Here's what the Brockport athletic department had to say about the game..
Hockey Opens 2008-09 Season with a Shutout Victory
Junior Todd Sheridan (Edison, NY) made 18 saves to lead The College at Brockport Hockey team to a season-opening 3-0 victory over Lebanon Valley College in a non-conference game Saturday at Tuttle North Ice Arena in Brockport.
Brockport (1-0) took a 1-0 lead 2:17 into the contest as senior captain Dave McNab (Hamilton, ONT) took a pass from freshman defenseman Gregg Amato (Ocean Gate, NJ) from the point and fired a quick shot to the glove side of the Lebanon Valley goalie for the 1-0 lead. It was the first of three powerplay goals for the Golden Eagles who finished the game 3-for-12 on the extra-man opportunities.
In the second period, Amato and fellow freshman Andrew Simmons (Middleburgh, NY) worked the puck back and forth at the point before finding senior Aaron Boyer (Calgary, ALB) on the side of the net and Boyer knocked in a shot for the 2-0 Brockport lead.
Less than three minutes later, newcomer Jason Gorie (Etobicoke, ONT) poked home the third goal of the night for Brockport as he collected the rebound of a Lucas Schott (Erin, ONT) shot and tapped in the shot past the stick of the Dutchmen goalie.
There was no scoring in the final period but there were 14 penalties with Lebanon Valley picking up 10 including a game disqualification late in the game.
Sheridan finished with 18 saves including eight in the first period for his first career shutout at Brockport.
Here are some of my observations and thoughts...
* In my 16 years following the team Brockport has posted only three shutouts...one of them was last night! Congrats to Todd for adding that to his resume and congrats to the entire team for such a great performance last night. That was a total team effort with everyone excelling on special teams, which there was a lot of last night with 30 total penalties occurring in the match.
* I'm glad to see Chuck A Puck is back. But...a foam puck??
* Todd had 3 great glove saves, all of which got a rise out of the crowd
* Brockport dominated LVC and controlled the flow of the puck so well in the first period that it seemed like Brockport was always on their power play...yet they weren't
* The double-penalty kill in the second period was awesome...highlighted by James Cody's open-ice flattening of a LVC player (the hit of the game) and Adam Shoff laying himself out to deflect the puck, sending it far down ice
* A little girl sitting near me screamed bloody murder and broke into tears because of Ellsworth the Eagle. Sure, she was traumatized, but I had to laugh...out loud
* McNab's goal was great. You couldn't hit a wrist shot much harder or find a better place to put it
* Jason Gorrie's goal was the best of the night. It was all awareness and skill. He was really paying attention to be able to get that one. He surprised me coming out of nowhere like he did
* Boyer's goal was nice, too. Simmon's shot was rising but it would never have cleared the goaltender's pad had Boyer not given it that extra flip
* I was impressed by the "rookies". They all contributed and it was nice to see the two defensemen Amato and Simmons pick up a couple of assists each
* LVC's #19 (Brad Surdam) was a real gongshow. I can't remember the last time in DIII hockey that I saw someone who was nothing more than a goon. From him hitting one of our guys after the first period buzzer, to starting 3 "fights", to attempting to instigate other fights on 2 more occasions, to his 3 penalties....he provided nothing useful to his team
* The young lady who sang both national anthems did a great job
* The 1,500 fans in attendance were the most I've ever seen at Brockport. They could not have picked a better game to come to. Hopefully, they'll come back for more
