WNY Hockey Report March 2014

March 2014 VOLUME 3 • ISSUE 6

February 2014 VOLUME 3 • ISSUE 5

2014-2015 TryouT EdiTion!

In This Issue: Jeffrey B. Scott Memorial Tournament WNY Legends of the Game Section V & VI Nick Nickson

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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 Rob Sedia rob@newedgehockey.com Lars Lewis Lars@wnyhockeyreport.com Matt Ondesko Matt@wnyhockeyreport.com Tom Barnett Tombarnett@earthlink.net Anthony Fiorello anthony@wnyhockeyreport.com Skylar Vitko-Woods

High School Hockey – Section VI ......................................................4 High School Hockey – Section V .......................................................6 Jeffrey B. Scott Memorial Tournament.............................................7 Cheektowaga Warriors...........................................................................8 Women’s Hockey................................................................................... 10 College Hockey: Men.......................................................................... 12 Juniors: Dos and Don'ts...................................................................... 14 Around the Associations.................................................................... 15 Rochester Americans........................................................................... 16 Rochester Jr Americans & Youth Hockey News.......................... 17 Zarbo's Counting Down..................................................................... 18 March Tryout Edition........................................................................... 19 Buffalo Junior Sabres........................................................................... 36 Ref: In Sochi............................................................................................ 37 College Club Hockey........................................................................... 38 Niagara's Coach Brezczlowski.......................................................... 39 Top Shelf.................................................................................................. 40 Nick Nickson........................................................................................... 42 WNY Legends of the Game: Dave Rost......................................... 44 Adult Hockey.......................................................................................... 47

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High School Hockey

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High School Section VI

by Matthew Ondesko Matt@wnyhockeyreport.com

Mount Mercy’s Gawronski mans the net for the Monsignor Martin hockey team

You talk to anybody in the hockey world and they will tell you goaltenders are little different. They have to be to want to face pucks going at 80 miles per hour and facing 25 to 30 shots a game.

But, while they may be the most quirky of the bunch, they are also the most talented, and reliable. Stopping hundreds of pucks in practice and then doing it in a game situation, with the entire team counting on you, is a monumental task.

Add in the fact you are a freshman on a team that has won back-to-back Western New York Varsity Hockey Federation titles and the pressure could get to you.

Just don’t count on Brianna Gawronski as someone who cracks under the pressure.

In fact the Mount Mercy Academy freshman thrives under the pressure, and the spotlight.

It’s one of the reasons why Monsignor Martin coach Linda Mroz turned to Gawronski to start the quarterfinal game against Orchard Park/Frontier.

“She is a strange kid. She is a typical goalie,” said Mroz with a laugh. “I just give Bri a look and she knows when to turn it on and when she needs to come to play.”

Gawronski didn’t disappoint in her first playoff game.

The freshman stood on her head making some big saves, including a point black save early in the first period after the Monsignor Martin went up 1-0, on a goal from Madeline Stoklosa.

Being a perfectionist as he is, Gawronski wasn’t happy with herself after Orchard Park/Frontier had cut the lead to 2-1.

She was harder on herself then her coach was.

“You can tell she was pretty bummed out, said Mroz.

“But, what are you going to do. It was a 6-on-3. She kept us in the game so far. I thought she stood on her head.”

It has been a maturation process for Gawronski as she shares the net with fellow freshman MaKenna Walp (Sacred Heart).

Mroz has been rotating both goaltenders throughout the season and has been happy with the play of Gawronski as of late.

“It has been a rotation between MaKenna Walp and Bri,” said Mroz. “It was Bri’s turn and I liked how she played. They just have to come out and be ready to play.”

Gawronski came to Mount Mercy for this reason. For a chance to play high school hockey and have a chance to compete for a division and league title.

And she has done her part throughout the season.

“I had a friend whose sisters went here,” Gawronski said. “But, when I heard there was hockey here, I wanted to come here.”

Just a freshman, Brianna Gawronski has the makeup to be one of the best the WNY Federation has ever seen.

With a work ethic second to none, the sky is the limit for the Mount Mercy Academy product.

Cinderella run has North Tonawanda dreaming of more

North Tonawanda High School made a lot of history this year in the Western New York Varsity Hockey Federation.

They won 11 regular season games, finished with 23 points and one point behind Small School Division B winner Lewiston-Porter. They also won their first two playoff games in school history, a 5-2 win over Amherst and 3-2 quarterfinal win over Lewiston-Porter.

The success has bred confidence into a program that for years has been the punching bag of the league.

Night in and night out, teams would love to play the North Tonawanda Lumberjacks, feeling it would be an easy win and a way for their teams to pump up their stats.

Those days are over, however, and now the Jacks are looking for bigger and better things after this semifinal loss to Williamsville East on Wednesday night.

“It has been a rocky start in the beginning,” stated North Tonawanda coach Alan Zbytek. “We got a nice infusion of a lot of talented young kids and it gives us some depth where we didn’t have to rely on three kids.”

Zbytek deserves a lot of credit for being able to turnaround a program that has struggled on and off the ice. The product on the ice was tough to watch at times, and it didn’t help that there were times when the Jacks had a hard time fielding a full roster.

Those times are over, however, as the pipeline for the program is now well established.

“It has been a big turnaround with some depth,” said Zbytek. “My understanding is we have some younger players in the pipeline. I have a young team, we are only losing three seniors. So, we are looking forward to being competitive for some time.”

The turnaround season couldn’t happen without strong play between the pipes, and the Jacks certainly has that is the play of goaltender Kyle Painter. If they gave away most improved in the WNY Hockey Federation then Painter would win it hands downs.

His sparkling goals against average of 1.83 in the main reason the Jacks were able to compete, and win, so many games this year.

He led the led teams in wins (8) and was tied for first in shutouts (1) with backup goaltender Christian McIntyre. McIntyre wasn’t a slouch either, posting 1.33 goals against average and going 3-0.

“We know that Kyle Painter can steal games for us,” said Zbytek. “We know every game that he will be right there keeping us in. So, anything can happen.”

The Jacks were led all season by the trio of Samuel Rydzewski, Marty Clarke and Curtis Vivian, as they helped the team to the most wins in six years. Rydzewski led the team in points (28), assists (16) and second on

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the team in goals (12).

If you haven’t seen Clarke play then you are missing an exciting player. Not the biggest on the ice, Clarke is the type of player no one wants to play against. He is fast, has good hands, but he doesn’t mind throwing his small frame around and taking on the bigger players.

Vivian is the goal scorer of the bunch as he led the team with 16 goals. Vivian also doesn’t mind mixing up either, leading the team with 32 minutes in penalties.

News and notes: After their pre-quarterfinal win over Amherst, the fifth-seeded Lumberjacks took on division rival Lewiston-Porter with a semifinal birth on the line.

Lew-Port took the lead early, but some big saves from Painter early on kept the Jacks in the game until they could find their legs.

“Couple of times throughout the year, in bigger games, we come out a little more tense,” said Zbytek, on his teams slow start. “Once we got that goal [to tie it] we settled down and played a little better.”

The Jacks would take a 2-1 lead into the third period only to see Lew-Port tie it up midway through. It would have been easy for the Jacks to fold the tent, but Rydzewski scored his second of the game by jamming home the puck from the left side of the net, and giving the Jacks a stunning 3-2 win.

“Our top line went out there and put together a real nice fore check and put pressure on their defense,” said Rydzewski. “The puck came to the side of the net and we just found a away to get it in there.”

It was their first semifinal trip in school history.

Niagara Falls hockey taking the right steps

It wasn’t long ago the Niagara Falls High School hockey program was an easy win. Teams would love to play them, because they knew they could fatten up their stats.

Times have changed in Niagara Falls as they Wolverines had their best competitive season since joining the Western New York Varsity Hockey Federation a few years back.

“We can see, obviously, were we need to grow,” stated Niagara Falls coach Stan Wojton. “But, it’s a measuring stick.”

A new division helped Niagara Falls be more competitive in games, and in turn helped build the confidence of the players.

After years of toiling in the Large School Division, with the likes of St. Joe’s, Canisius, Williamsville North, Niagara Wheatfield and Orchard Park, the Wolverines were moved to the Small School B Division.

The change was a positive one as the Wolverines finished in fourth place with a 7-6-3 record, good for 16 points.

The seven wins are the most since joining the WNY Hockey Federation. The 16 points were good for fourth place in the division, eight behind division winner Lewiston-Porter.

“This year we had the most amount of wins, ever,” said Wojton. “It helped us. It gave us an opportunity to come into the playoff game and compete.”

However, they are still considered a large school because of enrollment, which meant Niagara Falls needed to compete in the Large School playoffs.

In their contest with rival Niagara Wheatfield, the Wolverines fell down early, 4-0, but battled back to close the gap to 5-2. Depth for Niagara Wheatfield was too much of a factor, however, as they skate away with a 7-2 win.

The loss ended the season for the Wolverines, but didn’t dampen the spirits of what the team had accomplished.

“They are a good team. They are really deep,” said

High School Hockey Wojton. “They have a lot of team speed, and they just kept on coming. We tried to battle back at the end of the second period. We just couldn’t pull it our, but I was very proud of our team.”

With success comes opportunity, and the Wolverines believe they can build on the success they had this season. Players want to be part of a winner and the fact the Wolverines won games this year should help with kids coming out for the team in the future.

“Our numbers are pretty good right now,” stated Wojton. “We have pretty good leadership with our captains. And, we spoke about how we made steppingstones in the right direction this season. But, we need to continue to move forward this offseason, moving into next year. To really step up against the big boys.”

News and notes: With Niagara Falls playing in the Small School Division, the Wolverines were placed as the seventh seed in the Large School playoffs. Alex Hailey had a breakout season for the Wolverines as he led the team in goals (24) and points (37) and was second on the team in assists (13). Cody Bielec was second on the team in goals (10) and points (24) and was tied for the team leads in assists (14) with Vincent Colosi (14). Max Asklar played well in goal, posting 3.76 goals against average while going 2-2-1. Patrick Sisler played the majority of the games, going 5-5 with a 4.01 goals against average.

Pray stands tall for Kenmore in Federation title win

“Lauren is a wall back there for us. She makes us a good offensively, just as much as she does defensively.”

– Kenmore coach Jeff Orlowski.

It was late in the first overtime of the Western New York Girls Varsity Federation Hockey game when Kenmore goaltender Lauren Pray came up with the save of her life.

With Lancaster/Iroquois coming down on a two-onone, Pray was able to get right pad out far enough and robbed the shooter.

“Nothing really went through my head [on the save],” explained Pray. “It was just more instincts. I kind of knew she was going to pass it, because they have done that play before.”

Added Orlowski: “Her lateral movement side to side is better that any goalie. And, her angles are always right on. I’m proud to be her coach, because she makes us look good. You don’t have to do to much coaching

when she is back there.”

A few minutes later, sophomore Lina Mirabella took advantage of a turnover in the Lancaster/Iroquois zone and fired a shot past Madeline Norton to give Kenmore its first WNY Federation title with a 2-1 double-overtime win.

“It means a lot [to win the title],” said Pray. “We have never won it before. Winning, I think, will bring some younger players in. Hopefully, it will help us keep improving.”

Coming off a shutout in the semifinals, Pray was on her game from the outset. She was the rock the team had seen throughout the season.

Lancaster/Iroquois was able to strike first as senior Meghan Fonfara skated down the left side and fired a wrist shot top shelf past the glove and shoulder of Pray.

From there, the junior Pray kept her team in the game as she stood tall between the pipes until Kenmore could mount a comeback.

“My defense played really well in front of me,” said Pray. “I was able to make some really big saves.”

Kenmore would finally tie the game late in the third when sophomore Emily King’s shot went five-hole on Norton.

The overtime saw both teams trade chances, with Pray and Norton coming up big. But, there had to be a winner. And, on this night, it was Kenmore.

“Lancaster/Iroquois is a very good team,” said Orlowski. “It’s good to be able to shut down a team like that. They are good, and they are one of the best teams in the league for a reason. “ News and notes: This is the first Federation title for a Kenmore team that has won three-straight Sectional title games.

“This is big, because the Catholic schools are in the Federation,” stated Orlowski. “Nichols is very good and the Monsignor Martin has won the title the last two years, and it’s the thing to win. So, to be able to finally win, it is a big thing for our program.

The championship game was played before the Western New York Varsity Boys Federation prequarterfinal games – so a big crowd was on hand for the two overtimes.

After struggling the first couple of seasons, Lancaster joined with Iroquois this year and it was a match made in heaven, as they finished in second place in the league and played in both the Sectional and Federation finals.

This was also the most balanced the league has been as five teams finished between five points from first to fifth.

The league also expanded with Nichols School sending its B Prep team to the league.

St. Joe’s repeats at Niagara Cup champs; Will-East, Niagara-Wheatfield wins Federation title

The hard work started back in November. It doesn’t matter what you did in the regular season. No one remembers who won the division. It’s what you do in the playoffs, which matters.

For St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute it was an up and down year. This wasn’t the same Marauders’ team that won 20 in a row last year, but it was still dangerous.

Dangerous because they have been here before, and they know how to win the big games.

Their task coming into the Niagara Cup playoffs, part of the Western New York Varsity Hockey Federation, was to beat two teams they haven’t won against all year.

Their road was a tough one as they opened against rival Canisius in the semifinals. Undaunted by the task at hand it was St. Joe’s that came out on top, thanks to a hat trick by Dominic Perna.

Perna, who was on the team that won the Niagara Cup and Catholic State title last year, would continue his dominance in the playoffs when they faced Bishop Timon for the title at the First Niagara Center.

This was a Timon team that had won 12 in a row coming into the finals. It also won the Large School Division. Had beaten St. Joe’s twice during the regular

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season. And had the best player in the league, and state, in Division I lacrosse commit Connor Fields.

But, they always say it’s hard to defeat a team three times in a season, and that is exactly what Timon was trying to do. For the Tigers they were looking for just their third title, and first since Tim Kennedy led them to a title win over St. Joe’s back in 2002.

For the Marauders they were looking for a record 10th title since 1990.

The game remained scoreless midway through the second when Nicholas Zenger gathered a rebound from in front of the Timon goal and slipped it past freshman goaltender Tom Parschall. The Marauders would make it 2-0, late in the second, as junior Connor McKenna scored on a 2-on-1 rush.

Timon, however, would not be out done as they cut the lead to 2-1 with a power play goal at the end of the second.

The Marauders would regain its two-goal advantage midway through the third as Zenger took the puck off the wall and skated out in front and beat Parschall.

Timon made it a game late as they scored with 38 seconds remaining, but Perna scored in the empty net to give the Marauders their second-straight Niagara Cup title, and a chance at its ninth Catholic State title.

Niagara Wheatfield 3, Williamsville North 2 The word dynasty comes to mind when you speak of Niagara Wheatfield and Williamsville North High School. Both schools have been winning Federations titles for a long time. Williamsville North has been the king of Large Schools since the inception of the Western New York Varsity Hockey Federation back in 1990. Only St. Joe’s has won more title than the Spartans.

Niagara Wheatfield has been a dominant team since joining the Federation a few years back. They have been the biggest rival to the Spartans, and it was no surprise the two would meet for the Large School title and a state birth on the line.

Williamsville North did what it has been doing all playoff long as they jumped out two a quick lead in the finals. Three minutes and the Spartans had already jumped out to a 2-0 lead, and it had the look and feel of a blowout in the Large School final.

But, the Falcons were able to weather the storm, and took the lead late in the second period when Justin Durkee scored to give Niagara Wheatfield the 3-2 lead.

The Spartans would have their chances, but couldn’t solve Niagara Wheatfield goaltender Nate Sommers – who was great during the playoffs.

While the Falcons have now won three-straight Federation titles, they are still looking for their first Public School state title. This team last year lost in the state semifinals.

Williamsville East 3, Kenmore East 2 There was a time when it was a big deal if the Williamsville East Flames made it to a title game. They were always known as the little brother too Williamsville North when it came to hockey.

But the Flames are no longer the little brother, and while they may have not gotten a lot of respect this season, there they were in the Small School final against Kenmore East – ranked number two in the state.

Williamsville East cracked the rankings before the final, but ranking don’t matter to this team. It’s where you finish when the final puck is dropped on the season.

The Flames received solid goaltending from Max Battistoni, who stopped three breakaways, as they won their second title in four years with a 3-2 win at First Niagara Center. In a back-and-forth affair, the Flames received the game-winner off the stick of Jason Cohen, who jammed home the rebound early in the third period.

High School Hockey

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High School Section V

by Warren Kozireski Warren@wnyhockeyreport.com Webster-Schroeder won their first sectional championship, followed by a Division II state title and Fairport took their first sectional championship in six years in the Section V finals played at RIT’s Ritter Arena.

The Warriors later advanced to the Class B state title game after defeating Norwood-Norfolk 6-5 in the quarterfinals and Queensbury (Section II) 3-1 in the semifinals.

Fairport won their state playoff first round game against top-ranked and previously undefeated West Genesee before falling in overtime to Massena 2-1 in the semi-finals.

Goaltender Ryan Beutel, who made 17 of his 27 saves in the third period of the championship game against Beekmantown, was named to the Division II All-Tournament Team with teammates Ryan Winn on defense and Joe Schuler and Jeremy Caulkins, who scored in the title game, were named at forward.

Victor freshman defenseman David Farrance was a First Team All-State selection and Brockport senior Brandon Henshaw was a Second Team choice at forward.

Class B

Schroeder, the sixth seed in Class B with an 11-7-2 regular season record, went 4-0 in the postseason with wins over crosstown rival Webster Thomas, Aquinas, Hilton and Victor to earn their first sectional title since Webster split into two high schools.

In the title game, the Warriors jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Casey Winn redirected a perfect pass from the corner by Joe Schuler at 6:36 of the first period.

They made it 2-0 when Matt Montgomery pounded in the rebound of a Schuler shot on the power play at 11:59 of the second period.

Victor threatened in the third as David Farrance had his shot from the right point stopped as was the rebound attempt from Kyle Pooler. Three minutes later a wrister from Eric Haney went off the glove of Schroder goaltender Ryan Buetel and dribbled wide of the net.

“We played a tough schedule and it helps when you’re tested all year and I think that really came into play when it came down to it; we knew how to win those tough games,” said Schuler.

On the first goal, Schuler said “we work on that power play all the time in practice with the backdoor look. I can’t say enough about these guys. We knew we could

do it because we knew what we had.”

Buetel stopped 16 shots to pick up the shutout.

“It feels really good. We worked hard all season and couldn’t ask for anything more. (Webster) Thomas has a ton of banners hanging at the rink and now we finally have one.”

The Warriors clinched the title as Montgomery scored an empty net goal with 23 seconds remaining and was named Offensive Most Valuable Player. Winn took Defensive Most Valuable Player and Schuler was named Most Valuable Player.

Class A Fairport avenged an overtime defeat to McQuaid that ended their season last year in the semi-finals to beat the Knights this season—again in the semi’s—in triple overtime on a goal by Quinn Wiedemer. That vaulted them into the final against a Greece Thunder team that advanced by defeating Churchville-Chili and top-seed Pittsford to advance.

After a scoreless first period, the Red Raiders got on the board first at 4:10 of the second on a Pat Doud slapshot from the right point with assists from Nick Musshaven.

They made it 2-0 in the final minute of the second as Cody Howatt wristed a screen shot through the goaltenders legs with assists to Alex Schoepfel and Cameron Gebhardt.

The Thunder put on some pressure in the third. With 7:30 left in regulation, Codey Mazeau forced a turnover and passed to Anthony Fedele, who backhand attempt was stopped by Fairport goaltender Ethan Kaiser. A late Thunder powerplay netted just one shot on goal and they pulled their goaltender with 1:31 remaining, but two penalties negated any chance to tie.

Fairport’s Jared Carlston scored a five-on-three power play goal off an assist by Wiedemer to seal the title at 14:17.

“We had a terrible third period; they were all over us,” said Fairport’s sophomore goaltender Ethan Kaiser. “We played good defensively though and were able to get it out of the zone when it mattered. In the locker room we said that defense was first.”

“I’ve been waiting three years for this,” said senior defenseman Pat Doud. “Sophomore year we lost to Victor and last year to McQuaid in the semi’s in overtime.

Especially senior year I couldn’t ask for anything more.

(On his goal) “I had an open lane. (Nick) Musshaven gave me the pass and I just walked in and let it rip. I saw it hit the twine and I couldn’t be happier. At the beginning of the year when we lost to Brighton and went on a losing streak, I never thought we would win the championship. But team bonding really helped halfway through the year and here we are.”

Fairport’s Nick Musshaven was named Offensive Most Valuable Player, Kaiser, who made 21 saves in the shutout, Defensive Most Valuable Player and Howatt Most Valuable Player.

Scholarship Spencerport senior Jackson Charron was named the 2013-14 recipient of the Thomas Nichols Scholarship between Section V hockey’s Class A and B championship games held last weekend at Ritter Arena on the RIT campus.

Charron was second on the Rangers this past season with 13 goals and added nine assists to help his team to a 13-7 record and second place in the West Division.

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Charron is the oldest son of Rochester Americans Hall of Famer Craig Charron.

All-League Division I Pittsford’s Greg Weyl was named Player of the Year after his 22 goal—44 point campaign. Teammates Tim Foster (47 points), Chris Perna and Danny Kelly (leagueleading 15 wins) were First Team selections at forward, defense and goaltender respectively. Brighton’s Ernie Clement 52 points) and Greece Thunder Anthony Fedele (35 points) were the other two First Team forwards while Jared Kachaylo of Penfield was the other First Team defenseman.

Named to the Second Team were Joe Schuler (F) and Ryan Winn (D) from Webster-Schroeder, Quinn Wiedemer (F) and Ethan Kaiser (G) of Fairport, Brian Wall (F) from Penfield and Zach Buccholz (D) from the Greece Thunder.

Pittsford’s Steve Thering was named Coach of the Year.

All League Division II – East Victor freshman defenseman David Farrance was named Player of the Year after leading the division with 31 goals while teammate Christian Portland (division leading 11 wins) was First Team Goaltender.

Aquinas forwards Jimmy Diliberto (league leading 61 points) and Connor Hynes (37 points) along with defenseman Trevor Dennis were also First Team selections as were forward Graham Gooch (38 points) and defenseman Theo Cup of Irondequoit.

Second Team forwards were Kyle Pooler (Victor), Anthony Thurston (Irondequoit) and Ben Myles (Canandaigua). Defenseman were RJ Miller (Victor) and Matt Comanzo (Irondequoit) and the Goaltender was Justin Nevinger (Aquinas).

Rick Giuffrida of Irondequoit was named Coach of the Year.

All League Division III – West Hilton forwards Sean Robson and Frank Gaffney were named First Team as was defenseman Alex Whitehair.

Defenseman Brian Mangene was a Second Team selection. Robson and Gaffney tied for the team lead in points with 42 each and combined for 46 of the team’s season total of 102 goals. Whitehair tied for third on the squad in assists and led Cadets defenseman with 23 points while Mangene finished with nine points as a shutdown defenseman.

Spencerport forward Brandon Corey, defenseman Aidan Conolly and goaltender Ryan Shirano completed the First Team. Corey led the team with 25 goals and tied for the team lead with 35 points, Conolly led all team defenseman with 16 assists and 19 points and Shirano was in net for all 13 team wins while sporting a 2.89 goals against average.

Churchville-Chili forwards Ryan Cosgrove and Connor Hoyng were Second Team picks after finishing 1-2 on the Saints in scoring with 34 and 27 points respectively.

Brockport senior forward Brandon Henshaw was named Division III Player of the Year after leading the entire league with 35 goals and finishing second with 54 points in 20 regular season games.

Hilton’s Chris Monfiletto and Spencerport’s Jason Rich were named co-Coaches of the Year in Division III. First Team defenseman.

Jeffrey B. Scott Memorial

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Jeffrey B. Scott Memorial Hockey Tournament

by Randy Schultz Randy@wnyhockeyreport.com Jeffrey B. Scott wore many hats as an 11 year-old back in 1982. He was a son, brother, student and friend. He was also a devoted hockey player.

But all of that came to an end on March 27, 1982 when Scott suddenly died. Ironically he passed away moments after scoring the winning goal in a local street hockey game.

Christopher Scott, Jeffrey’s younger brother, remembers that day as though it were yesterday. But Christopher also recalled a day that shocked him and helped him make a life-changing decision that has had an on-going effect for over a decade.

“I remember walking into the Cheektowaga Rec Center,” said Christopher. “A jersey dedicated to the memory of my brother had been framed and was always on the trophy case.

“On this particular day I came in and it was gone. I was bothered that it was gone.

“What I didn’t know at the time was that the jersey had been taken out to be reframed. But I still wanted to do something in Jeff’s memory.

“But I wanted to do something. I didn’t know a thing about hockey and still don’t.

“But I went to Dave Miller, my brother’s best friend and who was with him the day he died, and we organized a tournament. The Jeffrey B. Scott Memorial Hockey Tournament was born as we approached the 20th anniversary of Jeff’s death.”

The 13th annual Jeffrey B. Scott Memorial Hockey Tournament was held from March 7-9 at the Cheektowaga Rec Center. The Buffalo Bisons E team won their second JBS Memorial Hockey Tournament in-a-row, defeating the Cheektowaga Warriors, 4-2.

But as Christopher, this tournament is more than winning and losing.

“To me, it just didn’t seem right at the time that all the world had left of my brother was that old jersey and a faded picture,” continued Christopher. “I didn’t want my brother to be gone or his memory forgotten.

“So the tournament was created. It was to be for 11 and 12 year olds.

“It would be held in the Cheektowaga Rec Center. But most importantly I wanted to help make a difference in at least one child’s life.”

When Jeffrey passed away, the medical report said that he had died from a “sudden cardiac death due to a lethal rhythm disturbance related to a congenital heart valve defect.’ In simple terms Jeffrey died because of congenital heart failure.

One of the additions to this year’s tournament was to have the Madison McCarthy Cardiac Care Coalition For Children at the arena for one day for screening children ages 5 to 20. The screening was free of charge.

“While the prevailing perception is that heart disease is primarily an adult disease, there are thousands of seemingly healthy youth who suddenly and unexpectedly suffer fatal or severely debilitating consequences due to undetected heart conditions,” said Suzy McCarthy, Cardiac Screening Coordinator.

Each year before the tournament final, there is a presentation in conjunction with the Madison McCarthy Cardiac Care Coalition for Children of AED machines to those in need of the potential lifesaving device.

“The AEDs are donated to hockey rinks and other youth facilities around Western New York,” said Christopher. “And wherever an AED is, there will be a plaque with Jeff’s name on it so people know where it is from.

“Up until this year, we have raised over $165,000 and “It was the happiest I had ever seen Jeff. He had been denoted 47 AEDs. This year out to Sabreland (now known as Hockey Outlet) earlier four organizations have been chosen including the that day.

Clarence Youth Football and Cheer Association, Losson “He had gotten the opportunity to meet some of the Park, Brighton Ice Rink and Lincoln Ice Rink.

Buffalo Sabres. He was on top of the world.

“There will be two more organizations chosen in the “Those were his heroes. It was big moment for him. near future to make the total this year at six.”

“Then we had this street hockey game. Jeff played in One of the co-organizers for the event this year is Eric that because he was all about hockey.

Godzich, an employee for the Town of Cheektowaga, who, in part, runs the Cheektowaga Warriors hockey “But that day he had uncharacteristically sat down to program. rest a couple of times. But with the game tied at 9-9 he came back in and ended up scoring the winning goal.

“I got involved 13 years ago helping out at the tournament as a kid,” recalled Godzich. “I take care of “He laid down right after that and a couple of us laid all the hockey operations for the tournament including down with him. We got up. organizing the eight house teams and putting together “But Jeffrey never got back up. He was gone minutes their time schedules. after scoring that winning goal.”

“Most of the teams are local, although we have “I’m so proud to be a part of this. It is the best way to drawn a couple of teams from the Rochester area over keep Jeffrey’s memory alive. the years.”

“Christopher has done a great job with this. The other Interestingly, there is a connection between Godzich volunteers who take part have done an outstanding and Jeffrey. job.

“I really didn’t discover this until I really got involved “It’s an opportunity for family and friends of Jeffrey with the tournament as an organizer,” stated Godzich. to get together for some fun and remembering. In the “Jeffrey died on March 27, 1982. end it is for the kids.

“Ironically on March 28, 1982 I was born. It became a “It’s to help out kids. It’s for kids playing hockey in case of one life ending and another beginning.

Jeffrey’s memory.

“And somehow we connected in later years.”

“We don’t want people to forget Jeffrey Scott.”

Over the past 13 years the Hockey Tournament has taken on a life of its own. In addition to the eight travel teams that participate in the tournament, there is an open skate where young and old alike can skate just prior to the championship game.

In addition there are hockeyrelated items raffled off to raise money.

Miller, who has been involved with the tournament since its inception, summed up the event.

“Jeffrey was my best friend,” remembered Miller. “He was a very athletic boy.

Shown here are Nathan “We played all MacVitie, C indy W the sports together, All will be re hite, Christopher Sco tt, ceiving defi including hockey, baseball, golf brillators fo Jim Rogowski. r their aware and soccer. He was a great friend. ness.

“Yes, I was there the day he died. Jeff had the best hockey day of his life.

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8

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Cheektowaga Warriors

9

Cheektowaga Warriors... Champs

by Randy Schultz Randy@wnyhockeyreport.com When the Cheektowaga Warriors opened their 2013-14 hockey season, head coach Steve Ferrentino knew he had a good team. He just wasn’t sure how good.

But as history shows this year the Warriors finished with a League record of 15-0-1, a record against New York State teams of 42-0-3 and a final overall record of 42-7-3. Along the way they captured their 10th WNYHSCHL Small School Championship, the Cheektowaga Christmas Tournament, a League championship, as well as a New York State Championship.

“We only lost five seniors off of last years team which began a winning streak near the end of last season,” commented Ferrentino. “We had won on Super Sunday last year in double-overtime against Starpoint and then went on to win the State Championship in Jamestown.

“The team continued streaking this year. We had 10 seniors on the team, including 6-4, 200-pound defenseman Nick Schuler, who came back to Cheektowaga this year after spending the past two years in Florida. That really helped us out on the blue line.

“The rest of the team seemed to pick up where they left off last year. We had a pretty fast team of players who never seemed to give up.

“We had two very strong scoring lines, a solid third line, as well as a strong, big defense as well as an excellent goaltender.”

Good hockey teams will tell you that you always build

from the goaltender out. This year the Warriors had senior Jordan Meyer back in the nets, who finished the season with a 1.79 GAA in 34 games.

Up front there was the line of Randy Szymkowiak, Jordan Pocobello and Anthony Cybulski. Pocobello led the team in scoring with 130 point, while Pcobello and Cybulski were tied for the team lead in goals with 51.

The second line consisted of Joe Valentino, Jason Malkowski and Mike Swacha. All three scored 20 or more goals on the season.

There were four returning defensemen who joined Schuler on defense. The four included Kyle Ponosny, Mike Krause, Lucas Chojnicki and Robby Michalowski.

Schuler added some offense to the defense, scoring 20 goals and 53 points, while Ponosny added 15 goals.

The game that really showed what this team was made of came during the Super Sunday championship first one there and our sixth overall. We won, 4-3, in front game against Starpoint. of over 2000 people.”

“We trailed 2-1 going into the third period and tied Ferrentino is very proud of his team. the game at two,” remembered Ferrentino. “We fell “I have to give a lot of credit to the parents who gave behind by one, but ended up tying the game again with of their time, as well as helping with raising money. less than 80 seconds to play.

“In the end it was very beneficial with all of the “We ended up winning in overtime on a goal by championships. The kids did all the on-ice work. The Swacha. It was his second goal of the game. Pocobello parents and volunteers did all of the off-ice work also scored two.

“It was, and is, truly a group effort.”

“We just never gave up.

“From there it was on to Long Island where we had never won the State’s before. It wasUBNS_WNY pretty sweet to win our Hockey_2012_Layout 1 9/4/12 9:39 AM Page 1

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Women’s Hockey

10

Women’s Hockey and a final goal in the third. Marielle Buffamonte scored Monsignor Martin’s lone goal at 13:05 of the third.

by Janet Schultz Janet@wnyhockeyreport.com

WNYGVIH Kenmore not only took the Section VI championship for the third time but they took the 2014 WNY Girl’s Varsity Ice Hockey Federation Championship.

It was a Valentine’s Day Championship game as Kenmore took the ice to face Lancaster/Iroquois in Lan/ Iro first playoff series in four years. Lancaster/Iroquois got on the scoreboard first on a shot from Meghan Fonfara. Second period went scoreless and ends 1-0 in favor of Lancaster/Iroquois. In the third period Emily King ties the game at 9:21 taking the game into overtime. First overtime—scoreless! At 1:37 of the second overtime Lina Mirabella gets one past Maddy Norton and Kenmore wins the championship. Stellar in goal for Kenmore was Lauren Pray.

WNYGVIH All League Named Named to the 2014 WNYGVIH Federation All League First Team: Forwards Erin Gehen (Williamsville), Rachel Lenard (MMHSAA), Missy Mallon (Amherst/Sweet Home). On Defense: Rachel Grampp (Williamsville), Maddy Grisko (Amherst/Sweet Home) and in goal, Lauren Pray (Kenmore).

RIT In their second season as a DI hockey team the RIT Women have taken the College Hockey America Championship. However, due to a two-year probationary period they are unable to play in the NCAA Frozen Four.

They took the championship after beating #8 Mercyhurst 2-1.

Junior Defensemen Lindsay Grigg scored with 6:17 second left in the second overtime to take the RIT women to a 20-15-3 season and to the CHA Championship.

“The girls played extremely hard and left it all on the ice to earn this championship,” said RIT Head Coach Scott McDonald. “We came to compete this weekend and I couldn’t be happier with this group.”

Named to the Second Team: Forwards: Meghan Fonfara (Lancaster/Iroquois), Sarah Scolnick (Williamsville) and Jill Battista (Kenmore). At Defense: Kaeli Mathias (Kenmore), Megan Ruekauf (Lancaster/Iroquois) and in Goal: Theresa Meosky (Williamsville).

Kenmore women, the 2014 WNY Girl's Varsity Ice Hockey Federation Champs.

After traveling to Clayton (NY) for the NYS Girl’s Varsity Ice Hockey Championships and losing to Potsdam they traveled back home to open the WNYGVIH quarterfinals as the final game of the night against West Seneca.

Opening the evening it was #6 Frontier/Orchard Park against #3 Monsignor Martin, who were defending the 2013 championship. Monsignor Martin got on the scoreboard first on a shot by Madeline Stoklosa.

Captain Rachel Lenard put in the second goal. Frontier/ OP answered back with a power play goal and the game ended 2-1 in favor of Monsignor Martin.

Game two found four-time last place Lancaster/ Iroquois on the winning side with a 4-0 victory over first-year WNYGVIH team Nichols. Iroquois’ girls also are in their first season as teammates of Lancaster.

Amherst/Sweet Home and Williamsville went scoreless throughout the first period in game three of the evening. All three of the Katz goals came in the second with Williamsville putting two on the board in the third period. It ended there with the Katz beating Williamsville 3-2.

Kenmore and West Seneca went scoreless in the first period of the final game that evening. Kenmore scored 3 and West Seneca 2 in the third period and it ends with Kenmore 4-2 over West Seneca sending Kenmore to the semi-finals.

Kenmore and Amherst/Sweet Home had the first game of a double-header in the Semi-finals. Kenmore got on the scoreboard first period with two, another in the second and an empty netter in the third to secure a 4-0 shut out.

Monsignor Martin’s chance to head to the finals was squelched when Lancaster/Iroquois beat them 4-1 in the final game of the semi-finals. Lancaster/Iroquois scored two in the first, a short-handed in the second

Honorable mention went to Forwards Caitlin Horvatits (Lancaster/Iroquois), Marissa Janiga (Nichols), Jordan Roetzer (Williamsville), Oliva Smith (Kenmore) and Emily King (Kenmore). Defense: Brianna Colucci (Lancaster/Iroquois), Amelia Gajewski (MMHSAA), Grace Simmons (Kenmore), Jessica Urbank (Orchard Park/Frontier), Shannon Moran (MMHSAA), Kathryn Darling (Nichols), Renee Lauer (Amherst/Sweet Home).

Goalies: Madeline Norton (Lancaster/Iroquois), Mikaela Ditonto (Orchard Park/Frontier), Margaret Janiga (Nichols), Madison Aston (Amherst/Sweet Home), Grianna Gawronski (MMHSAA) and Abbie Mutton (West Seneca).

Seniors Honored WNYGVIH teams honored their Senior class at the final home games.

Congratulations goes to: Amherst/Sweet Home’s Madeline Grisko, Brianna Stressinger, Katelyn Koester, Madison Kather Missy Mallon, all who played since the varsity team took the ice four years ago. Also graduating who joined the team this season are Rachel Ruback, Jenna Battaglia and Emily Bitka.

Kenmore: Jill Battista, Kaeli Mathais and Brianne Mathais.

Lancaster/Iroquois: Caitlin Horvatits. Kara Orlowski, Kimberly Corrie, Meghan Fonfara, Monsignor Martin: Kayle Madej, Marielle Buffamonte, Shannon Moran.

Nichols: Margaret Janiga, Kathryn Darling, Emily Certo, Jennifer Sauter and Nicolette Tomani. Marissa Janiga Orchard Park/Frontier: Stephanie Pickard, West Seneca: Erin Gehen Williamsville: Emily Burow, Rachel Grampp, Theresa Meosky, Laura Finley, Sam Paralato.

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RIT netminder named College Hockey America Championship Tournament MVP. Netminder Ali Binnington was named the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player after stopping a career-high 62 shots. After stopping 234-of-240 shots over her last six games she was also named the CHA Goaltender of the Year.

She along with teammates Forward Kourtney Kunichika and Defenseman Lindsay Grigg were named to the All-Tournament Team.

The championship game was the final game for Seniors Kunichika, Erin Zach, and Melissa Bromley.

Kunichika finished her RIT career tied for fourth alltime at the university with 136 points on 54 goals and 82 assists, while playing in a school-record 129 games.

Zach had 73 points on 29 goals and 44 assists in 121 games and Bromley had 36 points on 12 goals and 24 assists in 126 games. The group led RIT to a 90-34-89-11 record in four seasons with three conference titles and a NCAA Division III National Championship in 2012.

Women’s Hockey Buffalo State The Bengals made their first playoff appearance in six years under firstyear Head Coach Candace Moxley when they traveled as the #6 seed to face #3 Oswego in the quarterfinals.

Kara Goodwin and Nikki Kirchberger (West Seneca) paced the undersized Bengals squad with Goodwin leading the team with 15 goals and 21 points in 25 games and Kirchberger is second on the team in scoring with 10 goals and 18 points.

Senior Jordan Lee has been the strength between the pipes posting a .906 save percentage, with a 3.76 goals against average.

At the ECAC West DIII playoffs Oswego scored three third-period goals and defeated the Bengals 3-1.

Goodwin gave the Bengals an early lead with her 16th goal of the season, assisted by Kirchberger.

They held the Lakers scoreless through two periods, despite being outshot 23-7. Oswego tied the game and then added two more in a span of 19 seconds, putting the game out of reach for the Bengals.

Oswego finished with a 40-9 advantage in shots, including a 17-2 edge in the third period. The Lakers were 1 for 5 on the power play, while Buffalo went 0-4.

Goodwin (Avon, Lake,OH/Avon Lake) was named All-ECAC West Honorable Mention after leading the Bengals to their first playoff appearance since 2007-08.

as Captain this season and has been a leader both on and off ice. Chrissy is returning next year as a coach.

Chrissy had 6 goals and 14 assists for a 20-point season.

Players considering collegiate hockey and wanting to attend the University of Buffalo will play a highly competitive schedule. While not as intense as DI and DIII hockey, UB plays Division I hockey in the American Collegiate Hockey Association against teams that are very strong, talented and competitive.

UB Lady Ice Bulls

UB (8-15-2) started out this season with a new coach, but someone very familiar to WNY, UB and some of the players. Melissa Jechovich took over after Head Coach Jody Rosen resigned and the first day of practice newly-appointed Head Coach Ron Adimey resigned.

Jechovich knew it would be a rebuilding year. But they played their way right into the ACHA Playoffs, losing by one goal in the first round against Vermont.

“It was a good group and we got better as the season went on,” said Jechovich. “We have a good foundation and a good core group coming into next season.”

Only five Lady Bull Dogs are graduating.

Fallon Waxman, who has been strong for four years for the team will be graduating, but Waxman will be returning because she will be completing her degree in Engineering and the ACHA allows players 5 years of eligibility. Waxman will serve as the Team President in 2014-15. Waxman had 8 goals and 13 assists this season.

Alison Edwards a defenseman from Ogdensburg will graduate with a degree in biomedical sciences. She served as captain for one year and assistant captain for two years. Along with those positions she served as Treasurer and on the E-Board. Edwards has applied to UB’s Prehealth Committee. Edwards had 3 goals/7 assists in 2014-15.

Bailey Danahey, a forward from Buffalo, is graduating with a degree in Arts and played two years with the team. She leaves with 16 points this season on 9 goals and 7 assists.

Goalie Chelsea Peterson comes from Jamestown. She played two years with UB and served as secretary of the E-Board.

Katie Wrona played both forward and defense. The Amherst, Mass. Native is graduating with a degree in bio-chemistry. She played her entire collegiate career with UB, serving as vice-president and taking charge of all the community service and fundraising initiatives for the past two years.

Chrissy Wolcott is a native of Buffalo and plays defense. She is graduating with a degree in criminal justice and played two years with the team. She served

11

Players already accepted at UB, or planning to apply to UB in the future, should contact Coach Jechovich regarding the team. There are not try-outs. Jechovich can be reached at mjeckovich@gmail.com or by calling 716-870-9258.

Around WNY

• The Canandaigua Knights hosted the GLGHL Non TB End of Season Tournament and raised over $1500 as a fundraiser for Breast Cancer Awareness and All proceeds will go to the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester.

• The Southern Tier Storm won the Blue Division and the Webster Cyclones won the Red Division.

• Amherst is hosting the Tier II Girls Nationals in April and they are looking for volunteers. Contact Renae Gattozzi nyrmg@msn.com • A native of North Tonawanda, N.Y., Julia Duquette was selected to the ECAC Women's West All-Rookie Team after appearing in 20 games for the Cardinals. As the only rookie to receive consistent playing time on the blue line, Duquette added a goal and six assists while helping solidify a Cardinals' defense that allowed just 12 goals in the regular season.

• Jordan Ott, Hilton, was named ECAC West Rookie of the Year and was named to the ECAC West All Conference Second Team. Ott plays for Potsdam.

• Ashley Ryan, Elmira College was named to the ECAC Women’s West First Team All Conference. Ryan is from Rochester.

State Bound

Chrissy Wolcott, Defenseman from Buffalo, who will return to the Lady Ice Bulls next season as a coach.

Janet Schultz photo “It’s a step down from the NCAA,” explained Jechovich. “It’s different from Club hockey in that it is more competitive. Girls need hockey experience coming in to play for this league and our team.”

The team practices Tuesdays and Thursdays and plays their games on Saturdays and Sundays. UB calls Northtowns Center at Amherst home.

“We play about 30 games when we have a full schedule,” said Jechovich. “Our competition includes the University of Vermont, Northeastern, Rhode Island and we have also played Cornell and the University of California (Ohio).

“UB is a student-run club and is for the player who wants to continue playing hockey while in college but not make the commitment needed for DI and DIII,” continued Jechovich. “You can focus on school and play hockey, making it as much as what the player wants.

“You also get the experience of running and working in an organization,” she continued.

UB moved from “club” hockey to the ACHA in 2008.

UB women’s hockey began in the 1990’s as club team and known as the Buffalo Freeze. In 2001 they were officially recognized as UB’s women’s hockey team and entered the ACHA. Until 2007 they played in several conferences.

2008 was a transition year. They changed their name to the UB Lady Ice Bulls and moved to the highest level of non-scholarship college hockey, Division I of the ACHA. With a new head coach they moved into the East Coast Women’s Hockey League (ECWHL) of the ACHA in 2009, ending that season 13th in the country and 2nd in the ECWHL playoffs.

UB has continued to grow.

WNYHockeyReport.com

The following WNY teams will be taking part in the NYS Championships in Rochester March 14-16: • At Tier I Girls 12U: Buffalo Bisons • Tier I Girls 14U: Rochester Edge, Buffalo Regals, Buffalo Bisons • Tier I Girls 16U: Buffalo Bisons and Buffalo Regals • Tier I Girls 19U: Buffalo Bisons • Tier II Girls 12U: Hamburg, Buffalo Regals, Niagara Junior Purple Eagles, West Seneca • Tier II Girls 14U: Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles, West Seneca, Amherst • Tier II Girls 16U: Cazenovia, West Seneca, Monroe County • Tier II Girls 19U: Cazenovia, Buffalo Hornets

On To Nationals Four WNY teams will represent NYS at the USA Nationals after winning championships at the NYS Tournament.

The Buffalo Regals 14U and 16U teams, the Buffalo Bisons 19U and the Rochester Senior C Women will play for the national title April 2-6.

The Buffalo Stars 19U team also qualified for the national tournament.

Amherst will host the Tier II Girls Nationals and the Tier I Girls Championship will be held at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough Mass. The Women's Championship is also being held in Massachusett.

The April issue of WNY Hockey will highlight the action at the Girls NYS Tournament held in Rochester March 14-16.

Editor’s Note: If you have information for our magazines, please let me know. I can be reached at 716-628-1966 (cell); 716-751-6524 (home) or by email Janet@nyhockeyonline. com

Men’s Collegiate

12

Men’s College Hockey Report

by Warren Kozireski Warren@wnyhockeyreport.com

CANISIUS The Griffs swept Sacred Heart in the first round of the Atlantic Conference playoffs behind the program’s first postseason hat trick by Cody Freeman and advanced to the quarterfinals on the road at second seed Bentley. A Mitch McCrank hat trick in the deciding game three against the Falcons sent Canisius to the AHA final four for the second consecutive season.

Senior goaltender Tony Capobianco became the school’s all-time leader in saves and shutouts in game one of the Sacred Heart series breaking the saves record held by Dan Morrison and the shutout mark held

by Bryan Worosz and Andrew Loewen. He was named AHA Goaltender of the Week for his efforts.

Senior defenseman Ben Danford was named thirdteam All-Conference in Atlantic Hockey after leading all Griffs defenders with 24 points this season. He is also tied for the team lead with his 20 assists and ranks 19th nationally among defensemen in Division I with 0.67 points per game. He wraps up his career as the highest scoring defenseman in team history.

In addition to Capobianco and Danford, the team loses leading scorer Kyle Gibbons and his 127 career points including 56 goals, captain Taylor Law, Patrick Sullivan (Derby), Ryan Bohrer and Duncan McKellar.

The team closed the 15-year Buffalo State Arena chapter of their history with a 110-87-37 record. They will move downtown to Harbor Center next fall.

NIAGARA After sweeping A m e r i c a n International, a series that included the longest game in program history—a double-overtime win—the Purple Eagles advanced to the quarterfinals against Air Force on the road. Niagara overcame a 1-0 series deficit to the Falcons and advanced to the final four for the third consecutive year as Matt Williams netted the overtime winner in the deciding game three.

Senior defenseman Keith Ryan (Eden) was named to the Atlantic Hockey Association All-Conference Third Team.

Vince Muto (Niagara Falls) was named to the Atlantic Hockey Association All-Rookie team after netting 16 points on four goals and 12 assists, good for sixth on the team in scoring and tops among team defensemen.

Freshman goaltender Jackson Teichroeb was named AHA Rookie of the Week honors after the first week of the playoffs; his fifth conference weekly award of the season and third Rookie of the Week honor of the season. 67 saves during their AIC sweep and had a .971

save percentage and a 0.83 goals-against average for the two games.

Ryan Rashid became the first Purple Eagle to net four consecutive 20-point seasons since Chris Moran achieved it from the 2006-10.

RIT A Division I program-worst ninth place finish put the Tigers on the road for the first round of the playoffs for the first time and it cost them with a game-three overtime loss to Holy Cross to end their season. It marks the second straight year the Tigers have missed the conference final four.

Senior and leading scorer Michael Colavecchia departs with 109 career points, Greg Noyes leaves with his 90 career points from the blueline, Ben Lynch finishes one point shy of 90 and defenseman Nolan Descoteaux had his best season in his senior campaign with more than half of his 35 career points coming this year. Other seniors are Adam Mitchell and Eliot Raibl.

GENESEO After a disappointing SUNYAC championship game loss to Oswego, the Knights still received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament (their fourth in program history) and made it count.

A program first NCAA playoff 3-2 win over Nichols in the first round preceded a comeback from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Norwich 3-2 behind a hat trick from Tyler Brickler to send them to the national final four in Lewiston, Maine.

“We’ll take it,” said head coach Chris Schultz. “For the first 20 minutes we played with fear…but the guys came through when it counted. Everyone talks about the strengths of different conferences and there is a case to be made for three or four, but our conference (SUNYAC) is as strong as anybody. Having two teams (Oswego the other) in the final four is a great accomplishment for our league.”

“It got us going,” Brickler said about his first goal.

“We just wanted to stick with our systems and play our game and that’s pretty much what we did after that.”

Zachary Vit was named First Team All-SUNYAC and Player of the Year. Stephen Collins (Pittsford) was a Second Team choice and Justin Scharfe (Webster), defenseman Jack Caradonna and goaltender Nick Horrigan were named to the Third Team.

Head Coach Chris Schultz was named the SUNYAC Coach of the Year for the second-consecutive season and for the third time in the last four years.

BUFFALO STATE Despite earning just one tie in February, the Bengals finished fourth in the SUNYAC regular season standings to earn a home playoff game, which they won 7-2 over Brockport with Nick Berst (Depew) and Dan Turgeon (MCC) each scoring two goals. Their season ended

WNYHockeyReport.com

three days later with a 2-0 loss to top-seed Geneseo.

Kevin Carr was named First Team All-SUNYAC, Turgeon was a Second Team forward and defenseman Ben Kramer was one of only three sophomores selected.

He was named to the Third Team.

Senior Mike Zanella finished with 35 career goals and 73 points, Shane Avery had 45 points in 89 career games, Taylor McGraw finished the season with seven points and 18 career and Kyle Whipple (Tonawanda) fell one game short of 100 career played. Billy Strakosch, Mac Balson, Jason Cleaver, Clay Lewis and Carr complete a large senior class.

BROCKPORT The Golden Eagles ended the regular season with off four consecutive victories, their best since the 2009-10 season, to launch themselves into fifth place and a SUNYAC playoff berth for the first time in five seasons. But their season ended with a loss at Buffalo State in the quarterfinals.

Senior forward Chris Cangro and sophomore defenseman Chris Luker (Jr. Sabres) were named First Team All-SUNYAC, the first time the team has ever had two on the first team.

Cangro tied for the team lead in scoring with 24 points and led the squad with 17 assists. Luker led all conference blueliners in goals and tied for second in scoring during the 16-game regular conference season.

In addition to Cangro, the Golden Eagles say goodbye to five other seniors including Webster native Brendan Rothfuss, Matt Deluca, Steve Sachman, Bobby Conner and Sean Wallace (McQuaid/Gates-Chili). Rothfuss finished with 18 career goals and 44 points while Wallace, a defenseman, had three goals and three assists over his career at Brockport.

FREDONIA Without a win after February 1st, the Blue Devils still were able to secure the sixth and final playoff spot with a pair of last-month conference ties, but dropped their quarterfinal playoff game 3-2 to eventual champion Oswego on a third period tally.

The Blue Devils were shut out in SUNYAC postseason honors.

The team loses five seniors including Matt Owczarczak (Buffalo), who finished with a career-best season with three goals and 11 assists for 14 of his 20 career points. Alex Perkins, Andrew Christ, Ryan Edens and Tyler Palmerton are the other seniors.

NAZARETH A second half run that featured the team record seven of their season total of eight wins fell short with a 2-1 playoff loss to Hobart.

Freshman forward Ben Blasko was voted ECAC West Conference Co-Rookie of the Year marking the first major award Nazareth College has been awarded since joining the conference last year. He led the conference in freshman scoring netting 11 goals and dishing out 15 assists for 26 points this season.

Men’s Collegiate

Ed Zdolshek was named co-Goaltender of the Week for the period ending February 23rd as he helped the Golden Flyers close out their regular-season schedule with a win and a tie at home against Neumann. Williamsville and Buffalo Jr. Sabres native Chris Murray was named Rookie of the Week for the same period after he contributed a goal and an assist in the Neumann win.

The Golden Flyers lose just four seniors in Mark Zavorin, Jordan Ciccarello, Zach Lewis (MCC) and Reed Smith.

Lewis finished with 14 points over 46 career games in two seasons while Zavorin departs as the current school record holder for career goals, assists and points.

MCC

hands of eventual national champ Williston State 7-0 in the semi-finals.

OTHER AREA NOTES • Junior Derek Mohney (Amherst) of Curry College was tabbed as Goaltender of the Year in the ECAC Northeast by the head coaches in the conference. Mohney led one of the league’s best defenses by posting a 2.12 goals against average, good for second in the conference, and a .932 save percentage, also second among ECAC Northeast Hockey goaltenders. In 964:20 minutes of action, he surrendered just 34 goals and made 468 saves.

His efforts helped the Colonels allow just 2.56 goals per game as they earned the No. 6 seed in the ECAC Northeast Hockey Tournament.

• Harvard freshman and Buffalo Sabres draft pick Sean Malone (West Seneca) has come on strong down the stretch for Harvard, posting a point in five of his last six games. The rookie has scored in seven straight games that Harvard has notched at least one goal in, and the team is 7-5-2 in games where Malone records a point.

The Tribunes advanced all the way to the national championship game as the top-seed and saw their title hopes dashed for the second consecutive year by Williston State 2-0. The one difference this year is there is no tomorrow as the school previously announced they will no longer offer hockey after the 201314 campaign.

• Army freshman goaltender Parker Gahagen (Buffalo) was named Atlantic Hockey Association Rookie of the Week for the week ending March 2nd after making 76 saves in a weekend spilt with Holy Cross.

ECC The third seed for the national championship tournament at Hudson Valley, the Kats saw their season end at the

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• Bentley University goaltender Branden Komm (Williamsville) was named to the Second Team of Atlantic Hockey All-Conference team. Robert Morris goaltender Terry Schafer (Penfield) was the Third Team choice.

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Junior Hockey Wisdom & Opinion

14

The Dos and Don’ts of Tryouts

by Jeff Kolcon Jeff@maksymum.com Tryouts are here. It is an important time for players moving out of high school or midgets and into the junior ranks. I put together a few dos and don’ts to assist you in making that junior team.

Do: Your homework.

With the technology available, a player can go into every tryout with a wealth of knowledge on the junior team. First, a review of the roster will tell you the ages, heights, weights, stats and previous teams of all of the current players. A visit to the team’s website will also allow you to see how players progress to higher levels.

How many players move on to higher teams? How many players are local? How many players returned from the previous year? Is the team competitive? You may also find video on the team along with quotes from the coach. Does the team post a philosophy on its website? Take the time to do research.

Don’t: Assume.

If you go into a tryout thinking that you are already on the team, you may have a bad experience. A few years back, a good friend of mine was a Division I star, captain, and eventual NHL player. Going into his last two seasons of college hockey, he would still throw up before each and every tryout skate. Even though he could have easily slid through tryouts and no one would have ever questioned him, he assumed nothing and always thought he had to fight for his position.

Do: Email the coach and prospective team and let them know you are going to attend their tryout.

This may seem easy but is often overlooked. A junior coach appreciates knowing who is planning on attending.

Don’t: Use mass email.

Coaches know a personalized email. Mass emails don’t work. Junior programs get tons of inquiries each tryout season. If you want to make sure you have no chance of getting looked at, send a “To whom it may concern” email. Better yet, send out an email with the wrong coaches email. Junior coaches love to see that you forgot to change the name on your mass email.

Do: Show up looking the part.

I suggest showing up in a nice shirts and a pair of khakis. If you end up interviewing with the coach you will stand out from the player in shorts and a pair of flip flops. Wear matching socks on the ice. Wear regular laces. Remember, you are trying to increase your odds of being considered for a spot. Some people think that wearing pink laces, mixed matched socks and neon tape on their stick is going to get them noticed. Maybe.

However, there is a serious chance that the coach will think you are a clown. Let your performance speak.

Don’t: Stand out for the wrong reasons Don’t wear opposing team logos. Don’t wear sloppy clothes. The list of don’t wear items is too long to list.

Just use common sense and dress like the tryout is all business.

Do: Thank the on-ice coaches at the end of the skate.

A simple “Thanks for having me, I enjoyed the skate,” can go a long way.

Don’t: Ask the coach on the ice “So, how do you think I did?”

The on-ice coach may have little to no say in the overall process. Even if he does have input, he is not in a position to give feedback while on the ice. In fact, he really does not want to have players lining up for feedback. If the coaches want to talk to you, they will find you.

Do: Follow up with an email thanking the team for having you at tryouts.

Remind the coach what color and number you were on the ice.

Don’t: Send any emails with ultimatums.

Coaches know that players are trying to find teams and want to land a spot as soon as possible. Any email or phone call that seeks anything other than a position on the team is going to backfire. Last year, we had a very good candidate from Michigan. He would have been a top five forward on a very good team. After the last tryout skate he immediately left to drive home. On the way he sent an email wanting assurances that he would be on the first line, be guaranteed power play time and also wanted to be captain. The response from us was swift and clear: Thanks but no thanks. The kid is still a good player and I wish him well. However, most programs are not in a position to negotiate those items.

Do: Have your parents attend and support you.

Don’t: Let your parents near the coaches.

Do: Have your parents attend and support you.

Many junior tryouts are set up festival style and are a series of games over a course of two or three days. The parents can be a big asset even if you are nineteen or twenty years old: stable support, structured meals and someone to share the driving. The parents can certainly help you.

Don’t: Let the parents near the coaches.

Have a conversation with mom and dad and make sure everyone is clear that there is no interaction with the coaches, if at all possible. If the coaches want to speak to a parent, they will find them. Make sure that mom and dad know that cheering at a tryout is not cool. You may split the defense and undress the goalie with your sweetest move ever but it could be awkward if mom and dad are high fiving each other and ringing the cowbell. Please remind them to not point out the discrepancies in lines, the horrible officiating, the terrible goalies or any other possible utterance that could not only embarrass you but also have coaches reconsider the baggage your family may bring to the team. The silent parent is the best parent at tryouts.

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Do: Be aggressive.

A player that hits is noticed. A player who back checks is noticed. Be physical.

Don’t: Fight.

I know that there are coaches out there that will disagree. If you are at an OHL or other major junior A tryout, then the rules may be different for fighting. In my opinion, every other junior league tryout is aimed at college hockey. Junior leagues that are developing players for college are different than leagues that are entertaining fans.

Do: Be aggressive.

Don’t: Fight.

Do: Seek advisement.

There are plenty of people who can offer sound advice and recommendations for your move to junior hockey. Good midget coaches will recommend teams to you; high school coaches should be able to pick up a phone with junior teams and help you as well.

Family advisors, skill instructors and spring coaches are all avenues that can steer you and possible provide a recommendation for you. Use every available asset.

Don’t: Believe everything you hear.

Most respectable family agents have built a network of junior, college, and professional contacts. They usually reach out directly to the coach. If they do not have a relationship with a certain junior coach, they are usually only one degree of separation from anyone in the industry and will utilize their connections to open a dialog with a team. In other words, if your family advisor is worth his weight, he is opening the doors for you. Usually, when an unknown player is reaching out with a reference to the family advisor, the reality is either the family advisor is not at the level needed to assist players to junior hockey or that the player misinterprets a message. A family advisor may say “If you keep working, maybe you can play junior A hockey someday,” but the player only hears that he is a lock for junior hockey.

The job of a good private skills instructor is to provide practical and progressive instruction to an individual player. Along the way they also use motivational techniques to insure continued improvement. However, a private instructor that is worth their weight must also have the ability to keep players focused on goal setting.

Short term and long term goals are important for any level player. Sometimes, just like the family advisor, the message gets twisted. The instructor says “if you work hard you can make the AAA team. Once we get there, we can focus on making a junior team and if we keep working hard, you might play college hockey someday.”

The player only hears that he can make a junior team.

The private instructor is doing his job: improving the player’s skills and confidence.

Tryouts can be nerve-wracking and stressful. A bit of planning can insure that you put you best foot forward in the process. Good luck.

Around The Associations

15

Around The Associations Edited by Michael Mroziak

Cazenovia Park

What a season it has been. Given the firm grip winter has had on Western New York this season, including one last blast from Old Man Winter in mid March, perhaps it’s hard to believe that the 2013-14 amateur hockey season is winding down in the region.

If you haven’t already attended a tryout already, it’s only a matter of time before associations and hockey families will already be setting sights on 2014-15.

In the meantime, several associations are celebrating successful runs by some of the squads within their respective programs.

Cazenovia Park Hockey will seek to advance its youth development with a newly announced partnership with the HARBORcenter’s Academy of Hockey.

The Academy, led by former Buffalo Sabres assistant coach and NHL veteran Kevyn Adams, recently added former NHL players Martin Biron and Adam Mair to the staff. Training will be provided both on the ice and in the classroom. In addition, players will get to take advantage of video performance analysis and off-ice workouts with the Impact Sports Performance team, which will be located on site at the downtown facility when it opens next door to First Niagara Center.

The partnership is at no additional cost to Cazenovia players.

Amherst Youth Hockey Amherst Youth Hockey is celebrating its Bantam Major AA team’s win of the Western New York Amateur Hockey League Bantam division. The winning team is featured in their submitted photo.

Buffalo Bisons The Bisons Pee Wee Major team earned a berth in the New York State Championship by defeating Amherst, 4-1, in the final qualifying round.

Although the team did not advance out of the preliminary round at States, held at the Northtown Center at Amherst during the first weekend of March, the team nevertheless looks back on a season of success, having battled to earn a trip to States.

Buffalo Regals The Regals program is celebrating a State Championship earned by its 99 Bantam Major AAA squad at the Northtown Center at Amherst in early March.

The run began with wins over all three of the Regals’ preliminary round opponents, Long Island Royals (7-3), West Seneca (5-1) and Clifton Park (11-0). The Regals then earned their way into the title game with its 3-2 win over Midstate in the semifinals.

The Regals then won the championship with its 9-3 decision over West Seneca in the final.

Buffalo Stars The Stars’ full-season Midget program will be well-represented at the National Junior Prospects Hockey League All-Star Showcase event, happening April 11-13 in Burlington, Ontario.

The Showcase involves six teams made up of players from the league’s 28 teams. Selected to participate from the Buffalo Stars are U16 players Christopher Botzenhart, Mike Sokol, Spencer Jones, Josh Evoy, Frank Bodami and Jamie Cummings, and U18 players Zach Ziolkowski, Danny Golba and Trevor Izdorczak.

Additionally, Stars U16 coach Jerry Wheeler will coach one of the All-Star teams at the event.

Players were selected by the league’s coaches using a ballot system. Players chosen are then assigned to teams based on a value ranking system.

“We are pleased that so many of our players have been chosen to participate," said Stars General Manager Pete Preteroti in a prepared statement. "This will be a fine opportunity for them to get an extra look this season".

Hamburg Hawks Also announcing a partnership with HARBORcenter in recent weeks was the Hamburg Hawks program, which announced it is taking on a “Gold Partnership.”

“Each team will have at least one session at the HARBORcenter that is age and level specific,” said Hawks officials in a written statement. “Teams will work with the staff from the HARBORcenter to focus on individual team needs. Our coaches will be on ice with the Academy Staff learning and developing along with the players. This is a true partnership and not just sending players off to a clinic. It develops the whole team.

“If more availability opens up to secure more sessions at the HARBORcenter, we will look to open the program to more teams in our association.”

Monroe County Youth Hockey The Monroe County Edge 12U Tier II team spent their Valentine’s Day weekend winning the 20th Annual Durham West Girls Hockey Tournament in Ontario.

The girls’ run began on February 14 with wins against Canadian opponents Durham West (4-0) and Markham (2-1).

The success continued for the Edge girls as they overpowered their league rivals West Seneca in a 2-1 win and then tied powerhouse Ottawa Ice,1-1, ending round-robin play with a 3-0-1 record and outscoring their opponents 9-3.

The semifinals brought a rematch with West Seneca, with Edge again winning in another close one, 1-0. The final was yet another rematch, this one against a rested Ottawa Ice team, that earned a bye to the final. The Edge pulled off the win, 2-1, to take the title.

The MYCH Bantam Minor Team 1 also enjoyed a championship run, this one in the WNYAHL. The Eagles beat the Canandaigua Knights 3-1, clinching the title and landing their 34th win of the season. The title capped off a successful run that also included the following achievements: Cyclone Challenge Champions, Lake Placid AA/AAA Silver Medal Winners, Presidential Power Play Champions, WNY AHL Regular Season Champions, WNY AHL Division Champions, WNY AHL Bantam Minor Champions.

The MCYH South PeeWee A squad won the Empire Championship with an exciting overtime victory. They

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topped an undefeated and very talented Perinton team, 2-1, to take the title.

Rochester Monarchs The Rochester Monarchs 16U team was awaiting the start of the State Tier I tournament in Amherst at press time.

Back in November at playdowns, the Monarchs opened up with a 10-1 win over Wheatfield but then suffered a 3-1 setback to the Buffalo Saints.

They rebounded with a 7-2 triumph over the crosstown rival Rochester Americans. The final preliminary round game pitted the Monarchs against the nationally ranked Buffalo Jr. Sabres, then eighth in the nation.

After falling behind 0-2 late in the second, the Monarchs rallied to defeat the Jr. Sabres by a 4-2 final.

In the semifinals, the Monarchs scored a lopsided 11-2 victory against Hamburg. The final saw a rematch with the Jr. Sabres, who avenged their preliminary loss with a win over Rochester.

Rochester Youth The Rochester Youth Squirt Mixed team won the Rochester Rumble with a 5-0 record, including three shutout games and outscoring their opponents 25-2.

The 2003 Squirt Major AAA team claimed the Rochester 03 Super Series title at Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex in late February and early March.

The ’03 AAA Americans, who were seeded fifth by MyHockeyRankings.com, had an impressive run to reach the championship game, going 2-1 in pool play and registering wins over Steel City Ice Renegades and West Seneca Wings in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. They capped off their run with a 7-1 win over the Skaneateles Lakers in the title game.

The Squirt Major AA Blue Team claimed the WNYAHL Squirt Major Yellow Division Playoff Championship, defeating the Hamburg Hawks AAA 2-1 in a semifinal overtime thriller on February 21, followed by a win over the Buffalo Regals AA in the championship game, 4-2.

“Warm Hearts Warm Bodies by Colin” update Organizers of the "Warm Hearts Warm Bodies” forwarded this message: “Colin would like to say thank you to Rochester youth hockey, the Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex and all of the staff, and all volunteers as well as everyone who donated. We collected over 50 bags of donations for The Open Door Mission of Rochester.

“It was a joyful meeting on March 10. Some of the kids from the Amherst Squirt Majors came to Colin's hotel while we were visiting Buffalo for our hockey tournament. Bari Boots donated a pair of brandnew boots for each of those players. It was quite a heart-warming meeting between the kids. Thank you Amherst Squirts for your support!! Warm Hearts Warm Bodies by Colin will be up and running in October.

Again, thank you for all of the donations.”

Tri County The Midget team defeated Scottsville 6-3 in Cleveland to win the Rock and Roll Cup championship.

(Continued on page 37)

Rochester Americans

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Rochester Americans Report

by Warren Kozireski Warren@wnyhockeyreport.com Young defenseman and goaltenders are left to fend at their natural positions as they transition from one level to another but, for some reason, centers aren’t. Coaching staffs move them away from their natural position to the wing leaving them not just learning about how to compete at a new level against older competition, but in a totally unfamiliar role.

Enter the latest case study in Rochester Amerks rookie forward Dan Catenacci.

One season away from leading the Owen Sound Attack in scoring with 38 goals and 41 assists as a center, the Richmond Hill, Ontario native began his professional career in Rochester on left wing.

There he struggled to find his offensive rhythm, but when moved back to his original position—center— in February he has begun to shine especially in the offensive zone.

“He obviously has had some good games for us this year, but he looked the most confident and comfortable; maybe because we put him back at center,” said Amerks head coach Chadd Cassidy.

“He’s a natural centerman and I think he can show off his seed a lot more as opposed to being on the wing and, going forward a good coach would probably leave him at center and we’ll see what I decide to do.

“He’s a good player, but it’s that first year consistency.

That middle drive and using his speed to get behind defenseman.”

And the 5’10” third round Buffalo pick agrees.

“It’s (center) my natural position that I’ve played my whole life and playing wing has been an adjustment, so it’s definitely nice to be back in the middle where I’m familiar,” said Catenacci.

“Not being on the wall and carrying the puck through the middle of the ice with speed and being the low forward in the d-zone and bringing pucks out.

The main thing is carrying pucks through the middle with speed and not chipping pucks along the wall and being flat-footed.”

Catenacci was selected 77th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He sent two seasons with Owen Sound after two in Sault Ste. Marie where he finished with 108 goals and 253 points in 268 OHL games. And, although slight in build as pro standards go, he averaged over 100 penalty minutes in each of his last three junior campaigns.

“Everyone goes through an adjustment playing pro and starting off playing a different position is tough, but around Christmas time I thought I was playing a little better.”

Over his first 58 games this season, the just-turned 21 year old (March 9th) had seven goals and eight assists while scoring one goal in three shootout attempts. This after netting his first professional goal in his first game with the Amerks late last season after Owen Sound was knocked out of the playoffs.

Since moving to center, he has played with first round selection Joel Armia on right wing and former Minnesota Wild first rounder Colton Gilles on left wing

as an effective third line.

“Now that I’m back at center I want to play a strong two-way game and I hope that the point production to keep going up. I’ve always been a points guy, but I’ve also been a responsible two-way player.

“I’m more than half-way through the season of my first pro year, so I don’t consider myself a rookie anymore, so I think my whole game overall should pick up.”

NEWS & NOTES: • Luke Adam was among the top-three in the league in power play goals and Phil Varone was top-20 in scoring through 58 games.

• The team lost veteran defenseman and captain Drew Bagnall to shoulder surgery in early March, but received AHL 277 game veteran Nick Petricki on loan from San Jose/Springfield.

Rochester Host Girls States Rochester Youth Edge hosted the 2014 NYSAHA Girls State Tournament with support from Monroe Country Youth Hockey Edge families over the March 14-16 weekend. Over 700 elite female players descended upon Rochester's Bill Grays Iceplex determined to quality to for Nationals being held in April. The atmosphere was festive and the competition stiff with many games going into overtime to determine the outcome. The 14U Tier II semi's between West Seneca and Plattsburgh needed a record breaking 13 OT's to declare a winner. Rochester Youth would like to thank the dozens of volunteers and recognize the extra efforts of the Bill Grays Iceplex staff for making this event successful.

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Rochester Youth Hockey News

17

Rochester Jr Americans Fenton Having All-American Season

Lawson Fenton finished the regular season with an Empire Division best record of 25-2-0-1.

The last 12 months have been a dramatic change for Lawson Fenton. Fenton went from playing for the Stars (Buffalo) to developing into a star for the Rochester Junior Americans Empire team. He has transformed from having to find a way to keep the sport fun while suffering through a very disappointing season to enjoying his new surroundings while preparing for a playoff run in the USPHL. “We knew we had something special when we signed Lawson,” states head coach Jeff Kolcon. “We played the Buffalo Stars several times last year. We would put 20

or 30 shots on Lawson before we could break through. He was tough. What Lawson saw in one period last year in shots is equivalent to a whole game for most other teams.”

Lawson posted a record of 0-16 for the Stars with a 6.43 goals against average. Despite those stats, Rochester did not hesitate to sign Fenton as soon as he was available.

“Most coaches would stop any discussion about a player after looking at those numbers,” says Kolcon. “If we would not have watched him perform so strongly against our team, we would have laughed him off.”

This year, the only one laughing is Fenton. He finished the regular season with an Empire Division best 25-2-0-1 record, along with a goals against average of 2.71 and a .910 save percentage, both solidly among the top ten overall. His solid play in net helped lead the Junior Americans to the Empire Northern Conference title with a 36-3-0-1 record. Last year, Fenton’s team was a nearly exact opposite with a 3-35 record.

Associate head coach Tom McDonald thinks Fenton has played even stronger than his numbers would suggest.

“We have played our entire roster in many games. Some of our younger players are still developing and that has affected some of Lawson’s numbers,” says McDonald. “But when you look at his performances against the top teams like Florida, Syracuse, and Boston, his stats are incredible.”

Fenton and the Junior Americans have found great

success this season despite having played the toughest schedule in the Empire Division. Only two of their games have been against non-playoff teams while nineteen games have been played against top six ranked teams in the division. The Junior Americans will be counting on Fenton to continue his strong play in the USPHL playoffs.

Rochester Youth Squirts win Rochester Rumble The Rochester Youth Squirt AA Mixed team won the Rochester Rumble this past weekend with a 5-0 record, including 3 shutout games.

They outscored their opponents 25-2 in the 5 games they played. Congratulations to this team for their hard work and for a great 20132014 season.

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Zarbo's Counting Down

18

Zarbo's Counting Down

by Warren Kozireski Warren@wnyhockeyreport.com Grand Island natives Matt and Joe Zarbo were born 15 months apart and played hockey together first with the Boston Jr. Bruins, then Tri-City in the USHL and the last three seasons with Clarkson University. But with Matt completing his eligibility, those days were numbered as the Golden Knights moved on to the quarterfinals of the ECAC playoffs after defeating Princeton in the first round.

Though they had played together on and off this season and earlier, Matt was centering the third line while Joe was the right wing on the second line as the team headed down the stretch run of the regular season.

Younger Joe had bragging rights with more career points, but Matt took home one of the ECAC’s highest honors last year when he was named the ECAC Hockey Scholar Athlete of the Year as a Civil Engineering major.

And that was with Ivy League players from schools such as Cornell, Princeton, Yale and Harvard also in the mix.

“Joe is a pure goal scorer and we want to get him in those shooting situations as one of our natural shooters where Matt, when he missed some games this season it really affected our lineup because he is so responsible that we know we can play against the other team’s best players,” said Clarkson head coach Casey Jones.

“As an older guy with his ability to win faceoffs, that one hurt. He’s really matured into that role. Matt got stronger so he wins a lot of the battles and he puts himself into situations with body position and good hockey sense.

“Joe has settled into (the second line) and they’ve got some chemistry going. When they’re both going well they have different roles and that puts Joe on a scoring line and Matt in a defensive role.”

Matt, who will turn 24 years old this May, was on the gold medal Team USA in the Three Nations Cup in 2006, but decided that the USHL was the route and played for Tri-City and Sioux Falls. Joe crossed the Canadian border to play junior hockey in the OJHL with Wellington for the end of his junior career.

And then both ended up in Potsdam.

“It wasn’t pre-determined, but we did visit Clarkson together and we both really like it and they offered us scholarships together and we both committed together, but he had the option to go wherever he wanted,” said Joe. Joe was the leading point-getter in the family with 44 points, including a hat trick a year ago against Harvard, in 97 games and a season of eligibility remaining. Matt had 34 points in 118 college games. But Matt has the physical advantage at 6’1” (one inch taller) and nine pounds heavily—that is if you believe the media guide.

“We both have our different aspects to our game that we do well, and that’s all I’ll say about that,” said Matt.

Matt played for just a few games with Grand Island club hockey before departing for the Jr. Bruins and Joe played at St. Francis for one season for John Bowers and Nick Fattey. Before that they both developed in the Buffalo Regals system.

And older brother Mark, who played for RPI, is now involved with the Buffalo Stars as a coach.

But any ideas of going pro or coaching are distant at this point. Clarkson is hoping the regain the magic

they had through the first half of this season when they were 13-3-1 and nationally ranked at Christmas as the clock on their final season together at the college level ticks down.

“It’s (his final season) an emotional experience. I’ve had a great time here and I just want to finish the season strong,” said Matt.

Matt Zarbo (above) and at left

Joe Zarbo (left) and in game action for Clarkson University (above).

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TRYOUT Edition 2014-2015

Cazenovia Park HoCkey assoCiation 2014-2015 tryouts tryout fee is $10.

BantaM and MidGet Boys Bantam Minor (2001) Coach: Aaron Wallace Aaron_Wallace@ ftn.fedex.com 465-5910

Bantam Major (2000) Coach: Chis Usiak usiakc@ aol.com 912-8340

Tuesday, April 8 5:00 - 6:00 PM

Monday, April 7 5:30 - 6:30 PM

Wednesday, April 9 5:30 - 6:30 PM

Tuesday, April 8 6:00 - 7:00 PM

Thursday, April 10 6:30 - 7:30 PM

Thursday, April 10 7:30 - 8:30 PM

Bantam tier iii (2000-2001) Coach: Jeremy Rosen u2bono2001@ hotmail.com Tuesday, April 8 8:00 - 9:00 PM Thursday, April 10 5:30 - 6:30 PM

Midget 16u ntB (1998-1999) Coach: Nelson Sheehan nels10jr@aol.com 716-997-2568 Monday, April 7 6:30 - 7:30 PM Tuesday, April 8 9:00 - 10:00 PM Thursday, April 10 8:30 - 9:30 PM

Midget 18u tB (1996-1997) Coach: Jim Banko jimbanko80@ yahoo.com Monday, April 7 7:30 - 8:30 PM Tuesday, April 8 10:00 - 11:00 PM Wednesday, April 9 8:00 - 9:30 PM

At Cazenovia Park Hockey, we are dedicated to developing the skills of young hockey players. We were one of the first Hockey Organizations in Western New York to partner with HarborCenter and the Academy of Hockey. All of our players will train with at the HarborCenter with the Academy of Hockey staff to improve their performance.

when you are thinking about where your child will play in 2014 – 2015.

Go where your child’s development is put first. Cazenovia Park Hockey.

Caz Lady CHiefs • USAH Tournament Bound • Dedicated, qualified Coaching staff with over a decade of coaching experience in girl’s hockey, with a proven record of success in both the youth hockey and varsity hockey programs. Our coaching staffs are fair and well respected within the WNY girl’s hockey family.

• We will place our teams at the appropriate level of competition, based off their skill level, where they will have opportunity for success.

• No weekly travel to Canada • 4-5 High-profile Tournaments in the US and/or Canada where girls will be showcased before college representatives. Our coaches will support all efforts to help any interested player in achieving a playing position on a college team, based off their skill level.

• Reasonable game schedule which will allow for high school team participation • All practices are at our home rink at Cazenovia Park; no practices over the border.

Girls 16u tB Coach: Jim Bautz, Level 4 Jbtz7@yahoo.com (716) 984-3474

Girls 19u tB Coach: Chris Malicki, Level 4 cm1232@aol.com (716) 997-3130

Monday, April 7* 8:30 - 9:30 PM

Monday, April 7* 8:30 - 9:30 PM

Tuesday, April 8 7:00 - 8:00 PM

Wednesday, April 9 6:30 - 8:00 PM

*16U and 19U TB Tryouts will be held together Monday only.

Players from other organizations must have a signed 2013-2014 release and a copy of their birth certificate.

All players should attend all tryouts in their division. Other teams may be formed as needed.

Pease visit our website www.cazhockey.com as well as for on-line registration information for our Mite and MOHL programs. for more information contact us at cazhockey@live.com

www.CazHoCkey.CoM

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2014-2015 Tryouts Monday, April 7, 2014 15 U Independent & 16U NTB: 5:00 pm @ Buffalo State Arena 16 U AAA TB: 6:00 pm @ Buffalo State Arena 18 U AAA TB: 7:00 pm @ Buffalo State Arena 2001 Bantam minor AAA: 8:00 pm @ Buffalo State Arena 2000 Bantam major AAA TB: 9:00 pm @ Buffalo State Arena 15U (Lally): 10:00 pm @ Buffalo State Arena

Tuesday, April 8, 2014 15 U & 16U NTB: 5:00 pm @ Buffalo State Arena 15U Independent: 6:00 pm @ Buffalo State Arena 2000 Bantam major AAA TB: 7:00 pm @ Buffalo State Arena 2001 Bantam minor AAA: 8:00 pm @ Buffalo State Arena 16U AAA TB: 9:00 pm @ Buffalo State Arena 18U AAA TB: 10:00 pm @ Buffalo State Arena

The Saints will host The Cup North American AAA Championship (2002, 2003 & 2004 age groups) in 2015.

Visit: www.thehockeycup.com

2014-15 Saints Travel Coaches 2006 Mite major AAA: Brad Austin Austy28@aol.com 684-1923 2005 Squirt minor AAA: Scott Wisniewski Scottwiz99@yahoo.com 725-2010 2004 Squirt major AAA: Kevin Dempsey Kjdempsey6@yahoo.com 989-8065 2003 Peewee minor AAA: Richard Zacher Zach11@msn.com 316-2401 2002 Peewee major AAA (TB): Michael Suda Michael.Suda@usfoods.com 440-3778 2001 Bantam minor AAA: Joe Valvo Valvo21@hotmail.com 864-6412 2000 Bantam major AAA TB: Tim Setteducati Setteduke@aol.com 609-2960 1999 15U (NTB): David Lally Dlally@pcb.com 491-2446 1999 15U Independent: John Hannon 998-6000 1998 16U AA (NTB): Gerry Ruszala Gerald.Ruszala@adm.com 818-8471 16U AAA (TB): Shawn O’Donoghue Sodonoghue19@aol.com 618-319-3334 18U AAA (TB): Jamie Printz Jprintz@nicholsschool.org 352-1517 12U (NTB) girls: David Dee ddee@roadrunner.com 913-0743

www.saintshockey.com

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TRYOUT Edition 2014-2015

2014-15 Tryouts All sessions at Holiday Twin Rink TEAM

BIRTH COACH YEAR

LEAGUE

TRYOUT DATE

TRYOUT TIME

MITE MINOR AAA

2007

AAU

TUESDAY 4/1/14

6:15 PM

GOJHL

TUESDAY 4/8/2014 WEDNESDAY 4/9/2014 THURSDAY 4/10/2014

3:15 PM 3:00 PM 5:30 PM

JUNIOR B

18U AAA

JOHN EVOY

AAA

MONDAY 4/7/2014 TUESDAY 4/8/2014

8:30 PM 5:00 PM

16U AAA

MATTHEW BARNABY AAA

MONDAY 4/7/2014

7:30 PM

15 AAA

BRIAN GASUIK

SCTA MINOR MIDGET

MONDAY 4/7/2014 TUESDAY 4/8/2014

6:15 PM 8:00 PM

BANTAM MAJOR AAA

JON BRAUN

SCTA

MONDAY 4/7/2014 TUESDAY 4/8/2014

5:00 PM 7:15 PM

BANTAM MINOR AAA

WAYNE CLARKE

SCTA

MONDAY 4/7/2014 TUESDAY 4/8/2014

TBA TBA

16U AA

COREY MICKEY

TUESDAY 4/8/2014 THURSDAY 4/10/2014

7:00 PM 7:30 PM

BANTAM MAJOR AA

TOM BROWNELL

WNYAHL

MONDAY 4/7/2014 THURSDAY 4/10/2014

8:15 PM 6:45 PM

BANTAM MINOR AA

JAMIE DEWALD

WNYAHL

TUESDAY 4/8/2014 THURSDAY 4/10/2014

6:15 PM 5:45 PM

TEAM

COACH

LEAGUE

TRYOUT DATE/TIME

GIRLS 19U

TOM RUGGIERO

GIRLS 16U

FRANK ATTEA

GIRLS 14U

LARRY BLAS

19U TIER 1 TOURNAMENT BOUND US 17U AA CANADIAN LEAGUE TIER 1 TOURNAMENT BOUND CANADIAN LEAGUE PLAY TIER 1 TOURNAMENT BOUND CANADIAN LEAGUE PLAY

MONDAY 4/7/2014 - 7:00 PM TUESDAY 4/8/2014 - 9:00 PM MONDAY 4/7/2014 - 7:00 PM THURSDAY 4/10/2014 - 8:30 PM MONDAY 4/7/2014 - 6:00 PM THURSDAY 4/10/2014 - 6:30 PM

FOR UPDATED TIMES AND OTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT:

www.buffaloregals.org

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www.jrpurpleeagles.com

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Bison Hockey Travel Team Tryouts for the 2014 - 2015 Season

BOYS Teams

Level

Birth Years

Date

Time

Rink

Bantam Minor

AA

2001

Tuesday, April 08, 2014 Wednesday, April 09, 2014

7:30 - 8:30 PM 6:00 - 7:00 PM

North Buffalo Rink North Buffalo Rink

Bantam Major TB

AA

2000

Monday, April 07, 2014

7:55 - 8:50 PM

North Buffalo Rink

Wednesday, April 09, 2014

7:00 - 8:00 PM

North Buffalo Rink

Bantam Mixed

A

2000-2001

Tuesday, April 08, 2014 Wednesday, April 09, 2014

8:30 - 9:30 PM 8:00 - 9:00 PM

North Buffalo Rink North Buffalo Rink

Midget 15U

AA

1999

Monday, April 07, 2014

8:50 - 9:45 PM

North Buffalo Rink

Wednesday, April 09, 2014

9:00 - 10:00 PM

North Buffalo Rink

Midget 16U TB

AA

1998

Monday, April 07, 2014 Tuesday, April 08, 2014

9:45 - 10:40 PM 9:30 - 10:30 PM

North Buffalo Rink North Buffalo Rink

GIRLS Teams

Level

Birth Years

Date

Time

Rink

14 & Under TB

Tier 1

2000-2001

16 & Under TB

Tier 1

1998-1999

19 & Under TB

Tier 1

1996-1997

Monday, April 07, 2014 Tuesday, April 08, 2014 Monday, April 07, 2014 Tuesday, April 08, 2014 Monday, April 07, 2014 Tuesday, April 08, 2014 Monday, April 07, 2014 Thursday, April 10, 2014

4:25 - 5:15 PM 4:30 - 5:30 PM 5:15 - 6:10 PM 5:30 - 6:30 PM 6:10 - 7:05 PM 6:30 - 7:30 PM 7:05 - 7:55 PM 7:45 - 8:45 PM

North Buffalo Rink North Buffalo Rink North Buffalo Rink North Buffalo Rink North Buffalo Rink North Buffalo Rink North Buffalo Rink North Buffalo Rink

19 & Under NTB

1996-1997

There is a one time tryout fee of $20.00 for every player.

All new players must present a signed NYSAHA Player/Financial Release Form from their host association before they can attend Bison Hockey Tryouts.

If you have any questions please call Bison Hockey at 716-465-5522.

Team

Bantam Boys Major “AA” TB

Bantam Boys Minor “AA” Bantam Boys Mixed “A” Midget Boys 16U “AA” TB Midget Boys 15U “AA” Girls 14U Tier I TB Girls 16U Tier I TB Girls 19U Tier I TB

Girls 19U NTB

NBH031-AD WNY Hockey REPORT-March.indd 1

Coach

Email

Phone

Kevin Orzechowski

orzech96@roadrunner.com

390-8751

Bob Maulucci Bob Newman Bill Waszkielewicz Tom DiGiacomo Matt Robinson John Cleary Scott Welch

bmaulucci@gmail.com rlnewman@rocketmail.com trawasz@yahoo.com tom@tomdig.com mlcsrobinson@msn.com jkscleary@gmail.com sdwelch4@aol.com

603-0601 912-2037 725-1778 898-8577 541-8413 907-2500 870-4442

Don Pray

dpray21@verizon.net

949-9562

3/17/14 10:28 AM

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Join the Bruins become part of the tradition!

Bud Bakewell Bruins 2014 – 2015

Ice Hockey Tryouts Always looking for good parents, players & coaches.

MITE / SQUIRT

PEE WEE & BANTAM Mixed

One Goal loaner equipment available if needed.

Pee Wee Contact Kevin Kumpf ......... 348-6378 Bantam Mixed Coach Tom Kubiniec ... 816-5771

April 9th .................................. 8-9:30 pm April 10th ................................... 9-10 pm Coach: TONY JOHNSON .........276-3223

MIDGET U15

MIDGET U18TB

April 11th ..................................... 6-7 pm Coach: JOHN FRACOS ...........605-5344

BANTAM MINOR

April 7th, 8th, 9th ......................... 6-7 pm Coach: RICK KINDZIA ...........316-0224

BANTAM MAJOR

April 7th, 8th, 9th ......................... 7-8 pm Coach: CARL MILLER ...........491-7147

April 11th ................................ 7-8:30 pm

April 7th, 8th ................................ 8-9 pm April 10th ..................................... 6-7 pm Coach: STEVE CALANDRA .......491-9070 Coach: PAUL CRIST ..............310-7018

MIDGET U16TB

April 7th, 8th .............................. 9-10 pm April 10th ..................................... 7-8 pm Coach: SCOTT BRENNAN .......444-3742

MIDGET U16 NTB

April 7th, 8th ............................ 10-11 pm April 10th ..................................... 8-9 pm Coach: BILL CLINE ...............541-8347

MIDGET U18 NTB

April 9th ................................ 9:30-11 pm April 10th ................................. 10-11 pm Interim Coach: Scott Breenan ..... 444-3742 Seeking a Head Coach, please contact Scott Breenan 444-3742

ALL TRYOUTS @ Bud Bakewell Arena (Riverside Park) 2607 Niagara St., Buffalo NY FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT ALLEN SHUBBUCK @ 913-1521 OR BILL CLINE @ 541-8347 For the 2014-2015 season all Bud Bakewell teams will participate in The Harbor Center Academy of Hockey Excellence Program.

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Wheatfield Blades

2014-2015 Travel Team Tryout Schedule All tryouts are at: Hockey Outlet, 3385 Niagara Falls Blvd., North Tonawanda NY. Tryouts: $15 per session

The Wheatfield Blades are a “AAA� hockey association and our teams compete in the Western New York Amateur Hockey League.

House & Travel players (other than current WB players) MUST have a release from their current Hockey Association.

A deposit is required at signing.

www.wheatfieldblades.com

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TRYOUT Edition 2014-2015

Rochester Youth Hockey TRYOUTS

@JuniorAmericans

Facebook.com/ JuniorAmericans

Check our website for updates & time changes

www.ryhockey.com

Spring and Summer at the Iceplex

Whether you want to Learn to Skate, Learn to Play Hockey, or are just looking for something to do with the family, there’s something for everyone at the Iceplex!

LEARN TO SKATE

INITIATION

Designed for the true beginner

Learn to play hockey program for kids

Program runs Mondays & Saturdays 90 per 8-week session

$

Spring Session: Mon: 5/5 – 6/23 / Sat: 5/10 – 6/28

SPRING HOCKEY

Learn to play hockey for Adults Program runs Wednesday nights

Program runs Wednesday evenings 100 per 8-week session

$

Spring Session: 5/7 – 6/25 Summer Session: 7/9 – 8/27

NEVER EVER LEAGUE

250 per 11-week session

$

ROC’s top spring league now at the Iceplex.

Visit www.rochesterxhl.com for more information

Equipment packages available Spring Session: 3/26 – 5/28 Summer Session: 6/11 – 8/20

For More Information – Visit us online at www.billgraysiceplex.com – 2700 Brighton-Henrietta Townline Rd. –OR IceplexAd_WNYHockeyAd_4-14.indd 1

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Team

Birth Year Day

Bantam Minor AAA Bantam Minor AAA Bantam Minor AA Bantam Minor AA Bantam Major AAA Bantam Major AAA Bantam Major AA Bantam Major AA Midget Minor AAA 15u (Split Season) Midget Minor AAA 15u (Split Season) Midget Minor AA 15u (Split Season) Midget Minor AA 15u (Split Season) Midget Minor AAA 16u (Split Season) Midget Minor AAA 16u (Split Season) Midget Minor AAA 16u (USPHL Full Season) Midget Minor AAA 16u (USPHL Full Season) Midget Minor AA 16u (Split Season) Midget Minor AA 16u (Split Season) Midget Major AAA 18u (USPHL Full Season) Midget Major AAA 18u (USPHL Full Season) Midget Major AA 18u (Split Season) Midget Major AA 18u (Split Season) Girls U12 (Tier 2) Girls U12 (Tier 2) Girls U14 (Tier 1 and 2) Girls U14 (Tier 1 and 2) Girls U16 (Tier 1 and 2) Girls U16 (Tier 1 and 2) Girls U16 (Tier 1 and 2) Girls U19 (Tier 2) Girls U19 (Tier 2) Girls U19 (Tier 2)

2001 2001 2001 2001 2000 2000 2000 2000 1999 1999 1999 1999 1999-98 1999-98 1999-98 1999-98 1999-98 1999-98 1997-96 1997-96 1997-96 1997-96 2003-02 2003-02 2001-00 2001-00 1999-98 1999-98 1999-98 1997-95 1997-95 1997-95

MON TUES WED THUR MON TUES WED THUR MON TUES WED THUR MON TUES MON TUES WED THUR MON TUES WED THUR TUES WED TUES WED TUES WED THUR TUES WED THUR

Date 4/7/2014 4/8/2014 4/9/2014 4/10/2014 4/7/2014 4/8/2014 4/9/2014 4/10/2014 4/7/2014 4/8/2014 4/9/2014 4/10/2014 4/7/2014 4/8/2014 4/7/2014 4/8/2014 4/9/2014 4/10/2014 4/7/2014 4/8/2014 4/9/2014 4/10/2014 4/8/2014 4/9/2014 4/8/2014 4/9/2014 4/8/2014 4/9/2014 4/10/2014 4/8/2014 4/9/2014 4/10/2014

Time 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM 5:20 PM - 6:50 PM 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM 5:45 PM - 7:15 PM 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM 6:15 PM - 7:15 PM 6:50 PM - 8:20 PM 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM 5:45 PM - 7:15 PM 7:15 PM - 8:15 PM 8:20 PM - 9:50 PM 7:15 PM - 8:15 PM 8:20 PM - 9:50 PM 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM 7:15 PM - 8:45 PM 8:15 PM - 9:15 PM 7:15 PM - 8:45 PM 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM 5:10 PM - 6:10 PM 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM 6:10 PM - 7:10 PM 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM 7:10 PM - 8:10 PM 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM 8:10 PM - 9:10 PM 8:45 PM - 9:45 PM

GIRLS TRY HOCKEY FOR FREE – Free 6-week program – Includes equipment – Starts April 21

Visit us at Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex

Preregister online at billgraysiceplex.com

Call 424-4625

MIceplexAd_WNYHockeyAd_4-14.indd 2

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2014-2015 Tryouts All Tryouts at West Seneca Ice Rink Monday, April 7

Tuesday, April 8

Wednesday, April 9

Girls 14U Tier I

4:00pm Bantam Major Tier I

5:00pm Midget 16U Tier I

5:00pm

Bantam Major Tier I

5:00pm Bantam Minor Tier I

6:00pm Girls 14U Tier I

6:00pm

Bantam Minor Tier I

6:00pm Bantam Tier II Mixed

7:00pm Girls 16U Tier II

7:00pm

Midget 18U Tier I

7:00pm Girls 14U Tier I / Girls 16U Tier II 8:00pm Bantam Tier II Mixed

Midget 16U Tier I

8:00pm Midget 15U

Midget 15U

9:00pm Midget 18U Tier I

Girls 14U will be playing Tier 1 next season.

8:00pm

9:00pm 10:00pm

2014-15 Wings Coaches Bantam Minor Tier I Bantam Major Tier I

• High School Hockey Friendly Schedule.

• 50 plus games.

• 2 showcase tournaments.

• 2 home tournaments.

• 22 Canadien league games.

• Off ice strength training & conditioning program.

Bantam Mixed Tier II Midget 15U Midget 16U Midget 18U

For more information contact, Rocco Dellaneve at 432-9728 or email: ddella1219@aol.com

Girls 14U Girls 16U

Jim McCarthy Bill Gehen Ken Kwilos Dick ‘Rogie’ Marini Pat Corbett Jim Rindfleisch Steve Hietanen Mike Tobias Rocco DellaNeve Brian Hillery

870-9696 861-0841 984-9051 352-0448 998-7836 316-3121 984-9185 574-3292 432-9728 512-3425

www.westsenecayouthhockey.com

wnyhockeyreport.com

TRYOUT Edition 2014-2015

BUFFALO STARS 2014-2015 TRyOUTS Bantam / Midget / Girls

All Participants must present a release from their current organization in order to participate in the tryout. Release required even from House League.

Tryout fee is $15 per session.

“S” indicates Split Season Team.

Contact us at: SportsNiag@aol.com Visit our website for Budgets; Coach Bio; Season Plan; etc...

For general information contact Pete Preteroti at 685-1122 or visit us on line at:

Team

Time

Rink

Monday 4/7/14

U18S U15S and U16S U18’s Full Season U16’s Full Season All Girls Bantam Major and Minor

6:00 - 7:00 pm 7:00 - 8:00 pm 4:00 - 5:15 pm 5:15 - 6:15 pm 9:15 -10:30 pm 9:30 - 10:30 pm

Hyde Park Hyde Park Holiday Holiday Holiday Holiday

Tuesday 4/8/14

Bantam Minor Bantam Major U18’s Full Season U16’s Full Season U15S U16S and U18S

6:00 - 7:00 pm 7:00 - 8:00 pm 3:30 - 4:45 pm 4:45 - 6:00 pm 8:15 - 9:15 pm 9:15 - 10:30 pm

Hyde Park Hyde Park Holiday Holiday Holiday Holiday

Wednesday 4/9/14

U18 Full Season U16 Full Season U15S U16S and U18S Bantam Minor Girls 14 and 16 Bantam Major Girls 19

5:15 - 6:15 pm 6:15 - 7:15 pm 7:15 - 8:15 pm 8:15 - 9:15 pm 5:30 - 6:30 pm 6:30 - 7:30 pm 7:30 - 8:30 pm 8:30 - 9:30 pm

Holiday Holiday Holiday Holiday Holiday Holiday Holiday Holiday

www.buffalostars.com

Try-out Schedule Bantam – Midget - Girls 14/u 2014-2015 Season Team

Tryout fee is $15 per session. Any player that did not play in the Hamburg Hawks organization, house or travel, for the 2013-2014 season must provide a NYSAHA player release from your previous organization.

Womens Senior; Players interested should contact Tom Nelson @ 583-2654

All coaches to be posted online at: www.HamburgHawks.org

Birth Year Bantam Minor 2001 Coach: Mark Dantonio

Date

Time

Rink

Monday 4/7/14 Tuesday 4/8/14

6 pm 7 pm

Hamburg Hamburg

Bantam Major 2000 Coach: Chris Damiani

Monday 4/7/14 Tuesday 4/8/14

7 pm 8 pm

Hamburg Hamburg

Bantam Minor II 2001 Coach: Jeff Sortisio Midget 16/u 1998/99 Coach: Brian Dehlinger

Wednesday 4/9/14 7 pm

Hamburg

Monday 4/7/14 Tuesday 4/8/14

8 pm 6:30 pm

Hamburg Leisure

Midget 18/u 1997/96 Coach: John Miller

Monday 4/7/14 Tuesday 4/8/14

9 pm 8 pm

Hamburg Leisure

Midget 16/u II 1998/99 Coach: Gary Hughes

Wednesday 4/9/14 8 pm

Hamburg

Midget 18/u II 1997/96 Coach: Tim Hennigan

Wednesday 4/9/14 9 pm

Hamburg

Girls 14/under 2000/under Thursday 4/10/14 Coach: Rob Compise

HamburgHawks.org

6 pm

Hamburg

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2014 -15 Tryouts

Attention Ladies The Niagara County Coyotes want YOU!!!

Now forming

19U, 16U, 14U, and 12U Teams For the 2014-2015 Travel Hockey Season

Tryouts will be held at Hyde Park ($10 per session) Wed. April 9th 5-6pm Thurs. April 10th 6-7pm Sat. April 12th 2-3pm

No Politics, Just Hockey!

Any questions, please contact: Coach Bill (Fanton) Email – coachbill013@hotmail.com / Cell – (716) 378-6226

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All tryouts @ Hyde Park Rink One. All tryouts are $15 per tryout MOHL Coming In Fall 2014

Bantam Minor Coach: Dan Fitzpatrick Mon., 4/7/14 .......6:00 pm

Tues., 4/8/14 ...... 6:00 pm

Any questions email: hockey35us@yahoo.com / Phone: 534-6899

Bantam Major AA Coach: Tom Giordano Mon., 4/7/14 .......6:00 pm

Tues., 4/8/14 ...... 6:00 pm

Any questions email: tgiordano153@yahoo.com / Phone: 866-5285

Midget 15U AA Coach: Kevin Smith Tues., 4/8/14.......7:00 pm

Wed., 4/9/14....... 6:00 pm

Any questions email: the4smittys@yahoo.com / Phone: 907-9424

Midget 16U TB Coach: Guy Fratello Mon., 4/7/14 .......7:00 pm

Wed., 4/9/14....... 7:00 pm

Any questions email: norp76@aol.com / Phone: 504-7433

Midget 18U TB Coach: Cary O’Donoghue Mon., 4/7/14 .......8:00 pm

Tues., 4/8/14 ...... 8:00 pm

Any questions email: irishdog@roadrunner.com / Phone: 940-3002

All players must have signed release if from a different organization.

Please bring a copy of birth certificate.

www.NiagaraCountyCoyotes.com

TRYOUT Edition 2014-2015

Old Timers Spring Classic

wnyhockeyreport.com

Adult Father & Adult B Spring Son Spring Division Spring Classic Classic Classic

April 11th – 13th

April 25th – 27th

May 9th – 11th

May 16th – 18th

• 2 Free Pitchers of Beer After Each Game Per Team

• 2 Free Pitchers of Beer After Each Game Per Team

• 2 Free Pitchers of Beer After Each Game Per Team

• 2 Free Pitchers of Beer After Each Game Per Team

• First Place Trophy, MVP’s & Raffle

• First Place Trophy, MVP’s & Raffle

• First Place Trophy, MVP’s & Raffle

• First Place Trophy, MVP’s & Raffle

$650.00

$650.00

$650.00

$650.00

Check out our website www.tcice.com for details or call us (585)223-2160 ext 21. 80 Lyndon Road, Fairport, NY 14450

www.tcice.com

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32

2014/15 Tryouts

Clarence Mustangs Midget 15U AA 1999 Monday 4/7 @ 5:40pm Tuesday 4/8 @ 6:30pm Tryouts at Hockey Outlet, Niagara Falls Blvd in Wheatfield

Tryouts are Free All Positions Open

Competitive schedule, focus on future development, dryland training, serious team focus in a disciplined program.

Release and copy of players birth certificate required. $200 deposit required. $50 deposit for uniform.

Contact: Todd Boci Coach/Manager 628-1714 tcb1026@yahoo.com Ryan Walerowicz Coach/On Ice Development 514-2097 Rwalerowicz@gmail.com

www.clarencemustangs.com

Southtowns Stars Amateur Hockey Association 2014 -15 Travel Tryouts At Leisure Rinks

Southtowns is a USA Hockey organization that plays Tier II travel in the Western New York Amateur Hockey League. All Major as well as the Midget TB teams are State Tournament eligible.

Bantam Minor (2001)

Bantam Major (2000)

Midget 15U (1999)

Mon., April 7 @ 7:30 pm Mon., April 7 @ 8:45 pm Mon., April 7 @ 8:30 pm Wed., April 9 @ 6:00 pm Wed., April 9 @ 7:15 pm Wed., April 9 @ 8:15 pm

Midget 16U (1998)

Midget 18U (1996-97)

Mon., April 7 @ 7:15 pm Wed., April 9 @ 7:00 pm

Mon., April 7 @ 6:00 pm Wed., April 9 @ 5:45 pm

All tryouts $20. (Covers both sessions). All players form organizations other than Southtowns must have a 2013-2014 release from that organization, and a copy of their birth certificate. Mixed teams will be picked after the Major and Minor teams are established. A $250 deposit (check or money order) is due at signing.

Please check our website for: • Red, White & Blue through Midget House signups will begin in April • Beginner program – we offer an established Red, White & Blue cross ice beginner program • Coaching applications – we are currently accepting for the 2014-15 house teams We are still looking for AA – Capable Travel goalies of both Squirt and PeeWee ages!!!

For more information about Southtowns, please download our parent manual from our website, or email Jeff Leemer at Travel@Southtownsstars.com

www.southtownsstars.com

wnyhockeyreport.com

TRYOUT Edition 2014-2015

Sure, maybe our stripes are changing, but our ‘Rocks principles never will...

What does an independent program with no tryouts get you?

That’s easy: A nationally recognized education-based, elementary style hockey academy focused on fun, family, perspective and culture while featuring the very best instruction, development and skill-appropriate challenge and a core curriculum to take your skater from Learn-toPlay through highest level travel, for girls and boys from 3-14 years of age while emphasizing sportsmanship, teamwork and personal responsibility and by extension providing the greatest potential for long term enjoyment and a rewarding experience! Simple. But you already knew that.

And now is your exclusive chance to be a part of it next year!

‘RocksRegistration NOW ACCEPTING REGISTRATIONS

W W W. G O R O C K S . O R G ( 7 1 6 ) 5 2 3 - R O C K

2014/15 Tryouts All Tryouts at Hyde Park Bantam Minor

Bantam Major

April 7th 8:00 – 9:00 PM April 8th 5:00 – 6:00 PM April 9th 5:00 – 6:00 PM

April 7th 9:00 – 10:00 PM April 8th 8:00 – 9:00 PM April 9th 6:00 – 7:00 PM

Any questions please call Coach Tim Jones @ 998.6657

Any questions please call Coach Sam DeFranks @ 462.3277

$20.00 for all three tryouts.

Please bring a copy of your release and birth certificate.

www.tonawandalightning.org

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Be An Amherst Knight All Amherst Youth Hockey’s House Programs are open to nonresidents. Our Tier I, Tier II and Girls Travel Programs are also open to non-residents, but on a limited basis. Complete details can be found on our website under the Association tab.

We are holding try-outs for the upcoming 2014-2015 Travel Season in March and April. Specific dates, times, and levels can be found on our website listed below.

www.amherstyouthhockey.org

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Join the ROC JUNIOR A HOCKEY TEAM

Follow All The WNY Hockey News @ www.wnyhockey report.com

Our informational meeting will be March 10 and 24 at 7:30 pm at Lakeshore Hockey Arena,123 Ling Road Rochester, N.Y. 14612

Tryouts

at Lakeshore Hockey Arena 123 Ling Road, Rochester, N.Y. Saturday, May 17 ............... 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Sunday, May 18 ........................... 1 pm – 4 pm Finals evaluations on Saturday May 24 at 7 pm Director of Player Development & Assistant Coach - Mike Callahan If anyone has any questions they can email Jack Slade, GM @ jslade@rochester.rr.com Contact our Head Coaches: Todd Gruttadauria – TGRUTT20@YAHOO.COM Tom Donnelly – tbdonn@gmail.com

www.roccityroyals.com

Buffalo Jr Sabres

36

Jr. Sabres: The winding & sometimes weird playoff road

by Michael J. Mroziak michael@wnyhockeyreport.com Had a seventh game become necessary, the Buffalo Junior Sabres were ready to host that series-deciding matchup against their Ontario Junior Hockey League opponents, the Mississauga Chargers, at the Northtown Center at Amherst on Tuesday, March 11. The time for the opening faceoff?

At 12:30 p.m.

Buffalo leading 1-0, the machine broke down and forced officials to scrap the rest of the game and turn what would have been Game Three at First Niagara Center into the newly restarted Game Two. Buffalo made the most of that break, jumping to a 2-0 series lead with a 7-2 win.

Yes, in between broken down equipment and possible needs for off-ice staff to find ways out of their day jobs for a game, there was hockey.

Luckily for the Jr. Sabres and their staff, there was no need to play the Chargers during a weekday lunch hour, as Buffalo eliminated their first-round opponent the night before in Mississauga. The unusual start time was the result of trying to find available ice on very short notice, with both tryouts and the New York State Championships at Northtown Center all gobbling up precious prime time slots.

Tim Kielich has 3 goals and 3 assists in seven games.

Courtesy OJHL Images Buffalo’s opening series against Mississauga proved to be a goalie’s duel at moments, with the Jr. Sabres’ Joseph Pianta and the Chargers’ Austin Washkurak both kept quite busy. Washkurak faced at least 40 shots in three of his starts and averaged about 35 saves per game. Pianta averaged about 31 shots per game, including a 41-save performance.

Offensively, two of the team’s reliable leaders have again produced points, forwards Pat Egan, Ryan Schmelzer and Nolan Sheeran. However, as the playoffs often do, others emerge to the forefront. For Buffalo, it’s been Michael Ederer and Tim Kielich.

Meanwhile if you believe the message boards frequented by followers of the OJHL, particularly the Canadian rivals, you’d be led to think Buffalo planned its schedule in a smoke-filled, darkened back room.

This wasn’t the only unusual incident in the BuffaloMississauga series. The Jr. Sabres were gifted with two consecutive home dates, courtesy of a failed Zamboni at Mississauga’s Port Credit Arena. It happened as the Chargers were hosting Game Two of the series. With

Meanwhile, head coach and general manager Michael Peca has not hesitated to call up quite a few additional players to deepen the Jr. Sabres’ roster during the playoff run. These include Colin Farrell, Michael Faliero, Chris Moses, Colton Anstey, Matt Mahony and goaltender Evan Jordan. Farrell led the call-ups in time played, appearing in five games.

The second round of the OJHL Playoffs was just getting underway at press time, with the Jr. Sabres facing West Division rival Georgetown, who advanced from the first round with a four-game sweep of the Milton Icehawks.

Welcome to the sometimes wacky world of junior hockey, the playoff edition.

The Jr. Sabres’ occasional home away from home, First Niagara Center in downtown Buffalo, was used for some of the dates but was unavailable for Game Seven thanks to the NHL’s Sabres hosting Nashville that evening.

Gilbert has played well positionally while Dylan Howatt, who rejoined the team mid-season, has increased Buffalo’s physical play in their own end.

Ederer, a first-year member who has committed to St. Lawrence University in 2015, led the team with four goals and five assists in seven games (including Buffalo’s 4-1 win over the Georgetown Raiders in the opening game of that second-round playoff series, a series still in progress at press time). Kielich, meanwhile, had three goals and three assists in seven games, tying him for third in team playoff scoring to date with Sheeran.

Egan and Schmelzer scored key goals in Buffalo’s series-winning 6-4 victory over Mississauga on March 10. Schmelzer’s goal proved to be the game winner.

Defensively, Jason Heerdt has chipped in with key points, including an empty-netter in the final game of the Mississauga series that put the game on ice. Dennis

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Daniel LaFontaine commits to Canisius.

Courtesy OJHL Images

LaFontaine commits to Canisius A third member of the Jr. Sabres roster made a verbal commitment to Canisius College hockey when Daniel LaFontaine announced his intention to become a Golden Griffin beginning in 2015.

Teammates Ryan Schmelzer and Nolan Sheeran will be heading there this coming fall.

He became the seventh member of the roster to choose an NCAA Division I program. In addition to the trio of Canisius-bound players, Nick DeSimone is heading to Union this fall, Max Mikowski will enroll at RIT, Dennis Gilbert is committed to Niagara 2015 and Michael Ederer is bound for St. Lawrence 2015. Former Jr. Sabres defenseman Mason Evans, who was traded to Pickering during the regular season, has committed to Connecticut College.

Local Ref Works Olympic Games

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Local Ref Works Olympic Games As we sat in his modest corner office overlooking the main rink at Bill Gray's Iceplex where he is in his second year as General Manager of the complex, I could tell very quickly that Chris Woodworth was very passionate about his work there and even more so, the game of hockey.

'Woody' was born and raised in Canandaigua, NY, started officiating at the age of 13, and like most officials played travel hockey right through High School.

He has the distinction of being a member of the Canandaigua HS team in their inaugural season.

After playing a season of Junior hockey and heading Chris “Woody” Woodworth, with his off to college at momentos from Sochi. SUNY Geneseo, Chris decided to concentrate on officiating.

After graduating in 2003, Chris attended the USA Hockey Officiating Program's Regional Camp, and was offered a spot in the Officials Development Program, which he quickly accepted and was soon on his way to Dallas to live and use as a home base for his travels around the Western half of the US, working full-time in the NAHL and also working games in the Central Hockey

on-ice and off-ice drills and fitness testing. It was at this point Chris said to himself, "Hey, I really have a shot at this!".

Almost four long months later, in the evening on Dec. 6, Chris received an email from USA Hockey congratulating him on his selection as an official for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi! He ended up working three exciting games, a round-robin match between Canada and Norway, a bitter rivalry game between Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and a play-in game between Slovenia and Austria. Chris couldn't say enough about the experience. all very positive despite the negative media the games had been getting, and sitting across the desk from Chris two weeks after the Olympics, I could still sense the excitement he felt, and the accomplishment that it was for this hard-working official!

Technically Speaking Did you know...? ...that the blue line is considered part of whatever zone the puck is in? When the puck is traveling through the neutral zone the blue line is part of the neutral zone and is not considered 'in the zone' until the puck completely crosses the edge of the blue line closest to the net, at which time the blue line is now part of the end zone!

ALL players skates must be either behind or in contact with the blue line before the puck crosses the line! One exception to this rule is if a player stickhandles backwards into the zone. As long as he has possession and control of the puck, he may proceed the puck into the zone as long as all other players are onsides! For the puck to be considered 'out of the zone', it has to completely cross the edge of the blue line nearest center ice. If any part (however small it might be) of the puck is still touching the blue line and kept inside the zone this is considered an 'onside' play!

League as well the USHL. Before the start of the '04-'05 season Chris worked a pre-season game in Syracuse and was asked to join the AHL staff, progressively working more games as the season wore on, finishing with 24 games and an Eastern Conference Finals assignment!

That season was a busy one for him, working almost 150 games between the UHL, the ECHL and the USHL, including a raucous UHL tilt in Elmira with yours truly!

(Continued from page 15)

West Seneca The Bantam Tier II Team won the WNYAHL Bantam Mixed Championship, defeating the Buffalo Bisons, 3-0.

The Wings scored all their goals in the second period. Evan Shanley opened the scoring, assisted by Matt Pitiss. Griffin O'Brien scored a shorthanded goal late in the period, assisted by Max Dobrick and Jason Wojciechowski tallied just 48 seconds later, assisted by Pat Arcuri.

Goalie Eric Piotrowski earned the shutout.

Wheatfield Blades The Wheatfield Blades Mite Minor 2006 hockey team capped off an already successful season by winning the GHAHL Mite Madness Hockey Tournament held at the Hockey Outlet in Wheatfield during the first weekend in March.

The Blades started slowly in the tournament but rebounded to win their last 3 games defeating Clarence, 3-0, in the final. Goalie Ryan Weiskerger paced the team with his ninth shutout of the season.

The Blades went 32-11-8 in their first full-ice season under the Amateur Athletic Union, winning the Greater Niagara Amateur Hockey League with a 12-1-3 record. Under the guidance of head coach Jon Zemrac and assistant coaches Peter Jacobs, Bryan McMullen, Paul Becigneul and Michael Galante the Blades developed individually and as a team emphasizing skill development and hockey knowledge.

Chris moved back to Rochester and for the next 5 seasons was based there while he traveled around the country, sometimes 30 day road trips at a time, working roughly 130 games a season split between the AHL and USHL. In 2010 he was asked to attend USA Hockey's Elite Officiating Experience in Lake Placid, NY and from his hard work there was granted an IIHF 'A' License. That next season also saw him adding NCAA experience to his resume but unfortunately had to turn down his first two IIHF assignments due to injury.

Woody's first IIHF assignment finally came to light in 2012, working the U20 World Junior Championships in Calgary, AB, topping off his first tournament with the Bronze Medal game! Next season Chris made the trip to Stockholm, Sweden to work the Men's World Championships, including a pivotal round-robin game between Canada and Sweden. His work there didn't go unnoticed and along with 31 other IIHF officials was invited to a Pre-Olympic selection camp in the alps of Magglingen, Switzerland the summer of 2013. Of the 32 officials attending the camp, 14 would be selected to work at the Sochi Olympics. There was 3 days of grueling

Around The Associations

Rich Prochaska Rick Prochaska, born and raised in Toronto, is a local Ice Hockey Official. Putting the stripes on in 1995 after a stellar Men's League career, Rick worked 10 years of NCAA D1 and six seasons in the now defunct UHL. Currently in the twilight of his officiating career, he is a board member of NYSHOA and a 15 year member of NIHOA, still officiating local Section VI High School and Club College. He has two daughters, Maddison & McKenna and resides on Grand Island.

WNYHockeyReport.com

The Blades also enjoyed tournament success with wins in the Ruby Division Championship at the Cujo Tyke Invitational held in Newmarket, Ontario, in January. The team also finished second in the Under the Lock outdoor hockey tournament held in February in Peterborough, Ontario. The Blades were the first ever USbased team to participate in this tournament, which has previously been featured by CBC in its annual “Hockey Day in Canada” broadcasts.

The team’s leading scorers included Joseph Muscarella, Cole Bailey, Jason Galante, Zach Zemrac and Owen Tylec. Outstanding defensive play came from Austin McMullen, Cash Jacobs, Matthew Lansing and Shane Smith.

Men’s Club Hockey Report

38

WNY Playoff Club Hockey Report

by Lars Lewis lars@wnyhockeyreport.com The 2013-2014 Club season has come to a close with two stunning tournament victories.

One team in the ACHA that has been an established power in the NECHL but has had the tournament championship escape their grasp, finally found vindication while the other in the UNYCHL came right into the league in their first ever season and walked away with the spoils.

The purple-cladded Niagara Purple Eagles of the NECHL (Division I) and upstart Rochester U/Nazareth of the UNYCHL (Division III), won their respected tournaments and will go into next season as the top dogs in New York.

Purple reign indeed.

Division I ACHA NIAGARA The #3 seeded Niagara Purple Eagles ran the table, winning nine-straight to not only clinch a playoff spot, but win the whole thing as they defeated #5 Canisius College in a thrilling 6-5 victory on March 3 at Northtown Center in Amherst, NY. The win gave head coach Larry Brzeczkowski his first Championship in his 17 years as head man of the Purple Eagles.

an 8-7 OT loss to lowly St. Bonaventure to end the NECHL slate. But they caught fire when it mattered and they can enter the offseason feeling confident for next year after their successful debut season in the NECHL. Additional notes: Sophomore forward Jess Hackett (Springville, NY) led the team in goals, assists and points (26G 25A 51PTS). Hackett also finished third in the NECHL in points (24) and fourth in goals (12).

The hosts of this year’s tournament and defending champion was ousted by the Niagara Purple Eagles in the semifinals on March 1, losing 3-1 at Northtown Center. Niagara got their revenge after U.B’s thrilling championship win over the Purps last year. 24) The defeat comes as a big disappointment for a Bulls team that borderline dominated the NECHL all year and narrowly missed out on the Regular Season Title and an automatic ACHA M1 Nationals bid to the Syracuse Orange (who lost in the first round to Oakland on March 6).

The Bulls were also snubbed from the Nationals as the Illinois Illini bumped the Bulls out of the spot back in mid-February.

Notes; Junior Brenden Robinson led the NECHL in assists with 15 while junior Michael Schalberg finished third in goals with 13.

UNYCHL PLAYOFF RECAP Rochester/Nazareth: UNYCHL CHAMPIONS

Brzeczkowski was 0-6 in championship games until his group’s triumph over the plucky Golden Griffins, who shocked #1 Syracuse in the semifinals 5-3 on March 1.

Roc/Naz in their first year in the league, came into the playoffs as a third-seed in the West Division and became the first team in the division to win the UNYCHL since 2006-2007 (St. John Fisher) in the first UNYCHL season ever.

For coach Brzeczkowski, a gigantic sigh of relief, a feeling of vindication and the satisfaction of finally acquiring the one championship that avoided him on six other occasions in the past.

Three days, three wins and bragging rights for the next year. The Purple Eagles stand alone in the NECHL.

CANISIUS The #5 seeded Canisius College Golden Griffins almost snuck away with the title in their first year in the NECHL, but were thwarted by the #3 Niagara Purple Eagles in the championship game, losing 6-5 at Northtown Center in Amherst, NY on March 3.

Canisius’ road to the championship started with a 3-1 quarterfinal victory over #4 Oswego State. The Griffs followed that up by stunning the top-seeded Orange of Syracuse 5-3 in the semifinal before eventually falling to the surging Purple Eagles.

It wasn’t a smooth ride for the Griffs before their run, as they went 2-2 in the second half of the year, including

Geneseo (4-6-3) had to earn its way into the qualifying round, earning points in their last four games (2-0-2) to bump the Medaille Mavericks (3-7-2) out of the fourth and final spot in the playoffs.

U.B.

U.B.

Junior Jacob Ledyard registered a hat trick and also pinned the puck along the boards after a crucial faceoff win by Jarred Mitrano with mere seconds left in a 6-5 game to seal the Championship for Niagara.

Niagara also got revenge on last year’s champion the U.B Bulls, beating them in the semifinals 3-1 on March 1.

But in the semifinals against undefeated Union (130), the Knights’ near Cinderella run came short, losing 7-5 at Bill Gray’s Iceplex in Rochester on February 28

The team that crashed the party.

Their journey began with a 4-2 shocker over the #2 U.B Bulls, who went 5-0-1 in their last six games going into their clash with Roc/Naz. In the semifinal against #3 Hobart (8-4) of the East Division, Roc/Naz edged out Hobart 5-4 to punch a ticket into the Championship and a date with undefeated Union (13-0), led by East Division Player of the Year goaltender Charlie Gawne.

In the battle for the UNYCHL Championship between David and Goliath, the combined club of Roc/Naz stunned once-unblemished Union 3-2 to win their first title.

Nick Caruthers and James Sergeant both scored for Roc/Naz while Brett Barton scored the game-winner and added 2013-2014 West Division Player of the Year to his hardware collection.

The heavily-favored U.B Bulls were ousted by eventual UNYCHL Champion Rochester U/Nazareth in the qualifying round before cross-divisional play began by a score of 4-2 on February 22 at Northtown Center in Amherst, NY. Them, along with the Division I Bulls of the ACHA had their year end in disappoint after a stellar regular season that had the D-III Bulls going 5-0-1 their last six games before their eventual defeat against Roc/Naz in the playoffs.

But the Bulls didn’t go away without any hardware, head coach Jim Doersam won the 2013-2014 West Division Coach of the Year.

BROCKPORT How the mighty had fallen.

After head coach Rustin McNiff’s resignation from the team in late January, the #1 seeded Brockport North Stars went winless the rest of the year and got thumped by the underdog #4 Geneseo Knights 11-0 in the cross-divisional qualifying round.

It’s the second straight year the North Stars started red hot, but once-again their season coming undone late.

After starting the campaign 8-0 and well on their way to what looked to be an unbeaten season, the departure of McNiff hit the North Stars hard and their season unraveled afterward. They proceeded to go winless the rest of the way (0-2-2) and then got blasted

by Geneseo in the postseason.

Senior Eric Perlowitz finished second in the West Division in points with 22 in 10 games.

Special thanks to UNYCHL Commissioner Andy Musto for all of his service and support throughout the season. If you or your school would like to learn more about the UNYCHL, contact the league at unychl@gmail.

GENESEO It was a spirited run for the Geneseo Knights, who plowed through #1 Brockport 11-0 in the West Division qualifying round before the crossdivisional playoff began.

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com, or by phone at 315-256-1680.

Club Hockey Feature Interview

39

17 Years Worth The Wait – Niagara’s Coach Brzeczkowski Wins NECHL

by Lars Lewis lars@wnyhockeyreport.com For the Niagara Purple Eagles of the ACHA and their head coach Larry Brzeczkvowski, it was over 17 years of dedication, sacrifice and perseverance that came to euphoria after their 6-5 NECHL Championship victory over the Canisius College Golden Griffins on March 2 at Northtown Center in Amherst, NY. In those 17 years, Brzeczkowski has turned a team from humble beginnings to a legitimate power in club hockey. Last year the Purple Eagles went undefeated in the regular season (18-0), but were heartbroken by the University at Buffalo Bulls in the Championship, blowing two four-goal leads in the 8-7 double-overtime loss.

A defeat like that, combined with the loss of key players, could undoubtably crush the confidence of a coach and a program.

But Brzeczkowski persevered and took this year’s Purple Eagles all the way to their first-ever NECHL Championship.

Here is the backstory behind this year’s journey, in Brzeczkowski’s own words.

1) Describe the feeling you had when Jarred Mitrano won that crucial face-off and Jacob Ledyard pinned the puck in the corner to win? How proud were you in how well both men played in that game?

L.B: Jarred has been one of our best face-off guys for the past two seasons and Jake never loses a battle. My thought if Jarred can win that draw to the corner Jake wins the battle and kills the clock, we got it. Those are the little things fans, players, parents don’t realize that coaches think about.

My thought if Jarred can win that draw to the corner Jake wins the battle and kills the clock, we got it. Those are the little things fans, players, parents don’t realize that coaches think about.

I am sure every player on my bench wanted to be out there but that was my best choice according to stats and how the game was being played. JL (Ledyard) already had a hat trick, no chance he’d let a goal in. The feeling was great knowing I made the right choice with the players on the ice.

2) You’ve had numerous successful seasons in the past that included six appearances in the Championship game but fell short each time, what was the difference this year with this team that finally got you over the hump?

L.B: Four of those years we played fully-funded teams with a paid coaching staff at a less expensive college, those are tough battles to win.

We came out this year in the first semester timid and slow and it took time the for the chemistry and trust amongst teammates to kick in. Once it did, players realized what the coaching staff put together for a roster and believed and we finished the year on a nine-game winning streak.

3) The Championship almost got away when Canisius scored twice in the third to cut the lead to 6-5 in the third period, what were you telling your team on the bench late in the third when things were getting tight?

L.B: Don’t let the referees get in your head, play your game and believe in yourself, play the systems we installed and keep clam. Momentum is a big thing in any sport and sometimes you have to weather the storm.

5) You mentioned senior captain Erik McKown after winning the championship, what has he meant to this club not only on the ice, but off of it as well?

L.B: “E” as we call him has been a rock on and off the ice for the past two seasons. Funny how things develop his freshman season he was fresh out of juniors and full of vinegar and took way too many penalties.

We knew he would be a great player for us and just had to develop into the college game. I knew once we got to Sunday and the Championship game, there was no way Erik and the other captains would not step up and win it.

6) Your first-year class was spectacular, led by Dallas Szustak (15G 12A 27GP) and Andrew Mitch (11G 11A 24GP). What was it like coaching them this year along with the rest of the first-year players?

L.B: Those two guys were studs at both ends of the arena. When you can get guys that put up the stats but also play close attention to defense, what a win/win for a coach.

Defenseman Seth Gustin stepped right in and teamed up with Max Hyland and those two were monsters and played 25 minutes per game, I think they might have been in the top 5 for defense pairings in all of the ACHA. The rest of the rookies stepped in and did what we expected and did not over step their place and knew their roles so it was a nice fit.

I think to start the season we were a bit over confident, especially with the talent that we recruited.

4) Your team went undefeated in the NECHL last year (18-0) but lost. This year was a rockier road with some setbacks, did the adversity help fuel you guys and helped the team become tougher come playoff time?

Why or why not?

L.B: I think to start the season we were a bit over confident, especially with the talent that we recruited.

We took 12 new players and a roster turnover like that takes time to develop. We also lost our top defenseman the second game of the season, one of our best forward recruits after the third game (for the season) and our senior captain(Erik McKown) our second game for the next seven. Put all that together it makes for a tough locker room and lineup.

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7) You’ve coached 17 years at Niagara with a Championship finally in the trophy case, what does this mean to you personally knowing the journey you went through to get to this point?

L.B: Unreal. I remember when I first took this team over, I was playing games with 7-9 players, the program was a mess.

Clay Miller’s Class was the class that put us on the map.

Luckily for me a couple years after Clay Miller graduated I convinced him to join me on the bench. Clay has been the back bone to our recruiting the past six years and I truly believe he is a top 10 recruiter in all the ACHA. I hope after his 1-year leave of absence, he decides to join me again.

Good things come to those who wait and I have waited! I think the core of our current team with the class we have coming in, Niagara ACHA hockey is here to stay and we will be a top-20 team for many years to come.

Top Shelf

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Top Shelf Hockey’s Training For Success – Proper Nutrition and Athletes by: Mike Smietana Hello, and welcome to my new article section in the top hockey magazine of Western, NY and would like to thank Mr. Ian Woods for giving me the opportunity. I would like to start out by talking about one area that is usually overlooked, “Nutrition.”

In recent years, nutrition has become a very big part in professional sports. There is no longer the idea that “if you’re an athlete training all of the time that you can simply eat whatever you want.” More and more athletes are realizing that your body is like a machine and what you put into your body is what you usually get when you are training and competing. My father who is a retired veteran of the United States NAVY always compared our bodies to that of a car. He always said “if you put bad fuel in your car it will not run good.” His point was that if you put the best fuels your body needs like fruits, vegetables, and water your body will run better as well. Now that I am a certified personal trainer and knowing my daily recommended intakes I can make the proper adjustments. Although, when I look back on my hockey playing days I can tell you from firsthand experience that my dad’s advice was true. Looking back on when I played Junior A hockey, I ate better and I noticed that I had more energy than a couple of years later when I didn’t eat as well during my college hockey at Fredonia. I noticed that during the times I was most productive in sports was when I had the most well balanced nutritional plan. If you look at the NHL or all of pro sports for that matter, each modern professional sports team is staffed with nutritionists, and strength and conditioning coaches. Players even take it upon themselves to hire their own personal nutritionists or strength and conditioning coaches to give them a nutritional plan.

Professional athletes are working on their nutrition and so should the aspiring athlete. Check out USA hockey’s general guidelines.

Train To Be Your Best During my second season coaching ice hockey in Germany I helped a player named Kris Gehring to lose 25 pounds while I coached him during the 2011-2012 hockey season.

From the diet and training With Mike's training and nutritional program I guidance, Kris lost 25 lbs. provided him with he was able to transform his eating and training habits. He started eating a healthier more balanced intake of calories, as well as a training program that was tailored more to his needs. That’s when I decided to implement a personalized nutritional program for athletes into Top Shelf Hockey. My main point of the program is to generate a program that is different and catered to each athlete’s needs. Because, some athletes are trying to add muscle mass and on the other end of the spectrum some are trying to lose fat mass and some are trying to just maintain. To accomplish each goal requires the

Mike is a Certified Personal Trainer, experienced athlete and international ice hockey coach.

Mike Smietana A.S., PHSY EDU Certified Personal Trainer, AFAA info@topshelfhockey.us www.topshelfhockey.us 3/14/14 11:55 AM

proper nutritional advice as well as training recommendations. If interested in getting a program together for your training and nutritional needs please log on to www.topshelfhockey.us and drop me a line with the subject line “nutritional program.”

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Feature

42

For Nick Nickson the Wait Was Worth It

by Randy Schultz Randy@wnyhockeyreport.com “The long wait is over. After 45 years the Kings can wear their crown.

“The Los Angeles Kings have won the Stanley Cup.” That was the call that Nick Nickson had always dreamed of making in his sports broadcasting career. He finally got to make that call on the evening of June 11, 2012 when the Kings finally won the Cup. “It really was a dream come true,” recalled Nickson.

A dream that began for Nickson 38 years earlier in Rochester as the play-by-play voice of the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League for the 197576 season. In 1977 he moved on to the New Haven Nighthawks where he would spend four seasons.

In 1981 Nickson moved from the east coast to the west and joined the Kings. Thirty-three seasons later the Rochester native is still the radio voice of the Kings.

“I grew up in a broadcasting family,” recalled Nickson, who has broadcast over 3300 games of hockey during his career. “My dad was in radio for 60 years, 20 of them as a broadcaster and the other 40 in management.

“But even though I grew up with broadcasting around me, when I went to Ithaca College I really didn’t know for sure what I wanted to do as a freshman. As it turned out I became Communications Management major.

“The great thing about Ithaca College was that you could go on the air immediately as a freshman at the college’s radio station, which is what I did. I wanted to be a disc jockey.

Nick Nickson preparing to call one of the over 3,300 games he broadcast during his career.

“I had just gotten married in 1977. Our first son was born in 1981.

“Two months after he was born, I was on my way to LA. Pete Weber (now the voice of the Nashville Predators) had left the Kings for another job.

“But I also began handling sports. A spot opened up with the Amerks and I sent a tape to them.

“This was in November. I left my wife back home with a two-month old baby.

“I actually took the only tape I had of a hockey game I had done at Ithaca. I thought it was awful.

“You also have to know that I wasn’t the great world traveler. As a kid growing up, I had never been any farther west than Ohio.

“I worked all night and cut out all the bad parts, spliced it together and sent it to the Amerks. They asked me to go on a road trip with them and do a couple of those games."

“I knew nothing about the area. Didn’t know where I was going to live.

“I guess they liked what they heard.

They hired me and here I am, 38 years later, still doing hockey on radio.”

For several years Nickson was teamed up with veteran broadcaster, Bob Miller. They broadcast games on the radio as well as simulcast those games on television.

“I worked all night and cut out all the bad parts, spliced it together and sent it to the Amerks. They asked me to go on a road trip with them and do a couple of those games."

“I guess they liked what they heard. They hired me and here I am, 38 years later, still doing hockey on radio.”

Nickson admits that making that move from New Haven to Los Angeles wasn’t as easy as it looked.

“My wife and son joined me after the holidays that year. At the time my wife and I decided to try it for a couple of years.

“If we didn’t like it we could move back east. I guess we liked it because we’re still in LA.”

Then came the summer of 1988.

“That summer the Kings traded for superstar Wayne Gretzky and hockey, not only in LA, but in the NHL was changed forever,” remembered Nickson, who grew up in Brighton, near Rochester and attended Penfield High School. “That trade put Los Angeles on the hockey map.

“We quit doing the simulcast and had separate TV and radio broadcasts. I was given the opportunity to do playby-play on radio which is what I really enjoyed doing.

“I’m now in my 33rd year with the Kings and Bob is in his 42nd.”

WNYHockeyReport.com

As a tribute to his broadcasting excellence, Nickson was inducted into the Southern California Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2009. He was also inducted into the Frontier Field Walk of Fame (media) in his hometown of Rochester.

In addition in 2006 the Kings held “Nick Nickson Day” at the STAPLES Center. In honor of his service to the organization the Kings named the broadcast center at STAPLES Center the Nick Nickson Broadcast Center in his honor.

The high point of Nickson’s career came two years ago when the Kings won the Stanley Cup. “I think it’s how they won it that people will look back on with amazement,” remarked Nickson, who resides with his wife, Carolyn in Santa Clarita, CA. They have two sons, Nicholas (married to Alexandra) and Timothy. The couple also has two grandchildren, Casey and Avery.

“A number eight seed beating a number one, two and three seed to get to the Finals.

“What are the odds of that? It has never been done before.

“They started every series up three games to none.

Never faced an elimination game throughout the whole playoffs.

“They won 10 straight road games to start the playoffs.

We still talk about it today and ask, ‘did we really do that?’

“We won 16 of 20 games and won the Cup. No Kings team had ever done that in the regular season or playoffs.

“Yet we did it. And the best part for me is that I was there to describe it to our faithful listeners.

“I was glad to be a part of it.”

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WNY Legends of the Game

44

WNY Legends In Hockey: Dave Rost

by Randy Schultz Randy@wnyhockeyreport.com

For baby boomers growing up in what began as a dream for Dave Rost as an eighth grader living in South Buffalo in 1969 became a reality for him four years later.

In 1973 Rost entered the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Not only did Rost fulfill his dream of becoming a soldier, but he would also set NCAA scoring records that still stand today.

In 114 games Rost scored 226 assists, first on the NCAA All-time list, ahead of Wayne Gagne, who had 199 and did it by playing in 48 more games. He also scored 104 goals and has the most points of anyone ever to play college hockey with 330.

Not bad for a guy who began his hockey career on an outdoor rink for the Cazenovia hockey organization in South Buffalo.

“From there it was on to the Buffalo Regals organization,” said Rost, who played for Army from 197377. “As a midget I played in Ft. Erie, Ontario.

“Following that I played two years of Junior hockey in Ft. Erie. Hockey was a passion for me.

“I played other sports as well. I was a pretty well rounded kid as far as sports went.

“But my parents also stressed education. When I was in eighth grade I had the opportunity to visit the United States Military Academy.

“A friend of the family was attending there at the time.

From that moment on I set my sights on going to the Academy.

“We went there on a football weekend and got to see Army play Boston College. I walked around the place, felt comfortable there and felt it was the right place for me.

“Getting to play hockey for Army was just plus, a bonus.”

Rost came from a family of six. Besides Dave, there was Gary, Tom, Mary Kay, Michael and Susie. All give credit for their hockey interest to their parents, Barbara and Clayton.

Upon graduation from Bishop Timon High School, Rost was on his was to West Point. As for Rost playing hockey, that almost didn’t happen.

“That year before I went to the Academy, Chris Curry, an assistant coach from Army was going to come to see me play,” recalled Rost. “But two weeks before he came I broke my ankle.

“Fortunately the ankle healed and assistant coach came back again to see me play. And fortunately for me, my parents didn’t tell me he was coming that second time.

“I think had they told me I would have been a bag or marbles and possibly not played well.”

But play well he did. Upon entering the Academy’s iron gates, Rost went on to become one of the finest hockey players to ever play for the Black Knights.

Rost’s coach at the time was the legendary Jack Riley.

“Anybody who knows hockey knows that Coach Riley coached the first ‘Miracle On Ice’ team back in 1960,” stated Rost. “He coached the 1960 U.S. men’s Olympic Hockey Team to a gold medal.

“He was a tremendous coach as well as tremendous person.”

Rost’s most memorable season came in his senior year (1976-77). That season saw Rost break Dave Merhar’s single season scoring record by one point with 108 points.

Merher set the record in 1968-69 with 57 goals and 50 assists for 107 points in just 28 games. Rost broke the record with a 43 goal and 65 assist campaign for 108 points.

That 76-77 season was a memorable one for Army.

They finished with a 22-6-1 record and outscored their opponents by a two-to-one margin.

One of Rost’s most memorable games that year came against Bryant when he scored nine times in an 11-2 victory for Army. Rost tallied a point in every game that year for the Black Knights.

Rost also had a 10-point weekend against Canada’s College Militaire Royal, and tallied a hat trick and an assist on the last day of the season against the Royal Military College.

For the record, Rost had four point games in each of his last three contests, including two hat tricks. By the time Rost had finished his career at Army he was their alltime leading scorer, had set the school’s single-season mark for assists (66) and the record for most career assists (226).

All three records still stand today. But Rost takes it all in stride.

“I never watched numbers,” said Rost. “The chips fall where they fall based upon the collective group.

“I was fortunate of being in the right place at the right time.”

The former center also gave a lot of credit to his linemates at the time.

“I had George Clark and George Reynolds my first two years,” remembered Rost. “Then I had this kid, Tom Rost, and Danny Murrett.

“Tom was my younger brother and Danny was also

WNYHockeyReport.com

from Buffalo. We had the Buffalo line playing for Army those last two years.

Rost also had the opportunity to play all four years for Army on the legendary Smith Rink.

“That was an outdoor, 200 by 85 rink that got pretty cold during the winter,” recalled Rost. “It was a big ice surface and we were able to handle the surface pretty well.

“Opponents who came to place us, who weren’t used to playing on that size rink, had problems with us. At one time they had the old chain-linked fences at both ends of the rink.

“You could also see the compressor setting behind the penalty box. That wind would be blowing and the fans would be huddled up.

“But those fans could really rock the rink when they got going.”

Following his 12-year military obligation, Captain Rost settled into civilian life. Did the thought of a pro hockey career enter his mind.

“No,” said Rost. “I knew I had my military obligation.

“That was fine was me.”

Today, at 59, Rost works for Kenco Logistics Services in Kalamazoo, Mi. He resides in Grand Rapids, MI with his wife, Debbie. They have two children, Ashley and Courtney.

He is still involved in hockey.

“I’ve been involved in coaching and officiating,” concluded Rost. “I actually got out of coaching two years ago.

“Now I officiate. It keeps me active.

“I’ve been very blessed. Hockey is still fun.

“And if I can give back something to a kid and help them along to their next step, then I’ve done my job.

“But then again that’s a hockey player. Hockey players always give back.”

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Adult Hockey

47

Around The Adult Associations

by Anthony Fiorello Spring is right around the corner, and even though the weather may be warming up, that won’t slow down the amount of action occurring in adult leagues in Western New York. Here’s a look at some of the events that are happening within the adult circuit:

IAHL

The winter season for the IAHL at Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex in Rochester is coming to an end, and the playoffs are set to begin shortly. The top five teams will reach the postseason and the tournament will last for two weeks until a champion is crowned.

At press time, the top teams in each division are the Baby Seals of the I-League, the Nibblers of the Thursday League, the Bombers of the Sunday C Division, the Iceholes of the Sunday D Division and the Diablos of the Sunday D+ Division.

The IAHL’s summer season will begin on the week of May 19 and go through the end of August. For more information please visit www.iahl.com.

Labatt Senior Hockey League

The Labatt Senior Hockey League at Holiday/Leisure Rink is nearing postseason play in early April with championships to be decided in seven weekday divisions as well as two weekend divisions later in the month.

The Old Dawgs lead the Bald Eagle-Norris Division with four games remaining and a seven-point lead on its nearest competitor, while the Smythe Division is much closer with Pappas clinging to a one-point lead over two teams.

The Mad Dogs are in first place in the C Division followed by five other teams battling for playoff spots.

The C-3 Adams division has seen a see-saw battle for first place between the Red Dogs and Keystone Killers,

while in the Patrick division, Pappas has a comfortable lead, but eight teams are vying for the remaining four playoff spots with just six points separating them. The C4 Blair division has a battle for positioning as well, with LA Lounge and Fliptops gunning for the top honors, while in the McFall division, Cherry's Boys are making a late-season push to catch Wolfpack for first place, followed closely by eight other teams within nine points.

The Novice division features three teams within three points of each other. All have been in first place at some point during the season and are now heading into the final stretch with team 901 ahead of Screamin’ Ice Monkeys and Shatter.

The summer sessions will begin right after the fall/ winter season concludes, with open enrollment offered by the end of the month. Returning teams will have a chance to register before all spots are taken, based on a first-come, first-serve basis.

OTHLEA

On March 8, the American Grille North Stars took home the OTHLEA’s championship, Lord Manly’s Cup, by defeating the Riley Street Station Blackhawks 9-6 at the Healthy Zone rink in East Aurora, the first time in team history that they finished atop the league standings.

“Everything really worked in our favor this year,” said North Stars player and WNY Hockey Report contributor Michael Mroziak. “All of our players really played their roles, our goal scorers were producing and the defensemen were holding up. Everybody put their egos to the side and it all paid off in the end.”

Along the way, the North Stars had to defeat the Jets, Canadiens and Seals in order to play in the final. The matchup against the Seals was particularly challenging

WNYHockeyReport.com

for the North Stars due to the fact that the Seals had pulled off upsets against two of the better teams in the league (the Blue Jackets and Oilers).

“Going into the semis, we knew that they had pulled off two major upsets, so we were wondering if they might have our number too,” Mroziak said. “But we played hard enough and well enough to have the outcome go in our favor.”

On the same weekend, the OTHLEA hosted the Molson IceDome 4-on-4 tournament, an event that saw over 20 teams in two divisions (Open and Novice Divisions) compete against each other under pond hockeylike rules, but with goaltenders. The Indians were able to take home the championship in the Open division for the second straight season and the St. Pats won the title in the Novice Division.

“The tournament was a huge success,” said Ned McDonnell of the OTHLEA. “I think everyone had a real good time, even though we had an earlier start time than normal. But we had some very good competitive hockey going on and I think everyone had a good time.”

Performax Sports

The Performax Hockey League is currently in their third week of postseason play, with each team participating in four playoff games and the top two teams left standing will play in a three-game championship series.

The playoff participants are U.B. Dental, Fighting Hellfish, Robo, Blades of Steel, Fighting Trout, Bloodhounds, Crashers, Shennanigans and Whalers, who survived a 24-week season to make it to the elimination round.

The championship round will begin on March 28.

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