OJHL NEWS RELEASES ABOUT RECENT BROCKPORT ACQUISITIONS

Toronto Lakeshore Patriots forward Shane Cavalieri has confirmed his commitment to join The College at Brockport Golden Eagles beginning with the 2012-13 SUNYAC season.

The 6’0”, 195 lbs. native of Richmond Hill, Ontario recently completed his fourth and most successful OJHL season this past year. He joined the OJHL as a 17-year old rookie with the Upper Canada Hockey Club back in 2008-09, notching 17 points in 43 games played. He would play the entire 2009-10 season with the Ajax Attack before splitting the next season between the Pickering Panthers and Villanova Knights, getting a taste of his first playoff action with the Knights. After starting the 2011-12 season with his fifth OJHL club, the Orangeville Flyers, he would be traded back to his original team, joining the Patriots (nee Upper Canada). Not only was it a career-best statistical season for Cavalieri, but he was a key member of the club, helping them capture their first-ever South Division championship.

Congratulations to Shane and best of luck as he joins a successful program at Brockport!

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Mississauga Chargers captain Jesse Facchini has confirmed his commitment to join The College at Brockport Golden Eagles beginning with the 2012-13 SUNYAC season.

The 5’11”, 170 lbs native of Mississauga joined the OJHL as a 17-year old rookie with the Upper Canada Hockey Club in 2008-09, notching 16 points in 31 games played. He recorded the same totals the following year with the club before joining the Chargers prior to the 2010-11 season. The veteran stepped in and made an immediate impact for his hometown club, leading them with 24 goals and finishing third in overall scoring with 44 points. Despite taking a slight step backwards statistically this season, Facchini remained one of the Chargers leaders, finishing out the year by wearing the captain’s ‘C’ on his chest.

Congratulations to Jesse and best of luck in the NCAA!

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FACCHINI COMMITS TO BROCKPORT

Jesse Facchini who plays for his hometown Mississauga Chargers of the OJHL has committed to play for the College. He'll turn 21 years old at the end of May and this season saw him put up 27 points in 44 games, a solid season that followed a stellar 24-20-44 campaign in 2010-2011.

He played for the Vaughan Kings in earlier seasons where Coach Max Saegert praised him for his "beautiful" skating and being "a kid with natural skill."

"He can play in all situations...regular, power play , penalty kill," he said.

Here's his profile from the Chargers website:

NAME: Jesse "Flow" Facchini

DATE OF BIRTH: May 31, 1991

BIRTHPLACE: Mississauga

CURRENT HOME TOWN: Mississauga

POSITION: RW

HEIGHT: 6'

WEIGHT:185

LAST MIDGET TEAM: Vaughan Kings

DRAFTED/FREE AGENT: Free Agent

HIGH SCHOOL/AVERAGE: 77%

FAVOURITE MEAL: lasagna

FAVOURITE ACTRESS: Sasha Grey

FAVOURITE HOCKEY PLAYER: Ryan Smyth

WHAT IS YOUR GOAL IN HOCKEY: Turn Pro one day

HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR HOCKEY CAREER SO FAR: Winning the championship in midget

FUN FACT: became celibate in order to concentrate on education and athletics

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SUPPORT SAVES FOR A CURE AT TOMORROW'S CARNIVAL & CASINO EVENT

Business majors at The College at Brockport, State University of New York, are combining theory, practice, and fun to raise money for two good causes as part of their Project Management course. The class requires students to propose, design, plan, and implement a charity fundraising project. The result? A Carnival and Casino fundraising event that will take place from 11 am until 2 pm on April 25 in Brockport’s Seymour College Union.

Event participants purchase raffle and game tickets for $2 and then can participate in the games of their choice. Proceeds from the event will support one local and one national charity. Saves for a Cure is a local charity that supports children with cancer. The charity was started by alumnus and former Brockport hockey player Todd Sheridan and receives ongoing support from the Brockport hockey program. The Wounded Warriors Project is a national charity that supports wounded service members and their families.

Each student in the Project Management class is required to outline a potential project. That proposal is then reviewed by their peers. The class ultimately selects one project from among competing proposals. Students are then assigned to teams in order to complete various tasks for the event. Those tasks include promotion and marketing, identifying and soliciting project sponsors, designing suitable casino and carnival games, facilities planning, day-of-event management, soliciting raffle prizes, organizing ticket sales, and project bookkeeping.

“Learning is maximized when courses combine classroom theory with hands-on practice,” says Steven Breslawski, PhD, an associate professor in Brockport’s School of Business Administration and Economics. “In many ways this class mirrors the actual practice of business, where things don’t always go as planned and you have to quickly adapt and solve problems as they come up.”

Primary event sponsors include RIT’s E. Philip Saunders College of Business, Barilla Pasta, Sunnking Electronics Recycling, Confer Plastics Inc., and Wegmans Food Markets. Individuals who would like to purchase raffle tickets but cannot attend, should contact Breslawski at sbreslaw@brockport.edu.

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COLAVECCHIA COMMITS TO BROCKPORT

Luke Colavecchia is the 20 year-old Captain of the North York Rangers of the OHA who recently committed to Brockport. He was born and raised in Brampton, Ontario and lives at home with his parents and two sisters. He graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in Brampton in 2010 and has attended York University part-time for the past two years taking Kinesiology.

Luke played his Bantam, Minor-midget and Midget hockey with the AAA Markham Majors. In his Midget year, the Majors went to the GTHL finals and lost to the Vaughan Kings. He also played three years of high school hockey with St. Thomas Aquinas and served as their captain in his final year.

Luke is a hard-working and intuitive hockey player who takes pride in being the responsible and dedicated leader of the North York Rangers. In his time off-ice, Luke enjoys playing the guitar, snow-boarding and traveling.

The 5'8", 155-pound Colavecchia recently scored his 20th goal of the 2011-2012 season. His output has shown a steady progression over the past 3 seasons, going from 19 to 27 to 41 points.

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CAVALIERI COMMITS TO BROCKPORT

Shane Cavalieri is a game changing power forward of the Toronto Lakeshore Patriots of the OJHL who recently made his commitment to Brockport.  This 6`0” 200lb veteran can change the game with a big hit, big goal, or slick pass.  Hailing from Richmond Hill, Ontario, Shane's coaches say he carries a “Can Do” attitude that is infectious with his teammates.  A physical player who is no stranger to the gym, Shane is the first player to stick up for his teammates and the first player to set the tone of the game. In 75 OJHL games he sports a 15-31-46 line to go with 149 penalty minutes.

Here, the young man mixes it up on the ice:

VOTE FOR COACH PEDERSON: FRONTIER FIELD WALK OF FAME

Since 1997, a special section at the center of the Walk of Fame at Frontier Field has been designated to Rochester's Sports Legends. These individuals (fans, players, management and media spanning Rochester's sports history) are those who have made a monumental impact on the community through their achievements in the Rochester-area sports scene.

Among this year's nominees is the late Bob Pederson, the founding father of Brockport hockey.

Fans can vote and please do so -- there is quite the list of nominees!

To participate, vote here:

http://www.frontierfield.org/WOFwinduction.html

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POST-SEASON AWARDS

Last night I had the privilege to attend the Golden Eagles' annual banquet in which the team celebrated the season that was and the careers that were for one of the most-accomplished and deepest senior classes in school history.

The seniors recognized -- and granted the much-revered captain's chairs -- were: Gregg Amato, James Cody, Ian Finnerty, Brett Jendra, Adam Shoff, and Oliver Wren. Also recognized as a senior was junior/senior Nick Panepinto, who will be graduating after only 3 years (a huge accomplishment).

As always, their speeches were bittersweet...it's a sad moment to see them bring closure to storied college careers but, at the same time, it's a great moment for them as they will be going on to do great things personally and professionally. 

The past season's captain -- Mr. Shoff -- passed the baton to next season's captain, Mike Hayward, who had been an alternate captain in 2011-2012.

The coaching staff also dispensed a handful of coveted awards:

Outstanding Scholar Athlete: Brett Jendra, whose GPA going into this semester was a stellar 3.77

Chris Palin Rookie of the Year: Troy Polino, who sported an impressive 5-11-16 line

Jimmy Mac Most Improved Player Award: Sophomore defenseman Ian Chapman, who really stepped up his game

EJ McGuire 7th Player Award: Ian Finnerty, the playmaker who who finished his career with 87 points in 88 games played

Bob Pederson Coaches Award: Captain Adam Shoff, who exuded incredible leadership on and off the ice

Brian Cavanaugh MVP Award: James Cody, whose closing campaign saw him earn SUNYAC Player of the Year and All-American honors

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