Brockport State Ice Hockey

BROCKPORT LOSES TO CORTLAND IN OT

2012-01-28T06:53:00.001-05:00

The Sports Information Department offers this recap of Friday's affair...

Sophomore forward Chris Cangro (Holbrook, NY) scored two second period goals but The College at Brockport Men's Hockey team dropped a tough overtime loss to the Cortland Red Dragons Friday night, 6-5. The Golden Eagles still remain in the hunt for the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) playoffs with seven points.

Cangro has now scored three goals in his last two games and has seven on the season. The Golden Eagles held a 5-2 advantage in the second period before Cortland staged a comeback. The Red Dragons scored two second period goals after Cangro's two scores. Following a third period goal by Cortland, the two teams skated to a 5-5 tie until the game-winner in overtime.

James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) started off the scoring 10 minutes into the first period on a slap-shot from the right side of the net on a power play. Cody received a pass from the top of the ice from Ian Finnerty (Ardmore, PA) and scored his 14th goal of the season. Mike Hayward (Toronto, ONT) was also credited with the assist. Five minutes later, Chris Marinakos (Orilla, ONT) scored his first goal of his collegiate career on an assist from Marcus Farmer (Caledon, ONT). Cortland scored less than a minute later to make the score 2-1 after the first period.

Cortland opened up with a goal 2:12 into the second period. The scored remained tied until Cangro beat Cortland goalie Brittan Kuhlman with a backhand shot to retake the lead for Brockport. Steve Sachman (Medford, NY) and Brendon Rothfuss (Webster, NY) assisted on the goal. Cangro wasted no time in building on the lead as he scored his second goal less than three minutes later. Troy Polino (Limerick, PA) found Cangro from behind the net. Cangro fired a shot from in front of the blue line that found its' way through a crowd and gave Brockport a 4-2 lead.

Cody kept the momentum going with a goal following some fancy puck handling. Cody played the puck to himself off the boards on the left side of the rink and skated through a Cortland defender and ripped a shot for his second goal of the game. Less than a minute later Cortland started their comeback with a goal, followed by one more with 2:35 remaining.

Cortland scored a goal 55 seconds into the third period to knot the score at five apiece. Freshman goalie Aaron Green (Mt. Albert, ONT) faced multiple point-blank range shots throughout the game, including one off a rebound with under nine minutes remaining in the third period. Brockport took 13 third period shots but could not find the back of the net as the two teams skated into overtime.

Cortland controlled the puck in the first minute of play in the extra session, and at the 1:27 mark, a Cortland skater collected the puck off a rebound and put home the final tally of the game. With the win, Cortland gains two points and are tied with Brockport with seven points in the conference standings.

Brockport fired away throughout the game as the Golden Eagles finished with 51 total shots on goal. Green faced 34 Cortland shots on the night, making 28 saves.

James Cody's two goals on the night place him in a four-way tie for seventh place on the all-time Brockport scoring list. Cody sits at 110 points and now has 15 goals and 13 assists on the season.

The Golden Eagles remain in the hunt for the playoffs as both Potsdam and Geneseo both dropped conference games on Friday night. Brockport returns to action tomorrow night to face Oswego, the second ranked team in the nation at 7 pm at Tuttle North Ice Arena.

Box: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/1112/boxes/mbrccrt1.j27

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PALLADIUM TIMES LOOKS AT SATURDAY'S GAME

2012-01-26T09:45:00.001-05:00

From the pages of today's paper:

Oswego State at Brockport

Saturday, 7 p.m.

Seniors Ian Finnerty (11-19) and James Cody (13-13) will lead Brockport into Saturday’s contest against Oswego State.

“Cody and Finnerty are pretty dynamic players. They’re dangerous players. We have to take away their time and space,” Gosek said.

Other players to watch for the Golden Eagles (3-6-1 SUNYAC, 7-10-2 overall) include senior Adam Shoff (4-14), junior Nick Panepinto (6-8), and senior goaltender Oliver Wren (4-7-1, 3.92).

Brockport has won three of its last four games, including a 4-2 win over third-place Buffalo State.

The Lakers crushed Brockport 7-1 earlier this season in Oswego, and they’ll need a big effort to post another win in the Eagles’ nest.

After this weekend, the Lakers will play just one more regular-season road game, leading up to four home contests to end the campaign.

“We’re in a position where we control our own destiny as far as the league is concerned,” Gosek said. “We want to be peaking at the right time and getting momentum going into the playoffs.”

Source:

http://palltimes.com/articles/2012/01/25/sports/doc4f20789d31370085822494.txt

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SATURDAY'S GOALIE

2012-01-26T09:42:00.001-05:00

The Oswegonian is reporting today that Oswego's starting goaltender on Saturday night will be junior backup goaltender Dan Jones. He's 3-0-0 with a .938 saves percentage and a 1.68 GAA.

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ROTHFUSS IN TODAY'S D&C

2012-01-26T09:38:00.002-05:00

Brockport's own Brendon Rothfuss is in the spotlight for today's Rochester Democrat and Chronicle:

Brendon Rothfuss plays hockey and lacrosse for the College at Brockport. The forward has five goals and six assists in hockey. He finished second in goals (21) and third in points (26) for the lacrosse team last spring.

Age: 22.

Hometown (high school): Webster (Webster Thomas).

Major: Physical education teaching certification.

How long have you been playing hockey? Since I was 2.

How about lacrosse? I started playing in sixth grade but had to take a few years off after high school while I played junior hockey.

Which do you prefer — and why? I would have to go with hockey. Every time I step on the ice during a game its an adrenaline rush. You can't get that feeling anywhere else. Plus I've pretty much played my entire life and I couldn't imagine not playing hockey.

Favorite food: Garlic Parm hot chicken wings.

Least favorite food: Anything my teammate Christian Cangro has a hand in making.

I'll scream if I hear one more time about: Taylor Swift winning an award. I've had enough of her.

Opponent I love to beat: Geneseo

Celebrity I'd love to meet: Brad Paisley.

No. 1 pet peeve: When my roommate/teammate Mike Hayward snores louder than the TV.

Greatest moment in sports: My junior year at Webster Thomas. I scored the game winning goal in double overtime vs. the defending state champions McQuaid in sectionals for hockey.

Worst moment in sports: When we lost to Aquinas in the sectional semifinals by a goal my junior year.

This year's Super Bowl winner: I wish I could say the Bills. But I'll go with the Giants.

Favorite pro team: Buffalo Sabres.

Favorite pro athlete: Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings.

Dream concert: REO Speedwagon.

If you could take three items to a deserted island: My iPod, a fishing pole and my guitar.

If you could take three people to a deserted island: (English model/actress) Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Jennifer Aniston and Kenny Chesney.

Invite four famous people to dinner (living or dead): Wayne Gretzky, Will Ferrell, Chris Farley and Gordie Howe.

Source:

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20120126/SPORTS09/201260320/In-spotlight-Brendon-Rothfuss?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Sports

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PFEFFER COMMITS TO BROCKPORT

2012-01-25T15:35:00.002-05:00

As announced today on the Ontario Junior Hockey League website...

Mississauga Chargers forward Logan Pfeffer (photo credit - Brian Watts/OJHL) has confirmed his commitment to join the SUNY-Brockport Golden Eagles beginning with the 2012-13 SUNYAC season.

The 5'10", 165 lbs. native of Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania joined the OJHL as a 19-year old rookie after playing for Seneca Valley High School back home. Pfeffer would record four goals and seven points in 10 games with the Streetsville Derbys before being moved to the Dixie Beehives, where he finished the season tied for the club's scoring lead with 32 points.

After the Beehives suspended operations this past summer, Pfeffer joined the nearby Mississauga Chargers and has been one of the club's leaders throughout the season. He currently sits third in scoring on the club with 22 points in 43 games played.

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BROCKPORT BEATS BUFFALO STATE 4-2

2012-01-22T06:25:00.001-05:00

The Athletic Department's recap of the road game at Buffalo State...

Senior Ian Finnerty (Ardmore, PA) scored the game-winning goal in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) upset win over the Buffalo State Bengals. Finnerty's 11th goal of the season came at the 2:25 mark of the third period to seal the victory.

Adding two assists to the night, Finnerty now has 30 points on the year, putting him in a tie for fifth place in all of Division III hockey. The 30 points also tie him for first place in the SUNYAC. James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) also added three points on the night to give him 26 on the season.

In a fight for the final SUNYAC Playoff spot, Brockport now has seven points, one point behind Potsdam and Geneseo. The Golden Eagles are now 3-6-1 while Buffalo State falls to 5-4-1 in the conference and are in a tie for third place.

Trailing 1-0 in the first period, Chris Cangro (Holbrook, NY) scored on a powerplay goal following a near-side faceoff with 2:50 to play. Finnerty got his first point of the night on the assist along with Colby Spooner. The Golden Eagles outshot Buffalo State in the first period 10-9.

Brendon Rothfuss (Webster, NY) connected on his fifth goal of the season in the second period on assists from Cody and Nick Panepinto (Tonawanda, NY) to give Brockport a 2-1 lead with 1:05 left in the period. The Golden Eagles skated into the second intermission with control of the game.

Following a penalty on the Brockport bench in the opening minutes of the third period, Buffalo State scored a powerplay goal at the 6:42 mark in the third period. The two teams traded shots for the next 10 minutes until Finnerty came through in the clutch for the Golden Eagles. Finnerty received a cross-ice pass from Adam Shoff (Port Dover, ONT) to put home the game winner. Cody was also credited with an assist on the play. One minute later, the Bengals added an extra skater as they pulled goalie Kevin Carr. Finnerty took control of the puck and skated down ice and found Cody as he found the back of the empty night to seal the victory.

Brockport freshman goalie Aaron Green registered 30 saves to improve his season record to 3-1-0.

Box: http://collegehockeystats.net/1112/boxes/mbfsbrc1.j21
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BROCKPORT FALLS TO FREDONIA

2012-01-21T05:40:00.001-05:00

The Athletic Department offers this recap of last night's game....

Senior Ian Finnerty (Ardmore, PA) and Brendon Rothfuss (Webster, NY) scored two early goals for The College at Brockport Men's Hockey team but Fredonia State rallied back to take the hard-fought State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) matchup 4-2. The Golden Eagles are now 2-6-1 in conference play.

Finnerty's goal was credited with two minutes and 58 seconds remaining in the first period, but came with a bit of controversy. On a five on three power play advantage, Nick Panepinto (Tonawanda, NY) dumped a pass to the left side of the net to Adam Shoff (Port Dover, ONT) who crossed the puck in front of the net to Finnerty on the opposite side. Finnerty took the shot and the puck appeared to cross the line. As Brockport celebrated, Fredonia took the puck the length of the ice on a breakaway, but Oliver Wren (Oakville, ONT) made the save. After a blown whistle following the save and a scuffle in front of the net, the referees discussed Finnerty's goal and reversed their call and credited Finnerty with his 10th goal of the season. Shoff and Panepinto received the assists.

Just over two minutes later on a five on four advantage, Rothfuss received a pass from Colby Spooner (Hilton, NY/Aquinas) just inside the blue line. Rothfuss fired a shot on net for his fourth goal on the year to give Brockport a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period. Spooner and Bobby Chayka (Hardwick, NJ) were credited with the assists.

After a physical first period that resulted in multiple penalties and one game misconduct for Fredonia, the two teams came out in the second period looking for control. Fredonia struck first with a breakaway goal just over six minutes into the period. Brockport maintained possession throughout the next few minutes until Fredonia struck again with a goal at the 14:47 mark to notch the game at two.

Brockport opened up the third period on consecutive power plays. The Golden Eagles had a chance to take the lead as the puck skated across an open Blue Devil net four minutes into the period, but no Brockport icer could connect. Just over a minute later Fredonia converted on a puck in front of the Brockport net as the Blue Devils took a 3-2 advantage.

Brockport pulled Wren with a minute to play to add an extra skater to the offensive attack, but Fredonia put home an empty net goal to take the win.

Wren was credited with 18 saves on the night. Finnerty now has 27 points on the season, putting him in sole possession of second place in the SUNYAC in total points, just ahead of Fredonia's Bryan Ross.

Brockport returns to play tomorrow night as they take on the Buffalo State Bengals. Buffalo State is currently in third place in the SUNYAC with a 5-3-1 record.

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BROCKPORT HEADS INTO WNY SERIES THIS WEEKEND

2012-01-20T07:17:00.002-05:00

The road to the playoffs begins tonight when SUNYAC play returns for the second semester. The red hot Golden Eagles – who have been beating or hanging with some of the best teams in NCAA DIII – travel to Fredonia to take on the Blue Devils.

Fredonia is 7-7-3 overall with a 2-3-3 record in the conference, so it should be interesting. Their coach Jeff Meredith (a Brockport product), said as much in today’s Observer (Dunkirk, NY): "It is great to get back into the SUNYAC play. This weekend is a playoff weekend. We badly need these points to not only hang on to the sixth and last spot, but to move up and try to get a home ice game in the first round. I think that both Brockport and Geneseo are in the same boat, which should make this weekend pretty exciting."

Brockport will be facing a goaltender on a tear in Mark Friesen. He was named SUNYAC Goalie of the Week for last weekend’s efforts. He made 56 saves in two games against two nationally-ranked opponents. Friesen stopped 19 shots in the 2-1 loss to Elmira then he made 37 saves as Fredonia completed a dramatic 3-2 overtime win against Neumann. On the season, Friesen’s save percentage is 92.1 with a 2.62 goals against average.

In front of Mark is a solid team that averages 3.44 goals per game. Their Number One threat is Bryan Ross who has 25 points on the season, 1 less than our own Ian Finnerty. That speaks volumes about Ross’s skill levels. He has 8 goals and 17 assists. Also having 8 goals for the Blue Devils is Jared Wynia. In all, they have 6 players in double digits in points already.

In a tight game, Brockport comes out on top.

On Saturday, Brockport goes to Buffalo State where the Benegals will try to maintain their grip on the third spot in the conference (they are 4-3-1 in league play…and 8-7-2 overall). When last they played, Buff State demolished Brockport in a game that wasn’t so much Buffalo dominance as it was Brockport sloppiness. This Brockport team is much different than that early season mirage.

They are one of the higher-scoring teams in DIII, with the pace being set by superstar Trevor McKinney (13-10-23) and his linemate Justin Knee (8-13-21). Freshman Elijah Cohen was this week’s Rookie of the Week in the conference. Cohen netted a hat trick to defeat host Johnson and Wales Saturday afternoon.

Netminder Kevin Carr has helped buoy their efforts by sporting a .902 saves percentage to go with a 3.06 GAA. Carr is clutch, seeing his saves percentage rise to .918 in SUNYAC games. The Golden Eagles will have their work cut out to beat him and keep pace with the #1 line, but, Brockport too, has a #1 line that can produce with the best of them.

The crystal ball sees overtime in the Buffalo State affair.

The next 5 weeks should offer a great, exciting finish to the season, as Russell Jaslow notes in today’s SUNYAC report USCHO (http://www.uscho.com/2012/01/19/second-half-run-for-sunyac/): If anyone who is currently out of the playoff picture can get into it, I would put my money on Brockport. They seem to have gotten over the Todd Sheridan hangover, are playing good team hockey, and not afraid to apply pressure to their opponents. After this weekend, all but one game is at home, which could bode well for the Golden Eagles.

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BROCKPORT BEATS NICHOLS 3-1

2012-01-14T07:45:00.000-05:00

Sophomore Patrick Hayden (Springfield, PA) scored his second goal of the season midway through the third period and The College at Brockport Hockey team added an empty net goal to post a 3-1 victory over Nichols College Friday night in a non-conference game at the Tuttle North Arena in Brockport.

Nichols (3-10-1) took a 1-0 lead five minutes into the second period with a shorthanded goal but four minutes later, Brockport (6-9-2) tied the score as Steve Sachman (Medford, NY) netted his second goal in as many games with an assist from James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) and the two teams skated into the third period with a 1-1 tie.

In the third period, Hayden took a pass from Nick Panepinto (Tonawanda, NY) and Mike Hollander Thornhill, ONT) and scored to give the Golden Eagles a 2-1 advantage with 11:15 left to play in the period.

After Brockport killed off a four-minute penalty late in the third period, senior Brett Jendra (Bolingbrook, IL) took a pass from Hollander and put home an empty-net goal for the final score.

For Brockport it is the second consecutive victory and the fifth win in the last eight games. Senior Oliver Wren (Oakville, ONT) made 37 saves including 18 in the third period to post the victory.

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BROCKPORT BEATS WNEC 5-1

2012-01-13T05:22:00.001-05:00

Senior Ian Finnerty (Ardmore, PA) scored one goal and had one assist as The College at Brockport Men's Ice Hockey team took care of Western New England College 5-1 at Tuttle North Ice Arena Thursday night. The Golden Eagles improve to 5-9-2 overall.

Finnerty collected his ninth goal of the season in the third period to put the game out of reach. Along with his assist, Finnerty now has a team-leading 26 points. His 26 points also puts him in a tie for first place in the State University of New York Athletic Conference for total points.

Brett Jendra (Bolingbrook, IL) started off the scoring for the Golden Eagles just over seven minutes into the first period on an assist from Brendon Rothfuss (Webster, NY). Exactly one minute later Nick Panepinto (Tonawanda, NY) found the back of the net for a powerplay goal on an assist from Adam Shoff (Port Dover, ONT) and James Cody (Schwenksville, PA). Brockport dominated the physical first period with a 19-6 shot advantage and kept the puck in their offensive zone for the majority of the period.

Western New England scored a goal five minutes into the second period to bring the score to 2-1. With 38 seconds remaining in the period, Finnerty won a faceoff that went out to Patrick Hayden (Springfield, PA). Hayden found Cody on the wing who fired a shot for his team-leading 12th goal of the season.

Brockport kept the momentum going in the third period. Oliver Wren (Oakville, ONT) dished a breakout pass to Panepinto on the opposite blue line. Panepinto found Finnerty open in front of the net for the goal. Steve Sachman (Medford, NY) closed out the game at the 13:25 mark with his fifth goal of the season to put the Golden Eagles up 5-1. Troy Polino (Limerick, PA) and Chris Cangro (Holbrook, NY) were credited with the assists.

Wren finished the game with 15 saves. His assist in the third period was the first of the season and the third of his career. Brockport is back in action at Tuttle North Ice Arena tomorrow night as the Golden Eagles host Nichols College at 7 pm.

Box: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/1112/boxes/mbrcwne1.j12

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BROCKPORT HANGS WITH NEUMANN AGAIN IN 7-5 LOSS

2012-01-11T05:30:00.001-05:00

Junior Nick Panepinto (Tonawanda, NY) scored two goals including a third period goal to cut the Neumann lead to just a single goal but the Knights held on for a 7-5 victory over The College at Brockport Tuesday afternoon at Neumann.

The Knights (11-2), ranked No. 6 in the nation in the latest USCHO.com poll, opened the game with four goals in the first period to build a 4-2 lead. After Neumann took a 2-0 lead, defenseman Matt DeLuca (Skippack, PA) cut the lead in half for Brockport (4-9-2) with assists from Mike Baxter (Bracebridge, ONT) and Brett Jendra (Bolingbrook, IL).

The Knights scored two more goals in the opening period, James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) added his team-leading 11th goal of the season with a power play goal and assists from Ian Finnerty (Ardmore, PA) and freshman Bobby Chayka (Hardwick, NJ).

“We need to find a way to be more focused on hockey from the time we get off the bus of the road and the time we arrive at the rink at home,” said Brian Dickinson. “We are a dangerous team when our backs are against the wall and I told the players I was happy at the way they came back but we can't afford to get behind early.”

In the second period, Neumann extended the lead to 6-2 with a pair of goals in the first 7:16 of the period before Brockport mounted a furious comeback.

Colby Spooner (Hilton, NY) started the three-goal run for the Golden Eagles with a shorthanded goal with DeLuca picking up his second assist of the game and Adam Shoff (Port Dover, ONT) adding an assist on the play.

Less than four minutes later, Panepinto scored the first of two straight goals as he took a shot from behind the end line and deflected the puck off the back of the Neumann goalie and into the net to cut the Knight lead to 6-4.

Early in the third period, Panepinto struck again scoring on a rebound after a Chayka shot and Brockport trailed by just a single goal at 6-5 with 13 minutes remaining in the period.

Late in the game, Brockport pulled goalie Joe Reagan (Yonkers, NY) for the extra attacker but Neumann scored an empty net goal for the final score of 7-5.

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GREEN NETS SUNYAC HONORS AGAIN

2012-01-10T05:30:00.001-05:00

Freshman goalie Aaron Green of The College at Brockport Men's Hockey team has been named the State University of New York Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week following his performance against Neumann College. It is his second rookie of the week honor in the last three weeks. The Golden Eagles fell to the Knights 3-2.

Against Neumann, ranked No. 8 in Division III by USCHO.com, Green made a career-high 31 saves on 34 shots. He registered ten saves in the first and third periods and 11 saves in the second to finish the game with a .912 save percentage.

Green's record is currently 2-1-0. He was awarded rookie of the week following Brockport's upset victory in overtime over Elmira College on Dec. 9. In three starts this season Green's goals against average is 3.37.

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HOBART BEATS GOLDEN EAGLES, 4-2

2012-01-07T19:00:00.000-05:00

Sophomore defenseman Matt DeLuca (Skippack, PA) assisted on both goals for The College at Brockport Hockey team in the final five minutes of the third period but Hobart College scored twice in the second period and added an empty net goal for a 4-2 non-conference victory Saturday afternoon in Geneva.

After a scoreless first period with each team struggling to find offensive flow, the Golden Eagles (4-8-2) opened the second period on a power play and had a couple scoring chances early in the period before Hobart (7-6) opened up its offense and fired 22 shots at senior Oliver Wren (Oakville, ONT) in the period.

The Statesmen, opened the scoring with a power play goal 4:33 into the period and then 10 minutes later, after Brockport had killed off its second power play of the period, made it a 2-0 lead and took that advantage into the final period.

Midway through the final period, Hobart added to its lead with another power play goal at the 11:09 mark of the stanza. A little over four minutes later, sophomore Chris Cangro (Holbrook, NY) scored to put Brockport on the board with each team skating a man down. DeLuca and sophomore Mike Baxter (Bracebridge, ONT) picked up assists on the play.

“I thought we matched their level of play for a majority of the game,” said head coach Brian Dickinson. “ Unfortunately it was not as much as we needed to today.”

With less than a minute to play in the period, Brockport pulled Wren from the goal for the extra attacker but a turnover in the neutral zone led to an empty-net goal for the Statesmen to push the lead to 4-1.

Just 18 seconds later, sophomore Brendon Rothfuss (Webster, NY) took a centering pass from junior Nick Panepinto (Tonawanda, NY) and lifted a shot into the top of the net to trim the lead to 4-2. DeLuca added a second assist on the play.

“We had good scoring chances when we created 2-on-1 situations but we need to create more,” said Dickinson. “We will keep working on that and I hope to see it get better over the next few games.”

Wren finished with 38 saves after his 20-save effort in the second period alone.

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BROCKPORT FALLS 3-2 TO #8 NEUMANN

2012-01-07T08:22:00.002-05:00

The Sports Information Department produced this recap of last night's nailbiter...

Freshman forward Troy Polino (Limerick, PA) scored a goal late in the third period to bring The College at Brockport Men's Hockey team to within one goal, but fell short to No. 8 Neumann University 3-2 on Friday night at Tuttle North Ice Arena. The loss snaps the Golden Eagles three-game winning streak.

Brockport was playing its' second top-10 opponent in as many games, including a 4-3 overtime victory over then-No. 5 Elmira College on Dec. 9. Neumann held a 3-1 advantage in the third period before Polino scored a powerplay goal with 57 seconds to play.

Brockport's first goal came in the second period with 5:13 to play as Nick Panepinto (Tonawanda, NY) scored his third goal of the season on an assist from Adam Shoff (Port Dover, ONT) and Ian Finnerty (Ardmore, PA). The Golden Eagles were trailing 2-0 before Shoff passed the puck towards the net and Panepinto knocked the air-bound pass into the net for a powerplay goal.

Neumann tacked on its' third goal just 1:34 into the final period. The score remained that way until Brockport pulled goalie Aaron Green (Mt. Albert, ONT) with one minute remaining to send on an extra skater. With two Neumann skaters and one Brockport player in the penalty box, the Golden Eagles took advantage of six offensive players as Polino put home the powerplay goal. Shoff was credited with his second assist and Bobby Chayka (Hardwick, NJ) netted his second assist of the season. The Golden Eagles battled for possession in the final 50 seconds, but could not find the equalizer.

Green, making just his third start in his young career, made a career-high 31 saves. Green was named the State University of New York Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week following his performance against Elmira. The Golden Eagles are now 4-7-2 overall and will travel to Hobart tomorrow to take on the Statesmen at 4 pm.

Box score: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/1112/boxes/mbrcneu1.j06

SECOND SEMESTER BEGINS TONIGHT

2012-01-06T15:54:00.001-05:00

From the Sports Information Desk:

The College at Brockport Men's Hockey team kicks off their second semester of play this weekend with two non-conference games. The Golden Eagles open up against the No. 8 ranked Neumann Knights at 7 pm Friday at Tuttle North Ice Arena. Brockport will travel to Hobart College at 4 pm Saturday.

The Golden Eagles are currently riding a three-game winning streak, including their last victory, an upset overtime win over then-No. 5 Elmira College on Dec. 9. Brockport also defeated Morrisville State in the Saves for a Cure Game on Dec. 3 and Nichols College at the Skidmore Invitational on Nov. 27. In the three victories, Brockport has scored 18 goals. The team scored a season-high seven goals against both Nichols and Morrisville.

Neumann University is currently 9-3-0 after defeating Penn State in their Winter Classic game held outdoors at Citizen Bank Park. Since the 2001-2002 season, Brockport is 7-2-1 against Neumann. The Golden Eagles skated to a 2-2 tie with the Knights in their last meeting on Jan. 29 2011.

Hobart College holds a record of 5-6-0, including a loss to Elmira. Hobart has also played SUNYAC teams Geneseo, Buffalo State, and Oswego State.

Since Nov. 27, a collection of individual players have earned individual accolades and milestones. Against Elmira, James Cody scored his 100th career point with an assist to Ian Finnerty on the game-winning goal. Cody also scored a goal with seven seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime. Freshman goalie Aaron Green made a career-high 30 saves in just his third collegiate start to earn the win.

Following the victory, Cody was named State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Player of the Week and Green was named Rookie of the Week. Cody was also named SUNYAC Player of the Week for the week ending Nov. 27. Cody scored a hat trick against Nichols and one goal and three assists against Hamilton in the first round of the Skidmore Invitational. Ian Finnerty was named SUNYAC Player of the Week for the week ending Dec. 4 after scoring a hat trick and adding an assist against Morrisville.

Admission into the game against Neumann at Tuttle North is free.

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PLAY RESUMES THIS FRIDAY AGAINST NEUMANN

2012-01-01T14:27:00.003-05:00

College is out for the winter break, the students resting their weary brains. But, there’s no rest for the hockey team. And, why would they want it any other way? I imagine most of them are jonesin’ to get back on the ice, because the Golden Eagles are performing at a high level and scoring goals in bunches, making for an exciting brand of hockey.

The second semester will be a fun one, as the 17th best offense in the nation (3.92 goals per game) will strive to gain a playoff spot and better yet, with their newfound confidence and firepower, the SUNYAC Championship. Brockport ended the first semester having lost only half their games. At 4-6-2 they have a very good chance of dominating league play in the second semester, especially with a home-heavy schedule. With Ian Finnerty (22 points, third in DIII) and James Cody (11 goals, second in DIII) making excellent cases for first-team All-SUNYAC, the sky’s the limit for the team, especially with a supporting cast the likes of Mike Hayward (second in the nation in goals scored by a defenseman) and captain Adam Shoff (on pace for his first 20-point season). Another one to keep an eye on is Steve Sachman, whose maturation at the DIII level (11 points at the halfway point) bodes well for next season when he will be looked at as the go-to guy.

This coming Friday they will host 8th-ranked Neumann in the first of what is 5 games over an 8-day period. This match-up could overload the scoreboard as both teams can light the lamp: Neumann has the fifth most potent offense in DIII (4.75 goals per game). Neumann does have an advantage, though, of being in the middle-of-the-pack defensively, allowing 3.00 goals per game. Neumann is a solid team overall, having the 4th best power play and the 29th best penalty kill.

They are coming off a brilliant game in which they stymied Oswego 3-0 this past Saturday. Neumann may come in on an even bigger emotional high, too (or physical exhaustion, for that matter). Before coming to Brockport they’ll play Penn State outdoors in Phillie on Wednesday night.

Neumann’s leading goal scorer is Jordan Zalba (8 goals) who shares the point lead (14) with 2 others (Cory Park, Mike Rey). 8 guys have 10 or more points, so all their lines contribute. This will be the first time the Golden Eagles have faced such a deep team this season.

Their goaltender, senior Ross McKinnon, is Mr. Consistency with a .908 saves percentage this season, just a smidge off of his career total of .909 on an even 2000 chances. When Neumann won the DIII title a few years ago, I was really impressed by his cool demeanor. It was as if everything was in slow motion for him. But, he can be beat: Don’t overlook the low shots. From what I can remember from the 3 times I’ve seen him, he’s sharp with the high shots, but he can give up the low shots off rebounds that require quick leg reflexes (his success is based more on textbook mechanics than athleticism).

As Brockport proved last January, they can hang with these guys. The Golden Eagles tied Neumann 2-2 on what was Saves For a Cure night. If they can pull off the win, it would be monumental…imagine back-to-back wins against Elmira and Neumann!

The game starts at 7:00 Friday at Tuttle North which will seem so empty without the students in high numbers. See you there!

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FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME

2011-12-19T14:31:00.002-05:00

My column for this week's Greater Niagara Newspapers is a diversion from the usual tirade about government. My discussion about DIII sports should interest followers of this blog...

FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME
By Bob Confer

In my younger years I was, like any red-blooded American, an avid professional sports fan. I tried not to miss the baseball and football highlight shows, Monday Night Football, and my annual pilgrimage to Pittsburgh to catch my beloved Chicago Cubs while they were in town.

But, when I hit 30 years of age, things changed dramatically. Just like a switch, my love for the pros turned right off. Now do I rarely watch any football or baseball highlights. I couldn’t even tell you the last time I watched a football game from start to finish. As a matter of fact, I can’t even name the starting rotation for the Cubs.

You see, as I aged I grew disgusted by pro sports. I was driven away by the greed, egos and outlandish salaries, and maddened by the marketing that somehow makes everyone believe pro spots are the most important thing in the world and worth every exorbitant penny. From those criteria, numerous disdainful questions have racked my brain. Why can people name their team’s starting line-up but not their elected officials? Why do fathers abandon their sons and daughters on Sundays? Why should taxpayers feel obligated to pay for the stadiums of billion dollar leagues? What human being is worth a quarter of a billion dollars, just to hit a stupid ball?

Even though my admiration of pro sports died, my appreciation for sport itself did not. I still value the thrill of competition, the drama of a good match-up, and the diversion from daily stress that spectator sports present. Instead of finding that joy in the big leagues, I find it in a setting that I had become accustomed to in the early-1990s: College campuses.

These are not just any campus. Most Division I programs (especially when it comes to football and basketball) are no better than the pros. They emphasize athletics over academics while many of their athletes play only for a chance to reap big rewards from the NFL and NBA, leagues that use DI as some sort of minor league system and, somehow, get away with it!

Instead, I get my athletic fix from Division III programs. In DIII, the emphasis is on academics over athletics. There are no sports scholarships. The athletes are talented but they understand that they have almost no chance of playing professional sports, knowing that guys like the Buffalo Bills’ Fred Jackson are anomalies. In DIII, they play for the love of the game. That’s it.

It’s that pristine brand of competition – free of the trappings of avarice – that make DIII sports so refreshing. Where else can you find men and women playing a game at a high level with only the sports’ basal tenets in mind? They pursue victory with vigor, aided by the bond of teamwork and guided by their own ethic and determination, driven for personal betterment on the field and in the mind. That emotion and desire among the players - and also the fans - in DIII is unparalleled in all of sports.

The best sporting events I’ve ever witnessed have, far and away, been in DIII football stadiums and ice arenas. I’ve seen many a tight game and marveled at countless exciting plays. And to think, they were playing for free and my ticket cost me only $5.

You have plenty of chances to take part in these events in Western New York. It’s been said, depending on who you ask, that we’re either a football town or a hockey town. Either way, the games await. DIII football can be had at Brockport, Alfred University and Buffalo State. DIII hockey - which has a rabid fan base (me among them) - can be found at Brockport, Buffalo State, Fredonia, and Geneseo.

If you’ve never savored a DIII game, make it a point to do so. You won’t regret it and you, too, might even change your outlook on athletics for the better and turn your allegiance from the pros to players who understand the real value of sport.

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FINNERTY'S ATHLETE OF THE WEEK INTERVIEW

2011-12-15T05:39:00.000-05:00

JAMES CODY INTERVIEW; COURTESY OF MIKE BAGGERMAN

2011-12-15T05:34:00.000-05:00

FINNERTY IS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

2011-12-14T15:17:00.001-05:00

Senior Ian Finnerty (Ardmore, PA) scored twice including the dramatic game-winning goal in a 4-3 overtime victory over #5 Elmira for The College at Brockport Hockey team and has been named The College at Brockport Male Athlete of the Week.

Finnerty, who leads the team in scoring this year with 22 points, scored a shorthanded goal – his second of the season - early in the second period to tie the score at 2-2. After Brockport tied the score again at 3-3 with just seven seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime, Finnerty scored the game-winner one minute into the extra period.

The victory, in overtime against the #5 team in the country, is considered one of the biggest wins in school history for the Golden Eagles.

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FINNERTY GOAL AMONG ECAC FINALISTS: VOTE FOR IT!

2011-12-13T14:11:00.002-05:00

Senior Ian Finnerty (Ardmore, PA) scored a game-winning goal in overtime for The College at Brockport Men's Ice Hockey team to upset then-No. 5 Elmira College. The video clip of the goal has been chosen as a finalist for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Video of the Week.

Fans can vote on the ECAC website for the best clip of the week. The goal was scored 58 seconds into the extra session as James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) found Mike Hayward who dished the puck to Finnerty on the left wing. Finnerty fired a shot inside the blue line where the puck ricocheted off the side pipe and into the net.

http://www.ecacsports.com/video_play_of_the_week/Week_2_Dec_13/ECAC_vpotw_vote_2

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GEORGE RICH'S OBITUARY

2011-12-13T08:15:00.002-05:00

George M. Rich

Home: Brockport, NY
Date of Death: December 11, 2011
Place of Birth: Brockport, NY
Birthdate: September 30, 1932
Age: 79

Visitation: Wednesday, December 14, 2011 3-7 PM at Fowler Funeral Home Inc, Brockport, NY

George passed away on Saturday, December 11, 2011 at the age of 79. Predeceased by his parents Harris and Helen, sister Marlene, brother James. He is survived by his wife and best friend of 38 years Rosie, sister Shirley Hicks, brothers Fred, Terry (Mary Ellen), many nieces, nephews, in-laws, family and friends.

George received his Undergraduate and Masters Degrees from Brockport State Teachers' College. While teaching, he was very active in the Rochester Teachers' Association, the Western Monroe Historical Society and SUNY Brockport Alumni Association. He supported the efforts of all college students for their service, scholarship and involvement in campus activities and athletics.

Family and friends may call Wednesday, December 14, 2011 from 3 to 7 pm at the Fowler Funeral Home Inc. Interment will be at the convenience of the family. A remembrance gathering will be held at the College of Brockport at a time to be announced.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the George Rich Student Philanthropy Award, SUNY College at Brockport, 350 New Campus Drive, Brockport, N.Y. 14420

To leave memory on the Fowler Funeral Home website, visit this web page:

http://fowlerfuneralhomeinc.com/online-obituary/10024833

CODY, GREEN CAPTURE SUNYAC HONORS

2011-12-12T15:28:00.002-05:00

Two of Brockport's own captured weekly honors in the SUNYAC for their efforts against Elmira. Here's the report from the SUNYAC website...

MEN’S ICE HOCKEY PLAYER – Brockport
James Cody (Schwenksville, PA/Philly Little Flyers), senior forward

Senior James Cody finished with a goal and an assist Friday night in the overtime 4-3win against #6 Elmira. The win gives Brockport a three-game winning streak. Cody scored the game-tying goal with seven second remaining in the third period to force overtime. He assisted on the game-winner 58 seconds into the extra period for his 100th career point. He now has 51 goals and 49 assists in his 86 career games.

MEN’S ICE HOCKEY ROOKIE – Brockport
Aaron Green (Mt. Albert, ONT/St. Michaels Buzzers), goalie

Aaron Green made 30 saves in a stunning 4-3 overtime victory over #6 Elmira on Friday night. He posted 11 saves in the first period and nine more in the second with a 1-1 tie heading to the third. He made ten saves in the third period as each team scored twice to force overtime. He finished with a .909 save percentage as he picked up the second win of his career.

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MORE DETAILS ON GEORGE RICH'S PASSING

2011-12-12T12:09:00.003-05:00

Calling hours for George will be this Wednesday, December 14 from 3:00-7:00 pm at Fowler’s Funeral Home on West Avenue in Brockport.

Also, there will be a service in the spring the college. Arrangements will be announced at a later date.

If you would like to send a card to Rosie Rich, her address is:

64 Lynnwood Drive
Brockport, NY 14420

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GEORGE RICH HAS PASSED AWAY

2011-12-11T10:56:00.003-05:00

Word came out today that George Rich has passed away.

He will be missed by the Brockport community. He was someone who bled Green and Gold and loved all of the students, alumni and staff.

George was the face of Brockport to me. For as long as I've been involved with the College (dating back to 1993), he's always been there front and center. He was always at alumni events and sporting events and was a fixture at hockey games. He was a supporter of the program and its students and was really impressed by - and proud of - the sense of charity the team and Saves For a Cure brought to campus.

This bio about he and his wife from the Brockport website offers some insight into his importance to the campus...

Rosa “Rosie” Rich remembers the blind double date she went on with her husband, George, in 1958 shortly after she arrived in town to take a teaching position at The College at Brockport.

Jeanette D’Agostino Banker ’53, emeritus professor of elementary education, who had attended school with George and was a colleague of Rosie’s, decided to play Cupid and match the two during a night out on the town with her date.

“Jeanette told me, ‘You’re going to meet a rich guy,’ said Rosie. “I thought, ‘Well, it’s about
time.’ ”

“This is George Rich,” Rosie remembers Jeanette telling her when they picked up George at his home. “And all I said was, ‘Oh.’ ”

Fourteen and a half years to the day they met—and after Rosie traveled across two continents, one of which she lived and worked in for four years—George proposed to Rosie, and the rest, as they say, is history.

“I don’t know if it’s going to work out,” quipped Rosie, who on March 2 celebrated her 38th wedding anniversary with George.

Arguably the most recognizable couple on campus, the Riches have lived a rich life indeed—a life rich with love for students, rich with dedication to their community and rich with giving back to the institution that is a double alma mater for George and a former employer for Rosie.

Longtime supporters of the College, the Riches took their giving to an extraordinary level by designating a major portion of their estate through a planned gift and creating two awards in support of The College at Brockport. In honor of their philanthropy, the College inducted the Riches into the Ernest C. Hartwell Society at the President’s Donor Recognition Dinner this spring.

The bequest is earmarked for a variety of funds: the Campus Restoration and Beautification Fund, Brockport Alumni Association Scholarship Fund, Golden Eagle Society Fund, The Arts & Cultural Fund and the George M. Rich Student Philanthropy Award.

In addition, the Rosa LaSorte Rich Scholarship will be awarded to an incoming student interested in a career in teaching, while the George Rich Student Philanthropy Award will recognize philanthropy among students and student groups.

George came up with the idea for his award to educate students about philanthropy and encourage them to donate to Brockport after they graduate. He awards $500 to a student or student group, and the recipients also receive $500 to donate to an on-campus philanthropic, educational or cultural endeavor of their choosing.

“I know how great the students are,” said George. “They have big hearts but empty pockets. A lot of students want to give to Brockport but they have debts.”

This year’s recipients include Todd Sheridan ’10, the former hockey team goalie who started Saves For A Cure, which raises $1 for every save a Brockport goaltender makes.

George recalls Sheridan—who battled cancer—telling him that instead of calling himself a cancer survivor, he likes to tell people, “I beat cancer” because it sends a more powerful message.

“This is what happens when you get to know the students,” said George, noting that he and Rosie learn their life stories.

___

WATCH OUT FOR PUCKS!

2011-12-10T10:04:00.002-05:00

This public service announcment from Don Cherry is for my wife, who insists on not paying attention at hockey games...

BROCKPORT WINS IN EXCITING GAME AGAINST 6th RANKED ELMIRA

2011-12-10T08:31:00.003-05:00

Brockport has been on a hot streak of late, scoring goals in bunches and having gone 3 games without a loss coming into Friday. Talk on campus was of that high-octane attack continuing into the second semester and affording Brockport a playoff slot, despite their early woes. Outsiders scoffed at the thought, thinking Brockport could not beat a premier team.

The Golden Eagles put an end to that talk with a 4-3 overtime win on Friday against sixth-ranked Elmira. The game made a statement: There was not anytime during the game where observers were left saying, “there’s definitely a talent and performance gap between the two teams.” Brockport excelled all game long and was the equal – even the better - of the nationally-ranked team. The Golden Eagles looked like a team that will surely upset the SUNYAC come late-February.

I missed most of the first period, arriving late because it was a real production to take my 13-week old daughter Alexandria to her first hockey game. She’s too young, of course, to realize what was happening and will never remember the game, but I will. The two periods I did see in their entirety were extraordinary hockey and one of my friends who has been attending some of the games with me going back to the mid-90s said it was the best game he’s ever seen at Tuttle North.

The second period started with Elmira ahead 1-0 and the stanza ended with a tie score, after Mike Hayward let loose with yet another thunderous slapshot with 10:54 left in the second. That was Mike’s 5th of the season, good for second place in the nation among all defensemen (the leader has 6).

His power play goal followed a frustrating 2 minute game-within-a-game in which Brockport had a two-man advantage on three consecutive Elmira penalties but couldn’t capitalize (or even come close to it), because Elmira played with a stifling penalty kill that was really top-notch. Over the course of that extended power play fans continuously screamed “take the shot!” The Eagles couldn’t: Elmira was that good. Elmira’s PK unit continued that excellence all night long. In total the Soaring Eagles posted 11 penalties and killed off all but 1. The unit nearly scored with 7:59 left in the second on a shorthanded goal, but Brockport goalie Aaron Green stopped the breakaway with an impressive block.

Green was solid all night long and never really looked like he wasn’t in control. He had excellent positioning throughout, and never overcommitted. One of his best moments occurred with 16:39 left in the third. There were two Elmira forwards right on top of him trying to whack at the puck, but he deflected two shots and certainly prevented an easy goal by keeping them from getting off a good flick of the wrist.

Aaron was aided by some admirable efforts by the defense. The blueliners have taken their share of abuse this season, when in early-November they allowed too many shots on goal. On Friday, the box score showed 30 shots on goal, but the d-men were really top notch. All game long they picked off Elmira passes and collected Elmira rebounds like they were going out of style. One of the best came with 10:19 left in the third when Marcus Farmer grabbed an idle rebound that was just begging for an Elmira one timer. The forwards helped a lot, too, deftly stealing pucks and blocking shots (James Cody and Adam Shoff each blocked one, Adam preventing a short-handed goal).

After Elmira quickly made it 2-1 to start the 3rd on a 5 minute major that really could have killed Brockport, Ian Finnerty considerably lessened the stress of the major (the major had me wringing my hands) with a jaw-dropping shorthanded goal. Ian took off like a rocket after stealing the puck and was absolutely spectacular on the finish…he faked low and Elmira goalie Darren MacDonald went into a split; Ian then snapped his powerful wrists and shot the puck over the netminder. An equally intelligent and athletic goal!

Elmira’s Kevin Willer (well, at least that’s what the box says…credit should have gone to a four-leaf clover) put Elmira ahead 3-2 with 6:22 left in the 3rd. A centering pass from Jesper Strale to Willer was off kilter and the high pass bounced off what appeared to be Willer’s tummy and it went right into the net. It’s been some time since I’ve seen such a good luck goal for any hockey team.

With a minute left Green was pulled and Brockport tried like mad to tie the score. It looked like the game was going to end 3-2 Elmira, but with 7 seconds left (YES, 7 seconds), James Cody added to his impressive legacy with a game-tying goal that showed how strong the young man is. A sudden pass came his way that was slightly too far ahead of him, but James got into an extended crouch and with a position that most of us humans could never take a shot from, he let rip with one heck of a full extension wrist shot that found the back of the net. The crowd erupted in one of the greatest explosions of appreciation that Tuttle has seen in some time.

The cheers quickly repeated themselves in even greater vigor in overtime when Mr. Ian Finnerty won the game less than a minute into the extra period. Ian raced in and again went high on MacDonald, beating him blocker side with a great wrist shot. The crowd went berserk and Ian was buried under his teammates for a game that added yet another star to this magical season of his. The short-handed goal and game-winner give him 22 points at the half-way point and his point total leads the entire nation. The performance was a fitting birthday celebration for Ian whose birthday was Friday!

It’s awesome that when the team’s two superstars (Cody and Finnerty) were needed the most, they produced, scoring just 65 seconds apart and upsetting one of the very best teams in all of DIII.

Even so, this was a team effort. The Golden Eagles preformed well all night long, playing great defense, exerting physicality and making plays.

So, take a break for the holidays and come back in January prepared to see a Golden Eagle unit that has bonded so well on and off the ice that that sky will be the limit. We’ve been watching some great hockey lately and more is sure to follow.

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Box score: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/1112/boxes/mbrcelm1.d09

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Recap from the Sports Information Department....

Senior forward Ian Finnerty (Ardmore, Pa) scored 58 seconds into the overtime session as The College at Brockport Men's Hockey team upset No. 6 Elmira College 4-3 Friday night at Tuttle North Ice Arena. The win gives the team a three-game winning streak and have not lost in its last four games.

Finnerty, who was named SUNYAC Hockey Player of the Week last week after scoring a hat trick against Morrisville State, scored his second goal of the game and his 8th of the season, giving him a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) leading 22nd point of the season. The goal was Finnerty's first game-winning goal of the year.

James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) assisted on the final goal of the game. Cody scored the game-tying goal in the third period to send the game into overtime. With his two points on the night, Cody now has 100 career points as a Golden Eagle.

"I really don't pay attention much to the goals and assists," said Cody. "My main objective is to win games. It was great to get the points late in the game like what happened tonight."

Elmira started off the scoring 1:13 into the first period. Brockport went scoreless in the first period, but tied up the game on a Mike Hayward (Toronto, ONT) goal at the 9:06 mark in the second period. Hayward's goal came on a powerplay with an assist from Brendon Rothfuss (Webster, NY).

Elmira took the lead in the third period, scoring 1:10 in. Finnerty scored his first goal of the night, a shorthanded goal, just 42 seconds later. Elmira came back with their third goal of the night at the 13:38 mark to pull ahead of the Golden Eagles.

The Golden Eagles kept the fans on edge for the next six minutes, firing at all angles on Elmira goalie Darren McDonald, including Adam Shoff (Port Dover, ONT) who fired four shots in the matter of seconds with two minutes to play. Brockport pulled goalie Aaron Green (Mt. Albert, ONT) at the 19:00 mark to add an extra skater.

Following a faceoff that was won by Shoff, Hayward took two shots on net, both were blocked by Elmira Defenders. Shoff collected the loose puck and dished it off to Cody who fired a rocket from the blue line and found its' way in the back of the net to tie the game with seven seconds remaining.

Brockport wasted no time in the extra session to seal the victory. Cody found a streaking Finnerty skating past the Brockport bench on the fly and ripped a slap shot just inside the blue line. His shot hit the side post and ricocheted in the net to clinch the upset for the Golden Eagles.

"That was the best feeling after the game and in the locker room that I have ever had in my years playing hockey," said Cody. "The fans were going crazy. I can't think of a more exciting celebration."

Cody, who has led Brockport in scoring all three of his seasons as a Golden Eagle, has 10 goals and eight assists on the season. In his last three seasons, Cody has recorded 30, 28, and 24 points respectively.

Green, playing in just his third collegiate game, finished with a season-high 30 saves.

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BROCKPORT HOSTS ELMIRA TONIGHT

2011-12-09T14:44:00.002-05:00

Brockport's last game of the semester is a big one, albeit it a non-conference game. The Golden Eagles lock talons with the 6th ranked Elmira Soaring Eagles at 7:00 in Tuttle North tonight.

Elmira comes into the game with a 7-3-0 record and has handily beat the likes of Neumann, Middlebury and Hobart. This are a well-balanced defensive team with a solid offense that ranks 26th in DIII with 3.50 goals scored per game. Kevin Willer is their leading threat with 14 points on 6 goals and 8 assists. Linemate Jesper Strale shares the team lead with 6 goals.

They are a senior-heavy team that doesn't make a lot of mistakes and mistakes are saved by Darren McDonald. After sporting an awesome .930 last year the goaltender has dropped to a more human .893 this season. He's a spry soul who's very athletic, sometimes dazzling. His weakness? He can give up the high goal, even on the glove side. So, the Golden Eagles need to use the same goal-scoring tactics they did last week.

Coach Dickinson was quoted in the SUNYAC Column today at USCHO saying the following:

"For us, it's kind of a chance to be a statement game, playing a very good, ranked team," Brockport coach Brian Dickinson said. "We played them very tough last year in their building. It was 2-2 at one point. We want to obviously be in a situation where we can grow into beating an Elmira, Oswego, Plattsburgh, be that type of team night in and night out. Gives us a chance to finish up the semester against a very good team and hopefully go into the break on a little bit more momentum."

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STYLUS ANALYSIS OF FIRST SEMESTER

2011-12-07T06:49:00.000-05:00

Lip Slip: Brockport hockey team hurting in season's first half
By Andy Lipari

Brockport's hockey team has ground to make up after the first half of the season, but they have shown they can do it. They sit tied with Cortland and two points behind Fredonia in the conference standings. B-port saved its season last weekend, Saturday, Dec. 3, beating Morrisville in a game that had two desperate teams fighting for their playoff hopes.

Brockport's worst habit this season is not stopping the bleeding after giving up a goal. They play well for 50 to 55 minutes of the game, but the other 5 to 10 is what cost the team points in the standings.

Brockport could be in the middle of the SUNYAC conference if they could play a full 60-minute game, as cliché as it sounds. They should have taken two points from Fredonia in their first game this season, but four bad minutes forced the game to a 4-4 tie.

They lost to Cortland 7-5, another winnable game. Brockport head coach Brian Dickinson said he thought his team was the better team when they played Potsdam a couple of weeks ago, but a few bad minutes cost the Golden Eagles yet another game.

They could have as many as 10 points with those victories, which could put Brockport in a solid third place in the SUNYAC conference.

For some reason the second period has been a problem for Brockport this year. I can't figure out why, but they seem to come out flat in the second compared to the other two periods. Whenever Brockport's opponent has a period that catches them up or pulls them away, it has almost always been the second period.

The power play is another issue, although it has been improving. They only went 1-9 against Morrisville. They had plenty of opportunities to pull away earlier, but they didn't capitalize. They also give up too many short-handed goals.

One of the biggest surprises to me so far this year is the improvement of goaltender Oliver Wren. Last season he was splitting time with Joe Reagan because no one took a strong hold on the position. As a senior, Wren has taken the role and has seen most of the action in net so far this season.

Ian Finnerty and James Cody have a combined 37 points this season playing on the same line together. Senior captain Adam Shoff looks like he fits in well with those two on the front line, following the injury to Brendon Rothfuss.

The contribution from the younger players has been another pleasant surprise. The first line gets its points every game, but the other three lines have been able to play well so far this season. Sophomore Steve Sachman leads the younger group this season with nine points so far.

Brockport got through the tough part of their un-even schedule this semester, which leaves a home-heavy second half for the Golden Eagles. They will be at Fredonia and Buffalo State the first weekend of the second semester, but then they will have five in a row at home. If they need the last game to get in the playoffs, they finish their season at Morrisville.

Source: http://www.thestylus.net/lip-slip-brockport-hockey-team-hurting-in-season-s-first-half-1.2726532

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STYLUS RECAP OF MORRISVILLE GAME

2011-12-07T06:46:00.001-05:00

Brockport hockey's Saves for a Cure game against Morrisville saves playoff chances
By Andy Lipari Senior Writer

Brockport kept its playoff hopes alive Saturday, Dec. 3 with a wild 7-6 victory over Morrisville at the fourth annual Saves for a Cure game in the Tuttle North Ice Arena. Both teams came into the game desperately needing a win, which made for a playoff-type atmosphere in the mid-season game.

With the win, Brockport trails Fredonia by two points for a playoff spot. Brockport's next SUNYAC game will be at Fredonia, Jan. 20.

After the final horn, Brockport's jubilation from players and coaches showed how important this game was to them.

"We knew we couldn't come out from this game without two points," said Brockport head coach Brian Dickinson. "We're set up with all the home games next semester. We have a chance to move up the ladder. It was a huge sense of relief we were able to hold on and win."

Junior Ian Finnerty had four points for Brockport to help lead the way to victory. He started scoring points almost seven minutes in as he netted the game's first goal.

Sophomore Bobby Conner scored Brockport's second goal 28 seconds later. Curtis Renaud answered for Morrisville to cut the lead down to 2-1, but junior Mike Hayward found the back of the net at 15:57 in the first, as Brockport took a 3-1 lead into the first intermission.

The second period has given Brockport trouble this season, which was also the case Saturday. Todd Hosmer and Jonathan Cristini scored for Morrisville in the second period to tie the game 3-3.

The third period featured seven goals as both teams felt like its season was on the line. Morrisville took the lead 20 seconds in when Tom Longland found the back of the net.

Senior James Cody tipped a shot in at 2:28 to tie the game. Cristini scored his second of the game at 4:28, but Finnerty scored his second of the game as well at 8:08 on the power play.

All three seniors on the first line scored in the third period for Brockport. Dickinson said it shows how the veteran leadership is carrying the team.

"They get it," he said. "As we get into the second half of the season you can see the desperation from them, knowing they only have 13 or 12 games left. They don't want it to end."

Only 27 seconds later, senior forward Adam Shoff gave Brockport a 6-5 lead, but Hosmer found the back of the net for the second time and tied it back up.

Junior defenseman Colby Spooner was the hero for Brockport, scoring the game-winning goal with less than six minutes remaining.

Senior Oliver Wren had 31 saves in goal for Brockport. Colin Breen stopped 28 shots in net for Morrisville.

Saturday was Brockport's annual Saves For A Cure game. The Eagles wore Saves For A Cure jerseys that were auctioned off after the game. This year's jerseys were sold for anywhere between $50 and $125. The proceeds go to Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. The auction earned $1,855 this year.

New this year was a "teddy toss" in place of the typical puck toss. Participants could purchase teddy bears to throw on the ice with the goal of landing it in the center to win a prize. The bears were also donated to Golisano Children's Hospital.

Saves For A Cure is a non-profit organization founded by former Brockport goalie Todd Sheridan, who battled cancer in 2005 before attending Brockport. It aims to help children in the Rochester area cope with difficult cancer treatments.

Money is raised through the annual auction as well as saves made by Brockport goalies. Local businesses agree to donate money for every save made. Ticket sales from the game are also donated by the college's athletic department.

Since its founding in 2007, Saves for a Cure has raised more than $17,000.

Brockport will host Elmira Friday, Dec. 9 in a non-conference match-up before taking off for winter break.

Source: http://www.thestylus.net/brockport-hockey-s-saves-for-a-cure-game-against-morrisville-saves-playoff-chances-1.2726584

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FINNERTY: SUNYAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK!

2011-12-06T11:13:00.000-05:00

Senior Forward Ian Finnerty (Ardmore, PA) of The College at Brockport Men's Ice Hockey team has been named the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Hockey Player of the week for his performance against Morrisville State. Finnerty and the Golden Eagles defeated Morrisville State 7-6.

During the fourth annual Saves for a Cure charity game, Finnerty scored a hat trick and added assist for four points total. Finnerty scored the first goal of the game seven minutes into the first period off assists from James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) and Adam Shoff (Port Dover, ONT).

After Brockport fell behind 4-3 in the third period, Finnerty scored 2:28 into the period to tie the game at four off an assist from Shoff and Matt DeLuca (Skippack, PA). The Golden Eagles fell behind once again, 5-4, but Finnerty capitalized on a power play and scored his sixth goal of the season at the 12:52 mark. Just 27 seconds later, Finnerty fed Shoff for his fourth goal of the season and put Brockport ahead 6-5. Morrisville State scored to tie the game at six, but Brockport prevailed with a goal with just under six minutes remaining.

This is the third time in Finnerty's career that he has been tabbed SUNYAC Player of the Week. Finnerty earned the award for the week ending Jan. 10, 2011 and Jan. 17, 2010.

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SAVES FOR A CURE'S SUPPORT

2011-12-04T15:13:00.005-05:00

A big thanks to everyone who did the behind-the-scenes things to make sure the Saves For a Cure weekend was a success....folks like Elise Harvey (who organized the luncheon and its auction), Rec Services (who prepared and served the lunch), Sports Information guru Kelly Vergin (for organizing the jersey auction and teddy bear toss), and Brian Dickinson and the hockey team for the support and promotion of all of those SFAC functions.

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THE MOVEMBER LOOK

2011-12-04T10:07:00.005-05:00

A lot of fans are wondering how the team looked towards the end of November as they had been tending their facial hair for the Movember fund drive.

Well, here they are (click on the image to see it in greater detail)...

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RANDOM THOUGHTS AFTER THE MORRISVILLE GAME

2011-12-04T08:00:00.002-05:00

Random thoughts from last night…

· I loved the ceremonial puck drop by 12-year-old cancer patient Phillip Massey. It definitely shows everyone in attendance the human side the Saves For a Cure fundraising efforts. It’s youngsters like Phillip who benefit from the campus and Brockport communities’ donations. You saw the joy in his face, now imagine a hundred kids being so happy from what Saves For a Cure does for them

· The must-win game put Brockport into seventh place in the conference, tied with Cortland with 5 points. Brockport is well-positioned to make the playoffs because it’s a free-for-all after Plattsburgh and Oswego. Brockport has become a high-flying, high scoring team and is only 2 points out of the last playoff spot and only 3 out of the fourth and fifth spots. All of those teams are beatable and Brockport’s home-ice-heavy second semester should pay huge dividends

· When Brockport plays Morrisville next, they need to remember what allowed them to net 7 goals…they took advantage of goaltender Colin Breen’s over-commitment to playing down low. He didn’t just give the Golden Eagles the top third of the net, he gave them the top half. Breen is excellent when he goes low, but he goes low too often and puts himself into splits and other positions that he can’t recover from when the rebound shots are taken

· Todd Hosmer is certainly Morrisville’s best player. I don’t know how Potsdam ever let him get away. Hosmer had only one bad shift and was excellent on special teams, too. He had 2 goals and could have had another if Nick Panepinto hadn’t blocked a perfect pass to Hosmer on a 2nd period Morrisville power play

· Bobby Conner was taken out of the game at 8:54 left in the second after getting boarded by Morrisville’s Taylor Vince. I hope Bobby’s lower-body injury mends for next semester (if not the next game)

· Ian Finnerty and James Cody are having some seriously monstrous senior seasons. Ian already has 20 points. That’s a good number for a full season, but we’re only 11 games into this one. He could exceed 40 points when it’s all said and done. James reached double digits in goals last night and he could double that output as well come Senior night. Ian is 9th in the nation in points per game (1.82) while James is 26th (1.55). James ranks 7th in goals per game (.91) while Ian is 6th in assists per game (1.36). It's fun watching them perform their magic.

· After that deluge of goals last night, Brockport ranks 18th in the nation in scoring at 3.91 goals per game. That’s awesome. Realize that if you take the Buffalo State game out of the equation (only 1 goal scored), Brockport would average more than 4 goals per game. Wow!

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USCHO RECAP OF GAME

2011-12-04T07:27:00.002-05:00

I was going to write a full recap of the game, but Russell Jaslow has written one so much better than I ever could for his weekend SUNYAC report for USCHO.

Here's a snippet from it:

Defense was optional at Brockport’s Tuttle North Ice Arena in the third period.

Brockport and Morrisville combined for seven goals in the final period in a wild shootout that saw multiple lead changes. When the ice chips finally settled, Brockport prevailed, 7–6. There were 72 total shots in the game.

Ian Finnerty got two goals and two assists for the winners. Jonathan Cristini and Todd Hosmer each scored twice for the Mustangs.

“Crazy,” Brockport coach Brian Dickinson said. “Obviously gaining two points was very crucial for us as it would have been for them. I thought we came out with a lot of energy against a team that put it to us pretty good last year. We just kept battling and battling and battling. It was a great effort by all of our guys.”

“I thought it was an intense game,” Morrisville coach Brian Grady said. “Obviously, two points at this juncture were huge for both teams. It wasn’t going to be easy. They came to play in the first period.”

Read his entire report here:

http://www.uscho.com/recaps/2011/12/03/brockport-wins-crazy-game-against-morrisville/

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FINNERTY DOMINATES IN 7-6 WIN OVER MORRISVILLE

2011-12-04T07:21:00.002-05:00

The report from the Athletics Department...

Senior Ian Finnerty (Ardmore, PA) scored two goals and added two assists as The College at Brockport Hockey team to a 7-6 victory over Morrisville Saturday night in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game at Tuttle North Arena in Brockport.

The game was designated as the fourth annual Saves for a Cure charity game in which the Brockport players wore special jerseys that are auctioned off following the game. All of the proceeds from the auction, ticket sales and a fund raising spaghetti dinner are donated to the Saves for a Cure foundation that was started by former Brockport goalie Todd Sheridan.

Brockport (3-6-2 Overall, 2-5-1 SUNYAC) started the scoring early with two goals in a span of 28 seconds with 13 minutes remaining in the opening period. Finnerty scored the first goal at 6:59 and 28 seconds later, Bobby Conner (Lititz, PA) scored giving Brockport a 2-0 lead.

Morrisville (2-7-1, 1-6-1) trimmed the lead to 2-1 at the 10:13 mark of the period and Mike Hayward (Toronto, ONT) made it a 3-1 lead six minutes later.

In the second period, the Mustangs scored the only two goals of the period to knot the score at 3-3.

In the third period, Morrisville took a 4-3 lead 20 seconds into the period. James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) tied the score two minutes later for the Golden Eagles but the Mustangs regained the lead exactly two minutes after Cody's goal for a 5-4 lead.

With 12 minutes remaining in the period, Morrisville was whistled for a hooking penalty and Brockport did not waste any time on the power play opportunity scoring seven seconds into the man advantage as Finnerty scored his second goal of the game on a pass from Marcus Farmer (Caledon, ONT) making it a 5-5 game. Less than 30 seconds later, Adam Shoff (Port Dover, ONT) took a pass from Finnerty and scored to give Brockport the 6-5 lead.

Morrisville battled back and scored the tying goal at the 12:16 mark of the period but two minutes later, Colby Spooner (Hilton, NY) netted his second goal of the season in what turned out to be the game-winning goal for Brockport.

Finnerty finished with four points on two goals and two assists while Conner, Shoff and Cody all added a goal and an assist each. Todd Hosmer and Jonathan Cristini scored two goals each for the Mustangs.

Boxscore: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/1112/boxes/mbrcmor1.d03

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BROCKPORT HOSTS MORRISVILLE TONIGHT

2011-12-03T07:44:00.001-05:00

A better game could not have been picked for the Saves For a Cure game than tonight’s match-up with Morrisville. The fans -- many of whom will be at Tuttle for the first time this semester (or ever) as they support the fundraiser -- should be entertained by some great hockey. The last time the Mustangs were here (January) they won 8-6, a memorable game filled with as many near-fights as goals.

The bad blood will probably continue as Brockport has a chip on its shoulder after Morrisville protested a clean James Cody hit on Geoff Matzel that occurred in that game, resulting in a two-game suspension of James in February, just as he was riding a goal-scoring hot streak. That did not sit well with the Golden Eagles or their fans. Don’t be surprised if a highly-motivated Mr. Cody repeats his Sunday performance (a hat trick) tonight.

Morrisville is 2-6-1 this year, having just lost to Geneseo by a score of 4-3 last night. They pulled off a major upset this year having tied Oswego 3-3 and they stayed close to Plattsburgh in a 6-4 battle in November. They are tied for last in the conference with Brockport at 1-5-1 in SUNYAC play.

The Mustang’s leading scorer is Todd Hosmer, who came from Potsdam. The kid has a powerful slapshot and so far has amassed 7 goals and 7 assists in 9 games. Freshman Pat Stillar has been a pleasant surprise, posting a 5-7-12 line.

For years Morrisville relied on goaltender Caylin Relkoff to bail them out. He graduated after last season, but the team has been fortunate in goal. Colin Breen sports a .903 save percentage to so with a 3.81 GAA.

This game is a must-win for Brockport to gain some points and tie Cortland for 7th, which would put them just one win out from the last playoff spot. This is the last SUNYAC game until January 20th, so it would be good to go into the extended session of non-conference play with a boost.

The game starts at 7:00, preceded by a ceremonial puck-drop.

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SAVES FOR A CURE AUCTION ITEMS

2011-12-02T13:46:00.001-05:00

Here's some great news swiped from Todd Sheridan's Facebook...

Sabres, Bills and Amerks on board with Saves For A Cure! Nathan Gerbe Autographed Stick, Stevie Johnson Autographed Jersey, 4 Vouchers for Amerks games will all be part of the Chinese Auction at the SFAC Benefit Dinner!

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SAVES FOR A CURE IN SUNYAC COLUMN

2011-12-01T10:11:00.001-05:00

In this week's SUNYAC column, Russel Jaslow looks at Saves For a Cure...

Todd Sheridan has never wavered from his true passion as a hockey player. It wasn’t the four years of playing goaltender at Brockport, or the year as their goaltending coach. His true passion has been the Saves For A Cure charity.

“I have to be active with Saves For A Cure!” Sheridan said. “It is one of the most important things to me.”

The goal for Saves For A Cure remains the same — to raise money to help make the hospital stays of young cancer victims a little more bearable. Last spring, Saves For A Cure replaced the floor in the Child Life Play Deck at the Galisano Childrens Hospital in Rochester, donating $15,000.

Read Russell's entire report here:

http://www.uscho.com/2011/12/01/todd-sheridans-passion-continues/

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MOVEMBER GOAL ACHIEVED

2011-11-30T15:46:00.002-05:00

The Golden Eagles made good on their goal to acquire $2,000 in donations for their Movember campaign. With only hours left in the month the team page shows $2,020 in donations!

Way to go, guys! Great job in drumming up support for the cause!

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CATCH TODD SHERIDAN ON THE BOB LONSBERRY SHOW

2011-11-30T14:49:00.000-05:00

Be sure to listen to the Bob Lonsberry Show Thursday on WHAM. Bob will be interviewing Brockport Hockey alumnus Todd Sheridan about Saves For A Cure and the upcoming weekend of fundraising. Todd will be on sometime during the hours of 11:00 and 2:00 (exact time is yet to be determined). In the Rochester area listen on air at 1180 AM. Elsewhere, listen online at www.wham1180.com

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STYLUS STORY ABOUT MOVEMBER

2011-11-30T06:38:00.000-05:00

Movember charity team fundraises for prostate cancer with help from mustaches
By Tim Fenster news editor

The mustaches that sprout up after Halloween do more than temporarily change the faces of some typically clean-shaven men. Movember, a world-wide charity movement driven by the concept of growing a mustache during the month of November, raised more than $7.5 million in 2010 for men's health groups, such as the Prostate Cancer Foundation, LIVESTRONG and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

College at Brockport students got involved by starting the Brockport Golden Eagles, a Movember team that has raised $1,829 as of press time Monday, Nov. 28.

"I think everyone did a good job sending the message to relatives and friends," said senior Adam Shoff, who is the team captain. "Anything we can do to raise money and awareness toward cancer is important to a lot of people."

The 28-member team is mainly comprised of Brockport men's hockey players. Every member of this sports team is growing facial hair and fundraising for the cause, Shoff said.

For senior goaltender Oliver Wren, who has raised $355 as of Monday, Nov. 28 — the most of anyone on the team — participation is part of hockey tradition.

"Lots of NHL franchises and teams have joined the cause for fighting against prostate cancer, so we felt like we could do our part," Wren said. "Lots of families have been affected by cancer [so] it was a no-brainer to do what we could to support the charity."

The team set an initial goal of $2,000. It remains to be seen if the team can pull together the less than $200 remaining between press time Monday, Nov. 28 and the fundraising deadline Thursday, Dec. 1.

"We felt that ($2,000) was a reasonable goal we could shoot for," Shoff said. "A lot of guys got money coming in, [so] I feel pretty optimistic about reaching our goal."

Donations have surged in recent weeks from a $200 total about midway through November, Shoff said.

For Wren, as well as many other Movember participants, the fight against cancer is a personal one.

"My grandfather passed away from cancer and my parents and grandmother both contributed [to Movember]," Wren said. "I thank my family and also my friends from home and from Brockport. A lot of guys are working hard to raise money."

The Wren family has donated hundreds to the cause, according to www.movember.com.

The Brockport men's hockey team is also working with Saves for a Cure, a Rochester-based nonprofit organization that helps patients with cancer.

When men's hockey takes on Morrisville Saturday, Dec. 3, they will be wearing specially designed Saves for a Cure jerseys that will be auctioned off to fundraise for the organization.

Some Movember participants may appreciate the shave that will precede this game.

However, one men's hockey player — the loser of an end-of-Movember shoot-out contest — will be stuck with the mustache until students leave for winter break, Shoff said.

Shoff hopes the Movember charity efforts will continue after the mustaches are trimmed.

"Hopefully it (Movember fundraising) will carry on (at Brockport) and get bigger as the years go by," he said.

To donate to Brockport's Movember team, go to www.movember.com and search for the Brockport Golden Eagles.

SAVES FOR A CURE WEEKEND COMING UP

2011-11-29T11:35:00.000-05:00

The College at Brockport Men's Ice Hockey team will host its' fourth annual Saves for a Cure game on Dec. 3 against Morrisville State in the Tuttle North Ice Arena at 7 pm.

Saves for a Cure is a charitable organization that was started by former Brockport standout goalie and assistant coach Todd Sheridan in 2007 to raise money to help children cope with the difficulties of cancer treatments throughout the Rochester area. Sheridan was 20 years old when he was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma in both his tongue and neck.

Sheridan's foundation consists of raising money through saves, meaning that any save made by a Brockport goalie during the season raises money through the donations of local businesses. In the first three years of existence, Saves for a Cure has raised over $17,000. The Brockport Athletic Department donates all ticket sales to the cause.

The team also raises money by auctioning off their customized jerseys and a benefit dinner. The dinner will be held at 58 Main Restaurant Bar and Smokin BBQ on Sunday, Dec. 4 from noon- 4 pm. The cost is $10 per plate. There will also be a Chinese Auction held at the benefit.

Players' jerseys are currently being auctioned off until 5 pm on Dec. 4. The jerseys are usually the biggest portion of money raised, including last years' total of $2,385. Winners of the auction will be announced Sunday night and will be contacted via e-mail.

A representative and cancer patient from the Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester was chosen for a celebrity puck drop to kick-off the game.

Auction website:

http://www.gobrockport.com/sports/2011/1/24/MHOCKEY_0124110742.aspx?id=37

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JAMES CODY: SUNYAC HOCKEY PLAYER OF THE WEEK

2011-11-28T15:39:00.000-05:00

The SUNYAC has announced the Men’s Ice Hockey Athlete of the Week honors for the week ending Nov. 27.

MEN’S ICE HOCKEY PLAYER – Brockport

James Cody (Schwenksville, PA), senior forward

James Cody scored four goals and added three assists on the weekend at the Skidmore College Invitational as Brockport finished 1-0-1. Saturday night Cody scored a power play goal late in the third period and then picked up a short-handed assist in the final two minutes as the Golden Eagles tied Hamilton 5-5. On Sunday, Cody netted a hat trick against Nichols College in a 7-3 win. He reached 50 career-goals and needs two points to reach the 100 point mark. Cody was named the All-Tournament team.

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JAMES CODY: BROCKPORT ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

2011-11-28T10:20:00.001-05:00

Senior forward James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) of The College at Brockport Men's Ice Hockey team has been named Male Athlete of the Week after helping the Golden Eagles to a 1-0-1 record over the weekend.

Participating in the Skidmore College Invitational Tournament in Saratoga Springs, Cody notched his 50th career goal as part of a hat trick in the consolation game on Sunday afternoon. Cody's three goals came in a 7-3 victory over Nichols College. He has moved into a tie for No. 6 on the all-time goals list, and needs only two points to reach the 100-career point mark.

In the first round of the tournament on Saturday, Cody and the Golden Eagles skated to a 5-5 tie with Hamilton College. Cody scored one goal and had three assists on the day. One of the assists came with 1:10 to play as Cody and Ian Finnerty (Ardmore, PA) fed Adam Shoff (Port Dover, ONT) to tie the game at five.

Cody's seven points over the weekend earned him a spot on the All-Tournament team. This is the second time this season Cody has been named Athlete of the Week at Brockport.

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CODY REACHES MILESTONE...WITH A HAT TRICK NO LESS!

2011-11-28T05:30:00.002-05:00

The Athletic Department reports on Sunday's win...

Senior James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) scored career goals number 48, 49 and 50 to lead The College at Brockport Hockey team to a 7-3 victory over Nichols College Sunday afternoon in the consolation game of the Skidmore College Invitational Tournament in Saratoga Springs.

Cody's 50 career goals ties him for No. 6 on the all-time list with Sean O'Neill who played in the mid-90's. He also moved closer to the 100-career point mark and stands at 98 points with 50 goals and 48 assists in his prolific career.

Brockport (2-6-2) fell behind allowing a pair of goals in the second period but used a power play goal by Cody with 3:30 left in the period to get the offense back on track. One minute later, freshman Troy Polino (Limerick, PA) scored on a wrap-around shot to tie the game at 2-2.

“I was impressed with the way (James) Cody stepped up his play especially with the way we had to change up the lines during the game,” said head coach Brian Dickinson. “He took it upon himself to carry the team and he really kept his composure and gave the team a great spark at the end of the second period and into the third.”

Early in the third period, Ian Finnerty (Ardmore, PA) was whistled with a major penalty and a game misconduct for hitting from behind leaving the Golden Eagles on a five-minute penalty kill. Cody stole a pass a minute into the man advantage and skated the length of the ice on a breakaway and scored with a shot to the glove side to give Brockport the 3-2 lead.

Two minutes later, Nichols had a player called for a contact to the head and game misconduct penalty giving Brockport the man advantage and sophomore Steve Sachman (Medford, NY) took advantage with a power play goal to stretch the lead to 4-2 with less than 13 minutes left in the third period.

After Nichols (1-5-1) scored to cut the lead to 4-3 at the midpoint of the period, Cody completed the hat trick as time was running down with 2:10 left in the period as he sent a wrist shot into the top corner of the goal.

Just 43 seconds later, Polino scored his second goal of the game with assists going to Sachman and Chris Cangro (Holbrook, NY) to make it a 6-3 Brockport lead. With 39 seconds remaining, Colby Spooner (Hilton, NY) netted his first goal of the season with assists from Brett Jendra (Bolingbrook, IL) and Alexander Quendler (Klosterneuberg, Austria) each picking up their first points of the season.

Freshman Aaron Green (Mt. Albert, ONT) made his first career start and stopped 18 shots to earn the victory. Jacob Rinn made 30 saves including 17 in the third period when Brockport held a 22-5 shots advantage.

“Aaron (Green) played a very good game with his first career start,” said Dickinson. “He didn't need to make a lot of saves but he made the ones we needed him to especially in the third period when we were only up a goal and they were on a power play.”

Brockport returns to action, Saturday, December 3 with a 7 pm game at home against Morrisville. The game has been designated as the Saves for a Cure benefit game. Brockport will be wearing special jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game. The on-line auction will run all week and end Sunday, December 4 at 5 pm.

Boxscore: http://www.uscho.com/box/mens-hockey/2011/11/27/brockport-vs-nichols/
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BROCKPORT TIES HAMILTON 5-5

2011-11-27T07:42:00.001-05:00

The Athletic Department offers this recap of Saturday's game...

Junior Nick Panepinto (Tonawanda, NY) scored two goals including a power play goal in the third period to lead The College at Brockport Hockey team to a 5-5 tie with Hamilton College Saturday night in the first round of the Skidmore College Invitational Tournament in Saratoga Springs.

Hamilton (1-1-1) advanced to the championship game with a 2-0 win in the penalty shot shootout to determine which team would advance on in the Tournament. Brockport (1-6-2) will play Nichols College at 1 pm Sunday in the consolation game and Hamilton will play Skidmore at 4 pm in the championship.

Brockport fell behind 2-0 after one period of play but battled back and trailed early in the third period by a 3-2 score when Panepinto scored his second goal of the game to knot the score at 3-3. Panepinto scored with a shot to the short side with Brockport on a power play and just less than 12 minutes to play in the period.

Hamilton scored just over a minute later on a power play of its own to regain the lead at 4-3 and the score remained there until Panepinto found himself in the mix again. This time, on another Brockport power play, Panepinto fed James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) of the corner of the crease and Cody jammed in the game-tying goal with just over five minutes to play in the third period.

“Nick (Panepinto) took his game to a new level tonight,” said head coach Brian Dickinson. “He outworked everyone on the ice and certainly came to play. He was our best player tonight.”

With two minutes remaining in the period, Hamilton used a 2-on-1 rush up the ice and a high shot to the glove side of goalie Joe Reagan (Yonkers, NY) for the 5-4 lead late in the period.

With the Continentals on a power play late in the period, Brockport called Reagan to the bench for the extra skater as Cody had his one-timer saved but Adam Shoff (Port Dover, ONT) was there to knock in the rebound and tie the score at 5-5 with 1:10 remaining in the period.

“I thought the way we kept coming back especially with the goal at the end showed great character,” said Dickinson. “(James) Cody and (Adam) Shoff showed great leadership on that shift because they were both out there for the penalty kill and had to dig deep for us.”

There was no scoring in the five minute overtime period and the game officially ended in a tie. In the shootout to determine which team would play for the championship against Skidmore, Hamilton scored on two of its three shots and Brockport was unable to score in its two shot. Brockport's third shot was unnecessary since Hamilton had the two-goal lead with one shot remaining.

Boxscore: http://www.uscho.com/box/mens-hockey/2011/11/26/brockport-vs-hamilton/

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BROCKPORT TO PLAY IN SKIDMORE INVITATIONAL

2011-11-25T06:39:00.004-05:00

Whereas most Brockport students are out of commission for 4 or 5 days, the hockey team, on the other hand, will be taking the ice over the holiday weekend. After practice sessions at Tuttle they are traveling to Saratoga Springs to play in the Skidmore Invitational.

The Golden Eagles will take on Hamilton at 5:00 PM on Saturday. Hamilton's season is young (1-1-0), but last year is a good gauge of what Brockport will face. In 2010-2011, the Hamilton College men's ice hockey team enjoyed its best season since the 1997-98 campaign. Hamilton finished with an overall record of 14-7-4. One of those road wins was against then-No. 1 SUNY Oswego on Dec. 30 as part of Oswego's PathFinder Bank Hockey Classic. The Lakers hadn't lost at home in their previous 25 games.

Their best scoring threat is Michael DiMare who was voted the NESCAC rookie of the year after 15 goals and 12 assists. 9 other players had 10 points (none more than 20). Their best player, All-American Joe Houk, didn't return for his junior year this year. The dynamic defenseman had a jaw dropping 17-16-33 line last season. Cam Gibbar and Joe Quattrocchi are the returning goalies. Both started three games last season and sported saves percentages in the .890s.

Depending on who wins this game and who wins the other Saturday match-up, Brockport will play either Nichols or Skidmore on Sunday to round out the tournament.

One Brockport player who should be watched is James Cody. He's 4 goals short of the 50 goal mark. It's not out of the question that he could reach that mark this weekend, or set himself up with 1 or 2 goals remaining to achieve that special milestone at either of the 2 home games in December.

Both Brockport games can be heard on WBSU at 89.1 FM and online at http://www.891thepoint.com/

Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone!

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SAVES FOR A CURE JERSEY AUCTION

2011-11-23T10:51:00.003-05:00

The 2011-12 Saves For a Cure jersey auction is live on the Brockport website. The Auction will end at 5 pm Sunday, December 4 with bids being accepted at the Spaghetti Dinner. The bids will be updated as often as possible.

The jerseys will be worn by the team for the December 3rd game against SUNYAC rival Morrisvile.

All proceeds benefit Saves For a Cure, which ultimately benefits area youth dealing with cancer.

Here is the link:

http://www.gobrockport.com/sports/2011/1/24/MHOCKEY_0124110742.aspx?path=mhockey

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SAVES FOR A CURE FLIER

2011-11-23T07:51:00.001-05:00

HART IS NAMED INTERIM AD

2011-11-22T09:48:00.000-05:00

Brockport, NY – The College at Brockport, State University of New York, announced today Athletic Director Noah LeFevre will leave the College and that current Associate Director of Athletics Erick Hart will become Interim Director of Athletics in mid-December.

LeFevre, who came to Brockport in July 2010 from New York University, has accepted a position at Manhattan College, a Division I program located in New York City.

“We wish Noah the best for the future as he returns to New York City. I thank him for all that’s been accomplished at Brockport under his AD leadership from introducing a new brand for Golden Eagle Athletics to exponential increases in fund-raising for our Golden Eagle society” said College President John R. Halstead. “We’re extremely fortunate that we have a highly qualified Interim Athletic Director on our staff in the person of Associate AD Hart. Erick has extensive experience in supervising intercollegiate athletics teams, facilities management, and events planning and knows SUNYAC well.”

The College competes in 23 men’s and women’s sports at the Division III level. Current facility improvements include renovation of the Tuttle Athletic Complex, construction of the $44 million Special Events Recreation Center, and the installation of turf fields. Additionally, the commitment of Brockport’s student-athletes goes beyond the classrooms and playing fields. Community service activities support organizations in both the Village of Brockport and Greater Rochester, with one example being raising $20,000 over the past four years for Saves for a Cure, a not-for-profit started by a former Golden Eagle Hockey player and cancer survivor.

Hart joined Brockport in July 2011 after previously serving as an Assistant Athletic Director at New Paltz since 2007. There he developed policies and procedures for a new Athletics and Wellness Center, created an operations plan for all athletic facilities and devised both an emergency action plan for the athletics department and an event management manual for athletic contests. Hart has also worked at Seton Hall University and Misericordia (PA) University.

“When I came to Brockport, I arrived with a desire to help re-establish the preeminence of one of the standout programs in the SUNYAC as well as in the northeast region and the nation,” Hart said. “Now with this new opportunity, I want to promote the hard work that takes place on behalf of the student-athletes and coaches at our institution within the overall mission of the college. Athletics is not more important but has a different importance from other educational experiences our students have throughout their time at our institution.”

Hart earned his B.S. in Sport and Recreation Management from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford in 2002, and received his M.Ed. in Sport Administration from Millersville (PA) University in 2003.

Associate Director of Athletics Susan Hoffman and Assistant Director of Athletics Jessica Wheeler will assist Hart in advancing the Athletics program and maintaining momentum on several important initiatives.

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SAVES FOR A CURE DINNER: DECEMBER 4th

2011-11-21T11:23:00.003-05:00

Save yourself a plate at the second annual Saves For a Cure Benefit Dinner!

It will be held Sunday, December 4th from noon till 4:00pm at 58 Main Restaurant Bar & Smokin BBQ, just north of the lift bridge.

Dinner Includes:

Pasta with Meatballs
Salad
Bread and Butter
Non-alcoholic Fountain Drink

Dine-in or take-out available.

There will also be a Chinese Auction!

This event is being coordinated by The College at Brockport Recreational Services Student Supervisors. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased from a Recreation Student Supervisor or at the HUB office. For more information please call the Hub office at (585) 395-5051.

All proceeds go to Saves For a Cure, the local Non- Profit organization started by former Brockport Goalie, Todd Sheridan. Proceeds are donated to local childrens cancer facilities.

Come on out and support this wonderful cause!

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NEWSPAPER RECAP OF POTSDAM GAME

2011-11-21T05:42:00.001-05:00

North Country This Week recaps the Saturday game against the Bears...

Potsdam senior captain Sy Nutkevitch (Montreal, Quebec/Cornwall Colts) and sophomore forward Adam Place (Scarborough, Ontario/Bowmansville Eagles) each recorded two goals and two assists to lead the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (4-3, 3-3 SUNYAC) to a 5-3 win over Brockport (1-6-1, 1-5-1).

Bears freshman forward Trevor Cope (Swartz Creek, Mich./Atlanta Jr. Knights) also had a four-point night with a goal and three assists.

Potsdam opened the game with a fast pace and scored the first goal just 2:31 into the contest.

Nutkevitch scored on a rebound off a shot from Cope. Potsdam then successfully killed a 1:47 five-on-three power play at the 10:24 mark, but Brockport picked up some momentum. At 15:22, Golden Eagle sophomore forward Chris Cangro (Holbrook, N.Y./N.Y. Bobcats) poked home a rebound to tie the score.

The Bears ramped up their play in the second period and scored three straight goals in the in the first five minutes. Cope found the net 1:26 into the period. Place scored the next two at 3:38 and 5:13 to increase the lead to 4-1. At 9:21, junior defenseman Mike Hayward (Toronto, Ontario/Vaughan Vipers) scored a power-play goal to get Brockport back to within 4-2. The teams traded penalties for the rest of the period and the score remained the same into the second intermission.

After Golden Eagle sophomore defenseman Patrick Hayden (Springfield, Pa./Philadelphia Little Flyers) was whistled for a boarding major and a game misconduct, the Potsdam offense picked up again. Nutkevitch scored his second of the contest at 2:34. Less than two minutes later Brockport senior forward James Cody (Schwenksville, Pa./Philadelphia Little Flyers) cut the lead to 5-3 on the power play. Over the game’s final 15 minutes, 10 penalties were called, but the Golden Eagles got no closer.

Bears freshman goalie Dylan Ellis (Oakville, Ontario/Aurora Panthers) made 37 saves, including 17 in the final period, to pick up his third win of the season. Brockport senior goalie Oliver Wren (Oakville, Ontario/Oakville Blades) finished with 32 saves.

Potsdam was 1-3 on the power play and the Golden Eagles finished 2-11.

“I was extremely happy with how our guys responded to Brockport’s challenges tonight,” said Bears Head Coach Chris Bernard. “Our guys come to the rink and want to get better every day. They work hard every day and put the team before themselves.”

Bernard was especially pleased with Nutkevitch and his freshman goaltender.

“That’s why he’s our captain,” added Bernard. “He’s a two-way player and he can do it all. I think Dylan Ellis made every big save for us he could all weekend and gave the defense confidence to do its job.

Source:

http://northcountrynow.com/news-sports/suny-potsdsam-bears-mens-hockey-team-grounds-golden-eagles-5-3-043501

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MORE ABOUT MOVEMBER

2011-11-20T09:00:00.001-05:00

The Atheltics Department reports on the team's Movember drive...

That loud scratching noise you have been hearing around the Tuttle North Athletic Complex might just be coming from The College at Brockport Hockey team locker room since the entire team is working on the growth of mustaches for the annual Movember cancer awareness and fundraising effort.

The team – headed by Team Captain Adam Shoff (Port Dover, ONT) - started the month clean shaven and is in the midst of a team competition to find out who can grow the best mustache during the month of November. The national Movember campaign started several years ago with groups of men dedicating the entire month to mustache growth for cancer awareness.

The Golden Eagles joined the effort this year and have set a fundraising goal of $2,000 through on-line pledges and donations at their designated team site at:

http://us.movember.com/mospace/1919361/ .

“Over the last few years cancer has been close to our team,” said Shoff. “Most of us played with Todd Sheridan and continue to help with his Saves For a Cure campaign to raise money after he survived a bout with cancer and just this summer EJ Maguire (a former Brockport player, coach and recently inducted into the Golden Eagle Athletic Hall of Fame) passed away after a courageous battle with the disease.”

Sheridan's foundation – Saves For a Cure – has raised nearly $20,000 in the past four years with money being donated to the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center in Rochester.

The players will be collecting donations on the website for the remainder of the month with hopes of not only reaching their goal but surpassing it.

On December 3, when the Golden Eagles take on Morrisville, the players will be wearing specially designed Saves For a Cure jerseys for the fourth straight year in the annual fundraising effort for Sheridan's foundation. The jerseys will be auctioned off and other donations will be collected for the cause.

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PRESS-REPUBLICAN RECAP OF PLATTSBURGH GAME

2011-11-20T08:57:00.001-05:00

Plattsburgh's local paper wrote the following about Friday's game....

Ryan Farnan tallied three consecutive goals in the second period as Plattsburgh State showed off its offensive skills by piling up six goals Friday.

But coach Bob Emery was more impressed with the ones Brockport didn't score.

The Cardinals, who came in averaging three goals against per game, allowed just one for a 6-1 SUNY Athletic Conference men's hockey win in their first home game of the season.

Nick Jensen scored twice for Plattsburgh (4-1), and Matt MacLeod added another.

"I think we played pretty smart as a team," Emery said. "I told the guys when it was 3-0, 'I don't care how many goals we get; I care how many they get.' Because I think that the focus has to be defense. And I thought we played good defensive hockey only giving up one goal."

The sixth-ranked Cardinals host Geneseo tonight.

With his team already up 2-0, Farnan broke the game open in the second period. He took a feed from Kyle Kudroch on a rush and scored from the right doorstep less than five minutes in. The sophomore forward then banged in a rebound from the left side and later deked his way past a defenseman and threaded the puck into the top right corner.

"The third one, I was actually hearing coach yell, 'Change,' and I had a lot of speed and I saw their D was kinda on the back ... And I caught him on his heels, made one move and luckily got around him," Farnan said. "That was the best goal of the three for sure."

The natural hat trick took just under six minutes.

Troy Polino put Brockport (1-5-1, 1-4-1 SUNYAC) on the board with a shot from the side of the net with 6:41 left in the period.

Jensen put one in 13 seconds into the third after Brockport's Oliver Wren couldn't cover up the puck.

Then the parade to the penalty box started. Kudroch was ejected less than two minutes in after a collision at the boards. He was issued a five-minute major for hitting from behind and a game misconduct.

Later, Brockport's Adam Shoff drew a double minor for roughing before teammate Mike Hayward was sent to the locker room with a contact-to-the-head major and a game misconduct. Shoff served Hayward's penalty, meaning he spent nine minutes in the box, almost consecutively.

The teams combined for 40 minutes of penalties in the period.

"I think for the most part we played disciplined," Emery said. "It was a bad hit from behind, and we just can't have that. We can't have that at all."

He added that the Cardinals were fortunate they already had a sizeable lead when they had to kill of the five-minute power play.

Mathieu Cadieux, making his second start, stopped 22 shots to earn the win. Sam Foley made his first appearance of the season midway through the third.

"I thought (Cadieux) did what he had to do, and I thought we did a good job clearing out pucks in front of the net," Emery said.

Wren had 53 saves.

Jensen lifted a shot past him just 26 seconds into the game, and Matt MacLeod skated in alone and potted a shorthanded goal with 4:21 to go in the first period.

Plattsburgh pelted the net with 25 shots in the period and ended the game with a 59-26 advantage.

Source: http://pressrepublican.com/0302_college/x1022082213/Cardinals-roll-past-Brockport

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BROCKPORT GOES 0 FOR 2 ON THE WEEKEND

2011-11-20T08:42:00.003-05:00

The Golden Eagles return from their North Country road trip winless.

Here's the Atletic Department's recap of Friday's affair against Plattsburgh...

Senior Oliver Wren (Oakville, ONT) made a career-high 53 saves and freshman Troy Polino (Limerick, PA) scored his first career goal but two early goals and a three-goal second period led to a 6-1 loss in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game Friday night to Plattsburgh, ranked No. 4 in the latest US College Hockey Online (USCHO) poll, at the Stafford Ice Arena in Plattsburgh.

Plattsburgh (4-1-0 Overall, 4-1 SUNYAC) wasted little time getting on the board scoring with just 26 seconds elapsed in the game for the early 1-0 lead. Late in the first period, the Cardinals took a 2-0 lead with a power play goal.

In the second period, Plattsburgh's Ryan Farnan scored three consecutive goals to stretch the lead to 5-0.

Polino netted his first goal as Golden Eagle at the 13:19 mark of the second period with a shot from the point trimming the lead to 5-1 but Plattsburgh added one more goal early in the third period to make it a 6-1 lead.

A period full of penalties but only the one goal ended the game as each team racked up double digit penalty minutes over the final 20 minutes of action.

Wren finished with 53 saves including 19 in the first period of play.

“(Oliver) Wren was our only player out there tonight,” said head coach Brian Dickinson. “Without Wren, this game could have been 16-1. We were coming off a great win (over Geneseo last Friday) and we didn't perform well at all. We gave them too much space and they are a dangerous team when that happens.”

Box score: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/1112/boxes/mbrcplt1.n18

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Here's the Athletic Department's analysis of Saturday's game against the Potsdam Bears...

Senior James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) scored a goal in the third period to attempt to fuel a comeback, but The College at Brockport Men's Hockey team fell short at Potsdam 5-3 on Saturday night. Cody and junior Mike Hayward (Toronto, ONT) both had a goal and an assist on the night.

Both teams scored a goal in the first period, but the Bears scored three goals within the first 5:13 of the second period to pull away early. Hayward added his goal in the second period to make it 4-2. Potsdam scored its' fifth and final goal in the third period before Brockport attempted to climb back into the game.

James Cody appeared to have scored a goal early in the third period that was disallowed by the officials. Potsdam's goalie Dylan Ellis seemed to have made a save but dropped the puck across the line to signal a goal, however the officials made the call that Ellis controlled possession of the puck before it crossed the line. Three minutes later, Cody found the back of the net on an assist from Hayward on a power play to make the score 5-3.

At the 7:30 mark, Cody and sophomore Chris Cangro (Holbrook, NY) took four shots on net on a Brockport power play in a thirty-second barrage as the Golden Eagles battled for a loose puck in front of the Potsdam net. Cangro scored the initial goal in the first period with an assist from Steve Sachman for the Golden Eagles to notch the score at one all.

Power play was the common theme for Brockport as Potsdam committed 16 penalties on the night. The Golden Eagles had a 5-3 advantage in the closing minutes of the game before time ran out.

“We wanted to keep pressuring them” said head coach Brian Dickinson. “We knew they were a very young team that would commit a lot of penalties. Heading into the third period, we just wanted to continue to work hard and keep pressuring them.”

Senior Oliver Wren (Oakville, ONT) made several spectacular saves in net for Brockport. Wren was credited with 32 saves on the night.

Box Score: http://collegehockeystats.net/1112/boxes/mbrcpot1.n19

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LOOKING AHEAD AT THE POTSDAM GAME

2011-11-18T07:47:00.001-05:00

Brockport completes the North Country road trip with a visit to Potsdam on Saturday. What can you expect? Listen to the podcast preview by Potsdam's WPDM here:

http://www.potsdambears.com/sports/2011/10/18/MHOCKEY_1018113437.aspx?id=49

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PLATTSBURGH'S QUESTION MARK AT GOAL

2011-11-18T05:51:00.002-05:00

Tonight the Golden Eagles head off to Plattsburgh. The Press-Republican today reports on the question marks at goal possessed by the Cardinals, which bode well for this high-scoring Brockport team. This is certainly the best chance that our seniors have had to beat Plattsburgh during their collegiate careers....

Josh Leis was Plattsburgh State's main goaltender last year, but when the Cardinals played their first game of the 2011-12 campaign, it was newcomer Mathieu Cadieux in net.

Leis knew he would have to fight for his place between the pipes.

"We're all here to push each other. It's not just you come in and you get your spot guaranteed," the junior said. "You gotta work for it as well, every year. So it's good competition and, I mean, competition pushes everyone to be better."

Plattsburgh State (3-1), ranked No. 6 in the USCHO.com Division III Men's Poll, plays its home opener tonight against Brockport before hosting Geneseo for another SUNY Athletic Conference game Saturday.

Leis and Cadieux have both played in the early part of the season, and coach Bob Emery said he's not necessarily intent on finding a clear No. 1.

The article goes on to mention Cadieux's record...

He made 31 saves in the Cardinals' season-opening 6-4 win at Morrisville and then saw Leis start the next three games. Last Saturday, Cadieux relieved Leis early in the second period against Buffalo State and was credited with the loss. He sports a 3.23 GAA and a .902 save percentage.

As for Leis...

The Kitchener, Ontario, native played a strong game to beat Potsdam in his first start this season, allowing just one late goal, and earned a win at Fredonia before giving up three goals in just over 25 minutes Saturday. He boasts a 2.89 GAA and a .875 save percentage.

Read the entire article here:

http://pressrepublican.com/0300_sports/x1022081866/Leis-Cadieux-competing-for-time-in-net

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THE MOVEMBER LOOK AT THE HALFWAY POINT

2011-11-17T11:08:00.003-05:00

STYLUS RECAP OF GENESEO GAME

2011-11-16T05:47:00.001-05:00

Brockport hockey upsets bitter rival Geneseo for first win
By Andy Lipari Senior Writer

Brockport got its first win of the season last Friday, Nov. 11 with a major upset at Geneseo, defeating the Blue Knights 6-1.

The story so far for Brockport (1-3-1 SUNYAC, 1-4-1 overall) this season has been the team's struggles on special teams. Therefore it isn't a coincidence the Eagles scored twice on the power play in the victory, showing they've been working hard on the issue in practice.

More importantly, they only took three penalties the entire game, scoring once shorthanded.

Brockport gave up the first goal on the power play. They have had a problem this season stopping the bleeding after giving up a goal, but senior goaltender Oliver Wren and the defense in front of him shut Geneseo down for the rest of the game. They held Geneseo to 13 shots through the first two periods.

Sophomore Mike Hollander scored late in the first to tie it 1-1 after a period.

Freshman Troy Polino scored his first goal of the year 1:30 into the second period. Senior James Cody found the back of the net to score his fourth of the season and junior Mike Hayward scored on a power play with 22 seconds left, giving Brockport a 4-1 lead after two periods.

While Brockport has given up several leads this year, they didn't do so this game. Sophomore Steve Sachman scored twice in the third period, one on the power play and another short-handed.

With their first win out of the way, Brockport can start looking at the standings a little more seriously. They will have to earn points next weekend against Plattsburgh and Potsdam to move up in a competitive SUNYAC.

Source:

http://www.thestylus.net/brockport-hockey-upsets-bitter-rival-geneseo-for-first-win-1.2700191

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THE COST OF BROCKPORT HOCKEY

2011-11-16T05:41:00.002-05:00

Today's Democrat and Chronicle features a story about the new DIII program at Nazareth. The article looks at the cost of local programs....

In the 2010-11 school year, SUNY Geneseo spent $76,184 on hockey out of a $2.8 million athletic budget. This does not include coaches' salaries.

The College at Brockport spent $81,256 (out of $3.3 million) and Hobart spent $51,568 (out of $2.6 million). In each case, the hockey budget was between 2 and 2.7 percent of the overall athletic budget.

RIT spent $294,432 for its Division I men's hockey team, including travel costs, out of a 2010-11 budget of $4 million.

Nazareth's overall athletic budget for that same academic year was $2.5 million. Bothner says he expects the hockey budget to be around $80,000 for the first year, and it will be money well invested.

"We looked at it like, 'OK, we're going to bring in 25-28 kids who wouldn't be at Naz otherwise," he says. "If you figure in the average amount of tuition they pay, you don't lose money."

Read the entire article here:

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20111116/SPORTS09/111160321/Nazareth-hockey-looking-forward-to-first-season?odyssey=tab|mostpopular|text|SPORTS

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SUPPORT THE GOLDEN EAGLES IN MOVEMBER

2011-11-15T10:26:00.002-05:00

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in the US and around the world. With their Mo’s, these men raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.

Once registered at www.movember.com, men start Movember 1st clean shaven. For the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.

Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions and words they raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.

The funds raised in the US support prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men. The funds raised are directed to programs run directly by Movember and their men’s health partners, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG, the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Together, the three channels work together to ensure that Movember funds are supporting a broad range of innovative, world-class programs in line with their strategic goals in the areas of awareness and education, survivorship and research.

No matter the country or city, Movember will continue to work to change established habits and attitudes men have about their health, to educate men about the health risks they face, and to act on that knowledge, thereby increasing the chances of early detection, diagnosis and effective treatment.

In 2010, over 64,500 US Mo Bros and Mo Sistas got on board, raising $7.5 million USD.

The Golden Eagles ice hockey team have taken it upon themselves to sprout facial hair for this worthy cause.

So far, 14 of them are registered on the website and to date the team has earned $235 in donations, led by Oliver Wren whose hirsute mug has been rewarded with $155!

To make a donation to the war against cancer in name of the Golden Eagles or any one of them, check out this webpage:

http://us.movember.com/mospace/1919361/

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SACHMAN IS SUNYAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

2011-11-15T05:44:00.000-05:00

The SUNYAC has announced the fourth week of Men’s Ice Hockey Athlete of the Week honors. Morrisville earned Rookie and Goalie recognition, while Brockport took Player of the Week.

MEN’S ICE HOCKEY PLAYER – Brockport

Steve Sachman, (Medford, NY), sophomore forward

Sophomore Steve Sachman scored two goals in 6-1 victory for The College at Brockport Hockey team Friday night in a SUNYAC game against #14 Geneseo on the road. It was the first win of the season for the Golden Eagles. Sachman netted a power play goal midway through the third period and then, 1:30 later, scored a short-handed goal for his second and third goals of the season.

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ALUMNUS LoCICERO NAMED LAW FIRM ASSOCIATE

2011-11-13T07:05:00.002-05:00

We always like sharing the professional and personal news about Brockport Hockey alumni. Here's a blurb that ran in today's Buffalo News, regarding Nick LoCicero who played for the college in the mid-1990s...

Buffalo-based law offices of Cohen& Lombardo appointed Nicholas G. LoCicero an associate. LoCicero, who played professional hockey in the East Coast Hockey League, previously was a law clerk in the New York State Supreme Court and worked at a general practice firm. He earned his J. D. from the University at Buffalo School of Law and received his B. S. from Brockport State College.

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BROCKPORT TROUNCES 14th RANKED GENESEO

2011-11-12T07:20:00.002-05:00

Sophomore Steve Sachman (Medford, NY) scored two third period goals to seal a 6-1 victory for The College at Brockport Hockey team Friday night in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game in Geneseo.

Brockport (1-4-1 Overall, 1-3-1 SUNYAC) fell behind in the first period when Geneseo (3-3-0, 3-2-0) scored on a power play with less than six minutes to play in the opening period.

Three minutes later, sophomore Mike Hollander (Thornhill, ONT) scored his first goal as a Golden Eagle to tie the score as the evenly played first period ended in a 1-1 tie.

In the second period, Brockport wasted little time in taking the lead as freshman Troy Polino (Limerick, PA) scored his first collegiate goal giving the Golden Eagles a 2-1 lead just 1:30 into the second stanza.

With Brockport holing the one goal lead until late in the period, the Golden Eagles started to pull away in the final minutes of the period as senior James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) and junior defenseman Mike Hayward (Toronto, ONT) scored two minutes apart in the closing three minutes of the period for a 4-1 Brockport lead after 40 minutes of action.

Sachman added a power play goal midway through the third period and then, 1:30 later, scored a short-handed goal to make it a 6-1 Brockport lead. Both of Sachman's goals were unassisted.

Brockport was 2-for-6 on the man advantage and took just three penalties in the game limiting Geneseo to two power play opportunities.

Ian Finnerty (Ardmore, PA) and Brendon Rothfuss (Webster, NY) added two assists each while Chris Cangro (Holbrook, NY), Adam Shoff (Port Dover, ONT) and Bobby Conner (Lititz, PA) contributed one assist each for the Brockport offense.

Senior Oliver Wren (Oakville, ONT) made 27 saves including 15 in the third period to record his first win of the season.

Boxscore: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/1112/boxes/mbrcgen1.n11

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OSWEGO'S BOORISH BEHAVIOR

2011-11-11T05:46:00.002-05:00

Last weekend the Brockport hockey team was subjected to something more than the ordinary chant at Oswego. The student section blasted them with "F" word repeatedly. That total lack of class was blasted itself by a letter to the editor by Greg Auleta in the Oswegonian, the school's student newspaper...

I don’t think anyone would deny that Oswego has a great hockey tradition. Since the mid 60s we have had an unbroken string of outstanding coaches, awesome players and, of course, committed fans. And with the arrival of the Campus Center Arena, we can legitimately say we have a classy place to play. Regrettably, at Saturday’s game against the College at Brockport, we fell from our classy pedestal into the pit of adolescence and vulgarity with the student section’s unfortunate regression and retreat to language worthy of street corner bullies or children just learning that some swear words really do offend. I am speaking, of course, of the “F U Brockport” chant, which arose more than once in the course of the game.

To be sure, our traditional raspberries after opposing teams’ penalties or after we score a goal are pretty tough, but they have a tradition here, though even they walk that fine line of acceptability. But I don’t think anyone can say that throwing out the “F” bomb truly has any place either in taunting our opposition or as a representation of the quality of our school, our team or our community. “F U Brockport” does everything but paint Oswego as classy; frankly, it makes us sound pretty pedestrian and adolescent. Is this really the best we can come up with?
Of course, there is also the inevitability of the referees imposing a “bench penalty” for such chants, and I am confident that this would happen soon if this pattern continues, for no one can argue that such a chant falls under the heading of good sportsmanship, however difficult that term may be to define. To adapt the phrasing of one of our chants, whose fault would it be then – especially if we lose the game because of a goal scored when we were a player down?

Unfortunately, another inevitability would be the imposition of sanctions by the college authorities on those who are identified as engaging in such behavior, and I doubt very much the defense of “free speech,” just being a fan or everyone else was doing it will go very far. There is no right to yell “F U Brockport” or any other school or player.

Oswego should rightly be proud of its hockey team, its facilities and its fans, for they aspire to meet the highest standards. Let’s yell and scream and chant all we want, but let’s not pretend that “F U” has anything to do with class or with being a winner.

Source:

http://www.oswegonian.com/opinion/letters-to-editor/2231/letter-to-the-editor-11112011/

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HOCKEY PLAYERS PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNITY SERVICE

2011-11-07T05:30:00.003-05:00

The first Sunday of November can mean only one thing for the more than 200 student-athletes from The College at Brockport: It’s time for the annual community-wide leaf raking project.

Members of the Golden Eagles’ 23 varsity sports teams banded together to help Brockport residents with cleaning up their yards of leaves during the State University of New York Athletic Conference’s (SUNYAC) fifth-annual leaf raking project. Most of those lawns belonged to senior citizens.

The photos above show the hockey team at work.

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WNYO HIGHLIGHTS FROM OSWEGO GAME

2011-11-07T05:28:00.000-05:00

OSWEGONIAN RECAP OF SATURDAY'S GAME

2011-11-06T06:25:00.001-05:00

The Oswegonian is the student newspaper of SUNY Oswego. Here's their recap of the game...

The Oswego State men’s ice hockey team scored early and never looked back, defeating the College at Brockport, 7-1, Saturday night at the Campus Center Ice Arena.

Junior forward and assistant captain Jon Whitelaw scored twice and junior goaltender Dan Jones recorded 27 saves in his first appearance in net this season for the Lakers.

The Lakers (5-1-0 overall, 3-0-0 SUNYAC) jumped out of the gate, scoring two quick goals in the first 1:34 of the game to take an early 2-0 lead on the Golden Eagles. Junior forward and assistant captain Jon Whitelaw tallied the team’s first goal on the first shot of the game for the Lakers just 40 seconds into regulation. Junior forward Paul Rodrigues sent a cross-ice pass from right to left to Whitelaw, who rocketed a one-timer past Brockport goalie Joe Reagan stick side.

Junior forward Matt Singleton gave the Lakers a two-goal lead at 1:34 of the first period. Freshman defenseman Nick Rivait found Singleton in front of the net, where Singleton was able to knock the puck past Reagan for the goal. The goal was Singleton’s second in as many games. Junior forward Chris Ayotte was awarded the second assist on the play.

The Golden Eagles (0-4-1 overall, 0-3-1 SUNYAC) settled down after the first two minutes, keeping the Lakers from breaking the game open prior to the game’s first intermission. Oswego State was called for five penalties in the first period, including an insportsmanlike bench minor penalty on head coach Ed Gosek after junior forward Paul Rodrigues was called for boarding 30 seconds earlier. Brockport was unable to capitalize on the 5-on-3 advantage, as Dan Jones kept the Golden Eagles off the scoreboard. The Golden Eagles finished with 13 shots in the first period, 10 of which came on the power play.

Oswego State again struck early to begin the second period, scoring its third goal of the game at 5:31 of the frame on Ayotte’s second goal of the season and second point of the game. Ayotte’s goal came as the result of a redirection off junior defenseman Tim Carr’s shot. Carr wristed a shot from outside the right faceoff circle that Ayotte was able to get a stick on and redirect the puck through the legs of Reagan.

The Lakers controlled the second period, outshooting the Golden Eagles 19-6. Junior defenseman Jesse McConney took a 10-minute misconduct penalty late in the period after being called for an interference penalty. The Lakers were able to kill off the interference penalty, as Brockport’s power play went 0-for-6 on the man advantage through two periods.

For the third consecutive period, the Lakers wasted no time seizing the momentum, scoring 1:21 into the frame on junior forward Luke Moodie’s one-timer goal from the slot. Junior defenseman Zach Josepher passed the puck behind the net to Rodrigues, who found Moodie in the slot, who one-timed a shot past Reagan stick side top shelf to give the Lakers a four-goal lead early in the third period.

Sophomore forward Kyle Badham scored the team’s fifth goal of the game on a wrap around shot at 5:50 of the third period. Badham took a pass from sophomore forward David Titanic behind the net and skated in front of the net to the left of Reagan, who went down to take away a low shooting angle. Badham instead went high with the shot, shooting the puck over the shoulder of Reagan and into the back of the net.

The Lakers would tally a power-play goal from Rodrigues and Whitelaw’s second goal of the game before the end of the game.

Oswego State outshot the Golden Eagles 50-28 for the game including 38-15 over the course of the final two periods.

The Golden Eagles would prevent the shut out, as Bobby Conner scored Brockport’s lone goal of the game with 1:43 remaining in the game.

The Lakers will host Morrisville State College on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Campus Center Ice Arena.

Reagan finished with 43 saves on 50 shots faced in a losing effort for the Golden Eagles

Source: http://www.oswegonian.com/sports/mens-hockey-blog/2142/oswegobrockport/

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OSWEGO BEATS BROCKPORT 7-1

2011-11-06T06:13:00.001-05:00

The Atheltic Department's recap of Saturday's game....

For the first two periods of action, The College at Brockport Hockey team played within striking distance of Oswego, ranked No. 2 in the latest national poll. In the third period, the Lakers score four times including two power play goals to post a 7-1 victory Saturday night in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game in Oswego.

Sophomore Bobby Conner (Lititz, PA) scored the only goal for Brockport (0-4-1 Overall, 0-3-1 SUNYAC) coming in the third period with 1:53 left in regulation. Conner was assisted by Adam Shoff (Port Dover, ONT) and Mike Hollander (Thornhill, ONT).

Oswego (5-1, 4-1) scored two early goals in the first period with one coming at the 41 second mark and the second less than a minute later for a 2-0 lead before two minutes had elapsed in the contest. The score remained 2-0 until the second period when Oswego upped its lead to 3-0 with a goal at the 5:31 mark of the period.

With the score 3-0 at the start of the third period, Brockport surrendered a powerplay goal 1:21 into the period and then an even strength goal four minutes later as the Lakers built a 5-0 lead. At 8:30, Oswego made it a 6-0 lead with its second power play goal of the period and added the final goal four minutes later.

Sophomore Joe Reagan (Yonkers, NY) made 43 saves as Brockport was outshot 50-38 in the game.

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BROCKPORT LOSES IN WILD 7-5 GAME

2011-11-05T06:58:00.001-04:00

The recap from the Athletic Department...

Junior Ian Finnerty (Ardmore, PA) scored the only goal of the first period for The College at Brockport Hockey team before the Golden Eagles and Cortland exploded for nine goals in the second period Friday night in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game in Cortland. The Red Dragons scored the only two goals in the third period – one on an empty net – to post a 7-5 come-from-behind win.

Sophomore Brendon Rothfuss (Webster, NY) scored 22 seconds into the second period to give Brockport (0-3-1 Overall, 0-2-1 SUNYAC) a 2-0 lead but Cortland (2-1, 1-1) answered with two goals in a span of just five seconds less than two minutes later to tie the score at 2-2 just 2:02 into the wild second period.

Senior James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) scored a power play goal only seconds after Cortland had fought off a 5-on-3 power play situation to give Brockport a 3-2 advantage.

Cortland scored a few minutes later on a 5-on-3 power play of its own and then took a 4-3 lead three minutes later with another man advantage goal.

Rothfuss scored his second goal of the period a minutes later and the game was tied again, this time at 4-4.

Freshman Marcus Farmer (Caledron, ONT) scored his first career goal tipping in a shot from near the corner of the ice for a 5-4 Golden Eagle lead but Cortland tied it up again before the end of the period and the teams went into the second intermission with a 5-5 tie after the nine-goal second period.

In the third, Cortland took the 6-5 lead four minutes into the stanza and added an empty-net goal in the final minute of play after Brockport called a time out and pulled goalie Oliver Wren (Oakville, ONT) for the extra attacker.

Wren made 31 saves on the night and Rothfuss ended up with two goals and one assist for the Brockport offense.

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STYLUS COLUMNIST DISCUSSES GOLDEN EAGLES

2011-11-03T07:52:00.003-04:00

This week's Stylus also featured a column by hockey beat writer Andy Lipari...

Lip Slip: Brockport hockey shows two sides over weekend
By Andy Lipari

After watching Brockport's hockey team during the weekend, I think it's going to be an interesting season. I'm still not quite sure what to expect and the two different teams that showed up last weekend didn't sway me one way or the other.

I saw a team Friday, Oct. 28 that looked like a team that could do some damage in the SUNYAC conference. They played the type of game they need to play to win in this league. They were physical, they blocked what seemed like every other shot and Oliver Wren played great in goal. As he simply said about the defense creating lanes for him, "I see the puck, I stop the puck."

Wren was the reason the game remained tied through overtime. Since he won't take any credit, I'll give him some. He made a couple of saves in overtime where he had to range over to stop the puck from going into an open net.

Brockport played a type of game against Fredonia that would win nine out of 10 games they play. They had four bad minutes that cost them an extra point, but they looked like the better team Friday.

I don't know if Brockport was tired or sore from Friday's game, but they looked like a different team against Buffalo State. I can't say they didn't show up, because they started the way they finished on Friday. They scored first so it's not like their heads weren't in the game.

That might be why it's so puzzling watching them lose as they did to Buffalo State. Brockport didn't perform the "dirty work" they did against Fredonia and the scoreboard reflected that. It wasn't a lack of effort, but they didn't play as physically and they didn't block nearly as many shots.

I didn't think Buffalo State looked like a team that was seven goals better than Brockport, but the scoreboard doesn't lie. For the first couple of goals I found myself saying, "How did the puck get through there?" But after four or five, it's not a fluke anymore.

Special teams has been an issue early this season. Brockport is 2 for 17 on the power play and their opponents are seven for 15. Brockport has had three two-man advantages and have not converted on any of them. Those numbers will need to be switched if Brockport wants to make it back to the playoffs.

Luckily for Brockport, their next game is at Cortland. Brockport has had a lot of success against Cortland, including winning three out of four the past two years. I don't think they could ask for a better opponent to shrug this loss off.

Unfortunately for Brockport, their only remaining home game this semester is in December against Morrisville. Head Coach Brian Dickinson said they would like to have a more even schedule, but that's the hand they've been given.

The flipside of the schedule is it will be home-heavy as the games become more important. I think it's better having the schedule the way it is than having a majority of the home games early.

Brockport needs to beat Cortland this weekend because it's going to be hard to find points in their following three games at Oswego, at Geneseo and at Plattsburgh, all in a row.

We saw how Brockport is capable of playing. They just have to remember there are no off nights in the SUNYAC conference.

Source:

http://www.thestylus.net/lip-slip-brockport-hockey-shows-two-sides-over-weekend-1.2677051

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STYLUS RECAP OF LAST WEEKEND'S GAMES

2011-11-03T07:46:00.001-04:00

Brockport hockey on wrong end of a scoring frenzy with tie to Fredonia and loss to Buffalo State
By Andy Lipari

Brockport's hockey team was a true Jekyll and Hyde this Halloween weekend. What looked like tale of two different teams in the same jersey ended with a 4-4 tie against Fredonia Friday, Oct. 28 and an 8-1 loss to Buffalo State Saturday, Oct. 29.

A rambunctious crowd pushing fire code limits was treated to an entertaining game, which is something that was hard to find last season.

Brockport played 56 minutes of hockey that would normally result in a victory, but it was four bad minutes that cost them the extra win. With Brockport up 3-1 with two minutes left in the second period, Andrew Christ and Mat Hehr scored for Fredonia tying the game at 3-3. Fredonia went on the power play 17 seconds into the third and scored to make it 4-3.

"We didn't respond well to having a lead and we got sloppy," Brockport head coach Brian Dickinson said. "When we had a year like we did this year, we almost need to learn how to win again and this will be something we will continue to work at."

Despite giving up four goals, senior goalie Oliver Wren played the best hockey of his college career. He had 36 saves against Fredonia, four of them coming in overtime to help Brockport earn at least a point in conference standings. However, Wren didn't want to take all the credit.

"I owe a lot of that to the defense," he said. "They're boxing out and allowing me to see the shot and I just have to worry about the puck. I just felt good today."

Fredonia led 1-0 after a first-period goal by Jared Wynia.

Brockport scored three times in the second. Steve Sachman, Adam Shoff and James Cody all found the back of the net to take a 3-1 lead.

Down 4-3 with about eight minutes left in the game, Mike Hayward took a touch pass from Cody to tie the game.

"At 3-1 we're probably not happy with a tie, but down 4-3 it's nice to battle back," Dickinson said. "When we started the way we did last year, a tie is good and we get a point out of it."

Brockport did its best disappearing act Saturday, dropping its game to Buffalo State, 8-1.

The first period looked like Brockport would build off the momentum they had Friday. Pat Hayden scored, giving the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead. Drew Klin answered for the Bengals and it was tied 1-1 after the first.

Brockport starting going downhill when Buff. State capitalized on the power play. On three straight opportunities with the man-advantage, Buff. State found the back of the net to go ahead 4-1. Buff. State scored four more times in the third to finish to onslaught.

Dickinson said they came out strong, but didn't continue to build on the lead.

"We had an early power play in the first and if we score there it's a totally different game," he said. "We have to find a way to score when the other team has three guys on the ice. Those are game changing opportunities."

Wren had 21 saves for Brockport before being pulled in the third. Freshman Aaron Green saw his first action as a Golden Eagle making stopping seven shots. Kevin Carr had 22 saves for Buff. State.

Brockport will not be home the entire month of November. Their next five conference games are on the road, starting with Cortland this Friday, Nov. 4.

Source: http://www.thestylus.net/brockport-hockey-on-wrong-end-of-a-scoring-frenzy-with-tie-to-fredonia-and-loss-to-buffalo-state-1.2677077

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BROCKPORT-OSWEGO MATCH-UP

2011-11-03T07:43:00.001-04:00

From the pages of the Palladium-Times...

Looking to rebound from its first loss of the season, the Oswego State men’s hockey team will host a pair of SUNY Athletic Conference games this weekend.

The Lakers (1-0 SUNYAC, 3-1 overall) will face Geneseo on Friday and Brockport on Saturday. Both games start at 7 p.m. at Campus Center Ice Arena.

Oswego State is coming off a 3-2 loss at Utica on Saturday. Coach Ed Gosek said he’s looking for a better effort from his players this weekend.

“We didn’t play very well,” Gosek said of the Utica game. “Utica was willing to do all the little things. We got beat to a lot of loose pucks and lost a lot of one-on-one battles.”

He added that the Lakers made too many unforced turnovers.

“They caused a lot of our mistakes, but probably 70 percent of our mistakes were self-inflicted,” Gosek said.

The coach said the Lakers need to look at it as a learning experience and turn the page. After starting last season with 12 consecutive victories, Oswego State was knocked from the unbeaten ranks much earlier this year.

“Sometimes you have to take a step back to move a couple forward,” Gosek said.

Laker fans are encouraged to step forward and help the United Way on Saturday. It will be United Way Day at the Rink, and fans are asked to bring non-perishable food items to help the United Way stock local food pantries.

Food donations will be accepted at both the Laker women’s hockey game at 3 p.m. against Cortland, and the Laker men’s hockey game at 7 p.m. against Brockport.

Here’s a closer look...

Brockport at Oswego State

Saturday, 7 p.m.

Although the Lakers defeated Brockport twice last season (4-2 at Brockport, 7-1 in Oswego), Gosek says his team can’t look past the Golden Eagles.

“They’re a much-improved team,” he said. “They have solid goaltending. James Cody is one of the most dangerous players in our league. He’s always had good games against us. They’ve got something to prove.”

Cody, a senior, has two goals and three assists to lead Brockport this season.

Senior Ian Finnerty (2-2) is another threat for the Eagles.

The Lakers will count on their defense led by seniors Jared Anderson and Hank Van Boxmeer to keep Brockport in check.

Junior goalie Andrew Hare (3-1, 1.65 GAA, .942 save percentage) has seen the bulk of the action in net thus far for the Lakers.

Brockport (0-1-1 SUNYAC, 0-2-1 overall) is trying to find some consistency. The Eagles tied Fredonia 4-4 and lost to Buffalo State 8-1 in their conference openers.

Oswego State is looking for improved effort and execution over the Utica game.

“We want to make ourselves better every week,” Gosek said. “These will be two great tests for us this weekend.”

Source: http://palltimes.com/articles/2011/11/02/sports/doc4eb1ef7ebba69556831573.txt

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CODY IS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

2011-10-31T11:34:00.001-04:00

Senior James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) tallied three points during the SUNYAC weekend against Fredonia State and Buffalo State, skating to a tie and a loss, respectively.

For his efforts, Cody has been named the Brockport Male Athlete of the Week.

Cody helped put the Golden Eagles ahead 3-1 with his second goal of the season against Fredonia State. After the Blue Devils took a 4-3 lead, the forward assisted on the game tying goal to Mike Hollander (Thornhill ONT), as the game finished to a 4-4 draw.

In Brockport's loss to Buffalo State on Saturday, Cody assisted to Patrick Hayden (Springfield, PA) for the Golden Eagles only goal of the game.

Cody led Brockport with 16 goals and 30 points in the 2010-11 season and leads the team in both categories through the first three games this season.

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BROCKPORT TROUNCED BY BUFFALO STATE

2011-10-30T08:41:00.002-04:00

The Athletic Department's recap of last night's game...

Sophomore Patrick Hayden (Springfield, PA) scored his first goal of the season for The College at Brockport Hockey team to give the Golden Eagles and early 1-0 lead Saturday night in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game against Buffalo State in the Tuttle North Arena in Brockport. The Bengals tied the score late in the first period and then scored three power play goals in the second period to take a 4-1 lead. A shorthanded goal and three insurance goals led to an 8-1 victory for the Bengals.

In the first period, James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) and Ian Finnerty (Ardmore, PA) worked the puck around the zone before feeding Hayden at the point who fired a low shot that beat the Buffalo State goal to the glove side for the early lead with just 6:44 elapsed in the first period.

Buffalo State (1-1 Overall, 1-1 SUNYAC) knotted the game with less than three minutes left in the period but the Bengals had a man advantage for most of the second period and took advantage with three power play goals. The first came with just 31 seconds gone in the period and the second was two minutes later. The third advantage goal for the Bengals was with a two-man advantage at the 7:43 mark of the period.

In the third period, the Bengals scored a shorthanded goal to take a 5-1 lead and added on two more before five minutes had run off the clock in the final stanza.

A final goal at 11:31 was the final margin of victory.

Senior Oliver Wren (Oakville, ONT) made 21 saves and freshman Aaron Green (Mt. Albert, ONT) played the final 16 minutes and made seven saves.

Box score: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/1112/boxes/mbfsbrc1.o29

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DUNKIRK OBSERVER RECAP OF FREDONIA GAME

2011-10-29T13:04:00.001-04:00

From the pages of today's paper....

Fredonia State opened its SUNYAC season with a 4-4 tie Friday at the College of Brockport.

"(The game) was just what we expected," Fredonia coach Jeff Meredith said. "It was a good SUNYAC game. It was a good college hockey game."

Freshman forward Jared Wynia scored a pair of power-play goals, his second and third goals of the season.

His second of two goals broke a 3-3 tie early in the third period.

The Blue Devils (2-0-1 overall) trailed 3-1 until scoring twice late in the second period. Andrew Christ scored his first goal of the season at 18:28. Mat Hehr forged a 3-3 tie with his second goal at 19:45.

"Hopefully we were able to learn some lessons tonight," Meredith continued. "We lost some momentum in the second period and they scored three quick ones. Luckily, we were able to score a couple late in the second."

The momentum carried over into the third period. Wynia hit the back of the net 1:44 of the third period.

Brockport's Mike Hayward scored on a power play at 11:51 of the third period to tie the game at 4-4. It was the first power-play goal allowed by the Blue Devils after 17straight successful penalty kills.

A power-play goal by Wynia opened the scoring at 4:32 of the first period.

The Golden Falcons scored three straight goals in the second period the Steve Sachman, Adam Shoff and James Cody.

"I think we could have handled adversity better," Meredith added. "We're still in search of a full 60 minutes. Until we play a full 60 we're going to get what we deserve."

Fredonia State goaltender Mark Friesen made 35 saves, one fewer than Brockport's Oliver Wren.

The Golden Eagles ended the night 0-1-1 overall.

Source:

http://observertoday.com/page/content.detail/id/564945/FSU--Brockport-skate-to-tie.html?nav=5010

----

BROCKPORT AND FREDONIA TIED 4-4

2011-10-29T08:15:00.001-04:00

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

___

A BIG WEEKEND AT TUTTLE ICE ARENA

2011-10-28T13:29:00.001-04:00

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!

_

USCHO SEASON PREVIEW OF THE SUNYAC

2011-10-27T15:35:00.002-04:00

Today USCHO.com released SUNYAC columnist Russel Jaslow's preview of the conference. Here's how Brockport was assessed....

Brockport State Golden Eagles

Coach: Brian Dickinson, 18th season overall (123–271–40) and 15th season at Brockport (109–223–34)

2010-11 overall record: 4–18–3
2010-11 SUNYAC record: 2–13–1
2010-11 SUNYAC finish: Ninth
2011-12 predicted finish: Ninth

Key Departures: Tom Galiani (7–10–17), Justin Noble (4–12–16).

Key Arrivals: Mike Hollander (F, transfer from Becker), Chris Marinakos (F, transfer from Wentworth), Bobby Chayka (D), Aaron Green (G), Jay Meloff (D).

Key Players: James Cody (16–14–30), Ian Finnerty (7–17–24), Adam Shoff (6–7–13).

Biggest Challenge: “Our competition,” Brockport coach Brian Dickinson said. “Our league has gotten significantly better. Everybody has done a great job recruiting. Coming off the year we’ve had, we aren’t looking back. We can only look forward.“

Outlook: Losing Todd Sheridan took a larger toll on Brockport than most expected. After two years of playoff success, the Golden Eagles plummeted last year to just two conference wins, four overall.

Oliver Wren got most of the work in goal, but he will have to up his game. Otherwise, Joe Reagan or freshman Aaron Green will have to step in and perform. Brockport was tied for the worst conference defense with Potsdam at 5.00 goals per game allowed. They also had the worst penalty kill.

However, it didn’t help that Brockport had trouble scoring, with the most anemic offense at 2.50 goals per game and the worst power play at just 11 percent.

Brockport does return their two leading scorers, James Cody and Ian Finnerty. They have transfers from Becker (Mike Hollander) and Wentworth (Chris Marinakos), as well as the Player of the Year in the Minnesota Junior Hockey League, Bobby Chayka.

Chayka is a defenseman, as are fellow newcomers Marcus Farmer and Jeff Meloff. Whether they can help stem their red light from turning on will be a key factor.

Brockport certainly isn’t shying away from competition. Their nonconference schedule includes Utica, Hamilton, Elmira, Neumann twice, and Elmira. At the very least, the Golden Eagles will be battle-tested.

Mark Your Calendar Game: December 3 vs. Morrisville. It will be interesting to see how Brockport finishes up the first half of the SUNYAC schedule, ironically against a team which has to replace a stalwart goaltender like Brockport the year before.

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To see how the rest of the conference looks, read the full report here:

http://www.uscho.com/2011/10/27/sunyac-2011-2012-season-preview/

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WBSU SEASON PREVIEW WITH COACH DICKINSON

2011-10-27T07:28:00.000-04:00

HOCKEY'S PROMISING SEASON

2011-10-27T07:17:00.001-04:00

In this week's Stylus, sports writer Any Lipari looks at the Golden Eagles' season and the first game of it....

Last season was a year in transition for Brockport hockey. They started 0-10-1, but the feeling around the SUNYAC conference was they weren't as bad as their record would indicate. Brockport finished the year 4-18-3 and only had two wins in the SUNYAC conference.

Players and coaches said last year it took the young players a while to get acclimated to Division III hockey. Later in the season, they were pleased with how the rookies were developing.

Following back-to-back seasons with a playoff victory, the hockey program was as successful as it has ever been. Last season's last place finish was seen as a disappointment instead of the norm.

Brockport had a mixed identity last season. They had seniors like Justin Noble, Tom Galiani and Ray Tremblay who were a few of Brockport's top scorers, mixing with the younger players trying to get experience. At times, it looked as if the team couldn't decide whether it should prepare for the future or play for the present and try and keep up the success the team had in previous seasons.

The goalie situation is a prime example of the wavering. Senior Oliver Wren and sophomore Joe Reagan split time between the pipes last season. Wren started the season as the starter, but the games started being split between the two during the second half of the season. Brockport will likely have the same plan for this season as well.

One bright spot for Brockport last year was James Cody, who returns for his senior season. He led the team with 30 points (16 goals, 14 assists). Ian Finnerty also returns for his senior season after leading the team with 17 assists. Senior Adam Shoff will also return this season after a 13-point season a year ago.

Outside of those three, Brockport has a huge drop off of experienced point scorers. If Brockport is to return to the playoffs this year, the sophomore class will need to have a big season. Sophomores Bobby Conner, Mike Baxter, Brendon Rothfuss and Chris Cangro all had significant playing time last year as freshmen and this season will go well as long as they play well.

Defensively, Brockport is old in comparison to the forwards. Senior Gregg Amato and junior Mike Hayward will anchor the defense as they did a year ago. Sophomore Matt DeLuca started all 25 games last season and should continue to be a factor in the back.

Brockport's season started last Saturday, Oct. 22 with a 5-3 loss to Utica College. Brockport started with a 2-0 lead on goals scored by Finnerty and Cody. Utica came back and scored three times in the second period. Finnerty scored his second goal of the game in the third, but the Golden Eagles came up short in the end.Wren got the nod in goal and had 32 saves.

Brockport starts conference play this weekend with home games against Fredonia Friday, Oct. 28 and Buffalo State Saturday, Oct. 29. The puck drops at 7 p.m. in the Tuttle North Ice Arena. Brockport will not have another home game until Dec. 3.

Source: http://www.thestylus.net/hockey-season-promising-despite-opening-game-loss-to-nationally-ranked-utica-college-1.2664758

BROCKPORT'S PHYSICAL REPUTATION

2011-10-23T07:48:00.003-04:00

What can make Brockport players and fans feel good about the Brockport Golden Eagles is the fear that the team's physical play elicits. You can see that it in the interview in The Dunkirk Observer with Fredonia's Jeff Meredith. While talking about his team's successes this weekend, this slipped out....

"I think we really ironed some wrinkles out. I was excited to see the execution. Next week at Brockport it's going to be twice as physical as it was (against Assumption). We have to be ready for that."

That's impressive....other teams are already worried about the checks, hits and blue collar play.

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WKTV RECAP OF THE UTICA GAME

2011-10-23T06:35:00.001-04:00

Watch WKTV news' recap of the game here:

http://www.wktv.com/sports/Pioneers-win-regular-season-opener-132392143.html

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BROCKPORT FALLS TO UTICA, 5-3

2011-10-23T06:11:00.001-04:00

The Athletic Department's recap of the season opener...

Senior Ian Finnerty (Ardmore, PA) scored a pair of goals and added an assist for The College at Brockport Hockey team but an early 2-0 lead disappeared in the second period as Utica College recovered and skated to a 5-3 victory Saturday night in the season opener for both teams at the Utica Memorial Auditorium in Utica.

Brockport (0-1) came out fast scoring twice in the first period of the game to open up an early lead. Finnerty was credited with the first goal of the season tipping in a shot from the point from senior James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) on the first power play opportunity of the contest.

“I was happy at the way we came out strong in the first period,” said head coach Brian Dickinson. “I was also proud at the way we battled back in the third period. We could have packed it in after the second period but stayed with it and came out strong again for the third. I was happy with the overall effort tonight especially since it is so early in the season.”

Finnerty had a part in the second goal as well feeding Cody who fired a shot past the Utica goalie for the early 2-0 lead.

In the second period, Utica – ranked No. 13 in the national preseason poll – came back with three goals in the second period to take the lead. Two of the goals came in the opening minutes of the period with a goal at the 1:45 mark in the period and the second a minute later at 2:41.

In the third period, Utica extended the lead to 4-2 with a power play goal at the 8:12 point in the final period.

Finnerty scored for the Golden Eagles to trim the Utica lead to 4-3 with an unassisted shorthanded goal but a late empty-net goal by the Pioneers was the final margin in the game.

Senior Oliver Wren (Oakville, ONT) made 32 saves for Brockport.

Box score: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/1112/boxes/mbrcutc1.o22

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THE CODY WATCH

2011-10-22T16:06:00.001-04:00

James Cody came into the 2011-2012 within reach of the 50 goal and 100 point career milestones. He began the season with 41 goals and 82 points. We'll be tracking his progress here. You can find "The Cody Watch" counter in the left toolbar of this website, just below the statistical leaders box.

UTICA COACH SUSPENDED FOR TONIGHT'S GAME

2011-10-22T07:47:00.001-04:00

Here's an interesting development for tonight's game...

Gary Heenan will not be behind the bench when the Utica College men’s hockey team opens its regular season at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.

Heenan, the founder of UC’s hockey program and the only coach in the team’s 11-season history, will serve a one-game suspension for a secondary violation of NCAA rules and will miss the Pioneers’ game with SUNY Brockport. Assistant coach Juliano Pagliero will lead the team in his absence.

The violation, discovered and reported to the NCAA by UC athletic director Jim Spartano, involved a workout that was posted on the team’s web site last spring for the notification of the players. The workout, posted by an assistant coach, was described as “mandatory,” which is not allowed.

“I was aware of the rule,” Heenan said. “I was unaware the language was in there. Our guys were totally aware the workouts were voluntary. I’m disappointed in myself for not catching this. It’s an unfortunate way to start the season.”

Spartano said he and Heenan agreed the suspension would be for the first regular season game rather than tonight’s exhibition game with the Royal Military College.

“We wanted it to be meaningful,” he said. “I’m 100 percent certain it was inadvertent. It was something that slipped through the cracks. Gary stepped up to the plate and accepted responsibility.”

Heenan will be in the building for the game, but Spartano said he will not be allowed on the bench or in the locker room or have contact with the players.

Source:

http://www.uticaod.com/breaking/x888172984/UCs-Heenan-suspended-for-regular-season-opener-Saturday

BROCKPORT 7th in SUNYAC COACHES' POLL

2011-10-21T07:53:00.001-04:00

The SUNY Brockport men's ice hockey team tied for seventh in the State University of New York Athletic Conference pre-season coaches' poll.

Oswego State, last year's SUNYAC regular season champion, topped the poll with 63 points, including seven first place votes. The 2010-11 tournament champion Plattsburgh State Cardinals received 54 points and one first place vote. Brockport, Potsdam and Cortland each got 16 votes to tie for seventh place.

2011-12 SUNYAC Men's Ice Hockey Pre-Season Poll

1. Oswego 63 (7)

2. Plattsburgh 54 (1)

3. Geneseo 53 (1)

4. Fredonia 44

5. Buffalo St. 33

6. Morrisville 29

7. Potsdam 16

- Brockport 16

- Cortland 16

VOTE IN THE POLL

2011-10-21T05:48:00.002-04:00

The homepage of Brockport Athletics has poll that asks the following....

The Brockport Hockey Team opens the 2011-12 season Saturday at Utica College. Who will be the first Golden Eagle to score a goal?

Bobby Connor
Ian Finnerty
Adam Shoff
James Cody
Brendon Rothfuss
Mike Hayward
Other

Vote at: http://www.gobrockport.com/

SEASON PREVIEW OF UTICA

2011-10-20T07:36:00.001-04:00

If you're curious about Brockport's opponent, check out this season preview from WKVTV:

BROCKPORT TO VISIT UTICA ON SATURDAY

2011-10-20T06:59:00.000-04:00

No one ever said it was easy for the Golden Eagles. Even the non-conference games offer up some tough opponents. Case in point: This Saturday’s season opener at Utica (7:00 PM start).

Utica comes into the season ranked 13th in the nation and they aren’t missing a beat after last year’s great season…they lost only 1 senior after going 17-8-1, their best record in the 24 year history of the program. They have a serious home advantage, sporting some of the largest crowds in DIII (last year’s season opener against Brockport had 3,800 in attendance).

They are led by Tim Coffman (who posted 34 points on the season). He shared the team lead of 11 goals with Evan Chlanda, Jon Gaffney, and Trevor Hertz. So, they definitely have some depth and a few solid lines.

Their goaltending is top notch with duties shared by Evan Smith (.920) and Nick Therrien (.914). They are aided by a defense that allows just 26 shots per game.

As good as Utica is, Brockport held their own against them last year, taking a 2-1 game into the final seconds when Utica’s empty goal made it 3-1. Oliver Wren was exceptional in goal, stopping numerous point blank shots en route to SUNYAC Goalie of the Week honors.

Look for more of the same on Saturday with a determined and more-polished Brockport unit putting a scare into the home crowd.

2011-2012 ROSTER

2011-10-17T11:11:00.001-04:00

1 Oliver Wren Sr. Goalie 5-10 180 Oakville, ONT Oakville Blades
2 Ian Chapman So. Defense 6-5 215 Batavia, NY North York Rangers
3 Gregg Amato Sr. Defense 6-2 200 Ocean Gate, NJ Port Hope Predators
4 Bobby Chayka Fr. Defense 6-0 185 Hardwick, NJ Granite City Lumberjacks
5 Bobby Conner So. Forward 5-10 192 Lititz, PA Philadelphia Junior Flyers
6 Marcus Farmer Fr. Defense 5-10 175 Caledon, ONT Brampton Capitals
7 Jay Meloff Fr. Defense 5-11 190 Markham, ONT Pickering Panthers
8 Matt DeLuca So. Defense 6-0 190 Skippack, PA Syracuse Stars
9 Ian Finnerty Sr. Forward 6-0 180 Ardmore, PA Philadelphia Little Flyers
10 Mike Hollander So. Forward 5-7 165 Thornhill, ONT North York Rangers
11 Chris Cangro So. Forward 5-11 190 Holbrook, NY New York Bobcats
12 Nick Panepinto Jr. Forward 5-11 185 Tonawanda, NY Buffalo Jr. Sabres
14 Chris Marinakos So. Forward 5-7 160 Orilla, ONT Sequin Bruins
15 Sean Wallace So. Defense 6-0 190 Rochester, NY New York Applecore
16 Brett Jendra Sr. Forward 5-11 170 Bolingbrook, IL Kingston Voyagers
17 Adam Shoff Sr. Forward 5-9 175 Port Dover, ONT Port Colborne Sailers
18 Colby Spooner Jr. Defense 5-8 175 Hilton, NY Aquinas Institute
19 Steve Sachman So. Forward 5-11 185 Medford, NY New York Bobcats
20 James Cody Sr. Forward 6-2 205 Schwenksville, PA Philadelphia Little Flyers
21 Brendan Rothfuss So. Forward 6-0 190 Webster, NY Syracuse Stars
22 Mike Hayward Jr. Defense 6-2 200 Toronto, ONT Vaughan Vipers
24 Mike Baxter So. Forward 5-10 160 Bracebridge, ONT Fort Erie Meteors
25 Troy Polino Fr. Forward 5-9 190 Limerick, PA New York Bobcats
26 Dan Galiani Jr. Forward 5-10 170 Lindenhurst, NY New York Bobcats
27 Patrick Hayden So. Defense 5-9 170 Springfield, PA Philadelphia Little Flyers
28 Alexander Quendler Fr. Forward 6-0 175 Klosterneuberg, Austria Vienna Capitals II
31 Aaron Green Fr. Goalie 5-10 175 Mt. Albert, ONT St. Michaels Buzzers
35 Joe Reagan So. Goalie 5-10 200 Yonkers, NY New York Bobcats

2011-2012 SEASON PREVIEW

2011-10-15T09:44:00.008-04:00

Brockport’s ice hockey team took a major step back in the 2010-2011 season, dropping to 4-18-3 after 2 consecutive 14-13 seasons that saw the Golden Eagles earn a playoff berth in each season as well as the College’s first 2 playoff wins.

The descent came as a shocker. A healthy core of productive players remained from the playoff runs and the class of recruits was the arguably the best in school history. But, they were saddled with errors, from a staggering number of turnovers by defensemen to forwards straying from the blue-collar approach that brought the Golden Eagles success in the previous seasons. Also, the freshman class seemed taken aback by the faster tempo and physicality of Division III.

A losing record was statistically certain. The Golden Eagles allowed a mind-numbing 40.2 shots on goal per 60 minutes, a marked increase over the previous season’s 33.9. The save percentage accompanying that barrage of pucks dropped from .909 to .882. Scoring also lost its luster, dropping from 82 to 73 goals. And consider this: 17 of the 73 goals came in the 2 games against WNEC, meaning 56 goals were scored over the rest of the season for only 2.4 per game. All in all, those are pretty significant – and damning - swings.

Adam Shoff will lead the turnaround this season

But, that’s the past. A past they can put behind them and a past they can learn from.

As a matter of fact, they already did.

As the season progressed the defensemen broke free of their mental lapses. The freshmen adjusted to the NCAA and started to make plays and find the net in the second semester (one of the real bright spots being Bobby Conner’s playmaking ability). And, the team managed to come together to beat Geneseo (ranked 6th in the nation at the time) and tie Fredonia in the last month of play (both teams come into this season in the Top 20).

James Cody is the face of Brockport Hockey

What Brockport has going for it is a core of seniors who helped turn around Brockport’s program, participating in the magical season 3 years ago that saw the team reach the playoffs for the first time. Adam Shoff, James Cody, Ian Finnerty, Brett Jendra, Gregg Amato, and Oliver Wren have all made significant contributions to the team and will be relied upon to do it again while fostering their ethic and commitment in the underclassmen.

Adam Shoff’s leadership will be instrumental in that. The captain this season, the young man has exuded leadership since his first day at Tuttle, hustling up and down the ice with reckless abandon, fighting for pucks in the corners, putting his body in harms way to block shots like he was a second goalie and fearlessly mixing it up with anyone, no matter their size. He reeks of energy and a never-give-up attitude.

One of his assistants will be James Cody. James, the team’s leading scorer -- and hitter -- the past 3 years, is the face of Brockport hockey and the most intimidating forward in the SUNYAC, bringing a rare combination of speed, athletic ability and physicality to the position. In 22 games last season he scored 16 goals, despite being the focus of every opponent’s gameplan and missing 2 games to an unwarranted suspension (for a supposed dirty hit). It’s wouldn’t be surprising if James found the back of the net 20 times this year.

Assistant captain Mike Hayward will lead the defensemen. The junior had 10 points last season and saw an incredible amount of ice time, hanging with the conference’s larger forwards. Based on last year’s team stats, there’s nowhere to go but up for the defensive unit, and they will be charged to contain some of the best teams in DIII (the Golden Eagles have 10 games against top 15 teams). They have some hard-hitting souls (like Patrick Hayden) and talented playmakers (like Matt DeLuca) who should get the blueliners at least near the team’s miserly ways of the playoff seasons.

Oliver Wren will save the day!

The last line of defense will feature a goaltending crew consisting of Oliver Wren, Joey Reagan and Aaron Green. Oliver posted a .884 save percentage to go with a 4.50 GAA. His numbers belie his accomplishments, having performed admirably against Utica and Geneseo among others. Don’t forget, he had a .919 save percentage in 10 games the year prior, so, he’s a man who can get it done. Joey had one of the finer freshman years for a Brockport goaltender. Despite getting peppered with 42 shots per game, he flirted with a .900 save percentage before finally settling at .895. Not too shabby considering the punishment. Recruit Aaron Green rounds out the trio, a great pick-up who sported a .900 save percentage last year in the OPHL.

Assessing the Golden Eagles: The talent is there. The work ethic is there.

Now, the team just needs to understand that 2010-2011 was an anomaly. All the pieces are there to make a playoff run. There are some mighty teams in the SUNYAC (and every one of them is improved), but there’s no reason why Brockport shouldn’t overcome adversity and be considered among them. Pencil them in now for the 5th seed in the conference and a playoff berth. This is a new season…and one certain to be exciting.

NEW ZAMBONI

2011-10-12T10:16:00.002-04:00

Brockport's Twitter announced the delivery today of the new Zamboni:

NO SEASON TICKETS

2011-10-12T06:07:00.003-04:00

Townfolk and alumni who regularly attend Golden Eagle games might be shocked to find out that "season tickets" are no longer available. Members of the Golden Eagle Society were always able to have free admission for themselves and a companion. That benefit of the program has been done away with.

OFFICIATING CREW EXPANDS

2011-10-12T06:01:00.002-04:00

When SUNYAC play begins in 2 weeks you'll notice something peculiar on the ice: 4 officials. The SUNYAC will be the first conference in DIII to institute such a measure.

BROCKPORT FACES STIFF COMPETITION

2011-10-11T18:57:00.000-04:00

The USCHO pre-season poll was released on Monday and it shows how tough of a schedule the Golden Eagles face.

Here are the top 15…

1 St. Norbert
2 Oswego
3 Norwich
4 Adrian
5 Plattsburgh
6 Elmira
7 Castleton
8 Bowdoin
9 Wisconsin-Superior
10 Hamline
11 Neumann
12 Geneseo
13 Utica
14 Milwaukee
15 Curry

Per conference standards, Brockport plays Oswego, Plattsburgh, and Geneseo twice each.

The Golden Eagles also play Neumann twice in a home-home split.

Brockport begins the season at Utica and hosts Elmira in December.

That’s 10 games against Top 15 opponents!

FORMER BROCKPORT ASSISTANT NOW COACHING COLBY COLLEGE

2011-10-06T07:38:00.001-04:00

WATERVILLE, Maine --- Stan Moore, a veteran coach with more than 25 years of Division I coaching experience, was named interim head coach of the Colby College men's hockey program on Tuesday.

Moore has little time to adjust to his new job. His first day at Colby is today and the Mules begin practice on November 1. Colby opens the season Friday, Nov. 18, at Middlebury College.

"We are very fortunate to have someone of Stan’s experience and knowledge right in our backyard. He can step in on day one and be able to take command of all aspects of running a program at a high level," said Marcella Zalot, Colby's Harold Alfond Director of Athletics. "The search committee was impressed with his passion for the game and with his teaching. I know Stan personally and he is a wonderful man of character and integrity and he is such a strong professional. I have all the confidence in the world that he will be able to continue the proud tradition of our men’s ice hockey program. We’ll also have a lot of fun along the way."

Moore was an assistant coach for Providence College from 2005 to 2010. He left his post with the Friars to join his family in Belgrade, Maine, and was an assistant coach for Kents Hill School last year.

After Division I coaching stops with Providence, Colgate University, Union College, and Brown University, Moore will get a chance to run his own NCAA Division III program with the Mules.

"It's something I'm happy about and looking forward to doing," Moore said. "There is going to be a lot on my plate before that first practice. I hope to reach out to the recruits that are looking at Colby, but even more important to reach out to the players who are here right now."

Moore takes over the Mules from Jim Tortorella, who recently left Colby to become Associate Head Coach at University of New Hampshire. The Mules went 12-11-2 last year and return seven of their top nine scorers, but the team lost both goaltenders to graduation.

"There has been a lot of success here at Colby over the past 15 years or so and I'm not looking to change the culture of the team," Moore said. "I just want to help them improve the culture of the team in any way I can."

Moore, who grew up in Potsdam, N.Y., had hockey instilled in him at a young age. His father, Stanley Moore, Sr., was one of the most successful coaches in New York State high school hockey history during a 33-year stint at Massena High School.

Moore went on to play Division III hockey at Oswego State (N.Y.) University and played professionally with the Enschede Lions of the Dutch Ice Hockey Federation in 1984-85.

After some volunteer stints at Potsdam State and Brockport State after returning to the United States, Moore joined the ranks of NCAA Division I hockey at Brown University. He was an assistant for the women's ice hockey team in 1985-86 and then was a men's assistant until 1988.

Moore went on to his first stay at Providence as an assistant coach from 1988 to 1992 and then moved to Colgate from 1992 to 1996 as an assistant. He had his first head coaching experience with Division I Union (N.Y.) College from 1996 to 1998. He became the first-ever rookie head coach to earn ECAC Coach of the Year honors (1996-1997) during his time at Union.

Moore went back to Colgate as an assistant coach until 2000 and then was named associate head coach for the Red Raiders until 2003. Moore was named interim head coach at Colgate for the 2003-04 season and helped his team to a 22-12-5 overall record and won a regular season ECAC title. Moore became the first-ever interim head coach to receive ECAC Coach of the Year honors for his work. He spent one more year at Colgate before leaving for Providence.

Moore, a member of USA Hockey since 1985 and regular coach for the USA Hockey National Festival since 2006, has been a board member and a coaching coordinator for the Central Maine Youth Hockey Association. He lives in Belgrade with his wife, Barbara, and his children, Jack (age 12), Ella (10), and Lily (6).

SAVES FOR A CURE'S FIRST PROJECT

2011-09-23T15:15:00.004-04:00

Saves For a Cure's first project is completed -- the replacement of the playdeck at Galisano Childrens Hospital at Strong. Now the kids can play in a safe and comfortable environment.

Prior to the project, the deck was full of tripping hazards, the upturned "tiles" just begging to knock over a sickened cancer patient.

You can see the "before" pictures here: http://brockporthockey.blogspot.com/2011/05/saves-for-cure-makes-huge-donation.html

This was made possible by a $15,000 donation from Saves For a Cure, a culmination of years of efforts by Todd Sheridan with the help of the hockey program, the Athletic Department and the community, all coming together for a common cause.

Saves for a Cure provides Spirit, Support, and Determination to children with cancer in hopes of lifting the spirits of some of the most courageous people you will ever meet.

BROCKPORT'S NEWEST HOCKEY FAN

2011-09-18T12:11:00.003-04:00

I'd like to introduce you to Brockport's newest hockey fan. Alexandria, the first child for Bernadette and I, was born last weekend, coming into the world the day before her mother's birthday. What a gift!

Bernadette might bring her by a game late this season for a brief cameo appearance to show her off. In the years ahead, though, I'll be bringing the delightful cherub to the games quite often.

I can just hear myself telling her 15 years from now: "Quit swooning over the hockey players and pay attention to the game!"