"HIGHLIGHTS" FROM LAST FEBRUARY'S LOSS TO OSWEGO

Oswego's campus TV station broadcasts Oswego hockey games. Yesterday, on its You Tube page, the campus radio station, WNYO, posted a five-minute video showing all the goals from Brockport's 9-2 loss to Oswego in February of 2008....

KEVIN COLLINS WORKING WITH THE PORTLAND PIRATES

The Brockport Alumni class notes for December reports the following about a hockey alumnus...

Kevin Collins ’05 serves a dual role with the Portland Pirates (American Hockey League). Not only does he set up and monitor the off-ice training program for every Portland player, but during the games he also provides the coaching staff with a bird's-eye view of the action while producing a video history of each player's performance.

ONE-TIME BROCKPORT FOE NEARLY SEES NHL ICE TIME

In an interesting sidenote from Friday's NHL game between the Capitals and Senators, one-time Brockport foe, Brett Leonhardt suited up for the Caps and was this close to seeing ice time. Leonhardt played for Oswego from 2003-2005 and in November of 2004 he was the winning goaltender in a 10-3 Brockport/Oswego match-up. Brockport's current assistant coach, Mark Digby, netted a goal against the big guy in that game.

Here's the AP report on Brett...


Brett Leonhardt realized a dream last night - he was a National Hockey League goaltender for about an hour. If the name doesn't ring a bell, don't worry. In real life, the 6-foot-7 Leonhardt is a Web producer for the Washington Capitals, but he was pressed into service as the team's backup goaltender after José Theodore suffered a hip-flexor injury during the morning skate before the Caps' game against the Ottawa Senators last night.

The Caps recalled Simeon Varlamov from their American Hockey League affiliate in Hershey, Pa., but the Bears were on the road in San Antonio and his flight to Washington wasn't scheduled to arrive until shortly before the 7 p.m. start of the game.

The NHL gave the Caps permission to dress three goaltenders. Leonhart took part in the warmup and sat on the bench as Brent Johnson's backup until Varlamov arrived about seven minutes into the first period.

Leonhart, who has occasionally filled in for Caps practices, played two years of NCAA Division III hockey at SUNY Oswego in upstate New York and two years at Neumann College in Pennsylvania.

SHERIDAN IS SUNYAC GOALIE OF THE WEEK

Todd Sheridan (Edison, NJ / Sarnia Blast) was named State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Goaltender of the Week. The junior goaltender allowed just a pair of goals during a weekend where the Golden Eagles picked up three out of a possible four SUNYAC points in a 1-1 tie against SUNY Fredonia, and a 3-1 win over Buffalo State. Sheridan recorded 59 saves for a .967 saves percentage and a .964 goals against average.

On the season Sheridan has a 4-1-2 record while allowing 15 goals.

TENTH IN ATTENDANCE

The Golden Eagles not only had a stellar, entertaining first semester, but they also had something that's been hard to come by: fan support.

In my 16 years of watching this team I believe the biggest crowd I saw prior to this season was about 850.

Nowadays, that's a small crowd!

Brockport now averages 1,100 fans at the home games. That's just a few behind reigning DIII champ St. Norbert (1,196) and Elmira and its pro facility (1,246). The only teams to have cracked the 2,000 barrier are Oswego (2,531) where there's nothing else to do in lake effect snow storms and Utica who boasts an amazing 3,245/game.

A comparable school - Buffalo State - gets only 379 fans per game.

This newfound turnout finally gives Brockport a true home-ice advantage and is very much appreciated by the players and coaches.

Keep turning out....if you're one of the hundreds of new fans, now you know why I love these games so much...they're always exciting!

MY MID-SEASON AWARDS

MVP: Todd Sheridan. I’ve said before, the successes of a good hockey team ride on the shoulders of their goaltender and there are very few goalies in the nation playing better than Todd is. As a matter of fact, he’s the best player in the SUNYAC right now. Brockport fans should appreciate what they’re seeing this season and next…don’t take him for granted. He makes spectacular saves seem almost routine. If his groin stays healthy this might go down as the greatest season ever by a Brockport hockey player.

Most Important Forward: Dave McNab. Don’t let the numbers fool you. Despite not having only 2 assists, he’s the engine that drives the team. His leadership is great – both vocally and by example – and a necessity on such a young team. He’s constantly looking to make something happen and his physical approach rubs off on the rest of the team. He shares the team lead in goals thanks to his heavy slapshot.

Most Important Defenseman: Mike Gershon. There’s a reason why Mike is second in the nation amongst defensemen in goals…he has great awareness on the ice. He knows what to do all the time. As good as he is defensively, he can become an extra forward, making things happen anywhere on the ice.

Most Underrated Player: Sean O’Malley. This guy gets almost no press but here he is leading the team in scoring with 11 points. To most fans, assists may not be sexy (and really haven’t been since Gretzky) but they lead to goals and are the result of awareness and hard work. He probably doesn’t catch the fans’ eyes because you don’t see him mixing it up with the other teams, but he does all the silent, unappreciated things that keep the puck moving.

Tough Guy Award: Gershon. His 13 penalties are 6 more than the next guy and his 37 penalty minutes lead the team. That comes with the territory of knocking people on their behinds and protecting your goal.

Most Entertaining Player: Sheridan. Glove saves. Pad saves. Sprawling Hasek saves. Need I say more?

Best Freshman: James Cody (who’s second as Most Entertaining). He's fun to watch. He’s a hustler and when he hits (whether with body or stick) you know it. He’s flattened a lot of people this year and I still hold to my prediction that he’ll be a 12(+) goal scorer in future seasons. I look forward to 4 years of this guy.

Best Sophomore: Justin Noble. This kid busts his butt minute after minute, whether skating himself to exhaustion or plastering someone against the boards. His numbers belie the impact he has on the psyche of other teams.

Best Junior: Sheridan

Best Senior: Tie: McNab and Gershon (Tim Crowley has picked it up as of late, so watch him next semester)

Hit of the Semester: Lucas Schott’s check from behind against a Buff State player on December 6. Even though it was illegal, wow, was it ever violent. I’m glad the kid’s alive.

Goal of the Semester: James Cody’s game tying goal against Potsdam. Had he not scored that goal late in the third, the Golden Eagles would have lost at home against a divisional foe….and they’d be in sixth place now.

Save of the Semester: Josh Roarke’s game-saving block of a penalty shot in the closing moments of the Becker game.

Game of the Semester: The 3-1 victory over Buffalo State. The Golden Eagles totally dominated (and intimidated) one of the highest scoring teams in the nation. And, the fights and hits gave the fans something to admire.

BROCKPORT BEATS HIGH-SCORING BUFF STATE 3-1

What a way to end the semester! The fans could not have asked for a better game from the home team, Brockport beating up on Buffalo State in more ways than one and skating away with a physical 3-1 victory. Not only was the game great, so was the outcome in the standings.

Random thoughts and observations…

Prior to the start of the season Coach Dickinson emphasized getting points early in the season so the team had an easier go of it in the second semester. The team has done just that and, going into the break, Brockport now stands alone in fourth place in SUNYAC, holding a 3-3-2 conference record. Overall the team is 5-5-2, much better than the SUNYAC coaches at large or anyone else outside of the Brockport community had anticipated. Way to go, guys!

As a testament to the team’s defensive ways, they held a high scoring Buffalo State team (3.75 goals/game coming in to Saturday) to only 1 goal. BS did not look like the same team that scored six or more goals four times this season. The Golden Eagles' physical ways and swarming skating gave the Bengals a serious case of alligator arms and they often looked fearful to collect a pass or take a shot. Their arms and stick handling became rigid more often than not in anticipation of getting slammed.

It was nice to see Tim Crowley pick up two goals. The goal in the third was all him, a fast breakaway ending with a wrister that went through the Buff State goaltender’s armpit.

Justin Noble’s goal, Brockport’s first of the game, was entertaining. He looked like Mike Bossy flying in and sliding through.

The second goal of the game was probably the slowest moving goal I’ve ever seen. The puck took its sweet time getting to the line once it made it past the goaltender and it nearly didn’t make it in. It seemed to be in limbo for an eternity.

Todd Sheridan had another huge game and he should be the SUNYAC goalie of the week if you ask me: Two SUNYAC foes, both held to one goal each. He had quite a few entertaining saves. The most enjoyable play he had, though, was not a save, but rather his Hasek-like move in the first, coming out of the net nearly all the way to the blue line to push the puck away, all with a Buff State player beside him.

Todd is now eighth in the nation with a .936 saves percentage. Once again, if you only look at guys who have faced 100 or more shots, he’s fourth in the nation.

What really excited the fans (including yours truly) was the amount of violence in the game. After Lucas Schott absolutely crushed a BS skater with a check from behind (from which I temporarily thought the kid was dead or crippled) a series of fights ensued with guys exchanging a bunch of nice punches. That brotherly love returned towards the end of the third near the Buffalo bench with a couple more fights starting and the referee providing some excitement, too, by throwing a Buff State player to the ice like a rag doll.

All in all, a fun game to watch.

Here's what the Atheletic Department says....


Senior Tim Crowley (Brasher Falls, NY) scored goals in each of the final two periods as The College at Brockport Hockey team defeated Buffalo State by a 3-1 score in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game Saturday at the Tuttle North Ice Arena in Brockport.

Brockport (5-5-2 Overall, 3-3-2 SUNYAC) earned three points over the weekend with a tie against SUNY Fredonia on Friday and the victory over Buffalo State Saturday to move into sole possession of fourth place in the SUNYAC standings.

Sophomore Justin Noble (Georgetown, ONT) poked in a rebound off a long shot by James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) early in the first period to give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead.

In the second period, Crowley scored his first of the game with 58 seconds left in the period to increase the Brockport lead to 2-0. Midway through the third period, Crowley scored again to make it a 3-0 Brockport lead.

Buffalo State (4-8-1, 2-4-2) scored a powerplay goal with just over six minutes left in the game for the final 3-1 score.

Todd Sheridan (Edison, NJ) finished with 31 saves including 14 in the third period alone.

BROCKPORT, FREDONIA SKATE TO 1-1 TIE

Friday’s game was just as anticipated…a great goaltending match-up. Nothing beats a 1-1 game (except for a Brockport victory). While most people would have preferred a bunch of goals, readers of this blog know that this is the type of game that I love. Talk about some serious drama! Riveting from minute-to-minute and shot-to-shot.

Here are my thoughts:

Brockport totally dominated the game. The shot differential of 50-29 tells you that. And, it wasn’t that Brockport took a lot of easy, breadbasket shots at Fredonia’s net. Their goaltender Pat Street made a lot of spectacular saves and stopped many a flurry of shots. If it weren’t for Street, Fredonia would have lost, no ifs ands or buts.

Street was great all night. In the first he made a dramatic pad save on a point blank Schott shot, after Lucas Schott took a sweet behind-the-back pass. It was his best save of the night.

But, that should not discount what he did during the power plays. Brockport absolutely demolished Fredonia’s penalty killers (I would love to see this every game!) and they put countless shots on Street with the man advantage. The kid is great in a mob and his impressive crowd vision and reflexes allowed him to single-handedly stop Brockport’s power play.

The match-up of the SUNYAC’s best goaltenders could be considered a stalemate because Todd Sheridan was just as great. He made 2 killer glove saves basically off the faceoff. The second one was with just 45 seconds left in the second period…had that gone in, the locker room and energy would have been quite different following the second. He also kept the game alive….with 10 seconds left in regulation there was a flurry at the Brockport net which he had to keep away with four sprawling leg pad and arm saves.

Brockport hustled all night. Everyone was moving. I loved the all-out play showed by Shoff and Tremblay…in the first and third respectively each guy laid himself out to push the puck down ice to allow for easy line transitions.

Noble was a pest to Fredonia and I thought he was exceptionally impressive in the first, sending bodies flying against the boards. Gershon was just a great and he maintained high energy all game long.

James Cody again had Brockport’s best hit of the game: while getting crosschecked he dumped the Fredonia offender on his back. His ringing shot off the crossbar in the second was oh, so, close to victory.

The scare of the game came with 7 seconds left in the second with Dave McNab injuring his right knee. I was very surprised and quite happy to see him return in the third. He’s the engine that drives Brockport’s physical game and his slapshot is a must-have on the ice.

Buff State lost to Geneseo last night, just as I predicted, which, added to last night’s tie, further messes up the standings. BS and Cortland are both 3-3-1 in the conference, tied for fourth. Brockport, Fredonia, and Potsdam remain at sixth all with a 2-3-2 record. So, tonight’s game against Buff State takes on even more importance.

Here’s the Athletic Department’s report of the game….



The College at Brockport Hockey team an early lead but the lead was only good for four minutes as SUNY Fredonia tied the game and neither team was able to score in the final two and a half periods and overtime as the teams skated to a 1-1 tie in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game Friday at the Tuttle North Ice Arena in Brockport.

Brockport (4-5-2 Overall, 2-3-2 SUNYAC) fired 50 shots on goal but had trouble finding the back of the net as Fredonia (4-4-3, 2-3-1) goalie Pat Street finished with 49 saves for the Blue Devils.

Tremblay scored in the first period with assists being awarded to James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) and Justin Noble (Georgetown, ONT). Four minutes later, Jeff Aonso forced in a rebound in the mouth of the Brockport goal after the play had seemed to be stopped in front of Brockport goalie Todd Sheridan (Edison, NJ).

Sheridan finished with 28 saves including 12 in the third period and four more in the 5-minute overtime period as Brockport outshot the Blue Devils by a 50-29 margin.

LADIES: PAY ATTENTION AT THE GAMES

MUST-SEE (AND MUST-WIN) HOCKEY!

The season started off in spectacular fashion. The Golden Eagles bested Lebanon Valley, lost by one goal to DIII powerhouse Hobart, buried Morrisville, and then shocked Geneseo in the Ice Knights’ barn. Brockport looked like a force to reckon with in the SUNYAC.

Things changed in a hurry.

The Golden Eagles lost as expected to Plattsburgh and Oswego (though they were beaten more badly than anyone would have guessed), tied Postdam at home (anything less than a win was disappointing), and got it handed to them by Cortland, a team they were supposed to beat handily.

That significant change in fortune makes this weekend’s games must-win (and must-see) hockey.

The Golden Eagles control their own destiny this weekend, playing host to Fredonia (Friday) and Buffalo State (Saturday). The three losses and the tie have put the 2-3-1 (SUNYAC play) Golden Eagles into a tie for 6th place in the SUNYAC with Cortland and Fredonia. Just ahead of them are Potsdam at 2-2-2 and Buff State at 3-2-1.

If they win both games (or win one, tie one), Brockport can theoretically take fifth place (if not fourth) because Potsdam has no chance against Oswego this weekend and Buff State has a good chance of losing against Geneseo on Friday. If they win one, the Golden Eagles will probably gain total control of sixth place. If they lose both games Brockport will be on the outside looking in.

So, this weekend determines what the second semester will look like. Will the second half of the season be the Golden Eagle fighting to keep a playoff spot….or will it be a repeat of the past few years, the Golden Eagles fighting to get a playoff spot? The latter, as players and long-time fans will tell you, can make for a nerve-wracking albeit exciting end to the season.

Friday’s opponent is the most-beatable of the two. Fredonia has gotten some “gimmee” wins and lost to the likes of Cortland and Potsdam. In the game of the year they tied regional rival Buffalo State 6-6. Fredonia is not as strong as last year. Gone are the likes of Neal Shannon and the physical Steve Albert. Taking their places are junior Jeff Aonso (10 points) and James Muscatello, who plays like Mike Gershon….the defenseman has 7 goals on the season, one more than Mike.

Fredonia’s strength is its goaltending. Pat Street is one of the more athletic goaltenders in the SUNYAC and this match-up might prove who has the conference’s bragging rights for #1 goalie: Street or Todd Sheridan. Streets numbers are very similar to Todd’s: .922 save percentage vs. .925 for Todd. Last year, Street stopped a remarkable .927% of the shots he faced on the season.

If you like great goaltending, this is the game to watch.

Saturday is a different story. If you like goals the Buff State match-up is your type of game. The Bengals have surprised me this year by scoring goals in bunches, something they’ve never really been known for. Four times they’ve scored six or more goals this season and they beat Hobart’s sound “D” 4-0.

The team is very balanced in the firepower department. A total of seven guys on the team have scored 4 or more goals, their offense led by Petriello’s 7 goals and 19 points (already!) and assist-king Jason Hill (15 apples on the season). Their focus on moving the puck has allowed the Bengals to disregard their defense, but Zach Grasley has proven to be up to the task (.903%).

For the average fan, this will be the most exciting game, an old-fashioned shootout!

I’ll hazard a guess that Brockport will beat Fredonia and lose to Buffalo State by two.

Friday’s game won’t be aired on the Point…unfortunately, basketball takes precedence. But, the Saturday game will receive coverage at 89.1 FM and online at http://www.891thepoint.com/

See ya at Tuttle!

GERSHON IS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Mike Gershon (Sparta, NJ) was Named Male Athlete of the Week for his performance this past week. The senior defensemen scored a goal and added an assist over the weekend during the Rutland Herald Invitational hosted by Castleton State. Gershon was selected to the All-Tournament team for his efforts. On the season Gershon is tied for the team lead in goals and assists with six and nine respectively.

STYLUS RECAP OF RUTLAND HERALD TOURNEY

From the Brockport Stylus....

Eagles Ice Hockey emerges from rough patch
Dale Budzisewski

Sometimes hockey teams hit rough stretches. Don't believe me? Ask anyone affiliated with the Rochester Americans the last two years.

The Brockport Golden Eagle Ice Hockey team (4-5-1), losers of three straight, and four of five going into Sunday's matinee with the Becker Hawks (2-6-0), were in an Amerks-like funk. Yet, they were able to turn it around and hold on for a 3-2 victory.

Brockport opened up the scoring mid-way through the first period. Senior Rick Stanek's blast from the blue line was saved and rebounded to senior captain Dave McNab, for his team leading sixth goal of the year.

Special teams were one of the major downfalls for Brockport throughout the weekend. They went 0-9 on the man-advantage in the 4-1 loss to Castleton Saturday. When the Hawks took three minor penalties in a period of 20 seconds, Brockport finally ended the scoreless streak.

Freshman Tyler Davis hit Ray Tremblay with a long pass. Tremblay rushed into the Becker zone one-on-one. As the pass was completed, senior assistant captain Mike Gershon noticed the opportunity, and joined the rush. He got the pass from Tremblay right in front of the net, and jabbed it through the legs of Becker goalie Jake Rosenthal for the 2-0 lead.

Gershon's goal was his sixth of the year, tying him with McNab for the team lead. The goal put him in a tie with two other players for the most goals by a defensemen in the country.

The second period began with another Brockport goal, this time Sean O'Malley finding the back of the net for the second time this year, giving Brockport a three-goal lead.

Becker would not give up as they scored two goals with 8:24 and 1:10 to go in the period.

The play that made the game for Brockport came with less than three minutes to go in the third period. Becker freshman Patrick Bellew got in behind Brockport's defense and skated toward Golden Eagle goalie Josh Roarke, who was making his first collegiate start. Freshman defenseman Greg Amato sprawled out to knock the puck away from Bellew. In the process, he knocked down the puck carrier and the referees awarded Becker a penalty shot.

Bellew was chosen to take the shot. After a quick move, he fired a wrist shot to the stick side of Roarke, who got a piece of the shot with his blocker, and deflected it up and over the net. After that play Brockport took back momentum and killed the remaining time, earning a third-place finish in the tournament.

Brockport returns to Tuttle North Ice Arena this weekend for their final first-semester games. They will host Fredonia, Friday, Dec. 5 and Buffalo State, Saturday, Dec. 6, both at 7 p.m.

Saturday's game will be part of a triple header on 89.1 the Point and on 891thepoint.com. The radio station will be in Potsdam covering men's and women's basketball at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m, respectively, with the hockey broadcast following at 7 p.m.

Source:

http://media.www.thestylus.net/media/storage/paper1380/news/2008/12/03/Sports/Eagles.Ice.Hockey.Emerges.From.Rough.Patch-3565961.shtml

JOSH ROARKE: ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

The SUNY Athletic Conference has selected Josh Roarke as it's Rookie of the Week:

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Josh Roarke - Brockport Goaltender
Freshman (Massapequa, Ont./Boston Shamrocks)

In his first collegiate start, Roarke scored a 3-2 win over Becker. He made 21 saves, including a penalty shot in the last minutes of the third period. Roarke finished the game with a .913 save percentage.

GERSHON NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

The Rutland Herald Invitational all-tournament team consisted of Omar Pacha and Brandon Heck of Castleton, and Donovan Hall, Brian Casey and Matt Tendler of Neumann and Mike Gershon of Brockport.

BROCKPORT BEATS BECKER 3-2

From the Brockport Athletic Department...

Roarke Makes Big Saves as Hockey Wins Consolation

Josh Roarke (Massapequa, NY) stopped 21 shots including a penalty shot with less than three minutes to play in the game as The College at Brockport Hockey team defeated Becker College 3-2 in the consolation game of the Castleton State Tournament Sunday in Rutland, Vermont.

Brockport (4-5-1) scored twice in the first period and then took a 3-0 lead early in the second period before Becker (2-6) came back with a pair of goals later in the second period to close the gap to 3-2.

In the third period, Brockport was whistled for penalty on a Becker breakaway giving Becker a penalty shot. Becker’s Patrick Bellew took the shot and tried for the top corner but Roarke made a blocker save to preserve the lead.

Senior Dave McNab (Hamilton, ONT) scored first for Brockport eight minutes into the contest as he tapped in a rebound after Rick Stanek (Clinton, NY) had his shot from the point saved. Six minutes later, Brockport took a 2-0 lead as senior Mike Gershon (Sparta, NJ) skated in on a 2-on-1 with sophomore Ray Tremblay (Peachland, BC). Trembley sent a centering pass to Gershon who deflected the puck between the legs on Becker’s Jake Rosenthal for the 2-0 lead.In the second period, Sean O’Malley (Lakewood, OH) scored with five minutes gone in the period to give the Golden Eagles a 3-0 lead. Becker scored twice in the final 11 minutes of the period to close the gap.

Roarke finished with 21 saves including 17 in the final two periods.

NEWSPAPER ACCOUNT OF CASTLETON GAME

From the Rutland Herald...

Castleton men advance at Rutland Herald Invitational

It will be a rematch of the first championship game of the Rutland Herald Invitational Tournament when Castleton will take on Neumann today at 3 p.m. at Rutland Regional Fieldhouse. But the Spartans' path to the title tilt was not nearly as easy as last year.

In 2007, the Spartans routed Morrisville State, but this year the Brockport State Golden Eagles were no pushover. Castleton had to reach deep to overcome a 1-0 deficit that came 17 seconds into the game to pull out a 4-1 victory.

The opening faceoff headed toward the Brockport defensive zone but the Golden Eagles gained control of the puck and Sean O'Malley hit Tim Crowley in stride in the neutral zone, sending him in alone on Jeff Swanson. Crowley drove deep, got Swanson to commit and came back to the right, sliding the puck inside the left post. The goal energized the Eagles and they poured it on, firing 14 shots at the Castleton goaltender, but he was brilliant and turned every bid aside.

Crowley got another breakaway in a 4-on-4 situation, but this time Swanson stoned him. The Golden Eagles also got 59 seconds of 5-on-3 at the 15-minute mark, but the Spartans were able to kill off those two penalties.

"After that goal, it had to happen. There was no choice. I was either going to get yanked or I was going to save the game," Swanson said.

"I think we know we didn't play as well as we wanted to or as well as we could have, but we found a way," Castleton coach Alex Todd said. "It's part of a long hockey season. There's days when you're going to be tired, there's going to be days when it's tough, but you've got to find a way to battle and I think this was one of those days."

The Spartans regrouped at the first intermission and came out with some jump in the second, scoring twice to take the lead for good. "I don't know what it was," senior Brandon Heck said of Castleton's first-period blues. "But it was a nice sign to see in the second and in the third we found a way to win."

The tying goal was a beauty and came at 8:22. Heck and Kirk Bolduc came into the zone on a 2-on-1. Heck skated nearly to the goal line on the left, bringing netminder Oliver Wren with him, and then dropped a perfect pass to Omar Pacha, who was trailing. The sophomore defenseman blasted a one-timer into the open net.

The game-winner came at 12:39. Steve Culbertson hustled down a puck in the right corner and threw it in front of the net. Heck got his stick down and redirected it into the net. The puck was in and out in an instant but the officials conferred with each other and the goal judge and the score was awarded.

The Spartans got their own 5-on-3 at 7:24 of the third and cashed in 11 seconds later. Stuart Stefan worked the puck from the left point to Pacha in the center and he ripped a shot on net. The rebound came out to Heck at the right circle and he buried it to make it 3-1.

Freshman Jeremy Hilliard, who is a cousin of Stefan and was one of the last additions to the team, provided some insurance at 12:33 when he buried a great feed from Ross Carmichael, who was in the right corner.

It was the culmination of some solid minutes for some of Todd's first-year players."I definitely played Jeremy Hilliard and Dan Mauriello way more than about four upperclassmen tonight," Todd said. "I consciously said 'Who do I want to put out there?' I want them out there before the older guys. They're playing great hockey."

But it was also penalty killing that saved the night. Brockport was 0-for-9 on the power play, but the Spartans know they can't continue to give other teams that number of chances. "We took a lot of bad penalties, especially in the offensive zone. Myself, I was guilty of that, too," Heck said. "We have a rule about three kinds of penalties we can take and we're not following that rule. It's going to come back to bite us. Hopefully, we can learn from this."

Then there was Swanson, who stopped 28 shots. "We like to hand out awards after the game and I told him I wish I had a canoe without any paddles to give him. That's where we were in the first period," Todd said. "But he was able to keep us in it. I've challenged both our senior goalies to rise up and win games for us."

The Spartans are now 1-2-0 on the season while Brockport falls to 3-5-1.

Source:

http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081130/SPORTS/811300412/1007/SPORTS

CASTLETON BEATS BROCKPORT 4-1

From the Brockport Athletic Department....

Senior Tim Crowley (Brasher Falls, NY) scored 17 seconds into the game for The College at Brockport Hockey team but Castleton State University rebounded to score twice in the second period and twice more in the third to post a 4-1 victory over the Golden Eagles in the first round of the Castleton State University Tournament Saturday night in Rutland, Vermont.

Brockport (3-5-1) opened the game quickly as Crowley took a pass from Sean O’Malley (Lakewood, OH) and posted a 1-0 Golden Eagles lead early in the contest. Despite dominating the shots on goal over the first two periods as Brockport held a 17-9 advantage, Castleton (1-2) scored twice in the second period to take a lead into the final period of play.

In the third period, Brockport had several chances to get back into the game including a 5-3 power play advantage in the first five minutes of the period but the Castleton State defense held the Golden Eagles scoreless.

The Spartans took a 3-1 lead less than two minutes after the Brockport power play and after two more Brockport extra-man opportunities, took a 4-1 lead with 7:27 left in the period.

Brockport struggled on the power play finishing the game 0-for-9 and was 0-for-4 in the third period.

Brockport will face Becker College in the consolation game at Noon Sunday after Becker dropped a 6-1 decision to Neumann College earlier Saturday.

REPORT ON TONIGHT'S GAME

The Rutland Herald (Vermont) reports on tonight's game...


Golden Eagles to face Castleton

The Golden Eagles want to play a Thanksgiving weekend tournament for a couple of reasons: They like to see some alternate competition and it preps them for league play before the semester break.

"For us, a Thanksgiving tournament is ideal," said coach Brian Dickinson, whose Eagles will face Castleton in the opening round today.

"We start a little bit earlier than the teams out East."We've consistently gone to Thanksgiving tournaments. What is does for us is keep us in the rhythm of our season."

Brockport is off to somewhat of a slow start at 3-4-1. They have beaten Lebanon Valley and Morrisville, split with Geneseo, lost to Hobart, Plattsburgh, Oswego and Cortland, and tied with Potsdam. They are 2-3-1 in the SUNYAC.

"I think we've left some better results on the ice, we've been hurt by mental letdowns," said Dickinson, whose Eagles have given up goals in spurts. "Oswego scored six in the first and Cortland five in the second. Those type of periods obviously take you out of hockey games. I told them it's OK to give up a goal but they've got to understand when a team scores on us, it's not the end of world. You've got to come out and play the next shift and not let teams get goals in bunches."

Brockport is fairly young compared to last season when the Eagles had 12 seniors. This year there are only six and the newcomers are still trying to find their stride. Two of the seniors are leading the team in scoring. Mike Gershon and Dave McNab each have five goals and two assists, while junior Sean O'Malley (1-6-7) leads the team in assists with six.

Junior Todd Sheridan had done the bulk of the goaltending, owning a 3-1-1 record. He has a .925 save percentage with a 2.48 goals-against average.

The Eagles and Spartans will square off at 6 p.m. tonight.

"We're excited to play some different teams," Dickinson said. "Playing Castleton will be a great test. They've been right on the edge the past few years."We're excited to play out East. Hopefully we can go out there and play our game and have some success for our program and our league."

Source:

http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081129/SPORTS/811290305/1007/SPORTS

PLACID TIX ON SALE NOW

The tickets for the DIII Championship at Lake Placid in March of 2009 are now on sale. I just ordered mine today....front row, center ice. You can't order online. You must call the Olympic Center's box office at 518.523.3330.

CASTLETON TOURNAMENT THIS WEEKEND

While the rest of the Brockport college community is off for an extended Thanksgiving weekend, the hockey team is not. They head to Castleton, Vermont for a tournament this Saturday and Sunday.

The teams playing in the tourney are Castleton, Neumann, and Becker.

Brockport plays the host team on Saturday at 6:00. The Castleton Spartans are a good team and should be able to handle the Golden Eagles. Last year’s regular season ended with a 10 game unbeaten streak which led to a 13-11-2 overall record. That late season success has not carried into this season, but it’s early for Castleton, having played only two games. They bring a physical brand of play to the ice, one that can really intimidate opponents. Their best player is Brandon Heck, who was second-team ECAC East last year. A solidly-built kid, he uses his strength and decent speed to control play. His stats for last year included 16 goals and 18 assists. Their goaltenders – Swanson and Seal - are solid and eerily similar. Look at their stats from last season: a .907 and .905 saves percentage and a 2.60 and a 2.64 GAA. How crazy is that?

If Brockport wins, they play at 3:00 on Sunday. If they lose on Saturday (which I think they will), they’ll play at 12:00 Sunday. Sunday’s opponent depends on who wins the early game (Becker vs. Neumann) on Saturday.

Neumann is the best team in the tournament. Last year they were 17-9-0. This year they are 5-4-1 which belies their success. Just look at who they’ve played: Utica, Elmira, Hobart, Geneseo (twice), and Manhattanville (3 times!). Those teams are all very good! The Knights play a very balanced game and have excelled at special teams. Like Brockport they are a young team (11 freshmen), but they do have some key senior leadership. Their scariest player is Mike Heddon. The guy has 7 goals this year and he netted 30 of them last year. Yes, thirty! Even the young guys can score of this team: freshman Marlon Gardner also has seven goals on the season.

Becker is a team most similar to Brockport and the team they are most likely to play on Sunday. The Hawks don’t have a stunning offense, but their defensive play is very good, highlighted by great goaltending. Jake Rosenthal has a .913 and a 2.29. There is really no one to fear as a goal-scoring threat.

Both Brockport games will be covered by WBSU. Listen on the air at 89.1 FM or online at www.891thepoint.com

Have a great Thanksgiving!!

BROCKPORT FALLS 6-4 TO RED DRAGONS

From the Athletic Department....

Hockey Drops 6-4 Decision on the Road at Cortland

The College at Brockport Hockey team opened up a 3-0 lead in the first period but surrendered five second period goals and dropped a 6-4 decision to SUNY Cortland Saturday night in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game at Cortland.

Dave McNab (Hamilton, ONT), Aaron Boyer (Calgary, ALB) and Sean O’Malley (Lakewood, OH) each scored goals for the Golden Eagles in the first 20 minutes of action.

In the second period, Cortland scored five times to take over the lead and each team added a goal in the third period for the final score.

Tim Crowley (Brasher Falls) scored his second goal of the weekend with his third period goal with 22 seconds left in the game.

Oliver Wren (Oakville, ONT) started and made 33 saves for the Golden Eagles.

Box Score:

http://www.uscho.com/box/?date=20081122&vis=brockst&home=cortst&gender=m

OSWEGO'S TAKE ON THE GAME

Courtesy of WNYO....http://sports.wnyo.org/

After coming off a disappointing tie to Morrisville State last weekend the Lakers came back tonight with a vengeance. The Lakers came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, and didn't look back. Mark Lozzi (first star of the game) scored a short handed goal off a rebound at 6:38 beating Golden Eagle goaltender Oliver Wren high. Laker senior forward Ryan Ellis added quickly to the early lead by wrapping the puck around Wren's skate for a goal at 8:29. Shortly following Ellis' goal, the Lakers took yet another penalty. But, senior forward Mark Lozzi was able to find the back of the net yet again. Senior defenseman Rich Zalewski set up Lozzi with a beautiful cross ice pass from the circle finding Lozzi in the slot for the goal.

The two shorthanded goals by Lozzi demoralized the Golden Eagle bench, and boosted the confidence of the Lakers bench. It was from this point that the Lakers put their foot on the accelerator and continued speeding forward in their offensive attack. In the final six minutes of the first period the Lakers scored three more goals. Matt Whitehead (third star of the game), Peter Magagna, and Erick Selleck all netted goals to increase the Laker lead to 6-0 by the end of the first.

The Lakers clearly dominated every aspect of play in the first period, which allowed them to storm out to the early lead. The rout was on early in the Campus Center, and things would not get better for the Golden Eagles. At 1:54 in the second period Josh Chamberlain scored of a rebound from a Joe Hall shot depositing the puck topshelf on the powerplay. Then at 2:23 Ellis struck again pushing the Lakers to an 8-0 lead in the first 22 minutes of play. The Golden Eagles at this point had already made a change in net switching from rookie Oliver Wren to veteran Todd Sheridan. The revolving door in net continued shortly after 8th Laker goal as Sheridan was quickly pulled giving rookie Josh Roarke the chance to showcase his abilities. This move came too late for the Golden Eagles as they had dug too deep a hole to climb out of.

The Golden Eagles ended Laker goaltender Paul Beckwith's bid for a shutout midway through the second when David McNab scored at 12:23 on a tip-in. Beckwith up to this point had not faced many shots, and was likely out of his normal rhythm. Junior center Neil Musselwhite, however, would back his goaltender up at 19:16 answering McNab's goal. Musselwhite crossed center ice on a breakout with one defender to beat. He fought off his defender and circled the net pushing the puck around Roarke's skate for a unassisted goal. Musselwhite's goal put the akers up 9-1 going into the second intermission.

The third period began with the resurgence of the lackadaisical defense that was exhibited a week earlier. Golden Eagle sophomore forward Tom Galiani beat Beckwith high on a one-on-one after an errant Laker pass was intercepted. The Lakers proceeded to give away another goal at 6:21 to Tim Crowley who beat Beckwith high yet again on a one-on-one. In the matter of 6:30 minutes the Golden Eagles quickly got back two goals, but they were answered just as quickly. Freshmen Erick Selleck (the second star of the game) scored at 6:51 and then again on a 5 on 3 powerplay at 19:11 to end the scoring on the night. Selleck's two third period goals gave him a hat trick on the evening propelling the Lakers to a 11-3 victory.

BROCKPORT IS ROUTED BY OSWEGO, 11-3

Here's the report from the Brockport Athletic Department....

Hockey Drops 11-3 Decision at Oswego

The College at Brockport Hockey team dropped behind SUNY Oswego by a score of 6-0 after the first period of play and trailed 9-1 after two periods but played an even third period finally falling by an 11-3 score in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game Friday night in Oswego.

SUNY Oswego (6-1-1 Overall, 3-0-1 SUNYAC), ranked No. 3 in the latest national poll, jumped out to an early lead and controlled the play for most of the first two periods of action. Brockport (3-3-1, 2-2-1) regrouped after the second intermission and played an even (2-2) third period with the Lakers.

Dave McNab (Hamilton, ONT), Tim Crowley (Brasher Falls, NY) and Tom Galiani (Lindenhurst, NY) each scored goals for Brockport while senior Mike Gershon (Sparta, NJ) added two assists while sophomore Nick Sampson (Mississauga, ONT) notched his first career point with an assist.

All three goalies played in the game for the Golden Eagles. Freshman Oliver Wren (Oakville, ONT) started and was relieved by junior Todd Sheridan (Edison, NJ) before freshman Josh Roarke (Massapequa, NY) came on to finish the game.

Boxscore: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/0809/boxes/mbrcosw1.n21

ALTERNATIVE BROADCASTS

If you are interested in hearing how other Colleges cover the Brockport games this weekend, you can hear both of them online.

The Oswego game can be heard here: http://www.wnyo.org/

The Cortland game can be heard on their online station:

http://www.cortlandreddragons.com/sports/2007/12/17/internetradio.aspx?id=63

LOOKING AT THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES

Brockport hits the road this weekend for two SUNYAC games, a Friday match at Oswego and a Saturday affair against Cortland (both games start at 7:00).

Over the past 16 years of watching SUNYAC hockey I’ve always had respect for Oswego. Year in, year out they remain the best or second best team in the conference, consistently putting together great teams who play a physical brand of hockey and score goals in bunches.

Oswego is right there near the top again this year. As a matter, they are ranked third in the nation.

That national ranking may be a little bloated if you ask me. Don’t get me wrong…they are awesome, definitely #2 in SUNYAC, averaging over 5 and half goals per game, but they have a glaring weakness that will dash their hopes for the NCAA playoffs. Their focus on moving the puck leaves them open to being scored on and that’s happened plenty this year, at a clip of almost 3 goals a game.

You can gamble on offensive play if you’ve got a great goaltender, which Oswego does not. Both of their netmen are average…Hyk’s save percentage is .898 and Beckwith’s is .875…and that’s with “padding the stats” by facing low-scoring teams like Buffalo State and Lebanon Valley.

This weakness was made obvious last week when Morrisville tied Oswego 5-5…in Oswego’s barn, no less! No one would have expected it, nearly everyone assuming it would have been a cakewalk for Oswego. But, Morrisville brought the same heat they bought against Brockport to Oswego and the Lake Men couldn’t handle it.

That came but one week after Oswego needed overtime to beat Buffalo State. So, needless to say, their usually-supreme confidence is a little shaky lately.

Two things can come of that. One, Brockport can feast on Oswego’s damaged psyches and focus on their weakness, doing as Morrisville did, bringing the traffic to the net. Or, two, Oswego will be as enraged as a hurt animal and they’ll come to the game focused and prepared as all get out in an effort to get past last week’s nightmare.

I’ll go with a little bit of both. My prediction: the game will go into overtime, eventually ending as 4-3 Oswego victory.

After facing Oswego, Brockport couldn’t get a better boost than taking on Cortland. After faring well last year at 11-12-3, Cortland is back to its tragic losing ways. This year the Red Dragon stand 3-5 and in their 3 worst games they allowed 10 (Buffalo State), 8 (Hobart), and 6 (Oswego) goals. Their bright spot was a season-opening 5-2 win against Fredonia.

The team is nothing to fear. Their top player is Gold, who scored 13 goals last year. He is joined by a couple of point-a-game guys this year…Palmisano and Haney. Beyond those three the team can be manhandled.

Their goaltending is a wreck, too. The same team that brought us one of DIII’s all-time characters - Ben Binga - continues to man the crease with suspect athletes. #1 goaltender Jewell sports an .855 saves percentage and 5.25 GAA. The kid tries, but he’s just not agile enough.

This would be a perfect game for Dickinson to experiment and release the hounds. I think it will pay off with a 6-1 Brockport victory.

If you aren’t travelling to either game, you can catch all the action from the comfort of your home. Both games can be heard on WBSU. On the air at 89.1 FM or online at www.891thepoint.com

BROCKPORT'S STINGY DEFENSE

Russell Jaslow's weekly SUNYAC report for USCHO.com speaks of Brockport's defense...


True, Brockport only got one point from the weekend, losing to Plattsburgh, 5-0, and tying Potsdam, 2-2. Look a little closer, and there’s still something very impressive about the Golden Eagles — their stingy defense.

Against Plattsburgh, only one of those five goals came when the teams were skating five aside. Ditto for the Potsdam game. In six games overall this year, Brockport has allowed just 14 goals. That’s 2.33 goals per game. However, now consider this — only five of those goals were let up when both teams were playing at full strength. That’s 0.83 a game.

If you are going to score against Brockport, you better do it when you’re on the power play or when teams are skating four-on-four (they have not allowed a shorthanded score). Otherwise, you’re just skating in circles.

Part of the reason is the play of Todd Sheridan who has never been healthier, and it’s showing with a 2.16 goals against average (GAA) and a .935 save percentage. That translates to the team willing to take more offensive chances, and thus keeping the puck out of their zone more so than in years past.

“He’s steady as a rock back there, and our guys appreciate having him back there,” Brockport coach Brian Dickinson said. “It gives them some chances to go on the offense.”

What’s keeping Brockport from having a better record with defensive stats like those is their own inability to score. They scored 19 goals in those six games for an average of 3.16 per game. But they too have not scored much while five-on-five — nine goals for an average of 1.50 per game.

If Brockport’s offense comes alive, and they are skating very well but not converting, watch out. The Golden Eagles could be in for a better season than anyone expected.


You should read the rest of Jaslow's report. It looks at...

* The always tense Buff State - Fredonia game
* Morrisville's shocking of Oswego
* Brockport/Oswego as one of the games to watch

You can read his column here:

http://www.uscho.com/news/college-hockey/id,16101

COMMENTING REMOVED

The commenting tool for this website has been removed. Yesterday it became a free-for-all and some folks got a little too reckless with personal attacks and language, so I eliminated it. I wasn't keen on the level of vulgarity and the baseless (even libelous) attacks levied against the members of the hockey team (past and present), the Coach, or Dolgy for his controversial comments. This really is a family-oriented site and I don't need the aggravation of babysitting the comment moderation. I am sorry to those who commented cleanly.

OSWEGO FORECAST

It can always be an adventure for fans to get to and from Oswego due to its location in a lake snow belt. This Friday will be no different.

If you're planning to attend the game, be prepared to use your winter driving skills. Friday's forecast for the Oswego area calls for 4 inches of snow, while Friday night's forecast calls for another 9 inches. Travelling the route from Rochester to Oswego is just a dicey...you're looking at a general 5 inches over Friday night.

BROCKPORT NEEDS COMMERCIALS LIKE THIS

EAGLE T-SHIRTS

At this weekend's games a few students were wearing T-shirts that had the hockey team's eagle logo on them. A few folks have asked me where to get them. Unfortunately, I don't have an answer. They are not official tees marketed by the team or the bookstore.

If you know how to get your mitts on some, let me know.

STYLUS RECAP OF THE WEEKEND

From the pages of today's Brockport Stylus....

Hockey rallies late to tie Potsdam
Dale Budzisewski

It took the Golden Eagles 126 minutes and 26 seconds ­- six periods and change - to break their scoring drought, and in doing so, saved their weekend. Comparatively, Ethiopian marathon runner Haile Gebreselassie, current holder of the world record, ran the Berlin Marathon this year in 123 minutes and 59 seconds.

Brockport (3-2-1 overall, 2-1-1 SUNYAC) fought hard for a 2-2 tie with Potsdam (2-2-1, 2-3-2) and made sure they did not go a weekend with a point. Brockport entered Saturday after a 5-0 loss to Plattsburgh, the No. 2 team in the country, while Potsdam came off a bad game, losing 7-2 in Geneseo.Both teams came out hungry in the first period, but neither team found the back of the net.

Potsdam was out-shot 13-10, but did have better scoring opportunities with traffic in front of goalie Todd Sheridan all night. The second period began as the first ended, with both teams struggling to find offense. With 8:56 remaining in the second, the Bears' top line lived up to its billing when leading scorer Connor Treacy beat Sheridan glove-side to take the 1-0 lead.

In the third period Potsdam took a penalty early and Brockport capitalized. The penalty ended, but Brockport maintained possession in the Bears, end. Tim Crowley and Dave McNab were worked the pick around until they got it to Jason Gorrie, who lifted a wrist shot past Potsdam freshman goalie Trevor O'Neill to tie up the score at one.

Play was even with five minutes to go until Mike Gershon was called on a questionable charging penalty. Potsdam scored with the man advantage and put Brockport back on their heels again.It was the then when the best line of the night finally shined. Head coach Brian Dickinson moved James Cody to a line with Justin Noble, centered by Ray Tremblay, hoping to get more offense.

Tremblay won a faceoff to the right of Potsdam goalie and Noble, the best player of the night for either team, rang a shot off the right post. Just as the crowd thought this was another missed opportunity, Cody followed up Nobles' shot with one of his own that beat O'Neill, again tying the game.

The overtime period ended without a winner, leaving each team one point for a tie.

The three stars for the game went to Noble, who along with his assists, was a one-man penalty killing machine. O'Neill, the second star, made 47 saves in his debut against Brockport and of course, Sheridan, the third star, made 36 saves. At least 10 of his saves would have beaten less capable goalies.

Brockport heads on the road this weekend for a pair of conference games. They play in Oswego Friday, then travel to Cortland for Saturday's game. Both games start at 7 p.m.

If you're not willing to make the trip, you can listen live at 89.1 FM or online at 891thepoint.com

Source: http://media.www.thestylus.net/media/storage/paper1380/news/2008/11/19/Sports/Hockey.Rallies.Late.To.Tie.Potsdam-3549611.shtml

WBSU PODCASTS UP

Did you miss the games this past weekend and want to hear what you missed? Then download the podcasts for the Plattsburgh and Potsdam games here:

http://891thepoint.com/PodcastingArchive.html

SHERIDAN AMONG NCAA'S BEST

I was glossing through the national statistics for the NCAA Division III and noticed that Todd Sheridan is up there near the top in the most important goaltending stat -- saves percentage. Currently, his .935 has him ranked eleventh.


But, that merits a closer look. Let's compare apples to apples. The leader has seen only 34 shots on goal and others in the top ten have seen no more than 40...meaning that they're on the leader board with only one game, maybe two, of work.

Now, if you look only at goaltenders who have seen at least 100 shots (and there are many) like Todd has (168 so far) he ranks second in the nation, behind Justin Marriott of Wentworth and his .941.

BROCKPORT TIES POTSDAM 2-2 AT HOME

Here are my thoughts and observations following last night’s 2-2 with Potsdam…

Brockport is now a quarter of the way through the season and it’s been a successful start, the team now standing at 3-2-1. If they keep it up, they’ll wind up fourth or fifth in the conference.

But – and this is one of those rare times you’ll hear me be critical of the team – if the power play I saw last night becomes the norm, Brockport will end the regular season on the outside looking in. Potsdam’s penalty killing abilities are just average, but last night Brockport allowed them to look all-world. They dominated while the Golden Eagles were on the PP, bringing incredible speed and pressure. They made it look like they were the ones on the offensive…and they were: twice Potsdam had frightening breakaways while shorthanded and twice they were denied by Todd Sheridan. It didn’t help that the Eagles looked sloppy on the power play…misfiring passes, being out of position, and on 3 occasions getting penalties themselves, blowing the man-up advantage.

But, I digress. Taking the power play out of the equation, I loved how well Brockport played last night. The offensive pressure was outstanding (look at the shots on goal!) and everyone played a great physical game. At even-strength, Brockport thoroughly dominated Potsdam, who were saved only by a stellar performance by their goaltender O’Neill.

It was an exciting game, all game. As someone who hates goals and prefers great goaltending and physical match-ups, this game was perfection to me. Saves were plentiful as was contact. Even fans with a passing interest in hockey were glued to their seats.

Freshman James Cody continues to impress. He’s a really exciting player to watch and he makes things happen. He’s turning into a Brockport version of Gordie Howe: deft at scoring AND knocking people on their butts. Not only was his tying goal in the waning moments the difference maker, but I know he put fear into some Potsdam guys. He had a couple of huge hits near the scorer’s table, including one that leveled a guy and sent his mouthpiece flying. Once he has fully adjusted to the NCAA and Dickinson’s style of play, there’s no reason he shouldn’t be able to net at least a dozen goals a year. The sky’s the limit with this kid.

Once again, Todd was great. Again he made some monstrous glove saves at point blank range. His save of the weekend was a sprawling, twisted wonder that sent his helmet flying. There’s a reason why he’s leading all SUNYAC netmen with a .935 saves percentage!

It was nice to see a thousand fans in attendance again. As someone who has seen some lean years in the stands, I love seeing this newfound fan base.

Russell Jaslow was in attendance. You can see his report for USCHO here:

http://www.uscho.com/recaps/20082009/m/11/15/potsst-brockst.php

Here’s what the Athletic Department reports….

Freshman James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) scored after the initial Golden Eagles shot hit the post as The College at Brockport Hockey team came from behind for a second time and settled for a 2-2 tie with SUNY Potsdam in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game Saturday night at the Tuttle North Ice Arena in Brockport.

SUNY Potsdam (2-3-2 Overall, 2-2-1 SUNYAC) scored midway through the second period to break a 0-0 tie but Brockport (3-2-1, 2-1-1) answered early in the third period on a Jason Gorrie (Etobicoke, ONT) goal from the point for a 1-1 game.

With five minutes to play in the third period, Potsdam scored on a powerplay to take a 2-1 lead before Cody’s goal with 2:01 left in the period tied the score. The teams played a scoreless 5-minute overtime for the final 2-2 tie.Early in the third period Brockport had control of the puck in the Potsdam zone and made several passes around the perimeter of the defense. Gorrie worked his way to a defensive position along the blue line and took a pass from Tim Crowley (Brasher Falls, NY) and fired a high hard shot that may have been deflected on its way to the net and beat Postdam goalie, Trevor O’Neill to tie the game at 1-1.

Late in the third period after Potsdam had regained the lead, Brockport won a faceoff to the right of O’Neill in the Potsdam zone and Justin Noble (Georgetown, ONT) fired a quick low shot that found a hole but hit the post and bounced out in front of the goal. Cody drove in from his wing position and slapped in the loose puck for the 2-2 tie.

Brockport held a 49-38 advantage in shots with O’Neill making 47 saves while Brockport junior Todd Sheridan (Edison, NJ) made 36 stops for the Golden Eagles.

The tie puts Brockport alone in third place in the SUNYAC standings.

BROCKPORT IS SHUTOUT BY PLATTSBURGH, 5-0

Random thoughts about last night's 5-0 loss to Plattsburgh….

I predicted that Plattsburgh would score 5, but never would I have thought the Golden Eagles would have a goose egg laid on them. The Golden Eagles, usually a team to bring it, looked hesitant when on the offensive throughout the game, approaching it passively and without aggression.

But, for 1.75 periods Brockport played an amazingly tight defensive game, holding the Cardinals to a 2-0 lead. That was some great hockey. Awesome defense by the Eagles over that span. If that approach were maintained over the final period and a quarter, it would have been just a 3-0 game in the end.

It didn’t help that Plattsburgh brought its “A” game. That just shows the gap between the Cardinals and the rest of Division III: Brockport has hung with one of the best (Hobart), but didn’t have a chance against Plattsburgh. Most teams (including really good teams like Elmira) can share in that misery

Penalties were a killer. If John Madden were a hockey commentator he might say: “Penalties lead to goals”. Sure, Plattsburgh was held to “only” 3 of 9 on the power play, but they easily could have scored on 3 others had Todd Sheridan not made some crazy saves. Plattsburgh smells blood on the power play. They are relentless and very well coached….even though they are the enemy, you can’t help but appreciate them

Despite the gaffe on the first goal, I thought Todd had a great game. He faced nothing but quality shots. Not once did he face any easy breadbasket shots. Lots of awesome saves, including a dozen of the athletic-type. His best was one that was nearly-impossible: a standing glove save while leaning over Plattsburgh and Brockport players who were screening him. Other nice saves: the point blank glove save towards game’s end and the second period flop around the right end of the goal.

Dave McNab continued to play like a captain. He was all over the ice, hitting people and trying to create plays. He had the best hit of the year so far, leveling Plattsburgh’s Kavagnah in the 2nd. He obliterated the kid and I hurt watching it. Man, it was violent!

I also thought Aaron Boyer got dealt a bad hand in the second period and I was amazed that the whistle was never blown. There was chaos in front of the net and Hince got out of position. Boyer was there, ready to chip it in, until some Plattsburgh dolt held Boyer’s stick! It was Brockport’s BEST scoring chance of the whole game and Boyer was interfered with, unable to make it happen.

Plattsburgh has some great fans. There were maybe 15 of them in attendance, complete with horns and a flag. They always support them no matter where they are, even as far away as Fredonia.

I met the fathers of Sean O’Malley and Adam Shoff. A couple of nice, personable guys.

It was great to see another big crowd (1,000). Let’s just hope that this game didn’t turn off the newest fans. If they attend tonight’s game it will be a much more rewarding experience for them.

Here’s the report from the Athletic Department…


Hockey Drops First Conference Game of the Season

The College at Brockport Hockey team played a close game with SUNY Plattsburgh for nearly two full periods and trailed by a 2-0 score late in the second before Plattsburgh, ranked No. 2 in the country, scored its third goal with 10 seconds left in the period and opened the third period with a fourth goal 1:43 into the stanza as the Cardinals went on to post a 5-0 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) victory over Brockport Friday night at the Tuttle North Ice Arena in Brockport.

The conference loss was the first of the season for Brockport (3-2 overall, 2-1 SUNYAC) after the team opened the season with two straight wins in conference games. The shutout loss was the first since Oct. 26, 2007 when top-ranked Manhattanville College won a 4-0 game in Brockport.

In the first period, Brockport surrendered a goal in the first 44 seconds of the game as Plattsburgh’s Joey Wilson scored as he wrapped the puck around the back of the goal and tucked the puck into the corner of the goal. Brockport regrouped and played an even period fighting off two powerplay opportunities in the first 10 minutes of the contest. Plattsburgh took three penalties in the second half of the period and Brockport pressured the goal with six shots but could not put a puck in the back of the net.

Midway through the second period, Plattsburgh took a 2-0 lead on an Eric Satim goal and after a late penalty against the Golden Eagles, Wilson scored his second of the game off a rebound in close to the Brockport goal.

Early in the third period, Wilson completed the hat trick as he blocked a shot in the defensive zone and recovered to skate the length of the ice beating Brockport goalie Todd Sheridan (Edison, NJ) with a low shot giving Plattsburgh a 4-0 lead. The Cardinals (5-0, 4-0) added a late goal with less than a minute to play for the final score.

Sheridan finished with 36 saves in the Brockport goal while Bryan Hince stopped 21 shots for the Cardinals.

THIS WEEK IN SUNYAC

Russell Jaslow provides another great "This Week In SUNYAC" for USCHO.com. In this week's installment he notes that Buffalo vs. Fredonia is the game of the week, but eyes need to be trained towards Brockport as well....


....it will be interesting to see how Brockport does in their home games against Plattsburgh and Potsdam. The Golden Eagles have been playing some excellent hockey recently especially on defense and penalty killing. How well they fare against the second ranked team in the nation will go a long ways towards telling us what Brockport is truly made of.

“We really preach to them we have to take it one game at a time,” Dickinson said. “We really feel we’re a good team when we do the simple things and not try to do what we can’t do.”

This weekend will be a true test for that philosophy which has worked very well so far this year.


Russell also wrote extensively about Brockport's butt-kicking of Geneseo. Read the whole report here:

http://www.uscho.com/news/college-hockey/id,16048

A LOOK AT THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES

The Golden Eagles return home after two weekends on the road. The upcoming matchups feature two SUNYAC opponents…Plattsburgh and Potsdam. Needless to say, this weekend will go a long ways in showing that Brockport will be a force to reckon with in the conference this year.

It starts off on Friday with a 7:00 game against the Plattsburgh Cardinals, the best team in the SUNYAC and maybe all of DIII. Currently, the USCHO polls have Plattsburgh ranked second, slightly behind St. Norbert, the team they fell to in March’s DIII championship in Lake Placid. I would go as far to say Plattsburgh is the best, because much of St. Nobert’s success last season could be attributed to goaltender Kyle Jones, who has since graduated. Jones was the best DIII player I’ve ever seen. Last year he had a 1.09 GAA and 10 shutouts, including the season-ender against Plattsburgh. Without Jones in the mix, Plattsburgh is the cream of the crop.

Plattsburgh always seems to do everything right. Size, speed, strength…they’ve got it all. Year in, year out they make goal scoring look way too easy. They are at once aggressive and patient, swarming other teams, suffocating them and then finding their weak spot. They skate better and move the puck better than most teams and are as adept at sniping as they are at putting in close-range blasts. Last year they had five guys score 10 or more goals, led by now-sophomore Dylan Clarke and his 21 goals. This year the team scored 6, 5, 4, and 8 goals in their first four games. The first game made a statement…it was a shellacking of perennial DIII powerhouse Elmira.

This season’s leading scorer is senior defenseman Nick Rolls (9 points). Rolls is by far their best player. He’s smart, he skates well, he hits hard and is the best offensive defenseman in the SUNYAC. Last season he racked up 30 points, including 14 goals. Amazing numbers.

The net is guarded well by Bryan Hince. He’s good, not spectacular, maybe the fourth best goalie in SUNYAC. Lacking athleticism he can be beat by chaos in front of the net….that is if their swarming defense allows anyone to get close.

You can’t say enough about how good Plattsburgh is and that is why I’ll predict that Brockport will be on the losing end of a 5-3 match-up. But, the Golden Eagles will put a scare into the Cardinals, keeping it close into the third period.

The Potsdam Bears (Saturday’s opponent) are, on the other hand, quite beatable. I’m going to go out on a limb and say Brockport will win by a score of 4-1. Potsdam came into the season with high expectations (the pollsters had them ranked 21st) based on a great recruiting class.. But, they’ve gone 2-2-1, including an embarrassing 6-3 loss to Buffalo State. Last year they were 10-13-4 and got beat by Brockport twice, something that hadn’t happened in years. Their goalie Miller is just okay, and the defense in front of him can be porous. Their 3 leading scorers have returned from last season…which is not the least bit frightening because not one of them scored more than 8 goals.

Let’s hope the turnout was as good as the home opener!

If you can’t make it to Tuttle, both games can be heard on WBSU 89.1 FM or at www.891thepoint.com

MOST IMPROVED TEAM

The message board at USCHO.com has a discussion about the most improved teams of this season. One of the posters chimed in with this....

I like what Brockport has done thus far. Though their season is only 4 games old they have played very well, especially on the road. They have a 7-2 win at Geneseo (a team that as bad as they were last year still managed to sweep Brockport) and took Hobart down to the wire, while outshooting them 45-37. They have also won the two games they were supposed to win (no small feat considering they dropped one to Morrisville last year). If they can keep this up, they might be looking at a top 6 finish in the SUNY.

To join in that discussion go here:

http://board.uscho.com/showthread.php?t=80220

GENESO PODCAST AVAILABLE

WBSU's podcast of the Geneseo game is now available at:

http://891thepoint.com/PodcastingArchive.html

STYLUS RECAP OF GENESEO GAME

From the pages of the Brockport Stylus....

Gershon's three goals lead hockey to big win against Geneseo
Dale Budsizewski

In the second period against Geneseo Friday night, Brockport put the proverbial nail in the coffin, dug a shallow grave in the woods, dumped the coffin in the hole, covered it with a light spattering of twigs and leaves and left it there to sit for eternity. Or, at least until a hiker came along, phoned the authorities and CSI showed up.

Brockport (3-1-0, 2-0-0) found the back of the net five times in the second period, setting them up for a 7-2 blowout on the Knights' home ice.

Geneseo (5-2-0, 1-1-0) benefited from an early Brockport miscue to get on the board first. Captain Dave McNab was carrying the puck in front of his own net when it was knocked away by Geneseo's Dan Sullivan. Sullivan, less than 10 feet from the net, beat goalie Todd Sheridan, to take the 1-0 lead nearly five minutes into the game.

After the first goal, Brockport took over the game, in big thanks to undisciplined play from the Knights. With seconds left on the first Golden Eagle power play, a shot from the point by defenseman Mike Gershon went wide of the net and right to Sean O'Malley. O'Malley's initial shot was saved and after a scramble in front of the net, freshman James Cody jammed the puck in for Brockport's first of the night and his second of the year. O'Malley was credited with the assist and would go on to assist all three of Gershon's tallies.

Two minutes later, Gershon scored his first goal of the night. A slap shot from the blue line that Geneseo goalie Jeff Pasemko initially got a piece of, trickled by him into the net. The period ended with Brockport leading 2-1.

McNab made up for his earlier gaffe when he sniped a goal with 54 seconds into the second period. If the shot from above the right faceoff circle would have been any further up or left, it would have rang off the post, but the perfect aim put Brockport up for good 3-1.

Forty seconds later, Gershon struck again with a direct slapper from the blue line. A power-play goal by Aaron Boyer, assists going to Tim Crowley and Sheridan, and a short-hander by Andrew Simmons would set up the Gershon-Gershon showdown.

Corey Gershon, Mike's younger brother and Geneseo goalie, entered the game for Pasemko after Boyer's goal. With less than three minutes to go in the second period Mike took a laser slap shot from 50 feet, beating his younger sibling, stick side, for his third of the night and the team's seventh.

This weekend Brockport returns to Tuttle North Ice Arena for a pair of SUNYAC games. Friday night, Plattsburgh and Potsdam on Saturday, with both games dropping the puck at 7 p.m.

GERSHON DENIED SUNYAC HONORS

I was taken aback by today's SUNYAC news release for their ice hockey players of the week. Mike Gershon didn't make the list. The winner was Joel Sheppard of Buffalo State.

I have to question the logic behind the pick.

Yes, Sheppard like Gershon scored a hat trick. But, Sheppard is a forward. Forwards get hat tricks all the time. When is the last time you saw a defensemen get one? Brockport has never had one reach that pinnacle. I will guess that the SUNYAC has seen very few defenders accomplish that.

Sheppard got his 3 goals against Cortland. Gershon got his against Geneseo, a far better team than Cortland. Cortland has allowed 35 games in 7 games....not good! Geneseo has allowed 17 goals in 7 games...and Mike got three of them!

This to me is the anti-Brockport bias that permeates the SUNYAC. As I mentioned in the season preview....the team is a lot better than given credit for. And, they're off to a 3-1-0 start. When will they be taken seriously?

GERSHON IS MALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Mike Gershon (Sparta, NJ) is the College at Brockport’s male athlete of the week after scoring three goals in Brockport’s 7-2 victory over SUNY Geneseso.

The senior defensemen scored his first goal in the first period to give Brockport a 2-1 lead. He added his second goal on the power play in the early in the second period, and scored his third goal late in third period to complete his hat trick.

Gershon has recorded the first known hat trick in Brockport history for a defenseman.

BROCKPORT DEMOLISHES GENESEO 7-2

In yesterday's "scouting report" I was right on one count...last night's game against Geneseo was going to be a great game.

I was wrong in saying it would be a close game. Dead wrong.

Brockport beat their greatest rivals 7-2.

Now, I'm really bummed that I missed the game.

Among the highlights....Mike Gershon got a hat trick. As if that's not a rare enough feat, it's an unbelievable accomplishment for a defenseman. And, to add icing to the cake, he beat his brother - Geneseo's backup goaltender Cory Gershon - for one of them! He has some serious bragging rights at the family dinner table.

Sean O'Malley also had a huge game, registering 4 assists on the night.

Todd Sheridan made 25 saves, continuing his monster season. After 3 games he's sitting on a .955 saves percentage.

Here's what the Brockport Athletic Department reports...



High-Scoring 2nd Period Leads Hockey past Geneseo

Senior Mike Gershon (Sparta, NJ) scored once in the first period and twice more in the second to lead The College at Brockport Hockey team to a convincing 7-2 victory over SUNY Geneseo in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game Friday night in Geneseo.

Geneseo (5-2 Overall, 1-1 SUNYAC) scored to take an early 1-0 lead 4:35 into the first period but five minutes later freshman James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) scored his second goal of the season to knot the score at 1-1.

Gershon added his first of the night two minutes later as Brockport worked the puck around the offensive zone with Sean O’Malley (Lakewood, OH) and Jason Gorrie (Etobicoke, ONT) earned assists on the play as the puck ended up at the point where Gershon fired a shot past Geneseo’s Michael Battaglia for the 2-1 lead.

In the second period, Brockport exploded for five goals with three coming on the powerplay and two coming from the stick of Gershon. Senior captain David McNab (Hamilton, ONT) scored the first goal of the period 53 seconds into the period and less than a minute later Gerson added another powerplay goal.

At the 8:13 mark of the period, Aaron Boyer (Calgary, ALB) made it a 5-1 game and with less than five minutes to play in the period, the defensive tandem of Andrew Simmons (Middleburgh, NY) and Gershon scored in a span of three minutes to make it a 7-1 score. O'Malley added his fourth assist of the night on the play.

In the third period, Geneseo added a late goal despite taking six penalties in the period including a game misconduct for checking from behind. Brockport was whistled for just one penalty in the final period.

Todd Sheridan (Edison, NJ) was credited with 25 saves including a fantastic glove save late in the second period.

A LOOK AT TOMORROW'S GAME AT GENESEO

Brockport has one game this weekend, heading to the unfriendly confines at Geneseo for a Friday night match-up that begins at 7:00 PM.

The game will be a learning experience for the youngest players. They’ll be facing a decent opponent and a crazy bunch of fans. Geneseo’s home ice advantage is just as good as that supported by Plattsburgh or Oswego. The fans are vocal. They know the sport. They know how to get under your skin. And, above all, there are plenty of them. The average attendance at a Geneseo’s three home games this season has exceeded 1,800. By comparison, Brockport’s first game of the season had an attendance of 1,500…by far the most in years.

This will be an extremely close match-up because the teams seem nearly identical here early in the season. Geneseo played Neumann (17-9 last year) tight this year, just like Brockport did a similar opponent (Hobart). Geneseo beat Lebanon Valley 4-1. Brockport beat them 3-0. The difference: It took OT for Geneseo to beat Morrisville 2-1. Brockport beat them 5-2.

Geneseo’s biggest threat this year is Casey Balog – a Brockport native – who has 7 points on the season. Last year, he had an unremarkable 6 points total, so his quick start is probably a mirage. Senior Kevin Galan is off to a slow start, but he chipped in 10 goals last year, so he’s one to watch. Another solid player is defensemen Casey Smith, who plays good “D” and is adept at helping out with the offense. Senior goaltender Pasemko is playing out of his mind (.954). He’s nowhere near that great –as a matter of fact he’s probably .880 material - so he can be beat.

If the Golden Eagles’ rookies can get past the noise and the distractions, they can beat Geneseo handily. I predict a 3-1 Brockport victory.

Normally, I’d make the road trip, but this time I can’t. Bummer. It will be a great game.

The game will be broadcast on 89.1 FM or online at www.891thepoint.com

THE STYLUS' REPORT ON LAST WEEKEND'S GAMES

From the pages of the Brockport Stylus...

Brockport hockey team splits games between Morrisville and Hobart
Dale Budziszewski

If head coach Brian Dickinson stressed anything to his players during preseason, it was getting points early in the season. Too many times in the past, the Golden Eagle ice hockey team started slow and been forced to play catch-up in the second half of the season.

Brockport (2-1-0 overall, 1-0-0 SUNYAC) decided to make life a bit easier by knocking off Morrisville (0-4-0, 0-2-0) Saturday, Nov. 1, 5-3, in their conference opener.

After a scoreless opening period, Brockport capitalized on the power play, just two minutes into the second, when Mike Gershon beat Mustang goalie Dave Labaff with a slap-shot from the point. Three minutes later Dave McNab stole a pass, went in alone on Labaff and put the Golden Eagles up 2-0.

The eventual game winner came with eight minutes left in the period when James Cody stole the puck and skated in alone on Labaff. The Mustang goalie stopped Cody's shot, but Ryan Silveira, following up on the play, tapped in the rebound to give Brockport a 3-0 lead.

Morrisville crept back in the game with goals at the end of the second and midway through the third, but the hustle of James Cody would put them away for good.

The freshman stole another neutral zone pass, missed on his initial shot, but knocked in the rebound for his first tally of the year. Ray Tremblay added an empty netter with 63 seconds remaining.

Goalie Todd Sheridan made 42 saves, earning his second win in as many chances. He also leads all SUNYAC goalies with 1.00 goals against average and a .968 save percentage.

Friday, Brockport played a tough game against the Hobart Statesmen (3-1-0) but fell 3-2. It was a back-and-forth game until Hobart benefited from a questionable goal call in the second period.

Hobart, the USCHO.com eighth-ranked team in the nation, used a two-man advantage to take the lead, four minutes into the game. Before the period ended, Lucas Schott evened things with his first goal of the year, with assists going to Jason Gorrie and Sean O'Malley.

Freshman Oliver Wren, who made his collegiate debut, may have fell victim to a phantom goal when Hobart winger Jason Merritt took a long shot that rang of the post before Wren covered it up. Although the goal judge kept his finger off the button and the red light did not glow, the referee signaled a goal, and giving a 2-1 lead to the Statesmen.

A goal two minutes later would be enough for Hobart as Gershon's goal with 90 seconds to go in the second would be the closest Brockport would get.

The Golden Eagles head back on the road for a Friday night game in Geneseo, taking on an Ice Knights team that was taken to overtime by Morrisville last Friday, before topping them 2-1.

Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. All games can be heard through WBSU 89.1 The Point and online at www.891thePoint.com.

HOBART PODCAST AVAILABLE

WBSU audio from Friday's game against Hobart can be heard here:

http://891thepoint.com/PodcastingArchive.html

BROCKPORT BEATS MORRISVILLE 5-2

The Brockport Athletic Department reports....

Young Players Lead Hockey to Road Win

Sophomore Ryan Silveira (Brampton, ONT) and freshman James Cody (Schwenksville, PA) each scored a goal and added an assist to lead The College at Brockport Men’s Hockey team to a 5-2 victory over SUNY Morrisville Saturday night in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game in Morrisville.

Brockport (2-1 Overall, 1-0 SUNYAC) scored the first three goals of the game but not until the second period as the two teams played a scoreless first period. Early in the second period, Mike Gershon (Sparta, NJ) rifled a shot from the point on a powerplay for a 1-0 lead 1:45 into the period. Three minutes later, Dave McNab (Hamilton, ONT) stole a clearing pass as a Brockport penalty was expiring and walked in on the Morrisville goalie and beat him with a hard low shot for the 2-0 lead.

With eight minutes left in the period, Cody stole a pass in the neutral zone and skated in on a break away. His shot was saved by the goalie but the rebound popped out to Silveira and he tapped it in for his first goal of the season and a 3-0 Brockport lead.

Morrisville (0-4, 0-2) scored goals late in the second and eight minutes into the third period to cut the lead to 3-2 but Cody stole another clearing pass in the neutral zone and again was stopped with his first shot but this time jammed in his own rebound for the 4-2 advantage.

Late in the game, Ray Tremblay (Peachland, BC) stole a puck near the blue line while Morrisville was on a powerplay and had pulled its goalie for the extra attacker. Tremblay shot from outside the red line into the upper corner of the net for the final goal of the game and a 5-2 victory.

Junior Todd Sheridan (Edison, NJ) made 44 saves in the Brockport goal.

TONIGHT'S BROADCAST IS CANCELLED

Tonight's originally-scheduled WBSU broadcast of the hockey game against Morrisville has been cancelled. Instead, the station will broadcast the football game at 7:00, which is also between Brockport and Morrisville. The football game was supposed to take place at 1:00 at MS, but field conditions are so bad the game got moved to a neutral site (Colgate).

BROCKPORT GOES DOWN 3-2 AT HOBART

I was unable make it to the Hobart game, and the same holds true for tonight's game at Morrisville, but I listened to the game on WBSU and it was as exciting and close a game as I thought it would be. Had it not been for questionable call, the Golden Eagles could have walked away with a tie. Here's what the Brockport Athletic Department reports....

Questionable Call the Difference for Hockey against Hobart

Seniors Mike Gershon (Sparta, NJ) and Lucas Schott (Erin, ONT) each scored goals for the College at Brockport Men’s Hockey team but a questionable call by one of the referees in the second period gave Hobart College the second of three goals as the Statesmen defeated Brockport 3-2 Friday night in Geneva.

Hobart (3-1) took a 1-0 lead four minutes into the contest but Brockport (1-1) bounced back to tie the score nine minutes later with a goal by Schott that was set up by juniors Jason Gorrie (Etobicoke, ONT) and Sean O’Malley (Lakewood, OH).

In the second period, Hobart’s Jason Merritt skated into the Brockport zone along the right side of the ice and fired a long shot at the Brockport goal. Freshman goalie Oliver Wren (Oakville ONT) covered the puck up after it the shot had caromed off the post but the referee signaled for a goal even though the goal judge had not turned on his light. The controversial goal gave Hobart a 2-1 lead with 13 minutes to play in the second period.

Two minutes later, Hobart made it a 3-1 lead before Gershon scored late in the period to cut the lead to 3-2. Gershon’s goal was assisted by sophomores Ryan Silveira (Brampton, ONT) and Ray Tremblay (Peachland, BC).

In the third period, Brockport controlled the play for the majority of the final 20 minutes with a 16-7 advantage in shots in the period. The Golden Eagles had a few scoring chances late in the period including an O’Malley shot that hit the post with less than two minutes to play and a Tom Galiani (Lindenhurst, NY) shot that was deflected by a Hobart defenseman with less than 15 seconds remaining.

Wren made 31 saves in his collegiate debut.

BUFFALO WORLD JUNIORS WEBSITE & TICKETS

When I was at the Sabres game last night (my first one in a couple of years) they gave notice that a website has been launched for the 2010-2011 World Junior Hockey Championships. Check it out online at:

http://www.buffaloworldjuniors.com/

I was gung-ho about going…until I saw the price tag on the ticket information page. Tickets go on sale this November/December and packages for one seat range from $493 (all 17 games at HSBC) to $1,240 for all 31 games at HSBC and Dwyer.

Yet another reason why I'm happy to pay $25 a year to watch great hockey at the DIII level.

SCOUTING REPORT FOR OCT. 31 & NOV. 1

Brockport has an interesting weekend coming up, one that should see them pick up a win and a loss.

On Halloween they travel to the Geneva Recreational Center to play Hobart at 7:00. If you’ve seen Brockport play there before, be prepared for a change to tradition. It won’t look or feel like you remember it.

The Center used to be a real treat for the fans because it was the only outdoor rink in DIII hockey. Sure, it had a roof, but it had no walls and was open to the air. In Brockport’s 2006-2007 trip to Hobart I froze my behind off….it was only 9 degrees! Probably to make life easier for the fans and players Geneva and Hobart worked together to enclose the rink prior to last season. So, the novelty is gone.

But, the excitement won’t be.

Hobart is always a force to reckon with. Last year they were 18-2-2 and they came into this season ranked 8th on the USCHO poll. Their claim to fame is their speedy style of play. Coach Mark Taylor drafts players based on speed and puck handling ability and his teams always excel at moving the puck and maintaining control of the game. It’s a boring style of play to me (limited physicality) but it works quite well.

Hobart has a couple of young buck that Brockport must contend with. Junior Nick DeCroo had 15 goals last year and Matt Wallace had 11 goals last year…as a freshman!

Another obstacle is goalie Keith Longo. He was huge last year with a .931 saves percentage and 2.42 GAA. He shows great awareness in the crease.

Hobart was shocked in its season opener, whupped-on 4-0 by Buff State, but in the two games since they won convincingly 5-3 and 8-3. Last year they had a hard time with Brockport, so I predict yet another close and very exciting game.

But, Brockport comes up short, 4-3.

If you can’t make the trip to Hobart, you can listen in at www.891thepoint.com

On Saturday the team heads to Morrisville for a 7:00 match-up. Morrisville is the doormat of the SUNYAC, having gone 5-20 last year in the first year as a conference member. They are comparable to last week’s opponent (Lebanon Valley) yet they actually have a threat in Rob Sgarbossa, a solid goal scorer. Brockport will walk away with a 4-1 victory.

Once again, the game will be available on-air at 89.1 or on WBSU’s website.

LVC GAME NOW ON PODCAST

WBSU's coverage of last Saturdays' game against Lebanon Valley College is now available online as a series of three podcasts. If you want to give it a listen, go here:

http://891thepoint.com/PodcastingArchive.html

Scroll down to "College at Brockport Golden Eagle Hockey". Click that red-colored text and the downloads will appear below it.

NEW YORK VS. SAVES FOR A CURE

If you’ve read any of my columns you know that I’m not a big fan of New York State government.

I hate it. It’s Big Government at its “finest.” Our elected officials and appointed bureaucrats make taxes so high and regulations so extreme in New York that corporations find it impossible to do business here and people find it impossible to live here.

Now, they’re even making it impossible to make a difference here.

Just ask Todd Sheridan.

If you’re familiar with Brockport hockey you know his story. If not, here is a synopsis with some help from Rochester Democrat & Chronicle:


Early in (2005), he had noticed "a pretty big lump" on the right side of his neck. His doctor dismissed it as a cyst or infected lymph node, but five months later the lump was still there and Sheridan's concern was growing. In April 2005, doctors removed a painful lymph node from his neck and diagnosed cancer. Doctors discovered that the source of his cancer was his tongue and performed a radial neck dissection on May 23, cutting from the chin to the ear to the shoulder, removing 72 lymph nodes from his neck and cutting out a portion of his tongue the size of a half dollar. "Originally, my doctor was pretty negative,'' Sheridan said. "But after surgery he gave me a 70 percent chance of living.''

He also gave Sheridan virtually no chance of playing hockey again. The surgery weakened Sheridan's right shoulder so severely that the thought of the goalie playing competitive hockey again was deemed ridiculous.



Well, Todd proved them wrong and played hockey anyways, excelling on the ice. The past two seasons he has set new school records for goals-against-average.

Knowing his story would resonate with people, and feeling deep sympathy for the very young cancer-stricken children he saw while in hospital, Todd came up with a great concept: Saves For a Cure.

The non-profit Saves For a Cure would collect from businesses and donors $1 for every save made by Brockport goaltenders. All of the proceeds would then be donated to the children’s cancer clinic at Strong memorial Hospital. The funds would be used to make their life - during some physically and emotionally trying times - a little more enjoyable by providing amenities and comfort.

Saves For a Cure was supposed to launch this semester. Right now it’s on hold, courtesy of New York State.

The pathway to making it a legally recognized organization in NYS has been strewn with obstacles…something none of us had anticipated. On March 12th, 2008, the very night that Todd appeared on the TV show “WNY Tonight” in the Buffalo area, he signed the certificate of incorporation. Past experience had us believing that the non-profit would be legitimate within 3 to 6 weeks.

Well, time went on with no response from the State. Finally, word came in mid-May. The Department of Education didn’t like that Todd planned to educate people on cancer, so that language had to be eliminated from the certificate.

I’m still aghast that the state believes that Todd – A CANCER SURVIVOR – has no right to talk about cancer and educate people on the disease. Amazing.

It gets worse. The Department of Health dragged their feet and in mid-July they said Todd didn’t have the right to donate money to hospitals or buy equipment like TV’s, toys, or furnishings for the kids.

Yes, you read it right: the State is against charity!

So, I sent a letter to Governor David Paterson’s office in September telling him the situation and hoping he could do something. As someone who battled physical adversity himself (blindness) he would know the significance of what Todd was trying to do. So, the Governor’s office came down on the Department of Health. From that, the DOH’s Health Council is meeting in November when it is hoped that they will drop the aforementioned ruling and allow Saves For a Cure to do the philanthropic work it was intended to do.

And people wonder why I hate New York.

Now it’s just a waiting game, hoping that they move in a positive fashion and allow Saves For a Cure to exist and make a difference.

Hopefully, in a few weeks I can report back with some good news and all of us (players, alumni, parents, and fans alike) can work together to find some donors before the season is over.