Every Thursday we'll post a photo or memory here to reflect on players, games, and fans of the past.
On the night of Tuesday, October 17, 2000, the College at Brockport played one of its most exciting games in team history, an exhibition game against Humber College out of Toronto, Ontario.
The sparse crowd of only 250 fans saw a game of epic proportions. It was high-scoring affair eventually won by Brockport 9-7 thanks to a 6-goal flurry in the second.
Amidst all that goal scoring was physical hockey like you’ve never seen. There were 29 penalties in the match-up, including three 10-minute misconducts and a game disqualification. In total the teams accounted for 96 minutes of penalties.
That aggression didn't stop at the final buzzer: During the post-game handshake a Brockport player had his helmet off and was innocently shaking hands when all of a sudden a Humber player blasted the unprotected and unsuspecting soul right in the nose, instantly bloodying his face.
You don’t see games like that too often….and you definitely don’t see a single player’s performance as we did that night very often.
Brockport’s Nick Smyth had the greatest game ever by a Brockport hockey player.
In his first game for the Golden Eagles he scored a school-record 5 goals. An impressive total no doubt. What makes it even more extraordinary is that he scored a natural shorthanded hat trick!! How's that for a debut!!
That was the first time that ever happened in the NCAA...or was it?
NCAA purists will say that Neil Musselwhite’s (against Brockport, no less, in 2009) was the first in NCAA DIII history being that it was a true NCAA game pitting two NCAA colleges against one another while the Brockport/Humber game was a US/Canada event featuring only one NCAA school.
But, that’s semantics. Smyth’s was the first by a player at the DIII level of US collegiate hockey and he should be recognized for it.
