It’s a big weekend coming up…the opening weekend of home play at Tuttle Ice Arena!
The action begins tonight at 7:00 against the Fredonia Blue Devils, a top 20 team in the polls after going 14-13-1. This year’s team may not reach such heights after losing so many key seniors (among them three 25+ point guys, including Jordan Oye and his spectacular 40 points). But, their Number One scorer, Bryan Ross, returns. Even without that supporting cast he’ll do well…he’s a player who makes everyone around him better (hence his 31 assists last year) so expect some new goal scorers to emerge. Among them is Alex Morton, capable of a 15 goal season. Sophomore goalie Mark Freisen is a real rising star in the conference, having block 91.7% of the shots he faced in his rookie year.
When last the two teams faced one another they tied up 2-2. Fredonia could not figure out netminder Joey Reagan, who stopped 47 shots. Don’t expect that many attempts this time around, but do expect a tight game with Brockport leaning heavily on its 2nd line to produce. Fredonia will be unable to deal with Brockport’s brute force, so I’ll hazard a guess that they fall 4-2 to the home team, the SUNYAC upset of the week.
There will be a pre-Game tribute to former Golden Eagle player and coach E.J. McGuire. E.J. went on to Coach in the OHL, AHL, and NHL before becoming the Director of Central Scouting for the NHL. E.J. passed away in April after battling cancer, a few months after entering Brockport’s Hall of fame.
Saturday is Alumni Day with the annual Alumni Game at 1:00 PM. Following the Saturday evening game there will be a post Game gathering at 58 Main Restaurant.
Saturday’s affair finds Brockport hosting Buffalo State at 7:00. This will be a tough game. Buffalo was an improved team last year and they remain virtually intact. By the end of the season I expect them to tough it out and end up third in the conference. Trevor McKinney can put a real scare into the best of teams (he had a stellar 17 goals last season) and Kevin Carr with his .922 save percentage will be a tough egg to crack.
When last they played Brockport in February they handily beat a Cody-less Brockport 4-1. I don’t envision such domination, but nonetheless, I see the home team falling to the visitors. I’ll throw a 4-2 score out there (the fourth being an empty-netter). But, Brockport can stage an upset if they get under the Bengals’ skin…they are a heavily-penalized team that could give James Cody some serious man-advantage chances.
This officially starts my 19th season of attending Brockport hockey games. Now I know I’m getting old: Some of the guys on the team weren’t even born when I started watching the Golden Eagles! I’m excited about this season and look forward to some great moments. I’ll definitely be in attendance at Saturday’s game, but Friday is still up in the air: Two-a-weeks are tough with my daughter still in newborn mode. But, we’ll see how it goes tonight.
Good luck to the team and coaching staff!
_
The action begins tonight at 7:00 against the Fredonia Blue Devils, a top 20 team in the polls after going 14-13-1. This year’s team may not reach such heights after losing so many key seniors (among them three 25+ point guys, including Jordan Oye and his spectacular 40 points). But, their Number One scorer, Bryan Ross, returns. Even without that supporting cast he’ll do well…he’s a player who makes everyone around him better (hence his 31 assists last year) so expect some new goal scorers to emerge. Among them is Alex Morton, capable of a 15 goal season. Sophomore goalie Mark Freisen is a real rising star in the conference, having block 91.7% of the shots he faced in his rookie year.
When last the two teams faced one another they tied up 2-2. Fredonia could not figure out netminder Joey Reagan, who stopped 47 shots. Don’t expect that many attempts this time around, but do expect a tight game with Brockport leaning heavily on its 2nd line to produce. Fredonia will be unable to deal with Brockport’s brute force, so I’ll hazard a guess that they fall 4-2 to the home team, the SUNYAC upset of the week.
There will be a pre-Game tribute to former Golden Eagle player and coach E.J. McGuire. E.J. went on to Coach in the OHL, AHL, and NHL before becoming the Director of Central Scouting for the NHL. E.J. passed away in April after battling cancer, a few months after entering Brockport’s Hall of fame.
Saturday is Alumni Day with the annual Alumni Game at 1:00 PM. Following the Saturday evening game there will be a post Game gathering at 58 Main Restaurant.
Saturday’s affair finds Brockport hosting Buffalo State at 7:00. This will be a tough game. Buffalo was an improved team last year and they remain virtually intact. By the end of the season I expect them to tough it out and end up third in the conference. Trevor McKinney can put a real scare into the best of teams (he had a stellar 17 goals last season) and Kevin Carr with his .922 save percentage will be a tough egg to crack.
When last they played Brockport in February they handily beat a Cody-less Brockport 4-1. I don’t envision such domination, but nonetheless, I see the home team falling to the visitors. I’ll throw a 4-2 score out there (the fourth being an empty-netter). But, Brockport can stage an upset if they get under the Bengals’ skin…they are a heavily-penalized team that could give James Cody some serious man-advantage chances.
This officially starts my 19th season of attending Brockport hockey games. Now I know I’m getting old: Some of the guys on the team weren’t even born when I started watching the Golden Eagles! I’m excited about this season and look forward to some great moments. I’ll definitely be in attendance at Saturday’s game, but Friday is still up in the air: Two-a-weeks are tough with my daughter still in newborn mode. But, we’ll see how it goes tonight.
Good luck to the team and coaching staff!
_
