Chirico commits to Brockport

Dominic Chirico of the Connecticut Chiefs has committed to SUNY Brockport for the fall of 2022. 

The ’01 native of Overland Park, KS is in his final season of his junior hockey career in the Eastern Hockey League (EHL).

“Dom has been a great leader for us this season,” said Chiefs head coach and general manager Greg Heffernan. “From the first time we spoke this summer, I knew Dom was going to be able to achieve his goal of playing NCAA hockey. His versatility and high compete level are second only to his incredible character.  I’ve known coach Dickinson for a long time, and I know Dom is going to fit in perfectly at Brockport”

This is Chirico’s second season in the EHL.  Last year, he managed put up 26 points in just 42 games as a defenseman.  This year Dom returned to the Chiefs in the role of team captain to lead the Chiefs and bolster the D-core.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to join the Golden Eagles and play at SUNY Brockport for the next 4 years. Brockport has a beautiful campus and great academic options for me to pursue my goals.  I would like to thank my family and friends for sticking by my side throughout my whole hockey career.  I would also like to specifically thank Coach Heffernan for all his help in this process. One of the big things as a team that we have been focusing on under his leadership is sticking to our style of team hockey and individual success will follow.  This commitment is not only for me but for every other guy in our locker room that shows up every day working to win a championship and more importantly, developing to get to the next level.” – Dominic Chirico 

“We have a very deliberate model here centered around player development and exposure” said Heffernan of his program. “Dom has bought into the process and earned his commitment to a great NCAA program. I suspect that many of his teammates will be following in his footsteps soon.” 

After sending 10 players to the NCAA last season, Chirico has managed to captain a young Chiefs team into sole possession of 2nd place in the EHL central division heading into the Christmas break.

Grund commits to Brockport

How's this for a Christmas present? Josh Grund has committed to Brockport. The slick forward is a point-a-game guy. This season in the EHL he's played 22 games for the Walpole Express where he had a 8-12-25 stat line and 28 games for the Boston Jr. Rangers where he's had a 11-18-29 line.

#1 Geneseo beats Brockport

 The SUNY Brockport men's hockey team held the nation's top team to just one goal in the first two periods and rallied with a third period goal from Trevor Pray, but the comeback bid fell short as No. 1 Geneseo topped the visiting Golden Eagles 3-1 in SUNYAC action on Friday night. 
 
Brockport's record moved to 8-5 overall and the Golden Eagles remain in second place in the league standings with 15 total points (5-3 SUNYAC record).  Geneseo remains unbeaten and improved to 11-0-1 overall and 7-0-1 in conference play.

Brockport senior goalie Nolan Egbert stopped 31 shots, marking his third 30+ save effort of the season.  Pray's third period goal came at the 8:55 marker of the final stanza and he now has a career-best six goals this season through 13 games. 

Geneseo jumped out to a 1-0 lead midway through the first period when Henry Cleghorn found the back of the net off assists from Chris Perna and Matthew Doran to hand the Ice Knights the early advantage. 
 
Brockport outshot the nation's top team 10-5 in the second period of play, but the Golden Eagles were held to an 0-for-2 effort on the power-play in the 20 minute stretch and the contest held at 1-0 headed into the final period of play.  22 of Brockport's 27 total shots came in the final 40 minutes of action. 

Geneseo added two insurance goals early in the third period to take a 3-0 lead.  The two goals came just 11 seconds apart and they came from the sticks of Tyson Gilmour and Greg Koutsomitis.  Doran picked up his second assist of the night on Geneseo's second goal of the game. 

Pray, Connor Galloway and Sam DiBitetto each posted a team-high four shots on goal for the Golden Eagles.  The Brockport penalty kill unit held Geneseo to a 0-for-3 effort with a man advantage, but the Golden Eagles were also held to an 0-for-4 effort on the power-play. 

Geneseo outshot Brockport 34-27 on the evening. 

The Golden Eagles will now have a month-long holiday/semester break and they return to action back at the friendly confines of the Tuttle North Ice Arena on January 7^th when they host non-conference foe Lebanon Valley. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7 p.m.

Higgins commits to Brockport

 

Josh Higgins, a forward for the New Hampshire Avalanche, has committed to SUNY Brockport for the fall of 2022.

The '01 native of Orchard, Park, NY is in his 2nd season with the Avalanche, and 1st as the team's captain. In 64 Eastern Hockey League (EHL) games to date, the all-star defenseman has tallied 23 total points to his credit.

"Josh has been a great player and a great leader for us, over the last two years," said Avalanche head coach and general manager Chris Cerrella. "He will join a handful of Avalanche alumni at Brockport. I think the SUNYAC as a league, and the school in general, fits Josh well, and I know he is going to have a very successful collegiate career both on the ice and in the classroom. Higgy will be tough to replace, but I can not wait to see what the future holds for him, he is a great young man."

As Cerella mentioned, Higgins will join five other Avalanche alumni when he arrives at Brockport, including the captain that preceded him in Hooksett. After leading the Avalanche to the 2021 EHL Championship Game, Chris Aarons set out to join the Golden Eagles back in late August/early September. Now, with Higgins' commitment, the Avalanche have sent back-to-back captains to Brockport.

"I’m excited to announce my commitment to further my academic and athletic careers at SUNY Brockport," said Higgins. "I would like to thank my parents and other family members for being there for me along the way, and helping me get to this point. Thank you to the Avalanche organization, specifically Coach Cerrella, Coach Vinny, and Coach Mario for the time and effort they have put in over the past 2 years to help me to get to college. I can’t wait to put on the green and gold next year!"

Brockport loses to Elmira in a rare Tuesday night affair

The SUNY Brockport Golden Eagles (8-4,5-2) dropped its final home game of 2021 to non-conference opponent Elmira College (7-3-1,3-2-1) on Tuesday night by a score of 4-3.
 
The first goal of the game belonged to Mitchell Parsons who scored 1:39 into the first period off a assist from Anthony Hora and Ryan Romeo. The Soaring Eagle from Elmira would tally its first goal of the game at the 4:07 mark of the same period evening the game up a 1-1. At 6:15 Robert Flannery of Brockport would net a goal with assists from Romeo and Hora again to make the lead 2-1. After having assisted on the previous two plays, Romeo would net a slap-shot that managed to find its way into the back to give Brockport a 3-1 advantage heading into the second period of the game.
 
3-minutes into the start of the second period, Elmira would get another goal cutting its lead to one. The Soaring Eagles would then score again at the 13:40 mark of the period to tie the game at 3-3 which would remain the score going into the final period of play.
 
In the third period with both teams recording three goals each, Elmira would get the final goal of the game at 6:09 into the period. The score would remain 4-3 until the final horn of the night as Elmira would just edge Brockport.
 
A total of 14 penalties were called in the game as Elmira recorded eight trips to the penalty box. In face-offs, Brockport went 33 for 67.
 
In goal for the Golden Eagle's, Aidan Curry had a stellar performance recording a total of 31 saves allowing four goals, two of which from Elmira power-play opportunities.
 
The Golden Eagle's next contest will take place on Friday as they'll travel to neighboring Geneseo where they'll take on the #1 Nationally Ranked Knights. The game is scheduled to begin at 7pm at the Ira S. Wilson Arena in Geneseo, NY

Egbert and Romeo get SUNYAC honors again

 

Nolan Egbert and Ryan Romeo were named the SUNYAC/PrestoSports Men's Ice Hockey Athlete and Goaltender of the Week on Monday. Brockport won both of its games this past week, improving to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in the conference on the season.

Nolan Egbert went 2-0 in a key SUNYAC Conference weekend for the Golden Eagles. He recorded a total of 57 saves in the Golden Eagle's wins over Buffalo State and Fredonia this past weekend. Against Buffalo State, Egbert recorded a total of 27 saves allowing only one goal in the teams 6-1 road victory. The following night in Brockport's 4-2 win over Fredonia, Egbert recorded a total of 30 saves against the Blue Devils finishing the weekend with a goals against average of 1.52. Allowing three goals against a total of 57 shots leaves Egbert with a .950 save percentage to end the weekend. Amongst goaltenders In the SUNYAC who have recorded over 500 minutes of play this season, Egbert currently ranks first in fewest goals allowed (14), goals against average (1.57), save percentage (.944%), win percentage (.778%) and wins (7).

Ryan Romeo finished the SUNYAC weekend with a team-high total of five points, tallying one assist in the team's 6-1 victory on the road at Buffalo State Friday. He also contributed to all four of Brockport's goals in a 4-2 victory over Fredonia at home on Saturday. He netted one power-play goal and recorded three assists. He was also +5 over the course of the two victories for the Golden Eagles. Romeo currently leads all defenders in the SUNYAC in goals (6), power-play goals (3), assists (12) and points (18). He currently leads all skaters in assists and is tied for first in points and ranks second in the conference in plus/minus (+16).

Romeo has a 4-point night in win over Fredonia

 The SUNY Brockport men's ice hockey team won its third consecutive game in a row on Saturday night, defeating Fredonia 4-1.
 
Four different Golden Eagles scored in the game including Ryan Romeo, Connor Galloway, Anthony Hora and Andrew Harley. Jacob King and Kevin Mainello record assists while Harley picked up two assists to go along with his goal. Ryan Romeo was able to contribute to all four goals in the game as he tallied three assists with his one goal.
 
In the first period, Brockport struck first on a power-play goal by Ryan Romeo with 56 seconds remaining in the period. Assisting him on the play was King and Mainello who helped give the Green and Gold a 1-0 lead heading into the second period of the game.
 
3:44 into the second period of play Fredonia would answer back to even up the game at 1-1 when Ethan Kirbis scored from an assist by Matt Letmanski. The goal would stand as the only goal of the period for either team.
 
With both teams heading into the third and final period of regular play, the Golden Eagle would take advantage of a 5 on 3 power-play opportunity when Andrew Harley would fire a shot that deflected off Fredonia's goaltender from their Connor Galloway gathered the rebound and put the puck into the back of the net. Galloway's power-play goal would put the Green and Gold up 2-1 at the 2:20 mark of the third period. Adding to Brockports third period goals was Anthony Hora who sent a shot from one knee into Fredonia's net making the Golden Eagles lead now 3-1. Trailing in the third, Fredonia would attempt to get back in the game and would manage to get one more goal prior to Andrew Harley scoring an empty net goal with 1:08 remaining in the game to give Brockport the win with a final score of 4-2.
 
In power-plays, Brockport was 2-5 on the night with Fredonia going 0-2 on power-play opportunities. In face offs, Brockport went 38 for 55 as Jacob King went 11-11 in face offs while Chris Aarons went 9-6, Mainello 9-5 and Mitchell Parsons 8-4.
 
In Net for the Golden Eagles, Nolan Egbert recorded a total of 30 saves allowing only 2 goals against Fredonia. Between last night's game at Buffalo State and tonight's, Egbert ends the weekend with a total of 57 saves and three goals allowed to end the weekend.
 
The Golden Eagle's next will host the Elmira Soaring Eagle's on Tuesday at 7pm in the Tuttle North Ice Arena. The contest will be the last home game for the men's ice hockey team before the end of the semester. From there they will travel to #1 Geneseo on Friday, December 10th for a 7pm puck drop until its next home game on Friday, January 7th.
 

Brockport declaws the Bengals

 The SUNY Brockport ice hockey team defeated the Buffalo State Bengals in Friday night's contest by a score of 6-1. In total, six different golden eagles managed to record goals while 10 players picked up assists in the 6-1 victory over Buffalo State.
 
Mitchell Parsons came to play, netting the first goal of the game only one minute and two seconds into the first period. Assisting Parsons on the play was the first defensive line of Anthony Hora and captain Ryan Romeo. The Bengals would come back scoring their first and only goal of the game to even things up 1-1 which would remain the score all the way until the end of the first period.
 
The second period saw complete dominance from the Golden Eagles scoring four unanswered goals. Netting the go ahead goal for the Green and Gold was Trevor Pray off assists from Tim Cronin and Kevin Mainello. Cronin's assists on the play marks the first of his collegiate career. Leading 2-1 at the 16:20 mark of the game, Mainello would put the puck in the back of the net himself with Pray and Cronin assisting him this time around to now lead 3-1.
 
29 short seconds later Brockport would add to it's lead as Andrew Harley scored to give extra insurance to the Golden Eagles as Jacob King and reigning SUNYAC Rookie of the Week Connor Galloway would pick up assists on the goal. After an interference penalty on the Buffalo State goalie would give the Golden Eagles a man advantage power-play opportunity, Jake Colosanti would net his first goal of the game at the 17:52 mark off a one timer towards the top of the point to give Brockport a commanding 5-1 lead heading into the final period of the game.
 
In the third period of play, Brockport managed to score yet again at the 17:41 mark as Jacob King recorded his seventh goal of the season on assists from Sam DiBitetto and Jake Colosanti
 
Brockport managed to send off a total of 38 shots against the Bengals, but only winning 28 of 64 faceoffs.
 
In Net yet again for Brockport was Nolan Egbert who managed to make a total of 27 saves allowing only one goal in the contest. Buffalo State's starting goalie Emil Norrman recorded 13 saves before coming out of the game as he would only allow one goal due to equipment malfunction before Connor Minch replaced him making a total of 19 saves and allowing five goals in the game.
 
Brockport will next host Fredonia on Saturday December 4th at home in the Tuttle North Ice Arena with puck drop scheduled for 7pm.
 

Brockport to take on WNY foes

 The SUNY Brockport Men's ice hockey team will split an away and home come this upcoming weekend as they'll travel to Buffalo State Friday night, before hosting Fredonia on Saturday. The Golden Eagle's game against the Bengal's on December 3rd is scheduled for 7pm at the Buffalo State Ice Arena. Brockport will then head back home to Host Fredonia the following night, December 4th, with puck drop scheduled for 7pm in the Tuttle North Ice Arena.
 
The Golden Eagle's traveled to Skidmore College over the weekend to take part in the Skidmore Thanksgiving Invitational. In the team's first game against Connecticut College, it saw the Green and Gold drop its third game in a row by a score of 3-2. The following day in the tournament's consolation game, the Golden Eagle's resurged defeating Chatham University by a score of 7-1.
 
Senior goalie Nolan Egbert picked up his fifth win of the season between the pipes for the Golden Eagles. He stopped 24 shots, including 12 in the second period alone. Egbert has allowed one goal or less in three contests this season.
 
As announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon, sophomore Connor Galloway was named the Prestosports Rookie of the Week for scoring his first collegiate hat-trick in the teams win over the Cougars. In team stats, Galloway is tied for third in goals (4), tied for fifth in assists (4) and sits alone in fifth in points (8), as well as third in the plus/minus category (+10).
 
The Golden Eagles as a team currently have been give the most power play opportunities in the conference as the team has had a total of 53 power-plays to work off. The Green and Gold have also only allowed a total of 82 penalty minutes with is the second lowest in the SUNYAC. The Golden Eagles rank second In the conference amongst goal allowed (16), second lowest in goals allowed average (1.78%), assists (64), and goals per game (4.00). the team is also ranked third in the conference in goals, having scored a total of 36 so far this season.
 
Captain Ryan Romeo is the current leader of all defenseman In three major scoring categories in the SUNYAC as he's tallied 13 points on five goals and assists nine games into the season. Freshman Jacob King currently ranks tied for second in points amongst forwards in the conference as he's tallied 12 so far this year. his six goals place him tied for fourth amongst forwards and tied for seventh in assists with six.
Amongst netminders, Nolan Egbert is tied for second in the conference in goals allowed (11), goals against average (1.58), save percentage (.942) and tied for first in the SUNYAC for wins (5).
 
Looking at Buffalo State, The Bengal's are currently 4-5 overall and 2-1 in conference play. The teams most recent game saw them lose to Trine University by a score of 5-3 on Saturday November 27th. Nikita Kozyrev is the teams leader in points so far this season as he's recorded 10 points on four goals and six assists. Starting in net for six games this season, Emil Norrman has allowed a total of 18 goals making 188 saves while spending nearly 357 minutes in goal.
 
Looking at Fredonia, they have started off the season with a 4-3-1 overall record and a conference record of 2-1. In the Blue Devil's most previous game on Tuesday, November 23rd, they battled the Nazareth Golden Flyers which ended in a 2-2 tie game. Prior to the Blue Devil's game against the Golden Eagle's on Saturday, they'll first play host to traveling #1 Geneseo. Leading the Blue Devil's offense this season is David Sudbrink who leads the team in goals (4), assists (5) and points (9). Logan Dyck has started in net in all seven games for Fredonia allowing 17 goals in 417:16 time in net. He's recorded 244 total saves and accumulated 2.44 goals against average.
 
Brockport's home game against Fredonia will be the last weekend night game for the Golden Eagle's before winter break. the Golden Eagle's will host one more game following the weekend as they'll welcome Elmira College on Tuesday night for a rare weekday showcase. The game will take place in the Tuttle North Ice Arena with puck drop scheduled for 7pm.

Brow commits to Brockport