WINTHROP, Mass. – Following Niagara’s sweep of Mercyhurst this past weekend, three Purple Eagles have been recognized by Atlantic Hockey for their exceptional performances last weekend. Chris Harpur, Ben Sokay, and Chad Veltri each earned their first AHA weekly awards of the season.

Harpur – named the Defensive Player of the Week – was a two-way threat for the Purple Eagles this weekend. On Friday, Harpur registered two blocked shots in a 3-0 home win. The next night, Harpur blocked three shots, and added two goals (one shorthanded, 3-on-6) in a 4-2 road victory. On the weekend, Harpur was plus-3 with six shots on goal, and earned the first multi-goal game of his career.

Sokay – the conference’s Player of the Week – posted four points (2 G, 2 A) on the weekend. Friday saw Sokay net his seventh goal of the year midway through the third period to pad Niagara’s lead in an eventual 3-0 win. The next night, the senior scored a nifty goal early in the second to put the Purple Eagles up by two en route to a 4-2 road win. This weekend marked the first time Sokay has ever posted back-to-back multi-point games.

Veltri continued his impressive run as of late to be named AHA Goalie of the Week. On home ice, Veltri stopped all 16 shots faced to earn his first career shutout in a 3-0 win. On Saturday, the freshman made 34 saves in a 4-2 road win to give Niagara its fourth win of the season against the Lakers. It was Veltri’s second series sweep in three weeks.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Alex Willkinson of the Army West Point hockey team was one of the top-10 men’s ice hockey student-athletes who excel on and off the ice selected as a finalist for the 2019-20 Senior CLASS Award.
Alex Wilkinson has been an asset to our team since coming to West Point both on and off the ice. It goes without saying that he is one of the best defensemen to come through our program. He has received league recognition for his play in each of his three seasons. Voted to the All-Rookie Team, Team MVP, First Team All-AHA and AHA Best Defensemen. Last season, although he missed a month due to injury, he still was the second in scoring on our team. Alex plays the game the right way and always has the utmost request for his opponents. In his three seasons, he’s only recorded nine penalties. He is well respected by his coaches and teammates and was voted a captain this season. As a leader, he shows his teammates every day how to do things the right way. He is a great example of what a true leader is and always helps the younger players. They look up to him as a player and a leader. He is a great representative of our program, but even more so of the U.S. Military Academy.” – Head Coach Brian Riley

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as a NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

Wilkinson majors in French and ranks in the top half of his class boasting a 3.094 GPA. He has been on Dean’s List all, but one semester. This past summer, Wilkinson served as a Platoon Leader for BEAST 1 in charge of 38 new Cadets for summer training.

The Raleigh, N.C., takes time each summer to volunteer for the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation which honors soldiers killed in action and setting up scholarships for their children. Wilkinson and the hockey team are always participating in highway cleanups around West Point and is always supporting young fans at the yearly Skate with the Black Knight events.

RYE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College men’s ice hockey team suffered a tough 6-5 overtime loss to United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) foe #13 Wilkes University on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 15.

Prior to the game, the Valiants’ three seniors – Ryan Jackson (Montreal, Que./Pomfret School), Ken McLean (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) and Joel Knight (Stoney Creak, Ont./Orchard Park Secondary School) – were honored in a brief ceremony acknowledging their accomplishments on and off the ice over their four seasons. Trailing 5-3 with under four minutes remaining in regulation, McLean and Jackson were able to help tie up the game and force overtime.

Brockport senior goaltender Matt Schneider (Manlius) picked up his fourth career shutout with 22 saves in the Golden Eagles 2-0 victory over Buffalo State to clinch a first round home playoff game for the SUNYAC postseason. Ryan Romeo (Fairport) and Jeremy Solat were the goal scorers.

Geneseo senior Conlan Keenan (Penfield) netted his fifth career hat trick as the Knights won their sixth straight 4-2 over Fredonia to clinch the SUNYAC regular season crown and top seed for the conference playoffs.

Nazareth cliched a playoff spot with a 5-2 win over Chatham as the second line of James McDonald (Potsdam), Mateo Capriotti and Casey Kubara combined for five points. They will be on the road for the first round as either the fifth or sixth seed in UCHC.


R.I.T. freshman forward Elijah Gonsalves registered his first collegiate multi-goal game and, with line-mates Caleb Moretz and Jake Hamacher, accounted for a combined six points in the Tigers 5-1 win to sweep Bentley.
The Tigers now have earned at least one point in seven of their last eight games and need just one point over their final four regular season games to clinch a first round bye.

POTSDAM, N.Y.-After trailing 3-0 early, the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (6-16-2, 5-9-2 SUNYAC) rallied to tie the game before falling to Plattsburgh State (7-13-3, 4-8-2) 6-5 on Senior Night. Sophomore forward Thomas Terranova (Middletown, N.J./Syracuse Stars), senior assistant captain Bryce Ferrell(Buffalo, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres), sophomore forward Robert Clerc (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Oswego State), junior forward Paul Michura (Chester, N.J./New Jersey Rockets) and sophomore forward Devin Panzeca (Lake Zurich, Ill./East Coast Wizards) each scored for the Bears.

The Cardinals jumped on the board just 34 seconds into the contest. Senior forward Joe Drabin (Rochester, N.Y./Wenatchee Wild) knocked home his own rebound to make it 1-0. Potsdam was able to respond with pressure, aided by a power play, but Plattsburgh escaped unscathed. Midway through the period, the Cardinals struck twice in a 2:30 span. Freshman forward Adam Tretowicz (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) tipped home a shot from the point at 11:07. At 13:37, freshman defenseman Ryan Hogg (Duncan, British Columbia/Islanders Hockey Club) picked up a loose puck, skated all around the zone and tucked it past Bears sophomore goaltender Michael Paglucca (North Reading, Mass./New Hampshire Avalanche) to make it 3-0. Potsdam outshot Plattsburgh 11-10 in the first.

The Bears continued to work and it paid off with two goals in 1:08 early in the second. Terranova finished a give-and-go from junior forward Joey Sollazzo(Ottawa, Ontario/Navan Grads) at 5:13 to get Potsdam on the board. Junior defenseman Joseph Richardson (Palm Beach, Fla./PAL Islanders) picked up the second assist. At 6:21, Ferrell tipped a shot from sophomore forward Jack Bloem (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Connecticut Rangers) past Cardinals junior goalie Jimmy Poreda (Tonawanda, N.Y./Connecticut Rangers) to make it a one goal game. Paglucca started the play and earned the second assist. The Bears goaltender was sharp under pressure during the period, but Plattsburgh had the last say. With 1:10 left, Drabin buried his second of the night and the Cardinals led 4-2 after 40 minutes.

The Bears started the third period on the power play and capitalized. Clerc knocked home a loose puck at the right side of the net 1:13 into the final 20 minutes. Junior forward Brett Horn (Cary, N.C./Humboldt Broncos) and Richardson each assisted on the goal. Potsdam was called for tripping at 5:46, but that didn’t prevent the Bears from getting even. Just 44 seconds later, Michura picked up a turnover at the blue line and went the length of the ice to beat Poreda and tie the game. However, Tretowicz struck again at the 14:13 mark to put the Cardinals back up 5-4. With 58 seconds left, Cardinals senior forward Ryan Kuhn (Wheatfield, N.Y./Niagara University) scored an empty-netter on a shot from his own blue line. With the game seemingly sealed away, Panzeca buried a feed from Horn and freshman defenseman Connor Cruickshank (Brampton, Ontario/Brampton Admirals) with 13 seconds left to close the scoring at 6-5.

Paglucca finished with 27 saves and Poreda stopped 30 shots for the win.

The Bears were 1-for-4 on the power play and the Cardinals were 0-for-1.

After the game the Bears honored seniors Ferrell, captain Vincent Guimond (Sorel-Tracy, Quebec/Gloucester Rangers), Sean Winikates (Phoenix, Ariz./Philadelphia Jr. Flyers), Nate Zweig (Binghamton, N.Y./Syracuse Stars) and Tyler Young (Massena, N.Y./Kanata Lasers)

Potsdam is now finished with SUNYAC play and will wait out the final weekend to learn if they have locked up a postseason berth. They finish the regular season with a nonconference game at SUNY Canton on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

(Pictured above Potsdam Class of 2020)

ITHACA, N.Y. — Junior forward Brenden Locke helped set up a pair of goals during the Cornell men’s hockey team’s three-goal first period, then clinched Saturday’s 4-2 victory over Rensselaer with an empty-net goal in front of a sold-out crowd at Lynah Rink. The victory is Cornell’s fifth straight, and it clinched a first-round bye through the first round of the ECAC Hockey Championship playoffs.

With the win, Cornell (19-2-4, 14-2-2 ECAC Hockey) — ranked second in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls — keeps pace with Clarkson for first place in the league with four games left in the regular season. Regardless of how the last two weekends of league play pan out, the Big Red now knows it will host a best-of-three quarterfinal series against an opponent to be determined March 13-15 at Lynah Rink.

For a fifth straight game, Cornell built a two-goal lead in the first period. Senior forward Noah Bauld swept in a rebound of a shot originally off the stick of sophomore defenseman Joe Leahy, then junior defenseman Alex Green doubled the lead just 18 seconds later to give the Big Red a 2-0 lead inside four minutes.

The Big Red’s power play stayed hot with senior defenseman Yanni Kaldis’ goal with 2:57 left in the opening frame. It was his third goal on the weekend and fifth of the season, giving Cornell nine goals on the power play during its current five-game winning streak.

Rensselaer (13-15-2, 9-8-1) would eventually chip away at its deficit, getting goals from Ture Linden early in the second period and Todd Burgess early in the third to make the score 3-2. Junior goaltender Matthew Galajda made some of his biggest saves after that to keep Cornell in front. Tristan Ashbrook set up Mike Gornall for a quality chance in front with 10 minutes to play, but Galajda slid to his left to make the save. His last of 18 stops came on Burgess’ snapshot from the high slot with 37 seconds left. Locke’s empty-net goal came 12 seconds later.

R.I.T. junior forward Jake Hamacher netted his first collegiate hat trick as the Tigers solidified their hold on fourth place in Atlantic Hockey with a 4-1 win over fifth place Bentley. Sophomore Will Calverly was the other goal scorer.

Junior goaltender Aaron MacKay made 18 saves for his first collegiate shutout and the fourth line accounted for a pair of goals in Geneseo’s 4-0 victory over Buffalo State.
“We were down a couple of guys and we weren’t sure what kind of performance we would have tonight, but it was really promising for me as we look ahead to the future of what team we are going to be, so with that kind of performance missing a few keys huys is huge for me personally,” Geneseo head coach Chris Schultz said.
Freshmen forwards Tyson Gilmour and Bryan Zurowski, transfer sophomore defenseman Matthew Doran and junior forward Dan Bosio were the goal scorers.

Fredonia senior Jacob Haynes netted a pair of shorthanded goals and added an assist to lead Fredonia to a 5-2 win at Brockport to keep their playoff hopes alive. They are one-point out of the postseason heading into Saturday.

Nazareth goaltender Michael Tilford made 44 saves and Brian Miller scored his second goal of the season late in the second period as Nazareth and Stevenson skated to a 1-1 tie.

(RIT photo)

Hockey

Fordham Hockey 2019-2020

The 2019-2020 season sees the Fordham University ice hockey program now entering its 50th campaign, one of the longest of any the clubs at school. The team was actually created in the 1967-68 season playing and winning one game versus cross-town rival Manhattan College. The “Maroon Six” as they were known then, began playing a full slate of games during the 1970-71 seasons. The team joined the MIHL (Metropolitan Intercollegiate Hockey League), in the fall of 1970 and began playing such teams as Columbia, Fairfield and St. Johns. The team was originally created and funded by Fordham University athletics to become a varsity program. However the team was relegated to its current club status in 1975 when the school chose to elevate its club football team back to varsity instead. Since then the team has held the longest tenure in its current league the MCHC (Metropolitan Collegiate Hockey Conference) after the MIHL changed it name during the 1974-75 season.

The team is coached by Rich Guberti, who begins his 12th year with the team (2 years assistant coach – 10 years head coach). The team has gone 199-67-7-10 during this tenure. They have finished the regular season in first place 7 times, have gone to the league finals 7 times, and have won four championships. In his nine years as the teams Head Coach, Guberti historically ranks 1st in overall wins (171) and winning percentage (.760). A USA Hockey Certified Level 4 Coach, he runs successful year round Pro Player Clinics and Summer Camps. His Westchester Select tournament teams play in AAA tournaments during the summer on the East Coast. He has also run successful youth hockey and junior programs. Those teams have gone on to compete for State and National titles as well as International Silver Sticks both here and in Canada.

Behind the scenes is Director of Hockey Operations, Andrew Mola CBA ’86 (36th year) who handles the day-to-day team operations which can range from organizing transportation, finances, alumni relations, statistical analysis, scheduling, recruiting, and running game day operations. Mola also is in his 11th year serving as the President of the MCHC and has held prior MCHC Executive Board positions such as Director of Eligibility and Director of Structures.Below are the team accomplishments for the 2018-19 season:

• Won their 5th Metropolitan Collegiate Hockey Conference championship in the last 14 years, first time ever to win back to back championships.
• Played in the league championship game five of the last six years
• Completed their 16th consecutive winning season, and 19th consecutive post season appearance
• Went undefeated in league play for the first time in team history (14-0) and have finished in first place seven times in the last 10 years
• 27-5-2 overall record, most wins in a single season in team history
• 34 games played – most in team history, most played by any team in the ACHA Atlantic Region.
• Finished with a # 5 ranking in the Atlantic region by the American Collegiate Hockey Association, the governing body of club hockey in America – highest team ranking ever
• Qualified for ACHA regional tournament for the 2nd consecutive year – defeating Springfield College 6-3 and George Mason 7-1
• Qualified for ACHA National tournament play in Frisco, Texas -winning 2 of 3 games in pool play by defeating # 1 seed Florida Gulf Coast 3-2 ,# 3 seed Nebraska 8-4, and losing to # 2 seed Michigan 2-1.
• Had 4 players named to ACHA All Region team – Atlantic Region 1st line – Joe Sponenberg (Goalie) – 2nd line Nick Gadowski (forward) & Connor Burke (defense) – 3rd line Zach Brenner (forward)
• Head Coach Rich Guberti was named Coach of the Year for the Atlantic Region and Goalie Joe Sponenburg
• Goalie Joe Sponenburg was named Atlantic Region MVP as well also named First team All Star for all of ACHA D3
• Team overall GPA 3.26

For the upcoming 2019-20 Fordham is now a member of the Empire Collegiate Hockey Conference, joining the most elite college club hockey league in the Atlantic region. Also beginning this season, the Rams have become members of the Collegiate Hockey Federation (CHF) whose membership will represent the highest level of competition on a national level.

The team begins its practices early September skating twice a week with Pennsylvania tournament appearances in the Ice Works Preseason Showcase in Aston mid-September and The Empire Classic in Warminster the week prior to Thanksgiving in November. No games are played during Thanksgiving break, finals week in December or Christmas break. The season culminates with league playoffs held the weekend following President’s Day Weekend in February, and the CHF national tournament held in Nashville Tennessee beginning March 10.

(Thanks to Fordham Hockey for this article)