Brockport exorcised some demons last night. The Golden Eagles got their elusive first win of the 2010-2011 season.
Using some of the tactics that allowed them to hang with Oswego on Friday, they posted a 4-2 victory over the Cortland Red Dragons.
The first period saw Cortland take an early lead, beating Brockport’s goaltender Joe Regan on the glove side. After that, Brockport controlled the game. Mike Baxter got his first goal of the season (and NCAA career) after pocketing a sweet wrap around goal, something rarely seen out of the Golden Eagles.
A few minutes later Brockport nearly scored again when James Cody had a break away. Cortland’s goalie, Brittan Kuhlman, made an aggressive play, coming far out of the crease to challenge James.
Not to be bested by such a play, Joe Reagan – whom most home fans were seeing in action for the first time – had a great game, turning away 39 shots. His best save was a catlike boot with his pads in the air that was made necessary by being on his back on the initial save. He also had some “intellectual” stops, wisely using his stick to stop a breakaway in the first and, in the third, positioning himself nicely to stop a shorthanded breakaway.
The second period was an exciting one, It started off with a scare in the first minute as Chris Cangro flew headfirst into the boards, striking his temple against them. Thankfully, he recovered and saw no ill effects. I enjoyed watching him work in this game….he kept on trying to set up a series of plays and rushes like a chess match, showing that he’s a thinking man’s playmaker. It will be nice to see such forward thinking put to use once his linemates are acclimated to his style. There’s a reason he had such high point totals for the Bobcats and that was witnessed last night.
Mike Heyward, spending lots of time on the ice with Ian Chapman and Tyler Davis out with injuries, played well again and had some exceptional hits in the second and, also showed leadership by getting in the face of Cortland’s Jake Saville who slashed Joe Reagan.
Brockport fans were treated to a really exciting goal in the second when Tom Galiani (who had an great weekend) flew into the Cortland zone as Kuhlman come out to the face-off circle to handle the puck. Tom stole it from him and the speedster flew towards the net just as two defensemen closed in on him. With all 3 bodies falling like bowling pins, Tom acrobatically netted the beautiful goal.
The third period saw Patrick Hayden blast a line drive from the blue line that found the corner of the net. That complimented an excellent defensive performance that saw him break-up a potential goal following an ugly Brockport turnover in the second; hustling after the winger, he somehow got into his face and prevented the shot.
The third was chock-full of so many near goals. Three times Brockport clanged goals off the posts. Three!
Cortland made in interesting by adding a goal with under 2 minutes left, but Brockport’s Brendan Rothfuss put it out of reach with an exciting empty-net goal. It’s rare that you can call such a goal exciting, but he had a defenseman alongside him that forced him to head towards the boards (not the net) and make a coordinated shot across his body.
The first semester of SUNYAC play closes out with Brockport last in the conference. But, it’s not as scary as one might think. Brockport is only 4 points out of a playoff spot, meaning they could steal the final slot because Fredonia, Cortland, and Potsdam are really no more competitive and talented than the Golden Eagles. It will be an interesting second semester.
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Box score: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/1011/boxes/mbrccrt1.d04
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Here’s the report from the Athletic Department…
It was a night of firsts for The College at Brockport’s ice hockey team during Saturday night’s home game against Cortland.
Freshmen Mike Baxter (Bracebridge, ONT) and Patrick Hayden (Springfield, PA) each scored their first-ever collegiate goals against the Red Dragons in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game at Tuttle North Ice Arena.
But the Golden Eagles team accomplished something much more important than any individual accolades; after coming up short so far in the 2010-11 season, Brockport (1-10-1 overall, 1-7 SUNYAC) picked up its first win of the year, a thrilling 4-2 victory over Cortland before 500 Green and Gold-clad fans.
“I’m happy for the guys, it’s a great feeling to get that one in the win column,” Brockport head coach Brian Dickinson said.
“We battled all game long. It was typical Brockport/Cortland game and we were fortunate to get a couple more goals than they did. We knew they (Baxter and Hayden) could come in and compliment what we have, and they have been playing extremely well. It’s great for Baxter and Hayden to score those goals and help our team get this win.”
Against the Red Dragons (3-9-1, 2-6 SUNYAC), Brockport fell behind 1-0 on a power-play goal six minutes in, but the Golden Eagles showed resiliency and struck back with the tying goal with 10:29 left in the first period. Baxter netted the equalizer, collecting a rebound and scoring on a wraparound goal that caught Cortland’s goalie out of position. Freshmen Bobby Connor (Lititz, PA) and Chris Cangro (Holbrook, NY) assisted on Baxter’s score.
The Golden Eagles took the lead for good thanks to a goal from senior Tom Galiani (Lindenhurst, NY). Galiani skated in on an open net and buried his third goal in the last two games for a 2-1 lead.
Hayden gave the Green and Gold an insurance goal for a 3-1 lead just 2:14 into the final period. Brockport had ample chances to extend its lead, especially during a 5-on-3 power play that saw the Golden Eagle skaters twice strike the post with good shots, but the score remained 3-1.
Cortland then trimmed Brockport’s lead to 3-2 on its second power-play goal of the game, but freshman Brendon Rothfuss (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) iced the game with 42 seconds remaining with his second goal of the year.
Freshman Joe Reagan (Yonkers, NY) stopped 13 shots in the first period, 15 in the second and finished with 39 saves to pick up his first collegiate win
Using some of the tactics that allowed them to hang with Oswego on Friday, they posted a 4-2 victory over the Cortland Red Dragons.
The first period saw Cortland take an early lead, beating Brockport’s goaltender Joe Regan on the glove side. After that, Brockport controlled the game. Mike Baxter got his first goal of the season (and NCAA career) after pocketing a sweet wrap around goal, something rarely seen out of the Golden Eagles.
A few minutes later Brockport nearly scored again when James Cody had a break away. Cortland’s goalie, Brittan Kuhlman, made an aggressive play, coming far out of the crease to challenge James.
Not to be bested by such a play, Joe Reagan – whom most home fans were seeing in action for the first time – had a great game, turning away 39 shots. His best save was a catlike boot with his pads in the air that was made necessary by being on his back on the initial save. He also had some “intellectual” stops, wisely using his stick to stop a breakaway in the first and, in the third, positioning himself nicely to stop a shorthanded breakaway.
The second period was an exciting one, It started off with a scare in the first minute as Chris Cangro flew headfirst into the boards, striking his temple against them. Thankfully, he recovered and saw no ill effects. I enjoyed watching him work in this game….he kept on trying to set up a series of plays and rushes like a chess match, showing that he’s a thinking man’s playmaker. It will be nice to see such forward thinking put to use once his linemates are acclimated to his style. There’s a reason he had such high point totals for the Bobcats and that was witnessed last night.
Mike Heyward, spending lots of time on the ice with Ian Chapman and Tyler Davis out with injuries, played well again and had some exceptional hits in the second and, also showed leadership by getting in the face of Cortland’s Jake Saville who slashed Joe Reagan.
Brockport fans were treated to a really exciting goal in the second when Tom Galiani (who had an great weekend) flew into the Cortland zone as Kuhlman come out to the face-off circle to handle the puck. Tom stole it from him and the speedster flew towards the net just as two defensemen closed in on him. With all 3 bodies falling like bowling pins, Tom acrobatically netted the beautiful goal.
The third period saw Patrick Hayden blast a line drive from the blue line that found the corner of the net. That complimented an excellent defensive performance that saw him break-up a potential goal following an ugly Brockport turnover in the second; hustling after the winger, he somehow got into his face and prevented the shot.
The third was chock-full of so many near goals. Three times Brockport clanged goals off the posts. Three!
Cortland made in interesting by adding a goal with under 2 minutes left, but Brockport’s Brendan Rothfuss put it out of reach with an exciting empty-net goal. It’s rare that you can call such a goal exciting, but he had a defenseman alongside him that forced him to head towards the boards (not the net) and make a coordinated shot across his body.
The first semester of SUNYAC play closes out with Brockport last in the conference. But, it’s not as scary as one might think. Brockport is only 4 points out of a playoff spot, meaning they could steal the final slot because Fredonia, Cortland, and Potsdam are really no more competitive and talented than the Golden Eagles. It will be an interesting second semester.
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Box score: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/1011/boxes/mbrccrt1.d04
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Here’s the report from the Athletic Department…
It was a night of firsts for The College at Brockport’s ice hockey team during Saturday night’s home game against Cortland.
Freshmen Mike Baxter (Bracebridge, ONT) and Patrick Hayden (Springfield, PA) each scored their first-ever collegiate goals against the Red Dragons in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) game at Tuttle North Ice Arena.
But the Golden Eagles team accomplished something much more important than any individual accolades; after coming up short so far in the 2010-11 season, Brockport (1-10-1 overall, 1-7 SUNYAC) picked up its first win of the year, a thrilling 4-2 victory over Cortland before 500 Green and Gold-clad fans.
“I’m happy for the guys, it’s a great feeling to get that one in the win column,” Brockport head coach Brian Dickinson said.
“We battled all game long. It was typical Brockport/Cortland game and we were fortunate to get a couple more goals than they did. We knew they (Baxter and Hayden) could come in and compliment what we have, and they have been playing extremely well. It’s great for Baxter and Hayden to score those goals and help our team get this win.”
Against the Red Dragons (3-9-1, 2-6 SUNYAC), Brockport fell behind 1-0 on a power-play goal six minutes in, but the Golden Eagles showed resiliency and struck back with the tying goal with 10:29 left in the first period. Baxter netted the equalizer, collecting a rebound and scoring on a wraparound goal that caught Cortland’s goalie out of position. Freshmen Bobby Connor (Lititz, PA) and Chris Cangro (Holbrook, NY) assisted on Baxter’s score.
The Golden Eagles took the lead for good thanks to a goal from senior Tom Galiani (Lindenhurst, NY). Galiani skated in on an open net and buried his third goal in the last two games for a 2-1 lead.
Hayden gave the Green and Gold an insurance goal for a 3-1 lead just 2:14 into the final period. Brockport had ample chances to extend its lead, especially during a 5-on-3 power play that saw the Golden Eagle skaters twice strike the post with good shots, but the score remained 3-1.
Cortland then trimmed Brockport’s lead to 3-2 on its second power-play goal of the game, but freshman Brendon Rothfuss (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) iced the game with 42 seconds remaining with his second goal of the year.
Freshman Joe Reagan (Yonkers, NY) stopped 13 shots in the first period, 15 in the second and finished with 39 saves to pick up his first collegiate win
