Fredonia came into the game rated 25th in the nation in the USCHO preseason poll and they were expected to win by most everyone outside of Brockport. Proving that they’re not the same team as last season, the Golden Eagles instead tied the Blue Devils, with a 4-4 final tally.
The physical play Fredonia feared worked in Brockport’s favor. Despite having a height advantage, Fredonia was consistently manhandled and numerous Blue Devils ended up on the ice or had lost control of the puck. This allowed Brockport to match Fredonia shot for shot as they made chances where there were none.
Fredonia drew blood first when a hard shot perpendicularly bounced off Oliver Wren’s pad right to a wide open Jared Wynia who buried the puck behind Wren. Brockport then went on a 3-2 tear in the 2nd. The first of those was scored by Steve Sachman who grabbed a Troy Polino assist and, standing beside the net, pushed it past goaltender Mark Friesen.
4 minutes later Adam Shoff was working from the corner and blasted a hard shot over Friesen’s left shoulder. That was repeated a minute later when James Cody put another one over Friesen’s left shoulder. That was a recurring theme, when in the third period Mike Hayward went glove side on Friesen during the power play. Friesen’s weakness was definitely found and exploited.
Friesen did have a gave-saving stop with 4:50 left in the third, coming outside of the net to cut off the angle and then sitting a blast that surely looked like it was going in. That display was duplicated by Oliver Wren with 40 seconds left in the third. Oliver had another stellar moment with just over 5 seconds left in OT when he made the best glove save of the game.
It was an excellent game overall, despite both teams looking absolutely exhausted in the third.
Random thoughts:
· The sophomores looked very comfortable and decisive in their play. Their newfound confidence bodes well for this season and the future
· Freshman Troy Polino was sharp last night. He assisted on a goal but really made an impression on the back check. He had the finest defensive play of the game with 10:20 left in the first when his blanketing defense stopped a for-sure goal. A few other times he laid some nice hits on Fredonia and got control of the puck
· The ice arena is markedly improved. Gone are the bland walls, replaced with the sizable paintings of the new Eagle and Brockport logos. That really brightened-up the place
· Thanks to the Eagle Crazies (student sections) for the “Congrats Confer” sign. You guys are awesome! And, speaking of signs, the blown-up picture of Bobby Conner was hilarious
· The puck drop by Terry McGuire and her daughters Jacquelyn, and Erin McGuire (assisted by Sean McCrossen) was a nice tribute to EJ McGuire who left the hockey world too young at 58 years of age earlier this year
Here’s the Athletic Department’s recap of the game…
Senior James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) scored one goal and assisted on a third period goal that tied the game up at 4-4 but neither team would score again as The College at Brockport Hockey team and Fredonia skated to a 4-4 tie Friday night in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game in the Tuttle North Ice Arena in Brockport.
Fredonia (2-0-1 Overall, 0-0-1 SUNYAC) took the early lead with a goal in the first five minutes of the contest.
Brockport (0-1-1, 0-0-1) came back with three goals in a span of five minutes in the second period to take a 3-1 lead. Sophomore Steve Sachman (Medford, NY) started the flurry as freshman Troy Polino (Limerick, PA) pick up his first collegiate point with the assist to tie the game at 1-1. Four minutes later, Senior Adam Shoff (Port Dover, ONT) picked up a loose puck and fired a shot past the Fredonia goalie for a 2-1 Golden Eagles lead.
Just under a minute later, Cody scored his second goal of the season with a pass from Bobby Conner (Lititz, PA) and Brockport held a 3-1 lead.
Late in the period, Fredonia rebounded to score twice in the final 1:32 of the period including the second goal with just 15 seconds remaining in the stanza to tie the score back up at 3-3.
After an early Brockport penalty in the third period, Fredonia took a 4-3 lead with its second power play goal of the game 1:44 into the period.
With 8:09 left to play in the third period, junior Mike Hayward (Toronto, ONT) finished off a series of passes from Cody and sophomore Mike Hollander (Thornhill, ONT) for the game-tying goal.
Neither team was able to score in the remaining eight minutes of the period or the five-minute overtime period and the game finished in a 4-4 tie.
Senior Oliver Wren (Oakville, ONT) made 35 saves for Brockport and Mark Friesen was credited with 36 saves for Fredonia.
Boxscore:
http://www.collegehockeystats.net/1112/boxes/mbrcfre1.o28
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The physical play Fredonia feared worked in Brockport’s favor. Despite having a height advantage, Fredonia was consistently manhandled and numerous Blue Devils ended up on the ice or had lost control of the puck. This allowed Brockport to match Fredonia shot for shot as they made chances where there were none.
Fredonia drew blood first when a hard shot perpendicularly bounced off Oliver Wren’s pad right to a wide open Jared Wynia who buried the puck behind Wren. Brockport then went on a 3-2 tear in the 2nd. The first of those was scored by Steve Sachman who grabbed a Troy Polino assist and, standing beside the net, pushed it past goaltender Mark Friesen.
4 minutes later Adam Shoff was working from the corner and blasted a hard shot over Friesen’s left shoulder. That was repeated a minute later when James Cody put another one over Friesen’s left shoulder. That was a recurring theme, when in the third period Mike Hayward went glove side on Friesen during the power play. Friesen’s weakness was definitely found and exploited.
Friesen did have a gave-saving stop with 4:50 left in the third, coming outside of the net to cut off the angle and then sitting a blast that surely looked like it was going in. That display was duplicated by Oliver Wren with 40 seconds left in the third. Oliver had another stellar moment with just over 5 seconds left in OT when he made the best glove save of the game.
It was an excellent game overall, despite both teams looking absolutely exhausted in the third.
Random thoughts:
· The sophomores looked very comfortable and decisive in their play. Their newfound confidence bodes well for this season and the future
· Freshman Troy Polino was sharp last night. He assisted on a goal but really made an impression on the back check. He had the finest defensive play of the game with 10:20 left in the first when his blanketing defense stopped a for-sure goal. A few other times he laid some nice hits on Fredonia and got control of the puck
· The ice arena is markedly improved. Gone are the bland walls, replaced with the sizable paintings of the new Eagle and Brockport logos. That really brightened-up the place
· Thanks to the Eagle Crazies (student sections) for the “Congrats Confer” sign. You guys are awesome! And, speaking of signs, the blown-up picture of Bobby Conner was hilarious
· The puck drop by Terry McGuire and her daughters Jacquelyn, and Erin McGuire (assisted by Sean McCrossen) was a nice tribute to EJ McGuire who left the hockey world too young at 58 years of age earlier this year
Here’s the Athletic Department’s recap of the game…
Senior James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) scored one goal and assisted on a third period goal that tied the game up at 4-4 but neither team would score again as The College at Brockport Hockey team and Fredonia skated to a 4-4 tie Friday night in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game in the Tuttle North Ice Arena in Brockport.
Fredonia (2-0-1 Overall, 0-0-1 SUNYAC) took the early lead with a goal in the first five minutes of the contest.
Brockport (0-1-1, 0-0-1) came back with three goals in a span of five minutes in the second period to take a 3-1 lead. Sophomore Steve Sachman (Medford, NY) started the flurry as freshman Troy Polino (Limerick, PA) pick up his first collegiate point with the assist to tie the game at 1-1. Four minutes later, Senior Adam Shoff (Port Dover, ONT) picked up a loose puck and fired a shot past the Fredonia goalie for a 2-1 Golden Eagles lead.
Just under a minute later, Cody scored his second goal of the season with a pass from Bobby Conner (Lititz, PA) and Brockport held a 3-1 lead.
Late in the period, Fredonia rebounded to score twice in the final 1:32 of the period including the second goal with just 15 seconds remaining in the stanza to tie the score back up at 3-3.
After an early Brockport penalty in the third period, Fredonia took a 4-3 lead with its second power play goal of the game 1:44 into the period.
With 8:09 left to play in the third period, junior Mike Hayward (Toronto, ONT) finished off a series of passes from Cody and sophomore Mike Hollander (Thornhill, ONT) for the game-tying goal.
Neither team was able to score in the remaining eight minutes of the period or the five-minute overtime period and the game finished in a 4-4 tie.
Senior Oliver Wren (Oakville, ONT) made 35 saves for Brockport and Mark Friesen was credited with 36 saves for Fredonia.
Boxscore:
http://www.collegehockeystats.net/1112/boxes/mbrcfre1.o28
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