Section VI Boys Ice Hockey Small School Semi-Finals Cancelled
Mark DiFilippo, CAA and ECIC Executive Director, has announced that Thursday’s Small School Semi Finals (2/27) have been cancelled due to the weather and wide spread school closings. The games will be rescheduled for Friday 2/28 at the LECOM Harbor Center. Due to the rescheduling on Friday, the morning press conference has also been canceled. Below is the schedule for the remaining Sectional games.
Friday 2/27 @LECOM Harbor Center
2:15 PM Williamsville South vs Kenmore West
4:30 PM Starpoint vs Lewiston Porter
Sunday 3/1 @Key Bank Center
12:15 PM Winner of Williamsville South/Kenmore West vs winner of Starpoint/Lewiston Porter
2:30 PM Winner of Lancaster/Williamsville North vs winner of Orchard Park/Clarence
4:45 PM St. Joe’s vs St. Mary’s
Scamurra Among Those Named To US Roster For Women’s World Championship
| U.S. Roster Announced for 2020 IIHF Women’s World Championship |
| Team to compete for sixth-straight gold medal March 31-April 10 |
| COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Hockey announced today the roster for the U.S. Women’s National Team that will compete in the 2020 International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championship, March 31-April 10 in Halifax and Truro, Nova Scotia.The roster features 18 members of the U.S. Women’s National Team that helped the U.S. capture its fifth-straight gold medal at the 2019 IIHF Women’s World Championship, including Cayla Barnes(Eastvale, Calif.), Kacey Bellamy (Westfield, Mass.), Megan Bozek (Buffalo Grove, Ill.), Hannah Brandt(Vadnais Heights, Minn.), Dani Cameranesi (Plymouth, Minn.), Alex Carpenter (North Reading, Mass.), Alex Cavallini (Delafield, Wis.), Jesse Compher (Northbrook, Ill.), Kendall Coyne Schofield (Palos Heights, Ill.), Brianna Decker (Dousman, Wis.) Megan Keller (Farmington Hills, Mich.), Amanda Kessel(Madison, Wis.), Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Idaho), Emily Matheson (Buffalo, N.Y.), Kelly Pannek(Plymouth, Minn.), Maddie Rooney (Andover, Minn.), Hayley Scamurra (Williamsville, N.Y.) and LeeStecklein (Roseville, Minn.). The roster also includes forwards Britta Curl (Bismarck, N.D.), Abby Roque (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.) and Grace Zumwinkle (Excelsior, Minn.); defender Savannah Harmon (Downers Grove, Ill.), and goaltender Aerin Frankel (New York, N.Y.).The players represent nine states. Minnesota leads the way with six athletes, while Illinois has four. New York and Wisconsin each have three representatives. Massachusetts (2), Michigan (2), California (1), Idaho (1), and North Dakota (1) are also represented.A complete roster and staff list can found here. NOTES: Curl, Frankel and Roque all made their senior women’s national team debut during the recently completed 2019-20 Rivalry Series … Bob Corkum (Salisbury, Mass.) is serving as head coach of the 2019-20 U.S. Women’s National Team, alongside assistant coaches Joel Johnson (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Brian Pothier (New Bedford, Mass.), and goaltending coach Bri McLaughlin-Bittle (Sheffield Village, Ohio) … The U.S. schedule for the 2020 IIHF Women’s World Championship is available here. All games will be broadcast live in the U.S. on NHL Network … The U.S. will conduct a training camp at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, Maine, from March 24-27 in preparation for the 2020 IIHF Women’s World Championship. Media accreditation application information will be available the first week of March … Media accreditation application information for the 2020 IIHF Women’s World Championship can be found here … The U.S. has won the last five IIHF Women’s World Championships and captured the top prize a total of nine times (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019), including eight of the last nine tournaments… Team USA is 77-5-6-8-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L-T) in 97 career games and has outscored opponents 634-139. |
Delmas Sets Two New Niagara Hockey Records
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Noah Delmas etched his name into the record books during a 3-2 loss at RIT on Saturday night. The senior captain broke Chris Mackenzie’s (’00) program records for most assists (78) and points (98) by a defenseman after tying both marks against the Tigers at home the night before..
Taylor Wins Second Straight UCHC Rookie Of The Week
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The United College Hockey Conference (UCHC) announced its final weekly award winners of the 2019-20 season, and freshman Hayden Taylor (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Detroit Country Day) of the Manhattanville College men’s ice hockey team was selected as the Rookie of the Week.
The forward was on fire in the final two weeks of his first collegiate season, scoring five goals over the last three games. This past week, in the 5-4 overtime season-finale victory at Neumann University on Friday night, Feb. 21, in Aston, Pa., Taylor scored a pair of goals to help lead the Valiants to victory.
Taylor has now won two Rookie of the Week honors this season, picking up the last two from the UCHC in successive weeks.
NewEdge Hockey Continues To Raise The Bar
NewEdge Hockey Development Academy continues to raise the bar when it comes to hockey player and coach development. NEHDA Founder and Professional Skating & Skills Coach Rob Sedia has signed a multi-year contract with the North America’s #1 Hockey Coach Resource website; Ice Hockey Systems. IHS is recognized globally and receives over 6 million page views every 20 days. Sedia will be providing detailed on ice skating and skills content, as well as chalk talk, and video review sessions for conceptual and strategic play for coaches all over North America. Sedia joins NHL legend Denis Savard as part of the elite IHS team.
UNYCHL Playoff Recap
By Jon Marchese —
UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO wins UNYCHL
The UB Bulls capped off an amazing playoff weekend by defeating Binghamton University 4-2 to capture their second UNYCHL title.
In the semifinals UB found themselves trailing 1-0 after two periods to Clarkson University. The Bulls were able to find the back of the net twice in the third and hang on for a thrilling 2-1 victory.
The other semifinal matched up Binghamton and Fredonia. Binghamton jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, but Fredonia never quit as they kept rallying to get within one goal only to fall short 5-4.
In the title game the Bulls were led by tournament MVP Ryan O’Donnell (Williamsville NY) as he continued to stonewall and frustrate the opposition. O’Donnell and the Bulls shut down two 5 on 3 opportunities for Binghamton. The Bearcats crept within 3-2 with 6 minutes to play; however an empty net goal sealed the title for UB.
Also part of the weekend tournament- Niagara County Community College stunned Buffalo State 6-2 to capture the Tier 2 Championship.
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Amerks Weekly Report
**This Week’s Storylines**
A LOOK AT THE WEEK AHEAD
- Rochester continues its season-long six-game homestand this week beginning on Wednesday, Feb. 26 with the intrastate rival Utica Comets visiting The Blue Cross Arena at 7:05 p.m. Following Wednesday’s matchup, the Amerks host the Laval Rocket on Friday, Feb. 28 before closing out the month of February by facing the Syracuse Crunch at Upstate Medical University Arena on Saturday, Feb. 29.
- Rochester has collected at least one point in 18 of the last 24 games against Utica dating back to the start of the 2017-18 campaign, going 13-6-2-3 over that span.
- The Amerks hold an all-time record of 12-3-0 against Laval and are unbeaten in the three games this season while outscoring the Rocket 13-4.
- After going 4-5-1-0 against the Crunch in 2017-18, the Amerks boast a 12-6-1-1 in their last 20 matchups against Syracuse.
- The Amerks, who have earned a point in five straight games come into the week, remain just seven points back of the Belleville Senators for the top spot in the AHL’s North Division standings with a game in hand on the Senators. Rochester also has a five-point lead on the third-place Utica Comets.
TAYLOR JOINS ELITE COMPANY
- By way of Friday’s 3-2 overtime win over Lehigh Valley, the Amerks reached the 30-win mark for the fourth consecutive season and third straight under head coach Chris Taylor. Taylor became the first Amerks head coach since Randy Cunneyworth, the all-time winningest coach in franchise history, to lead his team to 30 or more wins in each of his first three seasons behind the bench.
CLOSING OUT A BUSY FEBRUARY
- As the month of February comes to a close this week, it served as the busiest for the Amerks, who will have played a total of 14 games over a 29-day stretch. Currently, the Amerks are in the midst of a season-long six-game homestand, which concludes on Friday, Feb. 28 against Laval. Rochester’s next 10 games will be played solely against North Division opponents, which includes a pair of contests against the first-place Belleville Senators and two versus both the Syracuse Crunch and Utica Comets. Overall, the club has five road games and five inside the Flower City over a 21-day stretch. AHEAD
MITTELSTADT QUICKLY MAKING HIS MARK
- After producing just one point through his first five games with the Amerks following his midseason reassignment from the Sabres back in December, Casey Mittelstadt has quickly evolved into one of Rochester’s most consistent point-getters. The second-year pro has piled up 19 points (7+12) in 29 games for Rochester, including 17 points (7+10) since the turn of the New Year. The former first-round pick has eight points (1+7) in his first 11 games of February and comes into the week showing five assists over his last seven appearances. He hasn’t gone more than two games without a point since opening the 2020 calendar year on a season-long four-game point streak (3+1).
SHARING THE CREASE
- Anchored by the goaltending tandem of veteran Andrew Hammond and third-year pro Jonas Johansson, who is currently on recall with the parent Buffalo Sabres, the Amerks own one of the top defenses in AHL having allowed only 151 goals through the 55 games of the season, the eighth-fewest in the AHL coming into the week. The duo has also combined for six shutouts and rank among the AHL’s leaders as they have 14 and 13 wins on the season, respectively.
- Hammond, who is 14-11-2 on the season, is tied for third among all netminders in shutouts after notching his fourth of the year back on Dec. 14 in a 5-0 win over Laval, a new career-high. With four shutouts through 29 games this season, he remains on pace to tie the franchise record for most shutouts in a season (8) set by Ryan Miller during the 2004-05 campaign.
- Johansson, who earned his first NHL win Sunday in Buffalo’s 2-1 victory over Winnipeg, owns a career-best 13-3-3 record with two shutouts this season. Despite being on recall, he’s tied for the fifth-best goal-against average in the league (2.19) and ranks fourth among all netminders with a .925 save percentage in 20 games. Dating back to Nov. 13, the 2020 AHL All-Star boasts an impressive 11-1-1 record with two shutouts, a 2.11 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage while allowing just two goals or less in eight starts over that span.
TEAM LEADERS
- Jean-Sebastien Dea, who remains the only Amerk forward this season to reach the 30-point plateau, continues to pace the team in goals (15) and points (36) through 50 games. Coming into week, Dea, who is also second among all Amerks forwards with 99 shots on goal, has 15 points (5+10) in his last 20 games since the turn of the New Year, including four points (1+3) over his last four games.
THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE
- Rochester owns three of the AHL’s top point-producing defensemen in Zach Redmond, Casey Nelson and Lawrence Pilut, all of whom have been mainstays on Rochester’s blueline this season.
- The 2019-20 season is just a different chapter in the same story for the 31-year-old Redmond, who hasn’t gone more than five games without a point all season. The two-time AHL All-Star and reigning Eddie Shore Award winner is presently tied for 14th in scoring amongst all defensemen with 30 points and is also tied for 10th with a team-high 25 assists, 10 of which have come on the power-play.
- Back from his fourth recall of the season, Pilut has 17 points (5+12) over his last 27 AHL games dating back to Nov. 15, including goals in two of his last eight outings. Having already established a new AHL career-high in goals (6), the former SHL Defenseman of the Year is also on pace to set a new mark in points.
- Nelson is tied for ninth among all blueliners with a team-best plus-19 on-ice rating through 44 games this season.
- Jacob Bryson is sixth among all first-year defensemen with a plus-10 rating. Bryson, who scored his first pro goal on Wednesday and had the overtime game-winner Saturday night, is also tied for ninth among all rookie blueliners with 21 points (2+19) in 54 games while his 19 assists are eighth-most.
Farabee Loaned To AHL Club
Lehigh Valley, Pa. – The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that they have loaned forward Joel Farabee to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Farabee, 19, is playing in his first full season of professional hockey and has played in four games for Lehigh Valley this season and has tallied a point in every game he has appeared in with three goals and one assist. He made his pro debut on October 11, 2019 and scored a highlight reel goal against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Farabee has notched a point in every game he’s played for the Phantoms. He was recalled by the Flyers on October 20 and made his NHL debut October 21 against the Vegas Golden Knights. Farabee has played 49 games for Philadelphia this season and has registered seven goals and nine assists for 13 points and 39 penalty minutes.
A native of Cicero, New York, Farabee was drafted in the first round (#18 overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. Prior to turning pro, he played a year of college hockey for the University of Boston. In 37 games for the Terriers during their 2018-19 season, He totaled 36 points including 17 goals and 19 assists. Farabee also spent time on the U.S National Development Team where he was a part of a gold medal winning team at the 2017 World U18 Championships in Slovakia. He was also a part of two silver medal winning teams at the 2018 World U18 Championships in Russia and the 2019 World Junior Championships in Canada.
Melchiori Signs Two-Way Deal
NEW JERSEY SIGNS MELCHIORI TO TWO-WAY DEAL
Melchiori signed an AHL contract prior to the season
BINGHAMTON – The New Jersey Devils announced that the club has signed defenseman Julian Melchiori to a two-way contract for the remainder of the 2019-20 season. The announcement came from New Jersey’s Interim General Manager, Tom Fitzgerald.
Melchiori, 28, has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 54 games with the Binghamton Devils.
Last season, Melchiori recorded six goals and six assists for 12 points in 54 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds. During the 2017-18 campaign, the native of Richmond Hill, ON served as the alternate captain for the Manitoba Moose and had 14 points in 49 games, along with six points in seven playoff games. Overall, the left-shooting defenseman has 66 points (18 goals, 48 assists) in 378 regular-season AHL games.
The former third-round draft pick of the Atlanta Thrashers has played in 30 National Hockey League games for the Winnipeg Jets.
Holy Cross Women’s Hockey Concludes Season As Pendleton, NY Native Sets New League Record For Saves In Goal
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Holy Cross women’s hockey team concluded their season with a 3-0 loss at Providence Saturday afternoon.
The Crusaders end the year at 5-23-5 and 5-20-2 in conference action in their second year as a part of Hockey East. They added four wins and two ties to their overall record from last season and four wins and one tie to their conference mark. They also moved up a spot in the conference standings, after finishing last season in 10th they passed Merrimack to finish in ninth place. The top eight teams make the playoffs in Hockey East.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
With her 26th save today, Jada Brenon became the new Hockey East single-season record holder for saves in conference games. The old record of 815, held by Northeastern’s Marisa Hourihan, had stood since 2005. Brenon set a new mark of 832 with her 42 saves in the game.
Brenon, a sophomore, is a native of Pendleton, NY.
(Holy Cross Photo)
Late Goal Helps U of Vermont Earn Draw On Senior Day. WNY Native Part of Senior Celebration
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Theresa Schafzahl’s tying goal with 6:48 left in regulation helped Vermont (10-16-8, 7-14-6 HEAW) force a 2-2 draw against Maine (13-13-8, 9-11-7 HEAW) in the regular season finale on Saturday afternoon. The Catamounts honored Abby Cleary, Allie Granato, Ali O’Leary, and Ève-Audrey Picard as well as Team Impact member Kayla Kruk on Senior Day, presented by the UVM Alumni Association.
COACH’S QUOTE
“Credit to our seniors for rallying us tonight,” said head coach Jim Plumer. “We showed our character with the comeback and I think this was the kind of game that will prepare us for playoffs.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
UVM grabbed the lead 3:36 into the game when Maude Poulin-Labelle notched her 12th goal of the season. Abby Cleary found the blueliner at the top of the right circle where she rifled a wrist shot past Carly Jackson (22 saves). Hailey Burns was credited with the secondary assist.
The Black Bears answered at the midway point of the second period on Tereza Vanisova’s 13th marker of the 2019-20 campaign. Taylor Leech dished a pass to Britany Colton who quickly sent a shot on net that left a rebound for Vanisova to clean up.
Liga Miljone gave Maine a 2-1 lead in the final minute of the middle frame. The sophomore jammed a loose puck past Blanka Škodová (19 saves) for her 10th goal of the season. Ida Press and Ali Beltz assisted on the go-ahead goal.
Ali O’Leary and Ellice Murphy set up Schafzahl’s tying goal late in the third period. O’Leary dished a pass to Murphy on the rush where she quickly sent a shot that was hard to handle for Jackson. Schafzahl crashed the net and poked the loose puck into the back of the net for her team-leading 14th goal of the season.
Vermont nearly took the lead minutes later when O’Leary fought to keep the puck in the zone and Shanahan deked around a Maine defender before testing the Black Bear goaltender.
The conference foes exchanged one shot each in overtime. Sara Levesque directed a shot through traffic in the final seconds, but Jackson was able to get a pad on it.
NOTES
Poulin-Labelle tied the single-season record for most goals by a UVM defenseman, which was originally set by Dayna Colang in the 2013-14 season.
UP NEXT
Eighth-seeded Vermont will be traveling to top-seeded Northeastern for the Hockey East Quarterfinals. It is the second consecutive season that the Catamounts and Huskies clash in the first round of the conference playoffs. The best-of-three series kicks off at Matthews Arena on Thursday (Feb. 27) at 1 p.m. Game 2 is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday (Feb. 28), followed by Game 3 if necessary on Saturday (Feb. 29) at 7 p.m.
Cornell Men’s Blank Brown Behind Galajda’s 2nd Straight Shutout
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Junior Matthew Galajda made 19 saves for his fourth shutout of the season, and the Cornell men’s hockey team wrapped up the road portion of its schedule with a 3-0 victory over Brown on Saturday night at Meehan Auditorium.
It was the seventh straight victory for Cornell (21-2-4, 16-2-2 ECAC Hockey), which maintains sole possession of first place in the league by a two-point margin entering the final two games of the regular season next weekend. But unlike the first six victories in the current streak, Saturday’s win didn’t feature a multiple-goal for the Big Red after the first period.
It wasn’t for lack of effort, it was for the inches’ difference between clearing the goal line and the framework. Junior forward Morgan Barron hit the post on a one-timer during Cornell’s first power play, then pelted another shot off the crossbar on the second. Moments later, junior defenseman Alex Green became the third Big Red player to hit iron inside the first 10 minutes of the game.
Cornell finally broke through on the next shift, when senior forward Jeff Malott’s rush from inside the defensive zone deep into Brown territory set up freshman forward Matt Stienburg for his second goal of the weekend.
For the next 40 minutes, the teams traded jabs during even-strength play and a few hooks on power plays – but the score remained unchanged. Galajda’s best saves came on Brown chances on the man advantage. The first came on Justin Jallen’s toe drag and shot from the slot late in the first period; then the second came on Michael Maloney’s shot off a broken play that required Galajda to alertly sprawl to his right.
The Big Red, which entered its road trip ranked second in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls for a third straight week, then got welcomed breathing room with 7:21 left in the third period when freshman defenseman Sam Malinski’s attempted pass caromed off a Brown defenseman’s skate and into the net.
Barron capped the scoring with an empty-netter that pushed his team-leading goal total to 14 on the year and extended his point-scoring streak to seven games. In addition to Malott, senior forward Noah Bauld, and junior forwards Tristan Mullin and Kyle Betts collected assists on the night.
The shutout was Galajda’s fourth of the season, and it was the fourth time in his collegiate career that he’s posted consecutive shutouts. It also marked the 18th shutout in his career, which pulls him into a tie for second place on the program’s all-time list alongside David McKee (2003-06). Galajda now trails the all-time lead of 19 by just one, set by Ben Scrivens ’10.
How The Goals Were Scored:
Cornell’s 1st Goal
1st period, 10:23 • Stienburg 4 (Malott) • Cornell 1, Brown 0
• Brent Beaudoin entered the Cornell zone on a two-on-two for Brown and looked to make a pass, but left the puck in his wake. A backchecking Malott scooped up the puck and looped around to start up ice. He chipped the puck past a defender and Stienburg helped steer it into Malott’s path as he motored up the left wing and into the Brown zone. Malott drove wide on his defender until he was next to the net. As Brown goalie Gavin Nieto committed to what Malott was going to do, Malott chipped the puck back toward the slot for a crashing Stienburg to bury into an empty net.
Cornell’s 2nd Goal
3rd period, 12:39 • Malinski 3 (Mullin, Betts) • Cornell 2, Brown 0
• The Bears attempted to break the puck out of their own end along the wall, but Betts created a turnover before heading to the front of the net. Mullin took the puck and drifted back toward the right point before leaving it for Malinski coming down the wall. With Betts wide open in front of Nieto, Malinski slotted a pass in that direction – but it ended up going between Betts’ legs, then caromed into the net off the left skate of a Brown defenseman.
Cornell’s 3rd Goal
3rd period, 17:27 (en) • Barron 14 (Bauld) • Cornell 3, Brown 0
• With Nieto on the bench in favor of an extra attacker for Brown, Crossman powered a shot from the top of the right circle that was helped wide of the far post by Galajda’s stick. The puck hugged the boards until Bauld chipped it from the half wall, high into the neutral zone. The Brown defenseman on that side of the ice appeared to lose sight of the puck for just long enough to lose his momentum, and Barron took that extra step and motored past him into the neutral zone before converting into the empty net.
Massena NY Native Signs With Lightning
Zach Bogosian signed a one-year, $1.3 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.
Bogosian, a defenseman, was suspended by the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 17 for failing to report to Rochester of the American Hockey League after he cleared waivers. On Feb. 21, he was placed on unconditional waivers with the intention of terminating his contract.
Bogosian, who can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, had five points (one goal, four assists) in 19 games for Buffalo this season.
Selected by the Atlanta Thrashers in the first round (No. 3) of the 2008 NHL Draft, the 29-year-old has 194 points (53 goals, 141 assists) in 636 regular-season games with the Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets and Sabres. He has never played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
