WNY Hockey Report September 2013 by WNY Hockey Report

September 2013 VOLUME 2 â&#x20AC;˘ ISSUE 10

E N A K T PA ! A C E N E S T S E W O T S N RETUR In This Issue: Pat Kane Returns to West Seneca Phil Pritchard Keeper of The Cup Tom McCollum Calder Cup Winner Hockey Back in The Rock

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Contents

In This Issue: P.O.Box 302 East Aurora, NY 14052 716-830-0182 info@wnyhockeyreport.com Managing Partner Ian C. Woods icwoods@wnyhockeyreport.com Vice President, Business Development Ned McDonnell Commish@wnyhockeyreport.com Publisher & Managing Editor Randy Schultz Randy@wnyhockeyreport.com Designer & Photographer Janet Schultz Janet@wnyhockeyreport.com Senior Columnists Warren Kozireski Warren@wnyhockeyreport.com Contributing Editor Jeff Kolcon Jeff@maksymum.com Communications & Marketing Director Val Andrews Val@wnyhockeyreport.com Columnists Janet Schultz Michael Mroziak michael@wnyhockeyreport.com Kyle Gunn-Taylor Kyle@wnyhockeyreport.com Lars Lewis Lars@wnyhockeyreport.com Matt Ondesko Matt@wnyhockeyreport.com Tom Barnett Tombarnett@earthlink.net Skylar Vitko-Woods

Phil Pritchard: Keeper of The Cup........................................... 4 Jr Hockey Wisdom and Opinion.............................................. 5 Tom McCollum - Calder Cup Winner...................................... 6 Pat Kane Returns to West Seneca........................................... 7 Around the Associations..........................................................10 Rochester Americans.................................................................11 Junior Sabres: Title Holders Still Hungry............................12 College Hockey: Men................................................................13 Women’s Hockey.........................................................................15 Rochester Jr Americans............................................................18 Insight Hockey.............................................................................21 Guest Speaker At Monroe County Youth Meeting.........21 The Whiteboard...........................................................................23 Hockey Back in The Rock..........................................................24 Rochester Youth Hockey News..............................................28

Hasek’s Heroes Kids Hasek’s Heroes Kids Enjoy Skating Outdoors On The Can-Ice Synthetic Rink Surface Provided By Pace Ice Rinks At The National Buffalo Chicken Wing Festival.

WNY HOCKEY REPORT No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopy and facsimile, without permission in writing from the publisher. WNY HOCKEY REPORT is an equal opportunity employer. Contents 2013 Western New York Hockey Report. All rights reserved. WNY HOCKEY REPORT (USPS 7650) is published monthly, except for May and July, by Ian C. Woods of WNY Hockey Report, 245 Lawrence Woods, Orchard Park, NY 14127. Periodicals Postage Paid at Orchard Park, NY and Additional Offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Western New York Hockey Report P.O. Box 302 East Aurora, N.Y. 14052

Photos by: Lewis R. Casillas

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Keeper Of The Cup

Keeper of the Cup the expenses of hotel stays and plane tickets, along with mapping out destinations.)

by Lars Lewis lars@wnyhockeyreport.com Most young hockey players have that little dream in the back of their minds of one day hoisting the most cherished trophy in our sport. The trophy needs no introduction, but the man who is responsible for its safe voyage across the world is none other than Curator Phil Pritchard. The Burlington, Ontario native has held his post as Curator at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto since 1988. Most hockey fans may not know his name, but they certainly know his face (And his signature blonde hair). In this interview we go into the mind and the life, of someone who might have the greatest job in the world to we hockey fans. Being able to spend nearly every day with Lord Stanley’s Cup.

How did you acquire the position as Curator of the Cup as well as the process that goes into someone being hired to such a position?

Growing up I actually saved souvenirs, hockey cards, books, everything sports...so I was kind of like a mini curator then. After high school I went to college for sports administration....and my internship was with the Ontario Hockey League. So that’s where I first gained hands on hockey experience. Then I moved onto the Canadian Hockey League where I was involved with the souvenir side of the sport. Pucks, t-shirts, logos etc. From there I went to the Hockey Hall of Fame...where all my practical and theoretical knowledge was put to use, looking after all the artifacts at the Hall of Fame included the NHL trophies...and I went from there. Or as my wife, Diane says...”I was in the wrong spot at the wrong time.”

Take me through your first experience as Curator when going to a Newmarket Minor Hockey Association function in north Toronto.

It was September and hockey season was just starting. Newmarket Minor Hockey had asked my boss if the cup could come up for hockey signups to encourage the kids. I was the new kid on the block at the Hall of Fame...and when the boss mentioned the assignment and no one else said anything, I jumped at the chance, raised my hand and said I would do it. I have been raising my hand ever since...and that was 1988.

What goes into the planning behind which one of the handlers (Mike Bolt, Walt Neubrand, Howie Borrow and yourself ) will take the job in traveling with the Cup during the Summer when the winning team has possession of it? (Specifics like travel, who funds

I guess we become part of the team for the summer. We are a travel agent, a public relations tool, a security guard an ambassador for the team...and we work closely with the winning team, the NHL and the players and their families to make sure everyday is special for each and every one of them. All four of us I am sure would trade our job in a minute, to have the cup brought to us for a day and be a Stanley Cup Champion.

Besides the Summer trips to have the players, coaches, scouts etc. have their day with the Stanley Cup, what do you do when it comes to day-to-day operations during the season when the winning team has had its time with the Cup and it comes back to Toronto?

Besides being the Curator at the Hockey Hall of Fame, looking after all the artifacts, all of us promote the game at every level around the world of not only the present, but the past and future as well. Hockey is played in 75 countries and hockey history is happening everyday. We are there to promote and preserve the greatest sport in the world.

In your mind, what was the craziest experience you ever had with the Cup? (Or with someone who had it in their possession for the time).

Every time we are out with the Stanley Cup it is special...it can be in North America, Europe, Asia or wherever...all of them are special. I think for an inanimate object that is 120 years old, 3 feet high and 35 pounds, it takes on a life of its own. If it could only talk it would be a best seller. The places, the people, the things it has witnessed might be second to none. I always love going to Finland...they love life, hockey and appreciate each day.

What was the loudest arena (or rowdiest) you ever experienced when carrying the Cup out to center ice?

Phil Pritchard... Curator of The Cup

Commissioner Bettman loves the noise and the emotion in the arenas...as he says. He loves that part of the season when he gets to crown another champion.

Q A

Now who handles the cleaning and engraving portions of the Cup and where is it done? A small family silversmith in Montreal has been engraving and cleaning the cup for generations. Twice a year the cup goes in for a major cleaning, however everyday the “Keepers of the Cup” clean it for another day of fun.

Last question, what does this job mean to you personally? Knowing how special the position is in Canada.

Hockey is the greatest game in the world...the players, the fans, the people behind the scenes are all one big family. To be a small part of that, we are pretty lucky. However like I said earlier, I would have love to have won the cup and have someone bring it to me, my family and friends one day, however that didn’t work out..so I guess this is a close second.

Each year the crowds seem louder...maybe it is the way arenas are built now. However I recall in 1994 when the Rangers won at home. Madison Square Garden is on the 5th of 6th level..and when we walked out, I thought the whole building was going to collapse. You have to love hockey fans, they appreciate their team, the celebrations and love the game. Do you have any idea why at every Cup presentation, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman gets absolutely lambasted with boos and rather insulting chants during such a traditional ceremony?

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Junior Hockey Wisdom & Opinion

Just Let Them Play by Jeff Kolcon Jeff@maksymum.com A few years ago, an aspiring goalie signed his first professional contract. In his first few years, he bounced back and forth between the AHL and NHL. He had a few NHL starts with some success. His coach was demanding. He was disciplined and passionate. The coach did not like the style that the goaltender played. He flopped around, he dropped his stick, he grabbed the puck with his blocker hand. He was eventually traded. After the trade, his new team and coaches embraced his style and his confidence and his play rose to incredible heights. The young goalie went on the compete in the NHL for 16 years. He also picked up 6 Vezina trophies along the way. Most of us would have never witnessed the greatness of Dominik Hasek if he had not been traded away from a coach that required uniformity and status quo. Why would anyone ever squash creative play in young players? I believe that young players should have the freedom to try things on the ice without the repercussion coming from the bench. A few weekends ago, I spent time in a rink in Toronto. I had a chance to watch two AAA teams play. Please keep in mind that this is August. It was clearly an exhibition game with nothing on the line. This was not a tournament nor was it a league game. It was just a tune up game between two teams. Two teams comparable in talents and size. The score was not close. In fact it was a blow out. To me, as an observer, a key contributing factor to the outcome was coaching. Many might think that it is a stretch to jump to that conclusion after watching one game in August. I would argue that what I saw was enough to convince me that coaching clearly made a difference in the game.

First, I should clarify something. Both teams come from respected youth organizations. I am sure the head coaches both have credible backgrounds. They both probably played at a high level and have completed the proper levels of certification needed to coach. Let’s talk about the similarities of the two teams. First, both teams were taught basic systems and seemed to execute them. Both teams rolled three lines. Both teams played their whole roster. Both teams were disciplined. Both teams played both goalies who seemed to be similar in skill sets. What was the winning team doing that was different? The first and most remarkable difference was the level of confidence displayed by even their weakest player. They did not panic in tight situations. They played for fun reminiscent to children playing in a backyard or on a pond. They were smiling and laughing, frequently. Even when going down by a goal early, the coach was extremely positive. In contrast, the losing coach was intense. There is nothing wrong with intense. In fact I personally love a passionate, intense coach. I don’t think we see enough passion in the youth ranks and I applaud any coach that lives, eats and breathes this wonderful sport. However, intensity and passion can sometimes overwhelm a young player. This coach micromanaged. After each shift, he pulled aside the players who touched the puck and corrected and sometimes scolded them for their performance. Not once did he talk to players who did not touch the puck. As an aside, this would lead me to believe he only watches the puck carrier just as a fan would. In youth hockey, your better players tend to touch the puck more frequently so as the game progressed, I witnessed two boys being singled out each and every shift. Don’t do this! Don’t do that! One shift, a skilled defenseman was on the point during the power play. He made a risky, but beautiful toe drag to step around the defender and released a hard low shot that was tipped for a goal. He and his teammates were ecstatic. It was a high point in a game they were not going to win. They celebrated the goal and went to the bench WNYHockeyReport_TipSheet8.pdf for a change. Still smiling and 1

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eager for his next shift, the young defenseman was immediately confronted by the head coach who made sure to display his dissatisfaction for the risky toe drag. The player was benched for a shift or two. If there was a confidence meter hooked up to that player, it went from 10 to 5 in a blink of the eye. Later in the game, the same defenseman joined the rush that led to a goal. The player half heartedly congratulated his teammate who scored and slowly skated towards his bench. It seemed as if the player already knew what was coming. The coach once again lambasted the young defenseman for leaving his post. The confidence meter went from 5 to zero. What the coach got for the rest of the game was a robot. A player that got rid of the puck as soon as he touched it. A player that did not carry the puck or even attempt to make a skilled play. The player showed no enthusiasm nor smiled for the rest of the game. In fact, the whole team followed the lead of their best players. They played it safe. They played to not make mistakes. They played scared. They were not afraid of the other team. They were afraid to either get yelled at or that they would disappoint their coach. How does this tie into a column dealing with junior hockey? Junior hockey programs really are not concerned with the system a youth coach teaches. They most likely are not going to be impressed with the forechecking or the defensive zone a youth coach runs. Of course, the more hockey knowledge a player has, the better. What a junior program wants to see is a player that wants to compete, who is willing to wins battles and shakes off adversity. Any higher level program wants players with creativity. There is nothing wrong with encouraging creativity. Interestingly enough, the weaker players on that winning team frequently tried creative plays. Lets also not forget that the best in baseball only hit the ball a third of the time. The best golfer in the world may only win two or three events during the season. As a youth coach, you may have the next Hasek on your team. Let him play.

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Feature

Tom McCollum Calder Cup Winner by Randy Schultz Randy@wnyhockeyreport.com

As a young boy growing up, Thomas McCollum had dreams of winning the Stanley Cup, hoisting the Cup above his head and finally bringing the Cup to his home for family and friends to see. On a mid-July evening, McCollum came one step closer to that being a reality. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the Stanley Cup he brought back to his native Sanborn, NY. Instead he brought back the Calder Cup to his parent’s home and later in the evening had it on display at the Cambria Fire Hall, located near his home. McCollum is a member of the American Hockey League champion Grand Rapids Griffins. And much like the Stanley Cup winning team in the NHL, the Calder Cup winning AHL club allows each of its players, coaches and staff to have it for a day. While McCollum wasn’t a starting goalie on the team, he was still a part of the first Griffins team to win a Calder Cup. “It was a very long journey, that is for sure,” commented McCollum. “We had a long playoff to get to that championship. “Your goal every year is to win a championship. That’s why it was nice to be on this team this year.” McCollum just finished his fourth season of professional hockey. Drafted by the Detroit Red Wings

in the first round (30th player taken overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, McCollum’s journey is trying to make the big club has been a long one. “Every year you start out trying to make the Red Wings,” commented McCollum. “I’ve gone into each training camp trying to do my best and trying to do that all the time. “In the past I’ve been focused on how soon I would get to Detroit. Now I’m simply going to take things one day at a time and just focus on that. “In my first four years I’ve learned that a hockey career is a journey. You can’t worry about when you’re going to get to the NHL. “You need to focus on how you are going to get there. I think if you take things one day at a time you will eventually get to where you want to be.” McCollum did make it to Detroit, if only for one game, back during the 2010-11 NHL campaign. It was memorable, although not exactly the way McCollum would have written it. It was on March 30, 2011 against the St. Louis Blues. The Red Wings had lost Chris Osgood and Jimmy Howard to injuries when McCollum was called up. “We were trailing 5-2 midway through the second period. Starting goalie Joey MacDonald got pulled and I went in.” McCollum faced eight shots, giving up three goals in the process. He was pulled after the second period. “It wasn’t what you dream about,” concluded McCollum. “But I was there and I want to get back again.” The Calder Cup is the second oldest actively awarded

professional ice hockey p l a y o f f trophy after the Stanley Cup. The trophy is named after Frank Calder, first president of the NHL, and was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. McCollum will be returning to the Red Wings organization for a fifth season in 2013-14. Detroit made a qualifying offer to the Sanborn native and he will be returning to Grand Rapids for the 2013-14 season. “I’m really looking forward to being back in Grand Rapids again and getting the season started. I now realize what it takes for a goalie to make it in the National Hockey League. “I’m with a great organization. They have taken their time with me. “I realize that the good goalies develop in the minors and have to spend some time there. I had a tough start to my career. “I’ve taken the rocky road to climb up the Red Wings ladder. But I still want to prove to them that I can play. “I know I can and I just want to get the chance to prove it. Detroit is giving that to me. “I’m thankful for that and will make the most of my opportunities that will be given to me.”

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Pat Kane Returns

Pat Kane Returns To West Seneca by Randy Schultz Randy@wnyhockeyreport.com

It is early in the afternoon on the second-to-last Saturday in August. The West Seneca Wings are honoring local hockey hero, Patrick Kane of the 2013 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. On this particular day Kane is honored by having his number 88 retired by the Wings, an organization the Blackhawks center spent five years with. Inside the Town of West Seneca Ice Rink over 2000 players and parents fill the ice rink to honor Kane. It is part of Kane’s day with the Stanley Cup, an honor that all players from the Cup winning Blackhawks get to do. As part of the celebration, Kane is driven to the arena on a Zamboni. Driving the Zamboni is Dick Lynch, President of the West Seneca Wings organization.

“I kind of gave him an ultimatum. I told him I would meet him later in the afternoon at five o’clock. “I told him if he was there at five there would be a spot for young Patrick on the team. If not, I would move on and find some other guys. “He showed up a five and the rest, as they say, is history.” Kane certainly remembered his former youth hockey coach. “We have a lot of stories with Kevin Kerr,” said the 24 year-old Kane. “He was probably the biggest coach around Buffalo that helped me. “I have to thank him for a lot. He gave me the opportunities to play for the West Seneca Wings. “It is an organization that once you started playing for them you didn’t want to leave. And Kevin Kerr was a big reason for that.” “Pat came to us at the mite-major age (approx. seven) and played here through his peewee major years,” stated Kerr. “Pat was kind of a quiet, shy kid. “He loved being on the ice and loved having the puck on his stick. He loved getting here early and staying late. “He was a good team guy and loved passing the puck off to other guys for scoring opportunities. He was highly skilled, even as a youngster. “He saw the ice very, very well. He was a couple of steps ahead of other kids his age. “And he seemed to just get better and better as each year passed.” Kerr spoke very highly of Kane’s parents, Patrick and Donna, as well as his three sisters, Erica, Jessica, and Jacqueline. They were a family that was very supportive of young Pat and his hockey efforts.

Patrick Kane and Dick Lynch, WSYHA President. “This is certainly a great day for West Seneca and our hockey organization,” stated Lynch. “The Kane family made sure that this day wasn’t just about Pat. “It was about giving back. This is what Western New York is all about. We’re just glad we were a part of it.” Lynch remembered Kane the hockey player at West Seneca. “We all knew Pat was special,” said Lynch. “He just seemed to get better every year he played at West Seneca. “We’re just glad to have been a part of Pat’s success.” Kevin Kerr is one of those on hand to honor Kane. Kerr was Kane’s hockey coach during that five-year period of time. He recalled when seven year-old Kane showed up at the rink for his first hockey tryout. “He had come to the tryout and it was on a Sunday afternoon,” remembered Kerr. “After the tryout I told the boys that I would read some of the names off and I wanted to meet with them and their parents in my office. “I went to the office after I called off the names. There was no Patrick or parents in site. “I would up signing the kids I wanted to meet with. I went home and made a phone call to the Kane’s. “I talked to Pat Sr. and introduced myself to him. I told him that I had hoped that he would have stuck around after I read the names off so I could meet him and talk about his son playing for our team. “Pat Sr. said that he didn’t know exactly what they were going to do. He said it was a bit intimidating, highly organized tryout and a lot of those kids were pretty good.

Patrick Kane and John Rusinski, West Seneca Towne Councilman. “That really wasn’t the case. They would overload on Pat and he would simply dish off to a teammate who would score.” There was always one issue that young Kane would battle all the way through life. His size. “I think he dealt with that all the way through his career,” said Kerr. “I heard it said in his first year when people began saying, “wait until he gets into checking.”

WSYHA Members Enjoy The Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy.

Patrick Kane reunited with youth coach Kevin Kerr. Kerr pointed out that they were always there for young Kane. That included home games in West Seneca as well as on the road, no matter where the road trips took them throughout the northeast. Although Kerr never kept statistics for public use, he did keep them for himself. To say that Kane put up some interesting stats would be an understatement. “I know that Pat would be embarrassed with this,” remarked Kerr. “But for two years in-a-row he scored 230 points per season. “That came as a Peewee. I never put those stats out for the public. “But I knew what Pat was doing. “ Although stats were not made public, other teams seemed to know what Kane was doing. “Teams would key on him,” said Kerr. “It was generally felt that if you could shut down Kane, you could shut down the West Seneca team.

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“When he got to Peewee people would say that “they would eat him up at bantam.” When he got to bantam people would say that would never succeed as a junior player. “People even said when he got to the USA Development program he would never make it from there. Even when he was drafted number one by the Blackhawks in the NHL the skeptics were still there. “Pound for pound Patrick is strong on his skates. They could never knock him off his skates because he had exceptional balance.” In the end, Kerr felt that having Kane come back to West Seneca was a great thing. “It’s great that Pat came back to where it all started for him,” concluded Kerr. “Pat wants to celebrate his success with the organizations that helped him get to where he is today. “It was great to see all those kids with their Kane jerseys on. And there is no doubt that there are some of them who want to be the next Patrick Kane.” For Kane himself, it was a wonderful feeling. “It is always great coming back to South Buffalo,” concluded Kane. “It was great riding the Zamboni in and carrying the Stanley Cup. “Having all those kids around me with my jersey on was great. I just wanted to give something back to the kids and organization I started with. “That’s what it is all about. It is something I’ll never forget.

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Around The Associations

Around The Associations by Michael Mroziak Michael@wnyhockeyreport.com

Amherst House Hockey opens doors to non-residents

You no longer need to live in Amherst to be a Knight. Amherst Youth Hockey announced late this summer that its House Hockey Program is now open to non-resident coaches and players, including the cross-ice program for our youngest skaters. The season, which began in mid-September, runs through mid-March. All games and practices are held at the Northtown Center in Amherst. In addition to sessions within the Northtown Center, the House teams will also participate in the Burlington Friendship and Amherst Top Gun tournaments, as well as Super Sunday. Registration is now open for boys and girls of all ages. For more information or to register on-line, go to www. amherstyouthhockey.org.

Buffalo Bisons – charging up for CHUCKSTERS

It’s called CHUCKSTERS, and it’s the hockey learn-to-skate program being offered by the Buffalo Bisons, which is entering its 54th season this fall. The purpose of CHUCKSTERS is to have fun while giving quality instruction on the ice. The kids skate twice a week for five months at the Nichols School Small Rink. The program begins in October runs through the end of February. The program fee is $480.00. The skating schedule is as follows: Monday evenings @ 6:00 – 7:00 pm at the Nichols School Rink Saturday mornings @ 9:30 – 10:30 am at the Nichols School Rink Families interested in joining the program must register on-line per the instructions on the association’s website and then attend the first practice, Saturday, October 5 at the Nichols School Small Rink, 1250 Amherst Street in North Buffalo. For more information, and to register, visit www. bisonhockey.net.

Buffalo Stars open season with traditional “Salute”

It’s become a proud tradition of the Buffalo Stars hockey program, hosting its season-starting Youth Opening Weekend with its annual “Salute to the American Troops” Day. Six of the Stars’ boys teams competed in non-league games against teams from the Buffalo and Rochester areas. All visiting teams were treated afterward to a post-game meal. In the upper lobby of the Stars’ home rink, Holiday Twin Rinks, the team hosted a Chinese auction to raise funds for the Wounded Warrior Project. For more on this cause, visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org. Meanwhile, the Stars have also renewed their policy of free webcasting of games on their official channel at UStream.tv. In addition to internet users having access to the games, fans and teams not in action could watch their games being replayed on monitors set up in the lobby. The Stars will continue to webcast selected games of their various age levels throughout the 2013-14 season. These are games played on the rink overlooked by the Stars’ press box. The Stars spotlighted Christopher Botzenhart of the U16 Full Season team as their Spotlight Player of the Week in early September. Botzenhart led his team to the Championship of the

Buffalo Stars Labor Day Tournament last weekend as he exploded for 5 goals in a 6-3 Championship Game victory over the Bud Bakewell Bruins. He continued his scoring touch as he registered the game’s only goal in his teams Regular Season opening victory over the Southtowns Stars on September 7th. Botzenhart is a 15-year-old sophomore at Cheektowaga Central High School. The 5-foot-11 center has played his entire career with the Buffalo Stars (Buffalo Hornets) organization. For more recent Spotlight Players of the Week, and for all other information about the organization, visit www.buffalostars.com.

Cazenovia Park

The Saints hockey club will celebrate our 45th season in Cazenovia Park officials report their season is in full swing. All teams are on the ice, with “beefed up ice time” in their words. These include weekly USA Hockey American Development Model sessions for every division: mites through midgets, giving both house and travel teams the opportunity for additional skills development. ADM coordinator Don Sutfin and ACE Coordinator Mike Connors have held ADM training clinics with all Caz Coaches to assure proper implementation.

Depew Saints

The Saints will celebrate our 45th anniversary the weekend of January 25, 2014. Look for a schedule of events in next months issue. We are looking forward to launching our Squirt & Peewee house & travel ADM program on September 23rd.

Monroe County Youth Hockey Continues “Eagles Nights”

The 2012-2013 season launched the introduction by Monroe County Youth Hockey of “Eagles Nights,” free on-ice development clinics for registered MCYH members. Due to the overwhelming success of the program, MCYH will continue providing the free clinics for the 2013-2014 season. The NewEdge Hockey Training Company will be facilitate the clinics on behalf of the organization to ensure professional, high level instruction for the players. Eagles Nights clinics start in mid-September and run through the end of February, offering MCYH players many more opportunities for extra ice with high-level instruction. “The feedback from our players and parents has been wonderful,” said MCYH Vice President Tony Hettinger. “We feel like we filled a much needed gap and after just one season. The benefits of the extra ice is evident with a large portion of our players”. With a strategic balance of performance skating, puck control, stick handling, shooting, aggressive play and game simulation, the focus of the clinics is on hockey’s most important fundamentals, according to MCYH officials. Most importantly, they add, the clinics bring an element of organization unity by allowing players from different teams to spend time together.

Rochester Youth Hockey – Veterans’ Day Weekend coming to Bill Gray’s Iceplex

The Rochester Americans 2001 AAA team is hosting a Veteran’s Day Weekend tournament at Bill Gray’s Iceplex in November, the Stars and Stripes Cup, that will welcome fellow 2001 birth year AAA teams from all

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across North America. The tournament takes place November 9-11 with teams from Canada and the USA competing in a format featuring three preliminary rounds followed by a playoff bracket. Among the teams registered to appear are the Peterborough Petes and Kingston Jr. Frontenacs. Tournament updates will be made available on Twitter @StarsStripesCup or visit www.starsandstripescup.com. Teams interested in signing up may contact Rene Monks via email at rmonks@normanhoward.org or register directly on the tournament website.

Southtowns Stars

The Southtowns Stars Amateur Hockey Association (STSAHA) 20132014 season has started, but the association reported that its Midget 16u travel team was still looking to add a player to the roster. Interested candidates should email president@southtownsstars. com

Tonawanda Lightning

The 22nd Annual Tonawanda Lightning Tournament will be held March 9-16 2014. More information is available online at www.eteamz.com/LightningHockey/handouts/index. cfm?cat=14398&id=450409#2286562

West Seneca Wings How do you follow a celebration at your home rink that included a visit by South Buffalo native and Stanley Cup MVP Patrick Kane, as well as the Stanley Cup? You go out and win a cup of your own. The West Seneca Wings Squirt Major team started off their season with a tournament victory in the Battle of the Bear, held August 24-25 at Village Sports Center in Fairport, NY. The tournament, hosted by the Rochester Grizzlies, saw the Wings go 2-1 in pool play, with victories over the Quinte Red Devils and Rochester Grizzlies. The championship game was a hard fought battle, which saw West Seneca avenge an earlier tournament loss with a 4-2 victory over the Skaneateles Lakers. The Wings had balanced scoring throughout the weekend from all three lines to go along with solid defense and strong goaltending.

Special Out-of-Town Submission To

‘Around The Associations’

American Special Hockey Association

The New Jersey Dare Devils have announced the dates for the Fifth Annual 2013 Frankenfest Tournament. As in the past, the Frankenfest Tournament will be held at Richard Codey Arena in West Orange, NJ. The dates of the tournament are Saturday, October 26 from 1:30 - 9 p.m. and Sunday, October 27 from 1:30 to 9 p.m. More details about the tournament schedule will be announced at a later date prior to the tournament. Teams may register on the NJDD website, www.njdd. net. Last year, the tournament had 13 teams represented from the ASHA’s Northeast and Southeast Regions. A total of 16 teams can be accommodated at the tournament. Sign up on the NJDD Home Page under the “Register” Menu. For more information, contact Andy Piccirillo, NJDD Team Manager, at TeamManager@NJDareDevils.net.

Rochester Americans

2013-14 Rochester Americans Season Preview with Toronto the last few years, so we figured we would bring him here.” “These are exactly the types of players we want to help teach our younger players about the pro game.” Prospects are plenty with Johan Larsson, Zemgus Girgensons, Corey Tropp, Luke Adam, Flynn, Kevin Sundher and Phil Varone all candidates to start in Rochester up front and McNabb, Nick Crawford and Jerome Gauthier-Leduc back on defense.

by Warren Kozireski Warren@wnyhockeyreport.com The Amerks won 11 of their final 16 regular season contests to squeak into the seventh seed for the playoffs only to be swept for the second consecutive year by Toronto in the first round. But winning is only part of the AHL formula—the team sent Marcus Foligno, Mark Pysyk, Brian Flynn, Brayden McNabb and Adam Pardy to Buffalo (some maybe for good) and that doesn’t include those who started the season in Rochester due to the NHL lockout. Though NHL training camp was just opening as this is written and players were fighting for a few spots, the Amerks will likely have veteran leaders Matt Ellis, Jamie Tardif, who is coming a career high 30 goal season with Providence, and Mike Zigomanis at forward with sixyear defenseman Drew Bagnall from Houston. “I am really impressed with the professionalism of these four guys and am excited to have them help lead our team,” said head coach Chadd Cassidy. “Not many guys in the league have the scoring touch Jamie has and Mike is an elite penalty killer. We couldn’t beat him

“What we need in both Buffalo and Rochester is a healthy competition for jobs and we believe we have that. If a player isn’t at the top of their game, there will be one or more players ready and waiting to take their spot.” New prospects—some of whom saw late season action after their junior careers—could include 2011 third round selection Daniel Catanacci, who scored three points in his first two and only professional games last April and was 13th in the OHL last season with 79 points, 2012 third round pick Justin Kea and 2011 first rounder Joel Armia at forward plus defensemen

Rasmus Ristolainen, selected in the first round this past June, and free agent signee Chad Ruhwedel, who played in seven games for the Sabres after signing out of UMass-Lowell. West Seneca native and former Sabres draft pick Alex Lepkowski was signed as an AHL free agent this past summer after not coming to terms before the deadline and will compete for playing time on defense. He played last season with Barrie in the OHL. “What we need in both Buffalo and Rochester is a healthy competition for jobs and we believe we have that. If a player isn’t at the top of their game, there will be one or more players ready and waiting to take their spot.” Two-time team MVP David Leggio (Williamsville) left as a free agent and signed with Washington/Hershey leaving the goaltending duties—baring a trade—to Matt Hackett, who was acquired from Minnesota at the deadline last season. The backup job will be a battle between Nathan Lieuwen, a sixth round pick in 2011 that played most of last season in the ECHL due to the logjam in Rochester, or Andrey Makarov, who arrives from the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL after leading them to the Memorial Cup playoffs last spring. AHL division realignment has created six five-team divisions with Rochester again playing in the North Division of the Western Conference with Toronto, Lake Erie, Hamilton and the new Utica franchise. The Comets are affiliated with Vancouver and will play at the Utica War Memorial. (Continued on page 14)

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Sign ups start at 8:00 a.m. @ the Bud Bakewell Arena (Riverside Park), 2607 Niagara Street, Buffalo Your chance to skate and try hockey for free. Call Allen Shubbuck @ 716.913.1521. • We’re also sponsoring a FREE Novice / Learn to Skate Program starting November 3rd at 9 am. Please call to register prior to this day. • Players needed for our Squirt Mole Team – contact John Fracos @ 716.605.5344.

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Jr. Sabres

Buffalo Jr. Sabres: Title Holders Still Hungry by Michael Mroziak Michael@wnyhockeyreport.com For the first time in their history as a member of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, the Buffalo Junior Sabres are defending a title. Two of them, in fact. The 2012-13 edition of the Jr. Sabres were the regular season champions of the OJHL’s West Division and South-West Conference. However, you can sense it from the man running the team — that’s pretty good, but not entirely satisfying. “I’d feel better if we were conference champions based on our playoff performance, not just the regular season,” said Jr. Sabres head coach and general manager Michael Peca. “I think we did get a lot of respect from our peers in the league. I think our program is well respected and you’re a target. “Any time you finish first place in your division or your conference, teams hold you as the benchmark for the following year. We’re going to be up against it every time we play somebody. We’re going to get their best effort and we’d expect nothing less. If we want to continue to be atop the standings, we’ve got to withstand that stuff.” The Jr. Sabres opened their 2013-14 regular season on September 8 in North York, Ontario against the team that eliminated them from the postseason last spring, the North York Rangers. Buffalo exacted a little revenge, defeating their hosts, 4-2. The following night, they built up a 6-0 lead then withstood a late surge to defeat the Toronto Lakeshore Patriots, 8-4, in their home opener at the Northtown Center at Amherst. The Jr. Sabres set a rather high standard for other clubs to follow in 2012-13. They were nationally ranked — in Canada, where they compete among other Junior A level hockey teams that develop players ages 16 to 20 years old for consideration by college hockey programs. The Canadian Junior Hockey League ranked the Jr. Sabres as high as No. 7 nationwide last season. They had a 50-plus goal scorer, Tyler Gjurich, who was later honored as the league’s MVP. Their starting goaltender, Parker Gahagen, posted seven shutouts. Those two players are now gone. Gjurich, who was in the final year of junior eligibility, is about to begin a minor league tryout for the New York Rangers organization in Hartford. Gahagen is entering his first year at West Point, where he will stop pucks for Army’s NCAA Division I hockey team. The latter is one of at least a half-dozen players from last year’s lineup who are preparing this fall to continue their hockey careers at the NCAA level. Peca took steps to fill the gap left by Gahagen by dealing within the league, acquiring goaltender Joseph Pianta from the Toronto Lakeshore Patriots over the

summer. He and Brandon Mueller make up an all-new goaltending staff this year. Among the few players returning from last year’s lineup is Lewiston resident Ben Casale. Like Peca, he’s pleased with how last season went but like his coach is hungry for more. “Definitely. It was nice winning the regular season in the conference last year but it left a bad taste in our mouth losing so early (in the playoffs),” said Casale. “We had bigger goals and this year is the same. We expect to do big things and go as far as the Dudley Hewitt Cup (the Ontario Provincial championship).” Besides Casale, this year’s edition features Nick Smith, a North Tonawanda native who studies and has previously played at Nichols. He was called up to the Jr. Sabres briefly last season and this year has a regular spot on the roster. “Nick was part of this team a couple of years ago but decided to go back to Nichols (to play). He thought that was best for his development,” said Peca. “What we’d seen in Nick last year when he was up with us a little bit, and even just a one-game preseason that we had, Nick’s got some pretty nice potential in him. He skates really well. He handles the puck pretty good. He’s not afraid to go to the hard areas of the ice. I’m really excited to see what kind of player he can develop into.” Among the out-of-town players in this year’s line is one with a name familiar to Sabres fans. Daniel LaFontaine, son of former Sabres captain Pat, was a late addition to the roster and scored two goals and two assists in his first two games, including the team’s first goal of the season at North York (note: has was originally credited with an assist but the team, utilizing video replays that clearly show he scored the goal, was appealing to the league to fix the stat.)

Daniel Lafontaine, son of former Sabres captain Pat, draws a hooking call as he drives to the net in North York. Photo by Shawn Muir / OJHL Images “It’s a new group. It’s a younger group but at the same time it’s a hungry group,” said Peca about this year’s squad, which also includes several players from East Amherst, Rochester and even players from as far away as Montana and Alberta, Canada. Defenseman Dennis Gilbert, a Clarence resident and student at St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute, scored two

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Tim Kielich of East Aurora is among the few returning players from the Jr. Sabres’ 2012-13 run. Photo by Shawn Muir / OJHL Images goals in the team’s preseason loss to the Rochester Jr. Americans. He’s one of the defensemen Peca will look upon to replace key blueliners who have since moved on to NCAA hockey. He’s also one of the four players who come into the season already having commitments to NCAA programs. Gilbert is verbally committed to Niagara University. Team captain Ryan Schmelzer announced his commitment to Canisius during the preseason. He’ll be joined there next season by fellow Jr. Sabres forward Nolan Sheeran, who committed last season to the school beginning in academic year 2014-15. Michael Ederer of Lancaster, who scored a hat trick in the team’s home opener, has verbally committed to St. Lawrence University beginning in 2015. That’s been one of the program’s most important missions, to develop players for college hockey. Part of getting them noticed is to help them raise their levels now. The bar is already set pretty high, given last year’s accomplishments. Also in the mix are Wheatfield resident Ryan Kuhn, a forward who played last season with the Jr. Sabres 18U squad, and Tonawanda’s David Hopfer, a defenseman and fellow former Jr. Sabres 18U player who graduated from Kenmore East High School this past June. “I think getting these guys to realize how hard they’ve got to compete night in and night out, and that includes the practices, to kind of build a regular season that prepares you for playoff hockey is incredibly important for us,” said Peca.

Men’s Collegiate

WNY Men’s College Hockey points, and Torrey Lindsay, who anchored the nation’s second ranked penalty kill. Kyle Gibbons doubled his two-year goal total last season and will again be asked to score goals with Cody Freeman. Patrick Sullivan (Derby), Mitch McCrank, Tyler

by Warren Kozireski Warren@wnyhockeyreport.com

2013-14 Canisius Season Preview It’s amazing how a six month period (February-July) can turn the fortunes of a program around. After finishing a game under .500 during the regular season, the Golden Griffins rattled off eight straight victories to win the Atlantic Hockey Association championship and earn their first NCAA tournament bid. They followed that with the summer announcement of teaming up with the Buffalo Sabres in the HarborCenter, which will become Canisius’ new home rink beginning next fall. “From an outside perspective it was a complete turnaround,” head coach Dave Smith said about their late run. “We found success last year, but it doesn’t feel like we did anything different but did find out that our process does work.

Senior netminder Tony Capobianco and forward Kyle Gibbons.

“It will be an exciting time coming after this year. Buffalo State has been our home for my entire time here and I will miss the people such as Jim Fowler who have treated us extremely well. But we’re moving into a $20 million facility on the waterfront in partnership with the Buffalo Sabres and that has changed the conversation about Canisius hockey.” But of immediate concern is defending their title. The team returns ten of its top-12 scorers from last season, but they were significant losses in Preston Shupe, who was second on the team in goals and

Canisius Captain Ryan Bohrer is a senior. Wiseman, Doug Beck, Stephen Miller, Matthew Grazen (East Amherst) and senior captain Ryan Bohrer will all dot the top three lines. The defense returns largely intact with all but one an upperclassman. Seniors Ben Danford and Duncan McKellar with juniors Doug Jessey, Logan Roe and Stephen Farrell will provide a solid front with senior netminder Tony Capobianco behind them. Geoff Fortman and Austin Kosack enter the battle for playing time on the blueline as freshman and are joined in the recruiting class by forwards Shane Conacher, Jack Hidi, Jeff Murray and Orchard Park native/Buffalo Jr. Sabres product Josh Kielich. “Conacher has the highest profile of any of our recruits largely due to what he accomplished last year as playoff MVP for St. Michael’s,” Smith said. As for fans looking a duplicate of his brother Cory as a former Griffin-now NHL player, “he is a different player with a quiet work ethic and a love for the puck.” The season kicks off with the opener at Niagara October 12th as the first of six consecutive road contests. The final Buffalo State Ice Arena home opener is November 9th versus Mercyhurst. The team plays at home just twice before New Year’s.

2013-14 Niagara Season Preview There are quite a few questions to be answered as Niagara begins their preparation for the upcoming season having lost two of their top three scorers, three senior defensemen and their starting goaltender, who finished among the top ten nationally in goals against and save percentage. Goodbye Giancarlo Iuorio, Marc Zanette and Jeff Hannan up front, Dan Weiss, CJ Chartrain and Jason Beattie on the blueline and Carson Chubak in net. The Purple Eagles seem to always find someone to step into offensive roles year-after-year and will need that again behind Ryan Murphy, who led last year’s squad in scoring. Seniors Patrick Divjak and Ryan Rashid, junior

Chris Lochner with sophomores Dan Kolenda (who impressed in the Florida Panthers summer camp) and Hugo Turcotte will get first crack at top line minutes with Murphy after combining for 38 goals and 50 assists one year ago. Buffalo’s Sam Alfieri, Rochester’s Mike Conderman (transfer from UMass-Lowell) and Rocky Gruttadauria, Mike Benedict, Isaac Kohls and Matt Chartrain will fight for top-three line playing time as well. Eden native Kevin Ryan had more assists from the blueline last season (23) than in his first two years combined and will quarterback the power play for his final campaign. Senior Matt Williams and junior Kevin Albers are the other returning starters on defense with sophomore Matt Chiarantano, Michigan Tech transfer Nick Cecere, Matt Dineen and Nick Gawron ready to fill roles. “We think we are deeper, but we are younger,” said head coach Dave Burkholder. “We spent the summer with our depth chart forecasting, predicting and hoping.” The biggest question heading to the opener October 5th against visiting Clarkson is who will earn the starting goaltender nod. Freshman Jackson Teichroeb arrives from the Lincoln Stars of the USHL where he was 15-10-2 with a 2.79 GAA and .902 save percentage. Classmate Adrian Ignagni played last season for St. Michael’s in the OJHL where he helped the Buzzers to the league championship with a 2.54 GAA and .927 save percentage—both numbers he bettered over their 24 game playoff run. Lockport native Chris Paulin joined the team in January, but did not see any playing time. “Teichroeb comes highly decorated from the strongest junior league in the country. Adrian (Ignagni) is from one of the best programs in Canada helping St. Michael’s win the Ontario Junior League championship. And Paulin came to us mid-year under different circumstances. “We’re inexperienced back there, but we like what all three bring to the table.” Other recruits donning the purple and white this season include Niagara Falls native Vinny Muto, Kevin Patterson and Tyler Akeson on defense with Niagara Falls product Pat Conte, Brock Edwards, Phillip Nasca, Stephen Pietrobon and T.J. Sarcona up front. The Purple Eagles open at home October 5-6 versus Clarkson with rival Canisius at Dwyer on the 12th. Nonconference games at Denver, Michigan, Ohio State and Cornell dot the schedule.

2013-14 RIT Season Preview The Tigers failed to advance to the Atlantic Hockey Association final four for the first time in their Division I history, but with just three seniors having departed they are optimistic they can make a return visit to Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena in March as part of the final four. “We expect to be at the top of the league again,” head coach Wayne Wilson said. “We lost some good people, but our upperclassmen make the team click and we’ll see where the freshmen fit in. “We didn’t have a lot of depth last year—maybe 23(Continued on page 14)

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Men’s Collegiate

(Continued from page 13) 24 guys—where we’ll have 26-27 this year. This may be the first year we don’t need a freshman to play on the first line or on the power play.” Matt Garbowsky, Mike Colavecchia, Ben Lynch, Adam Mitchell, Adam Hartley and Brad McGowan all return at forward after leading the Tigers to the second ranked power play in the nation last season. Also back up front is Webster native Dan Shuler, who had 16 points as a freshman, Brad Reid, Minnesota draft selection Anthony Hamburg, Bryan Potts and Andy Miller. Chris Saracino will be missed on the blueline, but Greg Noyes, Alexander Kuquali, Brad Shumway, Nolan Descoteaux and Eliot Raibl all played 35 or more games last season with Shumway and Kuquali back for just their second collegiate campaigns. Junior Jordan Ruby is the undisputed number one goaltender after starting all 14 games after February 1st winning seven. New to the team this season are Churchville-Chili product Garrett McMullen at forward and Greece native Mike Rotolo in goal. McMullen arrives from the Trail Smoke Eaters in the BCHL where he served as captain last season recording 44 points on 21 goals and 23 assists in 53 games, while leading the way with five game-winning tallies.

(top) RIT Forward Matt Garbowsky and (right) defenseman Greg Noyes.

Former Greece Thunder state champion netminder Rotolo joins after two seasons in the USHL with Green Bay and Cedar Rapids. Last season, Rotolo was among the league leaders with a 19-14-4 record, two shutouts, a 2.78 goals against average and .902 save percentage in 41 games. Other forwards are Danny Smith (Edmonton, Alberta/Sherwood Park Crusaders), Todd Skirving (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Sioux Falls Stampede), and MJHL and OJHL Most Valuable Player Caleb Cameron (Sunridge, Ontario/Listowel Cyclones). On defense, Dustin Fostvelt (Edmonton, Alberta/Spruce Grove Saints), Michael Holland (Cambridge, MA/Chicago Steel), and Alex Perron-Fontaine (St. Mathieu de Beloeil, Quebec/Chilliwack Chiefs) will join the experienced unit. “I’m always cautious with the locals. We want them to play, but not taking them for anything other than being a significant part of the team just like any other freshman.” After the home opener October 10th against Colgate, the University of Michigan arrives for the annual Brick City Homecoming game at Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena October 12th. A key part of the schedule is mid-January to mid-February when the Tigers play nine-of-ten games on home ice.

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(Continued from page 11) In addition, Rochester fans can look forward to the Frozen Frontier—the outdoor game December 13th versus Lake Erie and the Amerks participating in the Spengler Cup December 26-31 in Davos, Switzerland. The Amerks are the only AHL team to be invited to the tournament—their first trip was in 1996.

NEWS & NOTES: Amerks broadcaster Don Stevens has been named the 2012-13 recipient of the James H. Ellery Memorial Award in the radio category, presented annually by the league in recognition of outstanding media coverage.

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John Wroblewski has been named as an assistant coach for the Amerks joining assistant coach Chris Taylor and goaltending coach Bob Janosz. Wroblewski spent the last two seasons as head coach of the ECHL’s Gwinnett Gladiators, where he compiled a record of 84-46-9-5 while leading the Gladiators to a pair of South Division titles. In 201112, he was a co-recipient of the John Brophy Award as the ECHL’s Coach of the Year. The team has one scheduled home preseason game September 25th against Wilkes Barre-Scranton at Bill Gary’s Regional Iceplex on the MCC campus.

Women’s Hockey

by Janet Schultz Janet@wnyhockeyreport.com Well, I’m ready for the 2013-14 season and looking forward to seeing all of the girls back on the ice. Keep calling me, emailing me or texting me with information on what your team is doing. I try and scan most websites but often I miss something. I’ll try and make it to your arena at some time during the season—you’ll notice me, I’ll have my camera in hand! I managed to attend a few events over the summer and am so grateful to have been invited.

Nichols School Summer Ice Hockey Camp. One of those I managed to spend a day at wa the very successful Nichols School Summer Ice Hockey Camp for Girls put on by Scott Welch and conducted by a team of DI and DIII women’s ice hockey coaches. I happened to be there on the day Colgate Coach Greg Fargo was instructing along with his assistant Canadian Women’s Ice Hockey Player Karell Emard (2009 Canadian U22 Team) and coaching the goalies, Buffalo State’s new Assistant Coach Lucy Schoedel. “This was a great experience,” said camper Ava Simoncelli, a member of the Buffalo Bisons Ice Hockey Team. “”Learning from al the coaches and getting their pointers makes a huge difference and you learn a lot from the other girls as well,” she continued. “Your on the ice every day and that’s how you get better,” said Madison Sansone, also a member of the Bisons U19 team. Welch is already working on the 2014 camp schedule. Watch for details. At the Collegiate level, there’s a new assistant coach at Buffalo State College. Ithaca native Lucy Schoedel spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at DI Brown University and also was an assistant at Wesleyan University. She served as the recruitment coordinator and goalie coach at Wesleyan. Schoedel played for the University of New Hampshire

for two years, going to the Frozen Four in 2008. She transferred to Syracuse University in jer junior year and was named MVP twice and was also a two-time nominee for the prestigious Patty Kazmaier Award. Schoedel has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Syracuse University. New Buffalo State Assistant Buffalo State opens Coach Lucy Schoedel. their season, under new head coach, Candace Moxley, with an exhibition game against Brock University on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. in the Buffalo State Arena. They opened their official ECAC West play against Chatham on Friday, Nov. 7 and Saturday, Nov. 8. The Friday game begins at 7 p.m. and Saturday the puck drops at 2 p.m. That weekend will end with a game against Adrian College on Sunday at 1 p.m. RIT looks for an exciting season this year as they will play their first outdoor hockey game as part of the Frozen Frontier series of events in December. RIT will face Clarkson College on Saturday, Dec. 14, at noon at Frontier Field in Rochester. The men’s squad will face Niagara University later that evening. RIT opens their season with an exhibition game against the Toronto Aeros on September 27 at 5 p.m. in Ritter Arena on the RIT campus. The Tigers then take to the road with games at Potsdam, University of New Hampshire and University of Vermont before returning home on October 18 with a game against Colgate at the new Bill Gray’s IcePlex (formerly Monroe Community College Ice Arena) at 7 p.m. They then play the Raiders again the following day in Ritter Arena at 7 p.m. RIT Head Coach Scott McDonald has named Matt Woodard an assistant coach. Woodard spent the past two seasons at Manhattanville College serving as assistant women’s hockey coach and recruiting coordinator. He helped lead the DIII Valiants to a 33-18-5 record and backto-back appearances in the ECAC East New RIT Assistant Coach Championship game. Matt Woodard. Woodard played four seasons of DI hockey for the American International College as a defenseman, racking up 29 points on six goals and 23 assists in 133 games. He was a fourtime member of the Atlantic Hockey Association’s All-Academic Team and was the recipient of the ECAC Award for Merit for excellence in the field of competition and in the classroom. Woodard has a master’s in sports business and management. Congratulations are in order for RIT alumni Kasie Strong-Fairbam. The 2005 RIT Senior Athlete of the Year

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has been named to the RIT Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2013. Strong-Fairbam holds two school records, including most goals in a game (5) and most points in a game (8). She ranks fourth in career scoring with 136 points, second in career assists (83) and helped guide the Tigers to a 73-28-6 record, which included four trips to the ECAC Championships. In the classroom she earned academic honors from the ECAC, American Women’s College Hockey Association and Empire 8 conferences. She was also awarded the prestigious Packaging Science Rock-Tenn Leadership Scholarship. After RIT Strong-Fairbam went on to coach girl’s hockey in Texas. She has a USA Hockey Level 4 Coaching Certification and has played professionally in Germany and Norway. While in Europe she was the head power skating instructor for local youth programs and remains co-owner of Strong Dynamics Hockey Skating and Agility Training and Swedishstickhandling.com Her and her husband, former RIT men’s hockey player, Ryan live in Connecticut and are expecting their first child. She will be inducted into the Hall of Fame later this Fall.

In other notes: …Orchard Park’s Maggie Giamo has been drafted by the CWHL. She will play for the Toronto Furies. Giamo played her collegiate hockey at Cortland State College from 2009 until 2013. She finished her Red Dragon career with 45 points on 25 goals and 20 assists in three seasons spanning 76 games. In her freshman year she played for RIT where she tallied 12 points in 25 games.

Maggie Giamo (left) has been drafted by the Toronto Furies of the CWHL. …The Rochester Fire On Ice Tournament will be held October 18-20 at the Bill Gray IcePlex in Rochester. According to their website, the tournament is full. …Where Are They Now? Looking for all those girls that have graduated and moved on to colleges. Let me know where they went, who they are playing for—no matter, DI, DIII, club or intramural. Or have they chosen another path? Send all your WNY girl’s hockey news to Janet@ nyhockeyonline.com or Janet@wnyhockeyreport.com See you at the Rink!

Rochester Yo

@JuniorAmericans

U16 Home Schedule Team

Syracuse Stars Springfield Pics Springfield Pics P.A.L. Junior Islanders P.A.L. Junior Islanders Islanders Hockey Club Bay State Breakers Bay State Breakers New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs Syracuse Stars South Shore Kings South Shore Kings

U18 Home Schedule Date Time

Fri, Sep 13 7:00 PM Sat, Oct 19 TBA Sun, Oct 20 9:30 AM Sat, Nov 16 5:30 PM Sun, Nov 17 10:00 AM Sat, Dec 07 7:05 PM Sat, Dec 21 6:10 PM Sun, Dec 22 9:40 AM Sat, Jan 04 6:10 PM Sun, Jan 05 9:30 AM Sat, Jan 11 1:00 PM Sat, Feb 08 6:00 PM Sun, Feb 09 9:40 AM

Team

Springfield Pics Springfield Pics P.A.L. Junior Islanders P.A.L. Junior Islanders Islanders Hockey Club Bay State Breakers Bay State Breakers New Hampshire Jr Monarchs New Hampshire Jr Monarchs South Shore Kings South Shore Kings

Date Time

Sat, Oct 19 TBA Sun, Oct 20 9:40 AM Sat, Nov 16 7:30 PM Sun, Nov 17 9:40 AM Sat, Dec 07 9:05 PM Sat, Dec 21 8:10 PM Sun, Dec 22 11:40 AM Sat, Jan 04 8:10 PM Sun, Jan 05 9:40 AM Sat, Feb 08 8:00 PM Sun, Feb 09 11:40 AM

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outh Hockey

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2013 - 2014 Tournament Schedule Level Date

1999 AAA Tournament..................................Fri, Sept 20 - Sun, Sept 22 2003 AAA Tournament..................................Fri, Sept 27 - Sun, Sept 29 Fire On Ice (Plus Colgate VS RIT)..................... Fri, Oct 18 - Sun, Oct 20 2001 AAA & AA Tournament............................ Fri, Nov 8 - Sun, Nov 10 2004 AAA & AA Tournament..............................Sat, Dec 7 - Sun, Dec 8 2000 AAA Tournament................................... Fri, Jan 10 - Sun, Jan 12 2002/2003 AA Tournament........................... Fri, Jan 24 - Sun, Jan 26 2002 AAA Tournament..................................... Fri, Jan 31 - Sun, Feb 2 Cross-Ice Tournament.......................................................... Sat, Feb 8 House Tournament.......................................... Fri, Feb 28 - Sun, Mar 2

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Rochester Jr Americans

Junior Americans Finish Pre-Season Strong The Rochester Junior Americans 2013-14 pre-season schedule ended with the Elite team finishing 3-0 to end exhibition play before the United States Premiere Hockey League season opens. Despite the strong play, Elite team head coach Craig Macdonald said the focus in the pre-season is not on wins and losses. “With this being preseason, I’m not looking at the wins and loss column,” said Macdonald. “I just want our guys to get on the ice and get their legs and timing back.” On September 2nd, Rochester opened the pre-season with a 6-1 home win over the Syracuse Stars. After a slow start, the Junior 2nd year veteran, Connor Americans got things Boyd’s energy and aggressiveness lead the Rochester Junior rolling in the second Americans to a 3-0 preseason. period with a three goal burst, and continued with another three goals in the third period. The scoring was spread throughout the team, with veterans and rookies contributing at both ends of the rink. Following the victory over Syracuse, the Junior Americans traveled to Buffalo to battle the Buffalo Junior Sabres of the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League. Despite being an exhibition game, it had the feel of a regular season game. Both teams were eager to win and it was an intense game from the start. Goalie Will Massey played The teams were 63 minutes in an exhibition knotted at 5-5 at the victory over the end of regulation. In Buffalo Junior Sabres. overtime, new comer Jeremy Marginsky earned the game winner after an incredible individual effort. Goaltender Will Massey saw all 63 minutes between the pipes on his way to the 6-5 win. Connor Mclean had 2 assists in the victory. “Our guys had a good game against a Connor Mclean helped the tough opponent,” said Rochester Junior Americans Macdonald. “We still to a 6-5 overtime win against need to work on a lot the Buffalo Jr. Sabres with of things but overall I’m 2 assists. pleased with the effort.” Rochester wrapped up the preseason with another game against Syracuse. The Junior Americans again used a big second period to steal the momentum of the game on the way to a 5-1 final score.

The Elite team played well in the pre-season, but these games were all about preparing for the USPHL season, which begins September 14th at the New Jersey Hitmen Showcase. “The preseason was encouraging but I was more interested in having our guys in games and working on systems,” said Macdonald. “I had an opportunity to see different guys in different situations, and see new line combinations. Overall we got what we wanted out of the exhibition games.”

Junior Americans defenseman Kevin Zugec shows off the new Rochester Junior Americans jerseys.

New Look For 2013 After rebranding the former Rochester Stars and Maksymum Junior Hockey Clubs into the Rochester Junior Americans, the team needed a fresh look heading into 2013. The new look features the brand new “R” logo that the team shares with Rochester Youth Hockey, as well as new jerseys based off the Washington Capitals uniform set. “We wanted to start our first season as the Rochester Junior Americans with a fresh look, and these jerseys definitely accomplish that,” said co-owner Jeff Kolcon. The white home jerseys and red away jerseys will be worn by the Junior Americans teams in the USPHL Elite and Empire divisions, as well as on the U18 and U16 teams which are partnered with Rochester Youth Hockey.

Junior Americans Golf Tournament Raises Money for Great Charities On August 28th, the Rochester Junior Americans players and coaches hit the links to help raise money for two very important charities. Held at Blue Heron Hills Golf Club in Macedon, over 100 golfers participated in this 18-hole, scramble tournament. Golfers battled for multiple prizes throughout the day, including closest to the pin and longest drive competitions.

Rochester Youth Hockey President Greg Zaremski (right) accepts a check for the RYH Scholarship Fund from the Rochester Junior Americans. Due to the generosity of the golfers as well as the many local businesses that sponsored the event, the Junior Americans were able to raise over $1,200 for the Tyler Putnam Foundation and the Rochester Youth Hockey Scholarship Fund.

Dixon Golf donated proceeds from their closest to the pin contest at Blue Heron Golf Club as a sponsor of the Rochester Junior American Annual Golf Tournament.

Jeff Kolcon (right) presents a check for the Tyler Putnam Foundation to Lindsay Putnam.

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“Both charities are very important to the Rochester hockey community, and we have a personal connection to each,” said co-owner Dave Maksymiu. “Getting to raise funds for a great cause while playing a little golf is wonderful.” Sponsors of the event were: Athletic Republic, Casual Friday, Dixon Golf, Double Tree by Hilton, Haylor, Freyer & Coon, Hyatt Regency Rochester, JFS Curtze, Locker Room Sports, Mama Lor’s Café, Monroe County Sports Commission, Residence Inn Marriott, and Travel Team USA.

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Insight Hockey

Insight Hockey by Tom Barnett

The yellow bus in your rear window, the subtle gathering of leaves on the lawn and the increased traffic during the morning commute are telling signs that a noteworthy page of the calendar has flipped and a new school year has begun. The fact that this month marks significant beginnings is recognized by a song that proclaims, “September is the month the real New Year begins.” While the songwriter most likely meant the school year, for us in the hockey world, September also marks the start of a brand new season of the game we love; to watch, to play, to teach, to share, to live. Most of us remember the first time we --or our parents-- laced up our skates, donned our gear and stepped on the ice for the first time. Eagerly standing at the gate and ready to pounce on freshly made ice, or a newly shoveled frozen pond is a moment every hockey player could relive again and again. And now that September is here, we can look at it as a period of rebirth. It is a clean slate, so let’s take advantage of our short-term memory from last season and instead focus our efforts on why we love this game in the first place. Now is the time for planning; as is demonstrated time and again, well-begun is truly half done and spectacular achievement it is said, always is preceded by unspectacular preparation. The extra attention to the details, big and mostly small add up and pave your path ahead. So, before the hockey season gets into full gear, let’s make some plans and set some personal goals. Be the best parent in the stands, the best coach, the best player on the ice.

Great Speakers At Annual Monroe County Youth Hockey Meeting On Monday, August 26th, WNY Hockey Report was at the annual Monroe County Youth Hockey Coaches And Managers meeting. Aside form the regular state of affairs and organizational meeting points, MCYH had several distinguished speakers. Chad Cassidy, R o c h e s t e r Americans Head Coach, shared his insight on the role of the youth hockey coach. “Don’t undervalue yourself as a youth hockey coach. Often times it goes parents, then teachers, then youth sports coach.” Cassidy continued by posing the question “are your players excited about coming back,” stating that about 70% of kids quit youth sports at the age of 13. He continued with a simple formula “habits + character = destiny.”

Mike Callahan, Sr., father of NHL’s New York Rangers captain Ryan Callahan, told many interesting stories from his perspective. “Don’t ask your kid to be Ryan Callahn,” said Callahan, expressing to enjoy the game, the family time and experiences.

As a coach, with the power to set the tone, to chart direction, to influence, start by asking: how can I make my players’ experience the very best it can be on the ice. As parents, with unconditional support, nurturing, love and guidance among our unique skill sets, as well as the capacity to be a major component in the culture and success of the season, let’s begin the new year with a goal to be not only more positive, but most positive with our kids, focus more on fun...and perspective. The rest really will take care of itself. As players, with the ability to be the person we can and perhaps are meant to be, the potential to be the very best player and teammate we can be, let’s see what we can do to improve ourselves on ice and off, to stretch our comfort level while having fun sharing the season among teammates. We all have the power. We all have the magic, why not start now? In an interview for a terrific feature called Pioneers of Hockey, Toronto Maple Leaf legend Red Kelly said “One of the greatest feelings as you get older is to step on the ice with skates on and take skate, there is not a greater feeling and to be able to live your life playing the game you love...you can’t beat it.” But it is easy to forget the fun when you’re in the middle of the season, headed to the rink for the thousandth time, giving up another Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning for your kid. Now however, that it’s September, let’s remember why we or our kids play this game, why you instruct it, why you unquestioningly sacrifice and support it: for the pure enjoyment of it and nothing else. Yes, it’s September, each individual will get into his or her skates, from working on snow angels to snap shots, from novice to advance. We all have the ability to write our own story, give rise to our very own miracle. Everything we hockey players want is out there, just in front of us, waiting for us to create it, to take it. Dreams and a shinny sheet meet again this season. The anticipation is palpable. _________________________________________________________________ Tom Barnett, a native Western New Yorker, participated as a player from the youth through collegiate level, and has been involved in coaching hockey and program development for more than 30 years. As founder and president of The Buffalo Shamrocks Hockey Club, a USA Hockey program, Tom was recognized by the National Hockey League as the 2009 recipient of the inaugural Mark Messier Youth Leadership Award.

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The Whiteboard

5 Game Changing Bad Habits by Rob Sedia Professional Hockey Instructor rob@newedgehockey.com The dictionary defines the word habit as: an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary. This definition, as it relates to ice hockey, implies that “what we do in practice has a direct impact on how we play”. We practice much more than we play and practice is about repetition so it’s easy to see how good and bad habits form. We must pay extra attention to some bad hockey habits that I call “game changers”.

Bad Habit: The Fly By / Net How often in a hockey game have you seen a scramble in front of the net and a crew of puck-hungry players battle for the puck as the intensity from the crowd starts to heighten? Moments like these can get pretty crazy and when the battle results in a goal the crowd can really go wild! Even though these are not the prettiest of goals (often referred to as “garbage goals”), they make up the lion’s share of lamp lighters. At a very young age, players need to create a habit of getting to the net and pouncing on rebounds. Coaches will often make this part of their pre-game and game time talk but do enough coaches make this part of their practice? Following shots and attacking the net is a pretty basic hockey tactic yet time and time again I watch players (at all levels) fly by the net when a teammate takes a shot or after they take a shot themselves. Most of the time they end up curling into the corner or behind the goal line allowing juicy rebounds to sit there until gobbled up by the opponent. The only way to score on a rebound is to be there, so creating a “follow, stop, jam” habit is critical. Unfortunately, most practice drills that include shooting promote the “fly by” simply because it is not recognized that it is happening. For example, I was watching a squirt team practice the other day and they were doing a great half ice drill that incorporated an open pivot, a direction change, receiving a pass and taking a shot. The coaching staff paid a great deal of attention to the pivots, direction changes, and passing yet allowed the players to “fly by” the net after EVERY shot! The number of rebounds left untouched, far surpassed any other shot result. Although this is just one example, this scenario happens all too often. Every time I see it happen during a game, I cringe and can’t help but wonder how many times this player did a “fly by” during practice! It is my opinion that most coaches preach “go to the net” during games in an effort to maximize rebound opportunities but without constant reinforcement of this action during practice (where the most repetitions occur) the likelihood of compliance at game time is drastically reduced. If we refer back to the dictionary’s definition of the word habit, we can easily see how “fly bys” in practice can lead to a bad game time habit. It is not a coincidence that at the highest levels of the game, the number of goals scored as a result of rebounds make up the highest percentage of total goals scored (some sources show it to be as high as 75%). This

tells us that the most talented and discipline players on the planet have the follow, stop, and jam habit. With limited space and defensive coverage in front of the net, scoring on a rebound requires good timing, quickness, and strength, you must be strong on your skates and work your way to the puck. Make the “follow, stop, and jam” a mandatory part of any drill that incorporates shooting (when applicable) and enjoy the additional game time scoring opportunities that come from forming this good hockey habit.

Bad Habit: The Shut Down It’s a fast game and as you continue on to higher levels, it just keeps getting faster. As fast as any one player or stick can move, the puck can/will always move faster so being “receive ready” is critical. Turning away from a team mate when he has the puck is a bad hockey habit that happens all too often.

We have all heard the hockey phrase “time and space” but do you truly understand what it means? “Time” creates “space”, “space creates opportunities. Whether it happens during a break out, a regroup in the neutral zone, or during an offense press, “shut downs” cause a large number of broken plays and turnovers. “Opening” to a passer is a very important tactical skill to have as a hockey player especially when it comes naturally. We have all heard the hockey phrase “time and space” but do you truly understand what it means? “Time” creates “space”, “space creates opportunities. For example, the quicker and more accurate (time) a pass is, the more space the receiver has and in turn gives the receiver more opportunity to do something positive (shot, pass, skate, etc.) Shaving 1 second by opening to a passer and being “receive ready” can help create the time-space domino effect. Obviously tape to tape passes are the end all, be all of the time-space theory – I did not include passing as a “habit” because it is a skill (not a tactical skill). Bottom line on this one is FACE the man with the puck, always open toward him and present a target (stick presence – where you want the puck or move to open ice for an indirect pass). *If you are interested in some practice drills that I use to promote the “open up” habit, just send me an email at rob@newedgehockey.com

Bad Habit: The Fly By / Player We talked about creating time and space so now let’s talk about taking it away. Gap control is not just limited to a line rush on a defenseman, gap control is a tactical skill needed by all players as it occurs in all 3 zones. Attacking a puck carrier requires gap control, taking away or limiting their time and space is key to creating turnovers. More times than not I see players skate at a

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puck carrier in a defensive attack mode and when the carrier makes a move or changes directions, the attacker rolls off, makes a big C turn and re-attacks. This bad habit gives the puck carrier the time-space advantage. Make sure your players know why you do “stop and start” and “mirror” drills during practice as this is a perfect example. Be a pest to that puck carrier and close the gap with stops, starts and an active stick. Playing “big” with your stick takes away passing lanes and puts additional pressure on the puck carrier.

Bad Habit: One Dimensional Retrieval Proper puck retrieval is another critical tactical skill all hockey players should improve on. Many players have the habit of collecting the puck and then looking for options. We need to reverse this thought process as we need to be prepared prior to puck acquisition. When skating after a loose puck, players should focus on two main elements, speed and preparation. It is simple in theory, the faster you get to the puck, the more time you have to do something positive with it. The more prepared you are before you get to the puck (shoulder checks and scanning the ice) the more options you will have. Choose the right angle when approaching the puck, one that allows you to protect it and collect it. Use deception and “look-offs” when defenders are on your heels as one small move (a fake ring) can buy you just enough time to find an open team mate or create just enough space to skate the puck.

Bad Habit: Standing Still The game requires movement and flow, outside of a face off, you should never be standing still. Players in motion have the advantage when it comes to effective breakouts, efficient neutral zone play and of course offensive pressure. When you stand still in front of your opponents net (and it is not a designed screen or back door decoy etc.), you make it very easy to defend you. When you move to open ice, you either pull a defender toward you (creating a lane to the net for a team mate) or you become a viable outlet. The same goes for getting out of your own zone – stand still, you are easy to defend, easier to get to, and good luck trying to collect the puck and skate up ice if you do receive a pass. Players who move without the puck create passing opportunities for their team mates and when your team learns the art of indirect passing (passing to an area that a team mate is headed) the number of turn-overs by your team will drastically reduce (fewer forced passes into traffic, fewer forced rings etc.) Try the 25-100 drill or the 3V2 Sweep in practice – if you would like a copy of these drills, shoot me an email; rob@ newedgehockey.com Rob Sedia is a Partner/Professional Instructor with the NewEdge Hockey Training Company and will be writing a monthly column for WNY Hockey Report. If you would like to comment on this article, ask questions, provide feedback, or share your thoughts, please send an email to: rob@newedgehockey.com

Hockey Back In The Rock

Hockey Back in The Rock – A Fest at the Iceplex by Lars Lewis lars@wnyhockeyreport.com On a mid-August day, the city of Rochester didn’t want to wait until the Fall to drop the puck. So with the help of the Bill Gray’s Iceplex, the Rochester Americans, sponsors, vendors and volunteers, the Iceplex hosted the 2nd Annual Amerks Street HockeyFest a street hockey tournament held throughout the day with varying age divisions from mites all the way to midgets. Rob Kopacz, Vice President of Business Operations for the Americans, was excited to see such a tremendous turnout at the Iceplex. “For the Amerks it is nice to see so much enthusiasm for hockey in the summertime. Obviously we play in the winter and got a lot of loyal fans but the fact that we got fans in the mood for hockey in the middle of August is great.” Kopacz said. Chris Woodworth, Director of Programming and Marketing at the Iceplex, was the mastermind behind this event. He explained how the Iceplex was a more ideal location for an event such as this compared to in front of Frontier Field, home of the Rochester Red Wings of the International League (AAA). “Our location is centralized, our layout is a little bit better, we have a huge facility where people can go inside a full restaurant, free skating, more restrooms more convenient for people,” Woodworth said. “Programming in the past was pretty much non-existent. Customers and pretty much anybody here can say that something as simple as public skating didn’t occur here. Now our adult leagues are growing tremendously, our youth program is getting bigger, our birthday programs are getting very popular and the same with our learn-to-skate programs.” Woodworth also said that there will be a grand reopening for the Iceplex slated for November 1, 2 and 3 of this year. “Our goal is to get anybody who has ever heard of our facility before and find a way to attain them one way or another. Six months from now we are already planning our own Winter Classic along with having a wine tasting event, pond hockey tournament and much more.” Woodworth explained how having time to layout an idea along with building connections was crucial in having HockeyFest come to fruition. “This event has shown of what you can do with some planning and having the Amerks work with us to pull a lot of sponsors. A lot of these people call our facility home and have seen that there is a lot of collaboration instead of in the past where there was a lot of arguing.” “Streetfest last year at Frontier Field really only had the tournament itself, some music and a little bit of food. This year we had so many different vendors, a DJ, facepainting for the kids, free skating inside and a full service restaurant that really helps cater to the whole family.” Woodworth also said that the Iceplex is looking to extend HockeyFest to a two-or-three day event, including a live concert and room for more vendors. Even though the event took place in Rochester, there was sure to be some Buffalo Sabres alumni floating around the festival and as fate may have it, Ric Seiling

represented the Alumni Association while participating in an exhibition game against the Rochester police department, captained by former Rochester American great Jody Gage. Seiling as of 2005 has been the color commentator for the Amerks alongside longtime play-by-play Don Stevens and is also actively involved with the Sabres Alumni Association. “The parent club in Buffalo I know has been doing this for a few years so it is nice to see some of that spill over here and everyone here has done a great job putting this together with quite a lot of teams for its first year.” Seiling said. Seiling also remarked that he enjoyed the experienced, but when told that he hasn’t lost a step, he replied. “Oh I’ve lost a lot of steps.” All jokes aside, Seiling also commented on how this event will greatly benefit the growth of hockey yearround as Street Hockeyfest has for the city of Buffalo. “You know in the summertime it’s a long time without a game and this is a great event to help the kids and getting everyone to have fun. We’ve learned from what Buffalo has done over the last couple of years with their festival and have incorporated it into here.” Seiling also talked about what this event means to him personally. “It’s fun. You ask any retired player from my era and they’ll say the one thing that they miss is the camaraderie. The camaraderie of the dressing room, playing the game and the challenges it brings when you’re playing it. It brings a little bit of it back and provides the opportunity to meet and talk to other people and play with them and have a good time.” His wingman Don Stevens, who will begin his 28th season behind the mic for Rochester in October, was the MC throughout the afternoon. Stevens kept the patrons at the Iceplex informed of tournament results, updates on upcoming events and even did some playby-play of the exhibition game. Stevens praised the event in general, saying that it is a great tool in promoting the game in the area during Summer. “Well it’s certainly having a presence here in the offseason and a lot of kids are having fun and it reminds them that what regular season is going to be like. It also gives us a chance to promote some things that will be coming up.” Stevens said. “It’s sort of fun you know to be out here playing hockey in sunglasses.” Stevens also provided some playful barbs towards Gage and Seiling following the exhibition game along with seeing some old and new faces. “Well they were breathing real hard, we get them in the alumni games and I get a kick out of it. I mean I can laugh at it since I don’t play anymore but it was nice to see them being good sports about it and have a good time and having the fans enjoy watching them.” “It’s kind of fun to get to know some of the people and the people that I haven’t seen since the season along with seeing the kids here and give them the chance to meet me it’s great.” Now with a festival such as this, there would have to be a company there to provide some top-line equipment available for purchase to meet the needs of every player

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of every skill level. Locker Room Sports, located at the Iceplex along with their main location on 2184 West Ridge Road in Rochester, was up to the task. Owner Graeme Low was enthusiastic about being able to promote the store and their latest products at the festival. ‘This is a rare chance to unveil new equipment. We debuted the new Ripcore sticks that came out just the day before (Aug 16) and we’re giving the kids a chance to feel them and try them out,” Low said. “It’s a great treat. I could be back in my store knocking myself out, this is just a great opportunity to work with kids of all ages.” Locker Room Sports supplies equipment for most of the youth hockey organizations in the city, including Tri-County, Rochester Grizzlies, Rochester Youth and Monroe County. One of the rather unique treats offered at HockeyFest was a stand that featured two members of the Rochester Roller Girls promoting their league called ROC City Roller Derby. The league is the first of its kind in Rochester, debuting in 2008 that is an all-female league that plays on a flat, oval-shaped track. Karma~lized, a member of the Midtown Maulers, responded when asked if roller derby’s presence in Rochester is abundant. “Well it’s not as big as it should be.” “People think of roller derby like your grandma’s roller derby when it’s fake and staged, and that’s not the case anymore. We’re trying to show that we’re athletes, not entertainers.” Karma also discussed on the chances of having roller derby as an attraction for next year’s festival. “Actually I’m hoping so. I took a picture of this event and sent it to our board members and see if next year we can have a little roller derby tournament here, that would be my expectation.” “It is absolutely wonderful to be out here and being able to teach people about roller derby and it does exist locally here in Rochester.” There are currently six teams for roller derby in Rochester. The B-Sides, 5-H8-5s, Rottenchesters, Roc Quarry, Roc Stars and the aforementioned Midtown Maulers. More information can be found on their website at rocderby.com. With a tremendous backing from vendors, organizations, volunteers, along with the people who showed up and participated, this year’s HockeyFest proved that with a little ingenuity and proper planning, hockey can even be appealing on a hot August day.

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Rochester Youth Hockey News

Rochester Amerks Capture Massachusetts Labor Day Championship Rochester Youth Hockey’s Midget Major AA Red Team recently traveled to the Boston area for the Massachusetts Labor Day “Face Off” Invitational Tournament. It was a large tournament with 176 teams, from around the country, competing at both the tier 1 and tier 2 levels. The 18U-AA Rochester Americans competed in a tier 2 division with teams from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York and Arizona. The Amerks team, coached by Tom Passmore and Bill Falk, is made up of 20 players from nine different high schools in the Rochester area. After the six hour drive to Boston, the team got off to a slow start by dropping their first game to a tough team from Quincy, Mass. Although it looked bleak, the Rochester team responded by pulling together and winning the next four preliminary games, earning a spot in the semi-finals. In the semifinal game, the Amerks played a strong Connecticut Riverhawks team, in a back and forth battle, tying in regulation and winning 4-3 at the 3:37 mark in overtime. Riding the emotion of that overtime win, the Rochester team never trailed in the final game against the Bay State Breakers of Boston, Mass. and ended their weekend with a 5 to 1 win, securing the tournament championship. The team was anchored by exceptional goaltending by both Patrick Massey and Ryan Schirano. Goals were scored by eleven different players and sixteen players earned points over the weekend. The boys played seven games in 72 hours and outscored their opponents 30 to 12. In keeping with the tradition of this team, the lines were rolled equally. Each and every player played their shift in turn, including the power play and penalty kill, and every player contributed to an incredible weekend in Boston.

Rochester Youth Hockey Schedules Elite Junior Home Schedule Team

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