"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.