, Boston College

2. Hannah Brandt, F, Minnesota 3. Kendall Coyne, F, Northeastern 4. Emerance Maschmeyer, G, Harvard 5. Hayley Skarupa, F, Boston College 6. Michelle Picard, D, Harvard 7. Sarah Lefort, F, Boston University 8. Dana Trivigno, F, Boston College 9. Erin Ambrose, D, Clarkson 10. Miye D’Oench, F, Harvard

However as in the NHL when Draft Day comes the story sometimes changes. New York had the first selection and Buffalo had the last.

Forward Carpenter was drafted number one over all and went to the New York Riveters.

Brandt, also a Forward, went second to the Connecticut Whale and Coyne, Defense, went third to the

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Around New York State / Page 5 Left: NY Riveters Jersey; Bottom: Buffalo Beauts Jersey.

Boston Bride.

Buffalo’s first choice and the number four pick was Albany’s Courtney Burke, defense.

The first found was complete.

New York also drafted Forward Haley Skarupa of Boston College; Defenseman Erin Ambrose Cornell University; Forward Dana Trivigno, Boston College and Goalie Kimberly Newell, Princeton.

Buffalo drafted Forward Shara Lefort, Boston University; Goalie Amanda Leveille, Minnesota, Forward Emily Janiga, Mercyhurst and Forward Jenna Dingeldein, Mercyhurst.

These players will donn their uniforms in the 2016-17 season after completing their college commitment.

Everything is historical but in the books first will be the drafting of Carpenter. A forward out of Boston College and a native of Cambridge, Massachusetts, she is also the daughter of “Can’t Miss Kid” Bobby Carpenter.

The first defenseman and fourth pick overall is Burke.

Emerance Maschmeyer of Harvard College will go down as the first Goaltender selected and seventh overall. She is a native of Fort Saskatchewan, Canada.

The New York Riveters signed the first player through Free Agency when they called on Janine Weber, an Austrian national team player.

As for the NWHL season. It will begin Sunday October 11 when the puck drops at 1:30 p.m. with the New York Riveters facing the Connecticut Whale at Chelsea Piers in Connecticut. Later at 3:30 p.m. in Harborcenter, Buffalo, the Boston Pride will take on the Buffalo Beauts.

Games are scheduled for Saturday and Sundays throughout the season to give families the opportunity to attend games and enjoy time together.

The season concludes on Sunday, February 28 with Boston returning to Buffalo at 3:30 p.m. at Harborcenter and New York returning to Connecticut at 6 p.m.

A complete schedule can be found at www.nyhockeyonline.com and at nwhl.co The teams will play for the Isobel Cup. The trophy is named after Lord Stanley’s daughter, Lady Isobel Stanley, one of the first women to play the

game of hockey. Her love and passion for the game were instrumental in fueling her father’s inspiration.

It is fitting that she also inspires the next generation of women to shape a trophy filled with new tradition, lore, history and class; The Isobel Cup. A Jersey Contest was held to select the colors and design of the team’s uniform.

Chosen from a pool of over 1,000 submissions from fans from across the globe, these jersey designs will be used to develop the sweaters the Founding Four teams will wear come October. Contest winners will receive an official NWHL jersey based on their design.

“We started this jersey design contest in order to give the fans a chance to have a say in our historical inaugural season. The response we received was far and beyond what we ever expected,” Commissioner Dani Rylan said, “There was a lot of love put into these jersey designs and we appreciated seeing every design that was submitted.”

For the New York Riveters the winner was Brooks Freeman.

In their initial entry submission, Freeman described their jersey as an “All-American design” with a United States flag patch and “rivets” in the red and white stripes. These details, they said, are meant to “represent the name of the team and what it means” as an iconic symbol. Like many fans, Freeman submitted designs for all four NWHL teams, and their Whale submission was also selected as a contest finalist.

For the Buffalo Beauts the winner was Gabrielle Schofield | Twitter: @ gabbyscho “Design is something I do for fun, I mostly just play around in Photo-

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Around New York State / Page 6 General Managers Dani Rylan and Linda Mroz at work at Buffalo Camp.

shop, and hockey is something that I have only very recently gotten into,” Schofield said, “I decided to enter the NWHL jersey design contest because it seemed like fun! I had nothing to lose if I didn’t get chosen, but if I did get chosen I would get to see players actually wearing what I designed.”

BUFFALO BEAUTS Just as we were finalizing this issue the NWHL named Ric Seiling and Shelley Looney as Co-Coaches of the Buffalo Beauts. A story follows. Linda Mroz will serve as General Manager of the Buffalo Beauts.

She has signed Forwards Hailey Browne (UofMaine), Erin Zach (RIT) Devon Skeats (Wilfrid Laurier); Hayley Williams (Miami University).

At Defense, Lindsay Grigg (RIT) and Kelly McDonald (Maine), Paige Harrinton (UMass Amherst).

Vying for starting goalie positions will be Kimberly Sass (Colgate) Brianne McLaughlin (Team USA and Robert Morris) and Am a n d a Makela (Mercyhurst).

Also Shelby Bram (Mercyhurst) and Tatiana Rafter (University of British Columbia) signed with the Beauts.

NEW YORK RIVETERS The Riveters selected Chad Wiseman, a former NHL player with the San Jose Sharks and New York Rangers, as head coach.

At press time have signed Forwards Lyudmila Belyakova (Russian National Team), Madison Packer (Wis-

consin), Celeste Brown ( R I T ) , Morgan Fritz-Ward (Quinnipiac0, Beth Hanrahan (Maine) and Janine Weber (Providence).

O n Defense the Riveters have signed Meghan Fardelmann (Boston College), Elena Orlando (Quinnipiac) Ashley Johnson (Union) and Kiira Dosdall (Vienna Sabres).

In goal they have Union’s Shenae Lundberg, Japanese National Team member Nany Fujimoto and Cornell’s Jenny Scrivens.

The teams have until August 17 to sign their players for the upcoming season.

NWHL Commissioner Dani Rylan is the General Manager for the Riveters.

Connecticut and Massachusetts are the final two teams in the NWHL at this point. Pro hockey returns to Connecticut with the Whale.

Serving as General Manager is Harry Rosenholtz.

Rosenholtz named Jake Mastel head coach. Mastel most recently coached the Mid-Fairfield Stars U12 and U19 girl’s teams.

The Whale have signed Forwards Jessica Koizumi, Danielle Ward, Kelly Babcock, Shiann Darkangelo, Micaela Long, Sam Faber and Jessica Koizumi.

On Defense is Tara Tominoto and Kaleigh Fratkin.

Chelsea Laden and Nicole Stock were the selected goaltenders.

The Boston Pride will be coached

by Bobby Jay, an assistant coach with Team USA Women’s Ice Hockey. Serving as General Manager is Hayley Moore.

The Pride have selected forwards Kelly Cooke, Marissa Gedman, Emily Field, Amanda Pelky, Corinne Buie and Jillian Dempsey.

On defense Jordan Smelker, Blake Bolden and Alyssa Gagliardi. and in Goal Lauren Slebodnick and Brittany Ott. The NWHL is also putting its mark in the community by taking part in the Sparks Street, Ottawa session of the Five Hole for Food (FHFF) charity

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www.nyhockeyonline.com tour on Tuesday.

Five Hole for Food puts on ball hockey tournaments to support local food banks across Canada each summer. A hockey stick and a can of food is all you need to get involved. This year, FHFF has scheduled thirteen events, beginning on July 1st and ending on July 18th. Three of these sessions coincide with the NWHL’s Canadian Camp Series in Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto. Last year, Five Hole for Food donated their one millionth pound of food since they began in 2010.

They also announced a partnership with Defending The Blue Line as a part of their themed game nights for the upcoming season.

“The NWHL is honored to be associated with an organization that supports the families of service members and veterans. Defending The Blue Line is the type of impactful organization we look to work with as it aligns with our mission, both on and off the ice,” Commissioner Dani Rylan said.

The mission of Defending The Blue Line is to ensure that the children of military service members are given the opportunity to participate in hockey.

To date, they have helped over 10,000 military families get involved in hockey and have provided over $3 million worth of hockey equipment, game tickets, cash grants, and summer camps to military families across the US and Canada.

Defending The Blue Line will provide free tickets for military families to the NWHL’s Military Appreciation Night.

“We’re glad to be able to partner with an organization that provides the opportunity to play hockey at the

Around New York State / Page 7 highest levels for women across the globe. We anticipate a great brand of hockey, tons of skill and excitement,” said Shane Hudella, President and Founder of Defending The Blue Line®.

In addition to Military Appreciation Night, NWHL game themes include Canned Food & Coat Drive, Cancer Awareness, Youth Hockey Night, Hockey Parent Appreciation Night, and more.

For more information about the NWHL Foundation and the NWHL’s inaugural season, please visit NWHL. co.

For more information about Defending The Blue Line, please visit their website at DefendingTheBlueLine.org.

Beauts Name Looney and Seiling to Coaching Positions

(61g, 75a), and was named to USA Hockey’s Board of Directors in 2012.

Looney played college hockey at Northeastern University from 19911994. While playing for the Huskies, Looney was named an ECAC All-Star, ECAC Tournament MVP (1993) and ECAC Player of the Year (1993-1994).

She was inducted into the Northeastern Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.

The Brownstown, Michigan native went on to become an assistant coach for the University of Vermont and the U.S. National Development Program’s Men’s U-17 Team. Most recently, Looney acted as the Hockey Director for the Buffalo Bison Hockey Association and was the Women’s Hockey Director for the New Jersey Colonials program from 2006-2013.

(Continued on page 12)

The Buffalo Beauts of the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) have hired Shelley Looney and Ric Seiling as cohead coaches, general manager Linda Mroz announced.

Looney is a two-time Olympic medalist, winning a gold medal at the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan and a silver medal at the 2002 games in Salt Lake City, Utah. At the 1998 Olympic Games, Looney scored the game-winning goal against Canada. She played on the U.S. Women’s National Team for 14 seasons, collecting 136 points

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Around the State / Page 8

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Around the State / Page 9

USA Hockey 2015 Women’s National Festival

U

SA Hockey announced the 83 players that have been invited to the 2015 USA Hockey Women’s National Festival, which will take place Aug. 11-16, at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, New York.

The festival is an annual training session that will also be used to select two 22-player rosters for a pair of series against Canada held simultaneously from Aug. 19-23 at the Lake Placid Olympic Center. The U.S. entries will feature an Under-18 Select Team and Under-22 Select Team.

Twenty-two members of the U.S. Women’s National Team that won gold at the 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship and nine members of the U.S. Women’s National Under-18 Team that won gold at the 2015 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship will take part in the festival. A complete roster (28 defensemen, 45 forwards and 10 goaltenders), staff listing and schedule are available here.

All practices and scrimmages associated with the 2015 USA Hockey Women’s National Festival will be open to the public.

As part of the 2015 IIHF High Performance Camp, an Under-18 Team with players and staff from six nations (Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden) will train with the U.S. U18 players during the festival and compete against them in scrimmages.

The rosters for the U.S. Women’s Select Teams (U18 and U22) that will play Canada Aug. 19-23 in Lake Placid, will be announced Aug. 17. All six games will be streamed live at FASTHockey.com.

Congratulations to the New York State women who made the list: (Pictured top left Janiga; right Ryan and bottom Trivigno USA Hockey announced that associations and rinks and Schoedel) can begin registering now at USAHockeyProgramSer Sydney Baldwin, Albany. a 5’8” defenseman from the vices.com to host Try Hockey For Free Days, presented by University of Minnesota (WCHA).

Kraft, scheduled for the 2015-16 season.

Emily Janiga, East Aurora’s 5’10” forward from Mercy- The first nationwide Try Hockey For Free Day will hurst University of the CHA. be Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015, as part of Come Play Hockey Jenny Ryan from the University of Wisconsin and Vic- Month. The second opportunity will occur Saturday, Feb. toria. She is a 5’4” defenseman.

20, 2016, during Hockey Weekend Across America.

Kristina Schuler from Webster and the MidFairfield USA Hockey’s Try Hockey For Free program, with the Stars AAA U16 team. The forward stands 5’4”. support of the National Hockey League and NHL mem Dana Trivigno, a 5’4” forward from Boston College of ber clubs, among others, is designed to provide youth the HEA. Trivigno comes from Setauket. hockey associations a national platform to introduce Ithaca native and former Assistant Coach of the Buf- new kids to the sport. In addition to presenting sponsor falo State Bengals and now coach at Northwood School, Kraft, Total Hockey and Liberty Mutual Insurance are ofLake Placid Lucy Schoedel is the goalie coach for the U18 ficial sponsors of Try Hockey For Free Days. team.

TRY HOCKEY FOR FREE NOVEMBER 7

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Around the State / Page 10

USA Hockey Announces Hall of Famers!

R

on DeGregorio (Salem, N.H.), Chris Drury (Trumbull, Conn.), Angela Ruggiero (Simi Valley, Calif.) and Mathieu Schneider (New York, N.Y.) have been selected for induction into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame as the Class of 2015, it was announced by USA Hockey.

The formal induction of the Class of 2015 is set for Thursday, Dec. 17, in Boston at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel.

“This class is extraordinary and has had an extremely positive and wide-ranging impact on our sport,” said Jim Smith, president of USA Hockey. “The members of this Class represent the very best of our sport and we look forward to welcoming them as the 43rd class of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame officially in December.”

ABOUT RON DeGREGORIO DeGregorio has helped shape American hockey for more than 40 years as one the most prominent volunteers in the history of USA Hockey and has conceived programs that have resulted in acclaim from around the world.

While DeGregorio’s ingenuity is evident in many areas, perhaps his most significant concept was starting USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program in 1996. A lightning rod for criti-

cism when it was established, the NTDP has evolved into a revered program that has significantly enhanced elite player development and U.S. success in international competition.

DeGregorio currently serves as cochair of the USA Hockey Board of Directors following his retirement as president of USA Hockey in June 2015 after a 12year span. His influence was instrumental in the establishment of USA Hockey’s American Development Model, which was launched in 2009 and has been widely acclaimed, including today being used as the basis for the U.S. Olympic Committee’s athlete development program. Among other signature programs, DeGregorio also championed the implementation of USA Hockey SafeSport as well as USA Hockey’s Progressive Checking Skill Development Program. His leadership is also evident in the insurance and risk management arenas and in use of technology, including the push to online player registration and online education modules in coaching and officiating education.

His first appointment with USA Hockey came in 1973 when he was named registrar for the New England District where he oversaw the reorganization of the district into several smaller, more manageable affiliates and appointed associate registrars to help increase USA Hockey’s efficiency and visibility at the local level. DeGregorio was first elected to the USA Hockey Board of Directors in 1975 and was the organization’s first vice president of youth hockey. In the 1980s, he served as treasurer of USA Hockey. In 1995, he was elected as a vice president and the international council chairperson, positions he held until being named president.

A former Middlebury (Vt.) College goaltender, DeGregorio is known throughout Massachusetts as the originator of the “Mini One-on-One,” a youth

hockey competition that is broadcast through the Boston Bruins’ television network.

DeGregorio, who is a former coowner of the AHL’s Kentucky Thoroughblades, was distinguished with the National Hockey League’s Lester Patrick Trophy in 2002 in recognition of his outstanding service to ice hockey in the United States.

ABOUT CHRIS DRURY

Drury won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001, is a three-time medalist in international competition, is the only player ever to capture the Calder Memorial Trophy and Hobey Baker Memorial Award and helped Boston University earn the NCAA title in 1995.

A third-round pick (72nd overall) of the Quebec Nordiques in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, Drury registered 615 points in 892 games over 12 seasons in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers. During his career, Drury notched 255 career goals, including 47 game-winning tallies.

He started his professional career with Colorado in 1998-99 and earned (USA HOCKEY HALL OF FAME CONTINUED)

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www.nyhockeyonline.com the Calder Memorial Trophy that season as the league’s top rookie. The forward spent three more campaigns with the Avalanche and helped the team win the Stanley Cup in 2001 by contributing 11 postseason goals, the second most in that year’s playoffs.

He was dealt to Calgary for the 200203 season where he put up 53 points in 80 games before moving on to Buffalo the following season. In 2006-07, his third of three seasons with the Sabres, he set professional career highs for goals (37), points (69) and power-play goals (17). Drury signed as a free agent with the Rangers in 2007-08 and spent the final four seasons of his career in New York, serving as team captain of the Blueshirts from 2008-11.

During his four-year collegiate career at Boston University (1994-98), Drury amassed 214 points in 155 games and is still today the school’s all-time leading goal scorer with 113. He helped the Terriers to the 1995 NCAA national championship his freshman year and was a twotime Hockey East Player of the Year (1997, 1998). Drury captured college hockey’s ultimate individual honor his senior season as the recipient of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award and is also a two-time recipient of USA Hockey’s College Player of the Year award (1997, 1998).

He represented Team USA at eight major international events, including three Olympic Winter Games (2002, 2006, 2010), three IIHF Men’s World Championships (1997, 1998, 2004), one World Cup of Hockey (2004) and one IIHF World Junior Championship (1996). Drury collected two Olympic silver medals (2002, 2010) and one IIHF Men’s World Championships bronze medal (2004).

ABOUT ANGELA RUGGIERO

A four-time Olympic medalist, Angela Ruggiero was a dominating force on the blueline throughout her 15-plus-year career with the U.S. Women’s National

Around the State / Page 11 Team.

She has played more games (256) in a Team USA uniform than any other ice hockey player in the country’s history.

Ruggiero helped the U.S. claim the first-ever gold medal awarded in women’s ice hockey in the Olympic Winter Games in 1998 as the youngest member of the team and went on to win three other Olympic medals (silver-2002, 2010; bronze-2006). She was named the top defenseman in the Olympic Winter Games in both 2002 and 2006.

Ruggiero competed at 10 IIHF Women’s World Championships and was honored as the tournament’s top defenseman four times (2001, 2004, 2005, 2008).

In 2005, she scored the tournament-winning shootout goal to lead the U.S. to its first-ever gold medal at a Women’s World Championship. She was also part of gold medal-winning teams at the world championship in 2008, 2009 and 2011 and helped the U.S. capture silver medals in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2007. Ruggiero also competed at eight Three/Four Nations Cups, the 1996 Pacific Women’s Championship and was a three-time member of U.S. select teams.

She accumulated 208 points (67141) during her time in a Team USA sweater. In 2003 and 2004, she was named USA Hockey’s Bob Allen Women’s Player of the Year.

Ruggiero made history in 2005 when she and her brother, Bill, competed for the Central Hockey League’s Tulsa Oilers and became the first brother-sister pair to play together in a professional hockey game in North America. That game also represented Ruggiero becoming the first non-goalie to play in any men’s professional hockey game in North America.

Ruggiero played college hockey for four seasons at Harvard University. There, she contributed 243 points (91-152) in 127 games, was a four-time NCAA AllAmerican, an Academic All-American, helped Harvard win the 1999 national championship and was awarded the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Trophy in 2004 as

the top women’s ice hockey player in the NCAA. She played professionally for the Montreal Axion of the National Women’s Hockey League in 2004-05, and joined the Minnesota Whitecaps of the Western Women’s Hockey League in 2007-08. The Whitecaps won the league championship in 2008-09. She was also a member of the Boston Blades of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League in 2010-11.

Ruggiero, who was recently named to the Hockey Hall of Fame, retired from the U.S. Women’s National Team in December of 2011.

ABOUT MATHIEU SCHNEIDER

Schneider won a Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, helped the U.S. earn the inaugural World Cup of Hockey title in 1996, and is among the top five American defensemen all-time in the NHL in nearly every statistical category.

Schneider was drafted 44th overall by the Canadiens in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, and began his 21-year professional career with Montreal in 1987-88. Over the course of his NHL career, he played with Montreal for parts of eight seasons and had stints with nine additional franchises including the New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, Vancouver Canucks and Phoenix Coyotes.

A year after helping the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup in 1993, Schneider led all Montreal defensemen with 52 points, including 20 goals. He was traded during the following season to the Islanders where he spent nearly two seasons before being moved to Toronto in the midst of the 1995-96 campaign.

Following time with the Rangers and Kings, Schneider joined the Red Wings during the 2002-03 season. In the course of his four campaigns with the Red Wings, he surpassed 1,000 games (USA HOCKEY HALL OF FAME CONTINUED)

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Around the State / Page 12 Seiling/Looney Continuedf rom page 7)

played and 100 postseason appearances. He also recorded single-season career-highs in points (59) and goals (21) dur ing the 2005-06 season and tied his single-season mark for assists (41) in 2006-07. After leaving Detroit, Schneider spent the following three seasons in Anaheim, Atlanta, Montreal and Vancouver before finishing his NHL career with Phoenix in 2009-10.

A two-time NHL All-Star Game participant (1996, 2003), Schneider completed his career with 743 points (223-520) in 1,289 NHL games. He is among the top five American defensemen of all-time in nearly every statistical category, including games played (3rd, 1289), points (5th, 43), goals (4th, 223), power play goals (3rd, 100), and game-winning goals (4th, 36).

He is also sixth in assists (520).

Schneider put on the Team USA sweater at four international events, highlighted by helping the U.S. earn the inaugural World Cup of Hockey title in 1996. He also participated in two Olympic Winter Games (1998, 2006) as well as the IIHF World Junior Championship (1988).

The Class of 2015 will be formally enshrined at the 2015 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Celebration on Thursday, Dec. 17, at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel. More details, including ticket information, will be released in the upcoming weeks.

The 2015 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Celebration will also include the presentation of the Lester Patrick Trophy.

“This league as a whole, especially in Buffalo, will help to grow girls youth hockey,” said Looney. “This gives young players a platform where they can see positive role models play and envision what they can reach in their career.”

Ric Seiling was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 1997 and spent ten seasons playing in the NHL, nine with the Sabres and one with the Detroit Red Wings. While playing in the NHL, Seiling recorded 387 points (179g, 208a).

The Elmira, Ontario native began coaching in the AHL (American Hockey League) as an assistant coach for the Adirondack Red Wings while still playing for the team. Most recently, Seiling coached in the Central Hockey League with San Antonio and Tulsa, and in the OHL (Ontario Hockey League) with the Owen Sound Platers.

“In coaching this season, I’ll take a lot of experience I had this past year coaching the Buffalo Sabres junior U-18 team,” Seiling said, “We took what we had and built around it, and beat some high-powered, well-respected teams. It’s up to the coach to design a game plan that’s best for the team- to find their weaknesses and their strengths and go from there.”

Seiling and Looney work with players at the NWHL Camp in Buffalo.

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NA3EHL Granted Independent Certification by USA Hockey

T

he North American 3 Eastern Hockey League (NA3EHL) has announced that its member teams have been granted USA Hockey Tier III independent certification for the upcoming 2015-16 season.

“This is an exciting step for the NA3EHL and we thank USA Hockey for their consideration and diligence throughout this process,” said NAHL Commissioner and President Mark Frankenfeld. “We feel this is the next step in providing more opportunity for players to advance though our unique ladder of development and we feel the NA3EHL will continue to increase the level of competition and organization.”

NA3EHL clubs will now be able to develop stronger partnerships with their USA Hockey affiliates and the youth programs that surround them. The certification also opens up a variety of showcase and exposure opportunities in cooperation with NAHL, NA3HL and NAPHL events, as well as, other USA Hockey members.

The teams will be required to comply with all USA Hockey Junior Rules & Regulations, which include current Tier III import restrictions.

The NA3EHL is coming off a remarkable debut season in 2014-15.

The league had three, very successful showcases with a nice scouting

Around the State / Page 13 presence, along with a thrilling championship series. The NA3EHL also took part in the NA3HL Showcase in December, where a selected group of players played on an NA3EHL selects team against some of the best the NA3HL had to offer. The experience for the group included a win over eventual USA Hockey Tier III junior National Champion and NA3HL Champion, the North Iowa Bulls. Plans for the 2015-16 season are well underway, which includes growth of the league from 10 to 13 teams.

“Three years ago, seven teams took a giant leap of faith by starting our own league. We worked together for a common goal, so this announcement is very exciting to say the least,” said Cape Cod Islanders President Dan Hodge. “As a group we have worked extremely hard to build a top-level Tier III junior league and partnering with the NAHL family last season put us on a great path.

Being a member of the USA Hockey will allow the NA3EHL to enhance its position among the Tier III junior leagues. Also having the opportunity to participate in NAHL events will be something every player in our league circles on the schedule.”

“We are extremely excited to join the USA Hockey family at the junior level. Through the hard work and perseverance of our group and the unending support of the NAHL, we have now attained a goal we have been striving to achieve for quite some time,” remarked Frank Vecchio, General Manager and Head Coach of the Lockport Express. “This past

season we all put a great deal of time and effort into partnering with the NAHL family and to now be able to transition that into becoming a member of the USA Hockey is a tremendous opportunity to build on our past successes. This will help propel our programs to greater achievements, which provides players with even greater opportunities than we were able to provide previously.”

“We are very excited to be joining the USA Junior Hockey Family.

This is something that we have been working toward for a while now and with the support and direction of the NAHL we have been able to attain our goal,” said Dan Fontas, General Manager of the New England Stars. “Over the past few seasons our league’s brand and strength has grown substantially, however, with our clubs now under the combined NAHL and USA Hockey umbrella, we feel that we have unending growth and branding opportunity that will help us grow at a faster pace. It also gives our players an opportunity for great exposure and will demonstrate our connection with each NAHL league.

Our clubs have been successful the past few seasons of placing players at the NCAA level, but being able to

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Around the State / Page 14

do it with USA and NAHL branding will help our players ule and will take part in two Showcases throughout the attain that status even more and it will help us gain noto- 2015-16 season. There will be playoffs to determine a riety. I think it will give our players and league members Champion in March of 2016. more respect.�

The NA3EHL features 13 active Season members for the October-March 2015-16 season, which include: Cape Cod Islanders (Dennis, MA), Returning Teams East Coast Minutemen (Salem, $3500 NH), Jersey Shore Wildcats (Point Pleasant Beach, NJ), LA Fighting New Teams Spirit (Lewiston, $3700 ME), Lockport Express (Lockport, NY), Maine Wild (Biddeford, ME), 18 Games New England Stars and (Hudson, NH), Playoffs New York Aviators (Brooklyn, Are you looking for a fun, competitive adult hockey league?

NY), Northeast Cutting Edge Hockey is for you! We offer local adult hockey at an affordable Generals (CanHockey Outlet price. We are currently looking for teams to play in the Adult Hockey B ton, MA), Roc City League at Hockey Outlet for the 2015-2016 season!

Royals (Rochester, NY), Skyland Register by September 1st to secure your spot. Any teams that register Kings (Stockbefore August 1st will receive a $100 discount! holm, NJ), SyraAdult Hockey cuse Stampede (Mexico, NY) and Wilkes-Barre Miners (Wilkes-Barre, PA). During the past two seasons, Questions? over three-dozen players have comMore information at cuttingedgehockeyllc.com mitted to NCAA Rachel Ziarnowski schools.

Adult Hockey Coordinator NA3EHL teams 716-525-3957 will compete in rachel@cuttingedgehockeyllc.com a 44-game regular season sched-

CUTTING EDGE HOCKEY

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Janosz Goaltending / Page 15

Our columnist is busy with his Summer Traing camps and Photographer Janet Schultz dropped by Amherst’s Northtown Center to watch Janosz Goaltending School in progress. Here’s a few shots.

Check out what Janosz Goaltending has to offer by going to: www.

J A N O S Z G O A L T E N D I N G

CENTRAL NEW YORK

Adam Clendening

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Central Men’s College Ice Hockey Report

by Warren Kozireski Wkozires@brockport.edu

COLGATE Colgate’s new athletics facility, opening in October 2016, will be named the Class of 1965 Arena, thanks to a record-setting gift from the university’s 50th anniversary graduates.

Class members, led by gift chairs Jim Himoff, Peter Desnoes, Peter Kellner, John McGonagle, and Robert Forster, offered more than $22 million in support for Colgate to mark their reunion this spring. Their generosity also ensured that Colgate hockey’s home ice, located inside the arena, would be known as the Steven J. Riggs ‘65 Rink, in memory of classmate Steve Riggs, killed in Vietnam in 1968. Riggs was team captain and was inducted posthumously into the Colgate Athletics Hall of Honor. (see complete story in Women’s Central column).

Defenseman Ryan Johnston signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Montreal Canadiens organization on Monday and will forego his senior season with the Raiders. He is the second senior to leave early following Kyle Baun’s signing with Chicago in the spring.

Central Hockey / Page 17 CORNELL The Big Red schedule was released including contests against both participants in last year’s national title game and, for the first time in program history, starting with a home-and-home series Oct. 30-31 with Niagara with the latter at home.

Return trips to both Madison Square Garden (Nov. 28 versus Boston University) and the annual Florida College Classic highlight the non-conference portion of the schedule. Cornell opens the tournament at 4 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 28 against defending national champion Providence and then play either Boston College or Ohio State the following day. The non-league portion of its schedule wraps up at home against Merrimack Jan. 8-9.

ELMIRA Soaring Eagles grad Steffan Waters has been named Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America director of communications in place of David Rourke. Waters spent the last two years at his alma mater as a graduate assistant in the Department of Sports Information.

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Central Hockey / Page 18 Melissa Piacentini and Nicole Renault, sophomores Lauren Porlier,Elizabeth Scala and Jessica Sibley and freshmen Emily Costales, Dakota Derrer, Kaylee Druk and Stephanie Grossi were honored by the league for their academic excellence in 2014-15.

The award is the fourth-straight for Knerr and thirdstraight for Goodnough. Renault, Scala, Porlier and Piacentini were selected for the second year in a row.

To qualify for the CHA All-Academic Team, an individual must post a 3.0 grade-point average or higher in all of the academic periods during which her team was actively competing.

SU’s 14 selections are tied with the 2010-11 season for the highest number of honorees by the Orange in a single season.

Nicole Ferrara will serve as the Syracuse hockey team’s captain for the 2015-16 season, head coach Paul Flanagan announced.

Ferrara will lead the Orange squad that enters next season coming off its fourth CHA title game in seven seasons. The fifth-year senior was an assistant captain last season, while sitting out the year while recovering from a season-ending knee injury as a junior.

The Winthrop, Mass. native earned All-CHA Second Team honors as a sophomore and All-Rookie Team accolades as a freshman was on pace for her second-straight 20-point season as a junior before her season was cut short. She ranks ninth in program history in points (53) and goals (23) while ranking second among active players in both categories.

Central New York Women’s College Hockey Report

By Janet Schultz Janet@nyhockeyonline.com

SYRACUSE

Seven contests against 2015 NCAA Tournament teams highlights the 2015-16 Syracuse ice hockey schedule.

The Orange will play Clarkson twice and Boston College at home in the non-conference schedule and play four contests with CHA rival RIT in a rematch of last season’s CHA championship game.

The 2015-16 Orange schedule also features matchups with six of the other seven institutions in New York State that play division I hockey after adding contests with St. Lawrence and Union in addition to continuing series against Cornell, Clarkson, Colgate and RIT. The Orange will host an exhibition game with Queens University of Canada on Sunday, Sept. 27 at Tennity Ice Pavilion, before opening the regular season on Tuesday, Oct. 6 when 2014 National Champion Clarkson visits the Orange.

For updates on the Orange, be sure to follow @CuseIce on Twitter.

Fourteen members of the Syracuse ice hockey team were named to the College Hockey America AllAcademic Team, CHA Commissioner Robert DeGregorio announced.

Seniors Nicole Ferrara, Kaillie Goodnough, Akane Hosoyamada and Julie Knerr, juniorsAmanda Cariddi,

Three of her teammates will don an ‘A’ this season, with rising senior Nicole Renault doing so for the secondstraight season. She’ll be joined by two classmates in Melissa Piacentini and Larissa Martyniuk.

Renault, who was an All-CHA First Team defenseman in each of the last two seasons after making the AllRookie team as a freshman, has 56 points in her three years with the Orange, including 42 assists, which ranks sixth in program history and is 15 shy of the program record.

Another All-CHA First Team selection last season, Piacentini became the Syracuse all-time leading goal scorer with 43 this season, is 18 points from becoming the first 100-point scorer in ‘Cuse history. Piacentini led all Syracuse student-athletes with 29 points and 18 goals last season.

Martyniuk will be the lone junior in this year’s group. A Winnipeg, Manitoba native, Martyniuk heads into her junior campaign with 25 points in 69 career games on the blue line. She scored two goals last season, with one of which serving as the eventual gamewinner against Lindenwood in the second-to-last weekend of the season that propelled the Orange to the No. 2 seed in the CHA Tournament.

Syracuse returns the CHA Rookie of the Year in Stephanie Grossi, a pair of All-CHA First Team players in Renault and Piacentini, the All-CHA Second Team goaltender Jenn Gilligan and another CHA All-Rookie Team selection in Alysha Burriss next season.

The Orange fell in the CHA Title game in double-overtime to RIT this season, and head coach Paul Flanagan was named CHA Coach of the Year for his team’s success.

COLGATE

Colgate’s new athletics facility, opening in October 2016, will be named the Class of 1965 Arena, thanks to a record-setting gift from the uni-

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www.nyhockeyonline.com versity’s 50th anniversary graduates.

Class members — led by gift chair Jim Himoff, Peter Desnoes, Peter Kellner, John McGonagle, and Robert Forster — offered more than $22 million in support for Colgate to mark their reunion this spring. Their generosity also ensured that Colgate hockey’s home ice, located inside the arena, would be known as the Steven J. Riggs ‘65 Rink, in memory of classmate Steve Riggs, killed in Vietnam in 1968. Riggs was team captain and was inducted posthumously into the Colgate Athletics Hall of Honor.

While preparing for Reunion 2015, the Class of 1965 set three goals: to have the largest class turnout, the best program and meals, and one of the largest class gifts in university history.

They accomplished all three of those goals.

Attendance topped out at 125 — nearly 50 percent of living classmates — far surpassing Colgate’s average 50th Reunion class attendance of 84.

Members invested heavily in the quality of their program events and fare, and a remarkable 80 percent of the class participated in the gift giving, propelling ‘65 into second place in the record books.

During a luncheon on May 30, members of the Class of ‘65 signed a beam that will be used in the construction of the arena. Steve Riggs Jr., son of First Lieutenant Steven J. Riggs Sr. and an honorary member of the Class of 1965, was one of those who picked up a pen.

Creating a memorable 50th gift, the Class of ‘65 built on its recordbreaking 25th anniversary performance. Back in 1990, the university had committed to renovating Starr Rink as its men’s squad skated into the NCAA playoffs and finished number two in the country. The Class of ‘65 kicked in with the largest silver anniversary gift seen at that time and named the men’s hockey locker room in memory of Riggs.

Central Hockey / Page 19 “Twenty-five years later, we were planning for our 50th, and there on the board were plans for a new hockey rink,” said class president Lee Woltman ‘65.

“I was dreaming about naming a major portion of the building for Steve Riggs. Not only were we able to name the hockey rink — we’ve been able to name the whole building. My classmates and I are absolutely giddy at leaving that kind of legacy on campus for the Class of 1965.”

ership and passion for the game will serve our players and program well.

“Sophie’s communication skills, her outgoing Leclerc 2015-16 Preview personality The Colgate women’s ice hockey and enthusiasm for player developschedule has been released for the ment make her a perfect fit at Colgate.”

2015-16 season.

Leclerc comes to Colgate after two The Raiders will embark on a tough seasons as the primary assistant coach 30-plus game schedule, featuring con- at Norwich University in Vermont. tests against four opponents who fin- While there she helped the Cadets ished the 2014-15 season ranked. Col- to back-to-back NCAA tournament gate will also face off against the 2015 appearances including a Division III NCAA Runner-Up in Harvard, twice, National Runner-Up title in 2013-14. throughout the year.

She served as the head recruiter for the In addition to playing Harvard, program and coordinated travel schedthe Raiders will meet RIT, Clarkson ules. and Quinnipiac during the season, all “I am very excited to join the staff teams who made it to the NCAA Tour- at Colgate and help Greg and Josh in nament a year ago. continuing their success as a program “Every point in ECAC Hockey and building towards the future,” play carries weight and we are a group Leclerc added. hungry to move up in the standings “I want to thank them as well as this year,” Colgate head coach Greg the Colgate University athletic departFargo said. “To go along with our ment for the opportunity to become a strong returning group, we have an in- part of the women’s hockey program. coming class of recruits that we have Colgate as a community seems like the high expectations for as well heading perfect fit to grow as a coach and perinto the season ahead. We cannot wait son as I learn from the passionate and to get started on this year’s schedule.” committed members of the program.”

Prior to Norwich, the Barre, VerLeclerc Named Assistant mont, native spent one season as the Head women’s ice hockey coach head girls hockey coach at Kimball Greg Fargo announced the hiring of Union Academy in Meriden, New Sophie Leclerc to his coaching staff.

Hampshire, before returning to her “We are extremely pleased to wel- alma mater in the fall of 2013. come Sophie Leclerc to the Colgate Leclerc was a four-year star for the Women’s Hockey family,” Fargo said. Cadets that helped build the Norwich “Sophie is an experienced college women’s hockey program from the coach who comes with a winning pedi- ground up. She played for the inaugugree. As a player and captain she led ral varsity squad in 2007-08 and went her team to a national title. Her lead- on to cap her sensational career by

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www.nyhockeyonline.com guiding NU to its first national championship with a 5-2 victory over RIT in 2011.

Leclerc graduated from Norwich in 2010 with a bachelor of science degree in physical education. She then returned there to obtain her master’s degree in organizational leadership in 2012.

Labbe Selected to Canadian Development Camp Colgate women’s ice hockey newcomer Shae Labbe was selected to attend Canada’s National Women’s Development Team Selection Camp.

“This is a great chance for Shae to continue to showcase her abilities at the national level,” Colgate head coach Greg Fargo said. “It’s a wonderful development opportunity for her and we’re happy she is able to continue the flow of Colgate players being invited to the Development Team camp in recent years.”

The Calgary native and the rest of the Raiders kick off their season with a home exhibition game on Sept. 29 against Queen’s (Canada) at 4 p.m. in Starr Rink.

OSWEGO

The Oswego State women’s ice hockey team has hired Greg Haney as its full-time assistant coach as of July 2015. Haney joins the Lakers after spending a year at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point when the Pointers made a run to the national championship game before falling to Trinity College.

While at Stevens Point, Haney helped two student-athletes to AllAmerica selections and five to AllConference accolades, including WIAC (Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) Player of the Year.

Prior to assisting the Pointers, Haney spent two season at Western New England University as an assistant coach and the recruiting coordinator. Haney,

Central Hockey / Page 20 Haney

a native of Marcellus, N.Y., developed a strength and conditioning program for the Golden Bears while also heading the recruiting and scouting efforts.

Other coaching experience includes a year as an assistant at the National Sports Academy at Lake Placid and a year as a student assistant at his alma mater, Cortland.

In his playing days as a Red Dragon, Haney appeared in 42 games, collecting 22 points on six goals and 16 assists before suffering a careerending injury before his senior year.

This opened the door to the coaching realm as he began his journey behind the bench as a student assistant, aiding with video breakdown and on-campus recruiting.

The forward spent a year at Onondaga Community College before heading to Cortland, with the Lazers posting a perfect 15-0 mark on their way to the 2007 NJCAA National Championship.

During his high school years, Haney played for Solvay where he was a two-time First Team All-New York State selection, including New York State Player of the Year in 2005.

Haney holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts degree in education. He currently resides in Marcellus.

Oswego Preview The Oswego State women’s ice hockey team has released its 201516 slate. Oswego’s campaign features 25 games, 18 of which will be ECAC Women’s West contests. The Lakers will have 13 games in the friendly confines of the Marano Campus Center Arena while 12 will be on the road.

It all begins on Oct. 30 when New England College plays the host Lakers at 7 p.m. On Halloween, Oswego will host Castleton State College in a 3 p.m. tilt. The following weekend will open league action as the Lakers have two meetings at Cortland, with the Saturday and Sunday’s contest both starting at 2 p.m.

After the winter intersession, the Lakers will start back up with a road trip to Chatham University for games on Jan. 16 and 17. In the middle of the next week, Oswego will play Morrisville State College in a homeand-home series. On Tuesday, the Mustangs will come to the Marano Campus Center Arena for a 7 p.m. faceoff. Oswego will return the favor the next evening, heading to Morrisville for another 7 p.m. matchup.

The Lakers’ final four games will all be at home, starting with the final nonconference matchups on the regular season docket. Williams College will play Oswego at 7 p.m. on Feb. 12 and again at 3 p.m. on Feb. 13. Oswego will close out the regular season with 2014-15 national runner-up Elmira College the next weekend. The Soaring Eagles will challenge the Lakers at 7 p.m. on Friday and once more at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Postseason action will begin with the ECAC Women’s West Championship, which is scheduled to start on Feb. 27.

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Central Hockey / Page 21

Utica Signs Home Town Player Utica Comets Director of Hockey Operations Pat Conacher announced today that the club has signed forward Mike Zalewski to an American Hockey League contract for the 2015-16 season.

A native of nearby New Hartford, NY, Zalewski spent last season with the Comets and collected 12 points (3-9-12), and 18 penalty minutes in 55 games through the course of the regular season. The 22-year- old rookie also appeared in all 23 Calder Cup Playoff games and recorded three points (1-2-3) and 14 penalty minutes.

He made his professional hockey debut with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks during the 201314 season, where he collected an assist and a +2 rating in two games played.

Prior to joining the Canucks, he collected 26 points (9-17-26) in 35 games with the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Engineers

ed goals with two. In 75 career NCAA games, Zalewski has compiled 47 points (21-26-47) and 75 penalty minutes.

Zalewski played two seasons with the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL where he was an assistant captain and led the team in scoring in the 2011-12 season with 75 points (38-37-75) in 60 games. He collected 12 points (6-6-12) in 23 playoff games in 2010-11 to help the Vipers win the Mowat Cup and Doyle Cup and also reach the Royal Bank Cup Final.

While growing up in Central NY, Zalewski played three seasons at New Hartford High School and was named the 2009 New York State Player of the Year. He led the Spartans to the 2009 New York Division 2 state hockey championship which was clinched at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.

in 201314 to rank fourth on the team in scoring.

The 6’2”, 210 pound forward finished tied for first on the team in shorthand-

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East Hockey

Jeremy Bracco

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NY’s Goumas goes to Lehigh Valley

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms, proud AHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, are pleased to announce that forward Kevin Goumas has signed a one-year AHL contract for the upcoming 2015-2016 season. A 5’10”, 160-pound forward from Long Beach, New York, Goumas spent the majority of last season with Lehigh Valley where he compiled six goals, 11 assists, 17 points and 23 penalty minutes in 63 games in his first full professional campaign.

A spark plug forward who was one of the speediest players on the rosters a season ago, Goumas tallied his first professional multi-point game with a goal and an assist on January 23 in Syracuse and followed that up with another two-point performance as part of a thrilling 4-3 triumph over the St. John’s IceCaps at PPL Center.

For his efforts, he was named PNC First Star that evening.

And Goumas’ contributions go far beyond the frozen surface. The 23-year-old forward was part of the team’s holiday shopping trip last season to purchase gifts for the children at Lehigh Valley Hospital. He also made a special trip to Cleveland Elementary to read to a group of first and second-grade students and helped mentor the next crop of potential Phantoms by attending Lehigh Valley Phantoms Youth Hockey practices.

Goumas first joined the Phantoms in March 2014 following the completion of a four-year career at

East Hockey / Page 23 the University of New Hampshire.

He made his professional debut on March 28, 2014 at the Syracuse Crunch and netted his first professional goal just 24 hours later versus the Springfield Falcons.

Prior to joining the Phantoms, Goumas spent four years at the University of New Hampshire (20102014) where he amassed 44 goals, 102 assists, 146 points and 161 penalty minutes across 146 games. While with the Wildcats, he was part of two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2011 and 2013.

Bracco to Maple Leafs

By Warren Kozireski —

With the final selection in the third round, the Maple Leafs chose forward Jeremy Bracco from the U.S National Development Program.

“Everyone thinks of going to Toronto with the storied history they have there and the support is second to none, so to be a part of the franchise is definitely an honor,” Bracco said after being selected.

“It’s one of the best feelings I’ve had so far in my career barring the U-18 medal with the guys I played with for two years, but this was a great personal goal of mine. I know the work just start here, but it’s been a great ride.”

The Freeport product and 5’9”, 173 lb. was tied for third on the team with 14 goals, tied for the team lead in plus/minus at +20 and stood fifth with 32 points over 24 games. He registered 94 points in 65 games as well as 13 in seven at the U-18 tour-

Bracco

nament with the United States.

Known most for his passing, Bracco was a key cog in tight games for USNTDP head coach Don Granato.

“I couldn’t get him on the ice enough in overtime,” Granato said in an interview with the NHL Network following the pick. “He’s waiting for it.

He has ice in his veins.”

Hockey is in the Bracco blood as his father played at Dartmouth, one uncle at St. Lawrence and another uncle for Plattsburgh.

“They were really instrumental and they’ll keep pushing me for sure.”

“Where you’re picked doesn’t determine who you are or if you’ll lay in the NHL, so I hope I can help this team win in the future. I’m going to do everything I can to prove that I’m one of the best players in this draft. I think my hockey IQ is what separates me from a lot of guys.”

Bracco is slated to begin his collegiate career at Boston College this fall.

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East Women’s College Report

by Janet Schultz Janet@nyhockeyonline.com

UNION

The Union College women’s hockey program has announced the hiring of Chris Cobb as assistant coach. The announcement was made by Head Coach Claudia Asano Barcomb. Chris takes over as assistant coach for Liz Keady who has accepted a position elsewhere in the profession.

Cobb has spent the past three seasons Cobb as the assistant coach at Williams College. He helped turned the program around, leading the Ephs to the 2013-14 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship and an appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight in just his second season with the team.

With Williams, Cobb oversaw two first-team All-American award winners, 21 NESCAC All-Academic members, three first-team and one second-team All-NESCAC award winners, one NESCAC Player of the Year and one NESCAC Rookie of the Year.

Prior to Williams, Cobb spent five years as the head coach at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and simultaneously served as the assistant coach at Amherst College for three seasons. At UMass, his teams went 68-48-13 in five seasons, including three ECWHL Championship game appearances, two ACHA Final Four appearances and one ECWHL Championship. Under Cobb’s tenure his players earned numerous awards including 17 All-ECWHL, seven All-Americans, and one National Player of the Year Award.

With Amherst, the program went 63-

East Hockey / Page 24 14-7 in three seasons including two NCAA appearances, and three NESCAC championship game appearances including winning the 2010 NESCAC and NCAA DIII National Championship.

Cobb has also spent time as the assistant coach of the ACHA women’s national team, coaching the squad on a tour of Europe playing games against various professional teams. He has additional experience coaching peewee boys hockey for three seasons and 10 years of ice hockey officiating.

“I want to thank Coach Barcomb, Coach Ali Boe, and the Union College athletic department for the opportunity to become part of the Union Women’s Hockey Program,” Cobb said. “After meeting the players and feeling the passion and commitment they have for reaching their goals, I knew Union was where I wanted to take the next step in my coaching career. I can’t wait to get on campus and start working as a staff towards preparing for the upcoming season and building towards the future.”

“Chris will add a great deal to our program,” Barcomb stated. “He has worked tirelessly at Williams for the last three years and has improved their team tremendously. We look forward to adding him to our staff and watching the impact he will make on our program.”

Manhattanville Rising Manhattanville College sophomore Sarah Sinning (Southold, NY/National Sports Academy) earned a silver medal for the second straight season at the 2015 FIRS World Inline Hockey Championships, helping the United States to a second-place finish in the Senior Women’s Division at the seven-day event, held from June 7-13.

RPI

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) head women’s ice hockey coach John Burke has announced the addition of eight student-athletes to the 2015-2016 roster. Joining this year’s team will be four forwards, two defensemen and two goaltenders. Five are from the United States, two are from Canada and one is from Sweden.

(Continued on Page 25)

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Eastern New York Men’s College Hockey Report

East Hockey / Page 25 ARMY

T h e Black Knights will play 17 home games, including four non-conference matchups against Hockey

by Warren Kozireski East foes, as Wkozires@brockport.edu their schedule was released.

The slate kicks off on Oct. 9 with a visit to Tate Rink from Boston College for a 7:05 p.m. puck drop. Other non-league faceoffs against Hockey East teams include Connecticut on the road on Nov. 10, Merrimack on Dec. 29 and Massachusetts on Jan. 2 on home ice.

One of their 28 league games will be played at the Barclays Center on Nov. 1 as part of BROOKLYN HOCKEY, which features Army West Point against Bentley, followed

by Notre Dame and Connecticut.

The Army-Air Force series will take place on Jan. 15 (East Women continued)

“I am excited to have these outstanding women join our RPI family,” said Burke. “With such a large class, we know that these women will have a major impact on our women’s hockey program and community. We look forward to guiding them in the right direction so that they grow, shine and succeed over there four years here at RPI. I want to thank Derek Alfamaand Melanie Greene for doing an outstanding job putting together this year’s class, which will contribute to our program’s ability to compete for an ECAC Hockey Championship.”

The class is the largest in the pro-

and 16 at Tate Rink, which will be followed by the annual clash between the Black Knights and the Royal Military College Jan. 23 in Kingston, Ontario.

Tate Rink has a new look on the ice and in the stands with the new Army West Point logo at center ice and updates to seating.

The ice features the Athena Shield logo at center ice with Army and West Point surrounding it. The words Tate Rink and the Atlantic Hockey logo are in the neutral zone as well. The kickboards were also replaced along the bottom of the boards as part of the update.

All the reserved and general admission seats were given a face lift. All reserved or seatback chairs are brand new and are black instead of the gold look from previous seasons.

UNION

gram’s Division I history and biggest since 2005-06, when nine players were added.

RPI’s recruits include Kira Bombay, G Orleans, Ont./

Nepean Wildcats Jaimie Grigsby, F

Whitby, Ont./Whitby Wolves Josephine Hanson, D

Princeton Junction, N.J.

Shattuck St. Mary’s Ana Orzechowski, D

Tonawanda, N.Y.

Pittsburgh Pens Elite Taylor Schwalbe, F

Anchorage, Alaska

Shattuck St. Mary’s Lovisa Selander, G

Fifth year assistant coach Joe Dumais has been promoted to associate head coach. Dumais has served as an assistant coach since joining the Dutchmen in the summer of 2011.

Sollentuna, Sweden

SDE Riksserien Makenna Thomas, F

Hartland, Wisc.

Chicago Young Americans Aly Tremblay, F

Stillwater, Minn.

Minnesota Revolution Rensselaer posted a 7-23-4 overall record in 2014-15 with a 5-16-1 ECAC Hockey mark. The Engineers will return seven of their top 10 scorers from last year, as nine forwards, five defensemen and one goalie are expected back in the fall.

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UNION MEN’S HOCKEY ANNOUNCES 2015-16 RECRUITING CLASS The Union College men’s ice hockey program will have nine freshmen joining the team for the 2015-16 season. The Dutchmen’s recruiting class was announced by Head Coach Rick Bennett. The Class of 2019 features six forwards, two goaltenders and a defenseman.

The newest Dutchmen are: defenseman Greg Campbell (Oakville, Ontario/Oakville Blades), forward Mark Dufour (Winthrop, Maine/Islanders Hockey Club), goaltender Jake Kupsky (Waukeshaw, Wis./Lone Star Brahmas), forward Cole Maier (Pequannock, N.J./Nanaimo Clippers), forward Brett Supinski (Collegeville, Pa./Coquitlam Express), forward Brendan Taylor (Nanaimo, B.C./ Nanaimo Clippers), forward Sebastian Vidmar (Malmo, Sweden/Lone Star Brahmas), forward Ryan Walker (Spotswood, N.J./Sioux City Musketeers), and goaltender Joe Young (Hanson, Mass./Philadelphia Junior Flyers).

Campbell (age 20, 6’0”, 194 lbs., shoots: L) is known for his competitiveness and offensive flair.

Dufour (age 19, 6’3”, 197 lbs.,

East Hockey / Page 26 shoots: R) is a hard-working forward who brings good size to his position.

He spent the past two seasons with Islanders Hockey Club of the U.S. Premier Hockey League (USPHL).

Kupsky (age 19, 6’5”, 210 lbs., shoots: L) is a big, athletic goaltender who handles the puck well. He spent the 2014-15 season with the Lone Star Brahmas of the North American Hockey League (NAHL), compiling a 19-4-4 record along with a 2.16 goals-against average and .911 save percentage.

Maier (age 20, 6’1”, 195 lbs., shoots: R) is a solid two-way player who will help the Dutchmen in the faceoff circle. This past season with the Nanaimo Clippers of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), Supinski (age 19, 6’0”, 165 lbs., shoots: R) is a highly-skilled offensive player with good hands. He finished second in the BCHL in scoring, amassing 98 points on 48 goals and 50 assists in 58 games for the Coquitlam Express in 2014-15. He also played two seasons of prep hockey at Millbrook (N.Y.) School, averaging 1.51 points a game.

Taylor (age 20, 6’0”, 190 lbs., shoots: R) is a solid playmaker with good hockey sense. Taylor led his hometown Nanaimo Clippers in scoring the past two seasons, guiding the team to the Fred Page Cup BCHL Finals last year as team captain.

Swedish native Vidmar (age 21, 6’2”, 189 lbs., shoots: L) brings size and strength to Union’s front line.

Vidmar spent this past season with the Lone Star Brahmas, collecting 35 goals and 45 assists for 80 points in 58 games. He was named the NAHL’s Most Valuable Player after leading the league in goals and points.

Walker (age 18, 5’10”, 150 lbs.,

shoots: L) is a talented forward with excellent ice vision. In 2014-15, he competed for the Sioux City Musketeers of the United State Hockey League (USHL), registering 10 goals and 24 assists for 34 points in 60 games. Walker previously skated for the New Jersey Junior Titans of the North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL). He became the first player in league history to record 50 points in a season.

Young (age 21, 6’2”, 175 lbs., shoots: L) is an athletic goaltender who will vie for playing time. He spent this past season with the Philadelphia Junior Flyers of the USPHL. In 42 games, Young recorded a 20-14-0 record, 3.03 goals-against average and .916 save percentage. He appeared in 66 games over two seasons with the Junior Flyers after seeing action with the Boston Junior Bruins of the Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) and the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers.

'Credit has to go to Joe Dumais and Jason Tapp for bringing in another quality class of recruits,” saidRick Bennett. “This nine-member class required a lot of road work on their part and I’m grateful for their time and efforts.”

Under Dumais and Tapp, Union has produced the nation’s eighthand 12th-highest scoring freshmen classes the past two seasons. The Class of 2017 compiled 98 points while the Class of 2018 produced 80 points (the highest total in ECAC Hockey).

“We want more to be more competitive in all areas of our program, and I think this incoming class helps us with that,” Bennett added. “In order for us to get back to where we want to be, we need to create competition at every position.”

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Jordan Greenway

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North Hockey / Page 28

Greenway -First NY Native Selected In 2015 NHL Entry Draft

By Warren Kozireski — Potsdam native Jordan Greenway was the 50th player overall and a second round selection during the 2015 NHL Entry Draft in Sunrise, Florida by the Minnesota Wild.

“Everyone dreams of being in the NHL draft one day and now that I’m here and been picked, it’s just unbelievable,” Greenway said.

The former three-year Shattuck St. Mary’s prep school and two-year USNDTP product is heading to Boston University this fall.

“It was great—a milestone in my career,” he said about the Development Program. “They helped me out a ton, do a lot of NHL video and they kind of help you establish an NHL game. Overall I couldn’t have asked

for anything more.”

He had five goals with 15 assists and was a +15 in just 22 games this past season.

“I really like the city of Boston and coach (David) Quinn is a very respected coach with pro experience and I think he will help me out a lot in the next few years.

“The OHL is a good route for some people and college is a good route. I like school, I do pretty well in school and having something to fall back on is my mentality.

“I was put on skates at a young age, fell in love with the game and here’s where I am now.”

Northern New York Men’s College Hockey Report

by Warren Kozireski

Wkozires@brockport.edu

CLARKSON Kenmore native and 2010 alum Jeremiah Crowe has been named assistant director of player personnel at USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. The defensive-defenseman for the Golden Knights played in 91 games, recording two goals and five points for Clarkson from 2006-10.

The team’s captains for this coming season are senior Paul Geiger and assistant captains

Jeff DiNallo and Pat Megannety, and junior James de Haas.

Norwood native and 2014 alum Alex Boak has signed to play with the Fort Wayne Komets this fall.

PLATTSBURGH

Ten year Plattsburgh director of athletics Bruce Delventhal has announced his decision to retire as of Jan. 1, 2016. A national search will begin this fall.

The former head coach of both Union and RIT (leading the Tigers to their second national championship) is currently and has been the secretary/treasurer for the American Hockey Coaches Association since 1988.

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Northern New York Women’s College Hockey Report

by Janet Schultz Janet@ nyhockeyonline.com

Clarkson

Another demanding schedule awaits the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team this season as the Golden Knights face some of the top teams in the country in 2015-16.

Winners of back-to-back ECAC Hockey regular season titles and coming off three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament, Clarkson will look to build upon the challenges of the upcoming regular season campaign to make a bid for its second National Championship in three years.

Guided by eighth-year head coach Matt Desrosiers and second-year assistant coaches Meghan Duggan and Britni Smith, the Knights will face a 34-game slate, featuring the 22-game ECAC Hockey schedule.

The Green and Gold, who posted their fourth straight season of 20-or-more wins in 2015-16, will play six contests against teams from last year’s national playoffs and will battle archrival St. Lawrence University four times.

“I’m really excited about this upcoming season as it includes an always difficult ECAC schedule as well as some challenging games against familiar opponents, but also a couple teams that we haven’t seen in a few years,” stated Desrosiers.

“It will be great to start our season off with an exhibition game against McGill as they always have very competitive teams. It will also give our team, especially our incoming freshmen, a chance to get back into game pace after a long offseason. That game should hopefully help prepare us for an always exciting and fast paced set of games against St. Lawrence the following weekend.

Over the next few weekends we conclude the majority of our out-of-conference games against some strong teams that will help prepare us for our very demanding ECAC league games. It should be a very exciting and challenging season for us yet again.”

North Hockey / Page 29 Playoff hockey begins on February 26 with the quarterfinal round of the ECAC Hockey Tournament. The league’s championship weekend will be held on 5-6 at the campus site of the highest remaining seed in the eightteam tournament. NCAA postseason play concludes on Sunday, March 20 with the 16th Annual Frozen Four at the Whittemore Center on the campus of the University of New Hampshire in Durham.

Follow Golden Knights Hockey online with live radio broadcasts, video streaming and live stats at Clarkson Hockey Broadcast Central

Ambrose and MacAulay Selected

A pair of standouts for the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team, Erin Ambrose and Shannon MacAulay, were selected in the inaugural NWHL Draft, kickstarting the new professional league that is set to begin Oct. 17, 2015.

Ambrose and MacAulay, who will both enter their senior campaign for the Golden Knights this fall, were chosen by the New York Riveters and Boston Pride, respectively in the draft held on June 20.

All players who have completed their junior seasons were eligible for selection in the draft and all those selected during the draft will complete their senior seasons at the collegiate level before entering the professional ranks.

NWHL Draft selection order was determined by a lottery, with the league’s four flagship franchises choosing five players each during a five-round, 20-player draft in the following order – New York, Connecticut Whale, Boston and Buffalo Beauts.

Ambrose was the first player chosen by New York in the third round, while MacAulay went to Boston with the third pick in the fifth round.

Per the NWHL, after completing her college career, a drafted player can then sign with the team that selected her. Or, she can opt into free agency and sign with any of the other three teams. A player who is eligible to be selected and is not drafted becomes a free agent after completing her senior year.

The top scoring defenseman in Clarkson’s history, Ambrose has tallied 109 career points on 26 goals and 83 points through 102 games. The Keswick, ONT native has earned ECAC Hockey All-Star honors, gained All-America status and has been a Top 10 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award finalist.

A native of Mt. Herbert, PEI, MacAulay served as

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www.nyhockeyonline.com Clarkson’s captain last year and was an ECAC Hockey Third-Team All-League All-Star as well as a Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award nominee. Through 115 career games she has recorded 38 goals and 35 assists. MacAulay tallied the game-winning goal on a breakaway in the Knights’ 5-4 win over Minnesota in the 2014 NCAA National Championship game.

St Lawrence

The St. Lawrence women’s hockey team has announced its 34-game regular season schedule for the 2015-16 season, which includes 20 games to be played at home in Appleton Arena.

This season includes non-conference matchups against Boston College, Clarkson first-year program Merrimack, Northeastern, Penn State, Syracuse and Vermont, in addition to the traditional contests between ECAC Hockey opponents: Brown, Clarkson, Colgate, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Rensselaer, Princeton, Quinnipiac, Union and Yale.

“It’s going to be another exciting year,” Head Coach Chris Wells said. “We’ve thrown a lot of different nonconference teams into the mix and that with our ECAC Hockey schedule is going to be a challenge for our team, especially early on, but we look forward to that test.”

St. Lawrence will start with an exhibition game versus McGill on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 5 p.m. before welcoming Northeastern to Appleton Arena for the regular season opening series with the Huskies on Sept. 26-27. Next the Saints will face off against Route 11 rival, Clarkson, for a non-conference home-and-home series, playing in Potsdam on Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. and in Canton on Oct. 3 at 3 p.m. on Family Weekend.

For the 10th season in a row the Saints will play Boston College, this time in Boston, on Oct. 11 and 12 before taking on fellow Hockey East member Vermont in a home-and-home series on Oct. 15 and 16; starting in Burlington at Gutterson Field House before returning to Appleton. The Saints have not played the Catamounts since the 2004-05 season; Vermont’s last as a member of ECAC Hockey.

The weekend of Oct. 24 will be Alumnae Weekend for the St. Lawrence women’s hockey team, as the Saints welcome former Head Coach Paul Flanagan and his Syracuse Orange to Appleton for the first time since his departure to

North Hockey / Page 30 start the hockey program at ‘Cuse in 2008. The weekend will be highlighted by an alumnae game at 12 p.m. on the 24th, before the non-conference game between the Saints and Orange at 3 p.m.

“We’re obviously excited to welcome Paul back to Canton,” Wells added. “He helped create the culture that makes us unique and that we’re all so proud of. Connecting with the alums while they’re back on campus is going to be a great experience for our team.”

Late October opens the ECAC Hockey schedule for St. Lawrence, which starts with a pair of road weekends at Dartmouth and Harvard (Oct. 30-31) and Rensselaer and Union (Nov. 6-7) before playing host to Princeton and Quinnipiac on Nov. 20-21.

Two days later, the Saints will play host to Penn State for a rare Monday and Tuesday non-conference series against Penn State on Nov. 23 and 24. The team then wraps up the first half of the season with Cornell and Colgate at home on Dec. 4 and 5.

Following the New Year, St. Lawrence will open the 2016 portion of its schedule with a single game against Merrimack on Jan. 6 for its final non-conference game and then finish out the year with 14 ECAC Hockey matchups.

The finale regular-season series in Appleton Arena will be Feb. 19 and 20 against Yale and Brown, respectively

Plattsburgh

Some 65 student-athletes from Plattsburgh State University have been honored by The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) on its 2015 spring semester All-Academic Team and Commissioner’s List.

Women’s hockey players honored included Bridget Balisy (CL/AA), Chelsea Broadhead (AA), Brett Campbell (AA), Camille Leonard (CL/AA), Jordan Lipson (AA), Alyssa Parke (CL/AA), Giovanna Senese (CL/AA), Katelyn Turk (AA), Elizabeth Viola (AA), Andrea Ziesmann (CL/AA).

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Dennis Gilbert

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West Hockey / Page 32

Sabres Sign D’Amigo The Buffalo Sabres have signed forward Jerry D’Amigo to a one-year, two-way contract.

D’Amigo (5’11”, 208 lbs., 2/19/1991) made his Sabres debut last season, logging nine NHL games in March after being recalled from the Rochester Americans (AHL). The Binghamton, New York native split the 2014-15 AHL season between the Americans and the Springfield Falcons, logging 26 points (9+17) in 59 AHL games during his fifth professional season.

The Sabres acquired D’Amigo from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Luke Adam in December 2014. Since being selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the sixth round of the 2009 NHL Draft, D’Amigo has appeared in 31 NHL games, recording three points (1+2) and two penalty minutes.

Vancouver Re-signs Niagara Falls’ Clendening Vancouver

Canucks General Manager Jim Benning announced today that the Canucks have re-signed defenceman Adam Clendening.

Clendening, 22, appeared in 17 games with the Canucks during the 2014.15 season, registering two assists (0-2-2) and eight penalty minutes. The Niagara Falls, New York native also registered five points (1-4-5) and 28 penalty minutes in 11 regular season games with the Utica Comets.

In 23 playoff games for Utica, Clen-

Clendening

dening ranked second among Comets defencemen in scoring registering eight points (3-5-8). He also split time this season with the Chicago Blackhawks and Rockford IceHogs, collecting two points (1-1-2) in four games with Chicago and 13 points (1-12-13) in 38 games with Rockford.

The 6’0”, 190-pound Clendening was acquired from Chicago in exchange for Gustav Forsling on January 29, 2015. He was originally selected by Chicago in the second round, 36th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

native of Grand Island, NY, was second on the team in scoring among all defensemen with 13 points in 40 games played (3 goals, 10 assists).

Burford (6’0/185) also recorded four points (all assists) in three playoff games this season. He also served as assistant captain for the Express.

Burford played his midget hockey for the Buffalo Jr. Sabres organization.

“We are very excited for Jake and his family for his ACHA commitment.

He is the first Express player from our inaugural season to make a college commitment to play hockey and we are very proud of him. He is a leader on and off the ice and we wish Jake all the best as he starts a new chapter,” said Express Head Coach and General Manager Frank Vecchio.

Lockport Express Player to College The Lockport Express, proud members of the NA3EHL, are pleased to announce that defenseman Jacob Burford has committed to play college hockey at Rochester College.

Rochester is a member of the ACHA Division I. Burford, 19, completed his first season of playing in the NA3EHL for Lockport and had a solid season. The

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Burford

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Sanborn’s McCollum Back with Detroit

The Detroit Red Wings re-signed goaltender Tom McCollum to a oneyear contract. In accordance with club policy, additional details will not be disclosed.

McCollum, 25, appeared in 37 games for the Griffins in 2014-15, posting a 19-11-7 record, a 2.40 goals-against average and a 0.916 save percentage. He also earned his first career NHL win with Detroit, steering aside seven shots in a relief effort on Jan. 18 versus Buffalo, and also made 17 saves during a second relief appearance on Jan. 29 at Tampa Bay. In two appearances with the Red Wings this season, he owned a 0.91 goals-against average and a 0.960 save percentage. The Cambria, N.Y., native has played 196 games with Grand Rapids over his six professional seasons, sporting a career record of 88-78-17, with a 61-34-13 mark since the start of the 2012-13 campaign.

The 2013 Calder Cup champion was also 9-6 in his first postseason run as a starter this season, posting a 2.55 goals-against average and a 0.916 save percentage.

Originally drafted by Detroit in the first round (30th overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, McCollum ranks among the Griffins all-time leaders with 196 goalie games played (2nd), 11,051 minutes played (2nd), 88 wins (3rd), six shutouts (T6th) and 4,835 saves (3rd). Prior to turning pro, McCollum played 160 games with the OHL’s Guelph Storm and Brampton Battalion from 2006-09, sporting an 85-51-20 record, 2.33 goals against average, 0.920 save percentage and 16 shutouts. He was a mem-

West Hockey / Page 33 ber of the OHL Third All-Star Team in 2007 and 2008 and the OHL Second All-Star Team in 2009. McCollum also represented the United States on two occasions, winning a silver medal at the IIHF Under-18 World Championship in 2007 and appearing in five games during the IIHF World Junior Championship in 2009.

McCollum

McCollum Wins Award

The Grand Rapids Griffins are proud to announce that Tom McCollum has been named the team’s winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Grand Rapids community during the 2014-15 season.

This season, McCollum helped found the TLC Club (Tommy and Lando Care Club), which provides Griffins season tickets to the Boys & Girls Club of Grand Rapids in order to help spread the fervor for hockey throughout West Michigan. On his own accord, he also conducted a free

one-hour clinic in February for more than a dozen 4th-to-12th grade goalies from the Griffins Youth Foundation, with help from teammate Jared Coreau. After the on-ice session, they held a 30-minute Q&A with the goalies and their parents. McCollum is just the second two-time IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year nominee in the Griffins’ 19 seasons, joining current Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard.

A native of Cambria, N.Y., McCollum has been tireless in community involvement throughout his six seasons with the team, embodying the core values of both the Griffins and the city of Grand Rapids. McCollum has been a pillar of service in every major charitable event this season, including walking dogs at the Pups and Pucks Fall Walk-a-Thon for Mackenzie’s Animal Sanctuary, interacting with fans at the Great Skate Winterfest to raise funds for the Griffins Youth Foundation, partaking in the annual sled hockey game with the Grand Rapids Sled Wings and serving beverages at Corks, Pucks and Brews for Easter Seals Michigan, among many other volunteer opportunities.

The 25-year-old goaltender has always been proactive in using his station in life for the betterment of the younger generation, impacting the lives of children at hockey practices, hospitals and elementary schools. In an effort to connect with fans, McCollum also actively sought out opportunities to sign post-game autographs, interact on the Griffins’ social media outlets, including a personal Twitterview to answer fan questions, and participate in regular fan meet and greets.

“Tom McCollum is as good an ambassador of the Grand Rapids Grif-

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West Hockey / Page 34

the defenseman had four goals with 23 assists and 89 penalty minutes in 58 games. The Buffalo Jr Sabres product stands 6’2, 195 lb. and will play college hockey at Notre Dame this fall.

“I think college hockey is great developmentally and the competition is second to none in my opinion and it makes the jump (to pro hockey) that much easier because you’re playing against older guys going on 25 years old.

“It’s a great team at Notre Dame, but life after

By Warren Kozireski — hockey is important to me too. Obviously getting Williamsville’s Dennis Gilbert was selected by to the NHL is my number one goal, but it does end Chicago with the final pick of the third round (91st eventually for every player, so I think that the educaoverall) at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft in Sunrise, Flori- tion I’ll get there and the friendships I’ll make and the community I’ll join will be a big part of my life after da.

“It’s a dream come true to be drafted by any hockey.” team, but being in Chicago last year and experienc- Gilbert has already begun his college academic ing the city really makes it that much more special program at Notre Dame taking Calculus and Writing right now—I’m just very excited to be a Blackhawk,” Rhetoric for six weeks through July.

Gilbert said moments after being selected.

“The tradition in Chicago is second to none right now in the league and I think the dynasty is only beNY Hockey E-Magazine ginning. I think they’re a great organization with a lot of young talent coming up in the AHL and good draft WE NEED YOU! picks, so I think the Blackhawks will be a great team for a while.

Playing for the Chicago Steel this past season, Your Stories * Your Photographs fins and the sport of hockey as anyone we’ve had in our 19 years of existence,” said Bob Kaser, Griffins vice president of community relations and broadcasting. “He, like most hockey players, completely embraces community involvement and recognizes the difference he can make in people’s lives, and I’m here to tell you that he is a hero to many in West Michigan.”

Gilbert to Chicago

Your Announcements * Your Advertising

Gilbert at NHL Combine in Buffalo

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West Hockey / Page 35

Rippon

Rochester Girl Named To International Selects

by Kathy Pippy

Cecconi

Youngstown’s Cecconi Now A (Dallas) Star

By Warren Kozireski —

Defenseman Joe Cecconi was selected by the Dallas Stars in fifth round (133rd overall) at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft in Sunrise, Florida.

“Round five started up and I thought I was on the verge of getting chosen and, once I heard my name, I was extremely excited,” Cecconi said.

One of the people shaking his hand at the Dallas Stars table was former Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff.

“It was awesome. Growing up watching him coach the Sabres, so it’s pretty cool.

“Truthfully I was a little bit scared heading into the fifth round that something might happen and I might not get chosen, but as soon Dallas was up and they called my name I knew the dream has started.”

The Youngstown native was one of four New York natives to be selected. The 6’2”, 205 lb. had three goals and 14 assists and was the only player to play in all 59 games this season with the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the USHL. He is committed to play for the University of Michigan starting the fall.

Kaitlyn Rippon, Pittsford, has been named to the international program with the Selects Hockey Team. They will compete in the World Selects Invitational in Bolzano, Italy this month.

“Kaitlyn is an outstanding hockey player who has shown she has the skill to be a top hockey prospect but also demonstrated great leadership and passion on the ice, “ said Kathy Pippy, director of girls’ hockey for the Selects Hockey Program.

Selects Hockey is an elite development program owned by LEGACY Global Sports. Since 2003 , Selects Hockey has worked with the top 12 to 16 year old hockey players across North America and Europe to expose them to all avenues of hockey in an effort to facilitate opportunties at the prep school, NCAA, Junior and Professional levels.

Selects Hockey growing list of NHL alumni include Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche; Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks; Kevin Shattenkirk, St. Louis Blues; Sam Gagner, Edmonton Oilers and Ryan O’Reilly, Colorado Avalanche. The program has also helped over 100 male and female players receive NCAA scholarships over the past 8 years.

For more information on Selects Hockey go to www. selectshockey.com

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/ Page 36

2015 Tyler Putnam Awards

Tyler’s Friend Pays Him Tribute

BY RANDY SCHULTZ

T

yler Putnam was a young boy who had dreams of one day playing for his Rochester area high school hockey team. But in July 2011 Putnam’s dreams ended tragically when he died of an illness called “meningococcemia.”

The Tyler Putnam Foundation was formed in 2011 and each year an awards dinner bearing his name is held. The dinner recognizes the hard work and dedication to hockey by local, young athletes and donates 100 percent of the surplus funds raised to local and national charities.

As part of the dinner this past year, a young man by the name of Michael Mazzara, got up in front of the assembled group and read a letter. It was part of a senior school project that he had to do.

The letter was written to Putnam, who was a friend of Mazzara. It was a very powerful, yet touching and emotional letter that I wanted to share with our readers.

When you finish, I think you will have a better idea of just who Tyler Putnam was.

He read it as follows: “Dear Tyler – “As I write this letter I’m thinking about all the times we spent together. The picnics and classes together and so much more.

“I wish I would have told you how you impacted my life. You probably have no idea how much I looked up to you as a brother and as a friend and how much I admired you.

“Our dads had been friends since they were our age.

I think it was pretty cool that they had been friends for that long.

“I remember going to one of your first hockey

Michael Mazzara shares his tribute to Tyler Putnam.

(Photos by Janet Schultz)

games. You were amazing.

“We sat on the bleachers after the game and talked. I was trying to tell you how impressed I was.

“But you stopped me and told me it doesn’t matter what size you are, but that you have to do your best and you can accomplish anything. Of course I had many doubts because I was shorter than most of my classmates and I wasn’t the strongest kid.

“But you reminded me that that didn’t matter because you weren’t very big either. It was determination and hard work; you were doing exactly what many told you you couldn’t.

“That helped me through a lot of what I went through here in high school. And I’ll never forget that.

“In June 2011 my father and I stopped by your dad’s house to say good-bye. My dad and I were travelling the next day to Minnesota to have Open Heart surgery.

“We were sitting outside and I talked to you and I told you that I was scared. I told you that I didn’t want to talk to my parents about it because they were already scared and I didn’t want to worry them even more.

“You reassured me that everything would be fine and that you would come over and visit once I returned home. That opportunity never came because you

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www.nyhockeyonline.com passed away while I was out of town.

“I could not believe it when my dad told me. You were such a good friend to me.

“My life wasn’t the only one you touched. Since you passed away in 2011, your dad and your sister, Shannon, have get togethers every birthday and on July 7, as a remembrance of the celebration of your life.

“Numbers of your schoolmates, teammates, family and friends share stories about you and the crazy things you did on the ice and what an amazing friend you were.

“The following year, in 2012, in front of your friends and family, your hockey jersey was retired and is being displayed on the wall of the pizzeria where your sister, Shannon, works.

“There is also a banner hanging at Lakeshore Hockey Rink with your name and hockey number.

“Your father and Shannon recently started the Tyler Putnam Foundation that bears your name. This founda-

/ Page 37 tion assists families that recently suffered tragedy and need assistance with registration fees for youth hockey.

“At the end of the 2013-14 hockey season they will be handing out the awards named after you. The awards will go to area hockey players with similar determination and work ethic as you did.

“I think you would be surprised the effect you had on other people’s lives. Not only friends and teammates, but people you’ve never met.

“You’ve had a positive effect on the hockey community.

“I decided to write this letter to you so your dad and your sister know what an inspiration you were to me.

They should know how much I valued our friendship.

“You had a huge impact on my life.

“Thank you for giving that to me.”

Rookie Camp with Guest Photographer Damian Adams

Damian is 10 years old and a fifth grader at Ava Middle School in Ava, Missouri. Visiting for the summer he took the camera and headed off to the Buffalo Sabres Rookie Camp with Grandpa Randy Schultz.

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Western New York Women’s College Hockey Report

by Janet Schultz Janet@nyhockeyonline.com JDSchultz3663@gmail.com

West Hockey / Page 38 RIT McDonald Honored

BUFFALO STATE

Lucy Schoedel recently announced she will be joining the Prep School world at Northwood School in Lake Placid, NY after stepping away from Buffalo State University.

Coach Schoedel joined the Buffalo State’s women’s hockey staff as an assistant in 2013. Schoedel spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at Division I Brown University, and was an assistant at Wesleyan University, where she was the recruiting coordinator and goalie coach. She also works with USA Hockey in various capacities, including as a goaltending scout for the national team.

As a player, she spent two years at the University of New Hampshire, making a Frozen Four appearance in 2008, before transferring to Syracuse University. She was a two-time MVP with the Orange and was also a two-time nominee for the Patty Kazmaier Award, presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey.

Coach Schodedel will be joining the RinkSport coaching staff for her first season in 2015. She brings great goaltending knowledge and is a great resource for choosing different paths throughout your high school journey!

Schoedel

McDonald

Rochester Institute of Technology announces the Bruce B. Bates Women’s Hockey Coach, the university’s first endowed coaching position for Tiger athletic programs.

RIT Trustee Emeritus Bruce B. Bates, who joined the board in 1970, is providing the gift where endowed earnings will support the salary of the women’s head hockey coach and provide budget relief to athlet-

ics.

“The women’s team deserves this endowment and recognition for their program,” said Bates, who began playing hockey at age 8 and retired from men’s leagues at 58.

“These young women are exceptional student-athletes both in the classroom and on the ice. I am a season ticket holder and enjoy their brand of hockey. This feels good to me. It’s the right place to start for an endowed coaching position.”

The endowment in athletics will be similar to those in academics at RIT. The donation is invested, and a portion of the return is distributed each year. When funded, the endowment will include commitments of more than $1.7 million.

Scott McDonald, who recently signed a 5-year extension to lead the women’s hockey team through 2020, becomes the first recipient of the endowment.

“I would like to thank Mr. Bates for his support and most of all, his generosity for our program and RIT Athletics,” said McDonald, the Bruce B. Bates Women’s Hockey Coach. “This is a monumental step for our program. Not only will this benefit our team, but our entire athletics department. I am honored and humbled that Mr. Bates feels that we have earned this generous gift.”

In nine seasons as head coach at RIT, McDonald has an overall record of 186-72-23, including the 2012 Division III National Championship. In three seasons as a Division I program, he has led RIT to two College Hockey America Championships, and in 2015, RIT’s first

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www.nyhockeyonline.com berth into the NCAA Division I Tournament.

“Bruce Bates’ extraordinary generosity and engagement will have a profound impact on the entire Intercollegiate Athletics program at RIT,” said Sandra Johnson, senior vice president for Student Affairs. “This ‘first’ in our history will support and advance the important role of promoting women in sports and the concept of the scholar athlete. Bruce’s engagement with the program will inspire and energize our community in meaningful and remarkable ways today and in the future.”

“We are thrilled for our women’s hockey program and for athletics at RIT in general,” added Lou Spiotti Jr., executive director of Intercollegiate Athletics.

“This is a landmark event in that it will serve as an impetus for future successes in women’s hockey. We look forward to benefitting from the added financial support, which is obviously critical to building consistently competitive teams. We are grateful for Mr. Bates’ generosity and extraordinary dedication to our student-athletes.”

Lisa Cauda, vice president of Development and Alumni Relations, said the Bates gift is a model for RIT Athletics that may inspire others to support RIT’s other 23 varsity sports.

“As the first RIT donor to establish an endowed coaching position, Mr. Bates is paving a new roadway toward further athletic successes,” said Cauda. “We look forward to helping other dedicated alumni and friends to follow his lead, all in support of our Tiger scholar athletes.”

Bates, a longtime supporter of RIT, said his recent gift is about an emotional connection to the women’s team. He hopes more donors follow suit for other RIT coaches.

West Hockey / Page 39 “I got involved in a lot of different ways over the years with RIT,” said Bates. “After a while, you get to love a place that tends to think you are OK and gives you opportunities to love them back.”

RIT Players Go to NWHL

Former RIT women’s hockey players Celeste Brown, Erin Zach and Lindsey Grigg have become members of the National Women’s Hockey League.

Former RIT women’s hockey captain Celeste Brown (Great Falls, MT/ National Sports Academy)became the first player in program history to sign a professional contract, inking a deal with the New York Riveters of the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) on Friday, June 26.

“I am very humbled and honored to sign a contract for the first NWHL season,” said Brown. “It is huge for not only myself, but for so many other girls and for women’s hockey in general. I am very excited for this upcoming season.”

A two-year captain, Brown led the Tigers with 10 goals in 2014-15, while leading the Tigers to their second straight College Hockey American Championship and first appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament. She also led the Tigers with four gamewinning tallies during the year. In 139 career games with the Tigers, Brown tallied 70 career points on 42 goals and 28 assists. She is RIT’s Division I career leader with 30 goals and her nine career-game winning tallies are tied for ninth-best all-time at the university.

Brown, who graduated in May with a degree in sociology/anthropology, was part of an incredible senior

class. This group won a NCAA Division III National Championship as freshmen in 2012, helped RIT make the successful transition to Division I in 2013 and back-to-back CHA titles in 2014. RIT’s seniors finished their four-year career with an impeccable 15-2 record in postseason play.

Brown scored the game-winning goal early in the period that broke a 1-1 tie and lifted the Tigers to their first and only NCAA Championship in 2012. A model of consistency, she scored 12 goals as a freshman, nine in 2012-13, and 11 in 2013-14. In the classroom, Brown was a threetime CHA All-Academic Team selection and in 2014 was named a CHA Academic All-Star for maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade-point average. She finished her collegiate career with an excellent 3.73 GPA. “We couldn’t be happier for Celeste,” said RIT women’s hockey head coach Scott McDonald. “She is a high energy player who has put in a lot of hard work and is really dedicated to getting better. Celeste is one of the pioneers of this league and we can’t wait to see her play professional hockey. It is a great step for our program as well, knowing we have our first pro player.”

Erin Zach, a 2014 graduate, became the second Tiger to sign a professional contract with the NWHL, inking a deal with the Buffalo Beauts on Thursday, July 9.

Zach enjoyed an excellent fouryear career with the Tigers, recording 74 points on 30 goals and 44 assists in 121 contests. As a freshman in 201011, Zach scored a career-high 12 goals, helping lead the Tigers to a national runner-up finish in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The next season, Zach was a key member of the squad that won the Division III Champion-

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www.nyhockeyonline.com ship. She helped RIT make a seamless transition to Division I in 2012-13, recording 17 points on four goals and 13 assists.

Hockey standout Lindsay Grigg (Oakville, Ontario/Oakville Hornets), a 2015 graduate and two-year captain, became the third Tiger to sign a professional contract inking a deal with the Buffalo Beauts on Monday, July 13.

Grigg enjoyed an excellent fouryear career with the Tigers, recording 75 points on 20 goals and 55 assists in 143 contests. She is RIT’s all-time leader in games played. As a freshman

Meet The New Recruits Coach McDonald, is excited to announce the RIT women’s hockey Class of 2019. The class of nine student-athletes includes six forwards, two defensemen, and one goaltender.

Five players hail from Canada, while four are from the United States.

“This is a very skilled and athletic class, which should contribute right away,” said McDonald, who is entering his tenth season behind the bench at RIT in 2015-16. “I’d like to thank our staff for their tireless effort recruiting during the year. We feel that this is an exciting group with a lot of potential and promise that will help us replace a tremendous group of seniors that graduated in 2015.”

Up front, Brooke Baker (Saline, MI/Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles), Kendall Cornine (Kinnelon, NJ/East Coast Wizards), Kathryn Kennedy (Hamilton, Ontario/Hamilton Hawks), Mallory Rushton (Amherst, Nova Scotia/ New Hampton Prep), Reagan Rust (Southaven, MS/Pittsburgh Penguins Elite), and Kandice Sheriff (Brampton, Ontario/Leaside Wildcats) will

West Hockey / Page 40 look to compete for playing time right away.

Baker, who stands, 5-foot-8, had 22 points on 11 goals and 11 assists in 50 games with the Niagara Jr. Eagles, helping lead them to the High Performance Hockey League New York State Championship. She also played three seasons with the Little Caesars under-19 and under-16 teams and appeared at the USA National Development camps from 2011-2014 Cornine played the 2014-15 season with the East Coast Wizards and Morristown Beard High School. At Morristown Beard, she broke the alltime New Jersey high school scoring record with 199 points in four seasons on 104 goals and 95 assists in 74 games. Cornine, who stands 5-foot-5, was named the New Jersey Girls High School Player of the Year in 2015 and won the New Jersey Devils High School Player of the Year in both 2014 and 2015.

Kennedy, also a 5-foot-5 forward, played the 2014-15 season with the Hamilton Hawks Midget AA team, recording 22 points on 10 goals and 12 assists in 32 games Rushton played at New Hampton Prep School, recording 12 goals and 15 assists in 24 games played during 2014-15 season. As a junior, Rushton tallied 45 points on 24 goals and 21 assists in 34 games. A 5-foot-2 forward, Rushton was a two-time All-New Hampshire Prep School recipient and All-Region selection.

Rust, who stands 5-foot-8, played the 2014-15 season for the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite under-19 team. She recorded 23 goals and 15 assists for 38 points in 55 games during the 2014-15 season. Rust can also be called upon to play defense.

Sheriff, who stands 5-foot-9,

played the 2014-15 season with the Leaside Junior Wildcats of the Provincial Women’s Hockey League. She appeared in 34 games, recording four goals and five assists with a team-high 61 penalty minutes.

“Brooke (Baker) is a strong power forward who is tough to play against in the corners and in front of the net,” said McDonald, who enters the season with a 186-72-23 career record. “Kendall (Cornine) has an exceptional skill set with great speed and a high hockey IQ. Kathryn (Kennedy) can play in any situation, is very tenacious and smart on the ice. Mallory (Rushton) brings a lot of energy and is a proven goal scorer who plays much bigger than her size indicates. Reagan (Rust) is very crafty with the puck, is an exceptional playmaker, and has great size at 5-8. Kandice (Sheriff) is a tough power forward who has a nice touch as a playmaker and has a nose for the net.”

On defense, Brinna Dochinak (Marine on St. Croix, MN/Stillwater Ponies), Logan Land (Turkey Point, Ontario/Burlington Barracudas, and will look to make an immediate impact in 2015-16. Land could see time at forward as well.

Dochinak, who stands 5-foot-5, played last season with the Minnesota Blades and Stillwater Ponies. She had 22 points on six goals and 16 assists for Stillwater last season and was a two-time winner of the Norris Award as the team’s top defenseman.

Land, a 5-foot-8 skater who may step in at forward as well, played the 2014-15 season with the Burlington Junior Barracudas of the Provincial Women’s Hockey League. She chipped in with 23 points on 11 goals and 12 assists in 38 games.

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West Hockey / Page 41 head scout. He also served one season as an on-ice referee in the NAHL. Murphy is a former Division III player at Curry in Massachusetts and St. Mary’s in Minnesota and played junior hockey with the Toledo Ice Diggers and Wasilla Spirit of the NAHL. The Anchorage, Alaska native earned his bachelor’s degree in sports management from St. Mary’s.

Western New York Men’s College Hockey Report

by Warren Kozireski

CANISIUS

Wkozires@brockport.edu

BUFFALO STATE

The Golden Griffins released their 34 game 2015-16 schedule including 17 home games. Atlantic Hockey plays 28 conference games, leaving just six non-conference contests.

Visiting HAROBRCENTER this season will be Penn State, Bowling Green and Merrimack. The team will travel to Ohio State for two games in mid-November and return to Merrimack in late December.

Battle of the Bridge rival Niagara’s games will be at HARBORCENTER for the first time with games scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 14 and Saturday, Jan. 16. The two games with RIT are on the road the weekend prior to Niagara.

GENESEO Ten-year head coach Nick Carriere resigned to become an assistant coach with St. John’s in the American Hockey League.

Carriere led the Bengals to the SUNYAC semifinals in each of the past four seasons and his teams qualified for the playoffs nine times. The Niagara University alum finished with an overall record of 109-127-27, including 60 wins over the past five seasons, and was named SUNYAC Coach of the Year in 2005-06.

The school promoted assistant coach Steve Murphy to interim head men’s hockey coach for the 2015-16 season.

Murphy joined the Bengals’ staff last season after serving as an assistant coach and strength and conditioning coach with the Kenai River Brown Bears in the North American Hockey League (NAHL), where he previously served as a

Alumni and former head coach Jason Lammers has been announced as the new head coach and general manager for the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League.

Lammers has been an assistant coach at MassachusettsLowell since 2011.

Prior to his time at Lowell, Lammers worked at Colorado College as an assistant coach from 2009 to 2011 and three seasons as an assistant at Ohio State from 2006 to 2009. He graduated from Geneseo in 1998.

NIAGARA

Niagara’s 34 game schedule this season includes six

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www.nyhockeyonline.com non-conference tilts--a home-and-home series with Cornell University in late-October, a trip to the University of Michigan to face-off against the Wolverines and the USNational Development Program (officially an exhibition), and welcoming Penn State. It all begins with a trip to St. Lawrence and Clarkson Oct. 9-10.

Incoming forward Tanner Lomsnes participated in the Dallas Stars Development Camp in July.

R.I.T.

West Hockey / Page 42 Brown finished 10th in league scoring with 69 points on 30 goals and 39 assists in just 47 games, while earning CCHL Third Team All-Star honors Girduckis tied for the team lead with 29 goals and added 32 assists for 61 points. Kerins finished fifth in league scoring with 74 points on 37 goals and 37 assists. Logan tallied 45 points on 22 goals and 23 assists in 59 regular season games and added 11 points in 20 postseason contests.

Short, despite playing on a team that won only nine of 58 games compiled a .897 save percentage, faced at least 40 shots in a game 12 times, while making a season-high 55 saves on two different occasions.

The 1984-85 Division III National Champion team will be inducted into the 2015 Frontier Field Walk of Fame on Sunday, August 16. The squad is set to be honored in the “Team of the Ages” category.

Four forwards and one goaltender make up the incoming class for the Tigers. Forwards Erik Brown (Kemptville 73’s), Abbott Girduckis (Wellington Dukes), Liam Kerins (North York Rangers), and Mark Logan (Brooks Bandits) plus goaltender Christian Short (Surrey Eagles) join the squad this fall.

(West Womens Continued from Page 40)

“Brinna (Dochinak) has tremendous speed, is steady, and tough to beat in the defensive zone,” said McDonald.

“Logan (Land) sees the ice really well, is a smooth skater, and will give us a boost offensively from the blue line.”

In goal, Jenna de Jonge (Abbotsford, British Columbia/ Pursuit of Excellence) will compete for the starting job in goal after playing the last three seasons with the Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy in British Columbia. de Jonge, who stands 5-foot-10, was the opposing goaltender in the first exhibition game at the Gene Polisseni Center, stopping 40 of 42 shots, as Pursuit of Excellence defeated RIT by a score of 3-2.

“Jenna brings great size and athletic ability to the position,” said McDonald. “I am excited to see her compete with Jetta (Rackleff) and Brooke (Stoddart) in the preseason, as it will be the most competitive position battle on our team.”

RIT begins its second season at the 4,300-seat Gene Polisseni Center this season and fourth overall as a Division I program. RIT is looking for its third straight league title and second consecutive berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers return 15 players from last season’s squad

that won 15 games and advanced to the NCAA National Quarterfinals.

“This is a good group of student-athletes who have strong character and fit our culture,” said McDonald. “We are excited to have them help us take our program to an even higher level.”

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West Hockey / Page 43

Taking It To the “Next Level”

By Janet Schultz

For several years I’ve dropped by a summer hockey camp that was started by Niagara Junior Purple Eagle Women’s Coach Scott Welch. Welch has been a longtime supporter of not only women’s ice hockey, but NY Hockey E-Magazine and WNY Hockey Report (who I work for).

son was the session leader.

His message to the girls is that coaches looking for players at both DI and DIII are basically looking for the same qualities. Besides good hockey skills, they want players of good character and well-rounded.

He also stressed to them that they must be very committed because not only do they have hockey games, hockey practice, off-ice training, they have their classroom duties, homework and meetings.

“You’ll be going from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. six days a week,” said Coach Jackson.

“It’s a grind,” he added.

He encourages the girls to become regimented with their studies and hockey now, otherwise when they get to college they will struggle.

“Take care of yourself now, make it a way of life,” he advises.

This camp also provides an opportunity

His camp provides girls a chance to grow their skills in hockey with on and off-ice training, just like any other camp. However, he has made some additons that provide the girls with insight into their future in hockey.

First, the five day camp has five different DI or DIII Head Coaches conducting the sessions. They then have a “town meeting” where the Coach talks about their program, collegiate hockey in general and the girls can ask questions.

I found these girls are very intuned and want all the information they can absorb about how to get into a college program, on a college team and, oh yeah, what kind of money is out there for them.

This year I dropped by when Elmira Coach Dean Jack-

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West Hockey / Page 44

for the players to work with women who are already at the college level.

This year on the ice were Maddy Welch (Syracuse University), Haley Welch (Union College), Annika Zalewski (Colgate), Courtney, and Ashley Songin (Plattsburgh), Julia Duquette (Plattsburgh) and Olivia Zafuto (Colgate) all names from the WNY area. (I apologize if I missed anyone).

Welch’s other instructors this year were John Burke, RPI; Greg Fargo, Syracuse; Josh Brandenwene, Penn State and Lucy Schoedel, former Buffalo State assistant coach now with Northwood School. Casey Kacz held the off-ice workouts. Kacz is quarterback for the Columbus Lions Arena Football Team.

The final thing that Welch does is an evaluation of each player from each day that they can take with them.

“This way they will know what their strengths and weaknesses are with comments from the coach,” said Welch.

Welch’s Next Level Hockey Camp is held at Nichols School, Buffalo. For information go to: www.NLHDgroup.com

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West Hockey / Page 45

Join the University at Buffalo Women’s Ice Hockey team for their Second Annual Recruitment Day!

October 10th, 2015 Tour of North Campus, 12:00 PM Tour of Rink, 2:30 PM

Pre-­‐game Meal with team, 3:00 PM

Team’s Game against Liberty University, 7:00 PM

To RSVP and for more information please contact: crthornt@buffalo.edu