Nyhol november 2016 by NY Hockey OnLine

NY HOCKEY NY HOCKEY NOVEMBER 2016 Volume 6, Issue 2

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In This Issue: Buffalo Stars................................50 Central News...............................20 Coaching w/ Gridley.................14 Colgate Arena.............................22 Colgate in the NHL....................26 Depew Saints Girls....................61 Digital Trading Cards.................. 8 Downing and Hockey..............48 Dragone in Hall..........................39 East News.....................................31 Fingerlakes Hockey...................25 IIHF Announcement.................12 NCCC Ices Team..........................53 NHL at West Point......................35 NST Columbus Day Tourn.......51 NWHL.............................................18 North News..................................37 NY Rangers..................................36 NY in the NHL................................ 7 Prayers for Strader....................... 4 NHL Centennial News................ 9 NY Islanders.................................11 New Food in Buffalo.................15 Other Side of the Game..........17 USA Hockey................................... 5 UCHC Formed.............................13 WNY’ers at Colgate....................24 West News....................................47

Dear Reader: November is upon us. The days are getting shorter and cooler and hockey is in full swing. Janet brings you her usual outstanding coverage of girls and women’s hockey in NYS. In addition, this month she gives her thoughts on some of the new culinary delights that Buffalo Sabres fans will be eating this year at Key Bank Center. Janet and I also had the honor of travelling down to Hamilton in the Central Region of New York State to attend the Grand Opening of The Class of 1965 Arena, the new home of the Colgate men’s and women’s hockey teams. It is a beautiful arena that has all of the “bells and whistles” a new hockey arena would be expected to have these days. While on that visit to Colgate, I had the privilege of talking to former legendary NHL referee, Paul Stewart. It was an enjoyable experience, to say the least. Koz gives us his monthly college updates. This month he added a short feature on Rochester’s Matthew Lane who just turned pro. You will also find features on the new digital trading card fad as well as a look at what to expect from the NHL as they begin their Centennial Celebration. We also have information on the new United Collegiate Hockey Conference that will take to the ice for the 2017-18 season. Our thanks also to the Potsdam PR Dept. for the wonderful feature story they provided to us on one of their newest Hall of Famers, David Dragone. As always, check out Chuck Gridley’s “Coaching With Gridley” monthly column. One request I would have for our readership is to please keep Glens Falls native, Dave Strader, in your thoughts and prayers. Dave is a long-time hockey broadcaster who is currently battling cancer. As always, if you have any story ideas, please feel free to contact me or if you have the time to submit a story or two, please feel free to do so. We thank those who did submit stories for this month’s issue. If you also know of any business that would like to advertise with us, again please feel free to contact me. Finally, to all of our readers the staff of NY Hockey OnLine would like to wish all of you a very “Happy Thanksgiving.” Best Wishes and Safe Travels, Randy Schultz NY Hockey OnLine

NY Hockey On-Line (E-Magazine) 3663 Irish Road Wilson, New York 14172 716-751-6524 nyhockeyonline@ nyhockeyonline.com

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

Publisher &Managing Editor Randy Schultz Randy@nyhockeyonline.com

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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Nhl Fans Praying for Glens Falls (NY) Broadcaster Dave Strader By Sean Shapiro / NHL.com Correspondent

aryl Reaugh was preparing to work the broadcast of a Dallas Stars road game in Nashville on Tuesday, when a Nashville Predators fan approached the color commentator at Bridgestone Arena. “He came up with his Predators jersey on and walked all the way up there, asked if he could have a minute,” Reaugh said. “And all he had to say was, ‘Can you get a message to Dave Strader? He’s been my favorite forever and ever, and we miss him.’” Many people miss Dave Strader. For the first time since the 1970s, Strader, 61, isn’t calling hockey games. He was a fixture in press boxes and on national broadcasts for four decades from Detroit to Arizona to Florida to Dallas, from ESPN to NBC, before he began his battle with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer that attacks the bile duct. There’s no cure for the disease, but it is treatable and Strader has been fighting it at home in New York since being diagnosed this summer. In Strader’s absence, Reaugh has moved from his role as color analyst to interim play-by-play announcer. Less than two weeks into the season, well-wishes have become a common occurrence. “It’s not unique,” Reaugh said. “Everywhere we go and everywhere we went in the preseason, people come and first ask how he’s doing, and I always wish I had better news. And then they ask to relay a message that they’re thinking about him. That’s a pretty good measure of the man, I think.” It has added a bit more meaning to the game Saturday, when the Stars will hold their annual Hockey Fights Cancer Night at American Airlines Center, against the Columbus Blue Jackets (8 p.m. ET; FS-SW, FS-O, NHL.TV). Strader’s son, Trevor, will sing the national anthem, and the Stars will wear stickers on their helmets in the broadcaster’s honor for the rest of the season. Fans will be able to fill out personalized cards to send to Strader, and Dallas will wear lavender jerseys in warmups that will be auctioned, with proceeds going

to cancer-related organizations. The theme for the night will be “I’m Fighting For,” a nod to the fact cancer impacts so many people. Unfortunately, the Stars have had lots to fight for in recent years. Last season, Dallas general manager Jim Nill’s wife, Rebecca, conducted the ceremonial faceoff on Hockey Fights Cancer Night. Rebecca was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999 and beat the disease. Twelve years later, her cancer came back and she is fighting it. She has reached out and helped others with cancer, and has been a confidant for Strader during his battle. “They’ve kind of hit a special bond,” Jim Nill said. “They’ve kind of kept everything between them, and that’s how it should be. It’s important that we support him and we support the family, because it’s tough, but we can use it to come together.” The Stars players also have reached out to Strader. “Whether you’re young or old, it happens and it’s a terrible thing in this world,” defenseman Jordie Benn said.“It takes away people’s lives. It’s nice to see, whether it’s a puck drop or a little recognition to get the awareness out there, it’s nice to see and it’s the right thing to do.” Strader won’t be able to attend the game, but he’ll be watching from home, and the Stars are hopeful he’ll call a game sooner than later this season. “We’re just keeping the seat warm,” said Craig Ludwig, who has filled in as the color analyst with Reaugh doing play-byplay. “I’m just filling in for Razor and he’s keeping the seat warm for Dave. We’re all looking forward to having him back.” (Reprinted with permission of NHL.com)

USA HOCKEY NEWS Looney Named Head Coach of U.S. Women’s National University Team Berger and Hicks Tabbed Assistant Coaches COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Shelley Looney (Brownstown, Mich.) was tabbed head coach of the U.S. Women’s National University Team that will compete at the 2017 Winter World University Games from Jan. 28 – Feb. 8 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, it was announced today by USA Hockey. In addition, Brett Berger (Springfield, N.J.) and Scott Hicks (Richmond, Ind.) were named assistant coaches. “Shelly brings an invaluable amount of knowledge and passion to our coaching staff,” said Katie Holmgren, team leader of the U.S. Women’s National University Team and USA Hockey’s manager of adult hockey. “We’re excited to have this entire group leading our team into Kazakhstan in January.” A two-time member of the U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team (1998, gold; 2002, silver), Looney was an assistant coach at the 2015 Winter World University Games. She currently serves as the hockey director for the Buffalo Bison and spent the 2015-16 season as head coach of the Buffalo Beauts of the National Women’s Hockey League. Prior to joining Buffalo, Looney was the girls’ and women’s hockey director for the New Jersey Colonials program from 2006-2013. As a player, Looney medaled 10 times while amassing 136 points (61-75) in 151 games for Team USA. She played collegiatly at Northeastern University, where she was named the ECAC Player of the Year for the 1993-94

season. Berger is in his third full season as head coach of the women’s hockey team at Adrian College after leading the Bulldogs to the ACHA national semifinals in 2015-16. Berger also guided Adrian to its first ACHA national tournament appearance and a runner-up finish in the Central Collegiate Women’s Hockey Association in 2013-14. He is making his Team USA coaching debut. Hicks, who is in his sixth season as head coach of the women’s hockey team at Miami University, made his Team USA coaching debut alongside Looney as an assistant at the 2015 Winter World University Games. Hicks was named the 2013-14 ACHA Coach of the Year after leading Miami to its first ever conference regular-season title, conference tournament title and ACHA national championship. The U.S. Women’s National University team is composed of players who compete collegiatly in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) .

Team USA Announced

USA Hockey announced the 23-player roster for the U.S. Women’s National Team that will compete in the 2016 Four Nations Cup from November 1-5 in Vierumaki, Finland. Games will take place at the Jarvenpaa Arena, Kerava Arena and Vierumaki Arena. Among those selected are New Yorker’s Emily Pfalzer (left) of Getzville and Dana Trivigno of Setauket. Pfalzer is a member of the NWHL Buffalo Beauts and Trivigno plays for the NWHL Connecticut Whale. The roster fea-

tures 18 members of the gold medal-winning 2015 U.S. Women’s National Team at the International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship. Those players are Kacey Bellamy (Westfield, Mass.), Megan Bozek (Buffalo Grove, Ill.), Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.), Kendall Coyne (Palos Heights, Ill.), Brianna Decker (Dousman, Wis.), Meghan Duggan (Danvers. Mass.), Nicole Hensley (Lakewood, Colo.), Megan Keller (Farmington, Mich.), Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Idaho), Monique Lamoureux-Morando (Grand Forks, N.D.), Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson (Grand Forks, N.D.), Annie Pankowski (Laguna Hills, Calif.), Emily Pfalzer (Getzville, N.Y.), Alex Rigsby (Delafield, Wis.), Haley Skarupa (Rockville, Md.), Kelli Stack (Brooklyn Heights, Ohio), Lee Stecklein (Roseville, Minn.) and Dana Trivigno (Setauket, N.Y.). In addition to Bellamy, Bozek, Coyne, Decker, Duggan, Knight, Lamoureux-Davidson, Lamoureux-Morando, Pfalzer, Rigsby and Stack, Stephanie Anderson (North St. Paul, Minn.) and Anne Schleper (St. Cloud, Minn.) competed for the U.S. at the 2015 Four Nations Cup. Hannah Brandt (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) will make her first Team USA appearance since the 2015 Under-22 Series against Canada and Amanda Kessel (Madison, Wis.) will be competing for the U.S. for the first time since the 2014 Olympic Winter Trivigno Games. Shelby Amsley-Benzie (Warroad, Minn.) will be making her debut with the U.S. Women’s National Team. Coaching Team USA will be Ken Klee, assisted by Robb Stauber, Brett Strot and Chris Tamer. Reagan Carey is general manager. Team USA opens play against Sweden on November 1 at 6:30 p.m. (ET) followed by Finland on November 2 at 6:30 p.m.. They have November 3 off and will face Canada on November 4 at 6:30 p.m. The Bronze and Gold games will be played on November 5 beginning at 2 p.m.

Joining in the announcement of the 2018 IIHF World Juniors Outdoor Game were Jack Eichel, Jim Johannson, Russ Brandon, Kim Pegula, Dave OGrean, Michael Gilbert and Sam Reinhart. See Page 12!

NY IN THE NHL McCollum Signs with Flames

(8+10) in 41 games to help BU to an appearance in the NCAA National Championship game. In 152 college games, the 5-foot-10, 184-pound Lane collected 69 points (33+36) and 34 penalty minutes. Prior to his college career, Lane spent two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program and helped guide Team USA to the gold medal in the 2012 Under-18 World Championship. Lane was playing on the fourth line with Buffalo Sabres draft picks Eric Cornel and Justin Kea. “They didn’t play much, but they scored a huge goal and that’s why we got the “W”, Rochester head coach Dan Lambert said. Lane’s older brother Phil, a second round selection by Arizona, is playing this season with Adirondack in the East Coast Hockey League after spending the last four seasons in the AHL.

CALGARY, AB — The Calgary Flames announced that they have signed goaltender Tom McCollum. The former first round pick of the Detroit Red Wings played 30 games for the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins last season and went 15-13-0 with a 2.42 GAA and a .923 save percentage. The 26-year-old has cleared waivers and been assigned to Calgary’s AHL affiliate, the Stockton Heat. McCollum is from Sanborn (NY).

ROCHESTER’S LANE NOW A PRO

By Warren Kozireski

FOR SALE

After a four-year college career at Boston University, Greece native Matthew Lane signed an American Hockey League contract with the Rochester Americans. In his first game Oct. 14, he registered his first professional assist. “It’s cool—first point as an Amerk, first professional point but most importantly we won the game and won the home opener,” Lane said. “I had a lot of family and friends here—maybe 25 or 30 people, so a good connection here.” Lane is coming off a career-high 28 points (14+14) season along with 14 penalty minutes in 39 games. During the 2014-15 campaign, Lane registered 18 points

Randy has been cleaning. He has NHL team media guides (full sets) from the early 1980s to the early 2000s. He’s looking to get rid of them (single or sets). Cheap. If anyone has any interest, please feel free to contact him at: Randy@nyhockeyonline.com.

TOPPS RETURNS TO HOCKEY WITH LAUNCH OF NHL SKATE™ DIGITAL TRADING CARD GAME

ust before the official face-off of the 2016-17 NHL season, Topps announced today the launch of Topps® NHL® SKATE™ 2017, an officially licensed digital trading card game in collaboration with the NHL, BAMTech, and NHLPA. Topps® NHL SKATE™ will feature Flyers captain Claude Giroux as the app cover star and will bring the fast-paced action of the NHL to life as only Topps can, through exclusive digital card designs, performancebased contests updated in realtime during live NHL games, and for the first time, Topps digital cards will include full motion video clips from select NHL

games and moments. “It’s an unbelievable experience to be on the cover of the new Topps hockey app,” said Giroux. “I grew up collecting Topps hockey cards and to see their brand and products evolve digitally is really exciting for hockey. I’m looking forward to jumping in and collecting, trading and playing my Flyers cards!” Topps® NHL SKATE™ introduces the first-ever video trading cards in a set called, Topps FOCUS. This unique technology brings the action of the NHL to life within trading cards using NHL video. The groundbreaking new feature allows fans to see and relive the full moment leading up to the iconic Topps trading card image. Including video clips from the current season in-progress, Topps continues to be at the forefront of innovation extending the essence of digital trading cards with the launch of Topps FOCUS SM in TOPPS® NHL SKATE™. “Fans of the NHL are a passionate and tech savvy group so we’re excited to offer them a new way to collect and trade their favorite players and moments in Topps® NHL SKATE™,” said Jeremy Strauser, Vice President and General Manager of the Topps digital division. “We are particularly proud to debut Topps FOCUS video cards, as Topps continues to lead the market with innovation and define what is possible on digital cards.” Topps® NHL SKATE™ brings excitement from the ice and onto fans mobile devices in realtime around the world. The app features all 30

licensed NHL teams and will include over 3,000 cards, with new digital trading cards released every day based on the live performances of each player, including the popular Topps NOW™ series of cards. Hockey fans can now set their ultimate lineup every game day with their best player cards, open new packs for free, and compete in live contests with other NHL fans for exclusive in-app rewards every day. The innovative scoring system allows users to play in real-time, predict momentum changes, and swap player cards in real-time while watching NHL games. Collectors can also trade up to 18 cards in a single deal with fans around the world, and find the perfect trading partner through dozens of filters, searches and trader ratings. Topps® NHL SKATE ™ gives hockey fans the chance to feel the excitement with every check, pass, deke, shot and goal. Topps® NHL SKATE™ will feature a variety of digital trading cards with unique artwork, exclusive designs, and digital versions of memorabilia and autographs. Topps® NHL SKATE™ is available to download for free on select iOS and Android devices via the Apple App StoreSM and Google Play™. To learn more visit, http://www.topps.com/topps-apps/.

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NHL Unveils 2017 Centennial Celebrations ‘The Great One’ Wayne Gretzky Named NHL Centennial Ambassador

by NHL Public Relations @PR_NHL / NHL.com

ith the incomparable Wayne Gretzky serving as the official ambassador, the National Hockey League will venerate its history, celebrate its present and anticipate its future with a yearlong Centennial celebration in 2017. The Centennial celebration will commence on January 1, 2017, in Toronto with the NHL Centennial Classic™ outdoor game between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs at BMO Field. It will witness the unveiling of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history during All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles Jan 25-27. And it will visit every NHL market and dozens of other local hockey communities during a 12-month festival of events and content initiatives culminating with the anniversary of the League’s founding on Nov. 26 and first games on Dec. 19. Gretzky, the League’s all-time leading scorer and holder of dozens of NHL records, will make appearances at various events throughout the calendar year in his role as Centennial Ambassador. “A century of great players, great plays and great moments deserves a year-long celebration, and we in-

vite everyone to join our party in 2017,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “We are delighted that Wayne Gretzky -- whose spectacular contributions on the ice matched his immeasurable graciousness and popularity off the ice -- will serve as our Centennial’s official ambassador as we honor all the drama, suspense, excitement and memories that have thrilled the best fans in sports for generations.” “I am honored to serve as the NHL’s Centennial Ambassador and to help the League celebrate its first 100 years,” Wayne Gretzky said. “Anyone who knows me knows that I have long revered the history of our game and the players, coaches and executives who built the League before I was fortunate enough to enter it. And it is no secret that I remain an avid fan who watches games every night and marvels at the young players who

are leading the greatest sport in the world into the League’s next century. “As I’ve said countless times, I owe just about everything I now have in my life to the game of hockey and the National Hockey League. And I am thrilled to spend the next year celebrating its past, present and future with hockey fans around the world.” 2017 NHL CENTENNIAL CALENDAR OF CELEBRATIONS Jan. - Dec. -- NHL Centennial Truck Tour Jan. - Dec. -- NHL Time Capsule Jan. 1 -- NHL Centennial Classic™ (Toronto, Ont.) Jan. 2 -- Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade (Pasadena, CA) Jan. 2, 2017 -- Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic® (St. Louis, MO) Jan. 27-29, 2017 -- NHL® All-Star (Los Angeles, CA) Feb. 25, 2017 -- Coors Light NHL Stadium Series™ (Pittsburgh, PA) Mar. 15-18 -- Stanley Cup® 125th Anniversary Celebrations (Ottawa, Ont.) June 2017 -- NHL Awards™ (Las Vegas, NV) Jun. 23-24 -- 2017 NHL Draft™ (Chicago, IL)

Nov. 26 -- NHL 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the League Dec. 19 -- NHL 100th Anniversary of the First Games Played The Centennial celebrations will culminate with special events in the League’s birthplace, Montreal, and the site of the League’s first-ever game - Ottawa, in November and December, respectively. Details on these events will be announced at a later date. ABOUT THE 2017 NHL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS NHL Centennial Truck Tour (January - December, 2017; all NHL markets + other local communities) The Centennial will reach and engage each NHL market with a traveling Truck Tour. The Centennial Tour footprint will consist of three main components: a 53-foot museum truck that includes an interactive interior with original video content, exclusive memorabilia, and fan activations; a second 53-foot trailer with giant video screen for viewing parties and stage for player and alumni appearances; and a pop-up synthetic rink for youth hockey games and clinics. The Tour will launch on January 1 at the NHL Centennial Classic™ in Toronto and travel across North America during the year. NHL Centennial Classic™ (Sunday, Jan. 1, 3:00 p.m. ET, BMO Field, Toronto, Ont.) To launch the 2017 Centennial celebrations, the League will host an outdoor game at BMO Field featuring an Original Six™ match-up between

the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs; and the 100 Greatest Players from the NHL’s early years (1917-1967) will be unveiled and honored in a special ceremony. Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade (Monday, Jan. 2; Pasadena, CA) The League and the Los Angeles Kings - who are celebrating their 50th anniversary - will have a hockeythemed float in the renowned Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. The float will air during NBC’s Rose Parade coverage leading into the 2017 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic® between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks. 100 Greatest NHL Players and Gala (January, 2017) A blue ribbon panel of distinguished members from across the hockey community - including former and current executives, media members, and NHL alumni - have voted for the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history. Following the initial unveiling of the 100 Greatest Players from the NHL’s early years (1917-1966) at the NHL Centennial Classic™, the remaining players will be unveiled at a special ceremony in Los Angeles during NHL All-Star weekend. Current day all-stars will be joined by the all-time greats in Los Angeles for the largest gathering of NHL stars in one location in League history. Stanley Cup Celebrations (March 1518, 2017; Ottawa, Ont.) Celebrating the 125th anniversary of the donation of the Stanley Cup® by Lord Stanley of Preston, the League will support the Ottawa Sen-

ators in collaboration with ‘Canada 150’ with special events commemorating the most revered trophy in all sports. For more information visit Senators.NHL.com. Documentaries (March 2017; November 2017) A Stanley Cup® documentary chronicling the rich and unique history of the iconic trophy will be released during the celebrations in Ottawa. Following that, an overarching documentary covering the key moments and milestones in the League’s 100-year history will be released during the League’s 100th birthday celebrations in November. 100 Iconic NHL Moments (Fall, 2017) The most iconic moments - goals, games, the odd and unusual, and seminal events in history will be unveiled in Fall, 2017. NHL Time Capsule (January - December, 2017) Each day, milestones throughout the League’s 100-year history will be shared with fans across all platforms - online, broadcast, and social - with original stories and videos.

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Cizikas Growing His Game

by Cory Wright WrightsWay / New York Islanders

Casey Cizikas wears his black eyes proudly.

he Islanders center has had his fair share of shiners, stitches and cuts, but such is life for a feisty 5’11 forward who makes his living the hard way. Not many players take the same type of pride Cizikas does in his defensive role and being a sparkplug for the rest of the team. “No player wants to play in their own zone and I think it takes a different mindset to be willing to go out there and battle your butt off in the D-zone,” Cizikas said. “My coach in junior, he told me, ‘you’re not going to make the NHL as a goal scorer; you’re going to be one of those energy guys out there that works extremely hard’ and he kind of drilled that into

my brain from day one.” Cizikas has been an effective two-way forward for the Islanders over the past five seasons, but the Islanders bet there was still room to grow for the 25-year-old, signing him to a five-year contract

of shorthanded icetime per game, while the Islanders have gone five straight games without allowing a power-play goal. He’s been the Islanders’ best fac-eoff man, winning 50.5% of his draws. He’s averaging a career-high 14:49 TOI and has

Islanders extension. Cizikas, who radiates a carefree attitude off the ice, conceded that there’s some pressure with the new deal, but it’s motivating him to start the season. “I want to come out here and prove to everybody that for five years I’m going to give it all that I have,” Cizikas said. “I am going to leave it all out on the ice and do whatever it takes to help the team out. No matter what position I’m put in I’m going to try and exceed at that and be the best player at that role.” With the raised expectations, Cizikas has raised his game early in the season. He’s the top penalty killer on the league’s top penalty kill, averaging 3:28

three assists in six games. “As his role expands, his ability to play to that role will follow,” said Cal Clutterbuck, who’s played nearly exclusively with Cizikas for the past two seasons. “He’s good enough to do that, so I think with more opportunity comes more production for him because he’s a good player.” His offensive instincts are showing through as well. He’s still looking for his first goal, but his radar has been up for pinching defensemen. He set up Dennis Seidenberg’s first-period goal against Arizona, carrying the puck into the zone, spotting Seidenberg and feathering a pass between two Coyotes. He made a

similar heads-up play, spotting a pinching Nick Leddy in the Isles season opener. “He has the offensive ability and the offensive instincts to make plays,” head coach Jack Capuano said. “If you look at Casey’s junior career and his World Championships, he’s put up numbers.” Cizikas scored 126 points (54G, 72A) in his last two seasons with the Mississauga-St. Michael’s Majors in the OHL and was a solid point producer in the AHL, scoring 66 points (25G, 41A) in 83 games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. He’s reached career-highs every year in the NHL and is coming off a 30-point campaign last year, so there are some skills in those hardworking hands. Of course, a few pretty passes won’t change the way Cizikas approaches the game, which is simple, energetic, and defensively responsible and earns him the odd black eye. (Reprinted with permission of the New York Islanders)

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We’re Playing Outdoors!

he U.S. and Canada will make history when the two rivals battle outdoors on Dec. 29, 2017, in a preliminary round game of the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. The announcement, which was nationally televised on NHL Network from KeyBank Center in Buffalo, came from USA Hockey and the Buffalo Sabres, host of the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship. The outdoor game, one of 31 total in the 2018 World Juniors, will be staged at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York, home of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. Never before has an outdoor game been played at any top-level IIHF world championship. The IIHF World Junior Championship, one of the most highly anticipated hockey events annually, includes the best men’s players under the age of 20 from 10 nations around the world. The 2018 event will be conducted from Dec. 26, 2017-Jan. 5, 2018. KeyBank Center and HarborCenter in downtown Buffalo will stage all but the outdoor game. “The U.S.-Canada rivalry is as good as it gets in sport,” said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey, “and to have an outdoor game between the two countries as part of the World Juniors in hockey-rich Western New York will be spectacular.” “The World Juniors is an amazing event itself and to add to it with an outdoor game is about as cool as it gets,”

said Russ Brandon, president of both the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills. “It’s never been done before in the World Juniors and we’re excited to be making history.” Ticket packages for the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship will go on sale to the general public on Nov. 28 (2016). Fans have three options: the gold package includes all 31 games of the tournament, while silver and bronze packages include all games at KeyBank Center plus the outdoor game at New Era Field. Fans purchasing any of the three packages will also have the opportunity to purchase three additional tickets for the outdoor game. Tickets will be available online at BuffaloWorldJuniors.com or in person at the KeyBank Center box office. Season tickets holders for the Buffalo Sabres as well as USA Hockey members will have an exclusive pre-sale opportunity that begins on Oct. 31 and will be notified appropriately. “We built the ticket packages to be very affordable,” said Mike Gilbert, vice president of administration for the Sabres and head of the host organizing committee for the 2018 World Juniors. “And we gave the exclusive benefit to those purchasing any package the opportunity to buy additional tickets to the outdoor game.” West Section President David Braunstein and NYSAHA President Joe Baudo join USA Hockey’s Dave OGrean at the announcment of the Outdoor Game in Buffalo.

United Collegiate Hockey Conference Takes To The Ice in 2017-18 ROCHESTER, NY -- Daan Braveman, President of Nazareth College (NY), is excited to unveil the creation of the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC), a men’s and women’s ice hockey league comprised of NCAA Division III institutions that will begin play in the 2017-18 season. “We are pleased to announce the formation of the United Collegiate Hockey Conference,” said Nazareth College and UCHC President Daan Braveman. “We have a tremendous grouping of academic and athletic institutions, and this will be an exciting time for our student-athletes and member institutions.” The structure includes ten men’s and women’s teams from Chatham University (PA), Elmira College (NY), Hobart and William Smith Colleges (NY), King’s College (PA), Lebanon Valley College (PA), Manhattanville College (NY), Neumann University (PA), Stevenson University (MD), and Utica College (NY). The conference also includes Nazareth College’s (NY) men’s team and will welcome Wilkes University (PA) men’s and women’s teams in 2018-19. Wilkes will play an abbreviated conference schedule in 2017-18. Patricia Thompson, Vice-President of Athletics at Elmira College, will serve as the Vice-President of the UCHC and chair of the Director of Athletics committee. “Establishing a new conference was a collaborative effort on the part of all of our members. Under the leadership of our Commissioner, Chuck Mitrano, we were able to move our aspirations to reality. The opportunity to incorporate our men’s and women’s programs in the same hockey conference, the infusion of new programs along with our shared commitment to provide a quality student-athlete experience were the underpinnings for creating our new and exciting UCHC alliance.” Empire 8 Commissioner, Chuck Mitrano, will serve as the inaugural commissioner of the UCHC. Mitrano has

22 years of experience in collegiate athletics and is in his 15th year as Empire 8 Commissioner. During his tenure with E8, the conference has received national recognition and is considered the leader in sportsmanship education and policy. He has served as President of the Division III Commissioners Association, was named ECAC Administrator of the Year in 2008 and was honored as the prestigious NCAA Bob Fredrick Sportsmanship Award winner in 2010-11 for his demonstrated leadership nationally in the area of sportsmanship policy and education. He was also named one of the 100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America” and has served on numerous NCAA committees. Mitrano is also currently the President of the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. A highly respected speaker on leadership, he has conducted dozens of programs for student-athletes, coaches, and administrators for institutions and conferences across the country. “I’m honored to serve as the inaugural commissioner of the UCHC,” says Mitrano. “We have an exceptional group of institutions that will make UCHC a highly respected structure in the landscape of ice hockey. We are excited to enhance the experience for our student-athletes while representing the very best values of ice hockey.” The UCHC will begin a search for a Sports Information Coordinator to build a state of the art, interactive website and launch its social media platforms as well as handle weekly and annual honors and conference statistics. Follow/Add UCHC on Social Media: Facebook: @UCHCHockey Twitter: @UCHCHockey Instagram: @UCHCHockey

Coaching With Gridley

f you’ve ever had the job of recruiting coaches for a local hockey club, you’ll know that there is usually no shortage of people who want to

in the NHL today who did not make their local travel team when they were 10 or 12. Not that having an ex player in the NHL is the only acceptable outcome for a coach to be successful. Lets keep in mind that the overwhelming majority of players in youth hockey today (around 99%) will never make it to even the lowest level of college or junior hockey, let alone the NHL. This does not mean that we don’t try to get them there, but this fact should help to inform our priorities. In addition to helping all of our players reach their hockey potential, we need to help them become well adjusted people, hockey players for life, and good citizens. I speak from experience on this topic. I would consider myself a “grass roots” guy. Fifteen years ago, I started running the Initiation Program for my local hockey club. A few years later we added a Learn to Skate for 3 & 4 yr. olds. Around 6 years ago I started coaching a recreational sled hockey team for people with lower body disabilities. I choose to coach these 3 teams partly due to the fact that these teams fit neatly into my lifestyle (time commitment, travel, etc.). But it’s also a conscious decision to stay connected to the grass roots of our game. I love the idea of being part of “growing the game”, and it’s great to be able to be a part of a child’s (or adults) first hockey experience. It’s not “sexy”, but it’s important and rewarding work! There is no doubt that having experienced coaches for our highest level teams is very important. The success of our elite players is one of the main barometers we use to gauge the overall success of USA Hockey. But I would encourage all experienced coaches to consider coaching a house or rec team. I think you will find it to be a very challenging and rewarding experience, and it’s certainly important to the success of youth hockey in our country.

Consider Coaching a House Team

coach the travel teams. It’s easy to find coaches for the highest level teams. In fact, the biggest problem for a coaching director in this situation might be telling 3 or 4 experienced coaches that they didn’t get the job. When it comes to finding coaches for travel teams, most local hockey clubs have choices. The same is not always true for house or rec teams. Coaching directors rarely have “choices” for these teams, and sometimes don’t have a coach at all. The reasons for this are pretty obvious. We are all competitive by nature. We want to coach the best players. We want to play the best competition. We want our kids to play on the most competitive teams. We want to win. All of these things push parents and coaches towards “travel teams”. I am not suggesting that this is wrong. I am suggesting that it’s a problem. We need good, experienced coaches at all levels of the game. Don’t get me wrong…….there are many great, experienced coaches who are coaching house teams and working in grass roots hockey. I would just like to see more of them. I would suggest that coaching at the “House” or “Rec” level is as challenging, rewarding, and important as coaching “Elite” teams. The number one challenge that every coach faces every year is to give their players an enjoyable hockey experience. This is no different when you’re coaching a house team. You want your players to learn and have fun. You want to help your players meet their own goals, and help them get to the next level. ADM teaches us that hockey is a late development sport. There are many players

Chuck Gridley New York district Coach-in-Chief

Buffalo Sabres Introduce New Culinary Delites for Fans

by Janet Schultz, NYHOL

Clockwise from top left: Sahlen’s Pretzel Parka, Blazing Nachos, Moroccan Tri-Color Couscous Salad, Waffle Making, Lobster Rolls, Signature Beef On Weck Burger

very now and then you get a great assignment and this one tops many I’ve done. I love covering hockey, especially womens/girls; but I also like to sample great food. The Buffalo Sabres have rolled out some new menu items to go along with the One Buffalo Theme and the renaming of the arena. Delaware North Sportservice, the Sabre’s food and beverage partner, regularly update and improve concession offerings that go with upgrades around the arena. “Every year, we carefully examine ways to enhance the guest experience at Key Bank Center,” Said Michael Gilbert, Sabres vice president of administration. “Delaware North’s commitment to constantly improve concessions offerings combines with our arena upgrades, which this year include updated WiFi and a state-of-the-art lighting system, to continually update our standards and maximize that experience.” Many of the new menu items feature distinctive Western New York flavors, either featuring locallymade ingredients or drawing inspiration from local neighborhoods and community favorites. For those at the Concessions on the 100 and 300 level are a Broadway Polish Plate, Signature Beef on Weck Burger, Go-Ru Noodles, Chef’s Signa-

ture Grilled Cheese Kabob, Street Tacos and Perry’s Ice Cream Waffle Sandwich. Club level fans will be welcoming Westside Chicken in the Grass, Foot-long Polish Sausage on a Pretzel Bun, Sahlen’s Pretzel Parka, Sahlen’s Topped Dogs, Blazing Nachos, General Tso Sliders, Wegman’s Sushi and in the Suites are Lobster Rolls, Morocccan Tri-Color Couscous Salad, Shepherd’s Pie and Wegman’s Sushi. Now while I didn’t taste everything I can give you a little insight on several menu items. Those Perry’s Ice Cream Sandwichs scream Buffalo Harborfront with the smell of the grains from the General Foods factory at the harbor comes the smell of waffles cooked with Lucky Charms and Cherrios in the batter and then the fan’s choice of ice cream between two waffles to make a great sandwich! My favorite were the Lobster Rolls, nothing fancy but seasoned just right on a split-top grilled bun. Next on my list would be the Moroccan Tri-Color Couscous Salad that has a little kick to it but is a healthy option with its toasted spices, red onion, bell pepper, zucchini, garbanzo beans and fresh mint-lemon vinaigrette. Tablemates of mine found the Signature Beef on Weck Burger to be very tasty, but not great for the weight, because it’s just what it says. It’s a Beef on Weck with Hamburger pattie and Yancey’s Fancy horseradish cheddar cheese. The Broadway Polish Plate features Polish sausage and local pierogi and kapusta and the Go-Ru Noodles are made-to-order with chicken or vegetarian. The other items looked absolutely delicious and as usual, the Wegmen’s Sushi was good as always. So enjoy the game and good eats!

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Top to Bottom: Making Foot-long Polish Sausage on Pretzel Bun, Go-Ru Noodle Making, Street Tacos, Grilled Cheese Kabob, Wegmans Sushi, Waffle Ice Cream Sandwich, General Tso Slider

aul Stewart is a very engaging person. He’s always been an engaging person. At the dedication and opening of The Class of 1965 Arena on the campus of Colgate University, Stewart walked into the press box, immediately greeting people he knew. But he also walked up to a couple of out-oftown visitors and introduced himself to them. To say that he is comfortable in a hockey arena would be an understatement. He has made his professional working career in hockey. First as a player. Stewart played eight seasons of professional hockey, much of it in the minors, although he spent parts of three seasons in the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association. In three of those minor league campaigns he accumulated totals of 273, 232 and 241, respectively in penalty minutes. So you can see he liked to engage members of the opposition on the ice. by Randy Schultz Following his retirement as a player, Stewart turned around and became a referee. He finally made his niche in the NHL, seeing action as a ref in 1010 regular season games. Again, he engaged players on the ice, but this time in a much different way. Today, at 63, the Dorchester, Mass. native is the Men’s and Women’s League Director of Officiating for ECAC Hockey. And he has strong connections with New York State hockey. As a player Stewart played for the Broome Dusters, Binghamton Dusters, Binghamton Whalers and Mohawk Valley Stars (Utica). He was a referee who saw NHL action in New York City, Long Island and Buffalo. In his position today Stewart spends even more time in New York State checking out his officials at men’s and women’s college hockey games at Clarkson, Colgate, Cornell, Rensselaer, St. Lawrence and Union. As he has done his entire life, Stewart takes the job he has now very seriously. “My responsibilities are to find and train the best athletes who have a knack for hockey and a feel for the game,” said Stewart, who wore the number 22 during his entire career as an NHL referee. “It been a bit of a chal-

lenge this year with the new NCAA rules. “It’s a year for the reuniting of our minds and hearts with what has been written and how to apply apply these new concepts of using the rule book to the full extent.” Stewart is quite aware that there is a shortage of good on-ice officials across the United States. He knows the reasons for that as well. “There are a lot of reasons, but many point to the disrespect the parents, teams and coaches have to the officials on the ice,” stated Stewart. “USA Hockey has to make it more friendly for the youngsters to come in at ages 12, 13 and 14. “We also need to get the legislators of hockey in each state to understand that having a young official is different than having a youngster carrying a golf bag out on the golf course. “It’s not slave labor. It’s a short period of time and usually mentored. And in my book there is zero tolerance for disrespect of young officials. “I know because I have boys who have been officiating since they were 10. I worked with them and they have managed to make a pretty good living out of it.” As for his relationship with New York State, there is no doubt that Stewart has a special place in his heart for the Empire State. “The fountain of hockey life started for me in 1975 with Jim Matthews and the Binghamton Dusters,” remembered Stewart. “I have fond memories of those days. “I was quite honored to be elected to their Hockey Hall of Fame. “I’ve seen quite a bit of this State, from one end to the other. It’s been a great and wonderful journey for me. “I know there will be more to come.”

The Other Side of the Game

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NWHL

he NWHL opened it’s second season with all four teams in Buffalo’s HarborCenter. The Boston Pride met the Buffalo Beauts in a rematch of the Inaugural Season Championship; and like that game, the Pride took the Beauts 4-1. The following day the Pride beat the Riveters 6-3 and in the last game of the weekend series, the Beauts beat the Connecticut Whale 5-4. As the league closes out October the Pride are in first place, followed by the Whale, Beauts and Riveters. In Connecticut’s first game Hayley Scrupa scored a hat trick and an assist in her professional hockey career debut. She was named NWHL Player of the Week for her efforts. The second Player of the Week was Boston Pride Amanda Pelky. She scored a the winning goal in a shoot-out with the Buffalo Beauts. The October 26 Player of the Week is Kelli Stack. She scored a goal and three assists in a 7-5 win over Buffalo.

In Other News...

The NWHL has the Inaugural Season of the Boston Pride in a DVD entitled ““The 2015-16 Boston Pride: A Dream Born with Isobel.” It documents the incredible story of the Boston Pride and their journey to becoming the first-ever Isobel Cup champions. In the midst of dealing with a .500 record to start the season and immense personal tragedy, the Pride found ways to bond together and overcome all of their adversity to eventually win the NWHL championship, the Isobel Cup. Fans can purchase copies of the film at https://www.NWHL.Zone and through the NWHL’s Vimeo Page.

Browne Announces Transgender Status

arrison Browne helped the Buffalo Beauts to the Isobel Championship game last season and it hoping to go even further this season. However, before he does that he made history with the team by announcing to the League that he was transgender and wanted to be listed as Harrison. He made history once again. “I identify as a man,” Browne said in an interview in New York City, before catching a flight to make practice in western New York. “My family is starting to come to grips with it, now it’s my time to be known as who I am, to be authentic and to hear my name said right when I get a point, or see my name on a website.” Browne was recruited by the University of Maine to play Division I hockey on scholarship, and graduated in 2014.

Ceremonial Puck Drop, Game 1 2016-17 Season Browne scores first Beauts goal of season

It was at Maine where Browne first identified himself privately to coaches as transgender -- a step that he credits today with improving his game. “On the ice, when I put that equipment on, I’m a hockey player. I don’t think about who I’m playing with, I don’t think I’m playing with women. I don’t think I’m in the wrong body,” he said. “Off the ice, I felt more comfortable having my friends call me what I wanted to be called, referring to me with the pronouns that I wanted. If anything, my product on the ice was let loose and I could be myself.” The plan was to medically transition after college -- but the creation of the NWHL in the spring of his senior year led to a decision to put off the transition. Browne acknowledges he is in “limbo” as a transgender man on a women’s team but “you have to be your authentic self to be happy ... hockey makes me extremely happy.” NWHL commissioner Dani Rylan said the league is now working on a policy that will include transgender athletes, and that the women’s league is accepting of a transgender man. Browne has already scored a goal and an assisst for two points in four games and four shots-on-goal. (Some excerpts taken from ESPN article written by Michelle Steel)

Buffalo’s Greco, Boston’s Smelker Below: Pfalzer and Demsey Battle

CENTRAL NEW YORK

Central Men’s College Ice Hockey Report by Warren Kozireski Wkozires@brockport.edu

CORNELL Senior forward Jake Weidner is serving as captain and senior forward Jeff Kubiak and senior defenseman Patrick McCarron are alternate captains for this season. Head coach Mike Schafer was the 35th coach all-time to rack up 350 victories across all NCAA divisions and begins this season just nine wins away from 400.

HOBART Seniors Bo Webster, Jon Neal and Nick Bingaman will serve as captains for the 2016-17 season.

2016 GENESEO SEASON PREVIEW

COLGATE Derek Freeman made Colgate men’s ice hockey history on Oct. 1 as he scored the first goal (pictured above) for the program in the brand new Class of 1965 Arena. Jared Cockrell netted his first career goal Oct. 21 against Merrimack. Freshman goaltender Colton Point’s 41 stops Oct. 14 versus UConn were the most saves by a Colgate goaltender in first start since at least 1999-2000. Freshman Bobby McMann netted his first-career goal in the same contest. Goaltender Charlie Finn (above) became just the fourth goaltender in program history to play in 100 games with his start on Oct. 1. He is 19 games away from breaking the program record for most games played by a goaltender, held by Mark Dekanich ‘08.

The Knights ran on emotion all the way to the Division III final four after losing a teammate to murder and several others to injury along the way. They hope for a sequel on the ice. The top line of Trevor Hills (third in the nation in points per game) (Honeoye Falls) and Stephen Collins (fifth) (Pittsford) with sophomore Anthony Marra (25th) should return intact to drive the offense. “We hope to get more scoring from the supporting cast though,” head coach Chris Schultz said. “We are hoping to get more production from Jack Ceglarski, Connor Anthoine and Arthur Gordon as their roles will be vital. “In the net, I expect senior Matt Leon to push sophomore Devin McDonald for the starting role. “Nice to have all three All-Americans back in Hills, Collins, and (Pat) Condon (Merrick). However, it will be a much tougher road for them this year to match that success. They are going to have to learn how to play the game when they are being keyed upon. Takes a mentally tough

individual to be able to match that success when they will face adversity every game they play in.” Junior Pat Condon with seniors Derek Stahl and Cam Hampson will anchor the defense along with Division I transfer Braxton Bilous via Merrimack. There are some questions that need answers about depth here. The list of recruits includes forwards Conlon Keenan (Webster) and David Szmyd from NJ Hitmen in USPHL, Andrew Romano from Johnstown in NAHL, Devin Brink from Philadelphia in USPHL and

Tyson Empey from Flin Flon in the SJHL. On defense the team welcomes Cameron Russell from Kemptville in the CCHL and Teddy McCabe (Webster) from Cumberland in the CCHL. “We only play three home games the entire first semester so that will be a test,” Schultz said. “It will be important for us to prepare our players for that schedule so that they are managing their time academically yet ready to compete after some long bus rides.”

Colgate Opens 1965 Arena

he Colgate community came together at The Class of 1965 Arena Dedication to celebrate the culmination of a $37.8 million dollar project that has been years in the making. The state-of-the-art facility is the new home of the Colgate men’s and women’s ice hockey teams. The Raider men’s and women’s lacrosse and soccer teams also have

brand new locker rooms inside The Class of 1965 Arena. The ice surface in Colgate’s Class of 1965 Arena will be known as Steven J. Riggs ‘65 Rink in honor of the former men’s ice hockey team captain. Riggs was killed in combat in Vietnam in 1968 and was inducted posthumously into the Colgate Athletics Hall of Honor. The dedication and celebration of the 2,222 capacity arena featured words of appreciation and gratitude from newly-inaugurated Colgate President Brian Casey, Colgate Vice President and Director of Athletics Vicky Chun, Board of Trustees member Bill Johnston ‘73, Head Men’s Hockey Coach Don Vaughan and women’s hockey junior Annika Zalewski. An official ribbon-cutting capped off the celebration.

CLASS OF 1965 ARENA KEY FIGURES Arena Capacity 2,222 Cubic Yards of Concrete 3,600 Tons of Steel 1,000 Tons of Bluestone 285 Miles of Refrigerant Tubing in Rink Slab Audio Speakers in Building 201 High-Output Efficient Light Fixtures Exterior Concrete Panels 1,748

11 158

WNY’ers At Home At Colgate

livia Zafuto and Annika Zalewski came from WNY and ended up as teammates at Colgate. Their experience at Colgate has been one that both have found to be exciting and they both found themselves prepared for collegiate hockey. “It’s just what I thought,” said Sophomore Zafuto. “I don’t think I could be more happy, it’s been so much fun.” “I worked hockey camps this summer but I couldn’t wait to get back on the ice.” “Last year I played forward as I did in high school a little, it was great but frustrating at ties and at this level it is different. While that was challenging and it was good to get that experience I’m glad to be back on defense this year because it comes more naturally.” In her junior year, Captain Zalewski found college hockey to be faster and the competition stronger, mainly because she feels at this level every player comes out to battle making every game a battle. “When you play high school, many times you play some weaker teams and you might not get the best from every player on the ice” said Zalewski. “But that isn’t the case in college, it’s a battle every night and a grind; it’s

been unbelievable.” However both girls feel that their coaches back home prepared them well, skill-wise. In addition Zalewski had billeted with the Scott Welch family. With four girls playing and Welch coaching, she also had insight on the total hockey experience. Zafuto, who played for the Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles and Nichols School, sends this advice to those back on her old teams and other girls, ‘enjoy it while you can.” “Have fun in high school hockey and just know ince you come into college you will know where you want to go but you may face some advertising. You might think you aren’t sure you can make it but it will get better; just don’t get frustrated. “The level of hockey is different but you adjust.’ Zalewski agrees. She comes from New Hartford, NY, moved to Buffalo for hockey and now is only 30 minutes from her hometown. “I made the decision to move to Buffalo and it was a good decision for my hockey career. I did it in order to play with a group of talented and dedicated hockey players. They both know the NWHL is out there now. It gives them both something to think about; but for now. they are only thinking about getting the Colgate Raiders to a championship and playing each game one at a time.

OUTLAW BORDER CLASSIC ROUND UP:

he Squirt and Pee Wee Finger Lakes Central Outlaws welcomed Rochester Youth Hockey, Perinton Blades, North Country, Utica Jr. Comets, Skaneateles and Binghamton Jr. Senators to their rink Oct 14-16th for a full weekend of hockey. In the end the Squirt banner was raised by Perinton Blades and the Pee Wee banner raised by the Utica Jr. Comets. Congratulations to both teams and continued success this season. Though our Outlaw kids did not come away with the banner the proudest moment as parents was seeing them get involved in a Community Service Project to benefit the Lansing Food Pantry. Not only are our Outlaws kids learning lessons on the ice but off as well. The kids where involved in a Community Service Project by selling 50/50 tickets with the winnings being donated the Lansing Food Pantry. Our Squirt Outlaws were able to donate $137.00 to the Food Pantry at the end of the Outlaw Border Classic. Great job Outlaws! (NYHOL Thanks Shannon from the Outlaws for her submission)

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Colgate Players in the NHL

ith the beginning of the professional hockey seasons this week, Colgate men’s ice hockey has 21 alumni playing in various professional leagues around the world. Of the 21 alumni playing professionally, 12 of them are playing for teams located in the United States and Canada. All five players that graduated in 2016 will begin their first full season of professional ice hockey. One former Raider is currently on a NHL roster to open up the season. As of Friday, Oct. 14, Chris Wagner is on the Anaheim Ducks opening day roster for the second consecutive season, the lone Raider to start the 2016-17 season on an NHL Roster. Last season, Wagner had four goals and two assists for six points in 43 games played between the Anaheim Ducks and Colorado Avalanche. The Raiders also boast three players on American Hockey League (AHL) rosters with their opening day on Friday. Class of 2016 graduate Mike Borkowski begins his first full season in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins, an affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings. After scoring 13 goals and 22 points with the Raiders in his senior season, Borkowski had another two goals and an assist in 12 games with the Binghamton Senators in 2015-16. Two players that have cracked NHL rosters in their careers are make up part of the Raiders’ AHL trio. Ryan Johnston and Kyle Baun, who each left following the 2014-15 season, also are playing in the AHL. Johnston will suit up for the St. John’s IceCaps where he tallied 12 assists in 37 games as well as playing in three games for the Montreal Canadiens during the 2015-16 season. Baun will begin his second full season with the Rockford Ice Hogs, the affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks. Baun has played in five career NHL games, and last season tallied a goal and eight assists for the Ice Hogs in 43 games. Seven more former Raiders will begin the 2016-17 season on ECHL rosters. Tylor and Tyson Spink ‘16 recently inked contracts with the Toledo Walleye for the upcoming season. They are joined in the ECHL by Kevin Lough

‘16 on the Adirondack Thunder, Darcy Murphy ‘16 on the Tulsa Oilers, Mark Dekanich ‘08 with the Reading Royals, Spiro Goulakos ‘15 on the Greenville Swamp Rabbits and John Lidgett ‘15 with the Alaska Aces. Daniel Gentzler ‘15 will also be continuing his professional career as he begins a second season with the Macon Mayhem of the Southern Professional Hockey League where he tallied 12 goals and 25 assists for 37 points in 48 games last season. One former Raider will be competing in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) as Thomas Larkin ‘13 will is in his second season with Medvescak Zagreb. Currently, Larkin has a goal and an assist in 18 games. The Raiders also have eight other alumni competing in various leagues around Europe. Player Team League Chris Wagner ‘12 Anaheim Ducks NHL Kyle Baun ‘15 Rockford Ice Hogs AHL Mike Borkowski ‘16 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL Ryan Johnston ‘15 St. John’s IceCaps AHL Mark Dekanich ‘08 Reading Royals ECHL Spiro Goulakos ‘15 Greenville Swamp Rabbits ECHL John Lidgett ‘15 Alaska Aces ECHL Kevin Lough ‘16 Adirondack Thunder ECHL Darcy Murphy ‘16 Tulsa Oilers ECHL Tylor Spink ‘16 Toledo Walleye ECHL Tyson Spink ‘16 Toledo Walleye ECHL Daniel Gentzler ‘15 Macon Mayhem SPHL Thomas Larkin ‘13 Medvescak Zagreb KHL Rob Brown ‘04 Bietigheim-Bissingen SC DEL-2 Kyle Doyle ‘04 EV Landshut Oberliga David McIntyre ‘10 EV Zug NLA Adam Mitchell ‘05 Straubing Tigers DEL Nick St. Pierre ‘09 Krefeld Pinguine DEL Kyle Wilson ‘06 Eisbären Berlin DEL Cory Murphy ‘01 Växjö Lakers HC SHL Austin Smith ‘12 HC Innsbruck EBEL

Cortland

Central New York Women’s College Hockey Report

The Red Dragons open their season in Potsdam on November 4 and host the Bears the following afternoon at 2 p.m. in their home opener. The Red Dragons will be under newly appointed coach Rick Filighera. Filighera to Cortland after coaching at Gilmore Academy in Ohio for the past 12 years.

Elmira

Coach Kelsea Martalock enters her second year with the Soaring Eagles as they take to the ice on November 4 and 5 at Newmann University in Pennsylvania. They open at home on November 11 and 12 against Chatham University. That’s followed by a two-day stance in Buffalo against the Buffalo State Bengals. Their first six games are against ECAC West Rivals. The Soaring Eagles, coming off a fourth-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament, are tabbed to finish second in the ECAC West Conference, as voted on by the league’s head coaches in the conference preseason poll.

Syracuse

The Orange opened the 2016-17 season with a double loss to Bemidji State on home ice. They headed to Northeastern where they tied the first game and lost the second. The story was the same when they faced #5 Colgate losing game one and tying the second. Amherst’s (NY) Maddie Welch (pictured) is in her second year with the Orange. The Goaltender picked up her first win and a shutout in a 209 victory over Lindenwood as a freshman and made a career-high 23 saves against top-ranked Boston College last December.

By Janet Schultz Janet@nyhockeyonline.com

Welch topped her previous career-high saves in the 3-0 loss to Colgate on October 22. In November they face Robert Morris, Mercyhurst and the Minnesota Whitcaps. The Orange will then head off to Grand Forks, ND for a double-header against North Dakota.

Utica The Pioneers will play in the newly created United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) in the 2017-18 season (See related story). They will be joined by Elmira, Hobart and William Smith, and Manhattenville from New York State along with Chatham, Kings College, Lebanon and Neumann from Pennsylvania and Stevenson, Maryland. Utica has been picked to finish third in the 2016 ECAC Women’s West Preseason Coaches Poll, just behind second place Elmira. The Pioneers opened their season with a 6-2 win in an exhibition game against the Toronto Aeros. They open their regular season November 1 at Lebanon College in Annville, Pa and then travel to

her first win of the season against SUNY Canton, making 21 saves in the 6-3 victory. Rios comes from the Northern Cyclones Hockey Team. Coach Dave Clausen returns for his 16th season with the Pioneers. He is the first and only head coach in the history of the Utica Women’s Ice Hockey Team with an overall record of 220-150-27.

Colgate

Buffalo for a doubleheader on November 4 and 5. It’s then off to play William Smith November 11 in Geneva before they return the next day for their home opener against William Smith at 11 a.m. at Utica Memorial Auditorium. On November 19 they play Potsdam at the Memorial Auditorium and then travel to Potsdam the next day. They are closing out November at the Panther/Cardinal Classic in Middlebury, Vt. The Pioneers have three New York women on their team in Senior Keira Goin from Dobbs Ferry, a goaltender; Junior Amanda Lupo, Auburn and Kayla Rios, a freshman goalie from Dexter. Last season Goin started in 24 games over the course of the season. She recorded 15 wins, seven losses and one tie with a save percentage of .942. Lupo played in five games last season. She set a season high against Middlebury, making 31 saves in January. She recorded

C o l g a t e women not only opened their season but opened The Class of 1965 Ice Rink by having the first game in the new building on October 1. They opened with a win over New Hampshire. (See Related Story) With two wins over New Hampshire followed by two more wins over Merrimack and a win and tie over Syracuse, the Red Raiders are looking at a winning season. Making an impact on the ice from New York are Niagara Falls native Olivia Zafuto and New Hartford’s Annika Zalewski. In her freshman year, Zafuto saw action in all 38 games and put up 21 points from seven goals and 14 assists. Zalewski had the honor of scoring the first goal in the Class of 1065 Arena following dedication of the building.

Zalewski played in 35 games last season and serves as the Team Captain for the second season. She finished last season on the team with 27 points on 16 goals/11 assists. Coach Greg Fargo just finished his fourth season with the Gators and last season was the best in the program’s DI history with an over all record of 22-9-7 and a .671 winning percentage. Both the victory total and percentage are records for Colgate.

Oswego

The Lakers took a trip to Syracuse to see Alumna L i n d a Cohn at the season opener for the AHL Syracuse Crunch. Cohn was a goalie for the Lakers before starting a career as a sports broadcaster, mostly as an anchor for ESPN’s SportsCenter. It’s homecoming weekend November 4 and 5 when the Lakers take on ECAC West Rival Chatham University. Friday’s game is at 7 p.m. and Saturday’s at 3 p.m. The following week they host Cortland (Nov. 12 & 13) and end November with road trips to Plattsburgh (Nov. 19 & 20) and William Smith (Nov. 26 & 27). The Lakers took a W over the Toronto Midget Aeros in exhibition play in October. Senior Alyssa Brockman comes

from Fairport. The defenseman played in 25 games last season and recorded a career high two assists against William Smith in February. She was selected to the ECAC West All-Academic Team. Senior Ashley Lyman comes to Oswego from Lockport and the Buffalo Bisons and Nichols School. Lyman played i 26 games last season and recorded her first goal of the season against Cortland in November. She finished the season with 4 goals and one assist and was also selected to the ECAC West All-Academic Team. She also plays softball for the Lakers. Brennan Butler is another senior coming from Lake Placid and Northwood School. She appeared in 24 games last season. Senior Kendall Appelbaum is from Buffalo and the Buffalo Bisons organization. She played in 24 games for the Lakers last season finishing with 3 goals and 3 assists. She also plays Laker LaCrosse. Joining the roster this season are Natalie Giglio from Ogdensburg/Northwood School; Brianne Colucci, Lancaster/Niagara Junior Purple Eagles and Lancaster Girls Varsity Hockey; and Mikaela Ditonto, Orchard Park/Buffalo Stars and Orchard Park Girls Varsity Hockey. Head Coach Diane Dillon comes from North Tonawanda and has been with the Lakers since 2006. She led the Lakers to a 1211-4 season last year and a win in their first game of the ECAC West Tournament.

Cornell

Senior Forward Kaitlin Doering and Sophomore Defenseman Micah Hart will lead the Big Red as captains this season. Doering is coming off a season recording a career high 18 points and Hart led the Big Red defensemen with 18 points. Cornell opened with a 10-0 win in exhibition over Carleton University of Canada followed by a 6-5 victory in the Red-White Game The Big Red opened their season with a two-game sweep of Mercyhurst. In November they take on Brown (Nov. 11), Yale (Nov. 12), both games at Lynah Rink. On November 18 they head to Hamden, Ct. to take on Quinnipiac and then to Princeton and two games at the University of Wisconsin. They return home December 2 to play Harvard. Jamestown’s Pippy Gerace is the only player from New York. In her freshman year she had a solid debut with 8 points on six goals and two assists. She is the team’s only freshman to finish with a plus-rating on the year. Head Coach Doug Derraugh is in his 12th season with the Big Red and has brought the women to their place among the nation’s elite. Taking a program that won just 4 games in the season prior to his arrival, Derraugh guided them to the national title in his fifth sea

son and back-to-back NCAA Frozen Four appearances in 2010, 211 and 2012. Five former Big Red women’s ice hockey players have been named to Canada’s roster to play in the Four Nations Cup in Finland. On D Laurianne Rougeau and Laura Fortino, both class of 2013 will be joined by forwards Jessica Campbell (2014), Rebecca Johnson (2012) and Brianne Jenner (2015).

Hamilton

Hamilton’s women open the season with a doubleheader against Williams on November 19 and 20. On Tuesday, Nov. 22 they will face Morrisville at home. Head Coach Emily McNamara is in her fourth season after leading the Continentals to the quarterfinals of the 2015 NESCAC Championship.

William Smith

The Herons will join the United Collegiate Hockey Conference when they start play in 2017-18. (Related story Page 13) The Herons open regular season play at Lebanon Valley (November 4), Stevenson (November 5), Manhattenville (Nov. 11) and Neumann (Nov. 12) before their home opener on November 18

against Nazareth at 7 p.m. They will also be home the following evening against Utica at 7 p..m. and November 28 against Cortland. The Herons are coached by Jaime Totten, the first coach of the Herons since their inaugural season in 2013.

Morrisville State

Megan Kirk, Breezy Point

The Colonial Hockey Conference (CHC) has selected Morrisville to finish third in their Coaches Preseason Poll.

Morrisville finished their inaugural season 10-14-3 overall and 9-3-2 in conference play. The Mustangs won the Buffalo State Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ice Hockey Invitational by beating both Nichols College and Plymouth. The photos on this page are from that tournament. They opened their regular season on Friday, Nov. 4 against Salem State at home. Salem and Morrisville faceoff the next day at 2 p.m. The following week the Mustangs host SUNY Canton (Nov. 11 & 12) and then travel to Hamilton, Nichols and New England College, closing out November. New Yorkers included Taylor Pincheon (Corinth/Troy Albany Ice Cats); Bailey Dillabough (Massena/Massena-Potsdam), and Megan Kirk (Breezy Point/New Jersey Rockets). Pincheon is a freshman Goaltender who played three seasons with the Ice Cats and also three seasons with the Bethlehem Eagles Boys team which took part in the Boys State Tournament two years straight. Dillabough played four seasons with the Potsdam Ice Storm as a center and played four seasons wit the Massena Red Raiders who took the State Championship in 2015. Kirk is a freshman forward

Morrisville scores!

who played two seasons with the New Jersey Rockets as left wing and four seasons with Aviator at left wing, being named MVP one season. Head Coach Melissa Lomanto is a native of Whitesboro and joined Morrisville as the inaugural coach in 2014. She comes from Utica College Womens Ice Hockey where she served as assistant coach after a four-year career as a player with the Pioneers.

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East Hockey

East Women’s College Report by Janet Schultz Janet@nyhockeyonline.com

Manhattanville

Manhattanville will join the newly created United Collegiate Hockey Conference in 2017-18. (see related story). In addition to the UCHA, the Middle Atlantic Conference will sponsor men’s and women’s hockey as varsity sports beginning with the 2017=18 season. The Valiants open their season Friday, Nov. 4 against NEHC rival Castleton at home. They will face Norwich on Alumni Day, Saturday, Nov. 5 at Playland Ice Arena. It’s a packed NEHC schedule in November with Manhattanville taking on Southern Maine, Univeristy of Newe England, Plymouth and New England College. They close out November with an away game at Neumann. Coach David Turco returns for his sixth season after leading the Valiants to a 9-17 season with a very young team and post season play.

Union College

With the season just underway, first year defenseman Abby Ellis and first year goaltender Kate Spooner received ECAC honors as Rookie of the Week and ECAC Goaltender of the Week. Ellis netted a goal and an assist in a 2-0 win over RIT and Spooner stopped all 16 shots in her first career collegiate shutout. The win over RIT was the first time since Dec. 2014 Union has won back-to-back games. After dropping the first five games of the season, Union came back to beat Penn State 4-2 before their

2-0 win over RIT. They lost the second game to RIT by 0-2. Union takes on Brown, Yale, Clarkson and St. Lawrence onthe-road before returning home Decebmer 2 to Quinnipiac. Three familiar faces to watch for hailing from New York State are Rachel dePerio (#3) from East Amherst, Brandy Streeter, (#4) Morrisville and Bridgit Sullivan,(#7) Vermontville. dePerio played for Nichols School and is a firstyear Forward. She also captained the 19U Niagara Junior Purple Eagles. She scored her first collegiate goal on October 1 against the University of Connecticut

and had three assists against Penn State. Streeter came to Union after playing at Nichols School in Buffalo. She also played four years with the Buffalo Bisons program. The Junior defenseman appeared in all 34 games during her sophomore year and blocked 49 shots and had 31 shots on goal. Sullivan is a first year forward coming from Northwood School where she served as captain and had 15 goals and 11 assists in her senior year. Head Coach Josh Sciba joined Union College on May 13, 2016 after serving as assistant coch for the colgate University Women’s Ice Hockey Team. He is a graduate and former hockey player of Notre Dame. Sciba was head coach of the Niagara University Women’s Ice Hockey Team the year it was dissolved. He also played professional hockey in the ECHL.

RPI

The Engineers opened the season with a win and a loss against the University of Maine. They also suffered two losses at the hands of Ohio State and one to Robert Morris before tying Robert Morris 1-1. Their first win came when they beat the University of Connecticut in a 3-0 shutout; but in game two they lost 1-4.

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In November they face ECACH Rivals Yale, Brown, St Lawrence and Clarkson all on the road before coming home to Mercyhurst on November 18 and 19. They close out November against RIT at home on November 25 and 26. Chase Mills Blake Orosz comes to RPI this season from the Nepean Wildcats. She joines Tonawanda’s Ana Orzechowski who played for the Pittsburgh Pens Elite and is a sophomore defenseman. Orosz played her high school hockey with the Canton Varsity team and being named First Team All Northern Canton Varsity Hockey six years. She was on the Nepean Jr. Wildcats that placed first in the league. Orzechowski played varsity hockey four years and was named to the All WNY First Team Girls High School HOckey in 2014-15. As a member of the Kenmore Girls Varsity High School HOckey Team, she helped them get to the NYS Championship where they took second. Head Coach John Burke has been with the Engineers since 2003-04 and led them to 174 wins. Under his guidance they moved to DI and post-season play three consecutive seasons and becoming the program’s all-time winningest coach.

NY HOCKEY MAGAZINE accepts all stories, game results, tournament news and photographs from hockey organizations throughout New York State. www.nyhockeyonline.com

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ARMY

UNION

Senior Parker Gahagen (Buffalo) was tabbed the Atlantic Hockey Association’s goalie of the week for the second time this year after earning his second shutout of the season against Sacred Heart. Gahagen earned the sixth shutout of his career and his save percentage of .977 ranked him second in the nation, while his 0.65 goals against average placed him third as of Oct. 20. Michael Wilson (pictured) scored his first collegiate goal Oct. 7 and Brendan Soucie Oct. 8—both against Sacred Heart. Nick DeCenzo skated as a defenseman for the first time in his Army career in the season opener after being a forward for two seasons.

East Men’s College Report

With a win over AIC Oct. 21, the Dutchmen are 17-5-4 in home openers in their Division I era. Freshman Anthony Rinby Warren Koziereski aldi netted his first collegiate goal Oct. 15 against Sacred Heart. Senior forward Mike Vecchione scored a career-high four goals and added an assist Oct. 22 versus Niagara. He became the first Union player to score four goals in a game since Kelly Zajac ‘12 netted four against Sacred Heart on Oct. 9, 2010. His five points on the day tied a career best. The fourth goal was his 50th career and he continues to climb the Union career points mark with 126. The Oct. 7 4-3 victory at #11/12 Michigan marked the first time since a 3-2 win against Clarkson on Feb. 28, 2015 that Union won when trailing after two periods. The Dutchmen were 0-10-2 when trailing after two last sea Senior Riley Bourbonson and were outscored 34-31 in the nais (Greece) was named third period. co-captain of the Engi Entering his eighth season behind the bench, Jason neers for the 2016-17 season after he led Tapp is now serving as the program’s Associate Head the team in scoring last year. Senior Jake Wood will likely play in his 100th career Coach in his role overseeing defense/goaltending. Also John Ronan returns to the program as an assistant coach. game in November. Ronan, who served as a volunteer assistant coach during Union’s 2014 National Championship season, spent one year as the assistant coach at Mercyhurst University and one-year as an assistant coach with the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League (USHL).

R.P.I.

MANHATTANVILLE

The Valiants play just two of their first six games this season on the road with the home opener Nov. 11 versus defending champ Hobart.

NHL Visits West Point Again

he United States Military Academy is the preeminent leadership institution in the world and has taught some of the most influential leaders of our time. Due to that history and tradition, it attracts teams from the sports world, including the National Hockey League. Highlighting the most recent trek to West Point was an exhibition contest featuring the Florida Panthers and New Jersey Devils. For the Panthers, it was their fourth visit to the academy since coming in 2007. The Devils were one of the first two professional teams to train at West Point as they came with the Buffalo Sabres in 1985. “For it to be out there that the NHL thinks highly enough of West Point to be able to host a game here, it is great for the academy,” said 13year head coach Brian Riley. “They wouldn’t consider doing it here if there weren’t great facilities, or if there wouldn’t be a great atmosphere at the game, so I think it goes a long ways towards helping us promote the sport. For our fans and West Point Community, it is not an everyday opportunity where you can see an NHL game. To have the game here is a truly neat experience for the entire military installation.” There is a well-known connection between the U.S. Military Academy and the Panthers’ front office, as the team’s Chairman and Owner Vincent Viola is a 1977 graduate of the Academy. The Panthers President

and CEO Matt Caldwell is a 2002 West Point graduate, as well as Eric Joyce, the general manager of Florida’s American Hockey League affiliate in Springfield, Mass. A total of six different teams have entered West Point for one day or for a full week of training camp to get ready for their upcoming season. In addition to the on-ice practices and scrimmages, the teams take in cadet life during their visit. They attend team-bonding activities like survival courses, field training and simulations to get a real taste of what it is like to go to school at West Point. “It is a good learning experience to see what these guys go through every day,” said Panthers forward Nick Bjugstad during the 2014 visit. “We learned how to mentally challenge ourselves through tasks that we had to complete and learn from everyone that is part of this process here.” “Personally, to be able to tell the story of former players and just to see the appreciation and respect level that these professional athletes leave here with,” Riley added. “It is a feeling and respect for not only our players, but all of the cadets here. For me, it is really gratifying to see the respect level that they now have for the cadets and what they are going to do.” The organizations also use it as a great opportunity to do some teambuilding activities with the changes that a team can go through during an off-season. The teams don’t just take away an appreciation for the military, but have embraced the West Point culture. In their last visit to the banks of the Hudson, the Panthers were gifted a Dress Gray top by former captain Joe Kozlak. Since then, the Panthers have used it as a symbol of dedication and hard work and have handed out the Dress Gray top to the hardest

worker after their games. “It is always interesting to spread the culture of this place and to see how others take it,” said Parker Gahagen. “It is fun to see them embrace what we go through a little bit and to see them pass around the uniform.” “NHL players are guys that we look up to,” explained senior captain Ryan Nick. “They are the best of the best in the world of hockey, but they are guys that we can relate to. It’s good to learn about their lifestyle and to share our lifestyle with them. They are boys at heart and love this game, and that is why they play it; for each other and for the game itself.” The tradition started with an exhibition game back in 1985 with between the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils. “When I talk to the teams I talk about Derek Hines and Thomas Kennedy who are two West Point graduates and Army hockey players that were killed in action,” said Riley. “I have a lot of jobs here at West Point as a coach, but to me the most important job is to make sure that the legacy of Derek Hines and Tom Kennedy live on. I will go to the top of any mountain to tell their story. “I just think that to be able to tell it to professional hockey players, because I’m sure there was a time that those guys dreamed of being professional hockey players, so to tell their story to these guys really means a lot. I have done it enough to know that it really does make a lasting impact. So, I always look forward to having the opportunity to speak to the teams about both of those guys. I am excited to have the opportunity to do that this weekend with both the Devils and Panthers.”

he Rangers on Friday traded in their sticks and skates for training with the New York Police Department as part of team building exercises leading up to the start of the 2016-17 season Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. The Blueshirts were split into three groups of eight players for competitions at the shooting range, with the bomb squad and in simulation shoot outs against each other, all with the goal of bringing new and familiar faces together for another marathon NHL season. “It was real, real good for our group to see the training, the preparation, the whole aspect of everything they do to be ready for any event,” head coach Alain Vigneault said of the chance his players got to see how the NYPD trains. “I’m sure my whole crew appreciated this today.” The Rangers arrived at the NYPD facility in the Bronx and hit the shooting range, where they competed in accuracy shooting contests, followed by donning bomb resistant gear for a separate event that required four members of each team to work together to solve a puzzle. The final event saw players facing off one-on-one with pistols that shot paintball-like bullets as each player used a car for cover. “It’s a lot of fun to see how [the NYPD] trains and the stuff they go through here,” said Henrik Lundqvist, who was part of the red team that won the day’s events. “I run into cops all around the game at different events in the city and they’re always very helpful. They’ve been great. When you’re playing for the Rangers, big events, you need people to organize things and make sure it’s a safe place and they’ve been doing a great job with things over the years. “I just enjoyed the afternoon,” Lundqvist added. “I think it was great for everyone to see their world, but also to get to know the new guys a little bit more.” Inspector Raymond Caroli, Commanding Officer of the

facility in the Bronx, said the day was a great way to show members from the community what police officers do to prepare themselves for real situations they may face in the five burroughs. “It was great. It’s good to give outside people an idea of what type of training we do here, how important it is, the criticalness of it,” he said. “Give them an idea of how certain aspects of it can be - there’s an overall or a backflow into professional sports. This idea of ‘What’s Important Now,’ this concept, the WIN concept. Focus and technique, keep you in the moment. I think there’s an application to that to professional sports. It’s good to have people come here and get an appreciation of what we do.” While the event put smiles on faces, it was about team building heading into another season. This season, especially, with so many new faces. In fact, of the 24 players who took part in the event, eight were not Rangers last season. “It’s all about getting to know the guys on the team,” Lundqvist said. “This is part of the team building, and it’s such a big part of playing hockey. Understanding how it is to be a team, a good team, a good group. Exercises like this is really helping us get there.” With that said, it was still an eye-opening event for the players, to see how New York’s Finest train for the toughest of situations the city throws at it. “The NYPD has done so many great things for us in the city, helping out at games,” Lundqvist added, “so it’s fun to be here and see how they work and get better as police officers and shooters.”

Rangers Shoot at the Range, Rather Than the Net

(Article and photo provided by NY Rangers)

North Hockey

Northern New York Men’s College Hockey Report by Warren Kozireski

Wkozires@brockport.edu

CANTON Josh Sova (Oswego) will be the captain with Kyle Dora (Saranac Lake) and Thomas Crabtree assistant captains during the 2016-17 season. Forwards Ville Koivula, Tyler Bullard (Ballston Spa) Brad Reitter, Patrick Farnan (Clifton Park) and defensemen Luke Hincenbergs, Stuart Fierheller and David Hopfer (Tonawanda) plus goaltenders Michael Cerasuolo and Austin Washkurak represent the Class of 2020. Transfer Zach Pease via Fredonia and Marcus Baird via Finlandia add depth. “Bringing in two transfer students just adds character and leadership to our group,” first year head coach Alex Boak said. “Having played collegiate hockey already they know what it takes to play at the college level. This will only help our group of freshman to acclimate to college hockey.”

CLARKSON Freshman goaltender Jake Kielly registered his first-career shutout making 23 stops for Clarkson Oct. 14 against Merrimack. Devin Brosseau tallied a pair of assists in each game Oct. 14-15 weekend to earn ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week honors--the ﬁrst Golden Knight to receive the league’s Rookie of the Week honor since Kelly Summers

gained the accolade on February 9, 2015. Sophomore Juho Jokiharju scored his ﬁrst three collegiate goals in the same contests. Senior defenseman James de Haas will be captain this season with senior Perry D’Arrisso and juniors Brett Gervais and Nic Pierog as assistant captains. The team will play in the Shillelagh Tournament at Notre Dame with Yale and Holy Cross Thanksgiving weekend.

PLATTSBURGH Lenny Pereira ‘94 was one of six inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame Oct. 14. He ranks third all-time on the program’s career points list (234), helped steer the Cardinals to a national title his freshman season in 1991-92 and SUNYAC titles in 1991-92 and 1992-93, earning SUNYAC Tournament MVP honors in 1991-92. He was a two-time First-Team All-American, a two-time First-Team All-SUNYAC selection, the 1992-93 SUNYAC Player of the Year.

POTSDAM Goaltender David Dragone was inducted into the Bears Athletic Hall of Fame in ceremonies held Oct. 1. He only played two seasons with the hockey team, but he left a permanent mark on the program backstopping the Bears to their lone SUNYAC Championship in 1995-96. Patrick Borer was named assistant coach for the 201617 season. Borer graduated from the University of New England in May and played in a total of 54 games as a defenseman over the course of two seasons for the Nor’easters. Borer also spent one year playing Division I hockey for Niagara University during the 2011-12 season. Chatham University head coach and former Potsdam Bear Michael Callan named former Bear Todd Thomas ‘16 his first assistant coach. The team will begin varsity play during the 2017-18 season as a member of the United Collegiate Hockey Conference.

ST. LAWRENCE The Saints were the only one of ten New York based Division I teams to be in the national rankings and off to a 3-1 start to the season. Ryan Garvey scored his first collegiate goal Oct. 7 versus Penn State, Carson Gicewicz (Buffalo) notched his first goal Oct. 14 against New Hampshire and Ben Finkelstein his first Oct. 15 against Merrimack. Defenseman Gavin Bayreuther and goaltender Kyle Hayton were named ECAC Player and Goaltender of the Week for the week ending Oct. 16. Bayreuther netted two goals and two assists while Hayton earned two victories with a 1.50 goals against average and a .930 save percentage in a weekend sweep of New Hampshire and Merrimck.

Dragone Goes Into Potsdam Hall of Fame

avid Dragone only played two seasons with the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team, but he left a permanent mark on the program. During the 1995-96 campaign, the goaltender backstopped the Bears to their lone SUNYAC Championship. It was a long, winding road to get the Bronx native to Maxcy Ice Arena, but it was key moment in Potsdam hockey history. Dragone’s father told him to pick one sport to focus on growing up and he decided to go with hockey. After some trial and error, he found his way between the pipes. “At that point I knew I was pretty bad as a forward or a defenseman,” said Dragone. “I was awful so my father said one more position left for you to try. If not, you’re going to try another sport. That was it.” Growing up Dragone played for travel teams on Long Island. He practiced three or four times during the week and played games during the weekend. He quickly showed his skill in goal and ended up playing for the Wisconsin Capitols of the United States Hockey League. “The USHL is huge now, but back then it was still very big

with college coaches,” Dragone said. “One of my travel coaches was friends with the head coach at North Country, Tim Gerrish. He hooked me up with him and that’s how I went to North Country.” Despite being from one of the largest metropolises, there was no culture shock for Dragone when he decided to play for North Country Community College for the 1993-94 season. “Before I went to North Country I probably was in Lake Placid about 30 times,” said Dragone. “I went to CanAm camps in Lake Placid. My parents and I were very familiar with the area so there was no adjustment for me there at all. I love it up there. I was just telling my wife, if I could move to Lake Placid tomorrow, I would.” There was, however, something new and unusual that Dragone experienced early in his career with the Saints. “In the beginning there was an adjustment (to college hockey),” Dragone said. “When I got there I wasn’t the starter. The first couple of games I wasn’t even dressing. I was sitting in the stands. That was a huge shock to me. That had never happened to me before. But as the season went along, the practices, this and that, I started playing more and by the end of the season I was the No. 1 going into my second year.” NCCC was talented when he got there, but they were loaded for his sophomore season. The Saints were ranked No. 1 in the nation for the last half of the year. In the National Tournament NCCC swept SUNY Canton, North Dakota State at Botineau and Community College of Rhode Island to win the National Championship. Dragone was in goal for the victories over Canton and NDSB. When the dust settled, he was the nation’s leader in goals-against-average and save percentage and a first team National Junior College Athletic Association All-American. As his tremendous sophomore season wound down, Dragone was looking toward the next step in his collegiate career. He was seriously considered by Division I schools Dartmouth, Army, Michigan and especially Wisconsin. “I’ll always remember Jeff Sauer from the University of Wisconsin came to see me,” said Dragone. “That was a dream come true because I lived in Wisconsin and I loved it. But there were two things. One, he wanted me to redshirt when I transferred. I didn’t want to do that. And two, I wasn’t promised I’d be a starter after that.” Dragone had already met Potsdam Hall of Fame Coach Ed Seney and his then assistant Keith Clark and they made a good

Northern New York Women’s College Hockey Report by Janet Schultz Janet@ nyhockeyonline.com

Potsdam

Potsdam is underway after facing St. Michaels in exhibition play in October. They are opening with a strong ECAC West schedule facing Cortland at Maxcy Ice Arena on November 4 and 5 followed by Buffalo State on November 11 and 12. On November 19 they take on Utica in Utica and then host the Pioneers the next afternoon. The Bears close out November with Canton on November 29 in Canton. Jay Green enters his 11th season as the Bears head coach.

Potsdam Preview (submitted by Potsdam)

The SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey team posted a 9-14-2 overall record last season, including a 4-13-1 mark in the ECAC West. Defensively, the Bears put together their best season ever. Potsdam set program single-season records for the fewest goals allowed (73), fewest shots allowed (756) and goals-against-average (2.90). Six of the team’s losses were decided by two or fewer goals. The Bears’ biggest challenge last season came at the other end of the ice. “We’ve fallen short offensively for the last couple years,” said 10th year head coach Jay Green. “I feel like I can be quite critical of my players, but I can honestly say I’ve

walked away the last two years and feeling they’ve done everything we’ve asked. The effort’s been there. The execution’s been there. We just haven’t been able to finish. We’re hopeful that our returners and some of our young players will help us increase goals scored.” Potsdam lost the offense of Alison Greene and the leadership of Sally Mooney, Katie Marsman and Abby Tardelli to graduation, but expect new faces and leadership to step up to fill their skates. Seniors Kaylen Van Wagner (Red Hook, N.Y./ Hotchkiss) and Amanda Peterson (West Chazy, N.Y./Chazy Flyers) serve as co-captains this season. Senior defenseman Kady Hart (Potsdam, N.Y./ North Country Ice Storm) and junior forward Anna-Rose Bertin (Marathon, Ontario/Canadian International Hockey Academy) will be assistant captains. “Kaylen has demonstrated leadership qualities since her arrival and I am excited to see her in this role,” said Green. “She is a very poised individual that speaks with confidence and calm, which is constructive character in the locker room. She is also very supportive of her teammates and genuinely cares about the people around her.” “Amanda in a captain’s role is also great choice by her peers. She is a silent leader who comes to the rink every day, whether it be a practice or a game, and comes to play. Amanda leads by example with hard work and a positive approach in all situations, which is visible to all of us.” “Kady possesses a constructive leadership voice both on the ice and in the locker room. She has demonstrated a great work ethic and level of improvement as a player since her arrival and all of us respect and admire that. She is a great people person as well, which earned her the position of assistant captain.” “Anna the Rose Bertin is a silent leader type as well. She is an all-around quality person and athlete. She is great in the locker room and very supportive of her teammates both on and off the ice. Anna-Rose is consistent in her play and demeanor in competition and is an encouraging presence at all times.” Of the 21 players on the 2016-17 roster, nine are new to the program. The Bears have five seniors, four juniors and

three returning sophomores to go with one new sophomore and a large class of eight freshmen. FORWARD Offensively, the Bears will miss double-digit scorers Greene and Mooney, but return All-USCHO and ECAC West Selection Jordan Ott (Hilton, N.Y./Rochester Edge). Ott registered 15 goals and 11 assists for 26 points last year. Her 47 career goals are the program record and she ranks third in all-time points with 84. With another typical season, Ott will graduate as the women’s hockey program’s alltime leading scorer. Bertin was third on the team in scoring last season with eight goals, including a team-leading four power-play markers, and six assists for 14 points, while playing in all 25 games. As a freshman last season, Jenna Patterson (Boissevain, Man ito b a / We s t m an Wildcats) totaled six goals and four assists after seeing time in every contest. “Anna-Rose has shown that she can score goals,” said Green. “She has increased her goal scoring totals in each of her first two seasons. As a junior we are hopeful that she will continue the trend and reach doubledigits this year. She’s got a lot of potential, and we need her to find the back of the net.” Five other forwards return this season. Peterson scored a career-high five goals last year to go with three assists in 24 games. Brenna Wilson (Kanata, Ontario/Ottawa Senators), Jaci Morr (Monroe, Mich./Team Detroit) and Taylor Marcellus (Waddington, N.Y./Ontario Hockey Academy) comprise the veteran junior forwards. Wilson had three goals and two assists for five points in 25 games. Morr was limited to 11 contests in 2015-16 and chipped in a goal and a helper. Marcellus had two assists in 15 games during her debut campaign with the Bears. Sophomore Tatum Walber (Orchard Park, N.Y./Buffalo Regals) is also back to give

Potsdam another experienced presence up front. Freshmen Lane Perl (Fulton, N.Y./Syracuse Nationals), Lucy Condon (Kitchener, Ontario/Waterloo Ravens) and Karina Villalobos (Woodhaven, Mich./Little Caesar’s) join the Potsdam attack this season. “Lane played defense last year, but will be moved to forward,” said Green. “She is a solid, hardworking player with growth potential. She plays with intensity and has good puck handling skills. Lucy has great speed and quickness and a good shot. She handles the puck very well and competes at a high level. Karina also has great speed, quickness and very good puck handling skills. She will be a great asset on the forecheck and will create havoc for our opponents.” DEFENSE Three seniors and a sophomore return to Potsdam’s blue line this year. Van Wagner and sophomore Rylie Murray (Berkley, Mich./Hone y b a ke d) will anchor the defensive corps. Van Wagner continued to provide consistent play in the defensive zone last season, but also broke out offensively with a goal and six assists, while seeing action in all 25 games. Murray made an immediate impact in her first season, both on defense and with four goals and four assists on the attack. After transferring from St. Scholastica last year, Madison Smith (Edmonton, Alberta/The College of St. Scholastica) gave Potsdam another sturdy and veteran defenseman. She saw plenty of ice time in every game in 2015-16. Hart had a goal and an assist in addition to providing valuable leadership in her 25 games. “They’re a very stable foursome,” Green said. “They’re going to be depended upon to show good leadership and continue to play well.” Sophomore Nicole Watson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./ Colorado Selects) and freshmen Delphine Léonard (Montreal, Quebec/Dawson College Prep) and Shelbi Thacker (Chesterfield, Mich./Honeybaked) look to bolster an al-

ready solid Bears defense. “Nicole is a stay at home defender who is very efficient in her approach to the game,” said Green. “She is a great passer with vision and has a good, hard, quick release when shooting the puck. Delphine possesses creative trickery as a defenseman. She also has great vision and is an escape artist when under pressure in her own zone. She will be fun to watch. Shelbi is a powerful skater and has a physical presence to her game. She handles the puck very well and can shoot the biscuit. She too has great vision and competes.” GOAL Tardelli played every second in goal for the Bears last season before graduating, racking up nine wins, a 2.92 G.A.A. and a .903 save percentage. Three freshmen newcomers from diverse regions have arrived to continue Potsdam’s tradition of strong goaltending. Alexa Pfeiffer (Sylvania, Ohio/ Little Caesar’s) arrives from Ohio with Winnipeg’s Nicole Whitesell (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Balmoral Hall). Watertown native Kayla McCabe (Watertown, N.Y./Syracuse, N.Y.) heads up Route 11 to give the Bears even more depth between the pipes. “Alexa has good size and is very mobile in the net,” Green Said. “She is aggressive in her approach and challenges the shooter. Whitesell has a track record of coming up big in big game situations. McCabe is a standup style of goaltender.” SCHEDULE The Bears will play their usual 18 games in the nation’s toughest conference. ECAC West play opens with a 5 p.m. battle at home against SUNY

Cortland on Friday, Nov. 4, to kick off a home-and-home series. Their nonconference slate includes seven contests against familiar foes. Potsdam will play a home-and-home series with Saint Michael’s and Canton, two home games against New England College and a single home contest against Hamilton.

Plattsburgh

Plattsburgh will continue its winning history if the polls are correct. The ECAC Women’s West preseason poll put the Cardinals in first place. The team is coming off the program’s fifth national championship and received 9 of 10 first place votes in the poll, voted on by the coaches in the ECAC West Conference. Plattsburgh opens with an exhibition game against the Hockey Training Instutute and then opens their EVCAC West play at William Smith College November 5 and 6. Following the trip to Geneva they continue on down the road to Neumann College before returning home to Norwich on November 16 at 7 p.m. On November 16 they host Norwich University followed by two games against Oswego on November 19 and 20. They close out November at Castleton University on November 22 and then travel to Middlebury,Vermont to play in the Cardinal/Panther Classic. Some New York ladies to watch hitting the ice with Plattsburgh are Elizabeth Viola, Williamsville/Buffalo Bisons U19; Sarah Wolf, Fairport/ Boston Shamrocks; Ashley Songin, Springville/Nichols School; Julia Duquette, North Tonawanda/Buffalo

Bisons U19; Melissa Ames, Rochester/Pittsburgh Pens Elite U19; Melissa Sheeran, Schaghticoke/Millbrook School; Erin Brand, Long Beach/Syracuse University and Brittani Mingola, Ronkonh/Shattuck St. Mary’s. Viola is a junior who appeared in six games last season before suffering an injury. She was named to the ECAC West All-Academic Team. As a freshman she played in 27 or 30 games and had her first collegiate point against Potsdam. Songin is a sophomore who played in 28 of 30 games last season, scoring 5 goals including one on the power play. She scored her first collegiate goal against Buffalo State on December 6 in a 5-0 victory. It’s senior year time for Duquette who attended Mt. St. Mary’s Academy and played for the Monsignor Martin Girls Varsity Ice Hockey Team that took the WNYGVIH League Championship. Last season she made 29 out of 30 appearances and scored two goals and seven assists. She played in 25 games in her rookie hear and garnered 10 points and in her sophomore year played in every game. Also facing her final year as a Cardinal is Ames who played in 27 of 30 games last season and tallied 27 points on 16 goals and 11 assists. She was named to the ECAC West All-Academic Team. Ames had 10 points her sophomore year and 8 points as a rookie. She was the only player in DIII play that averaged two points per game. She was named AHCA All-American and First Team ECAC West All Conference. In her rookie year she talled 17 goals and 18 assists for 35 points. Brand enters her senior year after appearing in 30 games last season and

leading all defenders i the country in points with 5 goals and 28 assists. She was also named First Team ECAC West All Conference. She joined the Cardinals as a sophomore halfway thorugh the season after ransferring from Syracuse. While playing in only 18 games she had a goal and 8 assists. Junior Melissa Sheeran led the team and the country in points last season with 55 and goals with 28. Joining the Cardinals this season are Wolf and Mingoia. Kevin Houle is marking the 14th season as head coach of the Cardinals. He has been named National Coach of the Year several times and ranks first among all active women’s coaches in winning percentage.

Clarkson

Three third period goals were too much as Clarkson fell to top-ranked Wisconsin 4-1 but for Genevieve Bannon an assist on Clarkson’s lone goal represented the 100th career point for her and she became the 12th Clarkson player to reach that mark. Clarkson opened their season with an exhibition loss to Concordia University and then two wins over Penn State in regular season play. At press time they are 4-3-1 overall and heading into a November packed with ECAC rivals including Quinnipiac on November 4; Princeton, November 5; Union, Nov. 11; Rensselaer, Nov. 12; Brown, Nov. 18 and Yale Nov. 19. They then head for Vermont to play in the Windhammer Classic. Head Coach Matt Desrosiers is in his ninth season with the Golden Knights and making them one of the premiere women’s programs in the

country. They have had six 20 plus winning seasons, won two regular season titlesm, made five NCAA Tournament shows, including four straight, advnced to the NCAA Frozen Four twice and won it all in 2014.

St. Lawrence

Brooke Webster had two assists to reach her 100 point career mark in a 3-3 tie with Clarkson. Then Rookie forward Jacquie Diffley scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal near the midway point of the first period to lead the No. 6/7 St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team to a 3-1 win over the University of Vermont in a non-league game at Appleton Arena. But the highlight of that goal is that is was her first career goal . While Webster and Diffley made history, Hannah Miller made a little by scorig the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over UVM. The Saints are on the move to a successful season with a 5-0-1 overall record thus far. Their November schedule pits them against all ECAC rivals including Princeton (Nov. 4), Quinnipiac (Nov. 5), Rensselaer (Nov. 11), Union (Nov. 12), Yale (Nov. 18) and Brown (Nov. 19). They close out November against Penn State. Playing in her hometown is Kalie Grant. Grant comes from the Nepean Wildcats and is a freshman Forward. She served as Captain of the Nepean Jr. Wildcats and attended the USA Hockey National Camp three times. She captained the Potsdam Hockey Team was was named First-Team All Northern and league MVP in hockey.

She was also valedictorian of her class. Allison Compeau is also a native of Potsdam and played for the North Country Ice Storm and Potsdam High School. The sophomore served as the backup goaltender last season. Coach Chris Wells took over the St. Lawrence Women’s Ice Hockey Team for the 2008-09 season. He has continued the program’s tradition of winning guiding the team to the 2009 NCAA Tournament and enters his 7th season with a career record of 112-8624.

Canton

The SUNY Canton women’s hockey team has been picked to finish fourth in the Colonial Hockey Conference as voted on by the conference’s coaches. The Roos finished with 27 points as Endicott College led the poll with 45. Head Coach Dave LaBaff announced Lora Ardoin (Houston, TX), Rhea Coad (Wheatfield, NY), Margret Troiano (Morristown, NY) and Jessica Pele (Estevan, SK) will lead the SUNY Canton women’s hockey team as captains during the 2016-17 season “With the new year upon us we also have some new faces wearing letters this season,” LaBaff said. “Margret Troiano and Jess Pele will wear our A’s and Rhea Coad will join veteran captain Lora Ardoin as only the third player to wear the captains C in program history. (Continued on page 46)

impression on him. “I had all these schools looking at me,” Dragone said. “When it came down to it, I really, really enjoyed Ed Seney. I could tell right off the bat that he cared about the person. He didn’t just care about the player. He’s what really made me fall in love with Potsdam. I also looked at who was coming back for the next season (95-96) and the direction they were headed in. I also knew (Bears Hall of Famer) Steve Naughton because we’re kind of from the same area. He’s from Queens. We grew up playing hockey against each other. It was little things like that, that just pieced it together.” Dragone says it wasn’t just the talent that made the 199596 Potsdam hockey team, which earned its own spot in the Bears Hall of Fame in 2013, it was the character and culture. “Everybody on that team was great,” said Dragone. “I had met them on two recruiting trips the year before. They were just really nice guys. All the guys were there with open arms. They accepted all the new recruits and freshman, no matter whether they were going to play or sit. All the veteran players on that team made it easy for us to adapt. Daryn McLean especially. That was one of the reasons why he was a team captain. He talked to you whether or not he knew you were going to be a starter or the 20th guy on the team. He was really open.” Dragone didn’t watch any games in Maxcy from the stands. He was the Bears’ starter from the season’s first drop of the puck. The team got off to a torrid 7-0 start to set the school record. Potsdam had its momentum briefly and thoroughly stopped with a 9-1 loss to defending National Champion Middlebury on Nov. 28. However, Dragone and company used the defeat for motivation and bounced back and swept Geneseo and Brockport the next weekend for a 9-1 start to the year. On Dec. 8., the Bears, who were ranked No. 2 in the East Region at the time, entered Stafford Ice Arena for Dragone’s first of many memorable showdowns with the Plattsburgh Cardinals. Despite two goals from Naughton, another from McLean and 41 saves from the goaltender, Plattsburgh came away with a 6-3 win. The following evening, Norwich edged the Bears 5-4 and Potsdam headed into winter break at 9-3. The Bears opened 1996 at Middlebury’s Holiday Classic on Jan. 6, by dispatching Amherst 5-1. The victory earned them another crack at the champs on their home ice. The Panthers edged the Bears 1-0 in a tightly contested rematch. Dragone

made 43 saves to earn the tournament’s most valuable player award. With consistent play between the pipes, Potsdam won seven of its final 10 regular season games and headed into the SUNYAC Playoffs as the No. 2 seed with an 11-3 conference mark. The Bears hosted Oswego State in the quarterfinals on Feb. 23-24. In game one, Potsdam dominated for about 45 minutes and led 3-2 after the first period. However, the Lakers took advantage of a Bears lapse to capture a 7-4 win. Bolstered by a strong Dragone performance the next night, Potsdam evened the series with a 5-4 victory. Oswego only needed a tie to capture the series and they drew even with the Bears with under two minutes remaining. “Coach called a timeout and set up a play,” Dragone said. “He told me to look for him to call me over. It was about a minute and change left and I started going to the bench. We scored before I even got there. I didn’t even see the goal. I remember looking at everybody on the bench and they raised their hands and started going crazy. Then I turned and saw everybody jumping on Pete Chandler who scored that goal for the 5-4 win. I remember being so happy that I jumped up in the air going back to the net and I fell on my butt.” Chandler scored the game-winner with 55 seconds left in game two. “When we got back into the locker room, it was almost like we won the game and the series,” said Dragone. “Everybody was going nuts. And of course, him being the captain he is, Daryn McLean calmed us all down and said ‘Hey, we haven’t won a thing yet.’ We refocused and we played that mini-game.” The 15-minute mini-game was scoreless, thanks in part to nine more saves from Dragone. That forced a 10-minute sudden death overtime period. With 6:40 left, Tony Matczynski finally put away the Lakers to give the Bears a berth in the finals. In the SUNYAC Championship, Potsdam headed back to Plattsburgh. The Cardinals had swept the season series and hadn’t lost to the Bears in just over 10 years. None of the history fazed Dragone. “We kept hearing all year that Potsdam had some ridiculous losing streak to Plattsburgh,” Dragone said. “I remember I told one of their reporters, I don’t care what the streak is, I’ve only lost to them twice. And neither did anybody else. I remember saying in the locker room before the game the streak only means they’re due to lose to us.”

On the bus ride to Stafford, Seney sent his players a subtle message. “Coach put on the movie Hoosiers, which now happens to be one of my favorite movies because of this,” said Dragone. “You could hear a pin drop on the bus because everybody was watching the movie and everybody was so intense. Everybody knew what was at stake. We went into that weekend, I don’t know maybe because of the Oswego series, very, very confident, knowing, not thinking, that we could beat them.” The Bears didn’t beat the Cardinals in game one, but they scored two goals in the final 15 minutes to earn a 4-4 tie and snap a 25-game losing streak to Plattsburgh. Dragone and his teammates were intensely focused heading into game two. “We all knew what we had to do,” Dragone said. “We all knew we could win the series. In the locker room before the game if anybody said two words, that was a lot. Everybody was loose, but everybody was focused beyond belief. I had never been in a locker room like that my entire career before that game. Everybody knew what was going to happen. Everybody knew what their job was. Nothing had to be said. Nothing.” Potsdam led early, but Plattsburgh rallied for a 3-3 tie at the end of regulation. That set up another non-sudden death minigame. “It was probably the most entertaining game that I’ve ever played in,” Dragone said. “It was back and forth. I remember going to the bench during a timeout and the guys had their heads down, just taking as much water as they could. Everybody was tired, but nobody was giving up.” The Cardinals outshot the Bears 13-7 in the extended contest. “It was to the point where I was looking at Mike Peters

with maybe six minutes left and saying I don’t know if we can hold them off this long,” said Dragone. “It’s a long time. Then I remember Andrew Schofield coming down my right side. He took a snap shot above the circle and the puck going between (Cardinal goalie) Pat O’Neil’s chest and blocker. I remember thinking that the puck was sneaking through and sure enough it went in. Our fans erupted. It was crazy. I think from the time he scored that goal until the buzzer sounded, the puck didn’t leave our zone. It was mayhem.” Schofield scored with 5:33 left in the mini-game and Dragone slammed the door. “Finally, that buzzer sounded and all six of us that were on the ice for that final faceoff just dropped to our knees,” Dragone said. “We didn’t really jump around because we were so beat. It was awesome. It’s something that I think about every day.” The Bears’ first SUNYAC Championship gave them their first NCAA Tournament berth against RIT the next weekend. Nerves and some fatigue cost Potsdam in a 6-3 loss in game one. A bad bounce in game two turned the tide in the Tigers’ favor and they closed out the series 5-3. “I think we were tired because the two weeks before we played a lot of hockey between mini-games and overtimes,” Dragone said. “I think we were all maybe a little mentally shot, but at the same time that’s no excuse. It was a good experience.” The Bears ended the season with an 18-10-2 record. Dragone went 15-9-2 with a .895 save percentage and a 3.41 goalsagainst-average. He was rewarded for his efforts with a selection to the All-SUNYAC first team. “He carried us and made big saves when we needed them,” said Seney. “He was very competitive. We knew we could win with him. He made huge saves in the mini-game against Plattsburgh. I’ve been coaching for 36 years and he’s one of the best I’ve had.” Entering the 1996-97 season, the Bears had a strong returning core, including their starting goaltender, but there were also some big holes after graduation. “We lost Daryn McLean, Tony Matczynski, Jeff Johnson, Colby Van Tassel, Jay Parris,” said Dragone. “We lost a bunch of key guys. Forget about what they could do on the ice. Guys that were just leaders on and off the ice.” Potsdam battled its way through the year. The Bears finally routed Plattsburgh 8-3 in Maxcy on Dec. 11, largely due to Steve Naughton’s record six goals. Still after a 2-2 draw at Brockport on Jan. 31, they found themselves 8-9-2. The next night Potsdam doubled up Geneseo 4-2 to begin a five-game-winning streak. The run ended with a 4-1 loss at Plattsburgh on Feb. 22, but a 9-3-2 conference record earned them the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament and another trip to Plattsburgh for the playoffs. The Cardinals made sure there was no repeat of the 1996 magic and swept the series by 6-2 and 7-4 scores. That season, Dragone was 12-11-2 with a 3.81 goals-againstaverage and a .886 save percentage, good enough for a spot

(Men’s College Continued from Page 43)

on the All-SUNYAC second team. In 54 career games with the Bears, he posted a 29-20-4 record with a 3.38 goals-against-average and a .891 save percentage. His play earned him a spot in the ECAC All-Star Game at the University of Vermont along with multiple Division I players, including future NHL stars Tim Thomas and Martin St. Louis. “Every time I see Martin St. Louis play, I understand why he is where he is,” Dragone said. “We had to practice that Saturday. It was about a 45-minute skate. He came up to me and said would you mind staying on the ice to help me work on some things. I said absolutely, whatever you need. We were on the ice, just me and him, for about another hour and 45 minutes. That was a great experience.” Dragone played a strong second period in the all-star game and signed with an agent soon after. He played with the Wheeling Nailers of East Coast Hockey League the following season. His first coach in pro hockey was Peter Laviolette, who won a Stanley Cup at the helm of 2006 Carolina Hurricanes and currently coaches the Nashville Predators. He spent two years with the Nailers before moving to play in the West Coast Hockey League for another two and a half seasons. After he retired from professional hockey, he returned home to begin a career as an iron worker. “I’ve been doing that ever since, almost 20 years now,” said Dragone. “We’re working on a complex now where we’re doing four buildings. We just finished one that is 65 stories. Now we’re starting one that’s going up 82 stories.” Like slap shots, heights don’t bother the former Bear, though the weather occasionally gets to him. “There’s so much safety involved now that you’ll only get hurt if you don’t follow the rules,” Dragone said. “I’ve got to tell you, maybe it’s because I loved being up North so much, cold weather I don’t mind. Working in the heat, I can’t stand it. It’s been disgustingly hot this summer.” On Sept. 2, Dragone and his wife Jennifer celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary in Rhode Island. His work schedule prevents him from playing in adult hockey leagues, but he stays in the game through coaching. Dragone coaches his Bantam level Westchester Vipers of the Hudson Valley Hockey League.

I could not be more proud of how our captains have worked all summer and throughout the preseason to prepare our team for a successful campaign this season. Each player brings a unique take on what it means to be a leader, but they all have a unanimous voice in the importance of how we are a family and not just a team.” Ardoin, a four-year captain from Houston, TX appeared in 19 contests for the Roos last season scoring her lone goal at Utica on November 1st. Coad, a senior from Wheatfield, NY finished tied for third in points with 12, while ranking second on the team with seven goals. She scored once on the power play and netted the game-winning goal v. Salem State on November 21st. Troiano, a junior from Morristown, NY posted five points on a goal and four assists last season. Her best game of the season came when she scored once and assisted another goal in a 5-3 win against Johnson & Wales on February 13th. Pele ranked tied for third on the team in both points (12) and assists (6) to go with six goals during her rookie season in 2015-16. The Estevan, SK native scored four power play goals and added both game-winning goals against Johnson & Wales on February 12th and 13th. We sat down to discuss the captains’ roles and what they expect from not only themselves but the team during the upcoming season. The Roos have a heavy CHC schedule in November facing Morrisville State on November 11 and 12; Salem State on November 18 and 19. They will host Potsdam on November 29.

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(This story was written and shared by Potsdam University)

West Hockey

that matter. All Downing did was play four years of major collegiate hockey with the University of Michigan (1982-86). And before donning a Wolverines jersey Downing starred for the Buffalo Jr. Sabres hockey team. Downing got hooked on hockey as a young boy growing up in the Western New York area. “It was the time when the Buffalo Sabres were growing and they had the French Connection Line,” recalled Downing. “There was a big hockey craze By Randy Schultz back then because a lot of kids like myself were getting involved with hockey. “I went to hockey camps in Canada and got thrown in with a lot of Canadian kids. So I had to learn the game pretty quickly. “When I joined the Jr. Sabres we played some pretty good competition, but most of it was from up hen one enters Frank Downing Jr.’s second- in Canada. It wasn’t like it is today, with some good floor office in Orchard Park, one would ex- hockey competition coming from this side of the pect to see automobile memorabilia. After boarder.” all, his office is located inside the Ford/Lincoln deal- Two hockey coaches that had an influence on Downing with the Jr. Sabres were Jim Lorentz and ership he owns and operates. Upon entering the office, the first thing you see Morris Titanic. are hockey-related photos. Once inside the office “We won a national championship with Morris you see a painting of Henry Ford that hangs behind Titanic as our coach,” remembered Downing. “And Lorentz and Titanic were total opposites with their Downing’s desk.

Hooked on Hockey

But scattered between the 1/16th sized models of Ford cars you will see more hockey-related photos along with some pucks and even miniature hockey sticks. If you are from Western New York and watch any amount of television, you would recognize Downing from the number of hockey-themed car commercials he’s done. And after talking to Downing for awhile, one realizes that Downing and hockey go together like Henry Ford and automobiles. Downing is a Western New York hockey legend. No, Downing didn’t play in the National Hockey League. He didn’t even play professional hockey for

coaching styles. “And the style of hockey was good for me as well. It was a big jump for me to go from travel hockey to the Jr. Sabres and junior hockey. “And that prepared me when I made the jump to college.”

cal specimen as well, being in good shape and always working out. “He was always drawn to academics and athletics. He was a very smart man. “Red was a role model for me, both academically and athletically. He is an impressive man.” Probably one of the things Downing remembered the most from his Wolverine days was balancing academics with athletics. “You would have power skating drills early in the morning,” said Downing. “Then it would be off to classes. “Then you would have practice in the late afternoon. You also had time to study as well. “Throw in the games, including travel, it was a big schedule to balance.” Berenson obviously saw the leadership qualities in Downing which is why he was eventually named captain of the Michigan team. Downing also recognized the fact that he wasn’t going to make the NHL, so he headed back home to Western New York. He still stayed involved in hockey as a coach and still even plays the game to this day. “I just love hockey,” concluded Downing. “It’s in my blood. “I can’t imagine life without it.”

“I can’t imagine life without it.”

Despite his hockey talent, Downing’s sites were always set on college and not Junior hockey. “I had no interest in going to the juniors,” said Downing. “I was focused on getting an education. “The college system back then was quite different than it is now. When I went to college and began playing hockey, I was 18-year-old freshman. A true freshman. “Now you get players in there who are 20 or 21 when they come in as a freshman. And now, even if you come in at 18, some of the players don’t even finish their four years before turning pro.” Downing was recruited by Boston College, Cornell and Michigan. “Michigan had one of the top three Business programs in the country and they had hockey,” stated Downing. “It was the combination I was looking for.” Downing admitted that Michigan head coach, Red Berenson, was another reason he chose Michigan. “He’s a very mild mannered person,” commented Downing, who was an Academic All-American while playing in hockey. “He’s always been quite the physi-

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Buffalo Stars On The Move

Buffalo Stars Spotlight Player of the Week

The Buffalo Stars Girls U19 showed determination playing in the Lady Islanders Pink the Rink Showcase in the EJEPL. After an 11 hour bus ride the Girls lost to a powerful Exton Elite team 8-1 on Friday night. Saturday 3 games: 2-1 win over CP Dynamo, 7-1 win over Ct Northern Lights; 2-1 Loss to Jersey Shores Sunday 3 more games: 5-1 loss to NJ Rockets; 3-2 loss to Ct Ice Cats; 3-2 win over Lady Islanders Seven games in 45 hours.

Tyler Iacobucci U16 Full Season Team

*** The Buffalo Stars Boys U16 team headed to Ft Wayne, Indiana in October to take part in the National Junior Prospects Showcase. The Stars U16 team participates in 3 hockey leagues including the WNY Hockey League, the Eastern Junior Elite Prospects League and the National Junior Prospects League. The Stars played the Metro Jets from Detroit, the Flint Michigan Firebirds, the Chicago Hawks and the Atlanta Knights.

Tyler “Bucci” Iacobucci is the Buffalo Stars Spotlight Player of the Week for October 17. Bucci is 15 years old and lives in Erie, PA. He is in tenth grade where his favorite subjec tis science as he pursues a career in Pharmacy. His favorite NHL players are Connor McDavid and Sid Crosby and his favorite College team is Notre Dame. *** Bucci also enjoys Locrosse and R&B music. He loves watermelon, the Game of Thrones and Happy The Buffalo Stars Annual Christmas Tournament Gilmore. is now accepting applications and registrations for His favorite Super Hero is Spiderman and his role Squirt, Peewee and Bantam teams, both house and model is PaPA because he has always been there for travel. The tournament runs from December 27-30 “Bucci’s” hockey career and in his life in general. at the Holiday Twin Rinks in Cheektowaga. Teams His major goal this year is a trip to the Nationals. can register on line at: www.buffalostars.com For information about the tournament or any Buffalo Stars program contact Pete Preteroti at 716491-0375.

NST Hosts Successful Columbus Day Weekend By Randy Schultz

he Hyde Park Ice Pavilion and Hockey Outlet were the sites of the Niagara Sport Tournaments “Niagara Falls Columbus Day Early Bird Tournament.” It was held over the three-day Columbus Holiday weekend. The tourney was divided up into 12 Divisions. They included: Mite Minor, Mite Major, Squirt Minor, Squirt Major, Peewee 1, Peewee 2, Peewee 3, Bantam 1, Bantam 2, Bantam 3, Midget 16U and Midget 18U. The teams that played in each division as well as the Championship results were as follows: Mite Minor: Kent, George Bell and Tri-County. Kent defeated George Bell, 1-0 in the championship game. Mite Major: George Bell, Kent, Ice Hawks and Tri-County White. Kent beat Tri-County White, 3-1, for the championship. Squirt Minor: Tri-County, Cheektowaga, Kent, Allegheny, Tonawanda. Tonawanda downed Tri-City, 5-3 in the championship contest. Squirt Major: Kent, Tri-City, Southtowns and NJPE. In the championship game Tri-City beat NJPE, 4-0. Peewee 1: Tonawanda, Kent, Artic Foxes and Team Virtua. The championship contest saw Team Virtua down Artic Foxes, 7-1. Peewee 2: Tri-City (P), Southpoint (A), North Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Tri-City (S) and Kent (Ny). North Pittsburgh defeated Allegheny, 5-4, in the championship round. Peewee 3: Southpointe (R), NJPE, Midstate and Kent: Midstate beat NJPE in the championship round, 5-3. Bantam 1: Tri-City, Batavia, Kent (C) and Orilla. Bantam 2: Bud Bakewell, Olean, Texas, MCYH Eagles. Texas beat MCYH Eagles, 1-0 to win their championship. Bantam 3: NJPE, Tri-City (K), Southpoint, Kent (D). In the championship NJPE beat Tri-City (K), 6-0. Midget 16U: Erie, Bisons, Allegheny and Clarence. Midget 18U: Onondaga, Amherst, Clarence and Schenectady. Schenectady defeated Onondaga, 5-2, to win their divisional championship.

NST Columbus Day Tournament

fter more than a decade of what could be termed, “Missing In Action,” hockey is back at Niagara County Community College. It became a reality on October 8 when the NCCC Thunderwolves took to the ice at the William O Smith Recreation Center in Olean, NY to take on the Alfred St. hockey squad. While it took a year to officially re-launch the team, head coach Matthew Oleski is excited to have a team back on the ice. “I had the total support of the NCCC Athletic Director, Bob McKeown, to start up a team,” recalled Oleski. “I have been playing hockey since I was eight years old. “We tried organizing a team last year, but didn’t get enough students to try out. So I had a year to recruit. “We ended up with a list of between 35 to 40 players who wanted to try out. We ended up with 27 officially trying out for the team and we kept 22 of them on our roster.” The Thunderwolves have 14 games schedule so far with six of them listed as home games. NCCC’s home games are played By Randy Schultz sitioned them back to the blue line on our at Lockport’s Cornerstone Arena. defense. Among the teams listed on their schedule in “I just thought we needed a little help back clude Alfred St., Pitt-Bradford, Gannon, Buffalo State on the defense. We also lack a little bit in size as (Club), Mohawk Valley CC, St. John Fisher, Penn-State Behcompared to some of the other teams we will be facing. rend, St. Bonaventure, UB (Club) and Geneseo. “It’s going to a bit tough, being a two-year school, facing The Thunderwolves hockey team plays in the National Col- some of those four-year schools. For what we lack in size, I think legiate Hockey Association (NCHA). we will make up in speed.” “Right now we’re playing as an independent team because What makes things even tougher for this club hockey team we are a first year team,” explained Oleski. “We planned on do- is what many teams in the same situation face: a budget, or lack ing that for this season. thereof. “Then in the future we would like to transition and eventu- “We don’t see a cent from the college,” said Oleski. “Each ally join the Upstate New York Club Hockey League (UNYCHL) player pays a thousand dollars out of their own pocket. which is a local college hockey league. We would play in either “They pay it in three increments. It covers uniforms, ice the east or west division, depending on how things go.” fees, a jacket and hat.” The following make up the 22-man roster for the team: What about transportation? Sam Barillari, Nick Brooks, Dallas Brown, Brandon Cefalu, Mi- “We car pool,” responded the NCCC coach. chael Chilelli, Chris Borbetta, Stephen Griffiths. Oleski concluded with the bottom line to all of this.

Welcoming A New Hockey Team to Niagara County

Sam Horton, Andrew Kean, Callum Knight, Evan Korpolinski, Josh Krupczyk, Sebastien Ludwig, Scott Meogrossi. David Moson, Troy Pulli, Joe Quirk, David Ressman, Chad Syzmanski, Anthony Vekich and Steven White. Oleski, who is assisted by assistant coaches Andrew Harris and Kevin Beato, feels he has a very competitive team. “I think we have three solid lines that can score,” said Oleski “And we’ve actually taken a couple of our forwards and tran-

“It fills a void,” said Oleski. “Most of these players had come to the end of their hockey careers. “They are at a point in their lives where they have to make decisions. This type of two-year hockey fills a void. “And we want to make it a good experience for them. I think we will.” Your Source For NYS Hockey News!

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made 20 saves in a 2-0 loss to Union. Saturday, Lanteigne earned her first collegiate win and shutout, stopping all 20 shots she faced in a 2-0 victory over Union. Lanby Janet Schultz teigne has a 1.50 Janet@nyhockeyonline.com goals against averJDSchultz3663@gmail.com age and .946 save percentage in four games this season. The Tigers are struggling this season with a 1-7 overall record as they head into November. Their lone win came in game two agaisnt Union College, and that was a 2-0 shutout. At press time they will be playing a Throw Back Thursday game in Ritter Arena against Penn State and then follow that with a game against the same team the following night in the Polissano Center. In November they face Colgate on November 4 at home and November 5 at The Class of 1965 Arena, Hamilton. It’s then Robert Morris at home on November 11 and 12 with a Skate reshman goaltender Terra Lan- With the Tigers following the Novemteigne (pictured above) (Hatchet ber 12 game. Lake, Nova Scotia/Charles P. Allen) of They close out November on the the RIT women’s hockey team, was road to Lindenwood University in St. named the College Hockey America Charles, Missouri and RPI in Troy, NY. Rookie of the Week on Monday, for While there are no New Yorkthe week ending Oct. 16, 2016. It is ers on the team, Brooke Baker, who Lanteigne’s first weekly honor. comes from Michigan, played for the Lanteigne allowed just a pair of Niagara Junior Purple Eagles. She had goals and stopped 40-of-42 shots 11 goals and 11 assists in 50 games. (.952 save percentage), as the Tigers split a pair of games against Union as part of Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend. On Friday, she

Western New York Women’s College Hockey Report

Buffalo State College

Season Preview with Head Coach Candice Moxley

RIT

xciting! That’s the word that describes how Coach Candice Moxley feels about this year’s Buffalo State Women’s Ice Hockey Team. She graduated three seniors last season with Buffalo’s Nikki Kirchberger being a player that will be missed by fans and the team. “That is a big loss up front,” said Moxley. “But with that said we brought in seven to add to the numbers and help in recruiting down the road.” After their first practice just hours before NYHOL interviewed Coach Moxley, she felt that the team was in step and each one will have an impact on the ice. Two are women WNY has seen in action. Lila Toczek comes from the Niagara Junior Purple Eagles and Serena Angelo is a goaltender from the Rochester area. Toczek is from Pendleton and played for the Buffalo Bisons. Angelo played for the Rochester Grizzlies. In addition are Natasha Steinle

(Morrison, Co/ CIHA) Kristine Strawberry (Edmonton/ Hockey Training Institute), Jessica Carter ( Scottsdale/ Northern Cyclones) and Tra n s fe re e Emily DeCock (Ramara, Ont/ Norwich University). Erin Gehen Returning at Forward is West Seneca’s Erin Gehen who led the country in shorthanded goals last year and everyone else except Kirchberger. In addition Carter and Steinle add serious depth and are strong play makers. “I’m really excited about the D core,” said Moxley. “Strawberry is 6 feet, Vaattovaara has been an all around asset for the team in play on the ice and leadership and DeCock is also six feet.” “The larger girls on the back end will just add another element.” Hannah Tarr has speed and competes and along with Kromer and Reukauf there is some serious elements in the backend. In Goal Justine Silva (Baldwin Park, Ca/Anaheim Lady Ducks) is coming back and Moxley sees Angelo as a great second string backup. “We just have to keep Silvie healthy, she hasn’t lost a step (over the summer), said Moxley, who sees Angelo has challenging for the spot but needs to adjust to the quickness of collegiate hockey and different looks she’s not used to seeing. “This is going to be fast, competitive, in-your-face hockey,” predicts Coach Moxley. That’s just her style! “We’ve gotten better and that is exciting. We fell short in the playoffs where this year I think we have the horses that can lead us through the playoffs,” she continued.

While she hasn’t paid much attention to the competition she expects Plattsburgh and Elmira to be the two top contenders. She also sees Utica and Oswego has tough. Justine Silva “Those are games where we can push the envelop,” said Moxley. Buffalo State opened the season at press time with the Buffalo State Invitations featuring the Bengals, Morrisville, Nichols and Plymouth State. Their regular season opens November 4 and 5 against ECAC rival Utica followed by a November 11 and 12 road trip to Potsdam and home November 18 and 19 to Elmira. They finish November at Trinity in Massachusetts. The Bengals are a great way to see NYS players in action with Madeline Kromer from Angola/Lake Shore School and the Buffalo Regals; Georgia Keleiner, (Pelham/ Canterbury Saints); Maddie Toczek (North Tonawawanda/ Starpoint and the Buffalo Bisons); Emma Ruggiero (Amherst/Sacred Heart and Buffalo Regals as well as Monsignor Martin Girls Varsity), Caitie Horvatits (Elma/Iroquois High and the Buffalo Bisons), Rachel Lenard (Orchard Park/Nardin Academy and Monsignor Martin Girls Varsity who transferred from Oswego), Heather Neuburger (Fayetteville/Millbrook/Troy-Albany Ice Cats), Megan Reukauf (Depew/Lancaster and the Buffalo Regals), Missy Mallon (Amherst/Amherst High Girls Varsity and the Cazenovia Chiefs) along with already mentioned Angelo, Lila Toczek. Coach Moxley is in her fourth season as the head coach. In her first season she led the Bengals to the playoffs for the first time in six years. Assisting her are Sarah Landis, Katie Bertel and Tanis Lamoureux.

Lynn Copeland, Camillius Coach Donlon and Goaltender Meosky

University of Buffalo

nce again the UB Lady Ice Bulls may well be on the way to a championship. As of press time they are undefeated after beating the only other undefeated team in the CHE, Delaware, 5-1 and tied them in game two 4-4. “We have a small team this year but the majority are returning from last year’s successful season and they are clicking as teammates even better,” said Head Coach MIchelle Donlon. Donlon added two new forwards in Vickie Smith and Eria Dombrowski. The UB roster is full of girls that played in the WNY area, and several on the WNY Girls Varsity Ice Hockey League for their respective schools. In goal and familiar to us is Theresa Meosky who played for Amherst/SweetHome Katz. On defense from the WNY area are Courtney Thornton, Megan Pofi, Stephanie Pickard and Sarah Sauda. At Center are Alexis Peters and Maddy Norton. Playing Forward are Victoria Smith, Lynn Copeland, Courtney Miller (Albany), Gabby Caruso (Syracuse) and Mamie Talty from Beverly Hills, Michigan. Stephanie Pickard is out with an injury and Caitlin Mitchell is taking the semester off to complete an academic internship. Norton and Peters are leading the league in points. Norton with 14 goals and 7 assists and Peters with 9 goals

and 10 assists. Talty and Miller round out the top ten in the league at #8 and #10 with 10 and 9 points, respectively. The team hosted a “Skate with the Bull” for local girls who want to play hockey. Two goalie’s joined--Brynn from Amherst Youth and Olivia from the Buffalo Regals. They were also joined by 2015-16 Buffalo Beaut Hayley Williams and Dennis Miller, the Rehab Skating Coach for the Buffalo Sabres. Up next the Bulls will be facing RIT, Cornell, Brockport and Liberty. The only home games are November 5 and 6 against RIT at Northtown Center. Saturday’s game is at 2:45 p.m. and Sunday’s at 1:15 p.m.

Alexis Peters in action against Brockport

Western New York Men’s College Hockey Report by Warren Kozireski

Wkozires@brockport.edu

BROCKPORT

Senior goaltender Charles Williams allowed one goal, on 27 saves, making 14 in the second period alone, to register his first win for the Golden Griffins Oct. 14 in Alaska-Fairbanks. Freshman Nick Hutchison scored his first career goal Oct. 8 against North Dakota. Nick Hutchinson (Hicksville) and Matt Stief both netted their first Oct. 21 against Roberts Morris.

GENESEO

The Knights Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony Nov. 19 includes Erik Stevens (Suffern) ‘87 and Marc Miller (West Seneca) ‘92. An offensive defenseman, Stevens helped the program win its first State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title with a 3-2 overtime win versus Oswego as a junior in 1986. Stevens graduated 10th with 108 career points and eighth with 73 career assists. His career points mark still remains second all-time for Geneseo defensemen, while his assist total is third. Miller is one of the Knights most prodigious scorers, amassing 195 points on 85 goals and 110 assists BUFFALO STATE in four seasons. His career goal total remains third alltime at the college, while his point total is fourth. He Nothing like opening a new season with a home- graduated fifth in career assists and still stands seventh and-home with your rival. The Bengals play Fredonia in the category some 20 years later. A two-time AllNov. 4 at home and the next night a few miles south. SUNYAC performer, Miller aided Geneseo to a record of 70-43-6 in his four seasons from 1987-92, including a 61-24-6 mark in his final three seasons after missCANISIUS ing his sophomore year due to injury. A first team AllSUNYAC pick in 1990 and second team selection in Sophomore Felix Chamberlain scored his first 1992, Miller’s 68 points in 1990 stands fourth-best for collegiate hat trick Oct. 21 against Robert Morris. It a single season in Geneseo lore, while his 36 goals that marked the first Golden Griffin hat trick since Ralph same year is tied for third-best in a Geneseo sweater. Cuddemi Dec. 6, 2014 versus AIC and the 18th in the program’s Division I history. Kris Horn was announced as the new Assistant Coach for the ice hockey team following Steve Mallaro’s departure to launch the King’s College program. Horn spent one season with Division I Union College helping the Dutchman reach the ECAC postseason tournament and spent the 2014-15 season as an assistant coach at Hamilton College. Prior to joining the Continentals, Horn was an assistant coach for American Collegiate Hockey Association teams at Oakland University, the University of Massachusetts and Michigan State University.

NIAGARA

Kris Spriggs netted his first collegiate goal Oct. 8 versus Holy Cross. He was named Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week for the first weekend of the season after recording three points in two games. Freshman Derek Brown picked up his first career goal Oct. 18 against Mercyhurst. The team announced 15-year NHL Asst Coach Ethan Moreau veteran Ethan Moreau as their new assistant coach. His NHL career spanned 15 seasons, in which he collected 147 goals and 140 assists in 928 games with the Chicago Blackhawks (1995-99), Edmonton Oilers (1999-2010), Columbus Blue Jackets (201011) and Los Angeles Kings (2011-12). Among current NCAA Division I hockey coaches, only three played more games at the NHL level than Moreau: Boston University assistant coach Scott Young, Michigan State assistant coach Kelly Miller, and Michigan head coach Red Berenson. Head coach Dave Burkholder was an assistant coach with the Niagara Falls Thunder in 1993-94 when Moreau played there. In September, the Purps announced four additions to the incoming freshman class. Forwards Nicolas Carrier, Joey Molinaro, and Tyler Tomberlin and defenseman Tyler Hayes complete the nine-member hockey Class of 2020.

R.I.T. Defensemen Adam Brubacher and Brody Valette and forward Jordan Peacock all scored their first collegiate goals in the opening weekend series with Robert Morris. Through the first two weekends, RIT led all of Division I by averaging 44.0 shots on goal per game early in the 2016Goalie Mike Rotolo 17 season. Goaltender Mike Rotolo entered the third weekend of the regular season seven games played shy of the team record, while he is closing in on the all-time saves mark at RIT. Goaltender Mark Dougherty ’70, Stephen Burns ‘08 and defenseman Dan Ringwald ’10 were inducted into the Tigers Athletic Hall of Fame in ceremonies held Oct. 16. Dougherty (Massena) was a three-time All-Finger Lakes Hockey League selection, garnering two first team honors, and one-second team accolade. In his three Tiger campaigns he made 2,331 saves setting the school mark with 1,091 saves during his final season. Ringwald played in 145 games over four seasons, collecting 21 goals and 104 assists for 125 points. In RIT’s Division I era, Ringwald holds the school record for assists. He was named first team AllAtlantic Hockey Association three times and garnered league Best Defenseman honors in 2010.

UB Men Celebrate

he University of Buffalo Ice Bulls raised the banner at Northtowns recently to celebrate their 2016 NCHA National Championship. Shown with the banner and trophy are last season’s Head Coach Jim Doersam with UB Alum Adam Oetinger and ,Zack LaMacchia and ythis season’s Head Coach Edd Kirchberger.

WNYGVIH

The Western New York Girls Varsity Ice Hockey League gets underway November 21 when West Seneca/Hamburg/Eden take on Williamsville at Riverworks in Buffalo. Puck Drop is 4:30 p.m. WNYGVIH welcomes Eden High School as they join Hamburg and West Seneca. Also coming into the league and joining with Iroquois/Lancaster is Depew. The League is in its 7th season with Kenmore/Grand Island trying to keep up their Section VI winning streak, with five championships and Monsignor Martin doing the same to win the WNYGVIH League. The season schedule can be found at www.wnygirlshockey.com

West Section Notes ..,Ed Guzdek has been named the West Section Girls/Womens Coordinator. His E-mail address is ed.guzdek@ nysaha.com. Guzdek is taking over for Shelley Looney, who was just named Head Coach of the USA Women’s National Team. ...Bud Bakewell Bruins and the Niagara Ice Hawks Announce Merger Beginning with the 2017-18 season the Bud Bakewell Bruins and the Niagara Ice Hawks will merge to form the Bud Bakewell Ice Hawks AA Tier 2 Organization. They will field teams from mites through midgets with ice times at both Bud Bakewell ice rink and Hyde Park ice rink. NY Hockey OnLine Magazine will have a feature on this in their December issue. ...West Section President David Braunstein has clarified the rules pertaining to Tryouts and when they can take place for the 2017-18 season. For those age classifications not leading to a National Tournament (8, 10, 12) Wednesday, March 22, 2017. For those age classifications leading to a National Tournament (14, 15, 16, 18, 19 (girls)) Wednesday, April 12, 2017. Information previously disseminated stated the Tuesday after States and Nationals. USA Hockey changed the rules to 48 hours after Nationals.

ECC Kats Back In Action

he Erie Community College Kats are back on the ice and with a lot of action. This season the majority of their players are local men coming from the Junior ranks and local high schools, continuing their education and their hockey career. ECC opened against Oswego/ACHA Lakers with a 6-5 win on October 14 and followed up with their home opener at HarborCenter on October 15 against the Fredonia Blue Devils, a 6-5 loss. On October 22 they beat Cornell/ACHA Bears 2-1. Playing for ECC this year are Jeffrey Gardner, Auburn; Ian Rizzo, Newfane; Ryan Piniewski, Hamburg; Quinn Finnegan, Jaret Werener and Quinn Eagen, all from West Seneca; Joshua Dake, Hamburg; Sean Goodspeed, Buffalo; Bill Shaffer, Portville; Michael Krause, Cheektowaga; Evan Domiano, Kenmore, Jeffrey Avolio, West Seneca; Flannan Gould, Buffalo; Tyler Donahue, Cheektowaga; Alex Suchan, Hamburg; Luke Meyer, Orchard Park; Anthony Cybulski, Cheektowaga; Mitchell Wartinger, Depew; Nick Schuler, Cheektowaga; Zachary Klinko, West Seneca; Jacob Green, Kenmore; Brian Losel, Eden; Christian Nati, Lockport; Brian Kazmierczak, Boston (NY); Brendan McFall, Hamburg; Matthew Ess, Alden; Kyle Fallon, Orchard Park. The only two not from the area are Brett Fordham from Lake Wood, California and Taiki Satoh from Nagoya, Japan. The Kats are coached by Gary Rost; assisted by Bill Orr. Goaltending coach is Glenn Donato. The Kats are home at HarborCenter on November 5 against Broome Community College. They then take to the road and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t play in HarborCenter until December 11 against the UB Buffalo/ACHA Bulls.

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Players from the Depew Saints skated between periods at the Buffalo Beauts Season Opener in October. (Photos by Janet Schultz, NYHOL Magazine)

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