USCHO RECAP OF BROCKPORT'S HUGE WIN

Here's USCHO's recap of Brockport's HUGE win over Geneseo in Round One of the playoffs:

http://www.uscho.com/recaps/2015/02/25/brockport-advances-to-sunyac-semifinals-with-win-over-geneseo/

BROCKPORT BEATS GENESEO 6-4 IN ROUND ONE OF PLAYOFFS

Senior goalie Aaron Green (Mt. Albert, ONT) made a career-high 59 saves including 21 in the third period for The College at Brockport Hockey team to help preserve a 6-4 victory over Geneseo in the first round of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament Wednesday night in Geneseo.

Brockport advances to play Plattsburgh at 7 pm Saturday, February 28 in Plattsburgh in one SUNYAC semifinal game. Buffalo State, a 6-2 winner over Potsdam, will face Oswego at 7 PM Saturday in Oswego in the other SUNYAC Tournament semifinal.

Green made 19 saves in the opening period as Brockport (13-11-2) scored three times in the first 20 minutes as Geneseo (12-10-4) outshot the Golden Eagles 20-8 to start the game.

Chase Nieuwendyk (Georgetown, ONT) opened the scoring five minutes into the game. Defenseman Jonathan Demme (Brampton, ONT) fed a pass to Nieuwendyk as he skated through the Geneseo defense and in on the goalie before beating the goalie to the low glove side giving Brockport an early 1-0 lead.

Five minutes later, Brockport took a 2-0 lead as Dylan Shapiro (Rochester, NY) tipped in a pass from Aidan Verbeke (Elwood Park, IL) from the corner.

With less than three minutes left in the period and near the end of a power play opportunity, Geneseo scored its first goal after a scramble for the puck behind the goal. The puck skipped out from behind the goal and a quick one-timer found the back of the net to trim the Brockport lead to 2-1.

On the ensuing faceoff, Brockport moved the puck into the offensive zone and a pass from the corner to Chris Luker (New Hartford, NY) moving down the middle of the zone gave him an open shot that he tucked inside the post for a 3-1 Brockport lead as the first period came to an end.

In the second period, Brockport fought off a power play to start the period and then took a 4-1 lead at the 6:45 mark in the period as Troy Polino (Limerick, PA) as the senior beat the Geneseo goalie with a low shot to the stick side.

Midway through the period, Geneseo cut the lead in half with a shot from the point when Green was screened by a Geneseo player in the slot.

Shapiro scored his second goal of the game three minutes later to regain the three-goal advantage. Verbeke made the pass to the front of the goal and Shapiro scored with another low shot to the glove side as Brockport took a 5-2 lead.

Geneseo had another power play goal early in the third period. Brockport killed off the penalty but surrendered a goal 10 seconds after the power play to make it a 5-3 Brockport lead.

Six minutes into the period, Green made his 46th save of the game surpassing his previous career best effort. Green had 45 saves against Oswego last year.

With less than six minutes left in the third period, Brockport went on a power play but it was the Geneseo defense that took advantage nearly scoring one shorthanded goal as Green made another big save but 20 seconds later, a wrap-around shot from behind the goal found the back of the net and trimmed the lead to 5-4.

Green was called on to make more big saves as Geneseo went on another power play with 3:38 left to play but Brockport fought off the penalty including the last minute of the power play with the Geneseo goalie on the bench in favor of the extra attacker.

With 48 seconds left, Jeremy DeFazio (Oakville, ONT) scored into the empty Geneseo net for the final 6-4 score.

Brockport extended a streak of 12 consecutive wins when scoring at lead five goals dating back to 2012.

THE PLAYOFFS BEGIN TONIGHT!

The College at Brockport Hockey team won two of the final three games of the regular season to earn a spot in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament and enter the postseason as the No. 6 seed in the Tournament. The Golden Eagles will play at Geneseo at 7 pm Wednesday, February 25.

Brockport (12-11-2) advance to the SUNYAC Tournament for the second consecutive season. A Brockport win on Wednesday would advance the Golden Eagles to the semifinal round with a game at Plattsburgh at 7 pm Saturday, February 28.

Brockport's leading scorer this season is Chase Nieuwendyk (Georgetown, ONT) who has 17 goals and 11 assists for 28 points. Freshman Ryan Kangas (Williamstown, MA) and junior defenseman Chris Luker (New Hartford, NY) are tied for second on the team with 21 points each. Kangas has six goals and 15 assists while Luker has a pair of goals and a team-leading 19 assists.

Tickets for the game are available at the door with the ticket office opening one hour before the game. Adult tickets are $6, Children (ages 5-12) are $3 and all SUNYAC Students are admitted free of charge with proper school ID.

BROCKPORT BEATS FREDONIA IN REGULAR SEASON FINALE

Junior Chase Nieuwendyk (Georgetown, ONT) rallied The College at Brockport Ice Hockey team to a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) win in its regular season finale by scoring two goals in a come from behind 4-3 victory over Fredonia on the road.

The Golden Eagles trailed after just 17 seconds into the game, and Fredonia added to its lead taking a 2-0 lead after the first period of play. Senior Troy Polino (Limerick, PA) scored the first goal for Brockport four minutes into the second period. Freshman Aidan Verbeke (Elmwood Park, IL) and junior Jeremy DeFazio (Oakville, ONT) assisted on the goal. The Blue Devils stretched its lead to 3-1 on a goal in the 10th minute of the second period.

Nieuwendyk scored a goal for the Golden Eagles 20 seconds into a power play with five minutes remaining in the second period. Assisting on the play were freshman Ryan Kangas (Williamstown, MA) and Chris Luker (New Hartford, NY), as Brockport took advantage of the man advantage.

Brockport took advantage of yet another power play to even the score. Nearly seven minutes into the third period Nieuwendyk tied the game at 3-3 as Verbeke added another assist to his game total.

The game-winning goal was scored by sophomore Jake Taylor (Port Perry, ONT) with assists going to Polino and Chad Cummings (Caledon, ONT). Taylor's goal was scored with less than six minutes remaining in the third period.

Brockport converted three of its five power plays. Junior Jared Lockhurst (Caledon, ONT) finished the game with 24 saves, while Brockport outshot the Blue Devils 46-27.

The Golden Eagles clinched the sixth spot in the SUNYAC Tournament and will travel to Geneseo to face the Knights Wednesday February 25 at 7 pm.

BROCKPORT LOSES TO BUFF STATE

Senior Troy Polino (Limerick, PA) scored in the third period for the only goal by The College at Brockport Hockey team in a 4-1 loss Friday night to Buffalo State in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game in Buffalo.

The loss for Brockport (11-11-2 Overall, 5-8-2 SUNYAC) drops the Golden Eagles to sixth place in the conference standings in a tie with Morrisville but regardless of the result of Brockport's regular season finale Saturday at Fredonia, the Golden Eagles own the tie breaker with Morrisville and will enter the SUNYAC Tournament as the No. 6 seed. The Golden Eagles will play Geneseo at 7 pm Wednesday, February 25 in the first round of the tournament.

Against Buffalo State Friday night, all the scoring was in the third period after the teams played a scoreless first 40 minutes despite Brockport holding a commanding 25-11 advantage in shots on goal.

The Bengals (11-11-2, 7-6-2) scored first netting a short-handed goal 3:40 into the final period for the first goal of the game. Just 18 seconds later, Buffalo State was whistled for a boarding penalty giving the Golden Eagles a power play.

Buffalo State was able to officially kill out the man advantage but as the penalty expired, Polino redirected a shot from the point from Jake Taylor (Port Perry, ONT) into the side of the goal to knot the game at 1-1. Bobby Chayka (Hardwick, NJ) also picked up an assist on the play.

Brockport dominated the next several minutes and had another power play opportunity but it was Buffalo State that scored what ended up being the game-winning goal at the 10:56 mark as the Bengals offensive rush ended up with a one-on-one with a Brockport defender and the Buffalo State player was able to flip a shot over the shoulder of Aaron Green (Mt. Albert, ONT) on a tough angle for the 2-1 lead.

The Bengals added two more goals in a span of a minute with less than six minutes remaining for the final score.

Brockport finished the game with a 41-18 shots advantage but were unsuccessful in all six power play opportunities. Buffalo State was 0-for-2 with the man advantage.

LONGTIME REF TO BE HONORED SATURDAY

Saturday's game at Fredonia will feature a ceremony recognizing longtime ref Brian Panek who has been calling SUNYAC games for 24 years! Here's the report from USCHO...

http://www.uscho.com/2015/02/19/longtime-ref-panek-calling-it-a-career-after-this-weekends-brockport-fredonia-game/

BROCKPORT'S PLAYOFF CHANCES

With one weekend of SUNYAC regular season play left, Brockport is almost assured entrance into the playoffs.

Brockport is currently tied with Morrisville for sixth place in the conference with 12 points.

Morrisville's season is already done, having ended the season a week earlier than the rest of the conference.

If Brockport loses out, they still get in based on league rules. The SUNYAC has this tie breaker system in place:

1. The best record of tied teams against each other based on Conference play
2. Number of total Conference wins over ties if points are equal.
3. Goal differential against each other in Conference play.
4. Goal differential against all other Conference teams.
5. Coin flip by Commissioner.

#1 doesn't work: Brockport and Morrisville split their series this year.

#2 doesn't work: Both teams currently have 5 wins and 2 ties.

#3 DOES work. While Morrisville beat Brockport 3-1, Brockport beat Morrisville 7-3 in the other game.

But, that's just one scenario. The other fly in the ointment is Cortland.

They have 8 points. If Brockport loses both games (highly unlikely as Brockport shutout Buffalo State and Fredonia both in December) AND Cortland wins both of theirs (again highly unlikely because they play Plattsburgh) Brockport gets in due to the tiebreaker and once again we would have to go to line item #3. In their split series, Brockport outscored Cortland 7-6.

Phew!

That shows, yet again, how critical every game and every goal is in conference play.

What will this weekend decide then?

We will find out if next Wednesday Brockport goes to Geneseo or Buffalo State for a playoff game.

Would you rather they play our greatest rival or avenge last year's playoff loss?




Editor's note: After I wrote this, Coach Dickinson brought up something I hadn't considered... if Brockport/Cortland/Morrisville tied there would be a tiebreaker amongst all 3 tied teams with all 3 teams’ records calculated in collectively.

He said, "If playoffs began today…yes we would get in over Morrisville. And yes we do hold the tiebreaker over Cortland as you pointed out. The problem would be if we lose out and Cortland wins out that would put us, Cortland and Morrisville in a 3 team tiebreaker at 5-9-2 for 12 points. In a 3 team tiebreaker Morrisville would win that with a 3-1 record amongst tied teams. We’d be 2-2 and Cortland 1-3."

Something to consider. The playoff picture is never easy.

BROCKPORT BEATS CORTLAND ON SENIOR NIGHT

Senior forward Troy Polino (Limerick, PA) and goalie Aaron Green's (Mt. Albert, ONT) stellar performances led The College at Brockport to a 3-1 victory over State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) rival Cortland Saturday evening during senior night on the campus of Brockport.

Polino finished the game with two assists and Green finished the game with 34 saves. Green proved to be victorious in his efforts against Cortland as the Red Dragons applied lots of pressure in the second and third periods. Green was tested with 30 shots, while only one Cortland shot was able to get by in the second period.

Brockport (11-10-2, 5-7-2 SUNYAC) struck first when freshman Zac Sikich (Oak Park, CA) sent a shot past Cortland's goalie with more than five minutes before the first intermission. Ryan Kangas (Williamstown, MA) initially had the puck before sending it to Polino, Polino then passed the puck to Sikich who buried the shot for the 1-0 Golden Eagle lead.

Kangas was the next to score, as the goal was yet again set up by Polino in what proved to be the game-winner. The Golden Eagles scored their final goal of the game minutes later with 12:21 remaining in the second period. Jake Taylor (Port Perry, ONT) scored his fifth goal of the season with Aidan Verbeke (Elmwood Park, IL) and Chase Nieuwendyk (Georgetown, ONT) picking up assists.

The Golden Eagles killed a penalty with four minutes left in the second period before giving up the lone Red Dragons goal seconds later.

Green continued his stellar play in the third period denying a plethora of shots from different angles, while the Green and Gold defense put their bodies on the line to help Green as much as they could. Several of Cortland's shots were blocked by Golden Eagles in the closing minutes of the game as the Red Dragons pulled their goalie with less than three minutes remaining in the contest to gain the man advantage.

Brockport has two SUNYAC contests remaining next weekend. The Golden Eagles travel to Buffalo State Friday February 20 and Fredonia Feb. 21 with the puck dropping at 7 pm for both games.

BROCKPORT FALLS TO 2nd-RANKED OSWEGO

Junior Chase Nieuwendyk (Georgetown, ONT) scored his team-leading 15th goals of the season in the third period for The College at Brockport Hockey team to trim the Oswego lead to 3-1 but the Golden Eagles could not close the gap any further and dropped the 3-1 decision to the Lakers Friday night in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) contest in Tuttle North Ice Arena in Brockport.

After a scoreless first period, Oswego (16-2-3 Overall, 11-1-1 SUNAYC), ranked No. 2 in the country in the latest USCHO.com national poll, took a lead in the second period with a power play goal 3:37 into the period and with just 16 seconds left in the man advantage.

Brockport (10-10-2, 4-7-2) kept the score to a single goal differential thanks in part to the play of senior goalie Aaron Green (Mt. Albert, ONT) who finished with 32 saves but made 16 of those in the second period.

Early in the third period, the Lakers took a 2-0 lead with an unassisted goal just 18 seconds into the final period of play and then made it a 3-0 game nearly five minutes later.

Just over a minute after the final Oswego goal, Nieuwendyk picked up the loose puck in front of the Oswego goal after the Laker goalie stopped the initial shot from Chad Cummings (Caledon, ONT) from the point. Nieuwendyk than slipped a shot past the goalie for the only goal of the game for the Golden Eagles. Aidan Verbeke (Elmwood Park, IL) also picked up an assist on the play.

The goal for Nieuwendyk puts him in a tie for seventh in the country for goals scored.

Brockport had chances down the stretch as Oswego took two consecutive late penalties resulting in a stretch of four minutes of power play in a span of just 4:10 but the Lakers were able to hang on for the victory.

CURRENT SUNYAC STANDINGS

Two weekends to go. 4 conference games left.

Look at the SUNYAC standings....it doesn't get any tighter than this!

Plattsburgh	24
Oswego	21
Geneseo	14
Morrisville	12
Brockport	10
Buffalo State	10
Potsdam	10
Cortland	8
Fredonia	3

BROCKPORT'S SENIORS

With the last 2 home games of the regular season upon on this weekend, that means Saturday night is Senior Night. It’s only fitting that it’s Valentine’s Day, so the Brockport community can show them some love.

This year’s graduating class is a small one – just 3 men – but that doesn’t mean their loss won’t have an impact on the program.

Bobby Chayka: Bobby doesn’t show up on the stat sheet too often (7-20-27), but his style – he’s a “defensive defenseman” – doesn’t play to the numbers. If it did, we’d be looking for statistics like “How many shots has he blocked? How many bruises has he sustained from that?” What he does on the ice are the little things that save games. His aggressive play harkens back to some of the physical teams of years ago…he’s not afraid to mix it up against the boards, he’s a beast in the corners, he’s always hustling and he’s always willing to throw a check.  

Aaron Green: A lot of accolades have been thrown Aaron’s way this year based upon the great season he’s having…a .924 save percentage and a 2.44 goals against average, which, were the season to end today, are team records, surpassing the single-season bests of Jared Lockhurst (.919) and Todd Sheridan (2.59). But, it’s not just this season, it’s the body of work. Looking at his career numbers, Aaron will graduate with the 3^rd best save percentage, the third most wins, and the highest winning percentage. You knew there was something special there when in his rookie season he backstopped one of the greatest games in team history: A thrilling OT victory over 4^th-ranked Elmira.

Troy Polino: If you follow this young man on social media, you know that he’ll really miss the game when the season comes to a close. I can think of very few players in recent years who have been so excited to do anything hockey related – he’s constantly pumped to take to the ice, even for practice.  That enthusiasm shows in production: He has consistently put up pretty good numbers over his career….16 points as a freshman, 15 as a sophomore, 11 last year and 10 this year, with 4 games to go. He has 93 games under his belt with 17 goals and 35 assists, good for 52 points.

As a fan, the past 4 years have been a blast seeing these guys on the ice. I can only imagine how much their teammates and coaches have enjoyed their production and friendship.  

STYLUS REPORT ON BROCKPORT'S 2 STARS

Writing for the Brockport Stylus, Eric Meuller penned this excellent report on Brockport's 2 superstars: Chase Nieuwendyk and Chris Luker

http://www.thestylus.net/news/view.php/860300/Golden-Eagles-ice-hockey-team-led-by-dyn

KIDS DAY SATURDAY

PALUMBO COMMITS TO BROCKPORT

Mississauga Chargers defenseman Nicholas Palumbo (photo credit - Shawn Muir/OJHL Images) has confirmed his commitment to join The College of Brockport Golden Eagles beginning with the 2015-16 SUNYAC season.

The Woodbridge, Ontario native got his start in the OJHL as a 16-year old affiliate with the Vaughan Kings Midget 'AAA' squad in 2011-12, playing seven games for his hometown Vaughan Vipers, while notching his first two junior points; both assists. 

The following year, Palumbo joined the Chargers, where he would spend the next season and a half, setting career bests during the first half of 2013-14 with 13 points in 26 games played.  His value was recognized by the Georgetown Raiders and they would pick him up at the midway point of the season for their post-season drive. The Raiders would march to the South-West Conference Championship Series before falling to the eventual league champion Toronto Lakeshore Patriots.

Palumbo was on the move again this past summer, joining the Toronto Jr. Canadiens d-corps.  In 18 contests, he recorded 5 points before a trade saw him returned to Mississauga. 

Palumbo now sits with another career-best 17 points in 43 games as he looks to wrap up his junior career and move on to the next level.

YEAR	TEAM	Lge.	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
2014/2015	Mississauga	OJHL	25	2	10	12	10
2014/2015	Toronto Jr. Canadiens	OJHL	18	2	3	5	8
2014	Toronto Jr. Canadiens	OJHL	0	0	0	0	0
2014	Georgetown	OJHL	0	0	0	0	0
2013/2014	Georgetown	OJHL	22	2	7	9	4
2013/2014	Mississauga	OJHL	26	5	8	13	10
2013	Mississauga	OJHL	3	1	1	2	0
2012/2013	Mississauga	OJHL	45	3	13	16	8
TOTALS			139	15	42	57	40

BROCKPORT BEATS FRANKLIN PIERCE 5-2

Freshman Ryan Kangas (Williamstown, MA) scored one of the three goals in the first period for The College at Brockport Hockey team and the Golden Eagles added single goals in the second and third periods to defeat Franklin Pierce 5-2 Saturday in a non-conference matchup at the Tuttle North Ice Arena in Brockport.

Kangas gave Brockport (10-9-2) the 1-0 lead midway through the first period. Jake Taylor (Port Perry, ONT) added to the lead two minutes later with the Golden Eagles on a two-man advantage. The goal was the 5,000th goal in Brockport Hockey history. Kody Vaisanen (Dundalk, ONT) made it a 3-0 Brockport lead with less than four minutes left in the opening period.

Franklin Pierce (3-17) scored a power play goal at the 7:36 mark in the second period but Aidan Verbeke (Elmwood Park, IL) regained the three-goal lead with less than three minutes to play in the period with a shorthanded goal.

Early in the third period, Andrew Parks (Orillia, ONT) scored to give the Golden Eagles a 5-1 advantage and Brockport cruised to the victory.

A late power play goal by the Ravens with 1:07 left to play accounted for the final score of 5-2.

Brockport fired 57 shots on goal in the game including g 20 in each the first and third periods.

Jared Lockhurst (Caledon, ONT) only needed to make 18 saves to record his second victory of the season.

Rob Hall (Schaumberg, IL) and Verbeke were the lone Golden Eagles to record multiple points as Hall recorded two assists and Verbeke had a goal and an assist. Zac Sikich (Oak Park, CA), Troy Polino (Limerick, PA), Matt Meredith (Fredonia, NY), David Horan (Kennebunk, ME) and Dylan Shapiro (Rochester, NY) each had one assist for Brockport.