Monday, March 31, 2008

"WHERE ARE THEY NOW?" COMING SOON

Beginning in April I'm bringing a new endeavor to this blog: "Where Are They Now?"

Every month I'll interview an alumnus of the hockey program so you can see what he's been up to since graduating. We'll get a chance to hear about his family, career, and post-college hockey life. We'll also discuss his all-time favorite Brockport memories.

With 42 years of club and varsity hockey at the college, we'll never run out of interesting people and their stories.

If there's anyone (player OR coach) you'd like to see grilled, shoot me an e-mail or comment to this post.

Friday, March 28, 2008

SABRES ALUMNI COMING TO CAMPUS

The Buffalo Sabres Alumni are coming to Brockport on Wednesday, April 2nd, for a 7:30 PM basketball game against Brockport faculty. Proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life. For info about the alumni visit: http://www.sabresalumni.com/index.php

Thursday, March 27, 2008

CHRIS KORAS RECEIVES ACADEMIC AWARD

In Division III sports it's really "academics first, athletics second". Many of the athletes are accomplished students, much more so than DI athletes. That was made apparent again last week when it was announced that the team's leading scorer, senior Chris Koras, has received the Paul B. Hanks, Sr. and Paul B. Hanks, Jr. Award winner as presented by the college's Political Science department. This prestigous award “acknowledges and encourages the most promising senior pre-law student whose academic accomplishments, record of community service, and involvement in co-curricular activities reflect those qualities which made Mr. Paul Hanks, Sr. and Mr. Paul B. Hanks, Jr. respected and valued members of the legal profession and community.”

TODD SHERIDAN'S TV APPEARANCE

Back on March 12th, Brockport's record-setting goaltender Todd Sheridan was on TV for an hour-long episode of the live talk show "WNY Tonight" which airs in the Niagara Falls and Buffalo television market on LCTV. The show has aired a dozen times the past couple of weeks, allowing many people to hear about Todd's battle with and victory over cancer and about his new non-profit organization, Saves For a Cure, that will benefit cancer-stricken children in Rochester.

If you live outside of the area and would like to see the show, shoot me an e-mail at bobconfer@juno.com and I'll send you a DVD copy in the mail. It's good TV....I can't say enough about how great Todd's story is and how meaningful his philanthropy will be to the community.

The picture is Todd in the LCTV studio with me and WNY Tonight host Tammie Lee Demler.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

BROCKPORT'S TOUGH SCHEDULE

This past weekend I was in Lake Placid for the Divsion III Frozen Four. Two of the four teams (Elmira and Plattsburgh) were Brockport opponents during the regular season. That got me thinking about how tough Brockport's schedule was in 2007-2008. Based on USCHO.com's rankings of the top 15 teams in the nation, here's who Brockport had to face:

#2 Plattsburgh (twice!)

#3 Manhattanville (twice!)

#4 Elmira

#7 Hobart

#8 Oswego (twice!)

#10 Middlebury

That's 9 games...more than a third of Brockport's schedule...against "top ten" teams!

ABOUT THIS BLOG

A 1996 graduate of SUNY College at Brockport, I've just completed my fifteenth season of following the college's hockey team. A big a fan as they come, for the past two years I've provided game recaps, scouting reports, news stories and more on a Facebook group for Brockport hockey fans. Being that many fans (especially parents and alumni) don't have a Facebook account, I thought I'd bring all of this to the Internet at large so anyone can follow the team. So, from here on out, this blog will serve as THE clearinghouse for anything and everything Brockport hockey. Add this site to your "favorites"....be sure to check back regularly...and even daily during the season.

A sports fan who's grown disinterested in pro sports because of its many excesses, I've always had an appreciation for NCAA Division III sports and its "academics first and athletics second" mindset. Without scholarships or the trappings of pro sports (or Division I sports for that matter) the athletes really DO play for the love of the game. That being said, there's never a bad game at the DIII level because it's always a meaningful experience to the athlete and his fans...be they students, alumni, or parents. I'd rather watch a Brockport game than a professional game any day. Hopefully, you feel the same way following our Golden Eagles.