March 2012 Volume 1; Issue 6
Three New Yorkers On Team USA-Sled Hockey Team
College Playoff and High School Championship Edition
In This Issue
P.O. Box 354 North Tonawanda, NY 14120 (716) 909-2961 hockeynys@gmail.com Publisher Managing Editor Designer/Photographer Columnists
Steve Manson Randy Schultz Janet Schultz Warren Kozierski, Janet Schultz, Randy Schultz
Hockey New York State is an equal opportunity employer. Contents 2012 Hockey New York State All rights reserved Hockey New York State is published monthly at no charge and can be accessed via the publication’s website www.Hockeynys. com
2011-12 ECAC Women’s West Tournament Schedule Saturday, February 25: No. 6 SUNY Potsdam 2, No. 3 Elmira 1 No. 4 Oswego 3, No. 4 Neumann 0 No. 1 RIT and No. 2 Plattsburgh receive byes Semifinals: Saturday, March 3 No 6 SUNY Potsdam 1 vs. No. 1 RIT 6 No. 4 SUNY Oswego 0 vs No. 2 Plattsburgh 1 Championship: RIT 2 vs Plattsburgh 1
We are providing as much coverage of College and High School Championship information as we can. If your school is not listed, please forward us your season results for April’s issue of Hockey NYS.
Referee Goes to IIHF................................. 4 EJHL’s Youngest........................................ 6 Section Reports........................ 7, 15, 20, 24 On the Bench.............................................. 9 Haseks Heroes.......................................... 12 High School Scores.................................. 18 Hockey Camp for Deaf............................ 22 Hockey and Education............................. 23 Duffett Award........................................... 28 USA Hockey............................................ 33 Home Grown............................................ 35 Please send your story ideas, press releases, scores and photos to: hockeynys@gmail.com or contact one of us at our personal emails: Randy Schultz at janetrandy@aol.com Janet Schultz at JDSchultz3663@gmail.com
CHA Championship Semifinals Friday, March 2 No. 4 Syracuse 3; No. 1 Mercyhurst 4 No. 3 Niagara 2; No. 2 Robert Morris 3 Finals Saturday, March 3 Robert Morris 3; Mercyhurst 2 ECAC Division I Semi Finals Cornell 5, Quinnipiac 5 Harvard 1, St. Lawrence 2 OT Finals Cornell 1, St. Lawrence 3
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Local Referee Tapped to Work IIHF By Janet Schultz
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ina Allen is a full-time lawyer which means she has to settle disputes on a regular basis. So what does she do in her spare time? She works as a referee for ice hockey. While local games are on her schedule regularly, Allen will be one of the referees at the 2012 International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World’s in Burlington, Vermont in April. The North Tonawanda resident began her hockey career at age 4. She played on boy’s teams through tenth grade and then joined up with the Syracuse Stars. She played senior AAA hockey for the Oakville Ice of the NWHL, won a USA Hockey national championship with the 19U Syracuse Stars and was invited to the USA Junior National Camp in 2001, 2002 and 2003. She has also played for Brampton and Mississaugua of the NWHL. The Princeton University graduate also played for her alma mater. She played in 123 games in her Princeton uniform, garnering 70 points. However, in her last three years at Princeton Allen was the leader in penalty minutes, logging 224 minutes in 92 games. So how do you become one of those referees that put you in the box so many times? “My husband refeered in graduate school and got me interested,” explained Allen. “It was a way to make some extra money and stay in the game,” she continued. “I knew there weren’t many women officials but I thought I’d try it.” The process begins with registering with USA Hockey as an official and taking a class. There’s an open rulebook test at the end and from there you start working USA hockey games. “The opportunities grow from there,” she continued. “My first USA game was a Mite Cross Ice and I was the linesman,” she remembers. “It was fun.” “There was a little goalie that would get down but because of the equipment was unable to get back up,so we’d have to help him.” Allen continues studying as she attends regional development camps in the summer.
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“USA Hockey works hard to develop their officials,” she said. “There are regional, national and elite camps. The Elite Camps get you certified to do international tournaments, such as the IIHF. “Once you have that you are on the list of officials to get assigned,” she continued. While the fans in the stands are yelling at the officials, they aren’t the only ones watching the officials closely. “There are supervisors at many of the games that watch us,” she said. “We don’t always know they’re there unless we recognize them. But at the national and international level, they are always there. In fact they meet with us to go over things before the games, questioning us on rules.” “The more experience you gain the better,” she advises anyone thinking about this as a career move. “You need to be flexible because you can be called for a game at any time and the development camps are in the summer. “Generally I know about a game a month in advance, but sometimes you get called the week before, especially during playoffs because no one knows who’s playing who when,” said Allen. “Working the international tournaments is a great way to meet people from all over the world,” she goes on. “My first international game was in Germany and I was the only American official. “I enjoy it because I get to learn about their life style, culture and there is a camaraderie among the officials when we are on the road.” “Refereeing is a fun challenge. You learn how to manage people and situations,” said Allen. “No one is ever happy about a penalty.” “There are a lot more rules than you know as a player.” “We need the number of referees to increase and we are trying to grow it. So if someone wants to stay in the game, but is unable to play, this may be the way.” What about the yelling from the stands and the bench? “My law career has helped me handle that,” she said smiling.*
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“A
s a young player the way he carries himself is unbelievable. He’s got an incredible amount of poise and his skating is second to nobody in our league.” “He obviously makes some young mistakes from time
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meet a lot of great people and play with some great players. The competition was great and I couldn’t be happier. We only had two practices before our first game where other teams like Russia have been together for five years.” Over 34 games this season in the EJHL, Billitier had two assists for the Stars, who finished Billitier, the son of former SUNY Brockport football placekicker Rick Billitier, won the USA Hockey National Championships last season as a member of the Detroit (MI) Belle Tire Under-14 team in his second season of junior hockey in Michigan before returning home this season. “I consider myself an offensive defenseman but I want to be a complete player so I’m working on all aspects of my game just trying to get better right now. “I’m very happy with how this year has gone. It was a tough decision to step up and play juniors this year but I couldn’t be happier with my teammates and what they’ve taught me about the league and help me take my game to the next level. It’s been a challenge, but everything has been great. I’m really happy.” Billitier will turn 16 this May and will be trying out for the U.S. National Development Team program based in Ann Arbor, Michigan the last weekend in February. “That’s my main goal right now and if I can’t make that probably go to the OHL (Ontario Hockey League whose draft is April 1st). We have a week-long camp there with 40 kids and 20 come out of it.” “I think he should (go to NDTP); I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t,” said Maksymiu. “You would hard pressed to find another ’96 that is playing at the level he is playing—most of them are playing Junior B or midget level. He is playing ahead and competing ahead of the curve.”*
What It’s Like to be
to time, but he understands the game and his upside is incredible.” That is high praise from Rochester Stars head coach Tony Maksymiu about 1996 born defenseman Nathan Billitier. By Warren Kozireski The Spencerport native was seeing action on the power play and penalty kill for the Eastern Junior League Stars and was one of 17 players named to the U.S. Junior Olympic team where he played on the top defensive pair during the five-nation tournament in Austria in mid-January. The tournament is the first time in history the International Olympic Committee has hosted a Youth Winter Olympics. The team was comprised of players under the age of 16 and was coached by Ben Smith, a four-time Olympic Coach having represented USA Hockey at the 1988 Olympics as an assistant coach on the Men’s team in Calgary. From 1996 through 2006 Smith led the USA Women’s National Program and was the Head Coach of the Gold Medal winning 1998 Olympic Champions. The squad competed against squads from Canada, Russia, Finland and Austria. Team USA finished the tournament 2-2 with victories over Finland and Austria, but lost the Bronze Medal game 7-5 to Canada despite a goal from Billitier, who played in the top defensive pair. “It was a great experience,” said Billitier. “I got to
The Youngest Player in the EJHL!
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helpers. In her first two seasons in a Pioneer uniform she has recorded a total of 73 points. Utica finished its 2011-2012 season with a 1012-3 overall record. Although they had 12 losses on the year, seven of them came by two goals or less and they missed a post-season birth by just two points. This was the first time in the last 10 years that the Pioneers have not made the post-season. UC was a very young team this year, as it will only graduate one senior – MacKenzie Roy
NYS Women’s College Hockey Report-Central Section by Janet Schultz Colgate
The Colgate women’s hockey team concluded its 2011-12 season with a 1-0 setback to Clarkson in Starr Rink. Despite holding the game scoreless in the first two periods, Clarkson was able to find the game-winning goal early in the third frame to secure the win over the Raiders. Senior goaltender Kimberly Sass (East Amherst NY) had an impressive performance in net with a 38 saves. The team concludes the season with a 10-21-2 overall record and a 5-15-2 mark in ECAC Hockey play, finishing 10th in the league. The team honored seniors Kimberly Sass, Amanda Kirwan, Heidi Peterson and KristiLyn Pollock after their final collegiate game.
Utica
Sophomore forward Megan Myers of the Utica College women’s hockey team was named to the ECAC Women’s West All-Conference First Team. The honor marks the second year in a row that she has garnered all-conference status. Last season Myers earned a spot on the all-conference second team and she was also awarded a spot on the all-rookie team. For the 2011-2012 campaign, Myers tallied 40 points in 25 games. She ended the season with 17 goals and 23
Syracuse
Coming off an overtime victory at Niagara University, Syracuse ice hockey sophomores Jenesica Drinkwater and Margot Scharfe each earned CHA honors. Drinkwater was named the conference Goaltender of the Week while Scharfe earned Player of the Week honors for the second time this season. Freshman defenseman Kaillie Goodnough was also named to the conference honor roll. Syracuse has advanced to the league championship game in each of the past two seasons.
Oswego ECAC Commissioner Rudy Keel-
ing announced today the ECAC Women’s West all-conference ice hockey team for the 2011-12 season and two Oswego State players landed on the squads. Sophomore forward
Megan Howe (Stratford, Ont.) and senior defender Kathryn Sbrocchi (Mississauga, Ont.) were both named the Honorable Mention All-ECAC West team. The Oswego State women’s ice hockey team, 11-13-2, posted the program’s first-ever playoff win against Neumann University in a 3-0 shutout. Hamburg native Bridget Smith stopped 18 shots, while MacKenzie Lee (Caledonia) had a hand in all three Laker goals with assists. Fairport’s Kelly Collins put the Lakers ahead 1-0 in the second period on a power-play goal. Melissa Seamont extended the lead to 2-0 and Megan Howe tapped in the third and final goal.
Cortland
Cortland senior goalie Katie Double (Farmington) surpassed 2,000 saves in her career by turning aside 51 shots in the game. She now has 2,045 in
her four seasons. The nationally top-ranked RIT
women’s ice hockey defeated Cortland, 8-0, in the regular-season finale for both teams. The Red Dragons concluded their season with a 5-16-1 overall record and 3-14-1 mark in the ECAC West.
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Elmira
The Elmira College Women’s Ice Hockey team completed a comeback to upend visiting Oswego State, 4-3. The win improves the Soaring Eagles to 20-4-1 overall and 15-3-0 in ECAC West play. Elmira College honored its five members of the Class of 2012 immediately following the contest. Katy Walker, Lindsay Mitchell, Alex McPhail, Lauren Campbell, and Alex Bresler )all shared special moments during their careers at EC with their families and the fans.
Cornell The Big Red of Cornell clinched the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals series 2-0 with a win over the Brown Bears 6-0. Laura Fortino scored twice and Cornell’s Chelsea Karpenko, Jillian Saulnier, Laurianne Rougeau and Erin Barley-Maloney fired in goals for the victory. This is the Big Red’s third consecutive ECAC Hockey Semifinal and its 10th consecutive ECAC Hockey Tournament victory. Amanda Mazzotta recorded her fifth shutout of the year, making 13 saves giving her a 13-2 record. Cornell senior forward Rebecca Johnston has been named a finalist for the ECAC Hockey Player of the Year Award. Johnston, who was the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2008, has had an excellent senior season. She leads Cornell and the entire conference with 51 points on the year. Johnston has also been named as one of the top ten finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Award given to college hockey’s best player. Johnston was a top 10 finalist last season. Cornell junior defenseman Lauriane Rougeau has been named a finalist for ECAC Hockey’s Defensive Defen-
seman of the year. Rougeau’s offense excellent as well. Among league defensemen, she ranks sixth with 22 points on five goals and 17 assists. Her plus/minus rating of +38 is good for second in ECAC Hockey, tied with Fortino. She was also a nominee for the Patty Kazmaier Award and one of just five defensemen nominated for the award.
Hamilton
Hamilton closes its season with a loss at Trinity for the second season in a row, finishing 10-14-1. Trinity beat Hamilton 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Buffalo’s Brigitte Cellino had an assist on the first goal. Trinity is now 15-10 and advances to its third consecutive NESCAC Semi-finals playing Middlebury College. Middlebury is hosting the NESCAC championships. Trinity’s Cellino had 4 goals and 8 assists this season for 12 points and served as Captain.*
Rochester 10U Do Well in Tournament
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he Rochester Edge 10U team placed second in the Oswego Girls’ Tourament in February. They beat Oswego 3-2, tied Camillus 3-3 and lost to CNY Bobcats 9-3 to make it to the Championship game. The girls faced CNY again and in an impressive battle they were up 1-0 after the first period with a goal by Haley Winn. The game was tied 1-1 after the second but the Bobcas responsed and the game ended 2-1 in favor of CNY.. Goalie Aileen Richardson had a great day in the net stopping 22 of CNY’s 24 goals. Points on the weekend: Haley Winn, 4 goals Adelle Young, 2 goals, 1 assist Emma Corbett, 2 goals Isabella Barry, 2 goals Allyson Schwind, 1 goal, 1 assist Michaela Halsey,1 assist Abbie Weisenberg, 1 assist Marissa Jajia, 1 assist.
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s the season winds down, most of our teams are heading towards the most important games of the year. It’s tournament time, and whether your team is playing for a league championship, or a national title, you want them to do their best. As a coach, there are so many variables that we cannot control. One important part of the game where we have some control is the length of our player’s shifts. Here is a short article on the subject by Harry Thompson originally published in the USA Hockey Magazine back in 2008. Enjoy, and good luck. Chuck Gridley New York District Coach-inChief
The Sense Behind Short Shifts By Harry Thompson
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uring last year’s Stanley Cup finals, former NHL coach Jacques Demers wrote a piece in USA Today talking about the length of players’ shifts on hockey’s biggest stage. According to Demers’ tabulations, five-time Norris Trophy winning defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom played more than 28 minutes a game, but his shifts averaged 44 seconds in length. Henrik Zetterberg’s shifts ran about 43 seconds while Pavel Datsyuk was on the ice for an average of 39 seconds before grabbing some pine. Conversely, there were several noted situations where Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins was on the ice for more than a minute and was clearly out of gas by the end of his shift. Keep in mind that by the time the
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Stanley Cup finals roll around these players have put their bodies through the ringer by playing more than 100 games, not to mention the physical and mental wear and tear of battling hard for every inch of NHL ice. The question is, if short shifts are good enough for the NHL’s golden goose, shouldn’t the same philosophy be good enough for the youth hockey gander? It’s a coach’s responsibility to monitor and enforce the length of a player’s shift, not only to give all players ample playing time, but also
As they move up the developmental ladder, most coaches advocate that elite players should not be on the ice for more than 45 seconds for a shift, giving it their all before returning to the bench to rest and recover. Once a player reaches that plateau of ice time, not only do they tend to show outward signs of being fatigued, the lactic acid that builds up in the legs becomes more difficult to deal with. “When a player overextends himself on one shift, it will be more difficult to recover for the next shift, and the shift after that,” says Ken Martel, a former coach with the National Team Development Program who now studies high performance training for USA Hockey. As a coach, if you have your kids play shorter shifts, you will dictate the tempo of the game because your players will have fresher legs. “What I find with my teams is that if they play long shifts the kids tend to pace themselves and don’t go all out,” says Mark Tabrum, director of USA Hockey’s Coaching Education Program. Every coach has his own philosophy on how much to play a team’s top players. But is a first-line player who is dead tired any better than a fresh fourth-liner when the game is on the line? “Shorter shifts early in the game will leave something left in the tank for the third period and overtime,” says Dan Brennan, manager of USA Hockey’s Coaching Education Program. “There’s nothing worse than a tired player out on the ice. He or she then leaves your team vulnerable.”*
On the Bench with Chuck Gridley to guard against short-term and longterm fatigue. “It’s not just the shift, but it’s the shift within a game, the game within a week, the week within a month and the months within a season,” says Paul Cannata, head coach at Milton (Mass.) Academy. “If you’re constantly over extending yourself, it has consequences on the game and the season. If you ride your horses too hard and too long too early in a game, they may not have anything left during crunch time.” Coaches will site numerous variables that play into their decision to keep a player on the ice for an extended period of time, from the quality of lines to the number of kids on the bench to a critical point in a game that calls for top players to be matched up against top opponents. Some coaches point out that shifts tend to be a little longer, particularly at the Mite and Squirt ages because they display the same traits as the Energizer Bunny and keep going and going and going on the ice.
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Broome Community College The Hornets just missed the playoffs as they were
ranked fourth in the nation after the regular season with a 12-10 record. The top four make the postseason. RJ Fitzpatrick (Vestal), Connor Lofgren (Ithaca)/ Anthony O’Malley (Binghamton) and Tommy Missert (Syracuse) were the team leaders in scoring with 29, 28 and 26 points respectively.
NYS HOCKEY MEN’S COLLEGE REPORT CENTRAL SECTION By Warren Kozireski
Colgate
The Raiders lost their final four regular season games but hung on for a fourth place tie with Quinnipiac in the ECAC and earned the fourth seed and a first round playoff bye with more conference wins in the tiebreaker. They await the fifth seed after the first round of the playoffs is completed for a best-of-three series. Senior Austin Smith led the country in goals with 34 and stood third in points with 52 making him one of the favorites to be included in the Hobey Hat Trick—the three top candidates to win the prestigious Hobey Baker Award to be announced in April at the Frozen Four in Tampa.
Cornell
The Big Red finished second to Union College in the ECAC earning a first round playoff bye. They will host the seventh seed in a best-of-three series following the first round. Joakim Ryan has set a new school mark for goals by a freshman defenseman with six. The record goes back to 1975-76—the first year freshmen were allowed to play varsity. The Big Red won their first game at St. Lawrence’s Appleton Arena since Feb. 25, 2005 in late February.
Cortland
The Red Dragons finished tied for eighth place in SUNYAC with a 4-11-1 conference record. Senior Joey Christiano (Hilton) completed his college career with 56 points in 94 games. Classmates Ryan Durocher (Canton) and defenseman Scott Wentworth (New Hartford) also finished with 25 and 19 career points respectively.
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Elmira
After their fifth consecutive regular season crown, the Soaring Eagles were upset in the playoff semi-finals in overtime by Neumann ending their NCAA playoff hopes. Seniors Kevin Willer and Darcy Vaillancourt made their mark on the Elmira record books with 110 and 111 career points respectively while Brendan Sanders and Rick Acorn both also eclipsed the 100 games played mark.
Hamilton
The Continentals completed a disappointing regular season tied for eighth in NESCAC and were shutout in a quarterfinal playoff game to end the campaign. Senior Anthony Scarpino finishes his collegiate career just shy of a point-per-game pace with 77 points in 79 games.
Hobart
The third place Statesmen upset second seed Manhattanville in the semi-finals of the ECAC West playoffs and earned an unexpected home game against fifth seed Neumann for the championship to be played days after this went to press. The team finished strong going 9-4-1 since mid-January.
Morrisville
The Mustangs finished tied with Cortland for eighth place in SUNYAC but lose just four seniors including
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Geoff Matzel (Chittenango) who had 60 points in 99 career contests. Senior defenseman Tom Longland reached the 100 game splayed mark in the final regular season contest.
Oswego
Top ranked and first place Oswego were set to again host the SUNYAC championship game against rival Plattsburgh as this went to press. The winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs as the Lakers attempt to break their string of two consecutive NCAA semi-final losses, Junior forward Jon Whitelaw was named First Team All-SUNYAC while junior Paul Rodrigues (Etobicoke) was a Second Team selection. Rodrigues erupted for five goals in a February 4th victory at Morrisville. Junior defenseman Taylor Farris and junior goaltender Andrew Hare were Third Team picks.
Utica
The fourth place Pioneers were upset by fifth place Neumann in overtime of the ECAC West quarterfinal playoff game ending their season. Senior defenseman Max White (Sands Point) is among a graduating class of just four. White finished with 19 points over 78 games. Tim Coffman will be hard to replace up front after netting 139 points in 98 career games.*
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Colgate’s Autism Awareness Project Successful
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he Colgate women’s hockey team has had much success with their Autism Awareness Project, which was launched in February with a special weekend of fierce competition, community bonding, and the blue “lighting up” of Starr Rink, as fans wore blue, the color of autism. “Being involved in autism awareness for the past two seasons has been something that we all are very proud of,” stated Head Coach Scott Wiley. “The genuine outpouring of gratitude has been amazing. Learning about autism and being able to share an important message with the Colgate and Hamilton community has been a great experience. We have met so many amazing people and really feel we have been able to change the perception and make those that we meet feel special. For us, it is important to continue to raise awareness, funds and to educate those that have never heard about autism.” Wiley’s mother, Carol Wiley, is a local artist in Maine who’s primary gallery is Tidemark Gallery and this year, she wanted to make a special contribution to her son’s cause. “When I learned that Colgate’s team was advocating for autism awareness last year and again this year, I was naturally interested,” said Carol. “This year Scott indicated that they were looking for art work to use to advertise the event, so in December I met with him and another artist, Kimberly Sass, (Buffalo) to brainstorm ideas for the project. It was at that meeting that I first began to develop an idea for the painting.” Having his mother involved in such a special cause truly made the project more memorable. “My mom has done some paintings of my players for me in the past and I thought this would be a great opportunity for her to do something special. She is very, very talented and it has been really fun having her involved. I am very proud of her work and think that she created a piece of art that any collector or hockey fan would love to have.” In creating this special piece, Carol drew artistic inspiration from the design of this year’s autism awareness jerseys designed by Christian Mast. “My color choices were influenced by my desire to limit the palette but to also include colors from the hockey jersey designed for this year’s game,” she said. “I am delighted to help the cause by donating the painting,” said the artist.*
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illie O’Ree stands at rinkside hockey development program. inside the Riverside Rink. In Hasek’s Heroes works in partnership front of him skates a group with the Buffalo Public School System of youngsters going through a series of to promote academic achievement as an hockey drills. integral component of athletics. The National Hockey League’s “It’s non-stop for the kids once they first black player quietly stands with a arrive in Buffalo,” commented Sean smile on his face. Green, executive director of Hasek’s He “When I look out there and see roes. “This is the fourth year that we have the talent and these kids, it really makes held this event. my heart feel good,” said the 77 year-old “We try and treat the kids like the O’Ree, who made his NHL debut during All-Stars they really are. It’s been deby Randy Schultz the 1958-59 campaign. “I told these kids to signed as a reward system for the end of janetrandy@aol.com go out and have fun and work hard. the kids hockey season. “I just want them to make things “Many of the kids participating in happen both on the ice and in their lives.” this event are economically challenged O’Ree was at the Rink as part of and are diversified coming from differthe 2012 Willie O’Ree Skills Weekend held in February in Bufent cultures. It ties into the NHL Diversity Program where their falo. The Buffalo Sabres partnered with Hasek’s Heroes and the theme is ‘Hockey Is For Everyone.’ NHL to host the weekend. “The coaches in the different cities are using it as an The event, which was held in Buffalo for the fourth incentive throughout their season. To be eligible the kids have to time, brought together 51 boys and girls from youth hockey show great academics, great hockey skills, great social skills and organizations throughout North America including Buffalo, be role models for their teams. In the end they are selected and Columbus, Philadelphia, New York City, San Jose, Boston, Van- treated like NHL All-Stars. couver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto. “We just want to give these kids opportunities that they All of the participants represented a youth hockey afmight not receive. We try to show them what happens when they filiate of the NHL’s “Hockey Is For Everyone” initiative. do well academically and socially. They get rewarded for it. Among the areas in New York State represented “For some of these kids it is the opportunity of a lifebesides Buffalo included the Genesee Valley Youth Hockey time. For some it is the first time on an airplane. For others it is Club, Ice Hockey in Harlem, the New Rochelle Youth Hockey the first time out of their State or Province. Association and the Westchester Hockey Organization, Inc. “For others it is the first time out of their city. And for Participants enhanced their skills through USA Hockey others it is the first time out of their neighborhood. It is quite the and NCAA Division I presentations during the on-ice drills and learning experience for the kids.” a skills competition. The weekend was also a cultural opportu O’Ree has a good feeling about this event. nity to meet NHL Alumni, NHL players, create new friendships “I want these kids to feel good about themselves,” and enjoy the attractions in the Western New York area. added O’Ree. “I want them to set good goals for themselves. Included in those visits were a trip to Niagara Falls, “If you feel good in your heart and in your mind, you NY, attend the game between the Sabres and Montreal Canacan attain any goal you set. My expression is, ‘If you think you diens and on the final day got the unique opportunity to play can you can. If you think you can’t you’re right.’ hockey on the ice at First Niagara Center, home of the Sabres. “I think there is a lot of truth in that.” The participants also paid a visit to “Kids Escaping Maybe Dave Smith, NHL Director of Fitness and Drugs,” a nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of Medical, summed up the February weekend. prevention programs for adolescents and their families suffering “We just want to make a difference in the kids lives,” from alcohol and drug dependency. A presentation was made to concluded Smith. “If we do that then they might make a differthem by young adults in recovery and the consequences of their ence in other kids lives. use. “In the end it’s like a story that doesn’t have an ending. Among the alumni and players the kids got to meet It’s a story that could go on for a long time to come. included former NHLer’s Derek Smith and Morris Titanic and “That’s what makes this all worth while.” present-day Sabres forward, Nathan Gerbe. Hasek’s Heroes, founded by legendary Sabres goaltenPhoto Captions left top clockwise: Buffalo, Genesee Valley, der Dominik Hasek, provides a foundation of athletic developHarlem, Greater New York/New Jersey, Westchester, Goaltendment and educational support, enabling children from low-to ing, Haseks Heroes Participants, Nathan Gerbe signs automoderate-income families in the Western New York area to graph, Coach Dave Smith talks to playrs and New Rochelle. achieve their life goals. It provides them the opportunity to learn Center: Belly flop, Willie O’Ree talks to playres and former basic skating and hockey skills and, for those with the aptitude NHLer Morris Titanic helps player.(Photos by Janet Schultz) and commitment, the opportunity to participate in the tiered
Haseks Heroes Hosts 2012 Willie O’Ree Showcase
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Hockey NYS
The NJ Rockets are pleased to launch their first:
Registration fee: $300 US March 18th 2012 9am -1 pm Girls 10U Developmental
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The 14th Annual Todd Marchant Hockey School Mites - Squirts - PeeWees’s - Seniors 1997 1999 (Bantan/Midget)
One Week Only July 23 - 28 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
(Saturday is Final On-Ice Games & Awards)
Northtown Center at Amherst
Enrollment Includes: 16 Hours on-ice, instructed by recognized area coaches, organized dryland activities, on-site medical trainer, guest speakers, lunch included, Todd Marchant Hockey School Jersey, autographed Todd Marchant photo! Goaltending Program available, as well as goaltending equipment! Hockey Camp Fees: One-week Session $365. Deposit of $100 required. Deposit is due May 7, 2012; final payment by June 18, 2012. For Detailed Information/Registration Call (716) 688-4301 or www.marchanthockey.com Available Positions Are Filled On A First Come Basis!
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Women’s Collegiate Ice Hockey Report East Section by Janet Schultz JDSchultz@gmail.com
RPI
ECAC Hockey has announced its finalists for the 2011-12 Rookie of the Year Award and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athlete Eleeza Cox has been named one of three nominees and Senior Captain and Center Alisa Harrison has been named a finalist for the ECAC Women’s Best Defensive Forward. Rensselaer concluded its season with a 9-21-4 record. The team finished tied for eighth in the final standings with a 6-14-2 ECAC Hockey mark.
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Union
Union fell 3-0 to Princeton in their final game of the season ending 4-26-4 overall and 2-18-2 in the ECAC. Senior Forward and Marcy, NY native Lauren Hoffman had 3 goals and 6 assists in her senior year,playing in 34 games. Union wishes the best of luck to seniors Emilie Arseneault, Lauren Cromartie, Molly Kate Devin, Kate Gallagher, Chelsey Heinhuis, Lauren Hoffman, Kayleigh Melia and Dania Simmonds! Before finishing up the 2011-2012 season the Union College women’s ice hockey team spent time with local elementary school students in Schenectady. The team traveled to Van Corlaer Elementary School, and spent the afternoon going room and room and meeting with all of the classes. Visiting with students in first through sixth grade, the girls sat down in class with the kids and led discussions about school, hockey and answered any questions that they had. At the end of the day, they played a floor hockey game against students who had been picked by their classmates.*
East News... ...The New York City Amateur Hockey Associaiton (www.nycaha.org) hosted the New York City Mayor’s Cup Youth Hockey finals on March 3. This features the best youth hockey teams in the five boroughs of New York City. NYCAHA is a new organization, not intended to be a league, but to support and develop youth hockey in NYS. The Tournament was held at City Ice Pavilion in Long Island City and featured the Aviators Hockey Club from Brooklyn and the North Park Hockey Team from Manhattan in the PeeWee Division. In the Squirt Division it was the Aviators Hockey Club, Brooklyn vs the NYC Cyclones of Manhattan. Since the tournament was held at press time, results will be posted in the April edition of Hockey NYS.com.
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Hockey NYS
March 2012
ARMY The Black Knights dropped the final six
games of the regular season to fall into a tie with Sacred Heart at the bottom of the Atlantic Conference standings. Army lost the tiebreaker and was to play a best-of-three first round playoff series at fifth place Holy Cross. Senior Mike Hull had the team led with 23 points and stood three points shy of 100 career points heading to the postseason.
MANHATTANVILLE The Valiants finished the regular season in second place behind Elmira in the ECAC West before falling to third seed Hobart in the playoff semi-finals ending their season. Junior forward Scott Turner paced the team offensively with 30 points while seniors Evan Michalchuk, Dillon O’Hara and Marcus von Sydow finished their college careers with 67, 44 and 37 career points respectively. R.P.I. After an abysmal first half of the season, the Engineers finished on a 7-5-4 roll, including a last weekend sweep of top four seeds Cornell and Colgate on the road, to finish tenth in the ECAC. That earned them a road first round playoff series at Clarkson in a best-of-three series. Sophomore Brock Higgs was the only player to exceed the 20 point mark. Senior Patrick Cullen finished with 58 career points while classmate Joe Malchuk had 32. UNION The Dutchmen earned points in 13 of their final 15 games to clinch their second consecutive ECAC regular season crown for the first time in program history. Sophomore forward Matt Hatch (Massena) led the team in plus-minus and was among the top-five in the ECAC. He was one of three Dutchmen in the top-ten. Senior Kelly Zajac set the single-season
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NYS HOCKEY COLLEGE REPORTEAST By Warren Kozireski
assists record February 17th against Princeton breaking the record of Joel Beal from 2001-02. He earlier passed Adam Presiziuk for the career assists record and was second in Division I history in career points. Sophomore goaltender Troy Grosenick tied the school mark for single-season shutouts with five. The team awaits the lowest seed following first round series.
Hockey NYS Needs YOU! We Need Your Youth Hockey News Send to: hockeynys@gmail.com Deadline for April issue is March 28.
Hockey NYS
March 2012
Page 17
Get Ready for Hockeython! WNY Plans to Play the World’s Longest Hockey Game On Historic Rink!
O
n Friday, March 16, 40 courageous hockey players will attempt to play the longest hockey game ever. The “Hockey Marathon” will last 26.2 hours and face-off at the Time Warner Cable Classic Rink in East Aurora. The “Hockey Marathon”, hosted by the not-for-profit Aurora Ice Association (AIA), has a goal to raise $40,000 to help fund a permanent concrete pad at the Time Warner Cable Classic Rink in East Aurora. Teams will face off at 8:18 pm on Friday March 16 and play to the final buzzer at 10:30 pm on Saturday, March 17. Last year, the Aurora Ice Association hosted a, then record, 25-hour game. The final score of that game was 160-152. This year, players will be encouraged to raise a minimum of $1,000 each to play in the game. According to AIA spokesperson John Cimperman, “This event will not only raise money for a great cause, but demonstrate the passion for hockey in Western New York and the fortitude of the local hockey playing community.” The Time Warner Cable Classic Rink plays tribute to the first ever NHL Winter Classic between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins. Since the rink was first opened in November of 2009 with the ice making equipment from that game, the rink has made additional capital improvements, including an open-air roof and heated locker rooms. AIA President, Anthony Difilippo IV adds, “The addition of a concrete pad is the next critical step for the Classic Rink. This pad will allow us to offer year round programming at the venue and provide off-ice training to area athletes.” Players interested in participating in this historic game should contact Nico Ruggerio at nico@cenergycom.com.
For more information on the Hockey Marathon and the Time Warner Cable Classic Rink, visit www. thinkring.org.
ABOUT THE AURORA ICE ASSOCIATION Aurora Ice Association, Inc. (AIA) is a New York State Not-For-Profit Corporation operated for charitable and educational purposes per Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. AIA is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors whose vision and purpose was devoted to constructing and operating a permanent community-oriented ice arena to promote ice sports, conduct ice sports and competitions.
ABOUT THE TIME WARNER CABLE CLASSIC RINK
. The Aurora Ice Association (AIA) purchased the ice making equipment from the NHL Winter Classic and built a tribute rink in the center of the Village of East Aurora. The East Aurora Classic rink was acquired and built with private donations and volunteerism. Hundreds of local residents came forth to provide in-kind good and services, including excavation, construction materials, and manpower*
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Hockey NYS
March 2012
Page 18
New York State High School Championships Boys Varsity
Saratoga 5 over Shenendhowa, 1
Section I
Queensbury 4, vs Glens Falls 1
Quartefinals Suffern 4, White Plains 0 Mamaroneck 8, Mahopac 4 ETB 4, Clarkstown 2
All CDHSHL Team: Joe Chiara, Shaker/Colonis; Dean McMahon, CBA; Nicholas Parente, Bethlehem; Brendon Wombley, Saratoga; Austin Clark, BHBL/BS.
(as of press time)
Division I
Semi Finals Sufferin 3, Mamaroneck 0 ETB 5, New Rochelle 3 Finals Suffernt 6, ETB 1 Division 2 Quarterfinals
Brewster 4, Scarsdale 6 Rye 5, Yorktown 3 Pelham 6, Horace Greeley 2 John Jay Cross River 5, Pearl River 1 Semi Finals Scarsdale 6, Rye 4 Pelham 4, John Jay River Cross 0 Finals Scarsdale 2, Pelham 3
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Section II Division I
Division II
CDHSHL First Team: Chase Godfre, BHBL/BS; Nick McKinney, Glens Falls; Kevin Miles, Shenendehowa,; John Bassett, CBA; Joe Ferraro, Shenendehowa; Peter Mirazik, Niskayuna/Schenectady. CDHSHL Second Team: John Gosstola, Bethlehem; Eric Egan, Shaker/Colonie; Nick Winters, Saratoga; Alex Wright, Glens falls; Mike Layman, Saratoga, Ryan Bourgeois, Saratoga. CDHSHL Honorable Mention: Anthony DeMarte, LaSalle; Andrew Mundweiler, Guilderland,Mohonasen; Evan VanEpps, CBA; John Countryman, Queensbury James Rizzo, Glens Falls; John Marra, Niskayuna/Schenectady; Andrew Crist, Queensbury; Rob Orban, Queensbury.
Section III Oswego and West Genesee took the championship and move on the the Frozen Four. Section V
Quarterfinals:
Pittsford 8, Gates Chili 0 McQuaid Jesuit 7, Rush Henrietta 5 Athena/Odyssey 3, Schroeder 2 Fairport 4, Brighton/ER/HFL 1 Semi Finals
Pittsford 3, McQuaid Jesuit 1 Athena/Odyssey 1, Fairport 4 Finals Pittsord 4, Fairport 0
Hockey NYS
March 2012
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St. Joes vs Lancaster Syosset vs Hutch Tech St. Joes vs Massapequa
High School Boys Championships Continued
Section VI
Syosset vs St. Francis Hutch Tech vs Lancaster St. Joes vs Syosset Massapequa vs Hutch Tech St. Franis vs Lancaster
Results from WNY Super Sunday: Mixed School Club Hockey City Honors/Cardinal O’Hara 3; Iroquois/Alden 9
Starpoint takes WNY Super Sunday Championship (Photo by Janet Schultz)
Large School Club
Hockey Hutch Tech 5; St. Francis 3
Small School Club Hockey Starpoint 5; Cheetowaga 2 WNY Federation Hockey Large School Williamsville North 0, Niagara Wheatfield 4 Small School Williamsville East 2; Kenmore East 9 Private School: St. Francis 4; Canisius 1 NYS Tournament Division I Quarterfinals Suffern at Monroe 2 -Woodbury, 1 NiagaraWheatfield 1 at West Genesee, 4 Massena 1 at Saratoga 2 Pittsford 4 at Ithaca Semifinals Suffern vs West Genesee Saratoga vs Pittsford NYS Tournament Division II Quarterfinals Pelham gets a bye Notre Dame of Batavia @ Kenmore East Queensbury at Saranac Lake Salmon River at Oswego AAU NYSCSH Tournaments Large Schools: St. Francis vs Massapequa
Semi Finals Championship
Small Schools Cheektowaga vs Cold Spring Harbor CH/JFK vs SW/Maple Grove Long Beach vs Starpoint Cheektowaga vs CH/JFK SW/Maple Grove vs Cold Spring Harbor
SW/Maple Grove vs Long Beach Starpoint vs CH/JFK Cold Spring Harbor vs Starpoint Long Beach vs Cheektowaga
Semi Final Championship Open Division CH/COH vs Oceanside Olean vs East Aurora/Holland East Williston vs Iroquois/Alden Olean vs Oceanside
East Williston vs CH/COH Iroquois/Alden vs East Aurora/Holland Olean vs East Williston Oceanside vs Iroquois/Alden CH/COH vs East Aurora/Holland Scores will be updated in next issue of Hockey New York State--If you have scoringin formation please email hockeynys@gmail.com; Photos welcome!
Hockey NYS
March 2012
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NYS MEN’S HOCKEY COLLEGE REPORT-NORTH
By Warren Kozireski
CLARKSON
The Knights lost their final two games of the regular season but held on to seventh place and home ice for their first round playoff series with RPI. Senior goaltender Paul Karpowich finished the regular season 18th in the nation in save percentage and 25th in goals against setting career bests in both and setting a new school mark for saves in a career with 3,632 breaking the mark of Dan Murphy set between 199498.
PLATTSBURGH
Head coach Bob Emery was been named the SUNYAC Coach of the Year for the 2011-12 men’s hockey season. The honor, which is voted on by the conference coaches, is the sixth of Emery’s career. Earlier this month, Emery became the 20th coach in NCAA history to attain 500 wins and just the fifth to do it exclusively at the Division III level. Emery’s career .743 winning percentage in the fourth-highest in NCAA history across all divisions. The Cardinals also placed three players on the SUNYAC All-Conference team in junior defenseman Mike Grace (Rochester) and sophomore goaltender Mathieu Cadieux on the First Team along with senior forward Kyle Kudroch on the Third Team. Freshman Zachary Blake scored his first career goal in overtime to lift the Cardinals to a win at Cortland to finish the regular season.
POTSDAM
Senior forward Sy Nutkevitch was named First Team All-SUNYAC while freshman defenseman Erick Ware was Third Team All-SUNYAC after his four goal-13 assist campaign. The Bears season ended with a one-goal at Buffalo State in the quarterfinals.
ST. LAWRENCE A final regular season victory over Dartmouth earned the Saints a home series against the same team in the first round of the ECAC playoffs. Junior Kyle Flanagan (Canton) was 21st in goals per game and 12th in assists per game nationally while tied for sixth in power play goals. Freshman Chris Martin stood 24th among rookies in points per game.
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Hockey NYS
March 2012
Page 21
CLARKSON Despite play-
ing with an extraattacker for the final three-plus minutes of action, the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team was unable to get the goals it needed to force overtime as Quinnipiac outlasted the Golden Knights, 2-0, in Game 3 of the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals in front of 333 fans at Cheel Arena. The Golden Knights saw their season conclude with a 22-10-5 overall mark, while Quinnipiac improved to 19-15-2, advancing to the ECAC Hockey semifinals at Cornell University. The only other time that a sixseed has topped the third seed in the ECAC Hockey playoffs was in 2009 when Rensselaer upset Princeton in two straight, one-goal games.
ST. LAWRENCE The nationally-ranked No. 10
St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team got a pair of goals in the third period and a 32-save performance by rookie goaltender Carmen MacDonald en route to a 2-0 victory over Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. The shutout sets a new singleseason record for MacDonald, while the win propels the Saints to the ECAC Hockey semifinals The Saints concluded the regular season with a record of 22-9-4. St. Lawrence University junior forward Kelly Sabatine was nominated for the 2012 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award.
Women’s College Ice Hockey/ North by Janet Schultz JDSchultz3663@gmail.com
POTSDAM Junior goaltender Jen Conophy (Glenmont) stopped 46 shots to lead the SUNY Potsdam women’s ice hockey team (12-9-3) to a 2-1 upset over Elmira College. The victory was the Bears’ first-ever playoff victory and first victory over a ranked opponent. Jenn Crawford and Breanna Roy put Potsdam on the scoreboard while the lone Elmira goal came off the stick of Ashley Ryan, unassisted. Potsdam will make its first appearance in the ECAC West Semifinals against RIT in Rochester. Potsdam ended the season 12-9-3.
Potsdam Coach Named ECAC Coach of the Year SUNY Potsdam head women’s
hockey coach Jay Green has been named ECAC West Coach of the Year. In addition, seniors Annmarie Lewis and Breanna Roy were named to the conference’s honorable mention team. Green, who has coached the Bears since the program was resumed in 2007, guided Potsdam to a program best 11-9-3 overall record and 7-8-3 ECAC West mark during the 2011-
12 campaign. The Bears surged to a 9-3-2 finish over their last 14 games to clinch their second playoff berth in four seasons as an NCAA program. Under Green, Potsdam has posted a 34-54-6 record and won more games each season than the previous one.
PLATTSBURGH
Plattsburgh (17-5-3, 15-1-2 ECAC West), the second seed in the ECAC West, enters the ECAC tournament ranked No. 5 nationally, with a 17-5-3 record. Junior forward Teal Gove, the ECAC West Player of the Year, leads the way for the Cardinals, who have won two ECAC West Championships, and will attempt to play in its 11th straight conference championship game. Gove leads the way with 38 points on 18 goals and 20 assists. ECAC West Rookie of the Year Emma Rutherford has added 14 goals. In net, ECAC West Goaltender of the Year Sydney Aveson is 15-4-2 with a 1.59 goals against average and .929 save percentage. She was 13-1-1 with a 1.04 goals against average and .951 save percentage in league play.* Send your Women’s Hockey Press materials to: JDSchultz3663@gmail.com
Hockey NYS
March 2012
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Upstate New York Girl’s Hockey Playoffs Championship Goes to Potsdam It was Potsdam High School taking the Upstate New York Girls High School Hockey Championship. They beat Beekmantown 2-1. Working to get there Potsdam beat Massena in the Section X Semi-finals 4-3 and then went on to beat St. Lawrence Central 4-2 and Ithaca 5-1. In other action in the Semi-finals, Beekmantown beat Alexandria Bay 4-0. Beekmantown also beat Albany 5-0 and Lake Placid 5-2 to make their way to the Championship round. Leading Section X with points this season were Canton players Margaret Troiano with 27 gaols and 19 assists for 46 points and Blake Orosz with 21 goals and 12 assists for 33 points. Other leaders were Potsdam’s Ally Miller, 32 points and Beekmantown’s Bailey Waterbury with 31. The top goaltenders in Section X include Saranac Lake’s Katey Snyder with 569 saves. She is followed by Oswego’s Madisyn Whalen with 460 saves; St. Lawrence Central’s Stephenie Peets, 396 and Alexandria Bay’s Kayla Rios with 372.*
HOCKEY CAMP FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING New York Players Welcome!
A
summer hockey camp for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Hockey Players, will be held by the American Hearing Impaired Hockey Association at the Seven Bridges Ice Arena in Woodridge, Ill. The week-long camp will be held from Saturday, June 9 through Saturday, June 16. The one week hockey camp is open to boys and girls of all ages and skill levels. Everyone is welcome from the first time skater to the high school all star and beyond. The American Hearing Impaired Hockey Association provides deaf and hard of hearing hockey players the opportunity to learn about and improve their hockey skills. Hockey players are given the opportunity to be coached by a coaching staff with college, national and international experience.
Established in 1973 by Chicago businessman Irv Tiahnybik, in cooperation with NHL Hall of Famer and former Chicago Blackhawk star, Stan Mikita, the program has contributed to the growth and development of deaf and hard of hearing players from all across the United States. Tony Granato, former NHL player and now the assistant coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, has continued the leadership role in the great success the program continues to achieve. Granato, along with a very dedicated staff of volunteer coaches, interpreters, support and medical personnel, serve the needs of the hockey players in the AHIHA program. For any New York State hockey players interested in the program go to the “Contact/Registration” link on the website, www.ahiha.org. Or contact: Helen at 773-445-7033 or email, helenqb@aol.com.
Hockey NYS
C
March 2012
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Hockey and Education Go Hand-in-Hand by Janet Schultz
ommitment, dedication and determination best describes Goaltender Anna Quattro. She made a decision to leave Buffalo to focus on hockey and her education when she was a junior in high school. Anna attends PEAC School for Elite Athletes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The decision came after she played her early years with Amherst Youth Hockey and the Buffalo Hornets. “I know that Buffalo has very talented hockey players,” said Anna. “But the talent is diluted because they all play for different teams. If you put all the top players on one team they would go far. In Toronto it’s about getting better as a player, working hard and developing as a player and as an individual,” she continued. Anna choose PEAC because of the coaching staff which includes Kim McCullough who played at Dartmouth College and works with the provincial and nation-
al Canadian teams and Sandy Sampson who has coached goalies for over 15 years and has numerous former players playing university hockey and on Team Canada. Being part of a program like the one at PEAC isn’t easy. Anna gets up by 8 a.m. each morning; attends two classes, has a one-hour hockey practice; attends another class and then has an off-ice workout. “We train four days a week and workout two days a week,” said Anna. “All the students are athletes.” PEAC also trains athletes in freestyle skiing, snowboarding, soccer, tennis, squash, swimming, bowling, lacrosse, basketball and baseball. The school motto is “Where athletes come to learn.” PEAC’s ice hockey team plays against prep schools in the Ontario area. In addition to education and hockey, Anna explains that nutrition is a large part of the program. “We must stay away from junk food, no pop,” she said. “We have lots of protein and carbohydrates and we must drink plenty of water. “When you’re on the ice ten hours a week and working 3 to 4 hours a week off-ice, you need to stay hydrated in order to stay healthy and that hydration is water.” She explains. On the academic side, you must be extremely focused on your grades because they are as important as hockey, Anna went on to explain. “If you don’t maintain your grades, you won’t get accepted to a university and then you won’t get to play hockey,” said Anna, who is the only netminder for the Monroe County (NYS) Lady Eagles. In Canada you must be accepted to a university first, and then you can work on getting on the university’s ice hockey team. Anna, who plans to be a pediatric oncologist, has just been accepted to Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. She now can pursue the coach to work on being named to the University’s hockey team, which is ranked third in Canada. Academically the university is ranked the best in Canada. Her love of hockey began later than most. She was playing field hockey in eighth grade when her coach asked her if she could skate. She told him yes and that weekend she was on the ice playing hockey in Amherst. Continued on Page 27
Hockey NYS
by Janet Schultz
March 2012
Page 24
West Section Women’s College Ice Hockey Report
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY Niagara University ended their season 10-15-8 after a 2-1 overtime loss to Syracuse on February 25. For the third straight game, the Purple Eagles battled their opponents into overtime. With just over two minutes left in OT, Syracuse’s Margot Scharfe took advantage of a power play and put in her 14th goal of the year. The Purple Eagles head to the College Hockey America semi-finals against host Robert Morris. Freshman forward Kayla Raniwsky of the Niagara women’s hockey team earned College Hockey America (CHA) Rookie of the Week honors as the Purple Eagles went 1-1 in weekend play against the Syracuse Orange.
RIT Seven members of the RIT Tigers have been named to the 2012 All-ECAC West Team, including Webster’s (NY) Kristina Moss named to First-Team with Kourtney Kunichika. Named to Second Team were Laura Chamberlain and Kolbee McCrea. Honorable mention went to Tenecia Hiller and All-Rookie honors went to Ali Binnington and Celeste Brown. Moss, a junior, is enjoying a breakout season for the Tigers, as she leads all Division III skaters with 26 assists and all defensemen with 32 points. She finished fourth overall in scoring among all ECAC West players with 28 points in 18 games and led the conference with 22 assists. The Tigers (23-1-1, 16-1-1 ECAC West), ranked first in Division III, broke a regular season record for the second straight season with 23 victories. They are the top seed and will host the 2012 ECAC West Tournament semifinals and championship at Ritter Arena.
BUFFALO STATE Utica (10-12-3/7-9-2) exploded for five goals in the second period and continued to pour it on in a 9-0 victory over visiting Buffalo State (7-16-2/4-13-1) in the season finale. The Bengal’s Jordan Lee (Colorado Springs) allowed four goals on 34 shots before being relieved by Jessica Garland (Cheektowaga) midway through the second. Garland made 17 saves on 22 shots. Brianna Murphy (Depew) played in her 95 career game today, establishing a new school record, along with Leah Knott, who also had 95 career games.*
Hockey NYS
NYS MEN’S HOCKEY COLLEGE REPORTWEST By Warren Kozireski BROCKPORT
Senior forward James Cody has been selected as the 2012 SUNYAC Player of the Year becoming the first player in the history of Brockport hockey to earn the honor. Cody was named to the firstteam All-SUNYAC in 2012, just the third Golden Eagle to earn the honors and third to be named to multiple All-SUNYAC teams (third-team in 2010-2011). The senior finished the 2011-2012 season with 34 points (19 goals, 15 assists). His 19 goals led the SUNYAC conference and his 34 points were fifth-most in the league. Cody ranks sixth in school history in career points with 116, is tied for fourth on the all-time goals list with 60 and his 19 goals this season are tied for the eighth-most in a single season in school history. Senior forward Ian Finnerty
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and sophomore defenseman Mike Hayward were named to the SUNYAC Second Team marking the first time the school has had three players with postseason conference honors.
BUFFALO STATE
Taylor McGraw (North Lawrence) scored the game-winner as the Bengals won the second postseason game in the program’s history against Potsdam in the first round before falling to Plattsburgh in triple overtime during the semifinals. Their only other postseason win came in 2002 versus Cortland. The first round victory also set a new school mark for wins in a season with 13. Sophomore goaltender Kevin Carr was named to the Second Team and junior forward Drew Klin the Third Team on the SUNYAC All-Conference squad.
CANISIUS
The Golden Griffins finished the regular season in ninth place and were to travel to eighth place UConn for a best-of-three prequarter final playoff series. “We have a young team, but letting them know how hard it is to win games,” said senior Scott Moser (Tonawanda) about the postseason. “As a senior I just want to soak it all in and go out on a good note.”
Senior goaltender Dan Morrison made 27 saves on Senior Night raising his career total to 2,787 stops to set a new school record. He surpassed the previous standard of 2,771, set by Bryan Worosz from 2001 to 2005.
ERIE CC
The Kats dropped a 6-3 decision to Williston State (ND in the national semi-finals to end their season. Scott Roy led the team with 53 points while Christopher Kendall (Cheektowaga) and Corey Kifner (Williamsville) added 47 and 46 points respectively. Kendall was named to the NJCCA All-Tournament Team.
FREDONIA
The Blue Devils defeated Geneseo in the first round of the SUNYAC playoffs before falling to top-ranked Oswego in the semifinals ending their season. Forward Jared Wynia was selected as the SUNYAC Rookie of the Year. Wynia is the third Blue Devil to earn the honor and the first since Eric Preston in 199394. The other Fredonia rookie was Paul Kwiatkowski (1988-89). Wynia has played in 19 games this season and ranks fifth on the team with 15 points on nine goals and six assists. Senior forward Bryan Ross
Hockey NYS
was a First Team All-SUNYAC selection.
GENESEO
A playoff first round loss to Fredonia finished the campaign for the Knights. Senior defenseman Danny Scagnelli (College Point) was a First Team All-SUNYAC pick and 2010-11 Rookie of the Year and leading scorer Zachary Vit was Third Team.
MONROE CC
The fourth time is a charm as the Tribunes won their first national title beating Williston State
(ND) in the title game 4-2. The game marked their fourth trip to the final. Tournament Most Valuable Player Tom Dehr (Varysburg) stopped 38 shots. MCC rallied from a 1-0 deficit on goals by Dan Turgeon and Zach McDonald 31 seconds apart. Bobby Thomaris (Elmira) scored a power play goal off a pass
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from Tim Young (Chili) for the third goal and Dan Going (Wilton) deflected home the insurance goal with just 2:59 left in the contest. Dehr was joined on the AllTournament team by Young, Thomaris, and Turgeon. Head coach Craig Chamberlain was named Coach of the Tournament. MCC became the winningest team in the program’s history with a sweep over Hudson Valley CC to move to 22-3 on the year. The 22 victories eclipsed the old singleseason mark of 21, which the team achieved on four other occasions.
NIAGARA
The Purple Eagles finished the regular season on a five game unbeaten streak to secure second place in the Atlantic Conference and a first round bye for the playoffs. They were to host the seventh seed after the first round was completed. Niagara has never lost to RIT in the Division I era now with a record of 9-0-5. Senior goaltender Chris Noonan made 51 saves in the season finale launching him into the top spot in the nation in save percentage (.941) and fourth in goals against (1.71). Sophomore forward Ryan Murphy scored seven goals and four assists in the month of Febru-
ary including a hat trick against RIT. He came into the month with two goals and three assists.
R.I.T.
The Tigers won the tiebreaker of a three-way tie for third place with Mercyhurst and Holy Cross to earn a first round playoff bye. They were to host the sixth seed after the first round in a best-ofthree series. Senior forward Cameron Burt netted two points in the final home regular season game to tie the school record for points in a career with 132 points. He tied the mark held by Simon Lambert set between 2005-08. Senior goaltender Shane Madolora finished the regular season fifth in the country in goals against (1.94) and sixth in save percentage (.931).
OTHER NYS NOTES
• Williamsville native Branden Komm of Bentley was named Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week ending February 19th. He was 2-0 while making 54 saves on 56 shots. • Senior Connor Knapp (York) was the top goaltender in the nation with a 1.53 goals against average and was second in save percentage (.939) as of the end of the regular season for the University of Miami. Knapp was a sixth round pick by Buffalo in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. *
Hockey NYS
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“It’s a good atmosphere,” she says about the sport. “You have to work to get what you want, no one hands it to you and you have to have dedication.” Her dedication and determination help her while she lives an hour and half from her family. “I matured because I don’t have someone there telling me what to do all the time,” she continues. “I’m responsible for my own actions because there isn’t anyone there to fix something for me.” Anna billets with a family who also has a hockey player from Ireland. “She’s 19 and came to Canada because she loves hockey and felt she wasn’t getting a fair shake at home,” explains Anna. “Ireland has one ice rink in the entire country so they don’t have the same commitment level as we do.” Her advice to young players seeking hockey beyond house and travel is to work hard. “On and off-ice,” she stresses. “Girls must remember they are student-athletes and that everything in the classroom is just as important as out of the classroom. And secondly, but just as important… “Everything is not about yourself, it’s about your team. “You play for the name on the shirt front, not the name and number on the back,” she put very wisely. Anna’s goals beyond university are to play for Team USA. To do that Anna keeps up with what the American coaches are doing, she has played in New York State district competition and attended goaltending camps. “It’s all important to take that next step,” said the seventeen-year-old. “Don’t give up on your dreams because you never know where you’re going to end up.”*
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Hockey NYS
F
March 2012
or two decades coach Tom McFall and the Chautauqua County Youth Hockey Association have gone hand-in-hand. He has coached at every level of youth hockey. For his efforts McFall has been named the 2012 recipient of the J. Michael Duffett Memorial Award. The award is presented each year by the Buffalo Sabres to the coach whose contributions to amateur hockey in Western New York “best exemplify the knowledge, teaching, love of the game and gentle humanity of Mike.” McFall is the 27th recipient of the Duffett Award, joining his father, John McFall, who won the award in 1995. “It’s a great feeling,” said McFall, who is a fifth grade teacher at Chautauqua Lake Central School. “Our whole family has been involved in hockey all of our lives. “What is even more special is the fact that I knew
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Mike Duffett. He coached me on my Empire State Hockey Team. “What is even more special is the fact that my dad won the award as well. I’m absolutely thrilled.” McFall oversees both the on- and off-ice operations of the Jamestown Timbits. It is a program that emphasizes fun while teaching beginners, ages four to seven,
the fundamentals of hockey. This year alone, the Jamestown Timbits program has welcomed nearly 70 new players. “We’ve really tried building that program up so that we have a future influx of new players coming through,” stated McFall, who played for the Buffalo Jr. Sabres in 1984-85. “This year we have had the most kids since the movie, “The Mighty Ducks” came out in the early 1990s. “For me it’s always nice to see more kids introduced and play the game.” McFall recalled when the Jamestown Arena opened in the downtown area. He teamed up with fellow coach, George Watkins, in 2002 to create the “Keep It In Jamestown” house hockey league. The co-founders began the league with the goal of allowing more young people to play hockey at virtually any age or playing ability. And they could do it without
Tom McFall Follows in Father’s Footsteps Wins 2012 J. Michael Duffett Memorial Award for Contributions to Hockey!
Hockey NYS
March 2012
the challenges presented by travel hockey. “That’s when we began a house league,” continued McFall. “It allowed the local kids a chance to play hockey. “Over the years the program has given hundreds of kids the chance to play hockey and experience the sport that otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity. “You have to remember that when I talk to people up in Buffalo about travel hockey, their idea of travel is going from Hamburg to Amherst. But in Jamestown it’s a whole different story. “For us, travel in Jamestown can be a three-hour drive for an 80-minute game. It turned out to be a seven or eight hour day for us. “That’s why this program is so important. It keeps the travel, as well as expense, down for the kids and their parents.” McFall admits that he learned a lot of what he uses today in hockey from his dad. “I watched and he taught me the basics of how to treat kids as well as the parents,” said McFall, a graduate of Oswego State College, where he also played four years of hockey. “He set a good example for me to follow.” Interestingly, hockey never seems to end for McFall. One of his greatest contributions to youth hockey in Western New York came in 1992 when, upon recognizing a lack of summer hockey programs in the Jamestown area, McFall created a summer hockey camp. “This summer we will be entering our 20th season,” remarked McFall. “My brothers help me with the program that provides additional hockey training for area hockey players of all ages. “We all have the love of hockey. Combine that with our love of working with kids and it makes for a great combination. “The bottom line is that the kids have fun and learn about a great sport. You can’t go wrong with that.”the
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challenges presented by travel hockey. “That’s when we began a house league,” continued McFall. “It allowed the local kids a chance to play hockey. “Over the years the program has given hundreds of kids the chance to play hockey and experience the sport that otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity. “You have to remember that when I talk to people up in Buffalo about travel hockey, their idea of travel is going from Hamburg to Amherst. But in Jamestown it’s a whole different story. “For us, travel in Jamestown can be a three-hour drive for an 80-minute game. It turned out to be a seven or eight hour day for us. “That’s why this program is so important. It keeps the travel, as well as expense, down for the kids and their parents.” McFall admits that he learned a lot of what he uses today in hockey from his dad. “I watched and he taught me the basics of how to treat kids as well as the parents,” said McFall, a graduate of Oswego State College, where he also played four years of hockey. “He set a good example for me to follow.” Interestingly, hockey never seems to end for McFall. One of his greatest contributions to youth hockey in Western New York came in 1992 when, upon recognizing a lack of summer hockey programs in the Jamestown area, McFall created a summer hockey camp. “This summer we will be entering our 20th season,” remarked McFall. “My brothers help me with the program that provides additional hockey training for area hockey players of all ages. “We all have the love of hockey. Combine that with our love of working with kids and it makes for a great combination. “The bottom line is that the kids have fun and learn about a great sport. You can’t go wrong with that.”*
Your News Here! Send to hockeynys@gmail.com
Hockey NYS
“Hi
. My name is Will.
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From there it was on to St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute where he played hockey as a freshman in high school. Then came his sophomore year. “That’s when I became involved with drugs,” stated Will. “I started smoking marijuana all the time. “My mom wouldn’t
“I’m a drug addict.” That is how the 19 year-old from Tonawanda, NY introduced himself to 51 teenagers participating in the Willie O’Ree Skills Weekend held in Buffalo in February. The event brought together 51 boys and girls from youth hockey organizations throughout North America. Will’s presentation was part of the group’s visit to the “Kids Escaping Drugs, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of prevention programs for adolescents and their families suffering from alcohol and drug dependency. Speaking in front of the group, which also included parents and coaches from around the United States and Canada, and following a short pause“Will” continued. “I’m also a hockey player. I love the game and still play it today, despite all the problems I’ve had over the past few let me leave St. Joes. So I years.” flunked out. Got kicked out. In an instant all eyes were “From there it was on to riveted on “Will” and for the Kenmore West High School. I next 30 minutes all listenplayed more hockey. ers were tuned in to what the “But it just wasn’t the speaker had to say. same for me. I had lost my love by Randy Schultz Will, a native of Western for the sport. New York explained his life “The drugs had taken story. over my life. Prior to drugs I had “Like many other kids, my father got me involved in never missed a practice or a game. hockey when I was between three and four years of age,” “After than I started missing practices. I just didn’t said Will. “He coached, watched and yelled at me. care. “He was kind of like my best friend. He became my “I lost interest in high school hockey. But I continued head coach when I was playing with the Squirt Majors playing midget hockey for a split season. with the Tonawanda Lightning.” “Then I began getting in trouble with the law. I was Then fate stepped in. getting misdemeanors for throwing beer cans at cars and “My dad got cancer and about two years after that he trespassing. died,” remarked Will. “On February 28, 2004 he passed “At Kenmore West I received a Class-E felony for away. running on cars in the parking lot.” “Ironically, I had a hockey game the next day. I re At that point Will’s mom had had enough. She didn’t member that because my whole team wore arm bands in know what to do. honor of my father. “She turned to PINS (Persons In Need of Supervi “I ended up playing in front of one of the biggest sion),” continued Will. “PINS didn’t work because I crowds ever for one of my games. I scored the winning never showed up for it. goal, but it was disallowed. It became quite the disap “A runaway warrant was put out for my arrest. The pointing day.” authorities came to my house, arrested me in my living-
“My Name is Will” The Story of a Young Hockey Player’s Struggle with Drugs!
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March 2012
room in front of my sister. “I was thrown on the ground and handcuffed.” As Will was hauled out of the house he left behind a crying mom and sister. “From there it was on to Juvie (short for the Juvenial Detention Center),” said Will. “I got out of there and was put on probation. “I stayed clean from drugs for two weeks before going back to them.Then came September 9, 2009. “Today that is known as my clean date. I went to court. “The judge that day had enough of me. He sent me to Juvie again. “Twenty days later I was on the grounds for Kids Escaping Drugs. I got out of there on July 10, 2010. “I didn’t know what to do. That’s when hockey came back into my life again. “A friend of mine got me a tryout with the Bud Bakewell Bruins. I made the team. “I was having fun again. This time with the coaches as well as the players. “then I went back to my old high school hockey team at Ken-West. I ended up making the team again. “I started out on the fourth line. From there I went to
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the third, then to the second and finally to the first line. “I ended up having a big game against rival Bishop Timon. I scored a goal in overtime that helped us into the playoffs for the first time in our coaches career. “We ended up losing the next week in the semi-finals of the playoffs. I thought that was the end of my hockey career.” At that point Will had to make one of the biggest decisions of his young life. “I tried out with the Buffalo Jr. Stars,” recalled Will, now 19. “I found out that I needed $5000 to pay for expenses to stay on the team. “My mom told me she would come up with the money. She was going to take it out of her retirement fund. “Remember, she was now a single mom. That was a lot of money for her. “So I walked away from hockey. I didn’t want her spending that kind of money on me for hockey. “Instead I got a job with the Tonawanda (NY) Highway Department, a job that I still have today. And I’m still having a blast with hockey. “I’m actually playing roller hockey. I know I have lived a different life than most 19 year-olds.” The best news was yet to come. (continued pg. 32)
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March 2012
want to somehow pay my mom back for all she’s been through with me. “I even have a 60 year-old friend named Jim. He’s taken over in a fathers role with me and is someone there to talk to when I need talking to. “And the best part is, I ended up graduating from my high school at Kenmore West. I got a hockey award for the Most Improved Player. “I also got the principals award given to a student who has had to overcome a lot of adversity. My name is on a plaque that hangs there in the school. “I also go out and speak to groups and organizations with kids in them. I really enjoy that. “I try to bring a little fun into a serious subject. And the main message I deliver to the kids is to be who you are. “Don’t worry about being in with the ‘in’ crowd. Just be who you are. “If you do that you should lead a pretty good life.”*
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“Since I’ve been clean of drugs, my love of hockey has come back to me,” commented Will. “Now when I’m on that ice or rink, it kind of feels like nothing else in the world really matters. “I’ve been clean now for over two years. My relationship is much better with my mom and the rest of my family. I now
Hockey NYS
March 2012
Two New Yorkers on Preliminary 2012 U.S. National Team Roster
J
osephine Pucci, Pearl River, and Kelly Steadman, Plattsburgh have garnered spots on the roster for the 2012 Team USA that will participate in the IIHF Women’s World Championship set for April 7 through 14 in Burlington, Vermont. Pucci is currently a member of Harvard University’s women’s team and Steadman plays for Mercyhurst College. The athletes will take part in a training camp to be held March 25 through April 3 at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid. From there they will travel to Burlington to defend their back-toback world titles. Prior to the Championship, Team USA will play a local team in Lake Placid on March 29; play Team Canada in Ottawa on March 31 and hold an exhibition game against Finland at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid on April 3. Team USA versus Team Canada on opening day of the IIHF at 7 p.m. at Gutterson Arena in Burlington. Katie Stone will serve as head coach, assisted by Laura Halldorson and Bobby Jay. Halldorson led the University of Minnesota to three NCAA Division I national championships and was a member of the 1987 U.S. Women’s National team. Jay has coached in the International Hockey League, American Hockey League and NCAA. He also served as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning’s IHL affiliate, the Detroit Vipers and the Los Angeles King’s affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs.
Four (March 16 and 18). Junior defenseman Laura Fortino (Hamilton, Ont./Cornell University) and senior forward Rebecca Johnston (Sudbury, Ont./ Cornell University) were named along with senior forward Bailey Bram (Ste. Anne, Man./ Mercyhurst College), junior forward Brianna Decker (Dousman, Wis./University of Wisconsin), , junior forward Amanda Kessel (Madison, Wis./University of Minnesota), senior forward Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Idaho/University of Wisconsin), junior forward Jocelyne Lamoureux (Grand Forks, N.D./University of North Dakota), junior forward/ defenseman Monique Lamoureux-Kolls (Grand Forks, N.D./University of North Dakota), senior goaltender Florence Schelling (Oberengstringen, Switz./ Northeastern University) and senior forward Natalie Spooner (Scarborough, Ont./Ohio State University). Julie Chu, winner of the award in 2007 and three-time Olympian, will be the keynote speaker for the award brunch and Laura Kennedy, a sports anchor and reporter for WDIO (ABC) in Duluth, Minn., will serve as the master of ceremonies. The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is annually presented to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey. Selection criteria includes outstanding individual and team skills, sportsmanship, performance in the clutch, personal character, competitiveness and a love of hockey. Consideration is also given to academic achievement and civic involvement. The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is supported, in part, by a grant from the NHL Foundation. The Award is named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, who was a four-year varsity letter-winner and All-Ivy League defenseman at Princeton University from 198186. An accomplished athlete who helped lead the Tigers to the Ivy League Championship in three consecutive seasons (1981-84), Patty Kazmaier-Sandt died on Feb. 15, 1990, at the age of 28 following a long struggle with a rare blood disease.*
USA Hockey News and Notes
Ten Finalists Named for 2012 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Two players from Cornell University have been named
in the ten finalists for the 2012 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award presented by Easton Foundations. The award, annually bestowed upon the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey, will be presented at a brunch ceremony on March 17 at the Greysolon Ballroom in Duluth, Minn., in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Frozen
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Page, Emmerson, Salamone Named to USA Sled Hockey Team
hree New York State hockey players will be playing for Team USA in the upcoming International Paralympic Committee Sledge Hockey World Championships. The nine-day tournament will be held from March 25 through April 2 in Hamar, Norway. The three players include: Adam Page (Lancaster), Brad Emmerson (Amherst) and Alex Salamone (Grand Island). Head coach, Jeff Sauer, has experienced hockey at all different levels, as well as all different types. Sled Hockey has been very special for him. “I think for the special individuals that play the game, I think it is a tremendous outlet for them,” said Sauer. “The majority of them have watched hockey growing up. “For them to get the opportunity to go out and play, it is an uplifting situation for them. To be out on that ice on that sled, the freedom of being in the open air and skating really helps improve their quality of life.” Sauer has gotten to know the three New York State players very well. When I took the sled hockey program over as coach, these three players were mentioned to me as being the core of the team,” recalled Sauer. “They had been on the team for awhile, won a gold medal and had progressed up the program’s ladder, “Adam Page is a great example of where he has come from to where he is today. Not only as a player, but also physically. He has really improved his quality of life with the conditioning program he has been through. “Alex is a little different type of person. He has a different type of disability, being a double amputee. “He has a bit more mobility on the ice. He’s quick and very clever with the puck. “He’s a leader as well. Alex has taken the role as coach seriously. “He’s helping other teams from a coaching prospective and that’s only going to make him a better player. “Brad I would put in the category as being the old steady forward
type of person. He’s never going to disappoint you. “He’s going to be very consistent. Brad gets very frustrated when he’s not involved offensively. “You can count on him to do special things in key situations.” Page was born with Spina Bifida. But that has never stopped him. “My dad has always taken me to hockey games,” said Page. “But I was never able to play standup hockey. “Luckily in Buffalo there was a sled hockey team. I began playing the game in that manner. “As I got older and got more serious about the game, I realized that there was a higher level that I could get at. At that point I wanted to make that my goal and dream.” A dream which would eventually see Page win a gold medal in the 2010 Paralympics as a member of the USA Sled Hockey Team. “I was only 17 at the time,” continued the 19 yearold Page. “Just being able to represent your country was the greatest moment of all for me. “Winning the gold medal was a bonus to me. It was a pretty cool experience.” For Emmerson many of the feelings are the same as what Page has experienced. “My goal as a kid growing up was to make the National Team and win a gold medal,” commented Emmerson. “It was one of the greatest moments, not only in my life, but my family’s as well. “It was great to experience it with the friends and family I had with me at the time.” Emmerson was born with Cerebral Palsy. “It effects me from the waist down,” explained Emmerson. “It is something that has hindered me a lot as I’ve gotten older. “I used to play baseball in a standup league. Then I got lucky and found sled hockey. “I had actually been playing standup hockey and getting knocked around quite a bit. But I really enjoyed it. “Then a friend of my dad introduced me to sled hockey. I was immediately hooked.” Emmerson pointed out a couple of things about sled hockey. “It’s a lot more physical than people give it credit for,” said Emmerson. “We are here to win and we are all competitive.
(Continued pg. 35)
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Monsignor Martin Takes 2012 WNY Girls Varsity Ice Hockey League Championship
I
n a very close race all season long it seemed that Monsignor Martin would face West Seneca in the finals, barring any upsets. They were within a point of each other at any given time during the season. In the Inaugural season (2010-11) Monsignor Martin lost in the championship to Williamsville. It was a very intense game through all three periods.
Sled Hockey Continued
West Seneca got on the board in the first period and the second stayed at 1-0. Action picked up in the third period as Julia Duquette put one in a 7:19 and then again at 12:11. Monsignor Martin shot 41 pucks at West Seneca Goalie Sydney Glynn and Monsignor Martin goalie Courtney Wesolowski stopped all 18 shots by West Seneca.*
“Remember, when we’re on the ice hitting each other, it is into the boards only. It’s not into the glass or boards like hockey. “With us it is all boards. But it is still quite the experience.” Salamone comes from a little different background. Although his hometown is listed as Grand Island, he was actually born in Russia. “I am a double amputee,” explained Salamone. “It is a result of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster in Ukraine in 1986. “I was born several hundred miles north of the site. My mother was affected a year after the explosion. “Therefore, I had birth defects. Congenital birth defects. “So I ended up having both my legs amputated. And to this day I’ve never been given a real reason why. “I guess they didn’t understand the real concept of braces. So they amputated. “But I’ve never felt sorry for myself. To me, life is rich. “If you can’t make do with what you have then you won’t succeed. So I do the best I can with what I have. “And that’s what I’ve done with sled hockey. It is a rush out there flying down the ice on that sled. “I really love this game. And I want to help Team USA win another gold medal.”*
Hockey NYS
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t is the Tuesday following the NHL trading deadline. In what seems like a whirlwind trip, Matt Gilroy skates onto the ice of the TD Garden in Boston. For the third time in two seasons, the 27 year-old defenseman is wearing a different NHL Team sweater. On this night its with the Ottawa Senators, the team he had been traded to just 24-hours earlier by the Tampa Bay Lightning. And has been the case since he was nine years old, Gilroy wears the number 97 on his back. While it may appear to be somewhat flamboyant, there is a special reason Gilroy wears that particular number. “I wear it in honor of my late brother, Timmy,” explained Gilroy, a native of North Bellmore, NY. “He died when he was just eight years old. “When we were kids growing up, I would wear 98 and he would wear 97. We did it to honor Wayne Gretzky. “After he died, I decided to change my number to 97 to honor Timmy. I’ve worn it on every team I’ve every played on.” But it really hasn’t always been that easy. “There were some teams when I was growing up, where I couldn’t get 97,” recalled Gilroy, the won of Frank and Peggy Ann Gilroy. “Then I would wear either a nine or seven.
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“Then my mom would stitch a patch with 97 on it some place inside my jersey. I’ve always had something to remember Timmy with.” One place in particular where Gilroy almost didn’t get to wear 97 was with Boston University. Legendary head coach, Jack
11, 2001 on one of the two planes hijacked and flown into the World Trade Towers in New York). Coach Bavis talked to Coach Parker. I’m not sure what he said to him, but I finally got permission to wear 97. “I wasn’t really sure I was even going to get it because I was a
Home Grown:
Matt Gilroy
By Randy Schultz Photos by Janet Schultz
Parker, never allowed such high numbers to be worn by any of his players. Well almost never. “I guess the person who really helped me out there was assistant coach, Mike Bavis,” said Gilroy. “He understood why I wanted it (Bavis’ twin brother died on Sept.
walk-on with Boston. And the only spot I could fill was defense. “I was a natural forward. But I knew my only chance on playing with BU was switching to defense. “So I did.” Gilroy is a 2003 graduate of St. Mary’s High School in Manhas-
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March 2012
set, where he captained their hockey team to two New York State championships. He was MVP in his junior year as well as earning all-league selections in his junior and senior campaigns. Despite his great play, there were no offers on the table waiting for Gilroy when he graduated from high school. Size may have had something to do with it. “I was around 5-7 or 5-8 at the time and weighed around 150-pounds,” remarked Gilroy, who is now 6-2 and weighs 195-pounds. “It wasn’t until after I got into college that I really had a growth spirt.” Gilroy then opted to play junior hockey for two seasons with the Walpole Jr. Stars of the Eastern Junior Hockey League. With still no offers on the table, it was off to Boston University. So why did Gilroy play hockey to begin with? “I came from a large family (10 children) and my parents let us play whatever we wanted to growing up,” explained Gilroy, who also played lacrosse in high school. “My dad was a great basketball player for St. John’s and is in their Hall of Fame. “But I think I was influenced by the success at the time I was growing up of the New York Islanders and the fact they had won four Stanley Cups before I was even born. And hockey was a sport I just seemed to excel at.” Gilroy’s story at BU is legendary. Making the team as a walk-on, the defenseman would go on to earn All-American honors three times, win the Hobey Baker Award in his senior year and lead the Terriers to the 2009 NCAA men’s hockey championship. For the record, Gilroy was just the third player in NCAA history to earn three All-American honors (Rick Meagher and Chris Drury being the other two) and he was just the fifth player to win the Hobey Baker and and NCAA championship in the same season. Interestingly, Gilroy could have left BU after his junior season. Undrafted by the NHL, Gilroy was a hot free agent prospect. “He turned down all offers and returned to BU for his senior year. “I had dreamed of someday playing in the NHL,
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but I knew that a pro hockey career would not last forever,” said Gilroy. “And you only get one shot at college hockey as well for four years and I wanted the college education. “It was a tough decision, but one I don’t regret. We won a championship and winning the Hobey was just a nice finish to my college career.” Ironically, one of his most memorable moments in youth hockey came as a mite player. “That year I played on a line together with my brothers, Timmy and Frank,” remembered Gilroy. “It was the only time that ever happened.” One coach he credits with his success was the legendary Aleksey Nikiforov. “He’s the best,” remarked Gilroy. “He first coached me when I was 10. “He’s also coached Mike Komisarek, Eric Nystrom and Chris Higgins. He taught us to be hockey players, not positional players. “I think that is the main reason why I was able to make the move from forward to defense when I went to Boston University.” Gilroy signed a two-year deal with the New York Ranger as a free agent for the 2009-10 season. That was followed by another one-year contract with the Lightning for this season. With high school hockey championships under his belt, as well as one NCAA hockey title, there must be a Stanley Cup in the future for Gilroy. “We will have to wait and see about that,” concluded Gilroy. “I don’t know where my NHL career will take me. “But it would be great to cap off a hockey career with the Cup. It would be a dream come true. “We will just have to wait and see what happens.”*
Buffalo Stars Youth & Girls Tryouts
2012-2013 Season
Monday, March 5
07:15-08:15pm Minor Squirt 2003 Team 08:15-09:15pm Squirt 2002 Team
Wednesday, March 7
05:15-06:15pm Minor Squirt 2003 Team 06:15-07:15pm Squirt 2002 Team
Monday, April 2
04:00-05:00pm Midget U15 and U16 Split Season Teams 05:00-06:00pm Minor Bantam & Bantam Major Teams 09:15-10:45pm Midget U16 FULL Season Team
Tuesday, April 3
04:00-05:00pm Midget U18 Split Season Team 05:00-06:00pm Minor Peewee & Peewee Major Teams 09:15-10:15pm Midget U16 FULL Season Team
Wednesday, April 4
05:15-06:15pm Midget U15 Split Season Team 06:15-07:15pm Midget U16 Split Season Team 07:15-08:15pm Midget U18 Split Season Team 08:15-09:15pm Girls U19 and U16 Teams 05:30-06:30pm Minor Peewee 2001 Team 06:30-07:30pm Peewee 2000 Team 07:30-08:30pm Minor Bantam 1999 Team 08:30-09:30pm Bantam 1998 Team
Monday, April 9 09:00-10:00pm Girls U19 and U16 Teams All Tryouts at Holiday Rinks: Release Required: $10 fee per ice session COACHES & BUDGETS WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY; JUNIOR TRYOUTS AT END OF APRIL Visit us on line at: www.buffalostars.com