Western NY Women’s Collegiate January Recap

By Janet Schultz

Buffalo State College

In the regular season finale Buffalo State took Potsdam 3-2. With two points Emma Ruggiero finished her Buffalo State career tied for 10^th in school history with 52 points. Buffalo State closes the season 7-16-2 overall and 4-11-1 in the conference.

Buffalo State’s Bri Gawronski (Dunkirk, NY/Mt. Mercy/Monsignor Martin Girls Varsity) has been selected the Northeast Women’s Hockey League (NEWHL) Goalie of the Week February 5 after her strong weekend of play at Oswego. The sophomore individualized studies major backstopped the Bengals to a split against the Lakers this past weekend, making 88 saves in the two games while posting a .978 save percentage and a 1.01 goals against mark. She made 43 stops in a 3-1 win on Friday and turned aside 45 of 46 shots she faced in a 2-0 loss on Saturday that included an empty-net goal.

RIT

A new experience has arrived for fans during men’s and women’s hockey games at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Fans can now go behind the scenes at the Gene Polisseni Center through a virtual reality experience that allows them to get up close and personal with the players. The experience uses Oculus headsets to show two videos. One is a student-built, 3D environment where fans walk into the Arena and onto the ice. The second is a 360-degree video that brings fans behind the scenes with the players. Fans listen to a speech by the coach, hang out in the locker room with players, and can feel the thrill of walking onto the ice in front of thousands of fans.  “We wanted a way to connect RIT hockey fans with the player and build that relationship,” said Director of Strategic Marketing for RIT Student Auxiliary Services, Denishea Ortiz. “This is a perfect opportunity to combine RIT’s values of innovation and collaboration while enhancing the game-night experience for our fans.” Professional and college sports team are rapidly adapting virtual reality technology for both the fan experience and as a training tool for players. In 2017, RIT’s MAGIC Center teamed up with the Buffalo Bills to develop a virtual reality program that would give fans a unique look at New Era Field. RIT Arenas Virtual Reality is the only collegiate fan experience of its kind in western New York. The virtual reality experience is free to game ticket holders. Tickets for RIT Hockey games range from $5 to $15 for general admission and can be purchased at RITtickets.com, at the Gene Polisseni Center Box Office, or by calling 585-475-4121.

Junior goaltender Terra Lanteigne (Hatchet Lake, Nova Scotia/Charles P. Allen) of the RIT women’s hockey team was named the College Hockey America Goaltender of the Week on Monday, for the week ending Feb. 17, 2019. It is Lanteigne’s seventh weekly honor of the 2018-19 season and ninth overall of her collegiate career. Lanteigne was brilliant in a pair of games over the weekend, leading RIT to three key points against Syracuse. Overall, Lanteigne allowed just one goal, stopping 83 shots in 125 minutes of play. On Friday, she stopped all 40 shots in a 1-0 win over the Orange for her third shutout of the season. Saturday, Lanteigne made 43 saves on 44 shots in a 1-1 tie.

Lanteigne is now second nationally with 1,001 saves, third with a .943 save percentage and has a 2.05 goals against average. She is 11-14-4 on the season. Lanteigne now has 2,218 saves, 75 shy of the all-time program record, held by Ali Binnington, who played at RIT from 2011-15. Senior forward Kathryn Kennedy (Hamilton, Ontario/) of the RIT women’s hockey team was named the College Hockey America Player of the Week on Tuesday, for the week ending Jan. 21, 2019. It is Kennedy’s first weekly honor of her collegiate career. Kennedy recorded her second straight multiple-point effort with a goal and an assist in RIT’s 4-2 win over Mercyhurst. Kennedy recorded her second straight multiple-point effort with a goal and an assist in RIT’s 4-2 win over Mercyhurst.

Nazareth

 Nikolle Van Stralen scored a short-handed goal with 5:18 left in the third period to lift the Nazareth College women’s hockey team to a 3-1 victory over William Smith in the regular season finale at the Cooler. The win secured second place in the final United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) standings for the Golden Flyers and the team will have a bye in the first round of the UCHC playoffs. Nazareth is 19-4-2 overall, 13-4-1 UCHC.

Freshman Adrianna Brehm earned three wins last week to improve her record to 14-2-1 and has been recognized for the second time this season as the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) Goaltender of the Week for February 6.

University of Buffalo (ACHA)

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The University of Buffalo heads to playoffs with Maddy Norton on the UB scoring leader board with 45 goals and 13 assists this season. She is followed by Frangelica Bautz with 10 goals/23 assists and Mamie Talty with 7 goals and 18 assists.

Minding the UB net is Finley Vanhouten with an 11-0-1 record in 13 games and Makenna Walp with a 4-1-0 record in five games played.

UB is 15-1-1.