Kielich signs with the Marksmen

The Fayetteville (North Carolina) Marksmen today announced the signing of Brockport alumnus Tim Kielich...

With just under a month remaining until Marksmen Training Camp, we’re starting to see exactly what kind of roster will be participating in the camp, with a lot of veteran experience or talented newcomers.


Tim Kielich, a left-handed forward hailing from East Aurora, New York fits into the latter category, after a three-year stint at SUNY-Brockport (NCAA DIII). Kielich, 6’0 and 185 pounds, found the puck plenty during his days as a Golden Eagle, averaging nearly a point-per game with 76 points (21G+55A) in 77 games played.

Prior to his college days, Kielich like many new-Marksmen, spent his junior hockey career in the OHJL’s Buffalo Jr. Sabres organization. During his four-years in Western New York, Kielich had no problem finding points, as he racked up 133 (56G+77A) in 235 games played. During those four years, he scored under thirty points in just one season.

As well with the OHJL connection, Kielich shares the commonality of having a couple ECHL games under his belt before coming to the Marksmen Camp, as kept inside The Empire State in heading to the Adirondack Thunder for two games after his college season.
Kielich spoke highly of the new opportunity in Fayetteville.

“For me, heading to a new team such as the Marksmen, after talking with Coach Kallechy I feel I will be given a great opportunity to prove myself at the pro level,” said Kielich “This is what I’ve been looking forward to.”

Head Coach Jesse Kallechy expressed great interest in seeing what Kielich can bring to the roster.

“Tim is a player who showed a great scoring ability during both his college and junior days. Having a close amount of goals to assists shows that he has the vision and ability to make the shot or pass depending on the situation,” said Kallechy “I’m excited to see his abilities in our camp.”

With 38 days remaining until the SPHL season begins, the anticipation is starting to reach a fever pitch, especially as the Marksmen Camp roster starts to finalize, and the team’s exhibition against Macon has been set for October 12.

The Fayetteville Marksmen are excited to welcome Tim Kielich to his new home for the 2018-19 season, and look forward to him being the bedrock of what promises to be an exciting season of hockey in the Cape Fear. The 2018-19 Marksmen Home Opener is October 19th against the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs, and Season Tickets are on sale NOW!

Prepping the ice arena for 2018-2019

Hockey players help with move in

As is tradition with the hockey team, last week they helped freshmen move into their dorms. Great job, guys! You are excellent ambassadors for Brockport!

Athletes reporting to campus

The hockey team has been reporting to campus -- or their pads off campus -- over the past few days. Among them are new faces like Corey Tam and Simon Besner. Welcome to Brockport!

Throwback Thursday: Dave McNab

Dave spent two-and-a-half seasons (2006-2007 through 2008-2009) with Brockport after having started his career at Plattsburgh. He took advantage of his playing time and become captain as a senior. He was the ultimate team captain. Sure, Brockport has had many fine ones, but he took it to another level: If opponents tangled with our goalies he would obliterate (or choke) them, he was in constant professional discussion with the refs, and he inspired the team to become physical like no other. That season saw one of the most physical of all our teams (and likely one of the last due to newer NCAA rules) and the Golden Eagles honestly and truly intimidated opponents. It was old time hockey at its finest. But, don’t let that tough exterior fool you – Dave is a nice guy and a skilled player. In that captaincy he had 26 points and 11 goals courtesy of a wicked slapshot that was expertly played out in power play situations.

Brockport hockey alumni lose a brother

Brockport hockey alumnus Bob Gallagher passed away in February and his family is holding a memorial mass in Saranac Lake this Saturday. Here's Bob's obituary in advance of his service...


Robert “Bob” John Gallagher, 58, from Meridian, Idaho, passed away in peace at home with his family surrounding him on Feb. 18, 2018, from esophageal cancer.

Bob grew up in Saranac Lake and was the son of Thomasina and the late Bill Gallagher.

Since he was a little boy, Bob loved sports and was a terrific athlete. He made lifelong friends with his neighborhood sports mates and later played on varsity sports teams: baseball, football and, best of all, his much-loved hockey for Saranac Lake High School. Bob went on to win a hockey scholarship to the University of New York at Brockport, where he was a fierce defenseman. During and since graduating from college with a B.A. in business, Bob worked for his older brother Chip Gallagher in the construction business.

For the past 20 years Bob was a project manager and superintendent for Visser Building, a Boise, Idaho-based company co-owned by his brother Chip and Brian Visser. Bob’s clients loved him and loved the homes he built for them. They are architectural gems.

It was in Boise where Bobby met the love of his life, Anita. Bob and Anita married in 1999. Together they made their home in Meridan, Idaho.

Bob had one beloved daughter, Tabitha, from a previous marriage.

Bob was a “shirt off his back kind of guy.” Everyone who knew Bob knew of his generosity, his tireless work ethic, his rock-solid integrity, his ready smile and his wonderful sense of humor. He was totally down to earth. One of his clients described Bob as “a classic. He broke the mold. He was irreverent in the greatest sense of the term.” Others described Bob as one of the kindest men they knew. His sisters called him their big teddy bear.

Most of all, Bob was a family man. He loved spending time with his family, enjoying the outdoors and assuming the role of grill master for picnics and parties. Bob was a faithful teacher, coach and cheerleader for his daughter and nieces. He passed on his love for skating, golfing, fishing, boating, skiing, camping, you name it.

Bob was a faithful Boise State fan and attended many of their games with family and friends. If you go to a game and listen very carefully, you may still hear Bob’s booming voice cheering on his home team. We cannot see Bobby, but we know he will always be with us.

Bob is survived by his beloved wife Anita Gallagher, mother Thomasina Gallagher, sister Gail (Jerry Cole) Gallagher, brother William “Chip” (Carol) Gallagher, sister Felista (Skip Murray) Gallagher, brother Kevin Gallagher, sister Ann Gallagher, and sister Beth Gallagher, daughter Tabitha Gallagher, step-daughter Tami Vandeman, grandchildren Ashley Tooke-Robinson and Sol Vandeman, and many nieces and nephews, including MacKenzie Gallagher Wood, Katharine Gallagher Downey, Jacquelyn and Melina Gallagher. Bob was preceded in death by his father William Francis Gallagher IV.

A memorial Mass will be held on Saturday, Aug. 18 at 11 a.m. at St. Bernard’s Church in Saranac Lake with the Rev. Patrick Ratigan officiating, followed by a burial at Harrietstown Cemetery. Afterward there will be a reception Saranac Village at Will Rogers in Saranac Lake.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the St. Bernard’s Church capital campaign or the Ecumenical Council of Saranac Lake to support the Samaritan House or the Tri-Lakes Humane Society.

Coach gets married

This past weekend, Brockport hockey coach and all-around awesome guy Brian Dickinson said "I do." We're so happy for Brian and his lovely bride Melisa!

2018-2019 schedule

The 2018-2019 schedule is now available. 

We have 12 home games this year, 13 if you count a preseason exhibition affair.

Most of the home games are 7:00 starts, except for 4 of them that begin at 4:00 -- so note that in your calendar.

This season's non-conference opponents are: Neumann, Kings, Hamilton, Anna Maria (twice), Stevenson, Lebanon Valley, and Canton.

ALL of the games are "must see", but if I had to narrow it down to a handful of home games that you shouldn't miss, here they are:

Saturday November 3rd: It's the home opener against Fredonia. The inaugural game of each season is chock full of energy and the seats are usually full. After being hockey-free for nine-and-a-half-months, we need it!

Saturday, December 8th: This is a non-conference game against Anna Maria College. It should be interesting -- this will be Anna Maria's first season ever.

Friday, January 25th: Brockport hosts Postdam. The Bears are evenly matched with Brockport, so this will be a hard-fought battle, especially with the second semester playoff push underway.

Saturday, January 26th: After decades of Plattsburgh dominating Brockport, the Golden eagles have turned the tables on them in recent seasons. Let's see if that trend continues.

Friday, February 15th: It's the regular season finale...and who better an opponent than our biggest rival, Geneseo!

Tuttle North getting upgrades

The College at Brockport athletic department announced a host of construction projects that are set to kick off the summer of 2018. The upgrades will improve the appearance of the Brockport Athletic Facilities as well as enhance the student-athlete and fan experience.

One remodeling project will improve the hockey experience.

The Tuttle North Ice Arena has seen completed demolition in order to begin the installation of new bleachers. Underneath those bleachers, there will be new team rooms, providing more control of the ice rink. The goal for a timeline for the project is to have the renovations completed early summer, so that community groups can continue to enjoy the facility prior to the Golden Eagles 2018-19 Ice Hockey season.

Dickinson now holds Brockport wins record

It was an exciting year for head coaches at The College at Brockport, with four different Golden Eagles becoming the all-time wins leaders in their respective sports. Steven Wagner from women's lacrosse, Greg Dunne from men's basketball, Brian Dickinson from ice hockey, and Justin Beach from baseball all eclipsed the wins record in their respective sports, and are still making strides to further that gap.

Wagner previously broke Traci Lian's record of 62 wins back in the second round of the NCAA tournament in the Spring of 2017. With the 17-7 win over Denison University, he notched his 63rd win as head coach for the Green and Gold. After a successful 2018 season, Wagner, continues to grow his record of 72 total wins.

"All of my success goes to the players," Wagner stated. "We had some very talented athletes come through the program who bought-in to the family and culture we created. Without that, I would not be as successful as I am."

Head coach Dunne from men's basketball was the next to break the wins mark for his program, after he surpassed Curtis Gaylord with 181 wins on January 9, 2018. After his 10th season at the helm with the Golden Eagles he posted a 190-114 record.

Dickinson from ice hockey was the third coach this past year to surpass the all-time wins record, as he did on February 2, 2018 in the 4-0 win over Morrisville State. With that win, he reached 180 wins which passed Bob Pederson previous mark of 179 wins. Coach Dickinson now tops the program with wins of 181, and looks to keep his winning ways going.

The last coach to join the all-wins list is head baseball coach, Beach, as he placed his stamp in the record book after the 4-1 win over Oswego State to give him his 254th win. He previously broke Mark Rowland's record of 253 wins after his 11-year stint, and now finished his 2018 season with 260 wins.

"It is such a great honor to become the all-time wins leader here at Brockport, my alma mater", Beach noted. "The credit goes to all the hard-working players, assistant coaches and administration over the past 12 years. We are very lucky to have a place that is so supportive from top to bottom. I am excited to see what the next 12 years bring."

All four of these coaches are an instrumental part to the success for these programs and they have created a foundation for future coaches and student-athletes to keep the winning tradition going.

More on Flannery's commitment to Brockport

From the Metro Jets staff comes the official news release on Robby Flannery's commitment to Brockport...



The national champion Metro Jets continue to ride the wave of their incredible 2017-18 season and today announced another NCAA commitment.

Veteran defenseman Robby Flannery, who skated three seasons with the Jets, going to the national title game each year, has committed to Brockport State University. Brockport is part of the SUNYAC conference and is located near Rochester, N.Y. Last season, the Golden Eagles finished 11-13-1 overall with a 5-10-1 conference mark.

Flannery joins forward Connor Inger (New England College), goaltender Andrew Kormos (New England College) and forward Trevor Momot (Johnson and Wales University) as Jets from the 2017-18 season who will skate in the NCAA next season.

“There was a lot about Brockport that was really appealing,” said Flannery, a 21-year-old native of Lathrup Village, Mich. “The hockey facilities are top notch and the campus was big, but not too big. It will definitely be nice to start college and get away from home. Next season, I would hope to fit in as someone that makes an impact right away. And someone that can be relied upon. Academically, I’m expecting a grind after being off full-time schooling for three years.”

In the classroom, Flannery is looking into studying a Business curriculum right now.

“‘Flanny’ is a special player in a lot of ways,” Jets coach-GM Justin Quenneville said. “He’s been a Jet for three years and done so much for this program. Even when he had NAHL interest, he chose to come back and finish what he started. He is a character kid who brings a lot on and off the ice. Everybody notices his shot and offensive ability, but one of his biggest skill sets is his stick. He does such a great job of breaking up and killing plays away from the puck. He generated a lot of NCAA interest this past season and really took his time on his decision. Brockport is getting a heck of a player and we wish Flanny the best of luck.”

A four-time Division 2 All-State player at Berkley High School (twice honorable mention), Flannery was named All-League Third Team this past season and tallied 14 goals and 47 points in 45 regular-season games. He also served as an alternate captain. In 2016-17, Flannery contributed 13 goals and 27 points and as a rookie, rattled off 18 points. Over his three years combined, Flannery posted a plus-148 plus/minus rating.

Flannery said his three seasons in Fraser helped his development, both on and off the ice.

“Metro has been an enormous part of my development not only as a player, but as an individual, too,” Flannery said. “And that is a huge reason why I got the opportunity to play NCAA hockey. I’d like to thank Q, (assistant coach) Randy (Wilson) and (assistant coach) Jamie (Lovell) for pushing me on and off the ice to get better. I’d also like to that Pete (Cammick) for being such a gracious owner of the team the past three years. And last, but not least, I’d also like to thank (director of communications) Matt (Mackinder) for making me look good and sound good in all the articles and videos the Jets post. And what would a thank you be without thanking my vet Jake Gleason, a guy who took me in and showed me the ropes.”

In making his commitment to Brockport, Flannery said he has to give credit to more than the hockey folks, too.

“Aside from the hockey people, I’d like to thank my mom and dad (Katy and Rob) for supporting me the past 18 years I’ve been wearing skates,” said Flannery. “I’d also like to thank my grandfather (Bob Flannery) and my Aunt Molly (Harder) for being huge supporters and watching every game they could for the past three years.”

Flannery said it’ll be a challenge next season to make the jump to college hockey, but will take a boatload of memories with him from his time with the Jets.

“What will I remember most? Easy. I’ll remember winning a national championship and getting to play hockey everyday with my brothers,” Flannery said.

Winn is Brockport's Rookie of the Year

At the annual, year-end hockey banquet it was announced that Casey Winn won the Golden Eagles' "Chris Palin Rookie of the Year Award". The freshman defenseman had 1 goal and 7 assists while playing mistake-free defense that saw him have just 22 penalty minutes while leading the team in blocked shots.

"Thank you" and "good luck" to the seniors

This weekend is commencement weekend at Brockport -- a bittersweet event for sure. It's great to see the students graduate and go on to do great things, but at the same time, it's sad to see friends go their separate ways around the world and for us to say "good bye" to hockey players who entertained us on the ice for the past four years. Thank you to these young men for the memories...you played a lot of good hockey and you've made us proud on the ice, in the classroom and in the community. I wish you the very best of luck in the new adventures that are before you.

Our seniors are: Tim Kielich, Brandon McMartin, Dylan Shapiro, Aidan Verbeke, Matt Meredith, David Horan, Zac Sikich, and Brian Hurlimann.

Throwback Thursday: Chris Palin's fastet goal

Fastest Goal in History of Hockey May Have Been Matter of Bad Timing

January 17, 1989|Associated Press

All of a sudden Oswego State hockey Coach Don Unger is a very popular man, and he doesn't like it one bit.

"WNBC has called me, USA Today has called me," Unger said Monday. "I'm being bothered by everybody."

Everybody, it seems, wants to know how it feels to be coach of the team that allowed the fastest goal in hockey history.

It happened in a matchup of New York schools last Wednesday night when Brockport State's Chris Palin scored 3 seconds after the opening faceoff. At least, that's what the clock said in recording a goal 2 seconds faster than the official record in both the college and professional ranks.

"When I looked up, the clock said 19:57," Palin said. "It seemed like the play had taken 4 or 5 seconds, but it said 19:57."

There's only one problem--the official scoresheet signed by referee Jim Zarnick says the goal was scored with 19:55 left.

According to Unger, this is how the play developed: "The puck was dropped and we took the puck forward, that's 110 feet from the goal still."

After Palin gained control, "our forward went through and hit their man as he was skating down the boards, he skated over the blue line, then cut toward the net and took a screen shot through two of our defensemen and scored.

"The puck had to travel backward 15 or 20 feet, then diagonally about 20 feet, then it was passed another 20 feet to the red line. And then he had to skate it about 100 feet."

"They supposedly started the clock late and the people working the scoresheet decided to put down 5 seconds," Brockport sports information director Mike Andriatch said. "The people at the scorer's table should have changed the clock right then.

In case anyone missed it, Unger wants everyone to know the final score was Oswego State 8, Brockport State 5.

Horan is honored for academics at BESPYs

The College at Brockport Athletics Department held their end of the year award ceremony, the BESPYs on Sunday, honoring some of their top student-athletes. Brockport honored its two Scholar Athletes of the year, with Ice Hockey's David Horan repeating for the award. The senior is a double major, in finance and accounting with a cumulative GPA of 3.87. His peers on the ice also put up good numbers in the classroom as the hockey team was also recognized for having the best team GPA.

Zeis is with Team USA

David Zeis is serving as an athletic trainer on a U.S Men’s National Team for the first time. 

Zeis recently completed his 11th season as head athletic trainer for the NHL’s Dallas Stars, a role he has held since 2007. Prior to that, he spent seven seasons as the head athletic trainer for the Columbia Inferno and Pee Dee Pride of the East Coast Hockey League.

Certified by the National Athletic Trainers Association since 1995, Zeis is also a certified strength and conditioning specialist. Zeis earned a bachelor of science degree from SUNY Brockport in New York where he also played collegiate hockey. He also worked at University Sports Medicine at the University of Buffalo from 1993-95 as a clinical therapist and research coordinator.

Zeis and his wife, Michelle, live in Prosper, Texas, with their son, Brendon.

Flannery commits to Brockport

Last week, Robby Flannery took to Twitter to announce his commitment to Brockport. The 6'2", 190-pound Michigan native has been playing junior hockey with the Metro Jets of the NA3HL the past 3 seasons, most recently wearing the "A" on his sweater.

His numbers have been great. In 2016-2017 he played in 43 regular season games in which he had a 13-24-37 line. In the 2017-2018 campaign, he played in 45 games and had a 14-33-47 line.

Averaging more than a point a game as he did this year is always a huge accomplishment but consider how remarkable his output is -- he's not a forward, he's a defenseman!

His defensive savvy and playmaking abilities have been a critical part of the Metro Jets success. In his 3 seasons there, the Jets won 3 Fraser Cups, the championship of the NA3HL.

Who's wearing the "C" in 2018/2019?

At last night's annual celebration, the Golden Eagles announced their captaincy for the 2018-2019 season. Two men will be wearing the "C": Connor Hutchins and Hunter Laslo, who will both be juniors next year.

Polino & Facchini win the Cup

Troy Polino (2011/2012 - 2014/2015) and Jesse Facchini (2012/2013 - 2015/2016) are Brockport alumni who are still living the dream. On Wednesday night they and their fellow Watertown Wolves secured the Federal Hockey League's Commissioner's Cup. They were big contributors. For example, in Game 3 of the best-of-five series, Facchini scored 2 goals and Polino had 1. In an interview with the local paper afterward, Facchini attributed that success to the chemistry they built in their Brockport days. Congrats to these Golden Eagles!

Throwback Thursday: 2009's playoff game against Potsdam

Every Thursday we'll post a photo or memory here to reflect on players, games, and fans of the past.

Here are some video highlights from the 2009 home playoff game against Potsdam. It was Brockport's first-ever home playoff game and the Golden Eagles' first-ever playoff victory (3-1):

Throwback Thursday: The Nick Smyth game

Every Thursday we'll post a photo or memory here to reflect on players, games, and fans of the past.

On the night of Tuesday, October 17, 2000, the College at Brockport played one of its most exciting games in team history, an exhibition game against Humber College out of Toronto, Ontario.

The sparse crowd of only 250 fans saw a game of epic proportions. It was high-scoring affair eventually won by Brockport 9-7 thanks to a 6-goal flurry in the second.

Amidst all that goal scoring was physical hockey like you’ve never seen. There were 29 penalties in the match-up, including three 10-minute misconducts and a game disqualification. In total the teams accounted for 96 minutes of penalties.

That aggression didn't stop at the final buzzer: During the post-game handshake a Brockport player had his helmet off and was innocently shaking hands when all of a sudden a Humber player blasted the unprotected and unsuspecting soul right in the nose, instantly bloodying his face.

You don’t see games like that too often….and you definitely don’t see a single player’s performance as we did that night very often.

Brockport’s Nick Smyth had the greatest game ever by a Brockport hockey player.

In his first game for the Golden Eagles he scored a school-record 5 goals. An impressive total no doubt. What makes it even more extraordinary is that he scored a natural shorthanded hat trick!! How's that for a debut!!

That was the first time that ever happened in the NCAA...or was it?

NCAA purists will say that Neil Musselwhite’s (against Brockport, no less, in 2009) was the first in NCAA DIII history being that it was a true NCAA game pitting two NCAA colleges against one another while the Brockport/Humber game was a US/Canada event featuring only one NCAA school.

But, that’s semantics. Smyth’s was the first by a player at the DIII level of US collegiate hockey and he should be recognized for it.

Hockey's stellar student-athletes

The College at Brockport Athletic Department held its annual Senior Athlete Luncheon on Thursday, honoring its 104-senior student-athletes. At the event, the Golden Eagles inducted 23 student athletes into the Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society, the National College Athletic Honor Society. Membership selection is based on outstanding scholarship, athletic achievement, character and citizenship. Hockey players inducted into the society were:  David Horan, Dylan Shapiro, and Aidan Verbeke.

Throwback Thursday: Adam Shoff

Every Thursday we'll post a photo or memory here to reflect on players, games, and fans of the past.

Here's a snapshot of Adam Shoff in his junior season of 2010-2011. Adam was known for hustling up and down the ice with reckless abandon, fighting for pucks in the corners, putting his body in harm's way to block shots like he was a second goalie and fearlessly mixing it up with anyone, no matter their size. He was possessed of energy and a never-give-up attitude.

His best season was the 2011-2012 campaign when, as captain, the senior scored 5 goals, had 19 assists and put up 40 penalty minutes.

On the Humboldt Broncos tragedy

As the hockey world reels from the tragedy that befell the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team, one can't help but wonder if we know someone connected to the Broncos. In SUNYAC, there is only one player who recently played for Humboldt -- Brett Horn of Potsdam. The freshman played for the Broncos last season, so he knows and played alongside some of the young men who passed. Our hearts go out to Brett, the Broncos, the real families, the billet families, and the entire Humboldt community in these dark days of grief and sorrow.

Pray commits to Brockport

Tonawanda, NY native Trevor Pray took to Twitter this week to announce his commitment to Brockport. The 6'3" forward is another excellent recruit, possessing some serious scoring ability.

In his 2015-2016 senior campaign at Kenmore East he made the All-State Team and was Section II's Player of the Year after a 20 goal, 17 assist regular season. In the 6 playoff games that followed he scored an amazing 17 goals and had 7 assists against the best teams in New York.

The state championship game was all him -- he scored the game-tying goal late in the third and then the game winner in overtime in the 3-2 victory over Skaneateles. That performance put him in the Faces In the Crowd section of Sports Illustrated -- sharing that installment of Faces with Lonzo Ball, who went on to play for the Los Angeles Lakers.

After graduating from high school, he spent two seasons in the Juniors with the Walpole Express. In 2016-2017 he had 24 goals and 29 assists, good for 53 points in 40 games. This past season he had a 22-18-40 line in 48 games.