Brockport beats LVC

 The SUNY Brockport men's ice hockey team (10-5,5-3) picked up its 10th win of the season with a victory over Lebanon Valley (2-11,1-7)  Saturday afternoon.
 
The Golden Eagles defeated the Flying Dutchmen by a score of 3-1. Jake Colosanti, Connor Galloway, and Mitchell Parsons were each responsible for a Golden Eagles goal throughout the game. Colosanti, Anthony Hora and Sam Dibitetto each recorded an assist as Ryan Romeo picked up two assists against the Flying Dutchmen. Romeo's two assists gives him a total of 17 this season, tied for first amongst all skaters in the nation.
 
Game Recap: The Golden Eagles struck first in the game as Colosanti recorded his fifth goal this season 15:26 into the first period of play. The goal came on a Brockport power-play with senior Sam DiBitetto assisting him for the goal.
 
In the second period, with Brockport a man down, and Lebanon Valley on the power-play the Flying Dutchman scored their first and only goal in the game to even things up 1-1.
 
With the score even at 1-1 heading into the final period of play, thanks to another Lebanon Valley penalty, Connor Galloway scored on the Brockport power-play 12:34 into the third period. Ryan Romeo picked up his first assist in the game as Anthony Hora picked tallied an assist as his shot deflected off Galloways stick and into the back of the net to give the Golden Eagles a 2-1 lead. Mitchell Parsons then scored in what would be the only even strength goal all game with Ryan Romeo and Jake Colosanti tallying their second points in the game giving the Green and Gold a 3-1 victory over the Blue and White.
 
Penalty Play: A total of eight penalties were handed out throughout the game. Lebanon Valley went on the penalty kill five times throughout including a five-minute major game misconduct.The Golden Eagles went 2-for-3 on their penalty kill opportunities. Brockport's five power-play opportunities now gives them a SUNYAC leading 84 all season.
 
Netminders: Nolan Egbert returned in net for the Golden Eagles making 23 saves against 24 shots playing the full 60-minutes in net. Aidam Richardson was a brickwall for the Flying Dutchman as the Pittsford, NY native returned to the 585 recording a total of 49 saves against 52 total shots.
 
SUNYAC Leaders: Egberts play for the Golden Eagles has been one for the books as he ranks second in the SUNYAC in goals against average (1.65), save percentage (.941) and win percentage (.727). With Romeo's 17 assists, he ranks first in the SUNYAC while his eight goals this season ranks him second in the conference in points with 25.
 
On To The Next: The Golden Eagles will resume SUNYAC play this Wednesday when they'll travel to Morrisville to take on the Mustangs at 7pm.

Brockport to host LVC

The SUNY Brockport men's ice hockey team is set to host visiting Lebanon Valley this Saturday, January 15th at 2 p.m. in the Tuttle North Ice Arena.
 
Weekend Recap: The Golden Eagles (9-5) recently defeated visiting Stevenson (9-4-1) on Saturday by a score of 5-1. Brockport's Zach Norby, Ryan Romeo and Sam Dibitetto all recorded a goal in the game with freshman Jacob King scoring twice in the contest. Aidan Curry was Brockport netminder against the Mustangs as he managed to play nearly 60-minutes of shutout hockey to pick up his second win of the season. Curry's play came as the result of saving a career high 35 total shots.
 
So far this season the Golden Eagles currently rank first in the SUNYAC in power-play opportunities (79), 14 more than any other team in the conference. Of their power-play opportunities, the Golden Eagles have capitalized with a power-play goal 21.5% of the time.
 
Individual National Rankings: Team Co-Captain Ryan Romeo has been playing as one of the best defenders this season not only in the conference, but in the nation across division III men's ice hockey. Through 14 games this season, Romeo is currently ranked first amongst defenders in points (23), tied for first amongst defenders in assists (15) and ranked second in the country amongst all skaters with his 23 points. As for his career, Romeo currently sits at 73 career points and is two shy away from ¾ of 100 points. Sitting where he is now in goals and points, he ended the 2019-2020 season with six goals and 10 assists and has already surpassed his previous seasons stats with 11 games remaining in the season. Other top points leaders in the nation from Brockport include freshman Jacob King who is tied for 21st (9-9-18) and freshman Andrew Harley who is tied for 38th (5-11-16).
 
Brockport has been backed up by phenomenal goaltending as Nolan Egbert ranks tied fourth in the nation in shutouts (2), ninth in the nation in save percentage (0.940%), 12th in the nation in goals against average (1.72%) and 21st in the nation in minutes played (594.21).
 
Looking at Lebanon Valley: The Flying Dutchmen are currently 2-9 overall and 1-7 in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC). Lebanon Valley's most recent game was played back on December 10th against Elmira College where they lost 10-0. Prior to traveling to Brockport on Saturday, the Flying Dutchman will faceoff against No.2 SUNY Geneseo Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. leading the team's offense in points is Blake Testo who's recorded 13 points on a team leading seven goals and six assists. Leading the team in assists this season is Alex Borowiec with 10. Gabriel Pigeon has spent the most time in net for Lebanon Valley appearing in nine games recording a total of 369.05 minutes allowing 28 goals and making 169 saves. He has a goals against average of 4.55% and save percentage of .858%.
 
Following Events: Following this weekend's game, The Golden Eagles will resume SUNYAC play where they will travel to Morrisville State on Wednesday, January 19th for a 7 p.m. puck drop.

Brockport starts off 2022 in style

 The SUNY Brockport Golden Eagle's men's ice hockey team returned home for the first time this year picking up a big victory over visiting Stevenson University.
 
The Golden Eagle's (9-5) defeated the Mustangs (9-4-1) by a score of 5-1. Brockport's Zach Norby, Ryan Romeo and Sam Dibitetto all recorded a goal in the game with freshman Jacob King scoring twice in today's contest.
 
The first goal of the game was recorded by Norby who was assisted on the play by teammates Connor Galloway and Jacob King. The goal came off a Brockport power-play at 15:43 to put the Golden Eagles up 1-0 heading into the second period of play.
 
As they have all season, Brockport tallied its most goals of the game in the second period. So far, of the 55 total goals that Brockport has scored all season, 25 have come during the second period of play with 10 goals recorded in the first period and 20 coming in the third.
 
To start off Brockport's second period scoring drive, the co-captain Ryan Romeo tallied his SUNYAC conference leading 23 points this season off a goal. Assisting him on the play were Connor Galloway and Zach Norby. The Golden Eagle's third goal of the game came at 15:35 into the second period with King picking up his first goal off assists from Jake Colosanti and Anthony Hora putting Brockport up 3-0. Giving the Green and Gold another point on the board was Sam Dibitetto who scored 17-minutes into the second period off a power-play goal as Jacob Rodrigue and co-captain Corey Tam tallied assists.  The Golden Eagle's final goal of the night was King's second of the game at 18:17 in the second with assists by Zach Norby and Ryan Romeo to help give Brockport a 5-0 lead heading into the third period.
 
Stevenson wouldn't go away empty handed as the Mustangs put up a goal 16:35 into the third period resulting in the final score of the game to end in a 5-1 Golden Eagles victory.
 
Jacob King's two goals in the game now puts him tied for third place in the conference in total goals (9). With an assist in the game, it puts him ranked third in the conference in points (18). Ryan Romeo still ranks as the SUNYAC's assists and points leader as his assists in today came gives him 15 on the season, four more than any other SUNYAC player. Romeo's goal, which gave him a total of two points to finish today's game puts him at 23 total points so far this season. Romeo and King's presence on the ice has been impactful for the Green and Gold as the graduate student, Romeo, is tied amongst conference leaders in plus/minus (+17) while the freshman, King, sits alone in fourth place (+12).
 
Aidan Curry was Brockport netminder today as he managed to play nearly 60-minutes of shutout hockey to pick up his second win of the season. Curry's play came as the result of saving a career high 35 total shots.
 
Ryan Kenny recorded the loss for the Mustang's in today's game allowing four goals in 37-minutes of action before being replaced by backup goaltender Marko Sturma. Kenny recorded 23 saves while Sturma picked up 14 saves during his time in goal.
 
Stevenson gained the edge over the Golden Eagle's in faceoffs as the Mustangs won 31 of 56. King lead all skaters for both teams in today's game in faceoff's win as he managed to takeaway 13 of 21 faceoffs he appeared in.
 
One of the biggest stats Stevenson had for today's game was the amount of penalty minutes they aquired taking a total of 11 penalties in the game compared to Brockport's six penalties. Brockport took advantage of Stevenson's penalties as the Golden Eagles went 3-6 on power play opportunities while Stevenson couldn't capitalize on any of their three power-play opportunites.
 
Brockport will return home next Saturday, January 15th when they will make up its postponed game from January 8th against Lebanon Valley in the Tuttle North Ice Arena at 4pm.

Celebrating two of the best

 

With the second half of the season here, it’s time to give a shoutout to two guys having absolutely magical seasons – Ryan Romeo and Nolan Egbert. Keep an eye on these guys this semester, appreciate every play they make. They are literally among the best in all of DIII.

It was thought that defenseman Ryan Romeo deserved serious consideration for All-American status in the season prior to the pandemic. The First Team All-SUNYAC selection had 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points. This year, he’s a shoe-in for national honors: He has a 7-14-21 line in just 13 games. He’s on pace for a 40-point season. Let that sink in. 40 points is a great season for a forward. For a blueliner, it’s an all-world season. That dynamic playmaking ability in no way dulls his primary duties of keeping the other teams’ best players in check. His plus/minus is +15, he’s blocked 8 shots, and he has just 8 penalty minutes.

I’ve been watching DIII hockey for a really, really long time, and I’ve always thought the best defenseman I ever saw was Nick Rolls, who played for Plattsburgh from 2005-2006 to 2008-2009. He was brilliant, the flow of the game itself went through him. Romeo is that kind of special talent. He’s an impactful player who is worth the price of admission and will belong on Brockport’s Mount Rushmore of hockey.

Why is Brockport consistently ranked among the top twenty teams in DIII this season? Look no further than Nolan Egbert. His brilliance in goal allows the team to do what they want, to take chances, to adjust their style of play of the competition, to make changes on the fly because he gives them the confidence to be able to dominate and win every game. With him behind you, there’s always a chance.

Somehow, he’s quietly having a season for the ages. His save percentage is .940 and his goals-against-average is 1.72. The team’s single-season records for those categories has been held by Jake Moore, at .925 and 1.93. He’s a great goalie to watch, too – he has textbook mechanics and cunning yet he can also make the stunning stop that’s worthy of television highlight reels.

Egbert can steal a game and he’s the key to getting the team to – and beyond – the SUNYAC championship game. He’s up for the task, too, the young man has preternatural calm behind the mask.

New fans, longtime fans, all of you…savor this semester and what these guys are doing. You’ll never forget what you’re seeing.

LVC game put on hold

Lebanon Valley's games against Brockport and Geneseo have been postponed. While Friday's match is a no-go, Brockport will still, at this time, face Stevenson on Saturday.