Hutchins is Brockport's Athlete of the Week

Connor Hutchins averaged 2.5 points-per-game this weekend en route to a sweep of SUNY Canton. The freshman provided helpers on three of the four Brockport goals on Friday evening before adding a goal and another assist on Saturday. He now leads the squad and ranks thirteenth in the conference in points with 21 (eight goals, 13 assists).

Brockport duo nets SUNYAC honors

Two members of the Brockport ice hockey team have been recognized by the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) this week after the teams weekend sweep of SUNY Canton. Aidan Verbeke (Jr. – Forward) has been named Ice Hockey Athlete of the Week, while Connor Hutchins (Fr. – Forward) received Ice Hockey Rookie of the Week accolades.

Verbeke provided an offensive spark in Saturday night's win over Canton, leading the squad to a 4-2 win which completed the weekend sweep. It was the first career hat trick for the junior captain, which included the third goal midway through the second period which was the eventual game-winner.

Hutchins averaged 2.5 points-per-game this weekend en route to a sweep of SUNY Canton. The freshman provided helpers on three of the four Brockport goals on Friday evening before adding a goal and another assist on Saturday. He now leads the squad and ranks thirteenth in the conference in points with 21 (eight goals, 13 assists).

Brockport beats Canton on the road

The College at Brockport ice hockey team completed the weekend sweep of Canton on Saturday evening with a 4-2 victory. The win propels the Green and Gold to 9-10-1 on the season.

The first period of this contest was controlled by Brockport, as they notched the lone goal on a power play opportunity. Aidan Verbeke netted his sixth of the season, receiving a pass from Brandon McMartin and beating the Canton goalie over the shoulder on a blistering wrist shot.

Matt Schneider and the Brockport defense held strong for the remaining 15:02 after Verbeke's goal, allowing them to carry the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

After Canton knotted the game at 1-1 early in the second, Verbeke went back to work, scoring two more power play goals to complete his hat trick before the midway point of the second period. After three assists a night ago, freshman standout Connor Hutchins provided helpers on both of the second period goals. Jake Taylor added an assist on the second goal of the night, with Tim Kielich picking up his 18th assist of the season on the third goal.

Ben Beasly closed the gap for Canton at the 13:16 mark of the second stanza, bringing them to within a goal at 3-2.

Hutchins changed roles for the insurance goal in the third period, keeping up with the theme of the night by scoring on the power play for the fourth Brockport goal. Taylor and Kielich both picked up their second assists of the night on the tally.

Special teams was the name of the game in this contest, as Brockport was able to convert on 50% (four-for-eight) of their power play opportunities, while killing off five-of-six Kangaroo man-up chances.

Schneider finished the night with 34 saves on 36 shots, for a .944 save percentage, picking up his fourth win of the season.

Brockport beats the 'Roos

The Brockport ice hockey team won a hard fought contest against SUNY Canton, improving to 8-10-1 on the season. The teams will square off again tomorrow night in Canton for the back end of the home-and-home.

Brian Hurlimann got the Golden Eagles on the board first in the opening period when he ripped a wrist shot passed the Kangaroo goaltender. Chris Pollini and Connor Hutchins had the assists on the goal, and Brockport would carry a 1-0 lead into the first break.

Canton used a power play opportunity to knot the game at 1-1 4:55 into the second stanza, but Brockport regained the lead just 0:22 seconds later when Kevin Chilton buried his first goal as a Golden Eagle, with Connor Hutchins once again providing the assist.

Canton made it two-for-two on the power play later on in the period, as Josh Sova took an assist from Tyler Bullard and buried it into a nearly wide open net, once again tying the game. The teams would finish the second period all tied up at two goals apiece.

After a hat-trick in last weekend's conference win over Cortland, Jake Taylor found the back of the net again 0:39 seconds into the third period of this game. The goal was originally called off, as the puck sat on the goal line for a moment, but the referees determined it was knocked in just before the whistle was blown.

Canton was able to even the score for a third time just before the midway point of the period, but Zac Sikich punched in the game-winner for the Golden Eagles with less than three minutes remaining in the game. After Connor Hutchins flung one on net that was saved by the Canton goaltender Josh Erickson, the puck came loose outside the crease just out of Erickson's reach, and Sikich came on to bury it over his shoulder. Hutchins and Hurlimann were each credited with assists, giving them a combined five points on the night.

Jake Moore has been terrific in net of late, and kept up that pace, stopping 40 of the 43 shots he faced for a 93% save percentage.

Taylor gets hat trick in big win

The College at Brockport ice hockey team earned two crucial points Saturday night with a 6-4 victory over conference foe Cortland. The win improves the squad to 7-10-1 on the season and 5-6 in the SUNYAC.

Brockport got off to a slow start in the opening period when Cortland notched the first two goals of the game to hop out to a 2-0 lead. The Golden Eagles were able to salvage the period however when Hunter Laslo forced a shot past the Cortland goaltender with 1:28 remaining off of assists from Zac Sikich and Connor Hutchins.

The second and third periods were the Jake Taylor show, as the senior accounted for half of the Brockport goals on the night with his first career hat trick. The first came just 1:33 into the second when Doc Gentzler found him to tie the score at 2-2. Less than three minutes later, Taylor found the back of the net again on a power play goal that was assisted by Aidan Verbeke and Tim Kielich.

The stingy Brockport defense was able to stifle all the Red Dragon scoring chances in the period, giving them a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission.

The offense got going again just over a minute into the third stanza, as this time it was Dylan Shapiro who found the back of the net, capitalizing on a Cortland turnover in their own zone. After a Red Dragon power play goal brought them back to within one, Taylor cued the hats, registering his third of the night, once again on the power play, with assists coming from Hutchins and Kielich.

Sikich got into the action with a power play goal of his own just over three minutes later, closing the door on Cortland with 5:14 left to play. The Red Dragons would add a goal in the final minute of play, but it was for not as Brockport was able to hold on for the 6-4 victory.

The power play was key for Brockport on the night, as they were able to convert on 50% (3-for-6) of their chances, including two that came in the final period.

Jake Moore had a solid night between the pipes, stopping 32 of the 36 shots he faced for a .890 save percentage and his second win of the season.

Brockport demolished by Oswego

The Brockport men's ice hockey team fell 10-1 to No. 3/3 Oswego State on Friday evening to fall to 6-10-1 on the season and 4-6 in SUNYAC play.

Luke Bennett scored the lone Brockport goal on the night at 13:08 in the third period. With Oswego on the power play, Bennett was able to sneak past the Laker defenders where he picked up a loose puck near the blue line and beat the goalie for the short-handed goal.

The Golden Eagles saw the first power play opportunity of the night, but Oswego grabbed momentum when they scored a shorthanded goal just a few seconds into that two minute stretch. Despite another power play chance a few minutes later that saw Brockport put three shots on goal, they were unable to convert, and went into the locker room trailing 4-0.

Jake Moore took over in net for the second stanza, and played well to start, making twelve saves in the period. The Lakers offense got hot once again late in the period however, as they recorded two goals in the final minute to open their lead to 8-0.

Dylan Shapiro played well for the Golden Eagles in the contest, placing four shots on net, and winning the faceoff battle by a 12-9 margin.

The two goaltenders combined for 31 saves on the evening, with Moore coming in after the first period for the remainder of the contest.

Calgary Sun report on Chad Cummings' lacrosse career

Last season, Brockport's Chad Cummings was the SUNYAC defenseman of the year. This year, he's playing pro lacrosse. Here's a nice write-up from the Calgary Sun: http://www.calgarysun.com/2017/01/19/lacrosse-a-good-career-choice-for-cummings

Brockport plays Oswego and Cortland this weekend

The winter break is coming to a close, which means the hockey schedule goes from non-conference to conference games this weekend.

Friday’s game will be a tough one. The Golden Eagles head to Oswego, which is ranked third in the nation in the latest USCHO poll. They are 13-3-0 and 8-1-0 in SUNYAC play.

As usual, the Lakers can score goals in bunches. Their top 3 lines are like a murderers’ row…their depth of skills is astounding. The roster sports 6 guys with 15 or more points. Matt Galati and Kenny Neil have 12 and 11 goals respectively. Galati is especially clutch, with 5 game winning goals and 5 power play goals.

Their great goaltending is by committee with eerily-similar results. Matt Zawadzski has a .922 save percentage while David Jacobsen has a .921.

This senior-heavy team is built for a deep playoff run. The best way Brockport can beat them is to stay out of the penalty box. Oswego has too many guys who can score and they rarely make mistakes that put them in the penalty box. A clean game is a must.  

One fellow who can make a difference in the game is Brockport’s Jake Taylor. He has been on fire of late – he has 8 goals on the season and all have occurred since Thanksgiving. He’s averaging .8 goals a game over that time while doing so with minimal shots on goal (23)...he definitely has quality over quantity. 5 of those goals have come at even strength and 1 short-handed.  

Saturday’s match-up with Cortland finds Brockport back in the comforts of home. Cortland is 8-7-1 overall and 4-3-0 in conference play. This will be a great game for the home fans to watch, because the teams are closely matched.

Cortland tends to spread the wealth with goal scoring, as there is only 1 player with more than 5 goals. And, he’s a true superstar – Darren McCormick has 14 goals. Since his rookie year, he has been a true top performer in SUNYAC.

Drew Weigman will start in goal, bringing with him a .904 save percentage.

One thing that plays to Brockport’s strength (the power play) is Cortland’s tendency to be penalized. They have five guys with more than 30 penalty minutes, including one with 58 and another with 69. That said, look for a huge game for Brockport rookie Connor Hutchins, the Golden Eagles’ biggest PP threat. Could the young man get a hatty?   

Brockport falls to Hobart

The College at Brockport ice hockey team dropped a non-conference matchup against No. 9/10 Hobart College on Tuesday night by a score of 5-2. With the loss, the Golden Eagles drop to 6-9-1 on the season while the Statesmen improve to 10-2-3.

Hobart notched the first two goals of the first period to open up an early 2-0 lead, but Brian Hurlimann was able to put the Golden Eagles on the board with 0:04 seconds left to give the team momentum going into the first intermission. The goal was the juniors second in the last two games, and came when he received the puck at the point from Connor Hutchins and fired a wrister over the goalkeepers shoulder and into the back of the net.

Brockport tied it up at the 09:24 mark of the second stanza when Rob Hall sent a long outlet pass to Jake Taylor who skated past his defender on the right hand side and beat the Hobart goalie through the five hole. Taylor now leads the team in goals on the season with eight.

Despite a few more chances, the Brockport offense was stalled for the remainder of the contest, as Hobart scored the next two goals in the second stanza and added an insurance goal in the third, taking this contest 5-2 to earn their tenth win of the season.

Matt Schneider stopped 35 of the 40 shots he faced, including nine of ten in the final period when Hobart had two power play opportunities.

Brockport thumps LVC

The College at Brockport men's ice hockey team won decisively over Lebanon Valley College, routing the Dutchmen by a score of 8-1. The win improves the team to 6-8-1 on the season, while Lebanon Valley falls to 3-11-2.

Brian Hurlimann got the ball rolling for Brockport in the opening stanza, when he send a wrist shot from the point past the Dutchmen goaltender. The power play goal was Hurlimann's first of the season, and came off assists from Chris Pollini and Zac Sikich.

The second period is where the floodgates opened, as Brockport rattled off four goals, three of which came in the first 8:00 of the stanza. Doc Gentzler netted the first of the period 02:16 in off an assist from Bryan Carville. Less than three minutes later, Jake Taylor notched his first of two goals on the night to put the Golden Eagles up 3-0.

The Dutchmen earned a power play at 06:19 when Connor Hutchins was sent off for tripping, but that didn't stop the Brockport scoring streak, as Zac Sikich was able to break loose and beat the goaltender for a shorthanded goal that all but put the game away. Luke Bennett joined the party at the 14:13 mark off feeds from Connor Bass and Tim Kielich to give the Green and Gold a 5-0 lead they would take into the second intermission.

Bass and Kielich were once again the helpers on the first tally of the third period, this time finding Dylan Shapiro who scored his sixth goal of the season. After LVC was finally able to get on the board at 09:55, the Golden Eagles added some insurance when Hutchins scored from Taylor and Verbeke 01:29 later. Taylor capped off his terrific night with another goal at 15:22, his second of the night and seventh of the season. Verbeke tallied another assist on the Taylor goal, and Trevor Simonick earned the secondary assist, his first of the season.

Not to be overshadowed by the scoring onslaught was goaltender Jake Moore who stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced, including a few impressive pad saves on Dutchmen scoring chances.

Brockport falls to Stevenson in low scoring affair

The Brockport men's hockey team dropped a non-conference matchup to Stevenson Friday night to fall to 5-8-1 on the season. With the victory, the Mustangs improve to 8-5-2.

Despite being shut out, the Golden Eagles were able to put at least 10 shots on goal in every period, outshooting Stevenson 34-16 overall. Of those shots, a good number were quality scoring chances, but Mustang goaltender Jacob Caffrey was a force in net, shutting down the Brockport offense with a 34 save shutout.

One of the best chances for Brockport came at the 13:30 mark of the second stanza when Nick Gullo found himself alone with the goaltender after a long outlet pass, but was stopped when Caffrey made a blocker save. That chance came on the heels of a similar play a few minutes earlier when Aidan Verbeke received a pass from nearly the other end of the ice and would have had a clear breakaway, but the play was called off sides.

The lone goal in the game came at the 15:01 mark of the second period, when Christian Ripley scored a goal off an assist from Jordan Watt.

The Golden Eagles had a couple chances to even the game with man-up opportunities in the final stanza, but were unable to score on either of their power plays, only managing one shot on goal during that time.

Freshman Matt Schneider had another solid game between the pipes, stopping 15 of the 16 shots he faced, for a save percentage of .937.

Brockport has 3 home games over next 5 days

It might be the offseason for most students, but the Golden Eagles will be diligently working away on the home ice over the next few days with home games on Friday, Saturday and Tuesday.

Tonight, the Golden Eagles host Stevenson University. Despite this being Stevenson’s first season of play, don’t overlook them. Their head coach is a good one. I saw Dominick Dawes coach Neumann to the National Championship in Lake Placid in 2009…his first year ever head coaching. It was impressive. In his time at Neumann, he took them to the playoffs all seven years. So, Stevenson made a wise choice in gobbling him up to launch their program.

It shows. In Year One, the Mustangs are 7-5-2. A competitive bunch, their leading goal scorer is Nick Bohatiuk with 8 lamplighters. Mike Davis has 14 points and Jordan Wyatt has 7 goals. Once again, Brockport will play against an excellent European blueliner….defenseman Alfred Panelin-Borg has 9 points. Jacob Caffery will likely start in goal and he sports a .912 and 3.15 line.  

Saturday’s game, which has an unusual 3:00 start, sees them taking on the Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchman. Longtime Brockport fans will remember them being regular visitors to Tuttle North, but that seems so long ago…this is LVC’s first season after a 5 year absence from the rinks.

Their resurrection hasn’t been easy, as the Dutchmen are 3-9-2 on the season. They do have some talent though. Brett Johnson has a great 10-11-21 line while Cole Hepler is no slouch at 9-10-19. Jared Karas sports some firepower, too, with 7 goals. Defenseman Brad Nolan is making a case for All-American with 18 points already on the season. Joel Eisenhower is their number one in net and he has an .880 save percentage to go with a 4.32 goals against average.

Tuesday will see Brockport host the always tough Hobart Statesmen. They are 7-2-3 and are a crazy 4-1-1 on the road. As usual, it starts with their goaltending. Time has been split between two excellent goalies in Frank Oplinger (.917) and Alexander Connal (.929). Such slickness in the net allows them to attack on the other end, made apparent by Nick Bingaman’s 9 goals and a system that has seen 17 players score goals this year. One guy to keep an eye on is freshman Zach Sternbach who has 5 goals on the season and is poised for a big game.

It will be an interesting home stretch for our young men.

BROCKPORT FALLS TO WILLIAMS

The College at Brockport men's hockey team dropped a non-conference matchup against Williams College on Tuesday evening by a score of 4-1. With the defeat, Brockport now sits at 5-7-1 overall going into three more non-conference games in the next week.

The Green and Gold came out hot in their first game of the New Year, notching the first goal of the game on a power play 8:04 into the opening period. Jake Taylor was the goal-scorer, notching his fifth of the season off a helper from Bryan Carville.

The lead would hold until just over eight minutes later when Williams was able to notch a pair of goals in just over two minutes to give them the lead heading into the break.

The second period was a defensive standoff, as neither team was able to find the back of the net despite a few quality scoring chances for Brockport in the final few minutes of the stanza. The pressure came from all areas of the ice, as 11 different Golden Eagles managed to put shots on goal in this outing.

Despite three third period power plays, Brockport was held scoreless for the remainder of the contest. Williams was able to put the game out of reach with two more goals early in the final period, bringing the score to its eventual final of 4-1.

Matt Schneider dropped just his second contest of the season, stopping 26 of the 30 shots he faced. He was also aided by a defensive unit that blocked ten Williams shots.

The Golden Eagles will be back in Brockport for the next three games, beginning this weekend when they host Stevenson at 7 p.m. on Friday and Lebanon Valley College at 3 p.m. on Saturday.