Brockport downs Buffalo State for fourth straight win to end regular season

By Brandon Wood
@Brandonwood27

Another win for the College at Brockport’s ice hockey team has it on its longest winning streak since the 2009-10 season. Coincidentally, that’s the last time the Golden Eagles made the playoffs.

Brockport (10-12-3 overall, 7-8-1 SUNYAC) defeated Buffalo State College Saturday night 3-2 to lock up the No. 5 seed in the SUNYAC playoffs and set up a rematch with the No. 4 seed Bengals in Buffalo Wednesday night. It was Brockport’s fourth win in a row.

“To quote one of my favorite movies, Bull Durham, ‘Man it’s so much better than losing,’” Brockport Head Coach Brian Dickinson said of his team’s winning streak.

The Golden Eagles played all their seniors that were healthy scratches for the entirety of the second half of the season starting in January. Sophomore Shane Cavalieri, freshman Nate Pelligra and freshman Rob Hall all sat out Saturday to make space for seniors Steve Sachman, Bobby Conner and Sean Wallace.

“They showed a little bit of rust early, but that was to be expected,” Dickinson said. “They just got better as the game went on. Their line mates and defensive partners were talking to them a lot and we (the coaches) were communicating with them.

“We were reminding them to do all the little things we need to do because we knew they’d be tired after not seeing game action in a while. I was happy with all three of them and they all contributed to the win.”

Brockport opened the scoring seven minutes into the contest while on the power play when sophomore James Ryan found the back of the net. It was Ryan’s eighth goal of the season.

The Golden Eagles doubled their advantage five minutes into the second period when senior Chris Cangro and sophomore Chase Nieuwendyk had a 2-on-1 breakaway. Cangro fed the puck across the goalmouth to Nieuwendyk and he put the puck past senior Buffalo goalie Kevin Carr for his eighth goal of the season. Carr finished the game with 29 saves.

Buffalo found a way to beat junior goalie Aaron Green twice in less than a minute to tie the game late in the second period. Green made 32 total saves in his fourth straight game in net for the Golden Eagles, with Brockport winning all four. It was 2-2 after two periods.

The Golden Eagles proceeded to take two minor penalties immediately after Buffalo State tied it. Jeremy DeFazio was sent off for interference and on the ensuing faceoff for the Bengals’ power play, freshman Andrew Parks was sent to the box for crosschecking.

Down 5-on-3 for one minute, 52 seconds, Brockport found a way to keep Buffalo State out of the back of their net until the end of the second period. With 49 seconds remaining to kill in the 5-on-3 power play entering the third period, Dickinson told his team they would win if they killed off the penalties.

“I told the team ‘If you kill of this 5-on-3, we’re going to win this game,’ and they believed in it” Dickinson said.

Brockport successfully killed off the penalty early in the third period, and finished the game a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill.

The Golden Eagles earned a power play chance of their own soon after, and freshman forward Nick Marinac played the role of hero for the Golden Eagles by burying the game-winning goal.

“Definitely not the hero, I’d give that title to James Ryan on the excellent pass,” Marinac said.

Marinac was all alone to the left of the net when Ryan sent the puck his way on a nice feed from the right slot for his fifth goal of the season. Brockport’s power play, ranked No. 7 in the nation entering the night, finished 2-for-4 on the night.

Marinac said Brockport needs to outwork Buffalo State in the upcoming rematch in the first round of the playoffs.

“Buffalo State is a really good team,” Marinac said. “They worked hard and we’re just going to have to match that and go a little bit beyond like we did tonight.”

Puck drop for Brockport’s first round playoff game is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday from Ice Arena at Buffalo State College.

Dickinson is class of Brockport coaches

By Brandon Wood
@Brandonwood27

Brian Dickinson, Head Coach of the College at Brockport's ice hockey team, just witnessed his team dominate SUNY Fredonia 4-1 and knew the rest of the scoreboards were in his team's favor of making the playoffs when he left the ice Friday night. Someone told him No. 12 SUNY Oswego was leading 4-2 in Potsdam right after the game, before post-game handshakes.

He shook the hands of his Assistant Coaches, Nick Unger and Greg Schwind, like he does after every game.

Instead of staying with his team in the locker room to witness the outcome of the Oswego vs. Potsdam game, Dickinson worked his way up to the press box to fulfill his nightly request for an interview with the campus radio. When he got there, he saw that Oswego was only up 4-3 against Potsdam. There was less than a minute remaining in the game and Potsdam had its goalie pulled.

"That's not what I want to see," Dickinson said with a laugh as he donned the headset for the interview.

Eventually, Oswego came off the bench and mobbed its goalie to celebrate the win. Dickinson was congratulated by the radio announcer, and several people from Brockport Athletics patted him on the back as they left the press box. Brockport was officially in the playoffs for the first time in four seasons, but Dickinson kept his same calm, cool composure that he always has.

Why wouldn't he?

Every time I talk with Dickinson he always seems to have the same outlook: If we didn't do it today, we can come out and do it tomorrow. And he seems to live by the "golden rule": One should treat others the way that one wants to be treated. It's instilled in his team's mind, and they talk the same way.

The locker room seemed happy after the game, but not satisfied with the playoffs being their only goal. They looked focused and hungry for more ice hockey this season. Beyond just the first round of the playoffs. They get that from their leadership.

Dickinson's a leader by example, and other Brockport coaches should be taking a page out of his book. He makes his team want to play hard for him.

In the past four years that I've known him, he hasn't changed his demeanor once when there could have been plenty of reason to. His team has struggled in the past three seasons, failing to make the playoffs on the season's last day each of the past two. Yet he remained positive, knowing he was trying to build for the future.

The future has finally arrived for Dickinson, and he's not just happy for himself, he's happy for his whole team. But that demeanor of his wouldn't have changed if something different happened Friday night. Even if his team somehow missed the playoffs this weekend, he'd still have the same attitude he's always had.

There'd be no backlash about criticism from his team, at least not openly. They might use it as motivation to work harder and they'd just strive to do it better the next time.

That's why Dickinson is the prototypical coach. If he could be cloned, Brockport should want as many of him around as possible. He makes the program and college look good.

Other coaches that rant and tirade about media need to take a gut-check. Perhaps the media is right about their teams, and they need to build for the future like Dickinson has by bringing in an excellent recruiter (Unger) and a roster of players that can win together.

It's like in the movie Miracle. You don't need the best players, you need the right ones. So many programs at Brockport don't have them or the right coaches, so they're set up to fail before the season even begins.

There are exceptions, sure. I can't write that every single Brockport team is bad and should be coached by someone else. But there are certain teams in shambles and have been for years. Where's the accountability? If not pointed out by the media, does that really mean everything is fine? No. It just means the media isn't doing its job properly.

Coach Dickinson may have been unlucky that I have covered his team these past two seasons, because I'm just a mean guy that writes and says mean things all the time. But it's been my pleasure, because he knows how to treat people correctly and so does his team.

Some other coaches haven't been able to stand me, openly berating me at times, all off the record of course.

But nothing ever from Dickinson. Or his coaching staff. Or his team.

Maybe it's rare at a Division III college for athletes or coaches to understand media relations, but it's horrendous here. Nobody seems to understand that student journalists are media too, and not everything can be roses and daisies. We aren't fans of your teams just because we go to school here. We're here to learn and we're supposed to write the truth. And sometimes the truth hurts.

You don't see Division I college coaches yelling at the media, it'd be turned into a spectacle too quickly. But since we're not on a level of national recognition, that's perfectly OK at the D-III level, right?

Dickinson's been patient through all the criticisms of his team through the years and didn't say anything. Now he has the last laugh. His team's in the playoffs.

Dickinson has earned his chance in the playoffs, and his team is clicking at the right time. Every hockey fan knows that it isn't the best team that always wins in hockey, it's the hottest ones.

You've earned your opportunity, Coach Dickinson. You had your team fighting its tail off these past three games. The road to the SUNYAC title isn't easy, but you wouldn't want it to be that way, would you?

Great moments are born from great opportunity. That's what your patience has brought you through these past few years. Now go out there and take it.

Brockport earns first playoff berth since 2009-10

By Brandon Wood
@Brandonwood27

For the first time in four seasons, the College at Brockport’s ice hockey team is going to the playoffs.

By defeating SUNY Fredonia 4-1 Friday night and getting some help from No. 12 SUNY Oswego defeating SUNY Potsdam, the Golden Eagles (9-12-3 overall, 6-8-1 SUNYAC) clinched a birth in this year’s SUNYAC tournament.

Brockport’s game ended about 10 minutes prior to Oswego’s win, so the team was together in the locker room waiting for official confirmation of its playoff berth.

“It was pretty amazing,” DeLuca said of his team’s locker room following the game. “When you think about it for four years straight, when you think about the amount people who said we couldn’t do it you sort of forget about all that for the past couple of weeks.

“We’ve just been in the zone for the past couple of weeks and it feels nice to have that moment to be able to say ‘Congratulations guys, you earned it,’ is something I’ll never forget.”

Similar to last week when it defeated Oswego for the first time in 11 years, this was Brockport’s first win against Fredonia since 2005.

Brockport scored three goals in two minutes, 48 seconds halfway through the first period to jump out to a 3-0 lead.

Chris Luker, the Golden Eagles’ top defenseman in points opened the scoring ten minutes into the contest when he skated through the right circle and wristed a shot into the back of the net.

Less than a minute later, Jonathan Demme scored what would be the game-winning goal. It was also Demme’s first goal of the season.

“There was a scramble right in the slot and [sophomore defenseman Chad] Cummings came up with the puck, made a nice play and got it to me,” Demme said. “I just got the shot off, luckily it didn’t get blocked next thing you know it’s in the back of the net.”

Sophomore forward Jesse Facchini scored on the power play to make it 3-0 with seven minutes remaining in the first period when he tipped a blast from the point by junior defenseman Bobby Chayka. Brockport’s power play, which entered the game ranked No. 7 nationally, finished the game 1-for-3.

Brockport made it 4-0 with five minutes remaining in the second period when senior Chris Cangro scored. This fourth goal chased Fredonia’s freshman goalie Jeff Flagler from the game, yielding four goals on 18 shots. His replacement, freshman Chris Eiserman made all nine possible saves after entering the game.

The lone goal from Fredonia came 50 seconds into the final frame after a scramble in front of the Brockport net. Junior goalie Aaron Green wasn’t tasked with the workload he had in his previous two wins against SUNY Cortland and Oswego (72-of-77 saves last weekend), but he made 16 saves in the win.

Green said it was tough at times during the game because he didn’t have to make many saves.

“It’s a hard game to play when you don’t get that many shots against you,” Green said. “You’re sitting down there, you start thinking and it’s really hard to stay focused. I would’ve liked to have that goal back, I left the rebound right there and the guy banked it in.

“Other than that, it was a good game. The guys continued to block shots and put up four tonight for me.”

The Golden Eagles moved into the No. 5 spot in the SUNYAC playoffs temporarily as they are tied with Fredonia in conference points after the win. Brockport holds the tiebreaker over Fredonia should both teams finish tied in the standings like they are now.

Brockport finishes its regular season schedule Saturday night against Buffalo State College, a team it could meet in the first round of the SUNYAC playoffs. Buffalo State will be the No. 4 seed in the SUNYAC tournament after tonight's results. If the current standings hold, Brockport will travel to Buffalo State to meet the Bengals in the first round of the playoffs Wednesday, Feb. 26.

Fredonia closes out its season against No. 11 SUNY Geneseo tomorrow night on the road. Geneseo can wrap up the SUNYAC regular season title with a win.

Just a couple weeks ago, Geneseo swept Brockport and the Golden Eagles were a point out of the playoffs with four games against teams higher in the standings than them at the time.

DeLuca said he never stopped believing in this team.

“Being here four years, I’ve seen my fair share of ups and downs,” DeLuca said. “Like I was asked yesterday, ‘What does playing at Brockport mean to me?’ It means perseverance. You keep working through it. Forget about the doubters, believe we can do it and that’s it.

“And we did it.”

Brockport aims to defeat Fredonia for first time since '05

By Brandon Wood
@Brandonwood27

After an upset against SUNY Oswego last week that saw College at Brockport's ice hockey team beat the Lakers for the first time in 11 years, it will attempt to end another streak this week. Brockport hasn't defeated SUNY Fredonia in eight years, with its last win coming Jan. 29, 2005. Fredonia travels to Brockport Friday night with puck drop set for 7 p.m. at Tuttle North Ice Arena.

While there will be at least one lineup change for the Golden Eagles, Head Coach Brian Dickinson said Brockport's netminder will remain the same. After practice Thursday, Dickinson confirmed that junior Aaron Green will start in goal against Fredonia. Green started and won both games last weekend while making 72-of-77 saves.

"Anybody that knows me as a coach knows that I like to run with the hot guy going into the weekend," Dickinson said. "We've had weekends where we've dictated who's starting Friday and who's starting Saturday, but at this point the game is that important Aaron Green has earned the right to start the game and he will get the start against Fredonia."

Another adjustment to the lineup will be freshman forward Nick Marinac taking sophomore Michael Zagari's place in the lineup. Marinac played every SUNYAC game this season prior to last week's games against SUNY Cortland and Oswego. Marinac was forced to sit out the Cortland game due to suspension because of a slew-footing penalty he took at SUNY Geneseo the weekend before and the coaches decided to sit him for the Oswego game as well.

Marinac was rotating with Zagari on the team's second line with sophomore James Ryan and freshman Andrew Parks during Thursday's practice.

"Rather than just throwing him back in to the lineup, we made him earn his spot back and made him rotate with [Zagari] who was on that line last week," Dickinson said. "But [Marinac's] obviously an important piece to our first power play and if you want to win hockey games you're power play has to be running at full tilt.

"I expect [Marinac] to be back in, do a good job, and learn from his mistake of letting his emotions get to him and take a dumb penalty."

There could be one more adjustment to the Golden Eagles' lineup, as freshman forward Nate Pelligra did not participate in Thursday's contact drills at practice. Pelligra, who has a goal and three assists in 11 games since joining the team in January, was injured last Friday at Cortland but still played Saturday in Oswego. Pelligra aggravated the injury during Wednesday's practice and was held out of Thursday's for precaution.

Dickinson said Pelligra is a game-time decision and if he can't play sophomore Kody Vaisanen will take his spot in the lineup. Vaisanen played wing on the third line today during contact drills while sophomore Jesse Facchini centered him and senior Brendon Rothfuss.

Brockport tied the Blue Devils earlier this season when it traveled to Fredonia in December despite holding a two goal lead with less than seven minutes remaining. Fredonia scored with one minute remaining to tie the game.

Fredonia is last in the SUNYAC in goals per game having scored just 59 goals this season. Despite this, Fredonia still holds fifth place in the SUNYAC, two points ahead of the Golden Eagles. Dickinson said Fredonia finds success through its defense.

"I worked at Fredonia for five years as an assistant and we play the same way they play now," Dickinson said. "Good defense, solid goaltending, they pack it in and like to block a lot of shots. They don't give you a lot of second and third looks so we have to be patient to move the puck around."

Dickinson also stressed the importance of jumping out to an early lead and getting Fredonia on its heels.

"We have to get the lead, they're a team that you have to get the lead against," Dickinson said. "Then we need to keep pushing and get them out of their element. Then obviously what we need to do different from the first time is not fall apart in the third period and give them an opportunity to get back in the game."

The Golden Eagles, currently in sixth place in the SUNYAC by one point, have a chance to secure a playoff berth with a win and some help Friday night. In addition to winning, SUNY Potsdam needs to lose to No. 12 Oswego at home. By winning, Brockport would move into fifth place past Fredonia by tiebreaker.

Brockport could also clinch a playoff berth with a tie, a Potsdam loss and a Cortland loss to No. 4 SUNY Plattsburgh on the road.

The Golden Eagles close the season Saturday against Buffalo State College at home for Senior Night. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m.

United on the ice, divided by the Olympics

By Brandon Wood

@Brandonwood27

While united on the ice as the Brockport Golden Eagles, the players are not united as to who they are rooting for in tomorrow's Men's Olympic semifinal game between Team USA and Team Canada. The team has players from both countries.

After polling several players on the team, the biggest advocates for each Olympic team were decidedly senior Brendon Rothfuss (U.S.) and freshman Ryan Johnson (Canada).

I spoke with both of them at the same time after practice Thursday, and this is what they had to say about the game tomorrow:

Question for Rothfuss: What was your reaction to T.J. Oshie's shootout performance and Team USA's win against Russia?

Rothfuss: First off, I texted [Johnson] and told him he was a pathetic loser and to watch out because T.J. Oshie, the golden boy of the United States, is coming for him.

Question for Johnson: Latvia gave Canada some struggles yesterday in a 2-1 win yesterday, what'd you think about the game?

Johnson: I think overall we played a really good game, we just wanted the rest of the world to think we're nice people like we really are. Canada went easy on Latvia for that reason.

Question (both): Are you disappointed that Canada and the U.S. can't meet in the final?

Rothfuss: No, I'd rather just knock Canada out of contention for the gold medal altogether and then they hopefully just fall apart in the bronze medal game and their country shuts down for a week and a half.

Johnson: I'd rather put the U.S. out of its misery early. Last Olympics, Canada took them into overtime in the gold medal game and dragged it out for the whole country. We want to put them away early this time.

Question (both): If your team were to advance to the final, would you prefer to play against Sweden or Finland?

Rothfuss: Finland has that wily vet Teemu Selanne. He's an absolute specimen at 43 years old, still jets around out there like a young Ryan Johnson on the ice, so I think I'd like the U.S. to play Sweden.

Johnson: If I had to pick a team, I guess I'd say Sweden because I don't really like those Swedes.

Question (both): Final score prediction?

Rothfuss: 3-1 U.S.

Johnson: 4-3 overtime winner. Sidney Crosby golden goal.

Head Coach Brian Dickinson was asked his thoughts on the outcome of the game as well.

"Probably another one goal game, I'll say 4-3 U.S. in a shootout," Dickinson, an avid Team USA supporter said.

Regardless of the outcome, you can expect many players on the team chirping each other about the result of tomorrow's semifinal.

The battle for time in the crease: Brockport's goaltending trio

By Brandon Wood
@Brandonwood27

Three goalies, all hailing from different parts of Canada and junior teams joined together to form this season’s College at Brockport ice hockey goaltending corps. Each of these men have one goal in mind: be the next goaltender to start in the crease for the Golden Eagles.

The three current goalies on Brockport’s roster are junior Aaron Green, sophomore Jared Lockhurst and freshman Andrew Winsor. All three goalies have been in the crease to start at least one game this season.

Brockport carried four goalies earlier this season, but senior Joe Reagan was cut from the team to clear space to add freshman forward Nate Pelligra. Pelligra has one goal, three assists and has played in all eleven games since he joined the team.

Lockhurst (3-8-2, 3.39 GAA) is from Caledon, Ontario, about an hour away from Toronto, and has seen the most time in net this season. Lockhurst remembers his hometown fondly.

“I was just kind of a country kid growing up playing hockey and lacrosse,” Lockhurst said. “It was a great place to grow up.”

He then went to play junior hockey for three different programs: Brampton Capitals, Villanova Knights and the Wellington Dukes. After his time with the Dukes, he was heavily recruited by Division III programs such as SUNY Oswego and said he even talked to Division I Niagara at one point.

Despite interest from those other schools, Lockhurst said he is “happy being a Golden Eagle, that’s for sure.”

Green (5-2, 3.35 GAA) is from Mount Albert, Ontario, about an hour away from Lockhurst’s hometown. Green has started seven games this season for the Golden Eagles and started 11 last season. Green played his junior hockey for the St. Michaels Buzzers under a coach he described as incredibly influential to him.

“St. Michaels was one of the best places I’ve ever played,” Green said. “I had a lot of fun there, I learned a lot and I had one of the best coaches in Canada teaching me there.”

Green was the hero this past weekend for Brockport as he made 47 saves against SUNY Oswego in Brockport’s first win against the Lakers since 2003. He was also in net when Brockport upset then-nationally ranked Elmira in overtime two seasons ago.

Both Lockhurst and Green were battling groin injuries earlier this season, which gave Winsor, the rookie, the chance to start a few games.

Winsor grew up an hour east of Toronto in the town of Coburg. In his two SUNYAC starts this season, Winsor went 0-1-1 while stopping 67-of-76 shots he faced on the road against SUNY Fredonia and Buffalo State College. Winsor came to Brockport from the Trenton Golden Hawks with four of his fellow teammates that also came here.

“As soon as I got here, I fell in love with the school, the background and the history of it,” Winsor said. “As I was taught about the hockey team I just wanted to play here more and more. When I made my commitment, it was exciting for me and my family.”

Winsor said he looks up to Lockhurst and Green, but understands that they are the main tandem on the team and he will have to wait his turn.

“I give [Lockhurst and Green] my full support,” Winsor said. “But as for myself, when I play I try my best and I want to win. I obviously want to start but I have to wait for my time and I’m supporting them all the way. They’re playing amazing this year and I support them 100 percent.”

Over the past two seasons with Lockhurst and Green starting in net, the Golden Eagles have scored more than one more goal per game when Green has started.

Brockport averages 3.99 goals per game with Green starting, while Lockhurst gets just 2.6 goals on average to work with. Lockhurst has been in net three times in the past two seasons when the Golden Eagles have been shut out and Green has been in for two.

There are several different styles of goaltending including hybrid, standing and butterfly. Lockhurst said he is a very positional goalie and his success depends on not scrambling around a lot and works a lot on his rebound control. Green said he most closely identifies his goaltending style as butterfly.

Winsor said he is more of a hybrid style goalie, meaning he incorporates a mix of butterfly and standing aspects into his game.

Each of these goalies grew up modeling their game around people they saw as role models: NHL goalies.

Lockhurst grew up as a big fan of the New Jersey Devils Martin Brodeur. Green said Patrick Roy was his favorite goalie growing up. Winsor compares his game more similarly to retired Calgary Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff.

“[Kiprusoff] isn’t the biggest goalie but he gets the job done,” Winsor said. “That’s what I think I do, I try my best to stop every puck. It doesn’t matter how I stop it, I just need to.”

Lockhurst said competing with Winsor and Green has been a healthy competition and has kept the competitive level to play high.

“All three of us work hard, we get along with each other, and we’re all pushing each other to get better in practice,” Lockhurst said. “I think we’ve got three really good goaltenders here so we’ve got to battle every day and hopefully get the opportunity to help the team win.”

Green said that even though all three are competing for the starting job, they all want to see each other and the team succeed.

“All three of us are comfortable with each other in net, so whoever gets the call [to start], we’re supportive of them,” Green said. “We compete, we help each other and we give each other pointers. It’s a great experience working with each other.”

Brockport beats Oswego for first time since 2003, playoffs in sight

By Brandon Wood

@Brandonwood27

Saturday, Feb. 15, the College at Brockport’s ice hockey team did something it hadn’t done in more than 11 years: defeat conference rival SUNY Oswego. The win is just the sixth victory in program history against Oswego (6-83-5 overall). Brockport also rallied from two goals down to defeat SUNY Cortland Friday, Feb. 14.

By winning both games, the Golden Eagles (8-12-3 overall, 5-8-1 SUNYAC) control their own playoff destiny heading into the final weekend in the sixth and final SUNYAC playoff spot.

The Golden Eagles trailed 3-1 with less than two minutes remaining in the second period against Cortland, and things looked bleak. If Brockport couldn't defeat the Red Dragons, its difficult remaining schedule almost ensured a fourth straight season missing the SUNYAC playoffs.

Brockport rallied to score three goals in the next 5:04 to take a 4-3 lead early in the third period.

Junior Aaron Green started in net for Brockport, and he was tasked with making several big saves throughout the contest. In the first period and a half, Cortland had three breakaway chances and a goal that was waived off because Green's mask fell off and the whistle blew before the puck went into the net. Green stoned two Cortland players on breakaways, and the third went over the goal.

Green finished the game with 27 saves for Brockport.

“We had a conversation earlier in the year and Aaron Green was pretty disappointed the last two years that he didn’t play in the big games at the end of the season,” Brockport Coach Brian Dickinson said of his decision to start Green over sophomore Jared Lockhurst. “Oliver Wren started that last game two years ago against Morrisville and [Lockhurst] started last year against Morrisville.

“He had a chip on his shoulder so when I called him Thursday night I told him ‘You waited for this big game for two years, you have it tomorrow. Be ready to go.' And boy was he ready this weekend.”

With the game tied at one after the first period, Cortland scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the second period.

The comeback began when junior defenseman Bobby Chayka found some room down the left side of the ice and backhanded a shot over Cortland's goalie Mark Balkwill to make it 3-2 Cortland heading into the second intermission.

It was clear the ice was tilted in Brockport's favor early in the third as sophomore Chase Nieuwendyk and senior Chris Cangro found themselves in a two-on-one situation. Nieuwendyk passed the puck across the crease and Cangro easily found his fourth goal of the season to tie the game.

Less than 1:30 later, Brockport took its first lead of the game when sophomore defenseman Chris Luker blasted a shot from the point that found the back of Cortland's net. It was Luker's seventh goal of the season and ended up being the game-winning goal.

Brockport's power play, which entered the game 0-for-its-last-9, failed to convert on two chances earlier in the game, leading to the team's longest stretch of the season without a power-play goal at 11.

The drought would end at 11, as freshman James Ryan hit a shot from the top of the right circle to make the game 5-3.

Green was also in net Saturday for the Golden Eagles, marking the first time in his career he started back-to-back SUNYAC games. Dickinson said he earned the start based on his play against Cortland. Green made 45 saves against Oswego. Green made 45 saves against then-nationally ranked No. 9 Oswego, and the Golden Eagles were outshot 47-24 in the game.

“Aaron Green was nothing short of sensational both nights for us,” Dickinson said.

Brockport jumped out to an early lead four minutes into the game when Cangro found the back of the net and doubled its advantage six minutes later on a goal by Shane Cavalieri.

Oswego scored late in the first period to make it 2-1. After a scoreless second period, sophomore Jesse Facchini tipped in a shot from the point by freshman defenseman Rob Hall.

Oswego captain David Titanic scored with just two and a half minutes remaining to make it a one-goal game, but Brockport was able to hold off the Lakers to take home the win.

“It’s all about the team,” captain Matt DeLuca said after the win in Oswego. “Those guys, I told them I wish I could’ve broken the game puck into however many different pieces and given it to all of them. They inspired me tonight with their effort and Green played unbelievable.”

By winning twice and earning four SUNYAC standings points, Brockport sits one point ahead of SUNY Potsdam for the final playoff spot with two games remaining on its schedule. Any combination of a win and a Potsdam loss in the upcoming season’s final weekend would put the Golden Eagles in the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. The Golden Eagles would also make the playoffs if they finished tied with Potsdam in the standings because Brockport swept the Bears in their season series.

Brockport hosts SUNY Fredonia Friday, Feb. 21 and Buffalo State College Saturday, Feb. 22. The Golden Eagles haven’t beaten Fredonia since 2005, and have lost five of their last seven games against Buffalo State. Puck drop for both games is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Brockport leaps Cortland for final playoff spot with rally

The College at Brockport ice hockey team trailed 3-1 with less than two minutes remaining in the second period, and things looked bleak. If Brockport couldn't defeat the Red Dragons, its difficult remaining schedule almost ensured a fourth straight season missing the SUNYAC playoffs.

Brockport (7-12-3 overall, 4-8-1 SUNYAC) rallied to score three goals in the next 5:04 to take a 4-3 lead early in the third period. The win gave Brockport two conference points, passing Cortland by one point to take the sixth and final playoff spot with just three regular season games on its schedule.

Junior Aaron Green started in net for Brockport, and he was tasked with making several big saves throughout the contest. In the first period and a half, Cortland had three breakaway chances and a goal that was waived off because Green's mask fell off and the whistle blew before the puck went into the net. Green stoned two Cortland players on a breakaway, and the third went over the goal.

Green finished the game with 27 saves for Brockport.

With the game tied at one after the first period, Cortland scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the second period.

With the game tied at one after the first period, Cortland scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the second period.

The comeback began when junior defenseman Bobby Chayka found some room down the left side of the ice and backhanded a shot over Cortland's goalie Mark Balkwill to make it 3-2 Cortland heading into the second intermission.

It was clear the ice was tilted in Brockport's favor early in the third as sophomore forward Chase Nieuwendyk and senior forward Chris Cangro found themselves in a two-on-one situation. Nieuwendyk passed the puck across the crease and Cangro easily found his fourth goal of the season to tie the game.

Less than 1:30 later, Brockport took its first lead of the game when sophomore defenseman Chris Luker blasted a shot from the point that found the back of Cortland's net. It was Luker's seventh goal of the season and ended up being the game-winning goal.

Brockport's power play, which entered the game 0-for-its-last-9, failed to convert on two chances earlier in the game, leading to the team's longest stretch of the season without a power-play goal at 11. Brockport entered the game with the ninth best power play in Division III hockey.

The drought would end at 11, as freshman James Ryan hit a shot from the top of the right circle to make the game 5-3.

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While Brockport now sits in a playoff position and controls its own destiny, there is still a tough hill to climb as it faces a brutal schedule over its last three games:

Saturday, Feb. 15 at nationally ranked No. 9 Oswego. Brockport hasn't defeated the Lakers in more than 10 years, and the environment in Laker Hall is one of the best in the SUNYAC.

Friday, Feb. 21 at home against SUNY Fredonia. Strange as it seems, Brockport hasn't defeated the Blue Devils since Jan. 29, 2005 in a 4-0 win at home.

Saturday, Feb. 22 at home for senior night against Buffalo State College. Brockport has lost five of its last seven games against Buffalo State, including being drubbed by the Bengals 6-1 earlier on the road this season.


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Sophomore Michael Zagari, who played in place of freshman forward Nick Marinac because he was suspended, recorded an assist against Cortland. Zagari received the secondary assist on Luker's game-winning goal in the third period.

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SUNYAC UPDATE

Around the league tonight:

Buffalo State College clinched a playoff berth tonight by tying 2-2 at SUNY Fredonia.

SUNY Morrisville was officially eliminated from playoff contention by squandering a 3-0 lead at SUNY Potsdam. Potsdam scored late in the second period and three third period goals to eliminate the Mustangs. 

SUNY Geneseo defeated Oswego 3-2 on the road tonight. By losing, Oswego can't win the SUNYAC regular season title. The last time that happened was the 2007-08 season.

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Here's a full look at the SUNYAC Standings:

*Two points for wins, one point for a draw

1. No. 6 SUNY Plattsburgh (11-1-2 SUNYAC) – 24 points

2. SUNY Geneseo (11-2) – 22 points

3. No. 9 SUNY Oswego (7-4-1) – 17 points

4. Buffalo State College (6-4-3) – 15 points

5. SUNY Fredonia (4-5-4) – 11 points

6. The College at Brockport (4-8-1) – 9 points

7. SUNY Cortland (3-8-2) – 8 points

8. SUNY Potsdam (2-8-2) - 6 points

9. SUNY Morrisville (2-11-1) – 5 points

Here's a composite schedule for tomorrow's games (Saturday, Feb. 15):

Brockport at Oswego, 7 p.m.

Geneseo at Cortland, 7 p.m.

Morrisville at Potsdam, 7 p.m.

Brockport changes lines for first time in nine games at Cortland tonight

By Brandon Wood
@Brandonwood27

Because of a suspension, the College at Brockport ice hockey team is forced to change its forward lines and defensive pairings for the first time in its previous nine games.

Freshman forward Nick Marinac was suspended for a slew-footing penalty in Brockport's previous game against SUNY Geneseo.

Brockport Head Coach Brian Dickinson confirmed today sophomore forward Michael Zagari, who has been a healthy scratch in Brockport's last nine games will take Marinac's place in the lineup.

Freshman Nick Pelligra and freshman Andrew Parks were rotating and Marinac's spot with Brockport's first power play unit during practice yesterday.

Dickinson also said that junior Aaron Green (3-2, 3.68 GAA) will start in net for the Golden Eagles over sophomore Jared Lockhurst, who started both games against Geneseo last weekend. This will be just Green's fourth SUNYAC start this season.

Here are Brockport's forward line combinations and defensive pairings for tonight's game at Cortland:

Forwards:
Chris Cangro-Chase Nieuwendyk-Jake Taylor
James Ryan-Andrew Parks-Michael Zagari
Brendon Rothfuss-Nate Pelligra-Fesse Facchini
Jeremy DeFazio-Troy Polino-Shane Cavalieri

Defensemen:
Jonathan Demme-Rob Hall
Chris Luker-Matt DeLuca
Chad Cummings-Bobby Chayka

Goalie:
Aaron Green
Jared Lockhurst
Andrew Winsor

Practice report 2/13: Marinac suspended, all sights on Cortland

By Brandon Wood
@Brandonwood27

After practice Thursday, Feb. 13, the College at Brockport ice hockey team's Assistant Coach Nick Unger confirmed that freshman forward Nick Marinac would be ineligible to play in Friday's game against SUNY Cortland. Marinac has four goals and 10 assists on the season, but hasn't found the back of the net in his last six games.

Marinac picked up a disqualification near the end of last Saturday's game against SUNY Geneseo for slew-footing. According to the rule book, a slew-footing penalty is called by the referee when a player trips an opposing player with their stick, or uses their skate against the other players skate, causing them to lose balance and fall. Many of these penalties are major penalties and typically come with an ejection depending on player intent and injury. 

Per SUNYAC rules, if a player is disqualified, they are suspended for the team's next game.

Unger was uncertain whether Marinac would be back in the lineup for Brockport's game Saturday at No. 10 SUNY Oswego.

"We'll see after Friday night, we'll go from there," Unger said. "He got penalized and it was a fair penalty. He's got to sit the game [Friday] and we'll honor that. We're not trying to fight it or anything. We'll have him sit and move forward and depending on what happens Friday we'll decide about Saturday from there."

Even if there was no disqualification for the slew-footing penalty, Unger said Brockport would've likely scratched Marinac anyway.

"Quite honestly, we probably would've sat him anyway because you can't do that kind of stuff," Unger said. "We would've wanted to send that message."

Unger said the coaching staff sat down with Marinac afterward to discuss the play.

"We talked with him about it and discussed it with him," Unger said. "He knows the emotions got the best of him and sometimes that happens with young guys. They have to learn how to control their emotions."

As for who will take his place in the lineup, Unger wouldn't say definitively who would be in the lineup for tomorrow's game in Cortland.

During practice, the forward lines and defensive pairings remained the same except for Marinac's line. Sophomore forward Michael Zagari, who has been a healthy scratch in Brockport's last nine games was skating in Marinac's place on a line with sophomore James Ryan and freshman Andrew Parks.

Freshman Nate Pelligra and Parks were rotating in the spot Marinac usually occupies on Brockport's first power play unit.

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With a chance to leap-frog into sixth place in the SUNYAC tomorrow at Cortland, many players stressed the importance of winning and playing a successful game. I asked several players about the importance of the game tomorrow, so here are the transcripts of what some of the players are thinking going into the game tomorrow:

Senior forward Brendon Rothfuss: "A lot of times we are in a situation where we need to win, but this is a must win. This is obviously the biggest game of the season. It's either do-or-die at this point in the season and they're up a point on us in the standings and we can't afford to give them any more of an advantage over us."

Sophomore goalie Jared Lockhurst: "The game's huge. Obviously, it's do-or-die for us to make the playoffs and that was our goal coming into the season so we'll see what the boys got for us tomorrow."

Sophomore forward Shane Cavalieri: "It's the biggest game. There's no ifs, we have to win if we want to make the playoffs. We put in a good effort in practice this week. I feel like we have what it takes to put a solid effort together and win this game."

Sophomore defenseman Chad Cummings: "It's an unbelievably big game. There's big playoff implications for sure. We have to steal two points up in their barn because they stole two from us [at home] earlier this season, so we definitely need to win this one."

Those are just a few of the thoughts from different members of the team. It's obvious the players know how critical winning tomorrow's game is for Brockport's SUNYAC playoff hopes.

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A couple weeks back, Cavalieri decided to get a hair cut. Prior to changing his hairstyle he was easily recognizable on the ice with his lengthy brown curly hair shown hanging out of his mask. Now there is no hair hanging from his mask.

"I had to change it up, it had been like two years," Cavalieri said. "I cut it and I was like 'Oh my god!' It feels so much better now though."

Sophomore forward Jeremy DeFazio Tweeted that he "thought he noticed something different" about his line-mate.

A tough hill to climb: Brockport in serious danger of missing playoffs

By Brandon Wood
@Brandonwood27

There are just four regular season games remaining for the College at Brockport's ice hockey team. These games will determine whether Brockport makes the playoffs for the first time since the 2009-10 season.

The only sure-fire way for Brockport (6-12-3 overall, 3-8-1 SUNYAC) to make the playoffs without any help from the out-of-town scoreboard is by winning all of its last four games.

Cortland sits in the sixth and final playoff spot currently, just one point ahead of Brockport. Brockport Head Coach Brian Dickinson stressed the importance of focusing on Cortland and jumping them in the standings after being swept by SUNY Geneseo this past weekend.

“We gave away two points [earlier this season] to Cortland in our own rink because we weren’t ready to play them on an emotional level for 60 minutes,” Dickinson said. “All of our focus is on Cortland because we want to win and leap-frog them and control our own destiny.”

Brockport has lost its last 21 games to Oswego and has a 5-83-5 record all time against the Lakers. The Golden Eagles last win against the Lakers came Feb. 14, 2003 in Oswego.

As for the other two games remaining on its schedule, they will both be home games in the final weekend of regular season play. Brockport plays SUNY Fredonia Friday, a team Brockport hasn't defeated since Jan. 29, 2005 at home. The Golden Eagles nearly broke the winless streak earlier this season at Fredonia, but failed to hold the two-goal lead it had entering the final period of the game. Fredonia tied it with 57 seconds remaining, and the two teams ended up tying 3-3.

Buffalo State College will be in Brockport for senior night riding a three game winning streak against the Golden Eagles. When Brockport visited Buffalo at the end of the last semester, Buffalo drubbed Brockport 6-1.

"We owe Buffalo State big time for what they did to us earlier this season," Brockport captain Matt DeLuca said after practice last week.

As far as the other scenarios for Brockport, it could conceivably make it into the playoffs by defeating Cortland this coming weekend and finishing its season 1-3. In order for that to happen, SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Morrisville would have to split their series in Potsdam this coming weekend for starters. Potsdam would also need to lose at home to nationally ranked Oswego and then tie with Cortland in its final game at home.

There are also scenarios where Brockport could get in with two wins in its final four games, but that would also require a lot of help from the out-of-town scoreboard. The Golden Eagles should reasonably make it into the playoffs with three wins, but it is still possible to miss the playoffs even by winning three games.

The more wins for Brockport, the better its chances to make its way into the playoffs is, but all of Brockport's focus should be on Cortland this coming weekend. If it loses against Cortland, Brockport will have a much tougher hill to climb against opponents it has struggled mightily against in the previous seasons, as it would sit three points out of the final playoff spot with just three games remaining.

Nonetheless, with many big games coming in the next couple of weeks and top teams fighting for a first round bye, we should see extremely competitive hockey down the stretch, and I don't think the SUNYAC would want it any other way.

Brockport swept by Geneseo, fails to climb into playoff position

By Brandon Wood
@Brandonwood27

During a weekend that it could’ve moved into a playoff position because SUNY Cortland was idle, the College at Brockport’s ice hockey team was swept by nearest conference rival SUNY Geneseo in a home-and-home series.

After trailing 2-0 near the end of the first period Friday, Brockport (6-12-3 overall, 3-8-1 SUNYAC) stormed back with a goal from sophomore Chase Nieuwendyk and tied it six minutes into the second period on freshman Nate Pelligra's first collegiate goal.

Unfortunately for Pelligra, he was called on a questionable tripping call 20 seconds later and SUNY Geneseo scored what would be the game-winning goal on the ensuing power play. Brockport lost at home on its annual Saves-for-a-Cure night 3-2.

Geneseo opened the scoring six minutes into the game and doubled its advantage with four minutes remaining after the puck hit Geneseo junior Justin Scharfe's skates and found its way past Brockport goalie Jared Lockhurst. Lockhurst finished the game with 25 saves.

Nieuwendyk answered for the Golden Eagles with 26 seconds remaining in the first period when he intercepted a Geneseo pass, broke away and backhanded a shot between Geneseo goalie Nick Horrigan's five-hole. It was Nieuwendyk's seventh goal of the season.

Pelligra tied the game for Brockport in the second period when his shot was deflected in off a Geneseo player.

"It felt great to finally get [my first goal] out of the way," Pelligra said. "I've been getting my opportunities so I just fired the puck at the net and thankfully it went in."

It was just 20 seconds later that Pelligra was sent to the box for tripping despite Pelligra appearing to have possession of the puck when the call was made. Geneseo capitalized with 17 seconds remaining in the penalty to score what would eventually be the game-winning goal.

"Tough break there with the tripping call," Pelligra said. "I wasn't too happy about it because I have been in the box the past few games a lot, so it's a tough one."

While Geneseo scored its game-winning goal on the power play, Brockport's power play failed to produce a goal for the first time in six games. It finished 0-for-3 with the man advantage on the night.

When Brockport traveled to Geneseo Saturday, its power play continued to struggle as it went 0-for-6 in a 4-1 loss. The Golden Eagles power play entered the weekend with the sixth best power play in Division III hockey.

Sophomore defenseman Chris Luker, who operates the point for Brockport's first power play unit, said the Golden Eagles struggle was because Geneseo did an extraordinary job of blocking shots throughout the weekend.

"They were just blocking everything they saw," Luker said. "They were jumping four guys in front of the puck sometimes and smothering us up high. We tried going down low a couple of times but the puck was jumping over our sticks.”

Brockport went down early in the game six minutes in after Geneseo junior Stephen Collins scored on a shot Lockhurst didn’t see because he was screened. The Ice Knights scored another goal when the puck went through Lockhurst’s five-hole after bouncing off sophomore defenseman Chad Cummings for an own goal. Lockhurst finished Saturday’s game with 30 saves.

Brockport’s lone goal in the game came four minutes later when sophomore Shane Cavalieri scored his fifth goal of the season.

Collins finished the game with a hat trick as he tallied the other two Geneseo goals.

The Golden Eagles managed to put 33 shots on net, but was stifled by junior goalie Nick Horrigan, who was also in net for Geneseo’s win Friday. Horrigan made several highlight-reel saves throughout the night. Brockport freshman James Ryan said he thought Brockport played better than the score indicated and that Horrigan was the reason the score wasn’t closer.

“I thought the effort was good, we outshot them for most of the game,” Ryan said. “Their goalie played extremely well and it was just unfortunate that we couldn’t beat him.”

By losing both games this weekend, Brockport remained one point behind Cortland for the final SUNYAC playoff spot with only four games remaining on its schedule. The Golden Eagles play at Cortland Friday, Feb. 14 in their next game for a chance to jump into a playoff position.

Brockport Head Coach Brian Dickinson stressed the importance of beating Cortland this coming weekend.

“We gave away two points [earlier this season] to Cortland in our own rink because we weren’t ready to play them on an emotional level for 60 minutes,” Dickinson said. “All of our focus is on Cortland because we want to win and leap-frog them and control our own destiny.”

Brockport also plays at No. 10 SUNY Oswego Saturday, Feb. 15. The Golden Eagles haven’t defeated the Lakers since 2003. Puck drop for the Cortland and Oswego games are both scheduled for 7 p.m.

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By failing to register a point Saturday night against Geneseo, Nieuwendyk ended his team-leading seven game point streak. Since Cavalieri, junior Troy Polino and sophomore Jeremy DeFazio were the only players to get points in Saturday's game and none of them registered any points Friday, they are all tied for the team lead at one.