Winn family hosting a German hockey player

Here's a cool story about people doing good. The family of Brockport's Casey Winn is hosting a young German hockey player who is waiting out the coronavirus crisis in Penfield.

https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/2020/03/27/german-hockey-player-stranded-rochester-ny-staying-with-family-of-roommate-bishop-kearney-selects/2919336001/

Dylan Wiemer commits to Brockport

The East Coast Wizards are pleased to announce that Dylan Wiemer has committed to SUNY Brockport for the fall of 2020. The '99 native of Greece, NY joined the Wizards in late October, and went on to win 13 games in the Eastern Hockey League (EHL), while posting a 2.45 GAA and .923 save percentage.

"Dylan came in and immediately claimed the net for our team," said Wizards head coach and general manager Freddy Meyer. "He provided us with instant stability between the pipes, and it came as no surprise when we won his first three starts. Dylan is as talented as any goaltender we've ever had with the Wizards, and Kory [Falite] and I are looking forward to following him at the next level."

When Wiemer arrives at Brockport this fall, he will be part of an incoming freshmen class that includes six more alums from the EHL. Included on that list is Andrew Harley, the 2nd leading scorer on the 2019-20 Wizards team, who made his decision back in mid-December. Overall, Wiemer is looking forward to playing his college hockey close to his hometown.

"I would like to thank Freddy and Kory for taking me in and making me feel welcome and guiding me along in order to reach my dreams of playing college hockey," said Wiemer. "I would like to thank the organization for its great facilities and giving us the chance to get better both on and off the ice. Of course, I would like the thank my family for being supportive whenever I needed them, and for being my number one fan. And lastly, I would like to thank my teammates for making this experience one to remember by creating friendships that will last forever."

Hutchins signs with Rivermen

The Peoria Rivermen have added a pair of forwards to their lineup, signing both Connor Hutchins to a three game contract and Liam Stirtzinger to an amateur tryout offer (ATO). The pair will be with the club this weekend for the Rivermen’s three games inside Carver Arena.

Hutchins, 24, just finished his senior year playing for NCAA-DIII Suny-Brockport, where the Texas native served as captain the last two seasons, and an alternate during his sophomore year. Hutchins tallied 97 points in 102 games with SUNY-Brockport, and played his first two seasons with the team while Rivermen defenseman Brandon McMartin was there. In addition to wearing a letter in college, Connor served one season as captain of the Brookings Blizzard in the North American Hockey League (NAHL).

Stirtzinger becomes the second player out of Aurora University to sign an ATO with the Rivermen this season, joining fellow forward Drew Doyon. Stirtzinger, 24, finished 7^th on the Aurora Spartans in scoring this past season, and led the team in penalty minutes (47). The 6’4” winger played three years in the NAHL before college, collecting 422 penalty minutes, which puts him in the top 40 all-time amongst NAHL players for penalty minutes.

Senior Spotlight: Aidan Salerno

Last week marked the end of Aidan Salerno's NCAA hockey career.

He spent the last 2 seasons with the Golden Eagles after having been with Cortland his freshman year and University of Wisconsin - Superior his sophomore year.

Powerfully built at 6'3" and 215 pounds, he was a force to reckon with on defense. He doled out punishment to many a forward. This past season, his led the team in penalty minutes (55) in 13 games played.

He was always busting his butt on and off the ice. None other than NHL Hall of Famer Pat Lafontaine (who coached Salerno for 4 seasons in the Juniors) said he was one of the hardest working kids he ever saw.

More than brawn, he had touch, too: In 74 games at the 3 colleges he had a 5-23-28 line, his best season being his freshman year with 4 goals and 12 assists.

His biggest Brockport goal came in Brockport's 3-1 playoff loss to Plattsburgh in 2019 (which was, for the most part, a 2-1 game before an empty-netter).

Senior spotlight: Chris Pollini

Chris Pollini's NCAA career came to an end last Wednesday in the double overtime loss to Plattsburgh.

The defenseman was beloved by teammates and coaches for bringing levity to the ice and locker room. In Wednesday's postgame interview with WBSU you could hear Coach Dickinson light up when he spoke of how much he'll miss Chris's humor.

That humor helped loosen the young Golden Eagles squad the past two years and eliminate some of the nerves and stiffness that comes with the attainment of winning hockey.

Over his 4 seasons he played in 71 games and had 20 assists. He had no goals to his credit, but that's because Chris was a blueliner's blueliner. He played old school, hard-charging d without the flash, taking on the big forwards that fill the rosters of Oswego and Geneseo.

His biggest game came earlier this year when he dished out 3 assists (including a helper on the game winner with 21 seconds left) to help Brockport secure a 5-4 comeback win over Neumann.

I wish Chris the best in his post-Brockport endeavors.

Senior spotlight: Hunter Laslo

Hunter Laslo's final NCAA game was last week's double overtime thriller against Pittsburgh.

He was hugely responsible for getting the team into the playoffs the last two seasons.

As co-captain he was charged with an almost unenviable task...how do you take a very young team and transform it into a winner?

Coming into the 2018-2019 campaign, the team had 9 freshman on the roster and had lost 39 goals to graduation.

Hunter helped those rookies learn the nuances of super-competitive NCAA hockey and how being an athlete fits into one's academic career.

Despite all odds against them, that young team went 15-9-2. This year, they went 15-10-1.

They far exceeded the expectations of outsiders. But, Hunter, the insider, knew better. He knew how to help the coaching staff and his team glean the most from their talents and their drive.

He led with character and the team thrived off that.

Hunter finished his career with a 15-17-32 line in 98 games.

Senior sptlight: Doc Gentzler

Doc Gentzler's NCAA career came to an end last week in the playoff game against Plattsburgh.

That game was typical Doc -- he was rocked by a hit that sent him to the ice in agony. But, mere minutes later, he brushed it off and went top shelf with a hustling wrist shot.

Despite being one of the lightest players on the roster (the stats say 150) he always played like one of the biggest, mixing it up and getting physical with anyone and everyone. He was second on the team in penalty minutes this year (47), one minute fewer than his team-leading total of last season.

That physicality never tempered his other skills and, as a matter of fact, it added to them. Always driving, most of his goals were of the Joe Lunchbucket type -- he would drive to the net at full speed through and over defensemen and take shots that most shy away from.

He scored 7 goals this year and added 14 assists. He scored 2 game winning goals this year. He ended his four-year career with a 23-29-51 line in 96 games played.

His energy and fire will be missed.