THINKING ABOUT MY FAVORITE HOCKEY GAME

I was just reminiscing about old-time Brockport hockey with WBSU's John Panetta (the interview will appear on this weekend's broadcast). He asked me about my favorite games and one that immediately came to mind was a goal-fest like this past weekend's 8-7 win over Morrisville that also featured violence, blood, and the greatest performance ever by a Brockport player. This 2009 blog post talks about that 2000 game. What a game it was!

http://brockporthockey.blogspot.com/2009/12/where-are-they-now-nick-smyth.html    

BROCKPORT LANDS 2 ON D3HOCKEY TEAM OF THE WEEK

The College at Brockport ice hockey team tabbed two players on the inaugural d3hockey.com team of the week in forward Chase Nieuwendyk and defenseman Chris Luker.  Both Golden Eagles earned Second-Team honors.

In the opening two weeks of play, Nieuwendyk has tallied eight points off of five goals and three assists.  The senior recorded his first hat trick of the season Saturday night in a 8-7 victory over Morrisville State.  Nieuwendyk has also been a force to reckon with in the faceoff circle winning 15 of 22 face offs in the first game of the season. On the season, Nieuwendyk has won 47 face offs.

Luker has tabbed two multi-point games this season. The senior recorded two assists in a 6-2 win over SUNY Cortland and picked up two more assists in a 8-7 win over Morrisville State.

The complete Team of the Week roster can be seen here:

http://d3hockey.com/awards/TeamOfTheWeek/Men/2015-16/Nov9

REFLECTING ON DICKINSON'S 150 WINS

As Coach Brian Dickson reaches a milestone win, it's a good time to sit back and appreciate the man.

This is my 23rd season watching the team. Dickinson has been at the helm for 19 of them. For all of that time, he's been a model of consistency behind the bench and in the locker room, always urging his teams to play hard and live with high character on the ice, in the classroom and in the community.

That has certainly paid off in recent years as the team has averaged more than 10 wins over the past 7 seasons and the Golden Eagles have developed into one of the teams to fear in SUNYAC, year in, year out, which accounts for the ability to recruit topnotch talent and put fans in the stands. 

While the team has succeeded on the ice, it has done the same off of it. The hockey team has supported more than its fair share of causes, holding more fundraisers than any other team on campus (from this weekend's #PrayForJay game to Saves For a Cure weekends as examples). The players volunteer countless hours in the community and they are routinely very strong academic performers.

To make all of that happen, it takes a great coach to realize the potential of these young men and see their role in the world. He's been a father figure to them. He's brought some back from some dark places. He's cheered and mentored them to great things.

It's easy for me to me to be a fan of the organization and promote it as much as I do when I know a person with Brian's qualities is leading it. It's really good to see Brian win 150 at Brockport.

Brockport as a team, a campus, and a community have all been winning with him as a coach and leader for almost 2 decades.

Here's to 150 more wins!

BROCKPORT ALUMNUS GOTKIN GETS 500th NCAA WIN

Rick Gotkin was a Golden Eagle in the 1980-1981 and 1981-1982 seasons. He was a very productive player, racking up 21 and 26 points, respectively, in those campaigns.

Rick's claim to fame in hockey circles extends beyond his playing time. He's one of the most accomplished coaches in NCAA hockey.

Yesterday certainly was a day for celebration for the Mercyhurst Lakers head coach. 

On his birthday, the Lakers posted a 3-1 win over Air Force to give Gotkin the ultimate birthday present: his 500th career win. He becomes just the 23rd coach across all divisions to reach the milestone. He got all of those wins with just one team, having coached the Lakers since 1988-1989.

Congrats, Rick!

BROCKPORT BEATS MORRISVILLE 8-7

In what was a game that saw a score more befitting an NHL All-Star game, Brockport beat Morrisville on Saturday 8-7 in what was one of the most exciting -- if not most unusual -- games in recent memory. It featured a little bit of everything, from hat tricks to milestones to two goalie changes to some pretty entertaining goals. It was worth the price of admission, which, by the way, went to a good cause. The report from the Athletics Department...


Chase Nieuwendyk scored a hat trick as The College at Brockport ice hockey team skated to an 8-7 win over Morrisville State College Saturday night in a State University of New York Athletic Conference matchup Brockport, N.Y.  The win marks number 150 at Brockport for head coach Brian Dickinson.

Brockport (2-2-0 overall, 2-2-0 SUNYAC) found itself in an early deficit as Morrisville (1-3-0, 1-3-0) scored 90 seconds into the game but the Golden Eagles answered back with four straight goals to take a 4-1 lead.  Ryan Kangas got the scoring started when he was able to beat the Mustang goaltender glove side.  Jonathan Demme and Jeremy DeFazio picked up the assists.  Just over two minutes later Chris Luker found Dylan Shapiro in front of the net who tipped it in. 

Luker picked up another assist on Brockport's third goal as he connected with Nieuwendyk.

The Golden Eagles earned a power play and were quick to take advantage of it.  Chad Cummings sent a pass up the ice to Aidan Verbeke who crossed a pass to Nieuwendyk to take a 4-1 lead less than five minutes into the game.

Less than a minute later Morrisville cut the deficit to two goals but Brockport answered back less than a minute later.  Nieuwendyk sent a sharp pass to Verbeke who beat the goalie five-hole to give Brockport a 5-2 lead after the first period.

Morrisville scored a goal just over a minute into the second period.  After over 16 minutes of scoreless play, James Ryan skated past the Mustang defense and scored an unassisted goal for his first goal of the season.  Less than thirty seconds later Nieuwendyk scored his third goal of the game.  Zac Sikich and Verbeke picked up the assists.

Four straight goals from the Mustangs made it a tie game midway through the third period.  With less than four minutes remaining in regulation, Jeremy DeFazio grabbed a loose puck and quickly wrapped around the net.  DeFazio sent a hard shot to the net which was tipped by a Mustang defender and trickled past the goaltender for the game winning goal.

Nieuwendyk finished with three goals and one assist.  Verbeke tabbed one goal and three assists while DeFazio had one goal and one assist.  Luker finished with two assists while Cummings, Sikich and Demme each picked up one.  Kangas, Shaprio and Ryan scored one goal each.  The Golden Eagles outshot the Mustangs 40-25.

Jake Moore earned his first collegiate win after making four saves and allowing one goal in 11:04 minutes played.  Jared Lockhurst stopped 14 shots and allowed six goals in 48:56 minutes played.

All proceeds from tonight's game will be donated to Jason Stephanik, a member of the SUNY Geneseo hockey team who has been hospitalized since last week with a head injury.  Through ticket sales and donations, over $400 was raised for the Stephanik family.  You can donate here.

The Golden Eagles will head to Geneseo on Friday Nov. 6 for a SUNYAC matchup with face off scheduled for 7 p.m.

WHEC REPORT ON HOW LOVE TRUMPS THE BROCKPORT/GENESEO RIVALRY

WHEC Channel 10 news out of Rochester ran this awesome report last night that shows how the hockey fraternity's love for their fellow man (in this case, injured Geneseo player Jay Stephanik) trumps the storied and aggressive Brockport-Geneseo rivalry.

BROCKPORT LOSES TO MORRISVILLE ON THE ROAD

Rob Hall scored his first goal of the season Friday night as the College at Brockport ice hockey team suffered a 4-1 loss at Morrisville State College in a State University of New York Athletic Conference contest.

Brockport, (1-2-0 overall, 1-2-0 SUNYAC) found itself in an early deficit as Morrisville (1-2-0 overall, 1-2-0 SUNYAC) scored midway through the first period.  Less than four minutes later, the Golden Eagles took advantage of a power play to even the score at one.  Crisp passing allowed Hall to find the back of the net just over 13 minutes into the game.  Dylan Shapiro and James Ryan each picked up an assist on the goal.

In the first period the Golden Eagles outshot the Mustangs 11-10 and found themselves in a 1-1 tie at the first intermission.

Brockport was on the power play during the opening minutes of the second period but was unable to capitalize on the opportunity.  The Mustangs scored two goals late in the second period and one goal in the third to hand Brockport its second loss of the season.

Brockport outshot Morrisville 35-23 and won 36 of the 57 face offs.  Rookie Tim Kielich went 8-0 in the circle.  Hall led the offense with five shots while Chad Cummings tallied four.  Jake Taylor, Jeremy DeFazio, Brian Hurlimann and Kielich each had three shots.

Jared Lockhurst suffered his second loss of the season in goal.  The senior made 19 saves and allowed four goals in the complete game performance.

#PRAYFORJAY FUNDRAISER

BROCKPORT FACES MORRISVILLE THIS WEEKEND

This weekend Brockport faces the Morrisville Mustangs in a two-game series which finds Brockport at Morrisville on Friday while both teams face-off at Brockport on Saturday. Both games have a 7:00 start.

The Mustangs are 0-2-0 this season, having lost both games to SUNYAC rival Postdam. Their leading scorer on the season is Jimmy Philbin who has 2 goals. He is one of 8 freshmen on the young team and one of 12 new faces overall.

 
The Mustangs went 7-12-5 last season.  Last year’s leading scorer, Joe Santino (11-12-23) is a junior now. Two other juniors to keep an eye on are Joe Santino (21 points) and Jordan Cavalho (9 goals). Steve Dombrosky will shoulder most of the work in goal. Last season he started 21 games and sported an .885 save percentage and 4.16 GAA.  

Last year, Brockport beat Morrisville 7-3 in one game and lost to them 3-1 in the next. In the first game Chase Nieuwendyk had a hat trick and added 2 assists for good measure. He could have a similar experience this weekend.

If Brockport wins both games, Saturday’s W will be the 150^th Brockport win for Coach Brian Dickinson. It would be great to see him get a milestone win like that on home ice.          

FACES OF BROCKPORT: CHASE NIEUWENDYK

The Brockport Athletics Department has a "Faces of Brockport" endeavor through which they profile a student-athlete every week at GoBrockport.com. This week, they look at All-American Chase Nieuwendyk...

Chase Nieuwendyk knew from a young age that he wanted to play hockey and didn't let anything get in his way, working his way to become a four year member of the College at Brockport ice hockey team.

Nieuwendyk spent countless hours cheering on his Uncle, Joe Nieuwendyk, who spent 20 seasons playing the NHL.  His Uncle is one of 10 players in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup with three different teams and was a two-time Olympian, winning a gold medal with team Canada in 2002.

"I never received any pressure from my family," recalled Nieuwendyk.  "They simply wanted me to be happy and it just so happens that the biggest sport in our country made me happy."

The Georgetown, Ontario native spent practically every day at the rink, pushing himself to become a better athlete.  His desire to play hockey in juniors and college put an extra spark in his skates, along with the help of one of his biggest fans.

"My Dad was one of my greatest supporters," said Nieuwendyk.  "He knows the game better than anyone I know and helped me to get better every day."

All of that hard work paid off at the end of last season when Nieuwendyk was named to the CCM Division II-III Men's Hockey Third-Team All-American.  Nieuwendyk had a tremendous junior season, leading the team in scoring with 30 points off of 18 goals and 12 assists in 27 games.

"Last year, making it to the SUNYAC semifinals and taking on Plattsburgh, was a tremendous accomplishment for our team," noted Nieuwendyk.  "We all believed that we could do it and we knew that we belonged there."

Nieuwendyk admits that his biggest challenge of his collegiate career has been balancing his schoolwork with his athletics.  He quickly learned that time management is an important skill to have and has his sights set on graduating this spring.

"I want to go back to Canada and teach," remarked Nieuwendyk.  "The dream would be teaching elementary school and also coaching a junior club hockey team."

This past year, Nieuwendyk was given the opportunity to help coach the Brampton Capitals, a junior team in the Ontario Junior Hockey League.  The experience only reinforced what he already knew, that coaching was a blast and is something that he wants to do upon graduation.

Until graduation, Nieuwendyk has his sights set on a SUNYAC Championship.

"We're all in," said Nieuwendyk, "I don't see why we can't win it all.  This year, anything less than a championship is a failure."

SATURDAY'S GAME TO BENEFIT JAY STEPHANIK

In a previous post we mentioned the plight of Geneseo hockey player Jay Stephanik who suffered major head trauma in a non-hockey accident and is in guarded condition. A #PrayForJay campaign and GoFundMe account (https://www.gofundme.com/5h8qk8sc) are underway in the local hockey community. The College at Brockport will be lending a helping hand this weekend...all proceeds from this Saturday's home game versus Morrisville will go towards Jay's cause.

THIS WEEK'S STYLUS REPORT

Writing for the Brockport Stylus, sports reporter John Panetta offers this look at the season and a look back at this past weekend's games...


Men's ice hockey eager to heat up

After a long summer of waiting to improve on its run to the semifinals in last year’s SUNYAC tournament, The College at Brockport men’s ice hockey team returned to the ice over the weekend.

The Golden Eagles opened the weekend Friday, Oct. 30 at home against the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons before traveling to face the SUNY Oswego Lakers Saturday, Oct. 31.

The Golden Eagles have brought in a diverse freshman class with players from nearby areas like Tim Kielich (East Aurora, NY), Nick Gullo (Penfield, NY) and Trevor Simonick (Amherst, NY) as well as players from far across the continent, such as Cole Burack (Rockwall, Texas) and Connar Bass (Calgary, Alberta).

This stands in contrast to the current senior class, where seven of the eight seniors are from the Province of Ontario. The change has been attributed to economics.

“I wouldn’t say [the process] changes much. It’s been tough with the government and the Canadian dollar,” Assistant Coach Steven Mallaro said. “It’s harder to get guys to come here with the exchange rate. It costs them a lot of money so getting the Canadian guys to come here is tough now.”

In 2012, when the current seniors were  starting at Brockport, the Canadian dollar was performing on par with the U.S. dollar but as of Saturday, the exchange rate was $1.31 Canadian dollars to $1 U.S dollar.

Even scheduling was different this season compared to last, with Brockport facing opposition from the SUNYAC opening weekend against Cortland and Oswego. In contrast, the nonconference foes seen last year were Hobart College and Nazareth College. Instead, Brockport will face these teams in January.

“It made the Fall a little bit more about being ready out of the chute,” Head Coach Brian Dickinson said.

Against Cortland the Golden Eagles showed additional changes from past seasons, most notably of which was senior forward Chase Nieuwendyk and sophomore forwards Zac Sikich and Ryan Kangas being paired on separate lines, despite the fact they frequently saw success when paired together last season.

Nieuwendyk had junior forward Jake Taylor and sophomore forward Aidan Verbeke alongside him on the top line, while Sikich and Kangas were joined by freshman center Tim Kielich.

“It was to give us more depth,” Dickinson said. “We felt if there was one thing we really were missing last year it was kind of that scoring depth throughout our lineup. Moving Zac [Sikich] and Ryan [Kangas] away from him [Nieuwendyk] gives us two solid offensive style lines.”

The change would prove successful, with Nieuwendyk scoring two goals and Sikich getting a goal as well, as part of a string of six unanswered goals. Brockport went on to defeat Cortland 6 - 2 on opening night.

The Golden Eagles went from trailing Cortland 1 - 0 after the first period, to taking a 4 - 1 lead after the second periods, including a stretch of three goals within two minutes and 15 seconds later in that half.

Senior forward Jesse Facchini, sophomore forward David Horan and sophomore defender Brian Hurlimann would also have goals for the Golden Eagles while senior defender Chris Luker, sophomore forward Aidan Verbeke, sophomore forward Ryan Kangas, freshman defender Nick Palumbo and junior forward Jake Taylor would each record assists.

“I think any time you start your year with a win it’s a great feeling,” Dickinson said.

The road trip to Oswego Saturday night in front of a packed Marano Campus Center arena crowd proved to be a more difficult task for the Golden Eagles.

Facing an opponent that was ranked No. 5 in Division III ice hockey going into the game, Brockport fought to try and take an early lead, but was unable to get an edge over the Lakers.

Neither side could score during the first period, with Oswego only having a slim lead in shots after the first period 8 - 6.

Unfortunately for Brockport, the deciding goal would come in the second period, as Laker junior forward Kenny Neal would put in a one-time shot off of a feed from Laker junior forward Shawn Hulshof on the power play early in the second period.

Laker sophomore forward Mitchell Hurlihey also tallied an empty net goal in the final minute of the third to seal Brockport’s fate, falling 2 - 0 and dropping its record to 1 - 1 on the season.

“The outcome obviously was not fun, but it was a heck of a college hockey game between two really good teams,” Dickinson said. “And unfortunately it came down to a five minute powerplay when really we had the best chance but it doesn’t go in and they come right down and score.”

Brockport will face the Morrisville State College Mustangs this weekend in a home game as part of a home series of matchups. The Golden Eagles will be visiting Morrisville Friday, Nov 6. and then will host the Mustangs Saturday, Nov. 7.

Original source: http://www.thestylus.net/news/view.php/1013939/Mens-ice-hockey-eager-to-heat-up

GENESEO PLAYER IN GUARDED CONDITION

We might count Geneseo as our greatest rival, but at the same time, ice hockey is the greatest brotherhood in all of sport. That's why players and fans alike share genuine concern over a young man who plays for Geneseo.

Jason Stephanik is a sophomore forward for the Ice Knights who recorded his first collegiate point against Brockport last November. He is in guarded condition at Strong Memorial Hospital with a head injury. Jason was hospitalized last week but details are unclear regarding his injury and how it happened. A GoFundMe page has been set up for Jason who has a fractured skull and a long road to recovery.

Here is the full report from today's Democrat & Chronicle:

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/2015/11/03/suny-geneseo-hockey-team-praying-injured-teammate/75056398/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

LOCKHURST LOCKS DOWN SUNYAC HONORS

Jared Lockhurst was named the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Goalie of the Week after his impressive start to the season this past weekend.  On the weekend, Lockhurst tabbed 59 saves and allowed three goals in 119:07 minutes of play.

The College at Brockport Ice Hockey team opened its season Friday night against Cortland with a convincing 6-2 victory.  Down 1-0, the Golden Eagles scored six unanswered goals including four goals in seven minutes of play.  Lockhurst stopped 32 shots in his complete game performance and stopped 13 shots in the second period alone.  The senior held the Red Dragons to two goals in their season opener and were shut out in the second period. 

Saturday night against Oswego, Lockhurst made 27 saves and only allowed one goal.  The Lakers had two power play opportunities but Lockhurst shut down the Laker offense during that span including a glove save during a scramble in front of the net.  Midway through the first period, Oswego had a three-on-one breakaway but Lockhurst stood tall and made a save to preserve the score.

BROCKPORT RECEIVES USCHO VOTE

The USCHO weekly national poll came out today and look who received a vote for the first time in the program's history --- BROCKPORT!! That's something pretty special.

USCHO.com Division III Men's Poll

Minneapolis, Minn./November 02, 2015

   Team             (First Place)    Record   Pts  Last Week

 1 Trinity                   (18)    0- 0-0   298     1

 2 Wisconsin-Stevens Point   ( 2)    2- 0-0   275     2

 3 Norwich                           1- 0-0   256     4

 4 Amherst                           0- 0-0   207     5

 5 Plattsburgh                       1- 0-0   199     8

 6 Adrian                            1- 1-0   182     3

 7 Oswego                            1- 0-1   176     6

 8 Wisconsin-Eau Claire              2- 0-0   159    10

 9 Babson                            2- 0-0   149    11

10 Wisconsin-River Falls             1- 0-1   122     9

11 St. Norbert                       1- 1-0   115     7

12 Massachusetts-Boston              1- 0-0    62    13

13 Milwaukee School of Engineering   1- 1-0    47    NR

14 St. Thomas                        1- 0-1    39    14

15 St. Scholastica                   1- 0-1    25    NR

15 Williams                          0- 0-0    25    NR

Others receiving votes: Hamline 22, Neumann 17, Hobart 11,

Wisconsin-Superior 9, New England College 2, Brockport 1,

Gustavus Adolphus 1, Manhattanville 1.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM OSWEGO GAME

This 4-minute video collects highlights from the Brockport/Oswego game as produced by WTOP TV 10...

OSWEGONIAN REPORT ABOUT SATURDAY'S GAME

The Oswegonian is the student-run newspaper of SUNY Oswego. Here is their recap of last night's Brockport/Oswego game:

http://www.oswegonian.com/2015/10/31/mens-hockey-shuts-out-golden-eagles-behind-zawadzkis-dominance/

BROCKPORT FALLS TO OSWEGO 2-0

Let's call it a "1-0" game, because the second goal was an empty-netter with seconds left. That's how well Brockport played against one of the Top Five teams in the country! I know a lot of sports fans aren't big on "moral victories"...but this game showed where Brockport is at and who they can hang with or beat. I can't wait for the rematch at Brockport in January. I'm tellin' ya, this is going to be a great season.

Here's the recap from Brockport Athletics...

The College at Brockport ice hockey team suffered its first loss of the season as they fell 2-0 to State University of New York Athletic Conference opponent Oswego State Saturday night in a close matchup.

Brockport (1-1-0 overall, 1-1-0 SUNYAC) held Oswego (1-0-1 overall, 1-0-1 SUNYAC) scoreless for the first period. Jared Lockhurst tallied eight saves in the period including one on a three-on-one opportunity for the Lakers. Midway through the first the Golden Eagles found themselves on the penalty kill but Lockhurst didn't let anything by him during the two minutes and made an impressive glove save during a scramble in front of the net.

Seven minutes into the second period Brockport committed a penalty that proved costly. After Oswego won a faceoff, Chase Nieuwendyk stole the puck in the neutral zone and darted towards the goal. His breakaway pulled the Oswego goaltender out of the net, giving wingman Jesse Facchini a chance to open up the scoring. Facchini shot the puck wide and Oswego recovered the lose puck. The Lakers sped down the ice and scored on a breakaway to take a 1-0 lead with five minutes remaining in the second period.

The Golden Eagles had an opportunity to tie the game in the third period as the Lakers committed a penalty with just over three minutes remaining but were unable to capitalize. With Lockhurst on the bench and an extra attacker on the ice, Oswego scored in the final minute of play to hand Brockport its first loss of the season.

Lockhurst tallied 29 saves on the night including 15 in the second period. Tim Kielich, Jake Taylor and Nieuwendyk each recorded two shots while Rob Hall, Chad Cummings, David Horan, Chris Luker, Aidan Verbeke, Zac Sikich, Jeremy DeFazio, James Ryan and Facchini each had one shot.

Brockport will face off against Morrisville State College next weekend. Friday night's game will be played in Morrisville then the teams will head to Brockport Saturday with both games scheduled for a 7 p.m. face off.

MILESTONE COMING FOR DICKINSON

Something to keep aware of next week: 2 more wins and Coach Dickinson will have coached 150 "W"s as head of the Brockport program. 

D3HOCKEY'S SEASON PREVIEW

The good people at d3Hockey.com have posted a detailed season preview of the Golden Eagles. Check it out here: http://www.d3hockey.com/faceoff/2015/SUNYAC/Brockport_State/men/index

BROCKPORT BEATS CORTLAND 6-2

College President Macpherson dropped the puck on what is
one of the most highly-anticipated seasons in recent memory
(photo courtesy Brockport Athletics and Tori Langseder)

All the anticipation for last night's season opener at Tuttle North was definitely worth it. The Golden Eagles came out firing on all cylinders.

Here's the recap from the Athletic Department...

The College at Brockport ice hockey team exploded with six unanswered goals to cap off a season opening victory over State University of New York Athletic Conference rival SUNY Cortland Friday night. A balanced offense allowed 10 Golden Eagles to tally at least one point in the 6-2 win.

Cortland (0-1 overall, 0-1 SUNYAC) took a 1-0 lead into the second period but Brockport (1-0, 1-0) answered back with four goals in seven minutes to take a commanding 4-1 lead.

Jesse Facchini got the scoring started midway through the second period as he broke up a Red Dragon pass in the neutral zone and was able to breakaway and tuck the puck into the top corner of the goal.

Quick passing helped the Golden Eagles score their second goal as Jake Taylor and Aidan Verbeke moved the puck up the ice and were able to find Chase Nieuwendyk in front of the goal. Two minutes later Nieuwendyk picked up an assist on David Horan's goal to give Brockport a 3-1 lead. Brockport kept its offense going and scored a mere 15 seconds later. Cortland won the ensuing faceoff but Nieuwendyk stole the puck and took a quick shot. Chris Luker pounced on the rebound and made a sharp pass to Brian Hurlimann who netted Brockport's fourth goal of the period.

The Golden Eagles weren't done yet as they tacked on two more goals in the third. With just over six minutes remaining, Nick Palumbo shot the puck and Nieuwendyk snatched the rebound and quickly took a shot for his second goal of the game. Zac Sikich capped off the scoring with a two-on-one breakaway goal. Chris Luker fed a pass to Ryan Kangas. Kangas passed across the lane to Sikich who nailed a shot past the goaltender. Cortland scored on a power play goal late in the third but it wasn't enough as Brockport prevailed 6-2 in its first game of the season.

Jared Lockhurst earned the win after stopping 32 Cortland shots including 13 in the second period.

The Golden Eagles will head to Oswego State Saturday to take on the Lakers at 7 p.m.


Some of my thoughts...

The Big 3 did their job: The success of the team firmly rests on the shoulders of the Big 3 -- forward Chase Nieuwendyk, blueliner Chris Luker and puckstopper Jared Lockhurst. As they go, so goes the team. Last night saw them all excel...Nieuwendyk looks primed for another All-American honor as he had 2 goals and 2 assists; Luker assisted on 2 lamplighters; and Lockhurst was nearly unbeatable and incredibly sharp for a season opener.

Lunchbucket goals were -- and are -- the key to success: Brockport dominated last night on the strength of blue-collar hockey, which bodes well for the season. Far too often you see teams in DIII get cute, nervous or overly confident in their slapshots and they take many shots from just inside the blueline or at the far edge of the face-off circle. The teams that succeed -- like Oswego -- take it to the net and score most of their goals from within 10 feet of the crease. That's what Brockport did last night, pushing their way through and scoring 5 of their goals from that territory and closer -- the scorers were within 5 feet of the crease! There was no quit as the team attacked every rebound and kept on the puck. If they can do that tonight against Oswego...look out!

The hustle extended beyond goal scoring: Quite a few of the forwards showed excellent backchecking and defensive skills, complementing all of our big d-men. One fellow who kept catching my attention was Ryan Kangas who showed no quit in his efforts to steal the puck or force turnovers when he was found in the defensive zone.

This is the game the fans needed: Although the box score shows only 300 people were in the stands, it certainly looked like more than that, especially in the second period when the student section was pretty full. It was the type of game they needed to see as it will keep them coming back for more. Among the fans in attendance was our new college president Heidi Mcpherson, who participated in the ceremonial puck drop.  

This is the game the team needed: In this game the team picked up where they left off last season....as an offensive juggernaut that really showed how scary they could be in the season-ending playoff loss to Plattsburgh. It's always seems to be the case that Brockport starts the season slow and then picks it up around Thanksgiving. Starting the season this hot? Phew! The sky's the limit!

DICKINSON'S SEASON PREVIEW

The Brockport Athletic Department produced this YouTube video that's an almost 3-minute interview with head coach Brian Dickinson who discusses what to expect from the upcoming season....

D3HOCKEY.COM SUNYAC PREVIEW

The fellows at D3Hockey.com issued their SUNYAC preview today. They have Plattsburgh and Oswego at the top and Brockport in fifth place. I like how they keenly picked Potsdam to finish 3rd, which is not a team that immediately comes to mind as a powerhouse, but when you look at it, they really have all the pieces to succeed. That speaks to the quality of the conference. I've said it a million times: There's no such thing as an easy game in SUNYAC play.

Read their report here:

http://d3hockey.com/faceoff/2015/SUNYAC/mens-preview

USCHO SUNYAC PREVIEW

USCHO.com posted its annual SUNYAC preview today. Plattsburgh and Oswego are cited as the teams to beat (aren't they always?). Brockport is picked to finish fourth in the conference while Chase Nieuwendyk is listed as Brockport's player to watch.

Read it here:

http://www.uscho.com/2015/10/29/after-plattsburgh-and-oswego-who-breaks-the-status-quo-in-the-sunyac/

GAME DAY PROGRAM

In advance of Friday's home opener, the game day program is available online:

http://www.gobrockport.com/documents/2015/10/28//HOC103015.pdf