WNY Girls Play This Week
The WNY Girl’s Varsity Ice Hockey Federation is in full swing with several games this week including a 8:15 p.m. game at Lincoln Arena today.
Kenmore takes on Orchard Park/Frontier.
Girls Varsity Open season in WNY
The WNY Girls Varsity Ice Hockey Season opened Thursday with three games.
Orchard Park/Frontier and Lancaster had the first game on the schedule and began the opener for the season. The opening game scheduled for Tuesday was postponed.
In openers:
Williamsville beat Amherst/Sweethome 4-2
Monsignor Martin beat Kenmore 2-0
Orchard Park/Frontir took Lancazster 13-0.
Charity Event for Hurricane Victims
A group of skaters with SkinstarUSA have organized “Slapshot for Sandy,” a roller hockey charity event that will raise money for victims of Hurricane Sandy. The event will be held Saturday, Dec. 1, at the George Harvey Park Roller Hockey Rink from 8 am. to 5 p.m. (there may be a change to this time).
The group expects one hundred skaters to take part with the donations goig to the victims of Hurricane Sandy and the Red Cross. In addition to the donations and fees, Holy Trinity will be collecting new, unwrapped toys, winter clothing (gloves and hats), baby food, diapers and blankets.
Among sponsors secured for this event are Alkali Hockey, Labeda, Red Bull USA, SkinstarUSA, Chuck Craven Designs, Pro Puck, Rink Source, Revision Hockey and NARCH and others.
To learn more about the fundraiser, and to contribute dollars or product, go to SlapsshotforSandy on Facebook.
Big Red Take Dartmouth in OT
For the second consecutive season, the Big Red wound up in an overtime contest at Dartmouth.
And for the second consecutive year, the Big Red emerged with a thrilling extra-time victory.
With 1:22 left in the overtime period and Cornell on the power play, Jillian Saulnier took a slap shot from the right point that got past Dartmouth’s, Lindsay Holdcroft, boosting the visiting Big Red to a 2-1 victory against the Big Green in Thompson Arena on Friday night.
No. 2 Cornell (9-1, 7-0 ECAC Hockey) remained perfect on the season in league play while the Big Green (4-2-1, 3-2) missed out on a chance to take at least one point from the conference’s top team. Besides scoring the game-winning goal, Saulnier also assisted on freshman Taylor Woods‘ score in the second period that tied the game after Dartmouth took a 1-0 lead in the first period.
Lauren Slebodnick, playing her first contest since Nov. 2 against Princeton, made 29 saves in more than 60 minutes for the victory.
The Big Red has now defeated Dartmouth in two consecutive contests dating back to last year’s game in Thompson Arena that was decided by an Erin Barley-Maloney goal in overtime. The team is 7-0 in conference play for the first time since 2010 and is 9-1 for the third consecutive season. Cornell has scored at least one goal 92 straight contests .
Early on, though, the Big Green defense was holding strong, and its offense got one on the board first.
Dartmouth got the first goal of the night as Laura Stacey beat Slebodnick late in the first period on an unassisted tally.
Cornell got the game tied in the second period when Woods converted on a power play goal. Taking passes from Saulnier andBrianne Jenner, Woods finished the play past Holdcroft to make it a 1-1 game just 5:24 into the second.
The game made it to overtime thanks to clutch penalty killing by the Big Red. Saulnier took an elbowing penalty with 1:49 left in the contest, but Cornell was able to kill off the penalty and send the game to the extra period, also killing off the last 11 seconds of the elbowing call in overtime.
The first three minutes of overtime were fairly even, with both teams getting multiple chances. But when Jenna Hobeika took a tripping penalty with 1:38 left in overtime, the Big Red struck. Cornell won the intial faceoff, and a shot by Lauriane Rougeau went wide. But the team recollected the puck, and Laura Fortino got it over to Saulnier on the right point. The sophomore fired on net and beat Holdcroft, giving Cornell its third consecutive overtime win.
Canisius Ties
Despite registering a season-high 44 shots, the Canisius College hockey team netted only one goal in a 1-1 draw with AIC on Saturday afternoon at the Buffalo State Sports Arena. The Grif
fs are now 2-6-4 on the season and 1-2-2 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Yellow Jackets are 3-5-3 and 0-3-3 against league foes.
“We just have to stay the course,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “We are playing well and making really good things happen but the puck just isn’t bouncing right for us. As long as we play with the same urgency and keep generating chances, we will find the back of the net and get two deserved points.”
Junior Kyle Gibbons (Westlake, Ohio) scored the Griffs’ lone goal on the afternoon. Classmate Tony Capobianco (Mississauga, Ontario) recorded 21 saves to anchor the defense.
It was the Yellow Jackets who struck first in the contest, scoring on the power play with 1:07 remaining in the opening period. Jon Puskar’s shot from the point snuck through with screens in front for the early 1-0 advantage.
Canisius responded and controlled the game following the first intermission. After the teams each posted nine shots on goal in the first 20 minutes, the Griffs would outshoot the Yellow Jackets, 35-13, the remaining 45 minutes – including a 20-5 advantage alone in the second frame.
The Griffs finally got on the scoreboard 5:13 into the second stanza when Gibbons scored on the power play. The junior sent a wrist shot into the back of the net from the left face-off circle to knot the contest at one. Junior Ben Danford (Stillwater, Minn.) and sophomore Mitch McCrank (Haileybury, Ontario) both registered assists on the game-tying goal.
However, Canisius was unable to find the game-winning tally in the final 40 minutes. AIC’s Ben Meisner stopped the last 28 shots he saw to preserve the tie and finished with 43 saves overall.
The Griffs outshot AIC, 44-22, on the afternoon – the most shots for Canisius in nearly two seasons. Both teams also finished 1-for-4 on the power play.
Hobart Breaks Tie
MASSENA, N.Y.–Seventh-ranked Hobart College (8-0-2) scored two second
period goals to break a 1-1 tie and down the SUNY Potsdam men痴 hockey
team (3-5) 3-1 at Massena Arena on Sunday afternoon. Senior forward Bobby
Hannah (Burbank, Calif./Portland) had three assists to lead the Statesmen
and freshman forward Matt Thompson (Anchorage, Alaska/Kenai River Brown
Bears) scored for the Bears.
Potsdam built early momentum, putting four shots on Hobart senior goalie
Marty Ausserhofer (Brunico, Italy/New Jersey Rockets) before the Statesmen
got their first. However, it was the Statesmen that drew first blood at
9:25 of the opening period. Sophomore defenseman Ryan Michel (Camillus,
N.Y./Northwood School) wristed a shot from the point that floated past
screened Potsdam junior goalie Shane Talarico (Greensburg, Pa./Elmira
College) and into the upper right corner of the net. Hannah and senior
forward Frank Salituro (Vaughan, Ontario/St. Michael痴) recorded the
assists. The Bears answered less than four minutes later as Thompson
picked up a loose puck in front of Hobart痴 net and roofed it over
Ausserhofer. Freshman forward Billy Pascalli (Deer Park, N.Y./New York
Bobcats) assisted on the goal. The Statesmen got the momentum back as they
went on the power play with 1:09 left in the period. Hobart pelted
Talarico with the last five shots of the stanza, but went into the break
still tied at 1-1.
The Bears managed to kill the penalty after two more Statesmen shots to
start the second 20 minutes, but the pressure continued. At 1:58,
first-year forward Mac Olson (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Des Moines) picked up a
pass in front of Potsdam痴 goal and beat Talarico five-hole for the
eventual game-winner. Hanna and senior defenseman Harry Radovich (Rumson,
N.J./Westminster) each registered assists on the play. Hobart slowed down
Potsdam痴 offense for much of the rest of the contest and added an
insurance marker on the man advantage at 8:17. Michel fired a shot from
the right point and Salituro tipped it past Talarico to close the scoring
in the contest. Hannah notched the second assist.
Hobart never relinquished control of the contest in the third period,
maintaining possession of the puck and outshooting the Bears 15-9. With 57
seconds remaining, Talarico was pulled for an extra attacker, but Potsdam
was unable to draw any closer.
Talarico finished with 35 saves in his first collegiate start. Ausserhofer
finished with 33 saves to earn the victory. The Statesmen went 1-2 on the
power play, while the Bears were 0-1.
Potsdam is back in action next weekend as they head to Central New York to
face top-ranked Oswego at 7 p.m. on Friday and Cortland at the same time
on Saturday.
Canisius Over AIC
The Canisius College hockey team netted a season-best two power-play goals en route to a 4-1 victory over AIC on Sunday afternoon at the Buffalo State Sports Arena. With the win, the Griffs improve to 3-6-4 on the season, evening its Atlantic Hockey record to 2-2-2. The Yellow Jackets drop to 3-6-3 and 0-4-3 in league play.
“Our power play was the difference today as we were able to net two big goals that gave us the two-goal cushion late,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “It was a tight, hard-checking game tonight. We also gained a lot of confidence from our penalty kill – led by senior captains Torrey Lindsay and Preston Shupe – with two stops in the third. We rode that momentum from those kills and turned it into a power-play and insurance goal on the other end.”
Senior Torrey Lindsay (Grosse Isle, Manitoba), junior Kyle Gibbons (Westlake, Ohio) and sophomores Doug Beck (Plymouth, Mich.) and Matthew Grazen (East Amherst, N.Y.) each netted goals in the winning effort.
Junior defender Ben Danford (Stillwater, Minn.) and sophomore Mitch McCrank (Haileybury, Ontario) paced the Canisius attack with two assists on the afternoon.
Junior Tony Capobianco (Mississauga, Ontario) stopped 30 shots in goal to anchor the Canisius defense.
The Griffs took the early lead in the contest and never gave it back with Lindsay scoring 9:24 into the game. Lindsay knocked in a rebound off a McCrank shot for the 1-0 advantage and his second goal of the season. Senior Preston Shupe (Weyburn, Saskatchewan) also posted an assist on the go-ahead tally.
Gibbons stretched the Canisius advantage to two with a power-play tally at the 14:39 mark of the opening period. McCrank sent a cross-ice pass through the slot and Gibbons fired it in for the 2-0 lead. Danford added his first assist on the day on the Gibbons’ third score of the season.
The 2-0 lead would hold until the third period when AIC scored 7:27 into the frame. Brandon Fagerheim knocked in the puck on an open net after a cross-ice pass to bring the Yellow Jackets within one, 2-1.
Canisius reclaimed its two-goal advantage when Beck netted the team’s second power-play tally of the game with 5:29 remaining in regulation. Beck ripped a shot into the back of the net off a rebound for the 3-1 lead. Danford and Gibbons both posted an assist on Beck’s third goal of the season.
The Griffs then sealed the win when Grazen netted an empty-net goal with 32 seconds left. Lindsay and senior Ben Parker (Port Perry, Ontario) both posted assists as Canisius finished off the 4-1 victory.
AIC had a slight edge in shots on the afternoon, 31-27. The Griffs were 2-for-5 on the power play, while killing all three of the Yellow Jackets’ extra-man advantages. Chandler Long recorded 23 saves in net for AIC.
Canisius’ Capobiano Honored
The anchor of the nation’s eighth-ranked defense this season, junior netminder Tony Capobianco (Mississauga, Ontario)of the Canisius College hockey team was named Atla
ntic Hockey Goaltender of the Week on Monday after helping the Griffs earn 3-of-4 points against AIC during the weekend.
In a pair of contests against the Yellow Jackets, Capobianco recorded a 0.96 goals against average and .962 save percentage. He recorded 21 saves in a 1-1 draw on Saturday before coming back with a 30-save performance in a 4-1 victory on Sunday.
The two performances continued the strong season for Capobianco. Canisius currently ranks eighth in the country with a scoring defense of 2.00 goals per game, while Capobianco places 17th nationally in Division I with a 2.06 goals against average and 19th with a .931 save percentage in 12 contests this year.
During his career, Capobianco has appeared in 42 games with a 2.71 goals against average and .921 save percentage. Both career marks currently rank first in the program’s history, while Capobianco’s single-season stats are also the highest in the school’s record book.
The weekly honor is the third for Capobianco during his career, including his second Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week selection.
NU Men Recognized for Second Time
The Niagara hockey team’s impressive play has led to its continual recognition on the national scene in the nation’s major polls.
For the second consecutive week, Niagara (8-2-3; 7-0-0 AHA) is slated in the 20th spot in the most recent USCHO.com Division I Poll released Monday afternoon. The USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll has Niagara receiving 12 votes, just four spots away from being ranked in the top 15.
The Purple Eagles have also received recognition from D1Hockey.com which lists Niagara at the No.14 spot in the country, while Men’s Division I Pairwise Rankings (PWR) has the team at 15 out of 27 teams.
The PWR is a system which attempts to copy the process used by the NCAA Selection Committee to determine participants for the NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament, judging them by four criteria: record against common opponents, head-to-head competition, record against team’s under consideration (TUC) if a team has played 10 or more games against TUC, and the ratings percentage index.
Niagara’s national recognition comes during its nine-game unbeaten streak that has seen the Purple Eagles outscore their opponents by a 24-3 margin. Niagara is one of two teams in NCAA Division I hockey, along with Quinnipiac, that are currently undefeated in conference play. The Bobcats are 4-0-0 in the ECAC conference, while the Purple Eagles holds a 7-0-0 mark in the Atlantic Hockey Association.
Niagara will play host to Sacred Heart University on Friday, Nov. 30 and Saturday, Dec. 1 at Dwyer Arena with a 7:05 p.m. start for both contests.
For ticket information, please call the Niagara Tickets Office (located inside Dwyer Arena) at 716-286-TIXX, visit www.PurpleEagles.com/Tickets or by emailing Tickets@PurpleEeagles.com.
Oswego Women Lose to Hamilton
Emma Smentaniuk (Jr., Frankfort, Ontario) scored the lone goal for the Oswego State women’s ice hockey team (4-4-1), which lost to non-conference Hamilton (3-1-0), 3-1, on Tuesday night.
The Continentals scored seven minutes and 21 seconds into the game on a rebound goal by Abby Runyon that was lifted over Bridget Smith‘s (So., Hamburg, N.Y.) right shoulder under the crossbar with assists going to Stephanie Lang and Gigi Fraser.
In the second period, the Lakers got the goal back, but the tie was short-lived. Smetaniuk scored on a pass from Olivia Boersen (Jr., Stratford, Ont.) to even the game three minutes into the period. Less than 30 seconds later, Hamilton regained the lead for good on a goal by Lang with an assist coming from Fraser. The Continentals added to their lead ten minutes later when Megan Fitzgerald scored on a power play with assists from Hannah Bartlett and Fraser.
The Lakers tried to score in the final period, as Hamilton was called for holding with a minute left in the game prompting the home team to call timeout. Oswego State then pulled Smith after the timeout to gain a two-skater advantage, but it was unable to capitalize on the chance.
The Lakers finished the game 0-for-2 on the power play with both opportunities coming in the third period, while the Continentals were 1-for-3 with an extra skater.
Bridget Smith made 29 stops in the loss. Becca Hazlett made nine saves for the visiting team.
Cortland Drops to Hamilton; Zimmerman Scores Hat Trick
Katie Zimmerman recorded a hat trick to lead the Hamilton women’s ice hockey team to an 8-1 win versus Cortland Tuesday night in non-conference action at Sage Rink.
Senior Brianna Rossi (Stormville/Brewster Bulldogs) scored Cortland’s goal with sophomore Abbie Adams (Potsdam/Cornwall Typhoons) and freshman Meredith Lopez (Springfield, VA/Reston Raiders) collecting assists. Freshman Tessa Muilenburg (Wasilla, AK/Wyoming Seminary) started in goal for Cortland (0-7) and made 38 saves in 50 minutes, 51 seconds. Freshman Deanna Meunier (Parsippany, NJ/New Jersey Rockets) stopped all five shots she faced over the final 9:09.
Megan Fitzgerald and Nikki Haskins each recorded a goal and an assist for the Continentals (2-1). Naomi Woolfenden, Hannah Jaiven and Alycia Racicot each added a goal for Hamilton. Casey Brown, Abby Runyon and Courtney Power registered two assists apiece. Becca Hazlett made four saves in 28:04 before giving way to Sarah Schuchardt, who turned aside eight shots in 31:56.
Hamilton 8, Cortland 1
Colin Kennedy Benefit Saturday (Nov. 24)
NY Hockey Online apologizes for the delay in posting this; we have been traveling and without a lot of internet connection.
Laurie Kennedy is known to many of us as the coordinator of hockey for the disabled in New York State. Her son passed away unexpectedly six years ago. For the past several years the family and their friends have been holding a fundraiser in Colin’s memory.
This year The Fifth Annual Colin Cup will be held Saturday, Nov. 24 and benefits the Colin F. Kennedy Fund in support of Quad A for Kids. The revenue from this charity hockey tournament is used to promote academic and behavioral skills from activity based porgrams through the Quad A for Kids organization. Information on the group can be found at http://www.quadaforkids.org. The Citywide Programs offer children the opportunity to participate in a variety of social activities that promote teamwork, sportsmanship and academics throughout the entire year.
In 2012 the Colin F. Kennedy Fund in support of Quad A for Kids made over $12,00 in grants to the following organizations: Camp Daydreams, Rochester Hispanic Youth Baseball,Cameron Community Ministries and Summer Safe Haven.
The Colin Cup includes a pick-up hockey tournament and a celebration party. Please join the Kennedy and MacKenzie families by joining us for either the hockey and/or party, or by simply making a donation to the Colin F. Kennedy Fund.
To find out more about this year’s event please visit www.colincup.com.
Fundraiser for Gleason Family to be Held Tuesday, Nov. 27
The Liverpool High School Hockey Team will hold a fundraiser for th Gleason Family on Tuesday, November 27.
Kelly Gleason, a junior at Baldwinsville High School, was recently involved in a car accident in WNY that has left her in critical condition. Kelly’s mother, Audrey, lost her life.
The event, which hopefully will attract over 1,000 people, will be held at 7 p.m. at the Baldwinsville Ice Arena (Red Rink). All proceeds from the gate admission will go to the Gleason family to help defray medical and other expenses.
This the home opener for the Team and a great place for a community to come together at this time. The puck drops between Liverpool and Clinton High Schools.
Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for students
