WNY Hockey Report November 2013

November 2013 VOLUME 3 • ISSUE 2

s t n i a S Depew ! y r a s r e v i n n A h t 5 4

In This Issue: Depew Saints 45 Anniversary Lockport Rink Update Men’s College Hockey Buffalo Means Hockey Business WNY Legends of the Game

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Contents

3

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 WNY HOCKEY REPORT No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopy and facsimile, without permission in writing from the publisher.

WNY HOCKEY REPORT is an equal opportunity employer.

Contents 2013 Western New York Hockey Report.

All rights reserved.

WNY HOCKEY REPORT (USPS 7650) is published monthly, except for May and July, by Ian C. Woods of WNY Hockey Report, 245 Lawrence Woods, Orchard Park, NY 14127.

Periodicals Postage Paid at Orchard Park, NY and Additional Offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Western New York Hockey Report P.O. Box 302 East Aurora, N.Y. 14052

WNY Legends of the Game................................................................................. 4 The Whiteboard...................................................................................................... 5 High School Hockey – Long Journey to West Point .................................. 6 Around the Associations...................................................................................... 7 Rochester Americans............................................................................................ 8 Buffalo Junior Sabres............................................................................................ 9 College Hockey: Men..........................................................................................10 St. Francis Hockey.................................................................................................11 Depew Saints 45th Anniversary......................................................................13 Buffalo Shamrocks...............................................................................................14 Rochester Jr Americans......................................................................................15 Women’s Hockey..................................................................................................16 Juniors: Choosing a Team? Ask the Right Questions...............................18 Insight Hockey.......................................................................................................19 Rochester Youth Hockey News........................................................................20 Get Moving With Ryder Kopasz.......................................................................24 College Club Hockey...........................................................................................25 Senior Hockey Update........................................................................................26 Buffalo Means Hockey Business......................................................................28 Red Bull Crashed Ice............................................................................................32 NiceRink, Setting Up Your Boards...................................................................36 Sled Hockey Tournament..................................................................................37 Lockport Rink Update.........................................................................................40 West Seneca’s Chris Mueller.............................................................................41

RYH Mite A Goalie Creates “Warm Heart Warm Bodies”

At a young age of 7, Rochester Youth’s Mite A net minder Colin shows that hockey players have warm hearts. Here is the story of how Colin spearheaded the winter coat drive in his mother words: “It began last year. He and I were on our way to volunteer ringing the bell for the salvation with my co-workers. On the drive, I spotted a young mother pushing a stroller and a toddler in tow not wearing a coat. It was a very cold afternoon. He must have overheard me say how sad I felt for the young child. We arrived at the mall to start our “shift” and he noted each and every child and adult not wearing a coat. He then interpreted that into them simply not owning one. Once we arrived home, he brought it up and said he’d like to give one of his coats to someone that needed it......from there “Warm Hearts, Warm Bodies” was created. He named it, I reached out to friends and family for their used coats, gloves etc. By Christmas Eve he had collected two large bags of items that we dropped off at The Open Door Mission. So now, heading into the second year, a volunteer (along with Colin’s input) created a picture to go with the slogan. They designed it, he “approved” it and his signature was scanned in and posters were created.”

If you’re playing at Bill Grays Iceplex in the next few weeks, please bring any lightly used winter apparel to support Colin’s Warm Hearts Warm Bodies coat drive.

The drive will run from Nov. 23 to Dec. 23.

Find us @: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Warm-Hearts-Warm-Bodies-By-Colin/643882145635123

WNYHockeyReport.com

WNY Legends of the Game

4

WNY Legends In Hockey:

by Randy Schultz Randy@wnyhockeyreport.com “Luuuuuuce.”

That was always the sound the Buffalo hockey crowd would make at the old Memorial Auditorium when Don Luce’s name was mentioned.

Luce played 10 seasons for the Buffalo Sabres (1971-1981) and is remembered as being one of the best two-way players of his era.

Don Luce remembers quite vividly the day he found out that he had been traded to the Sabres. It turned out to be a major turning point in his life.

“It was in June and I had been traded from the Detroit Red Wings to Buffalo,” said Luce, a native of London, Ontario. “I was home with my wife and we decided to drop over to my parents house.

“They came out and greeted us and told me that I had been traded to Buffalo. I was excited about the trade because I had wanted the opportunity to play for a team on a regular basis.

“So I came to Buffalo and came to training camp. I made the team and things turned out pretty well for me.”

“Pretty well” could be considered an understatement for Luce. That was 1971.

Now, over 43 years later, Luce and his wife still reside in the Western New York area, having raised a family and now have grandchildren.

Luce recalled the first time he had a meeting with Sabres GM and head coach, George “Punch” Imlach.

“One of the first things he asked me is if I would wear the number 20,” stated Luce, who won the Bill

Masterton Trophy for the 1974-75 season. “He said that I reminded him of Bobby Pulford (now a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame) when he played in Toronto and Punch was coach there.”

Luce admits that as soon as he got to Buffalo he knew that Imlach was putting together a team that would be great.

“The competition was good in training camp and it got better every year after that,” stated Luce, who played a total of 14 seasons (1968-82) in the NHL with the Sabres, Red Wings, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs. “There were a lot of good young players mixed in with a few veteran players.

“If a player didn’t fit into Punch’s plan, then he was moved. “ Known for his great checking ability, Luce looked back on his career and saw himself in a different light.

“I never looked at myself as being strictly a checker,” said Luce. “I always thought that if I was a good checker then I should be getting good chances to score goals.

“And you know that if you are playing against other teams top scoring lines, they have a tendency to be lazy in the defensive zone. So I learned to take advantage of that.”

Who was the toughest player that Luce ever went up against?

“I think it would have been Henri Richard of the Montreal Canadiens,” replied Luce. “He could score goals, but he could also check.

“He was always work, work, work, work, work. He never gave up and he was hard to play against.

“That’s why he is in the Hall of Fame today.”

Luce remained in the Sabres organization after he retired as a player, including a long stint as the team’s Head of Player Development.

He is credited with bringing in the likes of Alexander

Photo: Topps Chewing Gum Company Mogilny, Maxim Afinogenov, Martin Biron, Brian Campbell and Jason Pominville.

Luce and his wife are still involved in charitable events in the WNY area.

“It’s all about giving back,” said Luce. “It’s important to give.

“The Western New York community has always been one known for giving back. That’s why they are known as the city of good neighbors.”

Today, at 65, Luce is a pro scout for the Philadelphia Flyers.

“I scout the American and National Hockey Leagues,” said Luce, whose son, Scott, is Director of Scouting for the Florida Panthers. “Hockey is something I’ve been doing all my life.

“Actually it’s a lot less travel than I used to do. I still enjoy it.

“It’s a way of keeping me in the game I’ve loved all my life and still do.”

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The Whiteboard

5

What is Your Hockey Handicap?

by Rob Sedia Professional Hockey Instructor rob@newedgehockey.com

Concentrated Training – A Golf Analogy Helps Explain It There are many different developmental phases hockey players will experience throughout their careers and the most common phase is “plateauing”. This is when you feel like you are not getting better and you feel less effective on the ice. Don’t let this become a mental road block for you. If you understand what is going on and what to do about it, you will move out of this phase and into a very exciting one.

Understanding Skill Variance Before I get into the “golf analogy”, I will explain skill variance and its relationship to perceived plateauing.

This very basic chart helps us visualize how skill variance works. At the 7-year old house level, you will have the largest separation of skill, 1 being the least skilled to 10 being the most skilled. The 9-year old AA level shows the skill variance reducing and when you jump to the 13-year old AAA bracket, the skill variance is dramatically reduced. This simply means the higher the level of competition, the more even the skill level of the players. This makes it much more difficult to recognize developmental progress, and stand out. It is quite common to feel as if you are plateauing when you move into a tighter skill variance bracket. This is the time when concentrated training will help and this golf analogy helps explain concentrated training.

Golfers use a handicap system which is a numerical measurement of a golfer’s playing ability relative to par.

Here is a very generic example, if par for a golf course is 72 and a golfer regularly shoots 92, he would be considered a 20 handicap golfer. A 20 handicap golfer can improve and become a 15 handicap golfer with very basic training. Playing more golf and hitting balls at the driving range on a somewhat regular basis will usually do the trick. It is unlikely a 15 handicap golfer will improve to a 10 handicap by doing the same basic training the 20 handicap golfer did to improve to a 15. The 15 handicap golfer needs better information and better training. A 10 handicap golfer needs even better information and better training to improve and a 5 handicap golfer needs exceptional information and exceptional training to improve. The lower the golfer’s handicap, the greater the need for concentrated, specialized training to improve.

Much like golfers, hockey players need to identify their “hockey handicap” and train accordingly. The higher the

level of the hockey player - the closer the skill variance, and the greater the need is for concentrated and specialized training. It is very important to understand improvement comes in MUCH smaller increments as players move up the skill scale.

Concentrated Training Example: The 15 handicap golfer sees a professional golf instructor and is advised to keep track of all relevant statics each time he plays a round of golf, something he has never done before. These statistics include fairways in regulation, greens in regulation, up and down percentage, sand saves, number of putts and number of three putts. After 10 rounds of golf, the statistics show an average of 37 putts per round and an average of 7 three putts per round. He then has a series of putting lessons and changes his regular 2 hours per week of driving range practice to 1 hour of driving range and 1 hour of putting practice. He has identified an area in need of improvement, adjusted his practice time to address it, and is applying the “better” information obtained from the golf professional. The 15 handicap golfer is now practicing better. This will dramatically increase his chances of lowering his average score. This is concentrated training.

Does this mean you should hold off on concentrated training until it feels like you are plateauing? Absolutely not! Hockey players develop at the pace THEY decide – the old saying “if you keep doing what you’re doing, you will keep getting what you’re getting” is as true as it gets for hockey players when it comes to their development. Ask yourself this question as it relates to your development; “What are you doing to improve OUTSIDE of your set environment?” For example, if your team practices 1 time per week, and plays 1 game per week - that would be considered your set developmental environment.

For the purposes of this topic we will consider all developmental environments are equal although we know they are not.

If you feel like you are not developing appropriately or are at a plateau, and do nothing additional, your improvement percentage will be at the smallest rate possible if any development at all.

The “additional” will vary depending on age and skill level and can be as easy as doing push-ups and sit-ups everyday to getting private professional on and off ice instruction. The hockey training needs to be concentrated, as above with the golf analogy. Here is a real life “hockey” example of concentrated training; We (NewEdge Hockey) took in a 12 year old travel player who’s development environment consisted of 2 on-ice practices and 1 (to 2) games per week. This player signed up for 10 weeks of private on-ice and off-ice (training center) sessions. Similar to the 15 handicap golfer who started keeping statics and was able to isolate “putting” as an area of improvement, we were able to identify some areas that needed specific attention. In reference to his shooting, video analysis showed hand placement issues, technical issues and most importantly, he was using only 1 of 3 of his shot power sources. Although we were able to help in other

WNYHockeyReport.com

areas, his shooting improved dramatically by adding concentrated training to his development environment.

Development Environment PRIOR to Concentrated Training

This player was at a plateau. Although he was practicing, he was reinforcing bad shooting habits and therefore was unable to improve. If this player added to his practice environment by shooting 500 pucks a week at home, he would have improved but would have still been practicing wrong and his improvement rate would not have been as aggressive.

Development Environment AFTER Concentrated Training

By identifying and isolating his developmental needs in relation to his shooting, we were able to make corrections and create better shooting habits that helped maximize his shooting efficiency. The best part of the improvement is that when he is in his regular practice environment, and/or adds the 500 pucks per week, he will be practicing better.

Plateauing is a stage that all athletes hit and moving on from that stage is a choice. Add to your development environment and live by this statement; If you train better, you will play better.

Rob Sedia is a Partner/Professional Instructor with the NewEdge Hockey Training Company and will be writing a monthly column for WNY Hockey Report.

If you would like to comment on this article, ask questions, provide feedback, or share your thoughts, please send an email to: rob@newedgehockey.com

High School Hockey

6

Williamsville North’s Gahagen takes the long journey to West Point

by Matthew Ondesko Matt@wnyhockeyreport.com WEST POINT, NY – Five years ago, Army goaltender Parker Gahagen didn’t know what his future was going to hold.

He was playing in the Western New York Varsity Federation Hockey championship game at Buffalo State College when his skate got stuck in the ice and he dislocated his kneecap.

While he laid on the ice, in a lot of pain, he made the decision right there and then that he wasn’t going to let this injury derail all the hard work he had put up to that point.

“Right after the injury, I remember saying to myself that everyday isn’t a guarantee,” said Gahagen, from West Point. “Just try and make the most of every practice, every situation.”

After some intense rehab, Gahagen returned for his junior and senior seasons at Williamsville North High School – winning the Federation title at First Niagara Center his senior year.

With nothing left to prove at the high school level, the Williamsville native set his sites on college.

But, before college, he wanted to prove himself at a higher level. So, Gahagen took his talents to the Buffalo Junior Sabres of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.

With Gahagen between the pipes, the Junior Sabres played some of its best hockey in years. Last year,

Gahagen helped lead the Junior Sabres to the playoffs, and to one of the best records in the league.

“The Junior Sabres program is excelling right now,” said Gahagen.

Colleges took notice and Gahagen was highly recruited.

Schools like Union College and West Point came calling for his talents.

J u s t like the early part of his career at Williamsville North, the recruiting process took a few turns.

Gahagen liked Union College, but there was something about Brian Riley and the Army program.

Maybe it was the wonderful view and campus on the banks of the Hudson at West Point.

Or maybe it was a calling, a calling to do something much greater than any normal college student.

Whatever the decision, Gahagen knew he could rely on his faith to get him through the tough choice.

“I just trusted God,” said Gahagen. “I know this is where he wants me to be.

Whatever comes of it, will just be part of his plan. He knows what’s best and I am not going to argue with him.”

In choosing West Point, Gahagen now becomes a part of the Long Gray Line. A brotherhood. It is a choice that wasn’t easy on his family or girlfriend.

But, one they knew and understood.

“My mom and my girlfriend had a hard time getting behind it,” stated Gahagen. “For me, I just felt like this is where I am supposed to be.”

Since coming to West Point, Gahagen as been through a lot – and that’s only in a couple of months.

He has gone through Beast - which is an intense

WNYHockeyReport.com

ARMY goaltender and WNY native Parker Gahagen. six weeks of military training. There they weed out some of those who might not be able to make it. Cadets who do make it through Beast will start their journey to becoming an officer in the United States Army.

“Beast was an interesting time,” said Gahagen. “You just start to miss everyone, everything. Beast got better, we were able do some cool stuff. It was definitely an eye opener.”

There is that word again, journey. It will be a long journey for Gahagen. After four years of education, he will then enlist for a five-year military commitment – all the while playing hockey for the Black Knights.

“Some days are tough, but that is part of the experience. I made the decision, so it’s kind of my own fault anyway,” Gahagen said laughing. “To be able to go here and come to West Point is an awesome opportunity.”

After not seeing action in the first four games of the season, Gahagen finally saw action in Army’s 4-1 loss to Holy Cross on Friday, Nov. 9. He replaced junior goaltender Rob Tadazak, who allowed four goals in an eight-minute span of the second period.

Gahagen acquitted himself well as he did not allow a goal in the final period and a half of play. Because of coming in midway through a game, Gahagen didn’t have a chance to be nervous. He just went out there and played his game, like he normally does. He made sure he had a little fun out there as well.

“There is definitely jitters that you want to have, but I try and keep telling myself that I got here on the talent that I have been blessed with,” said Gahagen. “I just kind of relied on my faith and talent that I was blessed with, and tried to have fun.”

Parker Gahagen has just started the journey to becoming whatever he wants to be. He knows over the next four years that West Point will test him in ways he has never been tested before.

Gahagen also knows he can handle what is put in front of him.

After all he chose the journey of West Point.

Around The Associations

7

Around The Associations

by Janet Schultz Janet@wnyhockeyreport.com

Amherst Hockey

Amherst Youth Hockey will bring its highly regarded Top Gun Tournament for house teams in January 2014. The tournament will be held during the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday weekend and offers participating house teams a travel team like experience.

The Top Gun tournament is open to teams from Micron through Bantam Major levels. All teams are assures at least three games.

For more information, contact tournament director Steven B. Bengart at bengartlaw@gmail.com.

Buffalo Stars Not long into the 2013-14 season, the Buffalo Stars organization can already take pride in the advancement of two players from its U16 full-season team to junior clubs along the east coast.

Austin Gallagher was claimed by the Springfield Pics (Empire Division, U.S. Premier Hockey League), while Tim O’Connor was called up to the Jersey Shore Wildcats (Northern States Junior League).

“This is a bittersweet moment for us,” said Stars U16 Head Coach Jerry Wheeler.

“They are both great kids and fine hockey players and they will be missed. However, this is a great opportunity for both of them and we wish them all the best of success.”

At press time, Gallagher made his Pics debut with the organization’s 18U team in their 3-0 loss to the South Shore Kings on November 8. O’Connor, meanwhile, debuted for the Wildcats on October 30 and had recorded two assists in four games played through November 10.

As for the Stars, the departures have created immediate openings for a forward and defenseman.

Interested players or parents should contact Coach Wheeler at icecoachjw@aol.com or Stars president Pete Preteroti at sportsniag@aol.com.

In other Stars news, Mark Metzger has been added to the organization’s Skills Coaching staff. Metzger, a former player with the Stars and Buffalo Jr. Sabres, is the third coach to join the staff.

He is noted by Stars management as “a committed and passionate skills coach that brings an over-speed skill set like no other to our staff.”

Mark started playing junior hockey at a very young age and worked very hard thru the levels first with the Junior Sabres and then on to the level of Major Junior, attending the main camp of the Rouyn Noranda (of the QMJHL). With NCAA Division I colleges interested in his services, Metzger continued working hard but his opportunities were lost to an unfortunate injury.

He then began to focus his passion for the game in a different direction; to build a player development program that not only trains players on the ice, but also helps them become hockey players with high moral fiber. To further these pursuits, he founded his own company, Precision Hockey.

He has also authored a book, “Winner or Loser — Winning Over Basic Youth Conflicts,” offering ways to develop character, values and relationships with others, in addition to a sub-focus on bullying.

“Mark believes in teaching players that part of being a good athlete is having good character, being respectful of your coaches, your teammates, the officials, and anyone you encounter in the game,” said Stars president Pete Preteroti in a written statement. “Giving back to the community is equally as important as the skills that players develop.”.

Cazenovia Park From the pros to the beginners, pink was prominent in the month of October as part of a month set aside to raise awareness and funds to research women’s breast

cancer. The Cazenovia Park Bantam Mixed team did its part in late October, hosting its first-ever “Pucks for Pink” celebration at the Timothy J. Burvid Rink during a charity contest against visiting Buffalo Shamrocks.

The numerous fundraising efforts included a silent auction featuring autographed Patrick Kane and Cody Hodgson jerseys, autographed NHL hats and raffles for Bisons, Bandits, and Bills items. Local businesses and team sponsors also provided fund raising items.

Additionally there were fundraisers including a 50/50 split club raffle and Chuck-a-Puck contest. Plus, children in attendance were dressed in their Halloween costumes and welcomed to several hours of trick or treating in a safe environment.

Proceeds from the October 30 event will go to Roswell Park Breast Cancer Research.

As for the game, the visitors from the Shamrocks won, 6-3. However, the Chiefs scored a victory in the form of an estimated $700 raised through their event.

East Aurora / Aurora Ice Youth Hockey The Aurora Ice house program is underway, now offering Mite, Squirt and Pee Wee teams through March 1.

There’s also a learn-to-skate program that begins Session 2 on December 1 and runs through January 14, with Session 3 beginning January 19 and continuing through March 4.

The Healthy Zone Rink, located at 41 Riley Street between Main and Girard at the west end of East Fillmore Avenue, has also resumed its public skating schedule among its many offerings.

Monroe County Youth Hockey This month, Monroe County Youth Hockey is pleased to spotlight its Youth Player of the Month for November, Kirk Carbone.

The 18-year-old Carbone is a member of the association’s Midget Major 18U tournament bound squad. His coaching staff describes Kirk as “a very hard worker in practices and games and brings a level of sportsmanship and selflessness that coaches desire.”

In his last month of play Carbone recorded 14 points and had an impressive plus-minus rating of +20.

As November’s honoree, he’ll receive a $50.00 Gift Card to Lakeshore Hockey Arena.

They are currently the highest ranked NY tier two midget team in the country standing #7. Please congratulate them on their achievements and help support them in their quest to win the NY State tournament in March.

Niagara Junior Purple Eagles Openings are still available in all divisions for the NJPE’s 2013 Thanksgiving and 2014 Patriots Tournaments. The tournaments offer: • A fun tournament run with a local hometown feel at a great new and clean facility.

• Real time on-line scoring so anyone with a connection can keep up with the action anywhere.

• Proximity to Niagara Falls and Buffalo, NY - many sights and sounds to take in when your away from the rink.

For more information, visit jrpurpleeagles. pucksystems.com or call Bob Schiffauer at 716-7732957.

Perinton Youth Hockey Competitive Girls Hockey is returning to Perinton Youth Hockey beginning with the 2014-15 season. More details will come at a later date.

Rochester Youth Hockey The Squirt Major AA Red squad recently took the title at the 2013 Rock N’ Roll Tournament, going 3-1 in a weekend’s worth of competition. Ethan Knauf was named the MVP. The team consists of: Bryce Billitier, Ethan Breton, Patrick Carr, Cade Costanzo, Kabir Deol, Evan Johnson, Brady and Ethan Knauf, Aidan McGrain, Ryan Mogauro, Jacob Nelson, Christopher and Sean Smith, Joey Volpe.

The coaching staff is Chris Smith, Craig McGrain, Dana Mogauro, Terry Billitier, Jeff Knauf.

Southtowns Stars The Southtowns Stars Amateur Hockey Association (STSAHA) is hosting a March Classic Tournament starting on Friday, February 28 through Sunday, March 2, 2014. All teams are guaranteed three games. Squirt/Atom teams will play three 11-minute periods per game for a total fee of $715.00. Pee Wees will play 12-minute periods and their team fee is $775.00. Bantams and Midgets will both play 13-minute periods. The team fee for Bantams is $850, while the Midget team fee is $900.

There will be a Chicken BBQ on Saturday, March 1, with both eating in and take-out available. Various items will be available to win in a basket raffle. For more information including tournament rules or to sign up, log on to southtownsstars.com.

Congratulations go out to the Stars’ PeeWee Mixed team, which won the Motown Cup championship in Detroit over Columbus Day weekend. Mike Kane was named the tournament MVP.

West Seneca Wings Congratulations to the MCYH Midget Major 18u TB Team. They have qualified for the NY State Tournament in 1st place in West Section with an undefeated record in the WNYAHL league, they finished league play with a 14-0-3 record while outscoring their opponents 9730. They won the Pittsburgh Pre Season Challenge tournament in September and finished with a 2-2 record in the Boston Beantown Fall Classic in October where they played in a 48 team tournament against the number 1 ranked team in North America.

For the season they finished with an outstanding record of 21-3-3 while outscoring opponents 145-56.

WNYHockeyReport.com

12U Girls: Coached by Larry Blas, this young team is led by New York State Champion returning players Katelyn Morris, Jillian Blas and Abby Chavet. Newcomer and cocaptain Catie Martinez adds depth to the blue line and has strengthened the play of the team.

During the final weekend of October, the team took two straight victories over the Anaster Avalanche in the Lower Lakes Female Hockey League with scores of 4-1 and 5-1, both on the same day, October 26. The following day the Wings completed a weekend sweep with a 1-0 win over the Flamborough Flames.

(Continued on page 10)

Rochester Americans

Rochester Americans Report

by Warren Kozireski Warren@wnyhockeyreport.com Undrafted defenseman Chad Ruhwedel (pronounced roowee-del) had connections to western New York long before he ever donned a Buffalo Sabres jersey last spring or a Rochester Americans sweater this fall.

Blaise MacDonald, former RIT defenseman and the first head coach for the Niagara Purple Eagles, recruited the San Diego native to play for the University of Massachusetts-Lowell following his two junior seasons with Sioux Falls in the USHL. Buffalo native and former Purple Eagles assistant coach Jerry Forton was also one of the River Hawks assistant coaches during his college career.

After three seasons of college hockey with the River Hawks where he scored 15 goals with 48 assists over 110 games, he left a year early to sign a two-year free agent contract with Buffalo and suited up for seven games late last season.

With two rookie defensemen making solid impressions for Buffalo in training camp, Ruhwedel (and others) was pushed down to Rochester where he had four assists over his first eight games and exploded with a two goal effort on his first two shots of the season November 6th against Hamilton.

“I finally got it out of the way and hopefully there’s more to come,” said the rookie defenseman about his first professional goal. “I’ve been getting my chances throwing the puck on net when I can, but it’s definitely nice to see one go in…or two.”

Though he has offensive abilities, Ruhwedel was second among defensemen at plus-four through the first nine games of his Rochester career.

“The part of his game that I liked best was his going back to get pucks and then being able to turn up with it out of our zone, get his feet moving and finding that first player rather than just going back, chipping it to his partner and absorbing a hit,” said Rochester head coach Chadd Cassidy.

“For a defenseman, that’s where a lot of their offense comes from; just making that first pass out of the zone.”

And he was coveted by a few professional teams because he is a right-handed defenseman; one of only three on the Amerks blueline with Jerome GauthierLeduc and Matt MacKenzie.

“There were a few teams in the mix and Buffalo gave me a good offer and something I couldn’t turn down.

“That first game in Buffalo (just a day or so after his UMass-Lowell squad lost to eventual national champion Yale in the NCAA Frozen Four semi-finals)—I don’t even really remember it. It was just me running on adrenaline and I think it was one of the best games I played when I was up because I couldn’t think about anything and just played.

“The team did a great job helping me with the transition and it was quite the experience.”

Ruhwedel is one of crop of players lately emerging from the southern California area—largely credited to Wayne Gretzky’s arrival to the Los Angeles Kings in the 1980’s which sparked the construction of multiple ice rinks.

“There are a lot of good players coming out of there and it’s nice to go come and have pro hockey

be popular back there too,” said Ruhwedel. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you see USC and UCLA have (Division I) teams over the next five or ten years—it wouldn’t surprise me at all.”

In addition to his offensive ability and right-handed shot, Ruhwedel also has a few unique-to-hockey hobbies typical of a kid growing up in southern California—beach volleyball and surfing.

“I sold my surfboard when I left for juniors and, whenever I go home I try to get a chance to go with my buddies.

“It is something I miss, but I needed to sacrifice some things.”

NEWS & NOTES:

• Joel Armia, 2011 first round selection who suffered a broken hand in training camp, has been assigned to the Amerks and expectations are he will see game action by mid-November.

• Defenseman Brayden McNabb netted a career-high four points in a game November 1st at Syracuse.

• Forward Luke Adam had an AHL season best five game goal scoring streak from late-October to early-November while linemate Phil Varone scored at least one point in each of the first nine games at the start of the season.

• The Sabres announced the return of the former Amerks head coach Randy Cunneyworth, to the organization as a pro scout. Cunneyworth is second on the Rochester all-time coaching wins list with 306. John Van Boxmeer is first with 333.

• The Amerks entered the ninth game of the season with the top power play in the AHL clicking at 28.2% scoring 11 goals on 39 opportunities.

Rochester Americans defenseman Chad Ruhwedel.

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8

Buffalo Jr Sabres

9

Buffalo Jr. Sabres: Overcoming injuries but still tops in OJHL

by Michael Mroziak Michael@wnyhockeyreport.com The fact of the Buffalo Junior Sabres holding first place in the Ontario Junior Hockey League West Division, as well as the league’s overall best record through mid-November, was already impressive to many in hockey circles.

What makes their early success more remarkable is how they’ve been able to remain one of the top teams in the league while playing through numerous injuries to key players.

It’s a testament to the depth of this year’s squad, which has risen to the many injury-related challenges beginning as early as September, when rookie Daniel LaFontaine’s very promising start was put on hold with a leg injury. Since then, defenseman Dennis Gilbert, forward Josh Gabriel and team captain Ryan Schmelzer have all gone down for extended periods of time with various injuries.

Yet with every setback the team kept scoring and kept winning. It’s because when a key player has gone down, another player has stepped up.

“I try to explain to people, last year I thought we were a good team with great players and this year I think we’re a great team with good players,” said general manager and head coach Michael Peca. “Pat Egan has caught fire but for the most part we’ve relied on everybody up until the last couple of weeks when that line’s gotten hot.”

Pat Egan That line was one made up of Egan, in his second year with the team, along with Nolan Sheeran and Max Mikowski. In a four-game stretch in early November, Egan recorded 14 points, including seven goals, which were all scored in two consecutive games.

The Rochester native, who led the team in scoring with 17 goals and 22 assists in 22 games played, was very quick to share credit with his linemates for his personal hot streak and dismissed any notions that he’s the guy to pick up the role of main goal scorer.

“I don’t think it’s on me,” Egan said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can put the puck in the net and make plays, especially my linemates Nolan Sheeran and Max Mikowski. Things have just been clicking lately with those two on my line. They’ve been playing unbelievable. It’s not like I have pressure on me to score

every night.”

Egan was also quick to credit the defense, which raised concerns in the preseason whether it would be deep enough to withstand the challenges of a grueling Junior A season.

“Our defense I think has been great lately,” Egan said.

“Nick DeSimone has been playing unbelievable all season, along with Ben Casale. And then it doesn’t hurt to have (Joseph) Pianta in net and (Brandon) Mueller.”

DeSimone was the team’s second-leading scorer behind Egan through the middle of November, recording eight goals and 19 assists in 23 games.

Coach Peca sees a sense of balance created by the team’s depth, a balance that if maintained could make the difference between a long playoff run and what proved to be a disappointing second-round elimination last season.

“It’s why we didn’t succeed last year,” he said. “Once you start seeing some injuries and things like that, our depth was an issue for us last year.

“We’ll slowly start to get healthy here towards the end of the year but I think once we get into January you’re going to see a team that’s going to be awfully tough to beat.”

It is anticipated by the team that LaFontaine, who has been recovering at home on Long Island, will return to Western New York after Thanksgiving to rehab his leg, recondition and re-enter the mix. He was one of the team’s top three scorers at the start of the season, leading up to his injury.

Gilbert and Schmelzer were also expected back in the lineup shortly after Thanksgiving.

Call-ups Make Their Mark Even rookies called up to fill some of the Jr. Sabres’ injury-related needs have made an impact on the team.

Chris Moses, called up from the Buffalo Regals Junior B squad, scored four goals and two assists in six games played. Two of those goals came in his Junior A debut on October 25, when the Jr. Sabres routed the Oakville Blades in Oakville, 9-2.

Matt Mahony, also called up from the Regals, appeared in one game and scored one goal in Buffalo’s 3-2 win over the Lindsay Muskies in Amherst on October 28.

Mueller a Runner-Up for OJHL Honor Although he has started only seven games so far through mid-November, Mueller put up numbers in October that resulted in a second-place finish in voting for the OJHL’s South-West Goaltender of the Month.

Mueller won four of his five starts that month and earned a shutout on October 8 vs.

Burlington. His only loss during the month was in a shootout on the road against the always tough Georgetown Raiders.

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Michael Peca and Larry Playfair announce Jr. Sabres move to HARBORCenter.

It’s Official: Jr. Sabres Growing, Moving Downtown What was perhaps one of the worst-kept secrets in Western New York Hockey was confirmed on October 22 when HARBORCenter officials joined Jr. Sabres president Larry Playfair and GM/Head Coach Michael Peca to announce that the Jr. Sabres organization will move into the new building’s ice facilities, when finished, in September 2014.

The Jr. A team will remain in the OJHL and will have its own dedicated and private locker room and clubhouse facility.

Meanwhile, the program will get bigger, with the introduction of six youth level teams: 11U, 12U, 13U, 14U, 16U and 18U. The four younger level squads will play an independent USA Hockey Tier 1 schedule while the 16U and 18U teams will compete in the Tier 1 Elite League.

Tryouts for the new squads will be announced at a later date.

Taking it Outside in December The Buffalo Jr. Sabres will be part of OJHL history on Sunday, December 15, when they skate against the defending league champion St. Michael’s Buzzers in the league’s first-ever outdoor hockey game at Frontier Field in Rochester.

The game is part of a ten-day celebration of hockey in Rochester that will also include the hometown American Hockey League Americans taking part in an outdoor game.

Coach Peca may not have had the chance to skate in an NHL Winter Classic during his playing career but is just as excited to have his junior players taking part in the OJHL’s version of a first-time classic.

“It’ll be exciting. Any time you get to play St. Michael’s Buzzers it’s an exciting game, but to be in the outdoor festivities, part of the excitement that’ll be surrounding Rochester at that time, having spoken to people at St. Mike’s … they’re extremely excited about the opportunity to get to play there,” he said.

“I think it’s going to be a great experience for these kids, to be able to have that Winter Classic feel with our group and our league, the whole league is excited about it.”

Men’s Collegiate

10

Men’s College Hockey Report

by Warren Kozireski Warren@wnyhockeyreport.com

NIAGARA After a defensive season opening series with Clarkson, the Purple Eagles were giving up goals in alarming numbers. They allowed 23 goals over their next five contests—among the bottom ten in the national in goals allowed per game.

Losing senior forward Ryan Murphy to a teamimposed 18-game suspension also has had an impact on an offense that was averaging just 2.29 goals per game through the first seven contests.

Brock Edwards and Tyler Akeson scored their first collegiate goals at Robert Morris October 19th while Stephen Pietrobon netted his first October 26th at Denver and Patrick Conte one night later at Air Force.

Senior defenseman Kevin Ryan (Eden) has been named a candidate for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award—a group of 20 NCAA men’s ice hockey student-athletes who excel on and off the ice.

CANISIUS Matthew Backhouse scored his first collegiate goal in the upset at Denver October 27th. The win marked the first victory for Canisius against a ranked non-conference foe and earned netminder Keegan Asmundson the Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week award after he stopped a career-best 36 shots.

Kyle Gibbons recorded a point in 13-straight games dating back to last season. It is the longest streak by a Griff since Chris Duggan recorded a point in 15-consecutive contests from Jan. 15 to March 9, 2002.

Gibbons has been named one of 20 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be a senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence–classroom, character, community and competition.

Senior Ben Danford led the Griffs with five points this year ranking him first nationally among defensemen

with 1.40 points per game.

The Golden Griffins who had lost only one game in a 108-game span from 2010 to 2013 when holding a two-goal lead, has now lost its last three games dating back to last year’s NCAA Tournament – all with at least a two-goal advantage.

and black.

The team will participate in the annual Skidmore Invitational Thanksgiving weekend before closing the first half of their conference schedule with home games against Geneseo and Brockport the following weekend.

RIT

BROCKPORT

The Tigers were still looking for their first win of the season through the first seven games—the longest the Tigers have gone without a win to start the season since at least 1999.

In their game at Penn State in October, the Tigers competed in a best-of-three shootout. It marked the first shoot-out in RIT history. The Tigers won 2-0 thanks to goals from Alex Perron-Fontaine and Mike Colavecchia.

After losing to Air Force 3-0, the Tigers have now been shut out 17 times at the Division I level, with seven coming against the Falcons.

RIT is off to an excellent start with the manadvantage, with seven goals in 24 attempts, a 29.2 percent conversion rate, fifth nationally. RIT has scored two power-play goals three different times this season.

Mike Colavecchia has a team-best three power-play goals for the Tigers this season.

The Golden Eagles earned their first conference win of the season with freshman Jake Taylor netting a pair of goals. That theme was playing out through the early going with Nick Marinac getting a hat trick in his second collegiate game and Andrew Parks garnering his first college goal as freshmen accounted for six of the team’s first 12 goals of the season.

Fredonia

Geneseo

MCC

Pittsford native Stephen Collins was making an early bid for SUNYAC Rookie of the Year honors with four goals and two assists in his first three collegiate games.

The Knights had played two freshmen on defense and three at forward through the season’s first two weeks.

Buffalo State The Bengals offense was in high gear scoring 14 goals over the first three games with freshman Adam Rossi leading the team with three tallies. Classmates Nick Berst (Depew), Taylor Pryce and Jake Rosen (East Amherst) had also scored their first collegiate goals with Monroe CC transfer Dan Turgeon getting his first in the orange

The Blue Devils opened the season with their first victory at Oswego since spring 2011 as freshman Hunter Long making his first collegiate goal count with the overtime gamewinner.

A key conference game is on the horizon November 22nd at travel partner Buffalo State before a Michigan trip to Adrian and the U.S. Under-18 National Team.

The Tribunes will discontinue men’s ice hockey after the 2013-2014 season citing a continued lack of competition at the community college level as well as the increasing cost of effectively maintaining the program.

The National Junior College Athletic Association fields just eight teams, including MCC, and two of those are located in North Dakota. Only 12 of MCC’s 25 regular season games this year are against community colleges, with the remainder of the schedule filled with club and junior teams.

The team exploded for a school-record 21 goals in their conference opener October 30th against Mohawk Valley with Dominik Gabaj tied a record with an eight-point game on four goals and four assists. Pavel Kuzmin also had a hat trick.

Around the Associations (Continued from page 7)

14U Girls Program: The 14U Girls program has had a busy start to their season, competing in both the Western New York Great Lakes Girls Hockey League and A Division of the Lower Lakes Female Hockey League in Ontario. Through early November, the team already played in five tournaments.

The team has not yet claimed any tournament titles this season but twice came close, dropping a 10-0 decision in Rhode Island and a 1-0 shootout loss in Rochester. Still, the team has gained valuable experience and has had its winning moments, including a surprise 1-0 win over the previous unbeaten Oakville Hornets.

Goalie Bri Gawronski was strong in net facing 56 shots while Bri Keppner surprised the Oakville goalie with a shorthanded goal.

With three players returning from injury, the team

posted a 2-0 victory over the Hamburg Hawks on Wednesday, November 6th with strong defensive hockey. Fiona Danahy and Cortney Stanieszewski scored for the Wings. In late November the girls will compete in Canada and also take part in the Niagara Purple Eagles tournament during the last weekend of the month.

16U Girls Program: These girls won silver at the St. Catharines Chaos Fall Tournament during the weekend of November 1-3.

The girls opened the tournament with a 2-0-1 record in the round robin, then did not allow a goal in the quarterfinal and semifinal games, beating Stoney Creek 2-0 and Oakville Hornets 3-0, respectively. The girls fell in the final, 2-0, to the Mount Forest Rams.

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St. Francis Hockey

11

St. Francis Hockey News St Francis Red Raiders hockey is in full swing. Here are some of this months highlights.

• The 15uAA team wrapped up their season competing in the wnyahl while the 15uAAA team finished up with a road trip to Boston competing in the East Coast Prep Cup, against some of that areas top prep school talent. The team was able to visit Harvard University running into Buffalo native and Buffalo Sabres draft pick Sean Malone.

• The 16uAAA Red Raiders are finishing up a very competitive season with NYS playdowns at the Northtown Center.

• Tryouts were also held for the St. Francis HighSchool teams. 97 student athletes competed for a spot on one of the four teams. This year the four teams are Prep, Junior Prep, Federation, and JV White.

• The Prep team added youth and strength on both ends combined with 9 returning players from last season. The team will be anchored in goal Ryan Pakulski and Mike Schaefer. The team begins play with an MPHL league in Burlington, Vermont.

• The inaugural Junior Prep team, comprised of the best freshman and sophomores, is off to a great start tying the Nichols Prep B team (Buffalo Saints 16uAAA) 5-5. The Jr. Prep team will be playing a competitive schedule as well as traveling to Chicago and Boston for showcases. The team will also be visiting and playing at various colleges and universities across the northeast.

• The Federation and JV teams will compete locally and look to be very competitive this year as well.

• The SFHL, a spring development league for 6th & 7th graders, will begin accepting registrations shortly as well.

For information on any of the St. Francis teams or programs please visit our website at www. redraidershockey.com

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While In Boston, competing in the East Coast Prep Cup, members of the 15uAAA team met up with Buffalo native and Sabres draft choice Sean Malone.

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Depew Saints

13

Depew Saints - 45 Years and building.

by Randy Schultz Randy@wnyhockeyreport. com Forty-five years ago this hockey organization was known as the Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament.

They began as a group of 18 boys.

Today, nearly five decades later they have over 500 players, both boys and girls and 28 teams. During that time OLBS changed its name to the Depew Saints. The rest, as they say, is history.

The 2013-14 hockey season marks the 45th anniversary of the Saints hockey organization.

The hockey club has certainly come a long way since its early days. Most of the kids who participate in the Saints organization today are from Depew, Lancaster, Clarence and the Williamsville areas.

“Bill Lynch, who organized the OLBS Saints, began playing almost on grass,” remembered Dave Borkowski, President of the Saints. “They used hoses and filled the area with water and had a small rink.

“But once more and more kids began to come, they figured that they couldn’t do it there anymore.”

Saints President Dave Borkowski with the Saints first jersey.

So Lynch, along with a group of volunteers, began travelling to area rinks and rented ice time. The team travelled on those weekends to Fort Erie, Ontario, and Niagara Falls and on a regular basis to Lockport’s Kenan Center.

“The only hours we had during that time was from 4 a.m. in the morning until 7:30 a.m.,” said Lynch.

“They were very early hours, but we had a great group of volunteers who would get up on those Saturday mornings and take the kids to their hockey games.

“When I look back at it now, this whole idea of the Depew Saints was a dream of mine. I wanted to give it a shot and give the kids an opportunity to play organized hockey.

“Once I saw that the kids would get up at those early Saturday morning hours, I knew they were hooked.

“At that time we had grown to 43 kids when we began travelling to Lockport.”

When the Depew rink was completed in 1971 the Saints changed their name to Depew Saints and became the rinks primary tenant.

The Saints even hosted a State tournament their first year in the rink for Squirts.

“I raised my hand, volunteered to do it and got it,” laughed Lynch, recalling that first New York State Amateur Hockey meeting he ever attended. “I figured that it would be a great way for our team to get the automatic bid, get into a tournament and see what we could do.

“It was a gamble worth taking and it paid off for our organization. And remember, we played in an open rink at that time.

“On the second day of the tournament the fog got so bad on the ice the players couldn’t see. So I called some guys I knew over at the Amherst Rink and they helped out by hosting the rest of the tournament over there.”

Today is a different story. “We have a beginners program, six Mite teams, three Squirt, three Pee Wee, two Bantam and two Midget house teams,” said Borkowski. “Then we have travel teams from the Squirt level all the way up to Midget Major level.

“We have an ADM program for our Mites, Squirts and Pee Wee’s at the House level. We also have an ADM program for Squirt and Pee Wee Travel.”

Two of the more famous Saints playing in the National Hockey League today are the Foligno brothers, Marcus and Nick.

“We’ve had countless numbers of players who have come through our programs who have gone on to play hockey at the DI and DIII levels as well as community college level,” added Borkowski. “Currently we have the highest number of players we’ve ever had in the Saints organization.

“We have waiting lists for all of our House teams.

Unfortunately we have to turn some kids away because we don’t have the ice.

“We rent ice at Buffalo State College and Nichols. But that still doesn’t take care of the problem of ice time.

“We need more ice, like a lot of organizations do.”

The golden era hockey for the Saints is considered by many to be the 1990’s especially the mid-1990s.

“We had multiple national champions at that time,” remembered Borkowski. “We had multiple State championships.

“Our Midgets won several championships.”

Borkowski and the rest of the Saints board members are trying to rebuild the organization back to what it was two decades ago.

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“We’re building from the bottom up,” said Borkowski. “We’re building from our Mite program on up.

“We think it’s working and we’re building towards more championship teams in our organization. Our focus is skill development and more skill development.

“We want to make sure that we show the player a drill to do and then make sure that the players do it right. We want our kids to develop good skills right now.”

Lynch has his thoughts on today’s Depew Saints.

“Starting the organization was a great thing because nobody thought it would work,” stated the 78 year-old Lynch. “It’s given a lot of kids a lot of great times.

“When these kids hit the ice they had a look on their face like they were in heaven. And the best part of all is that after I left the Saints, others have kept it going for 45 years and that’s not easy.

“To me, keeping it going for 45 years is much, much better than simply starting it. I’m very proud of the people that are running the Saints now and who have run it in the past.”

On January 25th the Saints are going to have a formal celebration at the Elks Club in Lancaster. Tickets will be $5 for the event, which includes a drink and finger foods.

“We’re hoping to reach out to anyone who has ever been a part of the Depew Saints organization,” said Borkowski. “We’re also going to have an alumni game on the same day.

“It should be a great day for the Saints, one that will add a great deal to their history.

“We have a great history with the Saints organization, one which we are proud of. We’ve had some stumbling blocks along the way, just like all organizations do.

“We’ve had a lot of great players come through the Depew Saints. And they’re just not great players, but they are great people.

“These are players that today’s players could look up to. We want people to come back to our organization and see what’s going on.

“We’re looking for people to get involved in the Saints as volunteers. We’re looking for people to come back.

“We’re building towards the 50th anniversary. It’s a chance to reconnect with people.

“We truly believe that once you’re a Saint you’re always a Saint.”

Buffalo Shamrocks

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Rochester Jr Americans

15

Junior Americans Lead the USPHL Pack The Rochester Junior Americans are hot. Extremely hot. Both the Elite and Empire junior teams sit atop their respective divisions in the USPHL, riding lengthy winning streaks to the top of the standings. The Elite team (16-2-2 overall, 12-1-1 league) has won five straight and seven of their last eight Elite Division contests as of early November, while the Empire (14-1) team has won 10 straight Empire Division games dating back to early October.

For the Elite team, starting off 12-1-1 in league play is impressive enough, but the Junior Amerks are also 4-11 in games against USPHL Premier Teams (the highest division in the USPHL) along with an early exhibition win against the Buffalo Junior Sabers.

Rochester Jr “We have established a culture of winning over Americans visit the last few seasons,” said first-year Head Coach Craig Florida Macdonald. “Our players have really bought in and are Gulf Coast U. playing well.”

Solid team defense has kept opponents to a total of 22 goals against in the first 14 league games. Goaltending is a key factor for the Americans, and returning veteran Will Massey has provided a solid backstop. His .948 save percentage ranks third among all Elite Division goalies and his 1.36 goals against average places him second.

Massey is joined by backups Derek Shatzer and Tyler Ellor, who have combined for a 6-0 record and a 1.66 the USPHL for the week of October 14th-20th, and GAA. Empire team goaltender Lawson Fenton was named “We are fortunate to have three strong goalies,” says the Empire Performer of the Week for his performance Macdonald. “All three have proved that they can win during the week of October 21st-27th. games for us.”

Both Johnston and Bloomer had big weekends as the Goal production has been spread between four lines, 16U team won their first league contests of the season. however the top line of returning veterans Tyler Wolff Johnston earned his first win and shutout of the (8 goals, 10 assists), Conlan Keenan (6 goals, 11 assists), season with a 6-0 victory over Springfield on October and Shaun Patry (5 goals, 6 assists) lead the way for the 19th, stopping all 23 shots he faced. Johnston now has offense.

206 saves in USPHL play, the second most in the 16U “We have had eight different players score game division, while his .896 save percentage ranks 8th. winning goals. It is a comfort to know that any of our 4 Bloomer scored a total of three goals for the 16U lines can score,” said Macdonald. team in the series against Springfield, and now leads The goaltending story for the Junior Americans Empire the team with 5 goals in USPHL play. On October 19th, team follows a different path. At the start of the season Bloomer scored twice in the Americans 6-0 victory the team expected to struggle in net, having three over Springfield. Bloomer added a power play goal on goalies new to the program and only one of them with October 20th in a 2-1 victory over Springfield. Bloomer any junior hockey experience. Ian Stahl, Doyle Kinnear, is second in scoring among defenseman in the USPHL and Lawson Fenton all joined the Junior Americans 16U division. program for the first time, with Fenton having served Fenton was selected due to his strong play against one year as a back up with the Buffalo Stars last season. Islanders Hockey Club over the weekend of October “We knew that goaltending could be an issue,” states 26th-27th. On Saturday, Fenton stopped 18 shots in a Head Coach Jeff Kolcon. “However, we see potential in 4-2 Junior Americans victory. Sunday saw Fenton stop all three goalies. We also had a very difficult time scoring 12 shots in a 7-3 Junior Americans victory. on Lawson last year when he was with the Stars.”

The Medina, NY native is now 11-0 on the season, After a season of no wins with the Stars, Fenton has leading the Empire division in wins. His 2.72 goals proved himself with the Americans. He is 11-0 in league against average ranks 8th best in the Empire division, play and is leading the league in wins. and his .904 save percentage is tied for 12th best. The “Lawson has been steady and reliable,” says Kolcon. Empire team now leads the Northern Conference with “He’s been a great addition to our program.” a record of 14-1-0-0.

The Empire team has also been strong on the offensive side, as they lead the league in scoring over 6 Junior Americans Join Movember goals a game. It has been a complete team effort to get Movement the puck in the net.

The Rochester Junior Americans are challenging local “We score a ton of goals, yet we don’t have a single hockey fans to support men’s health by harnessing the player in the top 15 in league scoring,” states Kolcon. power of the moustache throughout Movember!

Movember is the global men’s health charity Three Junior Americans Recognized as encouraging men to grow and women to support the Mo USPHL Performers of the Week (moustache) for the 30 days of November. Throughout The Rochester Junior Americans had three different the month, awareness and funds are raised to combat players recognized as Performers of the Week by the prostate and testicular cancer. In 2013, more than United State Premier Hockey League in October.

238,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer 16U goaltender Alex Johnston and defenseman Matt and more than 30,000 men will die from prostate cancer.

Bloomer were named the 16U Performers of the Week by Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in American

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males between the ages of 15 and 34.

Started in Australia in 2003, Movember came to the US in 2007, with 2,127 participants raising over $740,000.

This year, there will be official Movember campaigns in 21 countries. Globally, 3 million participants have raised more than $446 million to date.

This cause is near and dear to the Junior Americans organization, as 16U head coach Brian Guck is a survivor of testicular cancer. Here in his own words, Coach Guck describes his battle with cancer and why he supports the Movember movement: “In October of 2010 I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. The diagnosis was months in the making. I felt a lump but in typical hockey player fashion I decided to ignore it and hope it went away. I didn’t say anything to anyone. Over the next several months my lump grew in size and I began to feel significant pain to the point where I could ignore it no longer. I was diagnosed with cancer on a Thursday and having surgery to remove the tumor the next day. Due to the size and makeup of my tumor, I was forced to undergo additional treatment in the form of surgery to remove lymph nodes from my abdomen.

There’s no doubt my reluctance to see a doctor when I first discovered a lump cost me dearly. My treatment was much more intense than it needed to be. And I had no idea my life was in jeopardy. I assumed testicular cancer was an “easy” form of cancer to get. It was only after all of this that I discovered how lethal testicular cancer can be. Personally, I know I was embarrassed and ashamed because of the sensitivity of the tumor location. I don’t want others to be scared like I was.

That’s why it is important to me to raise awareness of this disease and the significance of getting checked and screened on a regular basis. I was naive to this process when diagnosed and enjoy being someone who can help others learn from my experience. Testicular cancer is a disease that many are embarrassed to admit they were affected by due to the nature of the disease. I’m proud to say I am a testicular cancer survivor and each November I sport a mustache to prove it. “ For more information and to donate to the Junior Americans Movember page, please visit JuniorAmericans.com.

Women’s Hockey

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Women’s Hockey

by Janet Schultz Janet@wnyhockeyreport.com November is the month it all begins for women’s ice hockey in WNY.

RIT RIT has another exciting season ahead of them. They opened their season with an exhibition game against the Toronto Junior Aeros with a win. Their season opener was a little less exciting with a 12-1 loss to #3 ranked Clarkson University. However the Tigers game back with wins and losses as October progressed ending that month with a 4-5-0 overall record.

The Tigers, in their second season as a DI program, now come into a tough part of the season facing CHA rivals Lindenwood, Penn State, Mercyhurst before heading off to the Nutmeg Classic in Connecticut over Thanksgiving weekend.

Their leadership will come from Captains Morgan Scoyne, Lindsay Grigg, Celeste Brown and Melissa Bromley.

The team looks forward to closing Ritter Arena at the end of the season and playing in the Frozen Frontier series on December 14 against Clarkson University at Frontier Field in Rochester. That game begins at 12:05 p.m. and tickets will be available through RIT.

Buffalo State

The Buffalo State Bengals opened their season on Friday, Nov. 7 against Chatham and followed with a second game on Saturday.

Their November 2 exhibition game against Brock University was cancelled and will not be rescheduled.

It was a hard start to a brand new season at Buffalo State when the Tigers dropped a 3-0 decision to Chatham on opening night. Fairport’s Erika Bronk (Rochester Edge) scored the third goal for the Cougars.

The Bengals have a new head coach in Candice Moxley and she appointed a new assistant coach, Lucy Schoedel. Both have local ties in that Moxley is a former NU women’s ice hockey player and Schoedel is a native of the Ithaca area.

The Bengals bring back an experienced core of players in Seniors Melissa Ash (Binghamton/Syracuse Stars), Emily Cornett (Damascus MD/Lake Forest College), Christina Zandri (Baldwinsville/Syracuse Stars) and Goaltender Jordan Lee (Colorado Springs/U of Southern Maine).

Not to be missed are local players returning including Nikki Kirchberger (Buffalo/Buffalo Regals), Jeyna Minnick (Rochester/Rochester Edge), Alison Mish (Canastota/CNY Bobcats).

New to the Bengals roster from the area are Megan Niesyty (East Amherst/Buffalo Stars), Kathleen Ruggiero (Williamsville/Amherst Knights), Morgan Haettich (Buffalo/Caz Chiefs), Heather Neuburger (Fayetteville/ Troy-Albany Ice Cats).

Moxley inherits a team that was recruited by former Coach Robert Burke. She came on in the summer and

brought in her assistant just two months ago. What she has found is a team that is eager to learn, coachable and will work hard.

Moxley will be focusing on the backend outwards this season, working on handling the puck and capitalizing on it.

“They need to shoot the puck and hit the net,” she continued.

The freshman class will be spread out over the lines so they work with the more experienced players. A short bench will have the girls rotating quickly.

According to Moxley a short bench doesn’t allow the players to time to dwell on the game but keeps them up and going.

“In order to not expend a lot of energy the team will have to play smarter instead of working harder,” she explained.

“The players are excited and eager to learn,” said Moxley. “From a coaching perspective they are easy for us and we have to make sure we don’t overload them so that it gets overwhelming.”

The Bengal’s strength will be their speed and grit in players like Kirchberger (Buffalo Regals) and Kara Goodwin (Lindenwood University).

One of the major strengths of the team comes from the goaltending. Jordan Lee (U of Southern Maine) has been a solid goaltender for the team in the past and Moxley will be rotating in Sophomore Sarah Quigley, who she sees as the heir-apparent for the role in the future.

“Jordan has been the backbone and we rely on her,” said Moxley. “But Quigs is great behind her.”

However, before all that Moxley will be Jordan Lee getting back to basics and conducting position-specific skill development to make sure every player gets better.

Moxley will be looking at a larger bench through transfers.

“I will be keeping my ear to the ground for transfers that would help us,” said Moxley.

“But they have to fit into our team; you don’t want to bring in anyone that would hold us back.”

The Bengals are coming off a 3-13-0 2012-13 season.

UB Another coaching change in the women’s hockey ranks include the appointment of Melissa Jechovich to the University of Buffalo Lady Ice Bulls. Jechovich took over the role after Ron Adimey had to leave for employment reasons.

The Ice Bulls opened their season with six straight losses and then beat the Hamburg Hawks, 10-9 and the Buffalo Stars U19 team, 2-1.

The Ice Bulls have six new recruits and see this year as a rebuilding year under new leadership.

Some familiar faces include Christine Wolcott (West Seneca Wings), Courtney Thornton (Buffalo Stars), Kaitlyn Simmons (West Seneca Wings), and Katelyn Bothwell (Buffalo Bisons).

UB plays in the ACHA, a non-scholarship league started in 1991 for players who wanted to play at a more

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competitive level than club. It is the highest level of collegiate hockey available before scholarships or financial aid is offered. There are D1 and DII levels.

Niagara

The NU Purple Eagles women’s club ice hockey team opened with a 5-1 loss to Oswego. They followed that with consecutive losses against the Buffalo Stars and Oswego, again.

On their upcoming schedule are the Universities of Rochester, Syracuse, Geneseo and two games to be announced in late November and early December.

Their roster is made up of all girls from the NYS area including Olivia Accarso (Rochester), Ashley Beebe (Lewiston), Margot Hickey (Rochester), Addison Marino (Batavia), Emily Haverty (Pittsford), Danielle Krebs (Lockport), Natalie Goeddertz (North Tonawanda) and Danae Knowles (Newfane).

Beebe and Marino are serving as Captains.

Changes didn’t just happen in the collegiate levels.

The WNY Girls Varsity Ice Hockey Federation will open its season with four new coaches, a new team and an additional high school joining a team that has struggled since the Inaugural Season but hung in there.

We are welcoming Nicola Adimey to the head coaching position with the Amherst/Sweethome Katz; Linda Mroz to Monsignor Martin’s bench and Brian Hillery to the West Seneca bench. Co-Coaching the Lancaster/Iroquois team will be Pete Tonsoline.

Also to be welcomed with open arms will be the Nichols Prep B Team under the coaching of Tom Iafallo.

Some new faces to the ice this season will be a group of ladies from Iroquois Central School, joining Lancaster in what they hope will be a very competitive run with the other teams from the WNYGVIH League, now in its fourth season!

Speaking of the season, it begins Tuesday, November 19 with Amherst/Sweethome facing Nichols at the Nichols Arena. The puck drops at 4:50 p.m. Then the fans can all travel over to the Lincoln Arena for an 8:15 p.m. puck drop between Kenmore and Orchard Park/ Frontier.

An exciting week of hockey follows with West Seneca at Lancaster/Iroquois on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 4 p.m.

That game will be played at the outdoor rink in East Aurora (weather permitting?).

Two games are slated for Thursday (Nov. 21) with Orchard Park playing Monsignor Martin, 4:30 p.m. at North Buffalo and the Katz play Williamsville at the Northtown Center at 5:30 p.m. There is a Friday game at 5 p.m. when Kenmore takes on West Seneca at the Lincoln Arena.

Monsignor Martin will be defending their League Championship and Kenmore will be defending the Section VI Championship.

Kenmore was the first team from WNY to play in the NYS Girls Varsity Ice Hockey Championship game last season. They lost to Beekmantown.

This year the NYS Championships will be played in Clayton, NY in February.

West Seneca Wings 12U Girl Program Coached by Larry Blas, this young team is led by New York State Champion returning players Katelyn Morris, Jillian Blas and Abby Chavet. Newcomer and Co-captain Catie Martinez have solidified the blue line and strengthened the play of the team. During the weekend of October 26,

Women’s Hockey the team faced the Anaster Avalanche twice capturing two victories in the Lower Lakes Female Hockey League with 4-1 and 5-1 victories. The team followed the two wins with a solid 1-0 win over the Flamborough Flames the very next day.

14U Girls Program The 14U girls program had a busy start to their season. Playing in both the Western New York Great Lakes Girls Hockey League and the moving to the A Division of the Lower Lakes Female Hockey League, the team played in five tournaments. A heartbreaking 1-0 loss in Rhode Island and 1-0 shootout loss in Rochester prevented the team from advancing in two of the tournaments. Although there have been no tournament championship games for this young team, the team gained valuable experience. Strong goaltending kept the team in all games but finding the net has been a challenge. However, the team shocked the undefeated Oakville Hornets in their home opener with a stunning 1-0 win. Goalie Bri Gawronski was strong in net facing 56 shots while Bri Keppner surprised the Oakville goalie with a shorthanded goal. With three players returning from injury, the team posted a 2-0 victory over the Hamburg Hawks on with strong defensive hockey.

Fiona Danahy and Cortney Stanieszewski scored for the Wings. Next up for the team is several games in Canada and the Niagara Purple Eagles tournament during the last weekend of November..

16U Girls Program The 16U Girls team for won silver at the St. Catharines Chaos Fall Tournament during the weekend of November 1-3. The girls came out of the round robin with a 2-0-1 record, and then did a fantastic job with a 2-0 win over Stoney Creek in the quarterfinals. The girls brought skill and determination to the semi-final game and worked hard against a very strong Oakville Hornet team with a 3-0 victory. The Mount Forest Rams proved to be a tough opponent in the final game and outbattled the Wings with a 2-0 win. Coaches, parents and staff are all very proud of the girls and all look forward to an exciting season.

Buffalo Bisons Girls The Buffalo Bisons Girls 19U team took part in the USA Canada Cup Series in Detroit in October. They came away with a 2-3 record; wins over the Toronto Leaside Jr. Wildcats and the Southwest Jr. Wildcats. Both games were shutouts.

Next up the 19U team will be heading to the East Cost Wizard Hockey Invitational.

The 16U team will face-off against their LLFHL rivals Buffalo Regals and Stoney Creek AA, and Burlington Barracudas in November.

The Bisons 14U girls started November off with a 6-1 win over the Rochester Edge AA team. They had a 2-5-2 overall record in October. Included in that record is a 3-0 win over the Boston Bandits, a 3-3 tie with Clifton Park and losses to Team Illinois and the Burlington Barracudas AA teams at the Rochester Fire On Ice Tournament. In November they face the Amherst 14U team, Etobicoke Dolphins, Rochester Edge AA, Burlington Barracudas AA, Buffalo Regals AA and the Rochester Edge AA. The Bisons 12U team opens up against Burlington on November 15. Up until this time they have held numerous practice and skill building sessions.

The 10U team opens November 9 at home against Stoney Creek. They have games scheduled against Flambourough, Wollwich, and Oakville in November.

Buffalo Regals Girls The 10U girls begin their travel season with a game at Fort Erie Leisureplex against ST. Catharines on November 23. They also

17

have games scheduled against Oakville, Hamilton, Flamborough , Orangeville and Depew. The 10U team is coached by Jim Suppa.

Under Coach Tom Ruggiero the 12U team will play St. Catharines, Niagara Falls (Ont), Burlington, and the Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles in November.

Jeff Mead coaches the 14U team and they have no games scheduled until January.

The 16U girls just won back-to-back league games against the 17U Bisons in a doubleheader. They beat their cross-town rivals 3-0 and 20 with Amber Dubill and Madeline Utz registering the shut-outs.

The 16U Regals are the highest ranked team nationally from this area according to myhockeyrankings.com, according to Coach Tom Ruggierio.

“They also played but lost a 2-1 game against the Chicago Young Americans, currently ranked third in the country, during the Rochester Fire On Ice Tournament.

The 16U team is over .500 in the 17U AA Division in the Canadian Lower Lakes League.

“Quite an accomplishment for any team at that level,” said Ruggiero.

Next up is the Pittsburgh Thanksgiving Tournament where they will play some of the top teams in the country—Pittsburgh Elite, NJ Colonials and Milwaukee Admirals.

Buffalo Stars Girls The Buffalo Stars 16U team has started out a little rough with a 0-4 season. They lost to the Southern Tier, North York Storm, Flamborough Falcons and BAD, all in shut-outs.

Coming up they take on Oswego, Caz Park and West Seneca.

The 19U Team is 3-10-0 on the season. Upcoming they play SUNY Buffalo, Erie, Oswego, Monroe, Erie, Caz Park and Monroe.

Mary Kate Mullen was named the Girls U16 Buffalo Stars Girls Spotlight Player of the Week for October 6 MK as she is known by her teammates started skating with the Stars/Hornets Organization at the age of four.

She comes from a hockey family where her three older brothers Justin, Tommy John and Ryan were also lifelong Stars/Hornets. Her younger brother Aaron is the Stars/Hornets Little Ambassador.

MK is a junior at Cleveland Hill High School where she is an honor roll student and plays volleyball, basketball and softball. She is also involved in Student Government .

Her younger brother and a good friend on her hockey team are hearing impaired. MK has learned sign language to communicate with them and is considering signing as a college study.

In her spare time she volunteers at SABAH. Hockey remains her favorite activity and she loves playing for Coach Dawn and Coach Norm.

Rochester Hosts Successful Fire On Ice Tournament While local teams may not have fared well o the scoreboard, Rochester Youth Hockey held a fun-filled, exciting Fire On Ice Tournament in October. Over 100 teams took part in the four-day event in the new Bill Gray IcePlex.

The girls and their fans had the opportunity to see DI men’s hockey when Nazareth faced off against Utica College in their home opener. The home team lost 3-1 .

Back on the ice at the tournament at the 10U level the Buffalo Bisons put a mark in each column with a win, 2 losses and a tie. Rochester closed out with four losses. Durham West won the Division.

12UA: Rochester played three games and they also put a mark in each column with a win, a loss and a tie. Cazenovia won one, lost two. Barrie took the championship.

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Fire On Ice Tournament Action.

U12AA: The only local team at this Division were the Buffalo Bisons (0-4-0). Whitby won the championship.

14UA: West Seneca and Webster were the WNY teams at this Division. The Wings went 1-2-0 and the Cyclones were 0-3-0. Aurora took first place home.

14UAA: Eighteen teams took part in this Division with local representation from the Buffalo Regals (2-0-1), Buffalo Bisons (1-1-1) and Rochester (1-2-0). Bluewater won the championship.

16U/17UA: Rochester went 1-2-0 and Webster 0-3-0.

Clearview beat Kitchener for the championship.

17UAA: Buffalo Bisons (1-2-0), Buffalo Regals (0-3-0) CYA beat the Syracuse Nationals for the title.

19UA: Rochester (2-0-1); Cazenovia (2-1-0) allowing both teams into the qualifying rounds for the championship. There Rochester lost to the Lady Islanders and Cazenovia beat Anaheim 5-2, the Lady Islanders 4-0 putting Caz into the finals against the Boston Shamrocks. There they lost 2-1 giving the Caznovia girls second place.

19UAA: No local teams played at this level. Pittsburgh beat Sudbury for the championship.

Nichols Girls Hockey Nichols will join the WNY Girls Varsity Ice Hockey Federation this season and be coached by tom Iafallo.

Iafallo was an assistant coach with West Seneca’s boy’s team from 2000-2006 and at the same time served as an assistant coach with his daughter’s teams and the Bison’s 12U team. He is currently assistant Scott Welch with the Bison’s 19U team.

In his third year as head coach of the Nichols Varsity Prep B girl’s team, he finds it exciting to be joining the WNYGVIH League and will open the season on November 19 with a ceremonial puck drop at Nichols

by Head Master Aranya Maritime.

The team will have a balanced attack led by Seniors Jenny Sauter, Emily Certo, Kathryn Darling, Nicolette Tomani, Margaret and Mareissa Janiga.

“They have a lot of experience playing for different travel organizations in the area,” said Iafallo.

Underclassmen Liz Courne and Mia Tirabassi are expecting to have key roles this year as they were members of the Prep B CISAA Championship Team in 2012. Also on that team were Sauter and Certo, Sarah Martin, Kayla Sienkieweiz, Elna Kotrides and Laren Hotung.

(Continued on page 18)

Junior Hockey Wisdom & Opinion

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Choosing a team?

Ask the Right Questions.

by Jeff Kolcon Jeff@maksymum.com The recent developments with the Buffalo Sabres can help younger players make better choices when choosing junior teams or possible colleges. The Sabres, in a short span of time, have a new owner, new President, new general manager and a new interim coach. Add on top of this several major trades that sent top players out of Buffalo for a chance to rebuild.

Short of completely moving the Sabres to a new market, I am not sure a team could possible experience more change. The emotional stress that the players experience will vary. Although professional athletes can’t always control this situation, the Sabres situation warrants discussion about change on junior and college level teams.

When choosing a team, it is extremely important to look at the culture surrounding the coach. Is there an established management process that oversees the coaching and player development? Are support coaches and assistants long term or are they part of the head coach package? Is there tradition?

A large part of the recruiting process to obtain a spot on a junior team or college team comes through interaction with the head coach. “I can play for that guy” is a phrase heard often in the process. Clearly, this is extremely important. Being able to play for “that guy” should be a top question answered.

So what happens when coaches leave? By the way, coaches leave all of the time. They move to higher levels, they start families, they get fired. Can a player leave if they don’t like their next coach? In many cases the answer is yes. However, there is a price. In juniors, you are under contract with a team. This means a team must agree to release you or trade you. The team is going to do what is in the best interest of the team first and what is in your best interest second. Some teams may not take kindly to you wanting to leave and may reduce your role, not dress you, or diminish your ice time. USA Hockey provides a template for reimbursement if you are playing Tier III Junior A hockey. There is plenty of risk leaving mid season.

A college player faces other issues. If they are a NCAA Division I athlete, they risk the cost of an education. It is very difficult for Division I athletes to move during season. Further, you will potentially lose a full season of eligibility depending on

the circumstances. You also cannot assume another college is waiting with a full scholarship. Colleges don’t have a storage room full of scholarships. They run a tight budget. Current season scholarships are fully utilized.

NCAA Division III athletes have a bit more latitude. It is not uncommon to see player movement after the final academic semester of the season.

Athletes, both college and junior, need to assess three categories: athletics, social environment and academics. Set aside the athletic aspect for now, let address the social and academic sides first.

Do I fit in socially?

My daughter recently started her college hockey career. We visited many schools. Since both mom and dad are Michigan grads, we are familiar with large urban campuses and were very excited when we visited the large schools. My daughter was not impressed by size and saw it as a hindrance not an asset.

She is social and wanted to go to a school where she felt that everyone knows everyone.

During the recruiting process, we found some great schools that where small and were very strong academically. Once again, mom and dad fell in love with the high academics and the intimate campus. My daughter, although not wanting a huge campus, wanted at minimum access to Starbucks and Lululemon. It is perfectly o.k. If you don’t know what Lululemon is. Your life won’t change without that knowledge.

All things equal regarding hockey, my daughter wisely looked at other factors. She chose a school that fit her away from the rink. I admit that I would have picked the wrong school if I had did it for her. Social surrounding are extremely important.

As a junior, if you choose a program that is in the middle of nowhere with no outside activities (malls, theaters, restaurants), are you going to be happy?

Do I fit in academically?

Most junior programs expect you to be in school. If you are still in high school it is important to know if you have access to school systems. You should inquire about online classes. Are practices at a time that allows for high school classes to finish? If you are a junior player who has graduated, what are the options that are available for you? Is there a local college that you can attend? Is it affordable? Potential college hockey players need to remove hockey from the equation. If I did not play hockey, would I choose this school for academics?

Lets take a second to explore the actual hockey related issues.

A good place to start is to evaluate the program objectively. Is the program, the coach, or both responsible for the program’s success? Although this analysis may be difficult it will help in determining if you can be successful if the coach leaves. Player movement, coaching changes, style, and playing time all should be factored into your decision.

Is there excessive player movement?

Each level of juniors has a different set of standards on player movement. A tiered program (multiple junior teams under the same management) may have quite a bit of player movement between teams. This is part of the development process. Other programs may have an agreement with a higher or lower junior program to move or share players as needs arise. Players should do their homework. Look for players leaving unexpectedly.

How many coaching changes have taken place recently?

Multiple coaches over several years is not necessarily a bad thing. There are junior programs that pride themselves on developing coaches just as they do players. If coaches move up the ranks, that could possibly help a young player. Many NCAA Division III programs are known for producing coaches. In both juniors and college programs, the turnover of assistant coaches is much higher. It is not uncommon to have at least one brand new assistant coach each year. If you are being recruited by an assistant coach, you need to ask them about their career goals.

Most will give you an honest answer of their time frame. Unless they have a career job and are coaching part time, they are most likely looking to make more money and become a head coach.

Does this style of hockey fit my game? Can I live with the playing time offered?

This is a tough question to really answer because the counter argument could be it is time for you to adjust to a higher level of play. However, if you are a scoring defenseman and the team that is recruiting you has a stay at home, defense first mentality, you may want to explore other options. Another issue is ice time. Does this program play rookies? Is there a track record of young players getting productive minutes?

Players need to look at the total picture in the recruiting process. It is very easy to see the all of the positives and potential glamour of playing at higher levels. That excitement is needed.

Remember, if you are prepared for change prior to change, you have a chance to succeed and enjoy the ride.

Women’s Hockey (Continued from page 17)

Coming into the program this season are Paige Kouimanis, Susan Kowalski, Sam Lazar, Melaina Higgins, Hailey Miller, Lilly Shuman and Jillian Zamorski.

Around WNY …Former Monsignor Martin Girls Varsity Ice Hockey player Julie Duquette scored two assists for Plattsburgh in a 8-0 win over Potsdam. Congratulations Julie, you’re off to a great start. (Yep, I also saw some penalty minutes)! …The Niagara County Coyotes have a new 18 and over women’s league with four teams They are looking for players from the WNY area. Games are played at the newly renovated Hyde Park Arena, Niagara Falls. League play, which is for beginners through experienced, is held Fridays at 7 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. For information contact Chris Rechin, ctpuckman@aol.com …Amherst Girl’s hockey teams begin their play in November fielding travel teams at the 12U, 14U and 16U levels.

The 12U Team took part in the St. Catharines Chaos Tournament in November.

The 14U also took part in the St. Catharines Chaos Tournament and are playing in the Kitchener Kiwanis Tournament November 22-24.

The 16U team is also participating in the Kitchener Tournament and took part in the Chaos Tournament.

Amherst also has seven girl’s house teams. …Cazenovia Youth Hockey Association has girls programs at the 12U, 16U and 19U levels. They are coached by Chris Malicki ( 12UTB, 19UTB), Mark Jacobs (10UNTB), Jim Bautz (16U TB). …The West Seneca Wings have girl’s travel bound teams at the 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U and Women’s B levels.

Their season gets underway November 9. …The Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles have 12U and 14U girl’s travel bound teams. The 12U team is coached by Noel Blair and they began play November 9 against the Niagara Rapids. They will also be playing Caz Chiefs and the NY Bobcats,.

The 14U team is coached by Jim Henry and will be playing Norfolk (Canada), Ancaster and Hamburg in the upcoming weeks. …Hamburg has three girl’s teams and they opened play November 9. …The Monroe County Youth Hockey Edge 12U Tier II team played in the Fire On Ice Tournament and put up a 2-1-1 record. They are 8-4-1 on-the-season with wins over the CNY Bobcats and Cazenovia. The 12U AA (NTB) team also took part in the Fire On Ice Tournament and

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they are 1-5-0 this season, with four of those losses at the Tourament. The 19U Tier II team is 5-4-1 this season winning two at the Fire On Ice Tournament, losing one and tying one. They also took part in the St. Catharines Chaos tournament. …Perinton Youth Hockey is not fielding any girl’s teams this season. …Rochester Youth Hockey Edge 14U Tier I is 2-5-1 as of November 8. They took one game of three at their Fire On Ice Tournament. The Women’s C Team is 4-1-1. …Webster’s 12U team is 2-2-0; 14U is 6-6-3 and the 17U (House) is 0-3-0.

Editor’s Note: I will be contacting each Girls Coach/ manager in the next few weeks. 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 The information in the notes I took from your websites. I wasn’t able to garner everything from every organization so I am looking for your help. I do thank those coaches/ managers/presidents/parents who have graciously sent me items over the years and urge you to continue doing so.

Insight Hockey

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Insight Hockey goes offsides on a 2-on-1; he’s not the one who put too many players on the ice.

They simply call it like they see it, just like you.

by Tom Barnett If you are a native Western New Yorker and sports fan, you no doubt recall a couple of the eminent sports columnists who crafted hall-of-fame careers literally word-by-word as they entertained, informed and provoked by opining through the print vehicles of our local newspapers. I, for one, looked forward to those relatively rare offerings of “It’s one of those opinionated days” or the “Column as I see ’em”, special editions.

Well today, I pay homage to those that have paved this written path before me. It is one of those opinionated days and today, I’ll column as I see ‘em…

• Remember when the ‘Standard Player Release’ seemed to matter? Hey, this is the United States of America and free, unrestricted movement and ability to choose are basic tenets of our liberty. However, last I looked, there are structures in place to assist in guiding us through the maze of life and to maintain balance and safety.

Adherence to those rules makes for smoother, clearer, sailing ahead.

That used to be the case in youth hockey as well. Families have and should indeed selfishly preserve the right to seek the ideal hockey program opportunity and experience for their children (and given the near epidemic program-hopping it is clear they do) and pursue what they consider to be the very best fit for their objectives.

Why then, do we seemingly prefer the Wild West approach of today when it comes to effectively managing player movement between USA Hockey associations? I’ve heard it all: “My coach wouldn’t sign it.” “You don’t need one going from house to travel.”“It doesn’t apply to me, we moved residences.”“I never knew about that!”“It’s (fill in the blank), therefore it is not required for me.” “No one ever told me about that!” I’m certain you could add more.

Yes, there actually are rules. The Standard Player Release is in place for a reason and functions for the protection of all involved. But with families ignoring it and the prevalence of associations not educating their families or requesting it, are they simply lip service? With no follow-though or conviction, why then do they exist at all?

• A very distinct and exciting World Series just concluded and it is nicknamed the “Fall Classic” for a reason. It’s a once-a-year tradition worth waiting for, with the best teams that battled all season to earn the right to be on display. It makes one wonder how year ‘round youth hockey and a heavy tournament schedule each year contribute to the burnout that’s plaguing the game of hockey today.

How many finals can a youth player of any age be again and again asked to rise to the occasion, hear the same pre-game speech that this is now the most important moment more so than the moment two weeks before or the month prior to that?

How would the MLB players react and perform with 3, 4 or more World Series per season or NHL stars participating in a half dozen Stanley Cup finals per year? How many times or variations can a coach give that Herb Brooks speech in a year before even he gets bored?

• Shaking hands before the game – now that’s a brilliant stroke of genius. If that isn’t indicative of our collective and shameful abandonment of any semblance of obligation to teach respect, I’ll shake your hand right now! It is one thing to be proactive, and to maintain safety of course, but at the cost of reinforcing discipline, perspective and personal responsibility?

Sports are supposed to teach life lessons, but I guess it’s always easier to lower the bar. How is it not our obligation to nurture, correct, lead and raise the next generation as all have done before us? How does this define sportsmanship? How about a call for a minimum requirement of decorum if only to honor and underscore the authenticity of the iconic ad campaign we grew up with, “…It’s just a game”. It is just a game, right? We can only hope that idiocy and lack of foresight skips a generation.

• Let’s hear it for the refs! That’s right, the on-ice officials who toil in the trenches all season and for whom we owe a great debt of gratitude. We, in our organization, always preach that the game could not take place without an opponent of course, or for that matter and just as importantly, without the integral referees who are vital in facilitating our game. As with coaches, players and teams, the referees’ skills and talents range from good to less than adequate. Certainly controlling the game and safety are vital, but imagine if a ‘fan’ followed you around at work while indiscriminately and verbosely critiquing everything you do or attempting to intimidate you? Maybe it is our culture, video reviews and the overt questioning of every single call ‘to get it right’. But this is youth hockey, and it isn’t the ref who

To be sure, I’ve never witnessed a referee overturning his call because of a coach’s bluster. I’ve watched a dad chase referees into their locker room and undress them in his own way, and a grandma (whom my guess would be never played the game nor aware of the rule book) berate a 12 year old ref in the parking lot after a game. Imagine that ref so reviled, abused and showered with taunts and was your offspring.

• There’s been a lot of talk around here lately about “Tier 1”, “AAA”, “Elite”, “dynamic” on-and-off-ice training, juniors, college scholarships, as well as perfecting the narrow-focused conduit to the pros. Realizing that preeminent players do not simply materialize from thin air as ‘the next one’, remind me again where it is they come from how and it is they get there in the first place? And with the already crowded numbers of Tier 1 organizations, still another decides to jump the queue.

Some may argue this overabundance of elite levels is actually a detriment to overall development of those we’re trying to develop. I believe there is no doubt with the sheer enrollment numbers, that nearly enough talent is reaching and/or thriving at the advanced levels. I also believe this game inspires dreams, which should most certainly be supported. Focus more than ever however, appears to be on the end game. The end game doesn’t start with the signing of a letter of intent or hoisting the cup. There are steps in place, but are they working? Is there collaboration or a giant disconnect? No matter the number of AAA organizations geared to those being herded for those major next steps, their rosters will always be dwarfed by the masses playing the game. Perhaps the focus and disproportionate catering to the elite level could be considered misplaced, and consequentially, structure and pathway to that level unsound and, in many cases, non-existent.

The greater the numbers, the broader the base of the pyramid and importantly, the higher and stronger the peak; the results of retention, development and progression suggest, however, that the apparently highly emphasized and coveted peak is clearly out of proportion or difficult to find, even with the glut of options, without a roadmap. Could the model be upside down or flawed? There are only 8 Ivy Leagues schools --IN THE WORLD-- catering to the elite student, yet we have more elite organization concentration now in our own little hockey neighborhood!

AAA players don’t simply fall like ripe mangoes from the trees. But why aren’t more players matriculating to the elite levels? It is terrific that the end game framework is looking to improve. Unfortunately the end game for most players occurs in development, in the darkest shadows, detached and nearly unrelated to its own progeny, the skating elite.

• S o, as we conclude what for many is the initial month or so of the hockey season, what a blast, what promise, what fun. May that joy of new beginnings and infinite possibilities remain with you, front and center, all season.

Tom Barnett, a native Western New Yorker, participated as a player from the youth through collegiate level, and has been involved in coaching hockey and program development for more than 30 years. As founder and president of The Buffalo Shamrocks Hockey Club, a USA Hockey program, Tom was recognized by the National Hockey League as the 2009 recipient WNYHockeyReport_TipSheet10.pdf 11/10/13 9:08 PM of the inaugural Mark Messier Youth 1Leadership Award.

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The Hockey Edge tip - When doing a three-turn correctly, the print on the ice should form the number 3. While on an outside edge, begin rotating the shoulders, keeping them level. At the top of the turn, release the hips and shift the weight to the ball of the foot. Shoulders should then check against the hips allowing the skater to control the back exit edge.

For more information visit www.SK8GR8.com/hockeyedge

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Rochester Youth Hockey News

20

RYH Squirt Major AA Team 2013 Rock N’ Roll Champions Rochester Youth’s Squirt Major AA Red team won the 2013 Rock N’ Roll Champions tournament during the weekend of 10/25-10/27 in Cleveland Ohio! Their overall record was 3-1 for the weekend.

Knauf. Christopher Smith putting the fifth goal in under a power play to end the game!

Game 2 played Plymouth Stingrays with a lose of 4-1!

Brady Knauf with our only goal of the game assisted

by Christopher Smith!

Game 3 played OHA Won 8-0!

Coaches: Chris Smith, Craig McGrain, Dana Mogauro, Terry Billitier and Jeff Knauf.

Players: Bryce Billitier, Ethan Breton, Patrick Carr, Cade Costanzo, Kabir Deol, Evan Johnson, Brady and Ethan Knauf, Aidan McGrain, Ryan Mogauro, Jacob Nelson, Christopher and Sean Smith and Joey Volpe.

Game 1 played West London with a win of 5-2!

Patrick Carr scoring the first 2 goals, assists by Sean Smith and Cade Costanzo, Ethan Knauf having the third goal with assist by Evan Johnson. Aidan McGrain bringing in the forth goal of the game assisted by Ethan

Cade Costanzo starting the game off with our first goal. Ethan Brady brought in the second goal from a pass from goalie Joey Volpe. Third goal of the game was put in by Brady Knauf assisted by Bryce Billitier. Sean Smith scored the forth goal assisted by Aidan McGrain.

Fifth goal with a pass from Brady Knauf to Kabir Deol for Bryce Billitier to put it into net. Brady Knauf scoring the sixth goal with a pass from Bryce Bilitier. Aidan McGrain passing to Ethan Knauf and getting the puck to Sean Smith to put in the back of the net for the seventh goal. Aidan McGrain scoring the eighth goal of the game!

FINALS played West London with a win of 3-1!!!

Ethan Knauf scored the first and second goal. First goal unassisted and second goal was a pass from Cade Costanzo. Jacob Nelson passing the puck to Christopher Smith to pass to Brady Knauf to put in the back of the net!

All the boys played a great weekend of hockey!

MVP award was presented to Ethan Knauf.

Try Hockey Free Day Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex took part in USA Hockey’s Try Hockey For Free Day on November 2nd. The Iceplex team partnered with the Rochester Americans and the Nazareth Golden Flyers to host two free sessions that had over 50 children attend, ages 4 to 9.

One of our goals of the Iceplex is to increase participation of hockey players in it’s market. Multiple grass roots initiatives, similar to these, take place throughout the calendar year.

Three more Try Hockey Events are planned for the holiday break. For more information or to preregister online, visit billgraysiceplex.com.

Become part of the tradition.

TRY HOCKEY FREE DAY!

DID YOU MISS IT? Come by any Saturday @ 10:00 a.m.

Still FREE with USA hockey membership.

Bud Bakewell Arena (Riverside Park), 2607 Niagara Street, Buffalo Your chance to skate and try hockey for free. Call John Marynowski @ 716.225.8462.

The Novice/Mini Mite Program will follow USA Hockey admissions 8u guidelines and be a no cost Saturday Skating Program. 2 – 6 week sessions over the 2013-2014 season. Contact John Marynowski @ 716.225.8462.

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Days: Mon & Wed • Hockey Program for ages 5 & 6 • Trained experienced coaches • Team based plus cross ice game experience • Fall session starts Sept 28th • Winter session starts Jan 4th

Days: Wed The Never-Ever League is for the Adult who has never-ever played hockey, or has not played for a while. It combines off-ice instruction with on-ice skill sessions and instructional game time. The league is coed, nonchecking and a totally positive playing atmosphere.

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11/10/13 10:02 AM

Get Moving With Ryder

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“Get Moving!”

by Janet Schultz Janet@wnyhockeyreport.com When you walk into Holiday Twin Rinks there’s always a group of people watching with pride as their children learn to skate. It’s a normal scene with the younger skater using the walkers, older students doing their swizzles, skating backwards, some doing turns and cross-overs and coaches being patient as each student in Skate Great’s Learn to Skate program goes at their own pace.

One group on this particular evening, however, had a lot to be proud of.

Four-year-old Ryder Kopasz was working hard. He wants to skate like Nathan Gerbe and play ice hockey; the dream of many boys and girls.

The difference is that Ryder was born with Fibular Hemimelia, a condition that affects only 1 in 400,000. Fibular Hemimelia doesn’t allow the fibula to grow and in Ryder’s case, while the tibula was there, his right leg wasn’t.

Ted and Mindy Kopasz learned of the condition when she was 18 weeks pregnant.

“We went through all the stages of grief,” she continues. “It was really devastating

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for us because we didn’t know what to expect as first time parents. We wondered about what he’d be able to do and his quality of life.”

“Everyone goes through something and this is minor,” she says now. “It makes him better. It makes him work harder and not give up and say ‘I can’t.’ He drives us to do better.”

Before age one his right foot and two toes were removed and he was fitted with a prosthesis so he could walk.

Somewhere along the way, Ryder Kopasz working on his skating.

Ryder developed a love of ice He hopes to skate like Nathan Gerbe. hockey and the Buffalo Sabres.

Although not sure when, Mindy can’t remember a time he didn’t love hockey.

“I don’t know,” said Ryder when asked why he loves it. He will tell you his favorite player is Nathan Gerbe.

Mindy remembers him hearing the sounds of hockey from the TV and turning his attention to the game. He learned his colors and numbers through the team logos and players.

“He was on his knees a lot so he would sit on the floor and play mini-stick hockey,” said his father, Ted. Ryder wanted to ‘skate like Gerbe’ so at age three Santa Claus delivered his first pair of ice skates.

“He would walk around the house with them on,” said Mindy.

However he quickly found out that the ice was slippery and he had to develop a mental toughness to skate.

“It took him a while to realize he couldn’t skate like Gerbe right away,” said Mindy.

“They see it on TV and then they come out on the ice and think they can do it the first time. When he couldn’t, he gets frustrated.”

Jessica Lauria, director/owner of Skate Great, understands that and worked with Ryder one-on-one for the first year. Now in his second year he is part of the Learn to Skate Program.

“It’s one thing for us to want to do whatever we can for Ryder and give him the opportunities; but then you get strangers, like Jessica who is now family, that want to do the something and it’s heart warming. We were overwhelmed and grateful,” said Mindy.

“Jessica offering to help Ryder and getting her coaches to help him took the fear away from him. They knew his limitations and they pushed him to do more.”

Jessica explains that at first he thought he could just walk on the ice, and then he found out it was slippery.

“There is a balance. You didn’t want to push him so he’d hate the sport and get frustrated, but at the same time you needed to let him know he could do it,” continued Jessica.

“It takes a little time to get confidence and learn that it’s okay to fall,” said Jessica, who goes on to explain that is normal for everyone learning to skate.

CASH PRIZE FOR 1ST PLACE “He’d tell us his leg was falling off, or it hurt, and we would adjust the leg, encourage him to go back on the ice,” said Mindy. “They were firm but yet Adult Divisions: IRON | COPPER | BRONZE | GOLD made it fun.”

“He has moved through all the levels at a normal and above normal rate,” AWARDS FOR HIGH SCORER AND TOP GOALIE explains Jessica. “After each level students are tested and Ryder passed.”

“I can’t imagine him not doing it,” said Mindy. “It’s such an integral part of FOR REGISTRATION OR MORE INFORMATION: who he is.”

Ryder likes all aspects of hockey. He’s learned the rosters, he notices line call Jason: (716) 444-2667 or email: eric@wnyrh.com changes and while conducting this interview, he was over playing bubble hockey with his Dad. (Continued on page 39)

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Men’s Club Hockey Report

25

Men’s Club Hockey Report

by Lars Lewis lars@wnyhockeyreport.com

DIVISION I Niagara Purple Eagles (ACHA, NECHL)

PM when ECC plays John Carroll University followed by the U.B game against Drexel at 8:00 PM. The Bulls finish the fall semester with a road game against Robert Morris on December 6 and a home game vs. Mercyhurst the next night at 7:30 PM before entering winter break.

Canisius Golden Griffins (ACHA, NECHL)

The Purps followed up their impressive showing at the ACHA Showcase in Ohio by defeating Oswego 3-2 at Dwyer Arena back on October 18.

There were three different scorers for Niagara in the victory, with goals coming from junior Jacob Ledyard, sophomore Austin Wharry and freshman Andrew Mitch with junior Kody Helbig notching two assists in the winning effort.

That win gave the Purple Eagles their fourth win in their past five games before losing a 4-3 decision on the road against Binghamton the next night.

Niagara on October 25 once again got the best of the Lakers, this time in Oswego by a score of 4-1.

Two days later the Purple Eagles returned to western New York and won 6-2 over Canisius at Dann Memorial Rink at The Nichols School.

Sophomore forward Patrick Gregory recorded a hat trick in the win while freshman goaltender Mike Parda stopped 26-of-28 shots for his fifth victory of the year.

Niagara continued their win streak by sweeping the weekend of November 1 and 2 with a 3-2 win over St. Bonaventure and a 5-0 victory against R.I.T, upping their record to 9-2 and currently riding a four-game win streak.

The Golden Griffins were at 7-4 when the last issue went to print. Since then the waters had been rocky for Canisius, who ended up being swept by Villanova on October 12 and 13 4-1 and 5-4.

Canisius then would extend their losing streak to seven with two losses against Ohio University 5-0 and 11-3 on October 18 and 19, a 7-5 loss to Cortland October 25, being shutout 4-0 by Syracuse on the 26 and capping off the streak with a 6-2 defeat at the hands of Niagara the following day.

Canisius eventually got back on track with three wins in three days.

The streak started on Halloween when the Griffs defeated ECC 9-3, followed by a 7-3 win over Ithaca and a riveting 10-7 win against St. Bonaventure.

The Griffs so far hold second place in the NECHL with 27 points, but have played almost double the amount of games (21) that third place Niagara has played (12) this year.

The Griffs have three more games left in the month of November.

• 11/16 vs. Oswego (Hyde Park Arena) • 11/23 vs. IUP (Nichols School) • 11/24 vs. IUP (TBD)

U.B Bulls (ACHA, NECHL)

The Tigers have played in seven games since last issue, going 3-2 with victories over St. Bonaventure 4-3 on October 18, 6-4 over Ithaca College on October 25 and 6-5 over SUNY Cortland on November 1.

R.I.T had two defeats courtesy of SUNY Cortland 5-3 on October 12 and Niagara University 5-0 on November 2 with the three-game win streak bookending the losses.

The first place Bulls (11-4-1 35.5 PTS) have been fairly busy since last issue, playing in 10 games going 7-3 in that stretch.

Notable games for U.B was a three-game string on October 19, 26 and 27 where the Bulls put up eightspots on Oswego 8-2, Ithaca 8-1 and finally Cornell 8-3, on-top of a 6-0 shutout win over Binghamton back on October 18.

In that four-game span, the Bulls outscored opponents 30-6.

The Bulls followed that up by earning a split on the road with Pitt on November 1 and 2 with both games ending in a score of 5-1 with Pitt winning the first game and U.B winning the next day.

The next weekend U.B once again earned a split against a non-conference opponent in MichiganDearborn this time at Northtown Center.

Michigan-Dearborn won the first contest on Saturday November 3-2 while the Bulls responded the next day with a 5-2 victory.

Five different Bulls scored goals along with four of them earning multiple points in the win.

The next three games for U.B will be at their home ice inside Northtown Center in Amherst, NY. • 11/15 vs. Niagara • 11/16 vs. St. Bonaventure • 11/22 vs. Drexel (2nd Annual Military Night) On November 22, U.B will host their second annual Military Night where all veterans and active military can watch the games free of charge. Festivities begin at 5:00

R.I.T (ACHA, NECHL)

DIVISION III FREDONIA STATE (ACHA) The Blue Devils following a 3-2 win over U.B on October 11 at Northtown Center, strung together a five-game winning streak with victories over Medaille, D’Youville, Albany and most recently Saint Vincent College.

Fredonia on October 13 defeated Medaille 7-4 at Steele Hall Ice Arena and followed that up with an 8-3 win over D’Youville at Riverside Ice Rink 12 days later.

After the win over the Spartans, Fredonia edged out a 4-3 victory over Albany at Steele Hall on October 27 at Steele Hall.

Their most recent win was a 6-3 decision against Saint Vincent on Friday November 8. Junior forward Doug Clayton scored two goals in the win.

Freshman forward Donald Battista currently leads the team with 15 points (10G 7A) in 10GP, followed by Clayton with 12 points (8G 4A).

WNYHockeyReport.com

Fredonia has three more games remaining in the month of November with two on the road and one taking place at Steele Hall.

• 11/15

@ Robert Morris University (Island Sports Center) 9:15 PM • 11/16

@ California University of PA (Blade Runners Bethel Park) 7:30 PM • 11/17

vs. Erie Community College (Steele Hall) 4:45 PM

Erie Community College (ACHA) The Kats (1-2) began their 2013-2014 season with a 4-2 victory over Cortland on October 27 but were trounced 9-3 on Halloween night against Canisius whom had lost seven straight games going into that night.

ECC according to achahockey.org, have four more games on-tap for the month of November with a trip to Fredonia State on the 17 and John Carroll University at Northtown Center on Friday the 22 to highlight the month.

U.B Bulls (UNYCHL, CIHA) The Bulls are currently 1-1-1 in the UNYCHL West Division with a 9-3 win over D’Youville on October 19, an 8-4 defeat against first place Brockport (6-0) and a 3-3 tie against the Cardinals of St. John Fisher on November 9.

U.B in their win had nine different scorers with sophomore Brandon Gonzalez tossing in three assists.

Freshman Brad Tardif and junior James Faran lead the team in goals with two even though U.B had scored 13 goals in those two games. (Before the St. John Fisher game 11/9) The Bulls will play a conference game against Geneseo at The Ira on November 15 and have their next four games at Northtown Center before going into winter break.

• 11/16 vs. Hilbert • 12/06 vs. Medaille* • 12/07 vs. Rochester U/Nazareth* • 12/14 vs. D’Youville* * = UNYCHL divisional game

Medaille College (UNYCHL, CIHA) Medaille has only played one game in the UNYCHL West Division since last issue, winning 5-1 over St. John Fisher back on Saturday October 26. Eight different Mustangs had points in the win, including junior Mathew Kieta who scored twice and senior Eric Grzechawick tallied three assists.

Senior goaltender Christopher Koestor had 35 saves in the win.

The Mustangs continue UNYCHL play Sunday November 17 against Geneseo at Holiday Twin Rinks at 3:30 PM and on Tuesday the 19 against D’Youville at 8:30 PM at Riverside Ice Rink.

D’YOUVILLE COLLEGE (UNYCHL, CIHA)

The Spartans have struggled out of the gate this season starting with a five-game losing streak in the

UNYCHL, losing 11-4 to Brockport on October 11, 9-3 to (Continued on page 38)

Senior Hockey

26

Senior Hockey Central

by Anthony Fiorello Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and while turkeys may not be so lucky heading into the holiday, hockey players in Western New York are. That is because, in addition to the hockey leagues that were profiled in last month’s issue, more are open to join throughout the area. In addition, instructional programs are available throughout the area to improve players’ hockey skills.

Such leagues and programs include:

Batavia Men’s Hockey League Falleti Ice Rink Steve Pies – Board Member of the BMHL In the Batavia Men’s Hockey League, a pool of 104 players is rated by an eight-member board before each season. Based on the ratings, the eight teams in the league conduct an annual fantasy draft in order to determine the teams for each season.

There is a 30-player waiting list to get into the league and players who wish to get into the BMHL must participate in a ratings skate in order to determine where they would fall in the ratings system. These players will be added to a sublist, which acts as a form of “free agency”. Should a player on an existing team become injured, players on the sublist can be inserted onto a team for five weeks based on the vacancy of the injured player’s ranking and the order of when they signed up, according to board member Steve Pies.

If someone has played in the league within the past three years, they will be placed at the top of the waiting list. If a player wishes to return to the league after the grace period expires, they must go through the application process again.

The BMHL season format is made up of one preseason game and 21 regular season games. Every team makes the playoffs, which are conducted as a threegame round robin. There is also an All-Star game and a banquet held at the end of the season. USA Hockey rules are in play.

The cost for a full season is approximately $135 per player and an additional $10 per week, which adds up to $400 over a full season of play. The age range of players is 18 through 67.

CHL (Classic Hockey League) 40 Wood Stick League Healthy Zone Ice Rink Deb Healy – (716) 628-0036 earink@thinkrink.org The CHL is unique in that it is the only adult league in North America in which its participants are forbidden to use hockey sticks that aren’t wooden. This, according to Aurora Ice Association president Anthony DiFilippo, is to create an old-school feel amongst the players.

“We are an outdoor rink, a bit old-school. The wooden sticks complements the feel of the rink and the tradition of playing hockey outdoors,” DiFilippo said. “Besides, maybe the money the players save on their hockey sticks can be used to take their spouses out to dinner.”

Located in East Aurora, the CHL’s schedule is made up of 16 regular season games and three playoff games.

All games are played on Sundays between 4:40 and 10 p.m. from October 20 to March 9. After the first nine games of the regular season, the league is split into two divisions. Participants must be at least 40 years old.

A four-on-four cross-ice tournament will be held on New Year’s Day. For additional information, please visit www.thinkrink.org.

Jamestown Adult Hockey League Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena Paul Demler lp2demler@winstream.net The Jamestown Adult Hockey League is a not-forprofit, non-check league open to both male and female players age 18 and up. They are currently affiliated with the AAU, which has opened its sports umbrella to include adult ice hockey for the 2013-2014 season.

In addition to AAU policies, the league maintains its own by-laws, which includes a supplemental aggressive penalty and fine policy that helps maintain a more “friendly” atmosphere without detracting from competition. In years past they were affiliated with USA Hockey.

There are two divisions - a 6-team “open” division usually comprised of younger, faster and/or highly skilled players and an 8-team “B” division usually comprised of older and more novice level players where the pace is toned down. Balance and parity are maintained among the teams, which is overseen by a board comprised of team captains. New players are generally assigned to teams based on need.

The seasons normally begin by mid-September and end in March and have included 21 regular season games, three playoff games and a division championship game. Games are officiated by sanctioned referees and are held Sunday nights between 5pm and 9:30 pm using our twin rink facility. Games include three 15-minute stop time periods. All teams make the playoffs. The playoff format runs in tournament-style format (points per period/game) with the top two teams making the respective divisional championship game. The current cost for the season is $410 per skater and goalies pay $205. Monthly payment plans are offered as well. The cost for players coming in during the season is prorated.

“What makes us different from many leagues is that, to date, we have tried to control the level of parity rather than just open it up to teams of unknown talent and demeanor that are based solely on skill level, i.e. “A”, “B”, “C” etc.,” league director Paul Demler said. “We attract players within the commuting distance of Chautauqua County, Cattaraugus County and northwestern Pennsylvania (including Erie).”

Individual registrations and pro-rate fees for the number of games remaining in the season are still being accepted. For more information, visit www.jahl. us.

Labatt Senior Hockey League Holiday and Leisure Rinks Ron Nowakowski (716) 665-3860 The LSHL is made up of ten divisions and begins the week after Labor Day (second week of September).

Games are played nightly throughout the week.

One of the longest tenured adult leagues in Western New York, the LSHL has many different skill levels spread amongst the various divisions. Players can join at 18 years old, and can play at either the Holiday or Leisure rinks based on preference.

“The weekday schedule is somewhat flexible, based on team requests, but teams can expect to play any night of the week,” said Ron Nowakowski, manager of the Labatt Senior Hockey League. “Typically though, Wednesdays are reserved for the Bald Eagle Division, and then the rest of the divisions will basically be split into separate sub-divisions. Half the teams compete on Monday and Tuesday, and the other half would be play on Thursday and Friday. The playoffs are all single elimination, and eligibility is based on the size of the

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division. We try to have close to 50% of the divisions eligible for the playoffs, since we have had close to 15 -18 teams in a division in the past.”

One difference this year in comparison to past seasons will be this year’s playoff format. The league will use its “Weekend of Champions” format, where all divisions will have their games played on Friday and Saturday and all championship games on Sunday. The format has been used before and Labatt awarded prizes and other incentives for teams that competed.

The league is also the only one in the area that employs a running clock for all games and was also the first to use the online scoring system Pointstreak, which provides real-time stats for all teams.

For more information, visit http://www.holidayrinks. com/content/pages/senior-hockey-home.

Old Tyme Hockey League East Aurora – 200 Level Adult Hockey Training West Seneca Town Rink www.othlea.com/200 – info@othlea.com (716) 830-0182 The program, which is an extension of the OTHLEA, is a training program that is designed to improve one’s hockey skills and tactical knowledge. What makes this outfit different than most training programs is that it aims to imitate an NHL-style training camp, with many parts of the game being covered in practice – such as puck protection and transition, board play, faceoffs, breakouts, defensive zone responsibilities and many more.

“We started this program last summer and we’re trying to make this go all year ‘round,” said Ian Woods, the co-owner of the OTHLEA. “We want to make this where guys can drop in for a workout or a training session and not have to go to the gym. It’s a hell of a workout, and you’ll also walk away with new skills that you haven’t learned before.”

Practice sessions last for 75 minutes on Wednesday nights around 10pm with a scrimmage at the end. The skills learned in practice are emphasized throughout the scrimmage, so there is an immediate opportunity to apply what is learned in practice during a game-like situation.

There are three ways to pay: you can pay $24 per practice session, $200 for 10 sessions and $300 for 20 sessions.

For more information, please visit www.othlea. com/200.

Performax Hockey Systems Brighton Arena Frank Albert – (716) 698-8859 frankalbert@performaxsports.com Performax Hockey Systems is considered the longestrunning and most comprehensive program of its type in the country, according to instructor Frank Albert.

Its goal is to develop hockey skills for players and to improve hockey and general fitness.

The program starts on November 17 and runs for 18 weeks. The first 12 weeks consist of comprehensive instruction and lead to six developmental games.

Members receive jerseys and are formed into a team to compete at the 2014 Greater Buffalo Senior Hockey Invitational held by Performax Hockey. Afterward, the group is offered a chance to compete in the 2014 Summer League.

Video analysis is provided during development and various members of the Buffalo Sabres’ Alumni are involved as guest instructors. It is open to men and women and no experience is required.

For additional information, please visit www.performaxhockey.com.

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Buffalo Means (Hockey) Business

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Buffalo Means (Hockey) Business Get up on the competition by going to One Up Sports Performance and Wellness

Coaches get an edge with Ice Hockey Systems

By Matthew Ondesko

By Matthew Ondesko When working out, athletes are always looking to get an advantage of the other person.

They are willing to try new things if it means getting to the next level.

One Up Sports Performance and Wellness will help you get to the next level with a unique training method.

Located at Holiday Twin Rinks, 3465 Broadway, 2nd floor Broadway entrance, in Cheektowaga, One Up Sports Performance and Wellness has all your training needs for those who are looking to get a leg up on the competition.

“Everybody that comes in has their own customized workout,” said Brandon Monin. “So, whether you are a 78-year old male or female or an 8-year-old hockey player, everybody comes in and has their own workout. They can expect a good training atmosphere with no distractions. Everything I do is very scientific based.”

With his method of training, Monin has people think outside the box, more than in.

“All my workouts, and everything I do, has a purpose,” said Monin. “The purpose is derived through literature and research.”

Lancaster resident Monin is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), and is a certified Golf Fitness Instructor (CGFI) by the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI).

After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, Monin was given an opportunity to work for Finish First Sports Performance (www. finishfirstsports.com) and study under Jeremy Hoy. Hoy s the owner of FFSP as well as the head strength and conditioning coach for Robert Morris Division I Men’s Ice Hockey team and the Youngstown Phantoms USHL Hockey team.

“When I was in grad school, at the University of Pittsburgh, I had to do an internship. And I did it at Finish First Sports Performance,” stated Monin. “This was going to allow me to work with athletes and older people. I did the internship, then I worked for him (Hoy), and it was fun.”

Monin uses what he learned in college to make up a great workout regime for athletes and non-athletes. It doesn’t matter if you are just starting out or are older and just keeping in shape; Monin and his team of professionals have you covered.

Monin has worked with the Lancaster High School hockey programs and has received nothing but great feedback from his programs.

“My two sons train with Brandon Monin at One Up Sports, plus I send two teams of modified ice hockey players to him on a weekly basis. Brandon is the complete package when it comes to managing a fitness program. He is not just a personal trainer running you through a set of exercises. He understands how the body works and the nutritional needs for you to meet your own fitness/strength training goals. His program is perfect for my sons and my players. They all “like” going to Brandon as he makes the time there enjoyable, he relates very well with them,” stated Bill Herrmann. “Brandon has the ability to motivate and push beyond selfimposed limits. Each day it seems as though my sons/players are achieving another breakthrough and gaining confidence in their abilities. Brandon’s best quality is himself. He is a kind and authentic guy that truly cares about his clients and the community at large. I am very grateful that I was introduced to him and plan to continue with his program indefinitely.”

To learn about One Up Sports Performance and Wellness, go to www.oneupsportsandwellness.com. Or call, 716-913-7206.

While the players get all the credit. It’s the coaches that put those players in the right system to succeed.

If you are looking for an edge when it comes to coaching, look no further than Ice Hockey Systems, hockey’s premier coaching systems.

“Ice Hockey Systems is pretty much an online platform,” explained Ice Hockey Systems President, and partner, Chris Howard. “It has more than 400 animated hockey drills for coaches and educators.”

Ice Hockey Systems’ easy to use website has everything you need, with a click off the mouse.

The animated features shows where the players should be at any given time.

Where the traditional drills are usually static and the coach would draw lines in a playbook. This program really helps coaches understand drills well, and especially systems better and where players should be on the ice at a given time.

With everything more and more moving away from the old board and markers approach, Ice Hockey Systems in the new wave of coaching.

“It basically started with a data base. And it was originally used for personal use” said Howard.

“Then we decided to make it more user friendly. In turn make this more beneficial for coaches.”

As always, coaches are hesitant to change and anything they have been doing for years and decades.

But, once Howard got the word our about how easy it was to use, coached started to jump on board.

“The response has been great,” explained Howard, by phone recently. “Pretty big organizations use it.”

Ice Hockey Systems has gotten so big that they now have former Chicago Blackhawks player, and coach, Dennis Savard on board.

The NHL Hall of Famer is a partner in Ice Hockey Systems, believing in the platform’s ability to build a digital, inclusive community for hockey coaches and teams that will provide them with tools to enhance game-time performances and yield greater results during practices.

“Ice Hockey Systems provides coaches of all levels with the most unique and helpful content on the internet,” said Denis Savard, NHL Hall of Fame Inductee and Ice Hockey Systems Partner. “The animations make it easy for the coaches and players to understand the objectives of each drill and system as they can visualize the moving pieces. Additionally, we’ve added videos and written pieces that provide coaches with advice on how to make their team better both on and off the ice.”

Since launching, Ice Hockey Systems has gained—on average—more than 200 members and 100,000 page views each month. Today, Ice Hockey System is the goto resource for more than 2,000 hockey coaches worldwide, with visitors spending more than 15,000 hours on the site. Subscribers pay a recurring monthly, semiannual or annual membership fee to have access to all of the drills and functionality.

As a result, coaches are able to customize and build their own practices and game plans, and easily share them with players.

Want to know more about Ice Hockey Systems?

Go to www.icehockeysystems.com or follow along on twitter and facebook.

Sports Performance & Wellness Hockey Specific Training Programs Free Performance Evaluation Holiday Twin Rinks • 3465 Broadway Street Cheektowaga, NY • (716) 601-7444

www.oneupsportsandwellness.com WNYHockeyReport.com

“Brandon is the complete package when it comes to managing a fitness program.

He understands how your body works and the nutritional needs you’ll need to meet your fitness & strength training goals.”

Buffalo Means (Hockey) Business

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Buffalo Means (Hockey) Business Take it to the next level with Precision Hockey

By Matthew Ondesko When it comes to hockey everybody is looking for that extra edge to get better. They are looking for that extra something to get them to the next level – whether it’s high school, college, juniors, or if they’re lucky enough, the National Hockey League.

So when it comes to training, parents are looking for the best for their children.

And they will go all over the Western New York area to find it.

Mark Metzger, owner of Precision Hockey, knows what it takes to get to the next level.

Metzger played hockey for the Buffalo Junior Sabres, before going to play in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

“I played for the Junior Sabres when I was 15 and 16 years-old,” said Metzger.

“Then I went up to Canada and did well there. Then I wanted to keep my NCAA options open and came back. And, I was training up in Canada and I ended up getting hurt. I hurt my groin pretty bad. It was a tough injury, but part of the game.”

An injury to Metzger ended his playing career at an early age. But the passion for hockey is still alive in him, and now he owns Precision Hockey.

“I started my hockey school,” stated Metzger. It started off just training anyone that just wanted to go to a camp. It grew from there. Now, I train some Division I guys and pro guys.

Precision Hockey was established to provide world-class hockey development instruction. Its unique training system ensures effectively progress through all stages of players career. Their teaching arrangement is structured to systematically develop the hockey player. Precision Hockey aims toward a strong foundation of edge work, balance and agility.

What has started off small for Metzger has turned into something big. So big, that Anaheim Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau got a look at what Metzger was doing

and liked what he saw.

“When I hired mark as on ice instructor; I was very impressed with his motivation and dedication,” said Boudreau. I, and my NHL and AHL coaches, highly recommended him.”

The school is geared for kids of all ages.

Whether you are a beginner, or someone who is trying to make the jump to the next level, Metzger and his hockey knowing staff has it covered.

“We have all kind of clinic,” explained Metzger. “We have skating clinics to stickhandling clinics. We have shooting clinics. We have a combination of everything.

You will see a lot of results from it and you will see your game go to the next level.”

Like any hockey player, it’s all about development. Players may have the skill to compete, but it’s how they develop that skill.

Metzger and Precision Hockey can help the players separate themselves from the pack.

“If you’re an NHL player, or a high school player, it’s all about development,” said Metzger. “I think parents have to realize that it’s not a sprint to the finish line, but it’s taking your time to get to the next level. Slow and steady wins the race. I think it should be strictly on development and know your strengths and now your weakness.”

To learn more about Precision Hockey go to precisionhockey.net. Camps are held at the Hockey Outlet in Wheatfield.

Take your game to the next level..

WNYHockeyReport.com

Sponsors

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Cazenovia Park Hockey Association Cazenovia Park Hockey Association

Hasek’s Heroes

FULL ICE MITE HOUSE TOURNAMENT* January 18th & 19th Tournament information and details can be found at: www.cazhockey.com www.haseksheroes.org

What we are thankful for: • Great Players • Fantastic Families • Amazing Coaches •The generous support of our Alumni and Community • The opportunitiy to play the game we LOVE on a great sheet of ice at a facility that is central to WNY families

Happy Thanksgiving

*Birth Year 2005 – USA Hockey teams with no full ice prior to 1/1/14.

from Cazenovia Park Hockey Association

www.cazhockey.com

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Red Bull Crashed Ice

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Third Year’s A Charm: Red Bull Crashed Ice Qualifiers Kick Off In The US Ice Cross Downhill World Championship Back To Saint Paul, Mn. Feb 20-22 SAINT PAUL, MN., November 15, 2013 – Red Bull Crashed Ice is coming back to the U.S for the third year in a row, and the Ice Cross Downhill competition is seeking top competitors to take on a highly technical track in Saint Paul, reaching speeds of up to 40mph. Starting today, registration is open for eight qualifiers across the US on www.redbullcrashedice.com. Contenders will be able to qualify for the national shootout and a chance at a spot in the main event through eight open qualifiers across the country. After having their speed and agility skills tested, 100 elite athletes will come together in front of the iconic Cathedral of Saint Paul for the only stop in the USA. Athletes may come from a variety of disciplines hockey, downhill skiing, speed skating, boardercross, and others – speed, agility, perseverance, toughness and courage are the ingredients needed for success.

The United States has quickly become one of the world’s leading Ice Cross Downhill powers, with Minnesota native Cameron Naasz taking a first-ever win for the United States in Switzerland last year and getting on the podium in three of five races to take third overall in the series, behind superstars Derek Wedge and Kyle Croxall.

The USA qualifiers are as follows: St. Louis, MO Buffalo, NY Tampa, FL Denver, CO Chicago, IL Saint Paul, MN Detroit, MI Duluth, MN

December 29th January 4th January 4th January 17th January 24th January 26th February 4th February 9th

Go to www.redbullcrashedice.com for exact locations and registration process, as dates and times are subject to change. Entrants must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Qualifiers will have two identical obstacle courses and each skater will have to take on each course. Each downhill passage will remain the same at each battle around the world, ensuring to define the best athletes. The best score will be used to identify the best of the best, which will produce the final list of participants for the U.S. finale event in Saint Paul, MN Jan. 24-26. Three Americans and one reserve will move on to form Team USA 2013 and head to the three next stops of the World Championship.

Can’t make it to a city near you to qualify? This year, Red Bull Crashed Ice in partnership with Holiday introduces the 2014 Red Bull Crashed Ice Wild Card Program, an opportunity to earn one of ten spots to compete in the 2014 Red Bull Crashed Ice event in St.

Paul, MN with a video submission. Elite athletes all over the country who can’t get to a qualifying event, but deserve a shot to showcase their skills and abilities can submit there bid to be apart of the final ten qualifying spots. Video submissions should showcase an athlete’s speed, control and stamina. Hopefuls can head to www.redbullcrashedice.com/wildcard to put forward their video detailing why they should be chosen. The winners will be announced on Febrary 5, 2014.

About Red Bull Crashed Ice – Saint Paul The world’s fastest Ice Cross Downhill athletes are coming back to Saint Paul to compete in the toughest competition on skates: Red Bull Crashed Ice. Athletes will go four-at-a-time through a demanding, gritty, glacial downhill course full of turns, canals and chutes – all against the backdrop of the iconic Cathedral of Saint Paul. Back in the land of 10,000 lakes for the third time, this year’s man-made ice track has been specifically designed for head-to-head battle, and will once again be the most technically challenging course this season.

The action returns to the US on February 20-22, 2014 as the second stop on this year’s Ice Cross Downhill World Championship tour.

With four athletes duking it out shoulder-to-shoulder down an intimidating and treacherous icicle in full ice cross downhill gear, the combatants will race up to 40 miles an hour down steep ice canals dotted with jumps, rollers, obstacles, banked corners and hairpin bends – until the first two cross the finish line and advance to the next round. This bracketed madness will continue until the final chapter when the four remaining competitors race to the bottom to crown the champ.

About Red Bull Crashed Ice 2014 Tour

The Red Bull Crashed Ice schedule for its 14th season in 2014 will also include a return to Finland and Russia and the annual stop in Canada. The race in Finland will be staged on one of a growing number of permanent tracks being built around the world in a reflection of the sport’s growing popularity.

The Red Bull Crashed Ice 2014 calendar is as follows: February 1 Helsinki, Finland February 22 Saint Paul (MN), USA March 8 Moscow, Russia March 22 Quebec City, Canada Points are up for grabs at each of the four stops of the Ice Cross Downhill World Championship: the winner

WNYHockeyReport.com

collects 1,000 points and competitors all the way down to 100th (0.5 point) can collect valuable points.

Whoever finishes the season with the most points after the four races is crowned champion.

Ice Cross Downhill reached new heights in the 2012/13 season with nearly 300,000 spectators at the five races. The 2012-13 season was the biggest and most spectacular in the history of the sport with four winners in five different races on the longest and most challenging tracks ever built. Ice Cross Downhill evolved last season away from the dominance of former hockey players with athletes from a variety of different sporting backgrounds – everything from downhill skiing to mountain biking.

For more information on Red Bull Crashed Ice, the U.S. qualifiers and global stops, please visit www. redbullcrashedice.com.

Buffalo Crashed Ice Qualifier When: Saturday, January 4, 2014 1:00 PM – Check-in Opens 2:00 PM – Check-in Closes 2:30 PM - Competition Begins

Where: Riverside Ice Rink 2607 Niagara St. Buffalo NY, 14207

Register Athletes may register at multiple locations, but they can only qualify once. Rookies and Pros alike are allowed register, from any sport discipline. Go to www.redbullcrashedice.com to register today.

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13

14

Upcoming Home Games @ Northtown Center Amherst.

North York Rangers Stouffville Spirit Hamilton Red Wings Georgetown Raiders St. Michael’s Buzzers

Mon., Nov. 18 Tues., Nov. 26 Wed., Dec. 4 Tues., Dec. 10 Sun., Dec. 15

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35

Nice Rink... Sideboards

Setting Up Sideboards On Your NiceRink This month... We’re doing sideboards. Following is a quick synopsis. For more detailed info, visit our website.

The perimeter of your rink can be constructed using a multitude of materials depending on your site, the time you have, how you want it to look and what kind of skating the rink will be used for.

The easiest way to put up the sideboard system is utilizing the NiceRink Brackets and Thermoformed Plastic boards. The brackets can be easily placed into UNFROZEN ground and will hold our 18”x 4’ interlocking thermoformed plastic boards, making them very versatile for just about any rink site. If installing in frozen ground visit our website for directions.

After you have selected your top choice location, put a stake in each of the four corners, and tie a heavy duty string line to each stake outlining the proposed perimeter of your rink. Pitch of the site must be determined so that the right height of boards can be utilized to contain your deeper water on the lower end of your site. We recommend a minimum of 4” of water/ ice at the shallow end, so this will be your water height at this stake if it is in fact the highest point of your yard. Your pitch will determine the depths at the other corners of your rink. Pull the string as tight as possible and then raise or lower the low end of the string at the other three stakes until the line level reads level between each stake. After going from stake to stake all around, tie off the string at the height it’s at, and that is your estimated water/ice line. To double-check yourself, go across the angles from corner to corner as well. An easier and more accurate way is with the new laser levels.

When the pitch is determined, you can then measure the height of the boards you’ll need to contain your water. The line that is now strung around the perimeter of your rink is the water level line. Your board heights must be over this line to contain the water. The height of the board over the string should be determined by how the rink will be used. If it is just for skating, a low sideboard will look nice and clean. If you are planning on using bumper caps, a board edge of at least 4” above the water is needed to completely seat the bumper caps onto the boards. If the main focus of your rink is to play hockey, a higher board of at least 8” above the ice line should be used to contain the pucks, especially on the ends or where ever you plan on shooting at the net.

Now that the rink size and board heights have been determined, let’s figure what and how many NiceRink brackets, boards, stakes & screws you’ll need.

Determining what materials you’ll need.

How many NiceRink brackets will you need? The perimeter distance around your rink will determine that. For example, a 35’ wide x 65’ long rink would have linear perimeter foot measurement of 200’. This is determined by using 2x the width + 2x the length of your rink, 2 x 35’ = 70’, 2 x 65’ = 130’, 70’+130’=200’.

There should be a bracket every 4’, plus two at each corner, for square cornered rinks. If you have the luxury of a fairly level site, your boards can be as short as 12”. Recommended minimum height is 12” boards.

If any hockey pucks in general are going to be used, I wouldn’t go below a 8” board height above the ice to lessen the chance of the pucks flying out all the time.

PLASTIC BOARD REQUIREMENTS: This figuring is much easier, as they are only available in 18” x 4’ sections.

So divide your perimeter feet x 4’, and deduct four boards for the radius corners. The plastic boards only make round corners, therefore eliminating one board per corner. For the above example, with 200 perimeter feet, divide 200’ by 4’ = 50 – 4 = 46 Plastic boards.

Install the Brackets Set out all of the brackets, one every four feet and two at each corner. One bracket will be in the center of each board and one will be shared at the end of each 2 boards.

If you have a deep end of more than 16” of water/ ice the brackets should be spaced at 2 ½’ intervals along the deep end and ¾” spikes driven through the provided support hole. You’ll notice on the design of the brackets that the “spikes” that go into the ground are angled backward. They are engineered to hold by countering the pressure of the water.

WNYHockeyReport.com

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NiceRink Thermoformed Plastic Boards

NiceRink Brackets

Once you have your brackets all laid out and ready to install, start them into the ground and get them as far as possible with foot pressure. Make sure to apply the pressure to the center of the step plate. DO NOT STEP ON THE CORNERS OF THE STEP PLATES, AS THIS MAY CAUSE DAMAGE TO YOUR BRACKETS. Once you have gotten them started you’ll now be able to put one foot inside the bracket opening and one on the back step plate. Do this and rock back and forth (side to side) to loosen the ground and work the brackets in. If they did not go in all the way to the bottom, don’t be alarmed, the first 4” installs relatively easy, the last 2” is where your friend comes in. Now you can pound the stakes into the ground with a 2x2 stake and/or a piece of 2x4.

Now just slide the NiceRink Thermoformed hinged boards together. The engineered design allows a full hinge/interlocking design which is very easy to use and allows the NiceRink boards to be easily connected together for a nice sturdy long lasting rink frame that lock together from “top to bottom”. When locked together, they can then be swiveled at the corners to give your rink the round corners everyone loves!

The dual purpose stacking buttons along the top of the boards act in conjunction with the NiceRink BumperCaps. We’ve molded the stacking buttons at an optimum height from the top of the board to help secure your BumperCaps to the boards and help prevent them from blowing off. If you’re looking for the serious backyard rink of a lifetime, the only way to go is with the NiceRink Thermoformed Plastic Boards.

They’re lighter weight, longer lasting and look so much better than wood boards.

For more information, easy to follow full instructions and great videos, visit our website: www.NiceRink.com

Sled Hockey Tournament

Sled Hockey Tournament @ Northtowns Center The Buffalo Sabres Sled Hockey teams played against the Central New York Sled Hockey Flyers and WTY Mountain Warriors over a two-day period, November 15 - 16, at the Northtowns Center, Amherst.

In the first game the Buffalo Sabres Sled Vets took on the Warriors; the second game were the Buffalo Sabres against the CNY Flyers.

Above: Denis Steinmiller takes the faceoff for the Buffalo Sabres Sled team.

Above: Mike Denault rushes to the puck.

Above: Dan Ohar and Mike Lindhurst battle in the corner.

Left: Patrick Welch heads for the net.

WNYHockeyReport.com

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Men’s Club Hockey Men’s Club Hockey (Continued from page 25)

U.B October 19, 8-3 to Geneseo on October 27 and a 5-2 loss to Rochester U/Nazareth on November 2.

Their most recent game was a 13-3 defeat in Cheektowaga against defending division champion Brockport on November 9.

So far this season the Spartans have been outscored 46-15 in their five defeats, with two games ending up in double-digits for the opposition.

D’Youville recently played against St. John Fisher on Sunday November 10 at Riverside Ice Rink and have one more game for the fall semester against Medaille at Riverside on November 19 at 8:30 PM.

BROCKPORT (UNYCHL, CIHA) Brockport has continued its onslaught of the West Division with a perfect 7-0 record for 12 points while outscoring opponents a whopping 58-20 in the process.

The Golden Eagles currently have an ten point lead over second place Rochester/Nazareth who has four points on the year and a 2-1 record.

Brockport is actually the only team that has beaten Rochester/Nazareth this season, winning 8-4 back on November 1 at Genesee Valley Park Rink.

On Saturday November 9, the Golden Eagles dropped 13 goals on D’Youville, winning by 10 at home.

Further asserting their dominance, the top 5 players in scoring in the West Division are all Golden Eagles with

senior forward Eric Perlowitz leading the way with eight goals and 12PTS in six games. (Before the D’Youville game).

GENESEO (UNYCHL, CIHA)

Currently at 1-2-1 on the year, the Knights have spent their first four UNYCHL West Divisional games at The Ira with their lone victory coming on October 27 against D’Youville by a score of 8-3.

Their two defeats this season have been by Brockport in Geneseo’s divisional opener on October 18 and an 8-1 loss to Rochester U/Nazareth on October 25.

Geneseo has three more conference games remaining for the rest of this month before going into holiday break.

• 11/15 vs. U.B (The Ira) • 11/17 @ Medaille (Holiday Twin Rinks) • 11/22 @ Rochester U/Nazareth (Genesee Valley Park Rink)

ST. JOHN FISHER (UNYCHL, CIHA) The Cardinals (0-2-2) have yet to crack the win column so far this season in the UNYCHL West Division.

Their 5-1 defeat at the hands of Medaille on October 26.

Forward Mike Miller had the lone goal in the loss against the Mustangs with an assist from forward Adam Johnson.

On November 8, the Cardinals got their first point in the division with a 3-3 draw against Geneseo at The Ira

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with both clubs scoring one goal in all three periods in regulation.

The next night St. John Fisher earned another point with a 3-3 tie against the Bulls of U.B with once again both teams scoring a goal apiece in every period of regulation.

Last issue, St. John Fisher had only played one game at that point, losing 4-2 to Brockport back on October 5.

The Cardinals will meet undefeated Brockport on Saturday November 15 at the Bill Gray’s Iceplex at 9:00 PM, followed by a November 23 matchup against second place Rochester U/Nazareth.

Rochester U/Nazareth (UNYCHL, CIHA) So far this season Rochester U/Nazareth has had some modest success, going 2-1 in their first three games in the UNYCHL. Their season began on Friday, October 25 on the road against the Ice Knights of Geneseo, winning 8-1 at The Ira. Sophomore forward Greg Pearlman had two goals and an assist in the victory while junior forward James Sergeant chipped in with two goals of his own.

Their opening night victory unfortunately was met with an 8-4 defeat against defending West Division Champion Brockport on November 1 at Genesee Valley Park Rink.

Rochester U/Nazareth responded with a 5-2 win over winless D’Youville (0-5) on November 2.

The club will resume play on November 22 in a rematch against Geneseo at Genesee Valley Park Rink at 8:30 PM, followed by a road game against St. John Fisher at the Bill Gray’s Iceplex the next day at 8:30 PM.

n o i t n Atte rls! i G & s Boy

Do you have what it takes to be a Niagara Junior Purple Eagle?

• Learn & play at NU’s Dwyer Arena – One of the newest, cleanest and best facilities in WNY! • Organizational Strengths: • Competitive Travel Teams that regularly make State and National Tournaments • Strong Instructional and House Youth Programs • Fun and Challenging House Select Teams • Excellent Girl’s Hockey Program • Affiliation with the Niagara University Division 1 College Men’s Team – skate and learn with Division 1 players.

• Two Features NO OTHER ASSOCIATION in WNY can match: • Minimal cost equipment loaner program for players new to hockey • Four weeks FREE Instructional Program • Lowest House Division playing fees than any other association!

2013-2014 Youth Hockey Tournaments

Thanksgiving Invitational Nov 29 – Dec 1, 2013

Patriot’s Day Tournament Feb 15 – Feb 17, 2014

Divisions: Mites 2005 & 2006 (Half Ice), Squirt Major 2003, Pee Wee Major 2001, Bantam Major 1999 Classifications: A, AA, AAA

Divisions: Mites 2005 & 2006 (Half Ice), Full Ice 8U, Squirt Minor 2004, Pee Wee Minor 2002, Bantam Minor 2000, Girls 14U Classifications: A, AA, AAA

Visit www.jrpurpleeagles for more info and applications.

The Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles are home to over 800 boys and girls youth hockey players. Our travel & house programs are one of the largest in New York State!

www.jrpurpleeagles.com WNYHockeyReport.com

Get Moving Get Moving

(Continued from page 24) “He wants to play hockey, but he also likes to announce hockey,” said Mindy.

“At bedtime he asked me to sing a hockey song and all I could think of was “Oh Canada.” It’s been all hockey, all the time. He plays in the kitchen, he plays outside.”

“When we’d watch the games he would be on his knees, rocking back and forth like the players were doing at the start of a game,” she remembers.

“We don’t want to pressure him into it,” said Mindy. “He loves it so much and asked over the summer when his skating was going to start up.”

“Being in the class has added excitement for him,” said Jessica, who didn’t tell one particular coach he had a prosthetic leg.

“He’s inspiring,” said Mindy. “It makes us say ‘he can do it’.”

Looking ahead Mindy sees him with a huge cheering section when he plays ice hockey.

“For a time Ted and I didn’t know if he could do it; how his leg would react to it. So now we can’t imagine him not doing it,” said Mindy.

Mindy explains that for Ryder life with prosthesis is normal; he knows nothing else. If he’s running around and his leg comes off, he sits down and puts it back on; if he has to get up in the middle of the night, he either crawls or puts his leg on. Each morning he gets up and puts it on like anyone else getting up and putting on their shoes.

“He doesn’t treat himself differently but he doesn’t know other people don’t do this,” said Mindy.

“He’s a positive, sweet and genuine kid and that makes him special and inspirational,” said Jessica.

An obstacle they overcame was the prosthesis he used for walking would swivel making the foot go in another

direction causing him to fall. The Kopasz’s researched to see if there were specially made limbs for people who wanted to play sports.

An anonymous donor gave them the opportunity to go to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago where a team of doctors listened to their challenges and developed a “hockey leg.”

Once Ryder was fitted and could walk on the leg, they took him to an on-ice session, making adjustments so

39

that the leg was secure and comfortable for him.

When his final leg was presented to him it was decorated with the Sabres logo and colors.

The cost of a special prosthesis is high and insurance companies won’t cover it because children grow out of them so rapidly.

“He also broke his indestructible leg in the first 30 minutes,” smiles Mindy.

That led to the formation of unLIMBited-Kids, an organization to help kids stay active and letting them do what they want to do. Thus the slogan “Get Moving!”

When kids outgrow their limbs, parts of it are customized for their body, while other mechanical parts (spacer, foot, other movable pieces) are the same. They decided to recycle those parts for whoever needed them and, through unLIMBited, have set up a Limb Bank.

“We want to make sure children can skate when their peers are doing it, not wait because they need to stop growing to get the limb needed for their activity,” said Mindy.

“We need to spread the word and make people aware of what we are doing,” said Mindy.

“They are perfect the way they are,” says Mindy, when asked about what advice she would give parents going through a similar situation.

“If they want to do something, they will find a way to do it.”

UnLIMBited-Kids is run out of the Kopasz home at the present time. They are looking for financial donations, as well as donations of arms and legs with parts to be recycled and for people to spread the word and awareness.

For more information go to unLIMBited-Kids.com.

Join us for our 2nd Annual GNAHL Mite March Madness Hockey Tournament

Feb. 28th – March 2nd 2014 Team Entry Fee $825

Hosted By AAU and The Wheatfield Blades • 3 Game Guarantee • 5 Game Maximum • All Games at Hockey Outlet

• All Games are full ice • $50 discount if paid by 12.30.13 • 3 (10-10-12) minute periods • Email… DUF1807@YAHOO.COM • Space Is limited. Register early to guarantee spot. Deadline is January 1/30/13.

Team Registration Forms,Rules and information Can Be Found @

www.wheatfieldblades.com or call: 716-343-1930 WNYHockeyReport.com

Lockport Rink Update

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Lockport Ice Rink

by Randy Schultz Randy@wnyhockeyreport.com It was a scene reminiscent of the TV series, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

With MC John Ottaviano at the microphone and a group of young hockey players in front of him, he gave the command for them to yell, “Tear that building down!”

With the command given a giant excavator from Mulvey Construction of Lockport took a chunk of concrete out of the vacant former Jubilee supermarket, Sears and Twin Fair building. With a cheering crowd looking on, the excavator continued until the loading dock of the old building was nothing more than rubble.

The scene was all part of the Lockport Ice Arena and Sports Center Groundbreaking ceremony held in late October at 34 Chestnut Street in the city of Lockport.

Construction is now underway for the long awaited arena project.

The $13 million, 93,500 square foot project is slated to open in the fall of 2014. The demolition is currently underway.

Speakers that day included Ottaviano, Lockport Ice Arena and Sports Center President; William B. May, Henrietta Grigg-Lewis Foundation Executive Director; Michael W. Tucker, Mayor of the City of Lockport; Gerald K. Farnham, New York State Assembly on behalf of Jane Corwin 144th District; George Maziarz, New York State Senate, WNYHockeyReport_Jul2013.pdf 62nd District; John R. Koelmel, of 1 7/24/13 President 8:20 PM HARBORCenter in Buffalo.

The Lockport Ice Arena and Sports Center will feature two NHL-sized ice rinks, spectator seating for 630 people, a performance-training center and a community room. There will also be space dedicated to attract food service providers that will serve rink audiences and downtown workers.

Several obstacles had to be overcome to get to this point.

“It was tough in the beginning because as you approach different foundations and state agencies everybody recognized the demand and need for this building,” said Ottaviano. “But getting somebody to step up and be the first money in was the most challenging thing.

“That’s where the Grigg-Lewis Foundation made this dream come true with the first money in. Once they did that everyone else fell in line.

“The pressure was off. After that it was a case of getting the right professionals to design it, manage it and build it.

“This has been long overdue. Lockport hasn’t had ice to skate on since the Kenan Center took down their rink over 25 years ago.

“This has been eight years in the making from the beginning planning stages to this point.

“We’ve actually got the first pad of the arena booked.

The demand has been overwhelming.”

John “Tate” Pitrello, a member of the Lockport ice Arena and Sports Center Board, is pleased to see where the project is currently. But he knows that there is still a lot of work to do.

“Part of my job has been to go around to the different ice rinks in the area and the state and see what they have as far as ice programs,” remarked Pitrello. “I think

Skate Great

ockey H edge Get the edge with Skate Great

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In late October, demolition began on the site of the future 93,500 square foot Lockport ice Arena. this project is great for Lockport as well as all of Western New York.

“Everybody is going to benefit from this. We still have some more money to raise, but the biggest chunk is already in place.

“We’ve come a long way since our initial informal meetings we held at Hockey Outlet (in the town of Wheatfield) one night about eight years ago with John.

We decided we would take a shot at it.

“And here we are today. Now we’re looking ahead to tomorrow and the fall of 2014.”

As a fitting conclusion to the day, a local resident, Erik Bernardi, looked on at the proceedings holding the hockey jersey he wore during his youth.

It simply read, “Lockport Keenan Center.”

“That was my youth,” concluded Bernardi. “Now we look ahead to the future and where the kids will be playing.

“This is a great day for Lockport hockey.”

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• Beginner • Adult • Parent & Child • #1 Basic Skills Program in WNY • Top 10 in the USA since 2001

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Year-round programs at Holiday and Leisure Rinks Seasonal programs at Hamburg Town Arena and EA Healthy Zone BC/BS Rink

For more information call 716-580-3458 www.SK8GR8.com/hockeyedge

WNYHockeyReport.com

Local Player Shines

West Seneca’s Chris Mueller Chris Mueller appeared in Utica against the Comets recently. Mueller is a native of West Seneca and played for the Buffalo Saints Midget AAA team before heading off to Michigian State University to play four years for the Spartans.

He is entering his sixth professional season as a member of the Texas Stars, the minor league club of the Dallas Stars. He made is professional debut with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2008 and in 2011 signed a one-year contract with the Nashville Predators. He played two seasons with the Predators.

Mueller became a free agent this summer and signed a one-year, twoway contract with the Dallas Stars.

Mueller was a member of the 2003 U.S. U18 Select Team that won the gold at the Eight Nations Tournament in Slovakia. He was also a member of the 2002 U17 team that captured a gold medal in the Czech Republic.

Chris Mueller Texas Stars

West Seneca Youth Hockey Association

THANK YOU...

to all the sponsors of our 40th anniversary party.

We couldn’t have done it without your generosity.

• Trophy’s - Trophy’s • Southgate Jewelers • Four Seasons Sports • Northeast Mechanical • Lucarelli’s Banquet Center • Leisure Rinks

And a big Thank You to everyone who has made West Seneca Hockey a huge success.

WNYHockeyReport.com

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Sponsors

Athletic Republic Rochester is pleased to announce our Athlete of the Month for November.

Greg Miller Rochester Junior Americans Empire Greg, a forward for the Rochester Junior Americans Empire team, is off to a great start this year and was recently named assistant captain. He has 8 points in his last three games and is now 3rd on the team in goals. Greg has helped first place Empire to a 14 - 1 record. We at Athletic Republic would like to recognize Greg for his outstanding work ethic and constant commitment to improving his game.

www.athleticrepublicrochester.com 585-426-8488 AthleticRepublicRochester

WNYHockeyReport.com

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