TWO COMMIT TO BROCKPORT

The Golden Eagles had two more hockey players commit to the College for the 2009-2010 school year. They are...

Adam Korol, Walpole Express (AJHL), D, Hurley, NY 6' 2" 185
Nick Panepinto, Buffalo Jr. Sabres(OJHL), F, Buffalo, NY 5'10" 170

ICE HOCKEY TEAM SUCCESSFUL IN THE CLASSROOM

Division III sports are unique amongst all other adult sports...DI, pro, semi-pro and the like...because they emphasize a perfect life balance: academics first, athletics second.

The hockey team shows that they live that mantra. This past school year they were just as successful in the classroom as they were on the ice.

The overall team GPA stands at 2.99 , the highest team GPA of all men's teams at The College of Brockport.

The following players received special recognition:

Athletic Department Honor Roll (3.0 or higher): Chris Berardini, Aaron Boyer, James Cody, Tim Crowley, Brett Jendra, Dave McNab, Nick Sampson, Todd Sheridan, Andrew Simmons, Rick Stanek, Oliver Wren

Dean's List (3.40 or higher): Chris Berardini, Aaron Boyer, James Cody, Tim Crowley, Brett Jendra, Nick Sampson

SUNYAC All Academic (3.3 or higher): Chris Berardini, Aaron Boyer, James Cody, Tim Crowley, Brett Jendra, Nick Sampson

SUNYAC Commissioners List (3.3 or higher for 3 consecutive semesters): Chris Berardini, Aaron Boyer, Nick Sampson

Congrats to our student-athletes!

HOBART ROAD GAME ADDED

The team's 2009-2010 schedule is now complete. On Thursday, January 7, 2010 the Golden Eagles travel to Hobart for a 7:00 match-up.

Stayed tuned for a date confirmation for an exhibition game against a Canadian junior team.

HOCKEY ALUMNUS TOD MARTIN

This week's issue of Business First, Buffalo's business news journal, features an article about Tod Martin who once played for the Golden Eagles. Here's the story...


Building the brand
Tod Martin turned a love of drawing into his own company

Tod Martin was drawn to his career.

Literally.

As a youth growing up in Amherst, Martin had two main hobbies: playing hockey (he was a stand out with the Amherst Youth Hockey program) and drawing. While his friends were outside playing, Martin was practicing his pen-and-ink skills and nurturing his painting talents.

That strange mix continued when he attended Brockport State College, where Martin skated on the hockey team and majored in fine arts.

It was one of his professors who fine tuned Martin’s skills.

“He told me I was more a designer than an artist,” Martin said.

After transferring and then graduating from the University at Buffalo, Martin landed what he called his first “dream job,” working as an artist for the former Faller Klenk & Quinlan advertising agency.

Shortly thereafter, Martin was hired as the art director for another former local agency, Bolling-Peterson.

“That was a real sink or swim situation for me, but it was also a great learning experience,” Martin said. “There were a lot of nights when I was the last person in the office.”

Martin worked for a number of other agencies before deciding in 2001 to strike out on his own. With that the Martin Group was formed.

“There was something deeper in me, that had been growing for a number of years, that drove me to start my own business,” Martin said.

Starting out on a shoestring with just a handful of clients, Martin has seen his company grow in the past eight years. It is currently the area’s 12th largest advertising agency.

What’s what: Martin calls what he and his agency does as “brand fuel.” In other words, they create an image and look – and, at times, a complete rebrand. That’s something they did last year for Orville’s Home Appliance stores, replacing its old and stodgy look for a sleek, 21st century design. Ditto for Leki ski and trekking poles and Buffalo’s New Era Cap Co. Orville’s new look helped the retailer see a 20 percent spike in sales.

“We create images for companies,” Martin said.

Where’s the work coming from? Mostly, the Martin Group has picked up work from referrals and word-of-mouth. Yes, Martin said he has chased down and pitched some accounts, but mostly it has come from his firm’s creative reputation.

“After eight years, I finally feel that we are on the radar screens of a lot of people and companies,” Martin said.

Who’s who: Besides Martin, the agency has 17 employees. Because of losing one out-of-town account, he was forced to lay off three workers earlier this year. However, Martin remains hopeful new work on the horizon may translate into being able to hire a handful of new workers.

Billings: $1.85 million in 2008 and $2 million projected for this year.
Clients: A partial list includes Evans National Bank, Greatbatch, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Restonic Mattress Co. New clients include the Damon & Morey law firm, First Amherst Development Group and Vermont’s Long Trail Brewery.

“We’ve worked hard to become the branding firm in Western New York,” Martin said.

Networking or paper work: Given his choice, Martin said he is most effective schmoozing clients, working with his staff and networking. Paper work is not his forte.

“I have enough confidence in my team that it allows me to be cut loose,” Martin said. “My teammates know I’m not the person to be bogged down. The last place they want to see me is sitting behind my desk. Although, every now and then, I do think about what it would be like to go back to my drawing days.”

Moving on up: Last fall, Martin bought a vacant Main Street building and hoped to renovate it as his agency’s new offices. The project is taking a lot longer than he anticipated due to myriad issues, including securing financing for the project.

Martin remains committed to moving into the building, but now, probably not for another year.

“$800,000 is a pretty big chunk of change to bite off,” Martin said.

Because he is out of space in his current Court Street location, Martin will probably lease another downtown Buffalo spot on a temporary basis until he can start the Main Street project.

“Make no mistake, we are not leaving downtown and we will be on Main Street,” Martin said.


Story courtesy of Business First:

http://buffalo.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2009/05/18/smallb1.html?b=1242619200%5E1827742

CHANGE IN SCHEDULE

There has been a change to the 2009-2010 schedule. The Golden Eagles will no longer have a two-game home stand against Framingham in January. The hockey program at Framingham is in a state of transition and they have dropped the trip to Brockport.

To make up that loss, Coach Dickinson has scheduled a road trip to Assumption College in January and he is trying to book a second game.

2009-2010 SCHEDULE

Courtesy of Coach Dickinson, the 2009-2010 schedule is now available. You can see it in the left tool bar of this website.

The season opens with the annual North Country road trip. Taking on Plattsburgh in the second game is a great way to start the season!

There are a dozen games each at home and thirteen more on the road. The home season starts in November with a 4-game homestand against 3 SUNYAC opponents and perennial powerhouse Hobart.

After the winter break, the Golden Eagles will play two games each against Framingham and Lebanon Valley, a great way to get warmed up for the drama of second semester SUNYAC play.

The season ends at home against Oswego and Cortland.

To me, it looks like another 14-win season is a distinct possibility. I'll even say that a 16-win season is not out of the question.

BOYER, HOCKEY AND SCHOLARS DAY

The website "RocLoop" recently ran a story about Scholar's Day. Here's a snippet from that posting, noting the work of one of the Golden Eagles...

Every April, classes are canceled campus-wide in honor of Scholars Day at the State College at Brockport. On this day, students are given the chance to present their academic research to their peers. Wednesday, April 15 marked the 26^th year this event has taken place.

There were 227 presentations made by 355 students and 54 faculty and staff on a range of topics that varied by department.

(Presenters), like senior business finance major Aaron Boyer, took advantage of the opportunity to present on topics on which they have genuine interest. Boyer, who plays right-wing for the Golden Eagles hockey team, gave a presentation entitled, “ABC’s of the NHL’s CBA” which examined the business-related causes and effects of the NHL lockdown during the 2005 season.



To read more about Scholars Day, you can read the article here:

http://rocloop.com/articles/news/9945-brockport-celebrates-scholars-day

CHARITY IS NO EASY TASK

As many of you know, Todd Sheridan's non-profit, Saves For A Cure, has had many roadblocks thrown in its path by New York State government. He's received the run around -- and outright cries of negativity -- from the Departments of State, Education, and Health. Now, the organization's certificate of incorporation has come back to the Department of State....hopefully for the final OK.

In an effort to make sure that it does finally get okayed and soon (it's been over a year), I am using the press to tell the story of Todd's struggle with cancer and his struggle with New York. Many of you may not know that I write a weekly opinion column for the Greater Niagara Newspapers, addressing issues in government and economics. Over 100,000 people could read my column every week and I have a huge, dedicated following, so it is hoped that by sharing this story with them we can get the stamp of approval and, at the same time, educate them on the difficulty of doing business in New York, even as a charity.

Here's my column as it will appear in next week's newspapers....



CHARITY IS NO EASY TASK
By Bob Confer

We’ve heard time and time again that giving back to the community is such an easy task. It may be for some folks somewhere. But, it’s definitely not that easy in New York State. My friend Todd Sheridan knows that too well.

Todd is a junior at the College at Brockport where he is the starting goaltender on the hockey team. For the third season in a row, Todd has set the school’s record for goals-against-average. That’s quite the amazing achievement because Todd was never supposed to be one of the best goalies in Division III. As a matter of fact, he was never supposed to play college hockey at all.

In 2005 Todd noticed a painful lump in his neck. It was diagnosed as cancer and the doctors thought the prognosis was grim. But they engineered a successful surgery in which they cut him from ear to shoulder, removing 72 lymph nodes in the process. After the surgery the doctors upped his chance of survival to 70 percent. Because of his loss of weight and the damage that the surgery unleashed on the muscles of his upper body, he was given a 100 percent chance of never playing hockey again.

Todd beat cancer then he beat the odds, proving that he could remain successful on the ice. That story is remarkable in itself, but it’s what Todd is doing off the ice that matters most.

While in hospital, Todd grew attached to the young children at the clinic, all of whom were battling cancer. He found sadness in their plight. Some of his young friends passed away and were never able to experience the teen years and adulthood that many of us take for granted. But, Todd also found strength for his own recovery by watching other children beat their cancer. He often relates stories of how these little troopers maintained their composure and lived life with as much vigor as they could, never giving in and always looking forward, doing what they could to comfort their heartbroken moms and dads.

It is to those children and all those like them that Todd has dedicated his second chance at life. Using his hockey success as the backdrop, he devised a charity called “Saves For A Cure” (SFAC) that would collect from businesses and other donors $1 for every save that Brockport goalies make over the course of a season. Proceeds would be used to buy TV’s, toys, and other comforts for the children’s cancer clinic in Rochester, helping the youngsters weather the most difficult days of their lives. It is a brilliant concept and, more importantly, one that is worthwhile and touching.

Sadly, the path to making this a reality has been strewn with obstacles.

In March of 2008 Todd signed the Certificate of Incorporation for SFAC. Over a year has passed and SFAC is no further along. The application process is still ongoing. That may sound unbelievable to some, but remember, this is NY we’re talking about.

The original application said, among other things, that SFAC would educate the public about cancer and promote research in beating the disease. Last May the Department of State announced that the Department of Education would not give consent for the organization to have those as corporate purposes, believing SFAC was unfit to educate the masses. Yes, the State actually thought that someone who had and beat cancer, and experienced its harsh reality, was ill-prepared to speak of it and advance its study!

That language was struck from the application and months went on with no word from the State. So, in September I wrote the Governor’s office which then awakened the slumbering process. The document was forwarded to the Department of Health whose legal department found fault with SFAC donating money and equipment to hospitals. Yes, the State actually thinks it wrong that someone would be charitable to cancer patients!

Here it is, April of 2009, and Todd is still waiting for NY to incorporate SFAC. The hockey season has come and gone and Todd’s junior year is nearly over. Because of the bureaucracy, he was unable to proceed with fundraising as he hoped. His senior year - his final season - starts this Fall, which really isn’t as far away as it sounds. He’s hoping to get the okay from NY soon, so, in his last year, he can lay the groundwork for SFAC so when his college career is over and he has moved away it can thrive and make a significant difference on the lives of Upstate’s youngest cancer patients. But, alas, NY’s continued silence speaks volumes about what it thinks of his dream.

Who said being charitable was easy?

2008-2009 AWARDS

The Ice Hockey team held their annual awards banquet at the Brockport Free Methodist Church this past weekend.

Goaltender Todd Sheridan was honored with the MVP Award for a season in which he set the College's goals-against-average for the third season in a row, finishing with a 2.59 GAA and a .917 saves percentage.

James Cody won the EJ McGuire 7th Player Award after he finished the season with 13 assists along with 11 goals and 24 points, both team highs. The exciting freshman had one of the best rookie seasons in school history.

The Jimmy Mac Most Improved Player Award Winner went to Tyler Davis who was a huge help to the defense in the second semester.

Senior Aaron Boyer picked up the Scholar Athlete Award for his performance in the classroom.

The Bob Pederson Coaches Award did not go to a single player. Instead, the entire senior class...all of them key to the team's success...took home the honors. They are: Mike Gershon, Ricky Stanek, Lucas Schott, Tim Crowley, Aaron Boyer and Dave McNab.

ANOTHER GALIANI COMES TO BROCKPORT

There will be a brotherly connection at Brockport next season. The New York Bobcats junior hockey team announed yesterday that Danny Galiani has committed to Brockport. Here's the Bobcats' press release...


The Bobcats are proud to announce that Danny Galiani has committed to the Golden Eagles of Brockport State College for the 2009/2010 season. Danny will be joining his brother and former Bobcat standout, Thomas Galiani, who is coming off a very successful sophomore campaign for the Golden Eagles. Brockport is a member of SUNYAC, which is arguably the strongest Division III Conference in the United States. Danny becomes the fourth player overall from this year’s New York Bobcats to receive a commitment to play collegiate hockey.

Despite having to combat nagging shoulder injuries all year, Danny had a terrific 08/09 season for the National Qualifying Bobcats. In addition to being one of the team’s captains, Danny played a tenacious and physical game night in and night out. His strong 16-19-35 in 50 games and his role as one of the top penalty killing and back checking forwards on the team made him one of the Bobcats’ most valuable two-way players. Danny’s 8 power-play goals were also good enough for 2nd on the team. His overall contributions were an integral part of the Bobcats success this season, which culminated in an appearance in the AJHL Finals and a trip to Marlborough, MA to compete for the Tier III Junior A National Championship.

By way of background, Danny spent his entire youth hockey career with the Long Island Gulls. During most of that career, he was coached by current Bobcats Coach, Eddie Galiani. Danny is most remembered in Gulls lore for being a member of the Gulls 2004 Bantam State Championship team that ultimately competed in the U.S. Nationals in Pittsburgh that year. In addition to also being a part of the Gulls 2002 PeeWee State Finalist, Danny was the Captain of the Gulls Midget Major team during the 05/06 season. He competed in the Empire State Games for Long Island in 2006 and was invited to the NYS Select Camps in 2005 and 2006. Before joining the Bobcats in the 07/08 season Danny was a key contributor and assistant captain on the 06/07 Suffolk PAL Junior B team, which captured the MJHL Regular Season Championship and earned a berth in the National semi-finals. During that season, Danny was the 20th leading scorer in the MJHL and was named the 2nd Star of the game in the MJHL All-Star game.

Danny has always been known for his strong work ethic and outstanding character and has never allowed anything to stand in the way of his continued growth and development as a hockey player. Playing in a big man’s game, he has consistently allowed his heart, willpower, physical play and strong skating ability to dictate his success on and off the ice.

A strong student, Danny hopes to pursue a career in sports medicine or physical therapy. The entire Bobcats and Gulls communities would like to extend their sincere and heartfelt congratulations to Danny and the entire Galiani family and wishes him the very best as he heads to Brockport State College to embark on his academic and college hockey career.

DIII CHAMPIONSHIP ON TV THIS WEEKEND

The DIII Frozen Four is this weekend in Lake Placid. I'll be there!

The championship game, to be held Saturday at 5:00, will be broadcast live on national TV. You can catch the game on CBS College Sports (the former CSTV).

BROCKPORT'S SECOND-BEST DEFENSIVE SEASON

This statistic appeared in yesterday's Rochester Democrat & Chronicle:

The SUNY Brockport hockey team allowed just 90 goals in 27 games this season (3.33 per game). That's the lowest since 1974-75, when the Golden Eagles allowed 68 in 20 games.