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Chubak Nabs Goalie of the Week Honors for Seventh Time This Season

By
Janet
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HAMILTON, N.Y. – Niagara hockey goaltender Carsen Chubak was named the Atlantic Hockey Association Goaltender of the Week for the seventh time this season as announced by the league Monday afternoon.

Chubak led the No. 13/14 Purple Eagles to a weekend sweep over conference opponent Mercyhurst, taking the regular-season series, 3-0.  The junior made 62 saves in the pair of 4-2 victories for a .939 save percentage and a 2.00 goals-against average.

The Prince Albert, Sask. native is now 21-4-5 on the season, earning the No. 2 spot on Niagara’s single-season wins list.  He is seventh in the nation in goals-against average (1.77), and fourth in the nation in save percentage (.942).  The two-time AHA Goalie of the Month holds the top spot in shutouts (6) in the country.

Chubak and the Purple Eagles will wrap up the regular season this week with a double-dip against Air Force starting on Friday, March 1 and wrapping up the following day.  Both contests will begin at 9:05 p.m. eastern.

NU Earns Highest Ranking of the Season in USA Today/USA Magazine Poll

By
Janet
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0

 

NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – A weekend sweep over Mercyhurst was enough to bump the Niagara hockey team to the No. 13 position in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine national poll released Monday.

The Purple Eagles (21-6-5; 20-3-2 AHA) received 107 votes to earn the No. 13 ranking for the first time since the 1999-00 season.  The Purps have been on the top-15 poll for four consecutive weeks now, the longest the team has been ranked in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine in program history.

Niagara received 335 points in the USCHO.com Poll jumping up two spots from last week to No. 14.   The Purps also crawled up the PairWise Rankings to the eighth spot—the team’s highest position so far this year.  This ranking system helps determine the NCAA field of 16, meaning the team is on track for an at-large bid if they were not to capture the conference tournament.  The field will be announced on March 24.

Niagara travels to Colorado Springs, Colo. on Friday-Saturday, March 1-2 to take on the Air Force Falcons in a two-game series at the Cadet Ice Arena.  Both contests will begin at 9:05 p.m. eastern.

ECAC West Names Meunier Rookie of Year

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Janet
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0

SUNY Cortland freshman goalie Deanna Meunier (Parsippany, NJ/ New Jersey Rockets) has been selected as the 2012-13 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Women’s West Rookie of the Year. Meunier also was named second team all-conference and a member of the all-rookie team.

Meunier had a 2.84 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage in 23 games. She stopped 647 shots, third all-time and most by a freshman in a single season at Cortland, and recorded six wins with one shutout. Her .917 save percentage in ECAC West play ranked sixth in the conference.

The ECAC honored two other Red Dragons, senior forward Maggie Giamo (Orchard Park/ RIT) and freshman defender Madison Fischl (Basking Ridge, NJ/ New Jersey Rockets). Giamo received honorable mention all-conference honors, while Fischl joined Meunier on the all-rookie squad.

Giamo was Cortland’s offensive catalyst this season, scoring 11 goals and registering two assists for 13 points in 16 league games, including three game-winners. Overall, she scored 16 points on 12 goals and four assists. Giamo finished her career at Cortland tied for sixth in scoring with 45 points on 25 goals and 20 assists.

Fischl helped anchor a defense that allowed the fewest goals by a Cortland team since the 2005-06 season. In league play, Fischl scored one goal and recorded two assists for three points. She skated in 22 games overall, scoring four points on one goal and three assists.

The ECAC West women’s ice hockey conference consists of Cortland, Buffalo State, Chatham (Pa.), Elmira, Neumann (Pa.), Oswego, Plattsburgh, Potsdam and Utica.

Canisius Falls at Robert Morris

By
Janet
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0

The Canisius College hockey team lost its fifth-straight game, falling at Robert Morris, 6-3, on Saturday night. The Griffs are now 11-18-5 on the season and 10-13-2 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Colonials improve to 18-12-2 and 13-11-1 in league play.

 

Juniors Kyle Gibbons (Westlake, Ohio) and Patrick Sullivan (Derby, N.Y.) plus sophomore Stephen Farrell (Ottawa, Ontario) all scored for the Griffs in the defeat.

 

The Colonials wasted no time taking the lead in the game, scoring just 1:48 into the contest when Colin South tipped a shot into the back of the net.

 

The teams would then go another 25-plus minutes without a goal before both schools started finding their offensive rhythm. Robert Morris stretched its advantage to two when Matt Cope tipped a shot into the net at the 8:19 mark of the second frame.

 

Canisius would answer right back, pulling back to within one just 56 seconds later. Senior Preston Shupe (Weyburn, Saskatchewan) brought the puck in the Robert Morris zone and left it for Farrell. The sophomore defender then blasted it into the back of the net for his first tally of the season. Sophomore Mitch McCrank (Haileybury, Ontario) also recorded an assist on the team’s first goal of the game.

 

Robert Morris, however, would quickly reclaim its multi-goal advantage and would even build on it. Adam Brace scored two goals 59 seconds apart at the 12:42 and 13:41 marks of the second period to extend the Colonial lead to 4-1. The senior sent a blocked shot in for the two-goal lead and then scored on a rush just a minute later after skating past the Canisius defense. Robert Morris then added a fourth goal in the period when Cody Wydo knocked in a rebound with 1:50 remaining.

 

The Griff did not back down and attempted to claw back into the game, scoring with just 19 seconds left in the second. From his own zone, Farrell sent a pass down the ice to sophomore Cody Freeman (Toronto, Ontario), who got past the Robert Morris defense. Freeman had his shot saved but Gibbons was there to clean up the rebound for his team-best 15th tally of the season.

 

Canisius then pulled to within two with 3:15 remaining in the game, scoring on a delayed penalty. Senior defender Ben Parker (Port Perry, Ontario) gained possession of the puck behind the Canisius net, skated down the ice and centered it to Sullivan, who knocked it in for his fifth goal of the season.

 

On the ensuing power play, Canisius pulled its goaltender for a two-man advantage but was unable to get any closer. After the Robert Morris penalty expired, Wydo sealed the Colonials’ win with an empty-net goal with 60 seconds remaining in the game.

 

Canisius finished the game with a 43-23 advantage in shots. Neither team scored on the power play with the Griffs missing out in six opportunities and killing the only Robert Morris extra-man advantage.

 

The Griffs wrap up the regular season next weekend with a home-and-home series against RIT. The schools open the weekend in Rochester on Friday at 7:05 p.m.

Oswego Advances to SUNYAC Championships With Win Over Buffalo

By
Janet
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0

OSWEGO, N.Y. – Chris Muise‘s two second-period goals along with 33 saves from Andrew Hare propelled the No. 3/6 Oswego State men’s ice hockey team (22-4-0) past Buffalo State (13-12-2), 5-2, in a SUNYAC Semifinal Saturday night at the Campus Center Ice Arena. Muise netted two goals in a two-minute span late in the second period to give the Lakers a 4-1 lead heading into the final frame.

Oswego State hosts Plattsburgh in the SUNYAC Championship game for the third time in four years on Saturday, March 2 at 7 p.m. The winner earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament.

The game opened at a furious pace eventually resulting in both teams trading penalties during a two-minute span. During a 4-on-4 stretch, a Laker giveaway in its’ defensive zone landed on the tape of Matt Bessing’s stick in the middle of the rink. Bessing hit Mike Zannella with a pass below the left faceoff circle where he wristed a shot just inside the left post before Oswego State goalie Andrew Hare (Sr., Burlington, Ontario) closed the gap at 10:05.

It did not take long for the Lakers to even the score, though, as they capitalized on a Buffalo State penalty. Jon Whitelaw (Sr., Huntsville, Ontario) laced a pass from the left faceoff dot down to Paul Rodrigues (Sr., Etobicoke, Ontario) along the end boards before sending a pass to Luke Moodie (Sr., Oakville, Ontario) in the slot for his team-best 20th goal of the season at 15:28.

Less than a minute elapsed before Oswego State took the lead. Tyler Leimbrock (Sr., Bolton, Ontario) sent the puck through the neutral zone to Matt Singleton (Sr., Whitby, Ontario), as the Lakers transitioned out of their defensive zone. Singleton held the puck long enough to force the Bengal defenseman to commit and gave David Titanic (Jr., Markham, Ontario) a chance to join the play. Singleton sent a behind-the-back pass on to Titanic’s stick, as he made no mistake with his shot along the ice inside the right post at the 16:21 mark.

A wild second period ensued when twelve minutes into the frame Hare came up with big glove save on a shot from Shane Avery during a breakaway that would have resulted in a short-handed Bengal goal tying the score.

Minutes later, Chris Muise (Sr., Oakville, Ontario) caused a Buffalo State turnover in its defensive end while the teams were skating 4-on-4. He skated in alone on Buffalo State goalie Kevin Carr, and scored after some smooth stickhandling skills at the 16:32 mark.

During the same matching minors, Buffalo State had a goal waved off by the referee when a Bengal forward was called for goaltender interference at 17:46. On the ensuing power play with Oswego State skating 4-on-3, Muise took his time with the puck near the goal line at the left post forcing Carr to go down to the ice before lifting the shot over Carr’s right shoulder at 18:42. Chris Brown (Sr., Centreville, Ontario) and Jesse McConney (Sr., Barrie, Ontario) earned assists on the play that sent the Lakers into the locker room leading 4-1.

Buffalo State started the third period with increased tenacity leading to an Oswego State tripping penalty. The Bengals won the subsequent faceoff and Todd Graham immediately cashed in on the opportunity after receiving a pass from Bessing and Brett Hope 1:18 into the frame.

Buffalo State continued to pressure the Laker defense, but Hare did not crack as the Bengals called timeout with 1:26 on the clock. With Carr pulled, Oswego State won the ensuing faceoff in front of the Buffalo State bench as Matt Singleton corralled the loose puck at center ice before passing to Leimbrock. His shot was blocked by a defenseman, but Titanic chased down the puck and fired it into the empty net to seal the victory.

The Lakers wrapped up the game 2-for-7 on the power play, while the Bengals were 1-for-6 with the extra attacker.

In a duel between a pair of All-SUNYAC goalies, Andrew Hare posted 33 saves for his 18th win of the season compared to Kevin Carr, who finished with 36 saves.

No. 15 Niagara Routs Mercyhurst 4-2, to Sweep Season Series

By
Janet
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0

 

ERIE, Pa. – The No. 15 Niagara hockey team earned a 4-2 victory over Mercyhurst Saturday evening at the Mercyhurst Ice Center, sweeping the season series against the Atlantic Hockey opponents.

For the game, Ryan Murphy and Marc Zanette accounted for a goal and an assist each, while Ryan Rashid and Hugo Turcotte picked up a goal.

Goaltender Carsen Chubak made 31 saves to earn his 21st win of the season.

“That’s a great weekend of hockey for us, especially tonight with a very good road effort,” head coach David Burkholder said.  “Just look at the second period when they get on the board to tie it 1-1 and we responded with a great power play goal from Ryan Rashid and then 30 seconds with the Turcotte, Kohls and Divjak goal that set them back on their heels.  It certainly wasn’t the way we wanted the third period to go, but when you’re killing that many penalties they’re going to have some momentum.”

Niagara’s top line of Murphy, Giancarlo Iuorio and Zanette needed just 26 seconds to open the scoring as Zanette put the Purple Eagles ahead 1-0 with his ninth goal of the year.  Iuorio picked up a clear from Murphy along the board and raced in on Mercyhurst goaltender Jordan Tibbett with Zanette, slipping a pass to the right winger for the easy tap in.

The opening period wrapped up with Niagara holding an 11-7 advantage in shots.

Mercyhurst evened up the game while on the man advantage at the 8:17 mark of the second frame.  Kyle Just connected with Chris Bodo on the doorstep of the crease sneaking a one timer between the legs of Chubak to make it a 1-1 contest.

The lead did not last long as a pair of quick tallies by the Purps less than two minutes later pushed the team ahead by two going into the second intermission.

Rashid was the first to light the lamp, earning his ninth goal of the season while on the power play.  With 6:06 remaining on the clock Rashid and Kevin Ryan exchanged passes at the top of the blue line, before Rashid roofed a slap shot over the shoulder of Tibbet.  Thirty seconds later, Turcotte and Patrick Divjak combined for a quick one-two combination that ended on Turcotte’s stick for his fifth score of the year.

The Lakers amped up the pressure in the final frame, peppering Chubak with 14 shots while limiting the Purps to just four shots on Jimmy Sarjeant who took over goaltending duties.

Despite their limited opportunities, Niagara tallied the period’s first goal off the stick of Murphy.  Zanette skated down center ice and dropped a saucer pass to Murphy who roared down the wing and lifted a backhander over Sarjeant for his 15th tally of the season.

Bodo would add a power play goal with 41 seconds remaining in the contest.

The Purple Eagles wrap up the regular season next weekend in Colorado Springs, Colo. as Niagara faces off against Air Force Friday and Saturday, March 1-2 at Cadet Ice Arena.  Both contests are scheduled to begin at 9:05 p.m. eastern.

Colgate Falls in Heartbreaker on Senior Night

By
Janet
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0

HAMILTON – The Colgate men’s hockey team honored its eight seniors on Saturday, but Rensselaer spoiled the night with an overtime 3-2 win with the Engineers scoring with 10 seconds left in the extra frame.

Colgate (14-14-4, 6-11-3 ECAC) got two power play goals in the second period coming from Kyle Baun and Mike Borkowski. Tyson Spink added a pair of helpers on both goals and Borkowski had a multi-point game as he assisted on the Raiders’ first score. Eric Mihalik did his part in net with 34 saves and two of the three goals were deflections in front through traffic. He made 23 saves in the final two periods.

Rensselaer (15-12-4, 10-7-3 ECAC) was led by Matt Neal and Nick Bailen. Neal had the gamewinner in overtime and had an assist for two points, while Bailen had a two-point night with a goal and an assist. Jason Kasdorf made 25 saves in net.

After a scoreless first period, the teams made up for it with a combined four goals in the second with three of the four coming on power plays. Baun got it started with his 12th goal of the year 1:10 into the frame to make it 1-0. Baun, Borkowski and Tyson Spink connected on a nice tic-tac-toe play and Baun fired a one-timer from the slot, which Kasdorf had no shot at stopping.

Borkowski then put the Raiders up 2-0 with the second power play score of the period for Colgate midway through the frame. Tylor Spink connected on a pass to Tyson Spink to the left of Kasdorf and he shoveled a cross-ice pass through the defense to Borkowski on the opposite side. He collected the puck and fired a wrist shot that Kasdorf looked to have stop, but it got under with glove hand and trickled across the line.

The Engineers then evened it up with two-straight goals in the final eight minutes of the middle frame. The first came off the stick of Mark Miller, who tipped home a Luke Curadi shot from the points with 7:25 remaining in the frame. Rensselaer then tied the game with 1:17 left with Bailen tallying his 11th of the year on another tip-in. He camped out in front and Ryan Haggerty fired a shot that he redirected into the net to tie the game at 2-2.

The teams then played a clean third period with no goals and no penalties.

In overtime and with less than 15 seconds remaining in the game, Chris Bradley took shot from the right point that Mihalik pushed aside, but Neal was all alone at the opposite post and he put home the rebound with 10 seconds left in the extra period to give the Engineers the 3-2 win.

Each team earned three chances on the power play and the Raiders scored both of its goals with the extra man, but didn’t go on the man advantage in the third period. The Engineers scored once on their three chances and won the shot battle by a 37-27 margin.

Colgate will be back on the road next weekend for its final regular season weekend at Yale and Brown with playoff seeding on the line.

Cornell Takes ECAC Regular Season Championship; Take First Seed

By
Janet
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0

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The  Big Red ended its regular season with a victory on Saturday evening, but it got even better news from three hours away in Cambridge, Mass.

Thanks to a 4-0 victory over Union at Messa Rink and a 3-1 Clarkson win over Harvard, Cornell moved up to 38 points in the ECAC Hockey standings and won the league’s regular-season championship for the fourth consecutive season.

“As a coach you’re looking for consistency, and obviously to be able to do that four years in a row is something that we’re proud of,” Cornell coach Doug Derraugh said. “I’m really proud of the effort that these players have put forth.

“This year especially was a real tight race, and there’s a lot of great teams in the ECAC this year, so this is a great accomplishment for us to win the regular season.”

Cornell (23-5-1, 18-3-1 ECAC Hockey) got a first-period goal from senior Lauriane Rougeau, two goals from her blueline partner Laura Fortino and a third-period strike by Olivia Cook to seal the win over Union (7-23-4, 0-18-4). Lauren Slebodnick made 18 saves for her fifth shutout of the season.

About five minutes after the game concluded, Clarkson pulled off the win against Harvard. Five minutes after that, ECAC Hockey commissioner Steve Hagwell presented Rougeau, the team captain, with the league’s regular-season trophy in its locker room.

“It’s still special,” said Rougeau, who has won the regular season crown in each of her four years at Cornell. “But our job is not over because this just means we did well during the season.”

When sophomore Jillian Saulnier‘s phone beeped with a text message update from her father after the game, she announced the Clarkson-Harvard result to her teammates. Screaming ensued, and the joy in the Big Red locker room was audible from the other corner of Messa Rink.

Two hours earlier, the team was cheering on the ice for its first goal.

Rougeau got things going offensively as the teams were playing four-on-four hockey after Taylor Woods and Haley Welch took matching roughing minors seven minutes into the period. The open space provided by fewer players on the ice led directly to the Big Red’s first goal.

Rougeau got the puck on the right boards of the offensive zone and skated hard behind the defense through the right faceoff circle. She got all the way through to the crease and kept going, sneaking past Union goalie Alana Marcinko and firing into the open left side of the net. The goal was similar to her strike in Friday’s contest at Rensselaer except it came from the opposite side of the ice.

Three minutes later, Fortino made it 2-0 on when she scored her first goal since Nov. 16 against Colgate. She got the puck dropped off to her by Rougeau at the blue line, and she drifted right of center. She wound up for a snap shot and took it, but with a screen in front of the net and perfect placement, Fortino found the twine for the fourth time this year. Rougeau got the primary assist andAnna Zorn picked up the second.

“I saw the defender coming out and I knew I had to get the puck by her,” said Fortino, a senior assistant captain who will leave Cornell with four league regular season championships under her belt. “We had good screens in front, which really helped, and the goalie didn’t even move. It went straight in.”

The second period was much more even as Union outshot Cornell 10-7. Cornell had multiple quality chances including terrific centering feeds, but Marcinko stood up to the test, even stopping a Brianne Jenner breakaway.

But in the third, Cornell got two more goals to seal the game. The first came thanks to Jenner’s athleticism. With one defender in front of her, she went around and took a backhanded shot on Marcinko. The goalie made the intitial save, but the rebound came out to Fortino who was skating into the slot, and cleaned it up for the 3-0 lead.

“It does feel really good to finally put the puck in the net after a lot of chances,” said Fortino, a senior assistant captain who will leave Cornell with four league regular season championships under her belt. “It’s my last year, and winning [the league regular season title] again for a fourth time is an unbelievable feeling to share with your teammates.”

With just 2:04 left, Cook scored on a wrist shot as she was fed from the left side by Jenner. Cook beat Marcinko from the right side of the slot, scoring for the first time since playing Yale on Feb. 12, 2011 in her freshman year. Cook’s goal was also the 10th point of her career.

The Big Red, as the No. 1 seed, will host a best-of-three ECAC Hockey Tournament quarterfinal series next weekend against No. 8 seed Colgate. The games will be played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if necessary) at times to be announced. If Cornell wins that series, it will host the semifinals and final at Lynah Rink the following weekend.

“Now it’s the postseason,” Rougeau said. “Last year we let it slip away, and we need to get it back this year.”

Other quarterfinal series include No. 2 Clarkson hosting No. 7 Rensselaer, No. 3 Harvard hosting No. 6 Dartmouth and No. 5 St. Lawrence visiting No. 4 Quinnipiac.

Oswego Falls to Neumann

By
Janet
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0

OSWEGO, N.Y. – The third-seeded Oswego State women’s ice hockey team (12-12-1) ran into a hot goalie Saturday afternoon as the Lakers fell to sixth-seeded Neumann (10-15-1), 3-0, in ECAC West First Round action on Saturday afternoon at the Campus Center Ice Arena. Knight goalie Shannon Donnelly compiled 33 saves to help Neumann avenge last year’s 3-0 ECAC West First Round loss to Oswego State. Neumann will now face Plattsburgh in the semifinal round on Saturday, March 2 at 4 p.m. in Plattsburgh.

The game featured back-and-forth action for most of the first period until the Lakers were called for interference for the first power play of the game. Neumann worked the puck around the zone before Olivia Pryzbylkowski passed from the right point down to Edie Brenning near the goal line along the boards before swinging a cross-ice pass up to Keira St – Laurent. St – Laurent teed up a shot at the top of the slot that sailed through traffic over Oswego State goalie Bridget Smith‘s (So., Hamburg, N.Y.) glove into the net at the 10:53 mark.

The Lakers turned up the pressure late in the frame with several good looks at the net, but Knight goalie Shannon Donnelly preserved the lead for the visitors heading into the first period.

Both squads had quality scoring chances in the second, but both goalies were up to the challenge, especially Smith who turned away a series of point-blank shots midway through the frame. Special teams played a role at the end of the period as Emma Smetaniuk utilized her speed to draw a Neumann penalty while Oswego State was a skater down.

With each side skating 4-on-4, the Knights were whistled for a second penalty in the final minute to give the Lakers a two-skater situation for the final 18 seconds of the second period and the first 31 seconds of the third periods, as they still trailed 1-0.

Smith and Donnelly continued to put on a show for the crowd until Neumann added an insurance goal at 10:39 in the third period. Jessica Langdon took an uncontested shot at the bottom of the circle, but the save went right to Edie Brenning, who was sitting at the back post for the rebound goal.

Minutes later, Megan Russelo made it 3-0 in favor of the Knights when her shot from the right faceoff circle bounced off of Smith’s blocker into the net at 14:03, prompting Oswego State to make a goalie change and call timeout.

The Lakers went on their fourth power play of the game with 1:24 left in the third, but were unable to get any shots through to Donnelly as Neumann closed out the win.

Smith finished the game with 18 saves over the first 54 minutes, while Tori Trovato (Fr., Fulton, N.Y.) posted three saves in the final six minutes.

2012-13 Section VI Boys Sectional Playoffs Begin Monday (Feb. 25)

By
Janet
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0

Due to scheduling the Section VI Super Sunday for Boys Ice Hockey will be held Monday, Feb. 15 and Tuesday, Feb. 26 at First Niagara Center, Buffalo.

The teams were introduced by their coaches at a press conference on Thursday.

Former Buffalo Sabres Head Coach Lindy Ruff spoke to the group just hours before he was relieved of his duties as the Sabres’ Head Coach.

“Enjoy yourself,” said Ruff. “This is the chance of a lifetime, to play in this building. Give it your best effort and have fun with it.”

Buffalo Sabre Patrick Kaleta reinforced that advice with some of his own.

“I’m living proof that if you want it that bad, you can make it,” said Kaleta. “It’s possible!”

First up on Monday night will be Niagara Wheatfield against Clarence at 4 p.m. This is the Clarence’s first trip to the Sectionals and Wheatfields fourth trip in five years.

Game two will see Williamsville East going against West Seneca. This is Williamsville’s third visit to the sectionals and West Seneca’s first.  The teams play two different styles and are closely matched so the game will be exciting.

The third game will be the Monsignor Martin Championship with Timon facing St. Joe’s. This is a 65 year old rivalry.

Tuesday’s games begin with Starpoint taking on Cheektowaga at 5 p.m. That will be followed by City Honors/Cardinal O’Hara facing off against Jamestown and finally Canisius vs St. Joes, another long-standing rivalry in Buffalo history.

Oswego Women Set For Today vs Neumann; ECACW Quarters

By
Janet
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0

OSWEGO, N.Y. – The Oswego State women’s ice hockey team (12-11-1, 10-6-0 ECAC West) hosts its second consecutive playoff game on Saturday at 2 p.m. when the Lakers host Neumann (9-15-1, 6-10-0) in a first-round contest.

Oswego State earned the No. 3 seed with a series sweep of Cortland, while the Knights edged out the Red Dragons in a tiebreaker to lock their position in the playoff picture. If the Lakers win, they will face No. 2-seed Elmira in the ECAC West Semifinal on Saturday, March 2 at 7 p.m. If Neumann wins, it will face No. 1-seed Plattsburgh on Saturday, March 2 at 4 p.m. Both conference semifinal games and championship will be played in Plattsburgh

Here are some facts about the upcoming matchup:

TICKETS | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO

HEAD-TO-HEAD
– Oswego State swept the season series at Neumann with victories by the scores of 4-2 and 2-1 in overtime back in November.
– Saturday’s meeting will be the third straight ECAC West First Round match-up between the two squads. The Lakers won last year’s contest 3-0 on their home ice, while the Knights won the 2011 game, 2-1, in double overtime on their home ice.
– Oswego State owns a five-game winning streak against Neumann. Prior to the current stretch, the Lakers were 1-10-0 versus the Knights.

TEAM RECORDS
– Seven of Oswego State’s 11 losses this season have been shutouts compared to Neumann posting four shutouts in its 15 losses.
– Neumann is 1-9-0 against ECAC West playoff teams, Oswego State is 4-6-0.
– The Lakers are 7-8-0 in games decided by two goals or less, while the Knights are 3-7-0.
– Oswego State is 8-7-0 at home this season and 8-1-0 when scoring the first goal.
– Neumann is 6-2-0 on the road this year and 9-3-0 when putting the first goal on the scoreboard.
– The Lakers are 5-0-0 when leading after the first period and 10-0-0 when leading after two frames.
– The Knights have been outscored 28-17 in the third period.
– Six of Neumann’s nine wins have been by three goals or more.

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
– Oswego State’s Melissa Seamont is tied for fourth in points per conference game at 1.27 (7-12-19).
– Neumann’s Shanelle Doucette leads all ECAC West rookies with six goals in league competition.
– The Knights rank sixth in the conference in scoring (2.00) and fifth in goals allowed (2.56).
– The Lakers rank fourth in the ECAC West in scoring (2.31) and goals allowed (2.06).
– Special teams will play an important role for Neumann, as it is the second-most penalized team in the ECAC West at 13.6 minutes per game, while ranking eighth in penalty-kill efficiency at 79.3 percent. The Knight power-play unit sits in seventh in the league at 4.8 percent.
– Oswego State has killed 88.9 percent of its penalties and scored on 12.7 percent of its power plays. Both rank fourth in the conference.
– Three of Oswego State’s Mady Paul‘s seven goals have been game-winners.
– Projected goalie match-ups: Oswego State – Bridget Smith – 10-7-1, .926%, 1.93 GAA
Neumann – Shannon Donnelly – 6-12-0, .918%, 2.65 GAA

Utica Advances to ECAC West Semi-Finals

By
Janet
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0

Utica 5, Potsdam 1 – Women’s Hockey Final

Utica, NY (2/22/2013) – The Utica College women’s hockey team will advance to the semifinals of the ECAC Women’s West Conference Tournament for the third time in the last four years after defeating SUNY Potsdam 5-1 Friday night in the conference quarterfinal at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.  Sophomore Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) and freshman Morgan Reed (Fort Myers, FL/Cushing Academy) each netted two goals and an assist to pace the Pioneers.

UC will now travel to Plattsburgh next weekend for the league final four.  The Pioneers will either play top seeded and nationally ranked No. 1 Plattsburgh State, or second seeded Elmira College in the semifinals on March 2.  The winner of the Oswego-Neumann quarterfinal, taking place at 2 p.m. Saturday will take the last spot in the semifinals.  If Oswego wins, Utica will play Plattsburgh at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 2. If Neumann wins, the Pioneers will take on Elmira at 7 p.m. on the 2nd.

Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) knocked home a loose puck 10:08 into the first period of play to give the Pioneers an early 1-0 lead.  Nicole Schwartz (Danville, CA/San Jose Sharks) and Morgan Reed (Fort Myers, FL/Cushing Academy) assisted on Utica’s first goal of the evening.  Reed pushed home the Pioneers’ second goal of the night at 13:22 off a swift wrap around that caught Potsdam goalie Jen Conophy out of position.   Vanessa Maines (Boxborough, MA/Boston Jr. Shamrocks) and Nicole Kieffer (Rome, NY/Lysander Lightning) assisted on Reed’s fifth of the year.

The Bears cut the lead in half as Jessica Silveira was able to roof one over Jennifer Hamel (Ithaca, NY/Northwood School)’s shoulder at 5:38 of the second period.  Sally Mooney assisted on Silveira’s power play tally. Less than three minutes later, Steele-Norton regained the two-goal lead with a power play goal of her own.  The forward received a pass from Kieffer and riffled a slapshot into the upper corner of the net for her second of the night.  Junior Megan Myers (Las Vegas, NV/LA Selects) also assisted on the play. Then, with 4:26 left to play in the period, Myers scored a goal of her own as she was able to skate down the left side, cut to the middle and bury the puck in the roof of the net.  Classmate Meredith Tice (Hershey, PA/Washington Pride) assisted on Myers’ team-leading 17th of the season.

Reed tallied her second of the night with just under two and a half minutes to play off assists from Myers and Steele-Norton to ensure the Utica victory.  Jennifer Hamel (Ithaca, NY/Northwood School) made 23 saves in the win, while Conophy had 20 saves for Potsdam.

Bengals Women End Season 1-0 Loss to Potsdam

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Janet
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Jordan Lee (Colorado Springs, CO/Widefield) made 25 saves, but it was not enough as Buffalo State (6-18-1/3-13-0) went 0 for 8 on the power play in a 1-0 loss to Potsdam (10-13-2/6-9-1) in the season finale today at Cheel Arena on the campus of Clarkson University.

The Bears scored the lone goal of the game just 5:14 into the contest.  Potsdam outshot Buffalo State 26-22.  The Bears went 0 for 6 on the power play.

Buffalo State finished its season with just one win in its last 11 games.

RIT Women Drop to #9 Mercyhurst; Second Game Tonight

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Janet
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0

MERCYHURST, PA – The No. 9 Mercyhurst women’s hockey team (25-6-1, 16-3-0 CHA) scored three unanswered goals early in the third period to break a scoreless tie and defeat the RIT women’s hockey team (14-14-5, 7-7-5 AHA) 4-1 at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Friday afternoon.

Christine Bestland scored twice, while Emily Janiga also scored in the opening seven minutes of the period, spoiling an otherwise valiant effort by the Tigers. Jenna Dingledein scored an empty-net goal with 1:04 left and dished out a pair of assists. Valia Higson added three assists.

Tenecia Hiller (Brampton, Ontario/Brampton Thunder) scored RIT’s lone goal on the power-play with 7:54 left in regulation to break the shutout. Hiller was able to slam home a rebound off a scramble in front of the net to get her team-best seventh power-play goal and 13th overall on the season. Ariane Yokoyama (Van Nuys, CA/LA Selects) took a feed from Kristina Moss (Webster, NY/Buffalo Bisons) and fired a shot that was stopped, but Hiller was able to bury the rebound.

RIT was 1-for-6 with the man-advantage, while Mercyhurst was 1-for-3. The Lakers held a 31-21 edge in shots.

In goal, Stephanie Ciampa made 20 saves for the Lakers to improve to 16-1-0 this season. RIT goaltender Ali Binnington(Oakville, Ontario/Mississauga Chiefs) stopped 27-of-30 shots, falling to 9-8-4 in 2012-13.

Bestland gave the Lakers a 1-0 lead just 55 seconds into the third period, as she took a feed from Dingeldein from behind the net in front and slipped a shot past Binnington for her 25th goal of the season.

Janiga made it 2-0 Lakers just over three minutes later, taking a perfect goal-mouth feed from Higson and sliding a shot past Binnington for her 19th goal of the season. Moments later, on a power-play, Higson rocketed a slap shot from the right side that was tipped by Bestland over the glove of Binnington at the 6:46 mark to make it 3-0 Lakers.

Mercyhurst out-shot RIT 8-3 over the opening period, but the Tigers held their own during a scoreless frame.

Morgan Scoyne (Drumbo, Ontario/Stoney Creek Sabres) had a good chance from the slot foiled in the opening minutes, then Kim Schlattman (Stratford, Ontario/Cambridge Fury) had a great chance stopped by Ciampa from point-blank range with 5:50 left in the opening period.

Binnington was called upon to make a couple of good stops over the opening 20 minutes, including one on Bestland from in tight late in the period.

Both teams upped its intensity in the second period, but the two goaltenders and RIT’s right post kept the game scoreless after 40 minutes of play.

Celeste Brown (Great Falls, MT/National Sports Academy) had RIT’s best chance of the period crashing the net on a power-play and redirecting a feed the Ciampa was able to cover.

Mercyhurst had a stretch of over a minute in the second period, where they kept RIT hemmed in its own zone, but Binnington kept the puck out of the net. Later in the period, a Mercyhurst player had Binnington out of position with an open net off a rebound, but the puck hopped over her stick and out of harms way.

With 3:53 left in the period, Gina Buquet looked to have Binnington beat on a 2-on-1 break, but her shot from the slot bounced off the right post and out.

Today’s game was the third of four meetings between the two schools this season. The two teams met way back in the season opening games for both teams on Sept. 28-29, with Mercyhurst welcoming RIT into the Division I era with 6-2 and 7-0 wins at Ritter Arena. Bestland tallied seven points on three goals and four assists that weekend, while Janiga had a hat-trick in the 7-0 win.

The two teams wrap up their season series on Saturday at 2 p.m., also from the Mercyhurst Ice Center.

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