By Warren Kozireski —

Offensive defensemen are becoming more and more of a commodity in the modern National Hockey League and the Buffalo Sabres have stockpiled several including 2017 fourth round draft pick Jacob Bryson, a junior with the Providence College Friars.

Despite a recent offensive dry spell, the 5’9”, 185 lb. led all Friar blueliners with three goals and 11 assists through the first 21 games this season and was +11.

“I need to grow as a player, develop as a leader and get harder on these guys and speak up more in the dressing room,” Bryson said in late-December. “They (the Sabres) have a bunch of other “D” so it’s going to be tough, but they have good coaching.”

A 2017-18 Second Team All-American after registering a 25 point campaign, he wore an “A” as a sophomore and now one of three captains for Providence this season.

“A little (surprised at being selected); being a junior I didn’t expect it, but at the same time we have a bunch of leaders on our team.”

“I usually give a junior an “A” expecting them to be a captain as a senior,” Providence head coach Nate Leaman said. “We debated all summer who should become the “C”. Jacob’s play speaks for itself…and any one of them could wear a “C” on any team I’ve ever coached.”

Bryson is the rare Canadian (London, Ontario) who decided to play junior hockey in the USHL after playing prep hockey in the U.S.

“I never got drafted in the OHL (Ontario Hockey League) and then I went to prep school and I kind of just fell in love with it from there and it kind of just took off,” Bryson said. “I went to Omaha and was recruited out of prep school and I ended up at Providence.

“I’ve loved every step of the way because Omaha was awesome and Providence has been such a great ride. I guess I developed more as I got older and I wasn’t the best player at a young age. It’s tough being away from your parents, but it’s nice to be different from those other guys who played in the OHL.”

Not only is Bryson serving a veteran role with Providence, he now is an experienced NHL training camp attendee after his second this past summer with the Sabres.

“It was good. Buffalo is a nice city to go to get a week down there developing and their staff does an amazing job at keeping in touch with their players. At camp we worked on little things and I think every player there got better. It was nice to meet other players and meet new friends.”

Those development camps came after he was selected by Buffalo in 2017, something he saw on television back home.

“It was amazing to see my name and it kind of surprised me because I was looking more toward the end of the draft. And I’m so excited for where I landed. My whole family was watching it kind of casually and then it popped up…so it was a great day.”

Size has been an issue throughout his hockey career, but Bryson is thankful and hopeful that the recent NHL trend toward speed and mobility will allow him the opportunity other defensemen from past decades did not have.

“Being a small guy I try to play physical because that is also a big part of the game, but it’s moving more toward more offensive, smaller guys that can play so it’s kind of a good fit.”

CORTLAND, N.Y. – The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) has selected the recipients for its weekly awards in men’s ice hockey. Oswego freshman Josh Leblanc (Inverary, Ont.) is the Player of the Week, Cortland junior Nick Modica (Suffern, N.Y.) is the Goaltender of the Week, and Brockport freshman Jeremy Solat (Centeniall, CO) is the Rookie of the Week.

Leblanc’s second and third collegiate goals were tallied against Utica and Elmira Colleges in the Lakers’ 1-0-1 weekend. LeBlanc’s first goal opened the second period, as he was able to clean up after a Tanner Spink shot that was padded away by the Utica goaltender, tying the game at 2-2. The contest would end in a 3-3 OT tie. In Saturday’s 4-1 defeat of Elmira, LeBlanc broke the Lakers’ scoreless contest, eight minutes into the third period, as Tanner Spink flipped a pass from the Oswego zone to center ice where Josh Zizek fended off the Elmira defender and tapped a pass to LeBlanc. The Inverary, Ont. native then broke into the Elmira zone all alone and flipped a shot over the Soaring Eagle goalie to tie the score at 1-1.

Modica continued his impressive play in goal for the Red Dragons, posting a 1-0 record with a 1.13 GAA, 74 saves and a .974 save percentage in two games last weekend. In a 2-1 victory versus Elmira on Friday, Modica registered 42 saves, including a sprawling stop on a shot from the right side of the crease with seconds remaining to secure the victory. He then came off the bench and turned aside 32 of the 33 shots he faced in 45:58 in a setback versus Nazareth on Saturday. For the season, Modica has a 7-6 record with a 2.47 GAA and a .933 save percentage.

Brockport’s Solat  had a solid weekend for the Golden Eagles, scoring two goals in the teams 7-3 victory over Lebanan Valley College Saturday evening. The redshirt sophomore scored the go-ahead goal in the first period and added on a power play goal in the third for his fourth of the season.

Flyers Acquire Right Wing Justin Bailey from Buffalo.
Philadelphia trades forward Taylor Leier to the Sabres

Lehigh Valley, Pa. – The Philadelphia Flyers, NHL affiliate of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms announced today they have acquired Justin Bailey from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Taylor Leier.

Bailey, 23, has played 37 games in the American Hockey League this season for the Rochester Americans totaling 20 points on nine goals and 11 assists.

A native of Buffalo, Bailey has split time between Rochester and Buffalo in each of the last three seasons. He played in 12 games for the Sabres last year, recording three goals and an assist for four points. In 52 career NHL games, all with Buffalo, Bailey has five goals and three assists for eight points.

The 6-foot-4 winger was a 20-goal scorer in each of his first two AHL seasons, posting 20 goals and 25 assists for 45 points in 75 games in 2015-16 and then picking up 23 goals and 13 assists for 46 points in 53 games a year later. Bailey has tallied 62 goals, 54 assists and 116 points in 196 games for the Rochester Americans.

Prior to turning pro, Bailey played three years in the Ontario Hockey League with Kitchener and Sault Ste. Marie, where he totaled 75 goals and 73 assists for 148 points in 168 career games. He was selected by the Sabres in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

Taylor Leier, 24, had 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this season. He has totaled 136 points in 226 games for the Phantoms over the last five seasons and ranks second in Lehigh Valley history in games played.

By Warren Kozireski —

It is sometimes said that National Hockey League teams will select projects or reaches with their later round draft picks in the annual entry draft.

Consider New York Islander 2016 sixth round selection and current University of North Dakota sophomore Collin Adams one of those.

Size has always been an issued for the 5’9”, 172 lb. winger, but the game is changing. And teams can always use offense as his 51 goals and 61 assists in 120 seasons combined over two seasons showed he can do.

It’s just taken a little while to transition that offensive success to one of the best college hockey conferences in the nation.

“It’s going good; I’ve got a lot more playing time,” Adams said about his second collegiate season early in the New Year. “Freshman year is a struggle learning the ways and picking up the speed.

“Everyone is bigger, stronger and the goalies are better, so you’re not going to get as many chances or as much time as you used to so I just need to make them count when I get them.”

The 20-year old Brighton, Michigan native is a product of the Little Caesars & Honeybaked programs in the Detroit area. He traveled just 150 miles from home advance his junior hockey career in Muskegon where he was named to the All-Rookie team in 2015-16.

Adams missed one of the Islanders three development camps since he was drafted due to classroom obligations at school, but the most recent in 2018 proved impactful.

“Coaches liked how I played, so they just told me to keep getting better and stuff like that. Not being drafted as high you’re not in the spotlight, but I think it obviously motivates you. People don’t really think of sixth rounders as too dangerous as draft picks, but I’m trying to make a name for myself.”

How he is described as a player who is a hard worker with a heavy shot, but that is not all he brings to the ice.

“I would say it’s a good summary, but I would probably say my biggest asset is my speed. Definitely being a smaller guy you have to be quicker than the bigger guys, so I would definitely say hard working with a lot of speed and a good shot.

“The past few years (hockey) has changed to faster and more skilled, so that’s definitely helped smaller guys like (Johnny) Gaudreau and Brayden Point and Tyler Johnson; guys like that who wouldn’t have had a shot in the older days when it was just big bodies, but it’s helped us smaller guys make a transition into the league.”

Islanders Director of Player Development Eric Cairns called Adams to tell him he was selected.

“I was at my buddy’s house and we kind of had the draft on, but we weren’t too into it and took a nap and I woke up and next thing you know my name pops up. It was kind of crazy; I woke up my buddy and it was kind of a surreal feeling.”

Some players set specific goals at the start of every season and Adams has those, just not rigid ones.

“I do have goals, obviously to move on from the collegiate level to somewhere in the pros, but nothing too particular where it’s too nit-picky. Day by day trying to tell better and hopefully impress the right people.”

Saturday’s Bears men’s hockey game vs. Morrisville moved to a 3 p.m. start

Men’s Ice HockeyThe SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey home game against Morrisville State this Saturday, Jan. 19, originally scheduled for 7 p.m. has been moved up to a 3 p.m. start. Tomorrow night’s game will still take place at 7 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA’S HOBEY BAKER DIED 100 YEARS AGO IN FRANCE.

By Frank Fitzpatrick

A HOCKEY AND WAR HERO’S LEGACY LIVES

Posted/Printed on The Inquirer Philly.com

A bugler played Taps, an honor guard stood at attention, and a light rain dropped softly, like tears rolling down cheeks, onto a crowd gathered Saturday morning at Hobey Baker’s grave in West Laurel Hill Cemetery.

The weather matched the solemn tone of the event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of the World War I hero from Philadelphia, who is a member of both the hockey and college football halls of fame.

Hobart Amory Hare Baker enlisted in France’s Lafayette Escadrille in 1917 and was awarded that nation’s Croix de Guerre for his flying feats. He died during a test flight on Dec. 21, 1918. Buried in France, his body was returned to the United States in 1921 and interred at the cemetery in Bala Cynwyd.

Saturday’s ceremony came about after Nancy Goldenberg, the cemetery’s president and CEO, discovered Baker was buried on a hill at the rear of the vast property.

“When I found out, I said, ‘Oh, that’s great. Who is Hobey Baker?'” she said. “But, the more I read about Hobey, the more my fascination grew. It wasn’t just the story of his life and tragic death, but his remarkable character as a human being. His resilience, passion, patriotism, and humility.”

A local Ameri Legion official laid a wreath at Baker’s simple headstone, which was topped and surrounded by hockey pucks that visitors still leave there. Relatives attended, as did officials of the foundation that administers the Hobey Baker Award, presented annually to college hockey’s outstanding player; an ROTC honor guard from Princeton, his alma mater; and Princeton’s and Penn State’s hockey coaches, whose teams faced off Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

“It’s always fun to watch teams come into Princeton’s Hobey Baker [Memorial] Rink,” said Guy Gadowsky, who coached the Tigers before taking the same job at Penn State. “Whether ifs a national team, a college team, or a peewee team, they all very quickly congregate over at the Hobey Baker memorial. They look at his skates. They look at the award. They look at the pictures. His legend is very much alive.”

Born into a prominent Philadelphia family in 1892, Baker became a national sensation at Princeton. The captain and star of the football and hockey teams, he was a campus demigod. One of those who idolized him was F. Scott Fitzgerald, who would use Baker as a template for several of his literary heroes.

In football, Baker, whom Philadelphia sportswriters dubbed “the blond Adonis of the gridiron,” set scoring records that stood for half a century. America’s first hockey superstar, he refused to play professionally. But his games with the St Nicholas Hockey Club’s amateur team were major New York City sporting events, and NHL legend Lester Patrick once said that Baker could have been a professional superstar.

In 1981, the NCAA honored him by presenting the Hobey Baker Award to the year’s outstanding college player. In 2014, South Jersey’s Johnny Gaudreau, now on the Calgary Flames, won it.

Princeton coach Ron Fogarty said: “As a player growing up in Ontario, I wanted one day to have the opportunity to be consider for the Hobey Baker Award. I didn’t know anything else about college hockey. Now, at Princeton, I see that Hobey’s legacy is far greater than the award. Our guys have pictures of Hobey Baker in their dorm rooms. They talk about Hobey.”

After Princeton, Baker went to work on Wall Street. He was an early and enthusiastic pilot, and, in 1917, he enlisted in the famed French unit. When the United States entered the war, Baker transferred to its 103rd Aero Squadron.

“He died in flight doing something he loved,” said Christo Morse, his great-great grandnephew, who was accompanied by his 4-year-old daughter, Hobey. ”He was always in flight – over the ice, across the field, through the air. He was a fierce competitor who carried himself with elegance and grace.”

Later, Morse posed for photos in front of the headstone, which was inscribed with a poem by an anonymous author.

“I think some day you may have flown too high,

So that immortals saw you and were glad,

Watching the beauty of your spirit’s flame,

Until they loved and called you, and you came.”

”He’s like some winged angel,” said Morse, a movie producer who lives in Brooklyn. “It’s

sometime hard to imagine he really lived.”

ffitzpatrick@phillynews.com

(Reprinted from Hobey Baker Web Page)

**This Week’s Storylines**

VIEW FROM ABOVE

The Amerks come into the week sitting atop the AHL’s North Division standings with a narrow two-point lead, having earned 10 out of a possible 16 points in their last eight contests. Among all AHL teams, only the Charlotte Checkers have more wins (28) than the Amerks (23), who are second overall in the Eastern Conference with a .632 points percentage at the halfway point of the 2018-19 season.

C.J’s BIG WEEK

Last week, second-year forward C.J. Smith, scored his first-career NHL goal – the game-winner – in Buffalo’s 5-1 rout over New Jersey on Jan. 8. After being reassigned to the Amerks Friday evening, the Amerks reigning Rookie of the Year tied a career-high as he recorded his second-career professional hat-trick – which included the game-winner – to go with an assist in a 5-1 victory against the Toronto Marlies. With his four-point (3+1) outing, Smith grabbed sole possession of the Amerks points lead as he 33 points through 34 games this season with Rochester. Saturday’s win gave Rochester a 4-1-0-0 record in the head-to-head season-series with the AHL’s defending champions.

RED-HOT ALL-STAR REDS

Redmond has scored a team and career-high 16 goals this season, including eight on the power-play, good enough for sixth in the league in that category. Redmond, who had an AHL-best nine-game point streak to end the month of October, enters the week tied for 14^th in the league in goals (16) and second amongst all active AHL defensemen with 32 points, while his seven game-winning goals are tops in the AHL. His 16 goals are also the most by an AHL blueliner.

REDMOND INCHING CLOSER TO HISTORY

Having set a new career-high with his 16^th goal in just his 38^th game of the season, Redmond is on a record-setting pace to etch his name in team and league history. Earlier this season, he became the fastest Amerks defenseman to score 10 goals in the fewest amount of games to begin the season since Amerks Hall of Famer Don McSween reached the mark in his first 21 games during the 1989-90 campaign. McSween would later go on to become the top scoring defenseman in franchise history. Redmond, who last season became just the first Amerk blueliner in seven years to lead the team in scoring, needs only two more goals to tie the single-season franchise record for the most by a defenseman of 18, set by Rick Pagnutti during the 1972-73 season. The AHL record is held by John Slaney, who netted 30 for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins during the 1999-00 campaign.

IRON MAN SIMPSON

Forward Wayne Simpson is the AHL’s current leader in consecutive games played with 225. Prior to joining the Amerks, the Boxborough, Mass., native appeared in all 76 regular-season games with the Hershey Bears and Providence Bruins over each of the last two seasons, in addition to 35 straight appearances for the Portland Pirates dating back to the 2015-16 campaign.

STAYING BUSY BETWEEN THE PIPES

Rochester goaltender Scott Wedgewood has gotten the nod in nine of the last 12 games for the Amerks, going 6-3-0 over that span, which prior to Friday night’s loss, included a four-game win streak. After dropping his first two games of the season, the sixth-year netminder won a season-long five straight to close out the month of October, matching the career-best mark he set while backstopping the Albany Devils during the 2015-16 season. He enters the week tied for third among all AHL goaltenders in shutouts (3) and fourth in wins (14). Wedgewood’s 24 appearances this season are seventh-most in the league while his 1,326 minutes are ninth. Wedgewood is one shutout away from tying a career-best from 2013-14season. 

**This Week’s Schedule**

Monday, Jan. 14 

Day Off

Tuesday, Jan. 15

Practice – 11:00 a.m. at Bill Gray’s Regional IcePlex

Wednesday, Jan. 16

Practice – 10:30 a.m. at Bill Gray’s Regional IcePlex

Thursday, Jan. 17

Practice – 10:00 a.m. at Bill Gray’s Regional IcePlex

Depart after practice

Friday, Jan. 18 

Morning Skate – 11:15 a.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

Away Game vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton  – 7:05 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

Saturday, Jan. 19

Morning Skate – 11:15 a.m. at PPL Center

Away Game vs. Toronto Marlies – 7:05 p.m. at PPL Center

Sunday, Jan. 20

Day Off

Time and locations are always subject to change.

Warren S. Kosel                                                                                                                                  

Director of Public and Media Relations                                                                                                

(585) 286-9928                                                                                                                                                           

warren.kosel@amerks.com                                                                                                                

Ryan J. Harr

Public and Media Relations Coordinator

(585) 286-9940

ryan.harr@amerks.com

ITHACA, N.Y. — ECAC Hockey announced Monday that Cornell forward Cam Donaldson has been named the men’s Player of the Week. The sophomore led ECAC Hockey in goals and points over that span, spearheading the Big Red’s two-game sweep of nationally-ranked Arizona State over the weekend at Lynah Rink.

Donaldson’s statistics were impressive enough on face value — but the way in which he accumulated them made the numbers more impactful. All of his points came in the first periods, helping the Big Red build 2-0 leads over the Sun Devils after 20 minutes of both games. He was the only player in the country with three goals and four points in the first period alone last week.

On Friday, Donaldson made the final connection in an impressive sequence of passes leading up to classmate Brenden Locke’s goal. He then turned on the jets to scoop up a loose puck and flip a backhand over the glove of Arizona State goaltender Joey Daccord – who leads the nation in victories (16) and shutouts (six) – to double the lead heading into the intermission in what ultimately ended up being a 6-1 rout.

In the rematch on Saturday, Donaldson scored just 61 seconds in on a turnaround shot from the slot. He then capped a two-on-one rush with linemate Morgan Barron with a shot from the right circle that went bar down later in the frame.

This marks the second straight week that Cornell has claimed an ECAC Hockey accolade, with classmate Austin McGrath tabbed the circuit’s goaltender of the week on Jan. 7. It’s Donaldson’s first career ECAC Hockey weekly honor, and the Big Red’s first league player of the week since Anthony Angello on Jan. 31, 2018.

Now 9-5-1 overall with ECAC Hockey’s second-best winning percentage, Cornell has climbed to 14th in the Pairwise rankings – which are used at season’s end to determine the at-large berths to the NCAA tournament.

The Big Red return to ECAC Hockey play for the remainder of the regular season, starting with home games against Ivy League rivals Harvard at 7 p.m. Friday and Dartmouth at 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. Tuesday through the Cornell Athletic Ticketing Office in Bartels Hall.

Josh Dunne, a freshman standout for the Clarkson University Men’s Hockey team, has been named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week.

A 6-4, 198-pound center, Dunne helped pace a balanced Clarkson effort in the weekend sweep of Union and RPI at Cheel Arena, recording one goal and two points along with posting a +4 plus/minus rating.

The native of O’Fallon, Mo. tallied an assist in Friday’s 5-1 win over 15th-ranked Union and followed up on Saturday with an assist on the opening score in the 5-2 victory over Rensselaer. He closed out the Golden Knights’ seventh straight triumph over the Engineers with an empty-net goal.

After missing seven games with an injury, Dunne has made an impact up front for the Green and Gold, recording two goals and two assists in the past five games, all Clarkson wins.

Playing in 13 games overall, Dunne has tallied 11 points on six goals and five assists.

Clarkson takes a six-game winning streak on the road this weekend, playing at Yale and Brown.

The Knights own a 14-6 overall record and are tied for fifth place in the ECAC Hockey standings with a 5-3 league mark.

JOSH GORGES ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT AFTER 13 NHL SEASONS

The defenceman skated in 783 regular-season NHL games

TORONTO – Josh Gorges has announced his retirement today from the National Hockey League (NHL) following 13 seasons.

Born in Kelowna, British Columbia, Gorges’ reputation was defined by the determination that helped pave the way from his time as an undrafted defenceman through an NHL career of 783 games (17-107–124) spanning 13 seasons.

Gorges first earned himself an NHL contract with the San Jose Sharks as a free agent Sept. 20, 2002. While his NHL debut would not come until Oct. 7, 2005, Gorges enjoyed early success as a junior hockey player representing his hometown. On the heels of a Western Hockey League championship in 2003, Gorges then helped the Kelowna Rockets to a Memorial Cup championship in 2004 with the ‘C’ on his chest. Not only did Gorges receive the George Parsons Trophy (awarded to the most sportsmanlike player in the tournament), he also scored 15 points over 17 playoff games and earned WHL First Team All-Star honours that season. Gorges also got the opportunity to represent his country at the 2004 World Juniors Championship in Finland, where he helped Team Canada win silver with three assists in the tournament.

After playing nearly the first 100 games of his NHL career with the Sharks, Gorges was traded Feb. 25, 2007 to the Montreal Canadiens – where he enjoyed the bulk of his career. Gorges spent just over seven seasons with the Canadiens, endearing himself to fans and teammates with his grit, toughness, loyalty and commitment. He was twice awarded the Jacques Beauchamp-Molson Trophy (2009-10, 2011-12) by Montreal media members as the player who “played a dominant role during the regular season without obtaining any particular honour”. In his seven full seasons with the Canadiens, Gorges was fourth in the league for blocked shots (1,042).

He was traded to the Buffalo Sabres, July 1, 2014, where he played four seasons, including his final NHL game April 7, 2018.

During his 13-season career, Gorges played in 68 playoff games over six different postseasons – highlighted by two trips to the Eastern Conference Final with the Montreal Canadiens (2009-10, 2013-14).

In Montreal, he also served for three years as either an NHLPA Player Representative or Alternate Player Representative.

Gorges resides in Kelowna with his wife Maggie and their two children.

(NHL.com photo)