UTICA'S GAME NOTES

Here are the game notes for Saturday's game from the Utica Pioneers website....



Utica, NY (January 15, 2014) – The Utica College men's hockey team returns to the ice on the road this weekend as the Pioneers travel to The College at Brockport Saturday night to take on the Golden Eagles at 7 p.m. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 99.1 FM by play-by-play man Dave Peroni and color analyst Fred Miller. Fans can also follow the broadcast online at www.espnur.com.

Up Until Now: The Pioneers are currently 10-3-2 overall … They are ranked No. 9 in the latest USCHO.com national poll … UC is ranked No. 10 in this week's edition of the D3hockey.com national poll … The Pioneers are undefeated (5-0-2) on the road this season and they are 4-1-1 in their last six outings … Utica is 2-1-1 since returning from the holiday break.

Last Time Against Brockport: Saturday's match up marks the second time this season that the Pioneers will take on Brockport … On November 2, 2013 the Pioneers topped visiting Brockport 5-2 in their home-opener at the Utica Memorial Auditorium ... UC seniors Trever Hertz (Jaffray, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)) and Adam Graff (Bear, DE/Syracuse Stars (EJHL)) each totaled three points as the Pioneers sold out their regular season opener for the second consecutive season (3,815 paid attendance) … UC freshman goalie Marcus Zelzer (Green Bay, WI/Kenai River (NAHL)) picked up his first collegiate win as he stopped 20 shots between the pipes for the Pioneers. … Utica outshot Brockport 45-22 on the evening.

All-Time Against Brockport: The Pioneers are 8-0 all-time against Brockport … In eight previous meetings Utica has outscored the Golden Eagles 44-11 … UC has allowed just one goal in 6-of-8 meetings all-time against Brockport … Utica's largest margin of victory over Brockport was 12-1 back in 2003.

Hertz Leading the Way: Senior forward Trever Hertz (Jaffray, British Columbia/Quesnel Millionaires (BCHL)) currently leads Utica with 14 points on ten assists and four goals this season … He also leads the team with two game winning goals … He needs three points to move into third place on the College's all-time scoring list … He is the program's active scoring leader with 91 career points (40 goals, 51 assists) … He needs nine points to become the third player in program-history to score 100 or more points in a career … Utica senior forward Jon Gaffney (Dover, NJ/Springfield Blues (NAHL)) ranks fifth all-time with 84 career points (42 goals, 42 assists).

Scouting Brockport: Brockport is currently 4-8-2 overall … The Golden Eagles are 2-0 since returning from the holiday break … Brockport went 2-0 last weekend with victories over Western New England (2-1, OT) and Stone Hill (7-2) …The Golden Eagles are 3-0 in non-conference games at home this year … They are led this season by 12 points each from freshman forward Nick Marinac (four goals, eight assists) and sophomore forward Chase Nieuwendyk (two goals, 10 assists) … Sophomore goalie Jared Lockhurst is the probable starter in net for Brockport, having started a team-high seven games this season.

Solid Defense: UC senior goalie Nick Therrien (Rochester, NH/NY Apple Core (EJHL)) currently ranks 18th nationally with a 1.99 goals against average … Therrien ranks 14th nationally with a .930 save percentage ... Therrien and freshman goalie Marcus Zelzer (Green Bay, WI/Kenai River (NAHL)) have split time in net as of late … Zelzer ranks 26th nationally with a 2.35 goals against average this year … UC senior defenders Mike Slowikowski (Ewing, NJ/N.J. Hitmen (EJHL)) and Steve Zappia (Buffalo, NY/Buffalo Jr. Sabres (OJAHL)) have aided in the Pioneers' 12th ranked scoring defense, allowing just 2.13 goals per game.

Margin of Victory: The Pioneers are currently ranked 12th nationally in average margin of victory (1.47) … Eight of the Pioneers' 10 victories this season are by at least two goals.

Back in Action: After taking on Brockport, the Pioneers will return to the ice on January 24th when they travel to ECAC Men's West Conference foe Nazareth College to take on the Golden Flyers at 7 p.m.

Local Rivalry Renewed: On Saturday, January 25th a local rivalry will be renewed as the Pioneers host cross-town foe Hamilton College at the Aud … The Pioneers and Continentals have not squared off since a 3-3 tie at Hamilton College back on November 30, 2009 … The contest is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m
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SAVES FOR A CURE JERSEY AUCTION HAS STARTED

The College at Brockport will host the seventh annual Saves For a Cure game on Friday, February 7th when our biggest rival --Geneseo -- comes to Tuttle north.

Saves for a Cure is a non-profit, charitable organization started by Todd Sheridan ('11), a former Brockport goalie -- and one of Brockport's all-time greatest players --  and the College's all-time leader in goals-against average (3.07), career wins (29) and saves percentage (.904). He also holds the 4 best single season goals-against-averages for Brockport.

In 2005 Todd was diagnosed with cancer, given a 70% chance of survival and told he’d never play hockey again. Todd beat cancer and the odds and then had quite the career at Brockport, as made evident by his career numbers and the team's only 2 playoff seasons -- both of which occurred while he was in net.

With his success story as its backdrop, Saves For a Cure oversees a variety of fundraisers, including the annual Saves For a Cure game. All proceeds from any Saves For a Cure event or activity go to the children’s cancer clinic at Strong Memorial Hospital. 

The highlight of the game is an auction whereby fans can bid on the special jerseys being worn during the game. The auction has begun and will continue through 4 PM (Eastern), Saturday, February 8, 2014. The winners will be listed on the auction web page and will be notified via email. Bids will be updated as often as possible on the auction page.

If you would like to support Saves for a Cure and get your own Brockport hockey jersey, the auction webpage is:

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

Thank you for your support!

BROCKPORT TO HOST UTICA ON SATURDAY

It’s hard enough playing Utica in their barn, with its thousands of fans. It’s just as bad playing them in your barn when they are playing at the level they are now. Utica is actually better on the road (5-0-2) than they are in their very friendly confines (4-3-0).

Brockport will experience that this Saturday when they host the 9^th-ranked Pioneers at 7:00.

Utica’s success comes on the strength of a stifling defense that allows just 2.13 goals per game. Goaltender Nick Therrien is out of this world with a .930 save percentage and sub-2 goals against average (1.98 to be exact). In this nonconference game, his back-up - freshman Marcus Zelzer - will likely get the start. Even if he does, he’s no pushover with a brilliant .928 save percentage in 5 games. 

Brockport will have a tough go of it trying to light the lamp on these guys, especially since one of the Golden Eagles’ strengths (their Top 20 power play) will, in effect, be neutralized. Utica has the 54^th-least penalty minutes in NCAA DIII with just over 12 per game. That will give Brockport so few chances to capitalize on the man advantage. 

Not a one-trick pony, Utica has the 19^th best attack in DIII with 3.60 goals per game. But, you wouldn’t know that quickly looking at their stat sheet. There aren’t a lot of gaudy numbers. Adam Graff leads with goals (7), while Jon Gaffney has 5. No one else has more than 4. What they are is a balanced team – every line contributes to the offense.

The fellow to especially watch out for is Louie Educate. The speedster has “only” 10 points (4-6) this year, but last year he was an All-American with an 18-18-36 line. He’s due for an explosion.

Utica will be a formidable foe on Saturday. Brockport will have to keep pace with equally-adept goaltending (which the team is surely capable of) and capitalization of Brockport’s young speed. Nick Marinac, especially, could prove to be a game changer against Utica’s defense.

Prediction? It’s a lot closer than people think it will be…but Utica still comes out ahead, 3-2 in OT.    

SAVES FOR A CURE

Here are the seniors, looking sharp in this season's Saves For a Cure jerseys. The auction begins soon!

LOCKHURST NETS SUNYAC HONORS

For the first time this season, a Brockport player has captured a weekly SUNYAC honor.

Sophomore Jared Lockhurst (Caledon, ONT) of The College at Brockport men's ice hockey team has been named the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Goalie of the Week for the week ending January 12.

Lockhurst had a phenomenal game in net against Western New England on Friday night. His strong play helped keep things tied heading into overtime. His 42 saves and one goal against helped the Golden Eagles capture a 2-1 overtime victory.

HURLIMANN COMMITS TO BROCKPORT

Trenton Golden Hawks defenseman Brian Hurlimann has confirmed his commitment to join The College of Brockport Golden Eagles beginning with the 2014-15 SUNYAC season.

The 6', 200 lbs. native of Rochester, New York joined the Golden Hawks this season after playing the previous two years with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Jr. Knights, capturing the AJHL title in 2012-13.

Known more for his defensive presence, Hurlimann has recorded one goal and seven points in 23 games played thus far this season.

In 43 games with the Knights last season, "Hurls" had 1 goal, 7 assists, and 28 PIM.

Here's his highlight video from his time with the Knights...

GOLDEN EAGLES ATTACK THE SKYHAWKS

Nick Marinac (Burlington, ONT) recorded three points for The College at Brockport men's ice hockey team as a well-balanced Golden Eagle offense downed Stonehill 7-2 in a non-conference matchup on Friday night at Tuttle North Ice Arena.

Brockport got on the board just 3:45 into the first period. Taking advantage of a power play, Marinac worked behind the net and found a wide open James Ryan (Richmond Hills, ONT) in front of the goal. Ryan ripped a shot right between the Stonehill goalkeepers pads.

Despite being down a goal, Stonehill continued to play high-pressure defense. The Sky Hawks almost tied things up with 12:56 left in the period as a shot went over goalkeeper Aaron Green's (Mt. Albert, ONT) head, but a Golden Eagle defender came up with the puck.

With just over 30 seconds to play in the period, Brockport took a 2-0 lead. Jake Taylor (Port Perry, ONT) carried the puck through the defense, leaving Chris Cangro (Holbrook, NY) open on the right post for the goal.

Brockport struggled to keep the puck out of their defensive end in the beginning of the second period, but the Golden Eagles managed to gain control back midway through. Brockport took a three goal lead at 10:21. Ryan passed the puck to Marinac who passed it back across to Andrew Parks (Orillia, ONT) who ripped a backhander between the goalkeepers pads and into the back of the net.

A minute later, Nate Pelligra (Webster, NY) kept the momentum on Brockport's side by stepping up and blocking a great shot from the Sky Hawks.

With time winding down in the second period, Bobby Chayka (Hardwick, NJ) ripped a shot from a few feet inside the blue line to put the Golden Eagles up 4-0.

Brockport continued to dominate in the opening of the third period. Marinac added a fifth goal for the Golden Eagles just 54 seconds into the period. Less than three minutes later, Taylor scored a goal to push the Brockport lead to six. Only 24 seconds after Taylor scored, Jeremy Defazio (Oakville, ONT) scored Brockport's seventh and final goal of the game.

Stonehill snapped a Brockport shutout with their first goal of the game at 9:43 in the third period. Five minutes later, the Sky Hawks scored their second goal and the final of the game on a power play.

The Golden Eagles finished the game with a slight 29-26 advantage in shots.

Green recorded eight saves in each period to finish with 24 total in 60:00 of play.

Brockport returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 18 for a 7 pm home matchup against Utica.




Box: http://www.gobrockport.com/boxscore.aspx?id=3911&path=mhockey

ANNUAL ALUMNI GAME

Mark your calendars: I received word from Tim Panek that the annual alumni game will be held on Saturday, February 22nd at 3pm at Tuttle North Ice Arena. An Alumni gathering will follow the game. For more information, email Tim at tim.f.panek@basf.com

BROCKPORT BEATS WNEC

The recap from the Sports Information Desk...

Brendon Rothfuss (Webster, NY) recorded the game-winning overtime goal as The College at Brockport men's ice hockey team defeated Western New England 2-1 in a non-conference matchup on Thursday night at the Tuttle North Ice Arena.

Brockport jumped out to an early lead in the first period. Troy Polino (Limerick, PA) passed from behind the net to Shane Cavlieri (Richmond Hills, ONT) who ripped a shot right past the Western New England goalkeeper and into the back of the net at 17:17.

The Golden Bears nearly tied things up a minute later as one of their shots trickled through Jared Lockhurst's (Caledon, ONT) pads, but the puck went wide of the net.

The Golden Eagles kept the advantage for the remainder of the first period, outshooting Western New England 20-11.

Heading into period two, the Golden Bears quickly tied things up with a goal just 3:52 seconds into play. Brandon Stroud gained possession of the puck off of a faceoff and ripped a shot from the blue line past a diving Lockhurst.

In the final seconds of regulation, with the game still tied, Western New England thought they scored a goal, but the goal was called off because the official had blown his whistle for a dead play right before the puck went into the net.

Both teams had opportunities to pull off the win in overtime. It was Rothfuss who was able to capture the victory. Rothfuss was chipped the puck into a wide open goal after the Golden Bears goalkeeper was caught on the other side of the net. Nate Pelligra (Webster, NY) and Jesse Facchini (Mississauga, ONT) were credited with assists.

The Golden Eagles finished the game with a slight 45-43 advantage in shots.

Lockhurst played all 65:00 in net, recording 42 saves, including 16 in the third period.

Brockport returns to action on Friday at 7:00 pm for a home game against Stonehill at the Tuttle North Ice Arena.




Box: http://gobrockport.com/boxscore.aspx?id=3910&path=mhockey

BROCKPORT HOCKEY: A FAMILY AFFAIR

Warren Kozireski of  WNY & NYS Hockey Report passed along an interesting note to us:

Brockport just added Nate Pelligra as a transfer from Manhattanville. He will be the third Pelligra brother to have played for the Golden Eagles along with Alex and Mark.

This is the second time three brothers have played for the hockey team. Mike, Steve and Greg Raponi all played between 1972-79.

Other brother combinations (all two):

Sean and Pat McCrossan (70’s)

Brian and Mark Cavanaugh (70’s)

Mike and Mark Cmunt (early 80’s)
Brian and Mike Tefft (late 1990's and early 2000's)

Peter and Paul Stasko (early 2000’s)

Dan and Tom Galiani (2009-2012)

A LOOK AT THIS WEEK'S GAMES

The Golden Eagles return from a month-long break in play with 2 home games this week.

First on tap is a special Thursday night affair, when the Golden Eagles play host to Western New England College.  The Golden Bears at 7-4-0 this season and average just over 3.5 goals scored per game. Leading the charge is senior Brian Prost who already has 7 goals. Sophomore Chris Lembo has 6 lamplighters.  Senior John Kelly has been a real playmaker on the top line with 11 assists. Eric Sorenson is their #1 goalie thanks to a stellar .919 save percentage. 

When last the 2 teams played each other (December of 2012), Brockport came out on top, 5-3, after peppering WNEC with 35 shots.

WNEC Player To Watch: Alan Martin – the kid has just 2 goals this season, but he had 13 last year, so he’s a real threat to score. This isn’t the game where you want him to find his groove.  

Brockport Player to Watch: Nathan Pelligra – his specialty is the penalty kill and it will be good to see how the new guy performs in that role…WNEC is 18^th in the nation in power play efficiency

On Friday, the Golden Eagles welcome Stonehill, a Division II team. The potent Skyhawks are 6-6-0 and average a smidge under 4 goals per game. Among their big wins was a 10 goal deluge against Franklin Pierce and 7 thrown at Southern New Hampshire.

Senior Bryan Rooney has 8 goals while sophomores Robbie Dorgan and Richard Harris bring some young blood and fire power to the team with 7 goals each. Chris Tasiopoulos is solid in net with a .917 save percentage.

Stonehill Player to Watch: Dorgan – he has 13 assists to go with his 7 goals, good for 20 points after 12 games. He could be one of the better talents that Brockport sees in January.

Brockport Player to Watch: Jared Lockhurst – the goalie practiced this week so he may be ready to go from his groin injury. If so, there’s no better game to get in the flow since the Skyhawks will take shots early and often.  

Friday is also “Take a Kid to a Game Day” at Tuttle North. All kids under 12 are free, there will be games and prizes and the kids will get a chance to meet the Golden Eagles after the game.

MIDSEASON ROSTER CHANGES

The Golden Eagles come into the second semester with a change to the roster.

Joining the team and wearing the #91 sweater will be Nathan Pelligra, a 5'11, 185 pound 21-year-old who hails from nearby Webster. The freshman comes from Manhattanville College where he saw limited ice time.

Nathan Pelligra (photo courtesy of Shawn Muir/OJHL Images)

Heavily recruited by the Golden Eagles before committing to Manhattanville, Pelligra played for the Buffalo Junior Sabres last season. He played in 52 games and had 14 goals, 26 assists and 58 penalty minutes. In the Junior Sabres playoff run he had 5 assists in 9 games.   

To make room for the forward, Coach Dickinson had to cut senior goaltender Joe Reagan. Joe was fourth on the depth chart and was unlikely to see any ice time this season.  Joe ends his career with a .886 save percentage and 4.65 goals against average over 17 games.

Joe had the distinction of having one of the finer freshman campaigns among Brockport goalies, when he carried a .900 save percentage for a good chunk of the season before finishing at .895 in 13 games played.

A LOOK BACK AND A LOOK AHEAD AT THE BREAK

The Brockport Golden Eagles return to the ice next Thursday, January 9^th.  The second semester is like an entirely new season as the team can learn from what happened in the first semester, come back from having healed during the Christmas break, and capitalize on a very friendly schedule that has the team hosting 8 home games.

One can hope – and plan – on things being different because there’s nowhere to go but up following a 2-8-2 start.

It was a roller coaster of a semester, and a travel-heavy one at that. The team came out of the gate with 2 non-conference road losses (Utica and Nazareth) which were followed by a 6-3 whipping of Potsdam on the road. Following a loss to Plattsburgh (which wasn’t unexpected), Brockport got hot with a dominating 5-2 win over Elmira at home and an exciting 1-1 tie with nationally-ranked Hobart. That didn’t carry over to the next weekend as an over-confident Golden Eagle squad let a must-win game against Cortland slip away at Tuttle, followed by a shutout by the Oswego Lakers. In the Rutland Herald Invitational on Thanksgiving weekend the team had to settle for last place in the 4-team tourney. The semester closed out in December with the Western New York road trip which saw a tie with Fredonia and an absolute manhandling by Buff State in a game that should have been much closer.

So, what went wrong in the first semester that kept the team from reaching the expectations I, their coaches, and they had for themselves? Three things…

Injuries: This is the greatest contributor to Brockport’s record.

Last season, goaltender Jared Lockhurst set the SUNYAC on fire, making the conference All-Rookie squad with a .919 save percentage that was fourth best in the SUNYAC (and also a team record). This season, he has looked human, sporting only an .877 percentage in 7 games. A nagging groin injury has really limited his lateral movement and ability to make immediate reactions.

If Brockport has anything, it’s an embarrassment of riches in net. Aaron Green is also a #1 goalie, as made evident by his .912 save percentage this year. So, he should have been The Man while Lockhurst healed -- and he was…until he tweaked his groin, too, with only 3 games of play under his belt.

Then, there’s Brendon Rothfuss. Heading into the season I had him pegged as the wild card. Having put his lacrosse career on hold so he could focus on hockey he had hoped to be healthy and capitalize on his considerable talents. I thought for sure he’d hit double digits in goals scored and I imagine he did, too. But, he was healthy enough for just 4 games last semester in which he had 3 points.

If these 3 gentlemen and others battling injuries mended over the break, it will put a tiger in the team’s tank. 

Penalties: Last year’s team was the least-penalized in Brockport history, smartly playing to just 305 penalty minutes. This year’s squad, though, has been sloppy. After 12 games the team already has 211 penalty minutes and is on pace for nearly 450 PIM, a 48% increase over 2012-2013!

Brockport’s penalty kill is just 52^nd in the nation and has allowed opponents to score on 15 of their 66 chances (or 1.25 goals per game). If the guys can follow the lead of Chase Nieuwendyk – who leads in ice time yet has not incurred one penalty – and get back to last season’s numbers, then they could trim away an average of a half a goal a game. That would be more than 6 goals less over the course of the second semester --- in conference play EVERY goal matters.   

Lack of focus: Perhaps related to or a cause of the above, the team’s focus seemed to slip on occasion and I thought their play often seemed listless in the second period of games. It was a marked change from what they showed in the 1^st and 3^rd periods – the Golden Eagles start games with some incredible intensity and then finish games with a flourish and real sense of urgency. If that could be expanded into the middle stanzas, then the team can give any opponent a run for its money.  Dickinson teams have always been the hardest-working in all of SUNYAC so I wouldn’t be surprised if Coach is already on this.   

Enough of what went wrong. What went right for the team in the first semester?

Here are three things…

Young firepower: The Nieuwendyk-anchored line that features two freshman in Mick Marinac and Jake Taylor has been nothing short of exciting. They possess speed and skill sets that remind me of the high-energy Hobart lines of a decade ago when they went to the DIII Frozen Four and both dazzled and exhausted opponents. Sophomore Nieuwendyk has 11 points (on 9 assists), the fleet-footed Marinac already has a hat trick under his belt and Jake Taylor has two 2-goal games. As their chemistry improves, you should see their already-solid output increase in spades. Imagine 3 more years of this trio; the potential is exciting!

The power play: The aforementioned young bucks and others have been lighting the lamp with regularity on the man advantage. For a while, the Golden Eagles ranked sixth in the nation in power play percentage, and now rank a still-stellar twelfth at 25.5% with 13 goals on 51 chances. With a home-friendly, energy-boosting schedule and the return of Rothfuss, don’t be surprised if the team closes out the season in the top ten of this category. 

Chris Luker: In the season preview I intimated that sophomore Luker was all-SUNYAC material as a defenseman. He’s living up to that billing in more ways than expected – he has actually proven to be the team’s most consistent goal scorer, having found the back of the net in 4 different games. On top of that, his attention to detail has been unreal: Last year he led the team in penalty minutes (44). This year? He has only 6. That turnaround is the sign of a man who’s really serious about his game.

So, where do I see this team in the second semester?

In the playoffs as the sixth-seed.

That’s a haughty proclamation to make for a team with a 2-8-2 record, but with 8 home games (and the morale boosting that comes with them), key players coming back from injury, the positives listed above, a reinvigorated attention to the little things, and the freshman and sophomores having learned from a bear of a semester, the sky’s the limit.

On top of that, some guys’ numbers are low versus last year (Jesse Facchini and Shane Cavalieri come to mind) and it’s not for a lack of trying. In many cases they’ve had bad luck or opponents have made some really stellar saves. They should rebound nicely and get close to last year’s excellent statistics.  

The second semester is like a new season. The players will treat it as such and the fans should, too – get out to Tuttle and support the Golden Eagles!

2013 is in the past. Welcome to 2014.