Russell JaslowIn their first year of eligibility in their third year as an NCAA institution, Morrisville made the SUNYAC playoffs. Before anyone could shout, “But they only got in because Geneseo was banned from the playoffs,” the Mustangs shut the critics up by beating Fredonia, 3-2. The win came in Fredonia three days after getting shellacked … Read more
After a poor 2008-9 campaign, Fredonia bounced back with a strong season, only to be bounced out of the playoffs by upstart Morrisville. “It was good to get things back on track,” Fredonia coach Jeff Meredith said. “Disappointing shadow over the season with the way it ended.” The fight for third place this year will … Read more
It was certainly a trying year for Geneseo last season when the NCAA sanctions were handed down. Yet, despite that distraction, the Ice Knights finished very strong. “I used the analogy last year that I wanted us to perform like a good stock,” Geneseo coach Chris Schultz said. “We got off to a rough start … Read more
It’s always risky to pick Oswego second instead of first. Last year it seemed safe — Oswego had 12 new players and an unknown goaltending situation. Instead, they lost just one league game en route to first place and beat Plattsburgh all three times to take the SUNYAC championship. Then, they got to Lake Placid … Read more
“It was a year we didn’t know what to expect,” Plattsburgh coach Bob Emery said. “We had unknown goaltending and 12 freshmen. We didn’t have high expectations.” The Cardinals lost to their arch-rivals Oswego all three times, finished second in the regular season and playoffs, but did make it to the NCAA semifinal round. However, … Read more
Last season was a banner year for the SUNYAC, but one that fell slightly short. Two teams made the Division III national championship weekend in Lake Placid — Oswego and Plattsburgh. This is the first time this has happened since 1987, when those two teams faced each other in the championship game won by Plattsburgh … Read more
In front of a sold out Blue Cross Arena crowd of 10,556, the largest collegiate sports crowd in Rochester history, the RIT Tigers and Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks fought to a 4-4 draw. The game consisted of momentum swings, a long delay, an action-filled overtime, the tying goal with 1.3 seconds left in regulation, and two … Read more
Potsdam forward Antony Proteau lost his battle with cancer, passing away on April 3. Antony Proteau Proteau, from Montreal, Quebec, was diagnosed last June. He took the Fall semester off to fight the disease, returning to classes in the Spring. He felt healthy enough to occasionally skate with the team and was making plans to … Read more
Overtime Finals This was the fifth national championship to be decided in overtime. None of the prior ones went into a second overtime period. It’s the second time each of these teams were involved in one. Both lost in previous attempts. The first was 1993, the first time they used a neutral site for Division … Read more
Overtime Finals This was the fifth national championship to be decided in overtime. None of the prior ones went into a second overtime period. It’s the second time each of these teams were involved in one. Both lost in previous attempts. The first was 1993, the first time they used a neutral site for Division … Read more
Walk on to All-American It may not exactly be a rags-to-riches story, but it’s pretty close for Norwich goaltender Ryan Klingensmith, who was just named First Team All American. “I’d like to have him four more years,” Norwich coach Mike McShane said. “A great story. He came on as basically a walk-on goalie. He got … Read more
4-3. That’s the magic score whenever St. Norbert and Oswego play each other. This time, it was St. Norbert who came out the winners for the first time, with a freshman scoring the winning goal with 39.4 seconds left in the game. Cody Keefer did the honors, sending his team to the NCAA Division III … Read more
The Oswego Lakers continue to steamroll the opposition in the postseason. After crushing Plattsburgh in the SUNYAC Championship, they systematically dismantled the Bowdoin Polar Bears in the NCAA quarterfinal round, 9-2. “It feels good. I’m proud of them,” Oswego head coach Ed Gosek said. “They’re [Bowdoin] a very well coached team. But with their system … Read more
Chris Haltigin’s shot from the right point went through a screen 9:54 into overtime to give RIT a 4-3 victory over Connecticut in game one of the three game Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal round. “He has a tremendous one timer,” RIT coach Wayne Wilson said. “He’s got a great shot.” “I thought we battled extremely hard … Read more
Speed kills. Oswego came out at full throttle, blowing by Plattsburgh, 6-3, to capture the SUNYAC Championship, the school’s eighth title. “I’m proud of our guys,” Oswego coach Ed Gosek said. “Proud of our staff. When you win a championship, it’s easy to forget the people that make it all possible. Last one was in … Read more
It Took Some Work I finally caught my breath. I think. The Oswego-Morrisville semifinal game was quite a roller coaster. From thinking you were witnessing a major upset to seeing Oswego declare enough is enough, scoring five straight goals for the comeback. “The positive is some other teams, some other years, there would have been … Read more
It started out as possibly the greatest upset in SUNYAC playoff history, but wound up as a great comeback by Oswego. After falling behind 3-0, the Lakers stormed back to defeat Morrisville, 8-5, thanks to four third-period goals starting out with a shorthander. “We came out tonight and took the game by storm early on … Read more
One would never know this game meant nothing for RIT. The Tigers already clinched first place in Atlantic Hockey heading into the last weekend of the regular season against Canisius, which came in fighting for a quarterfinals home ice spot. Yet, it was RIT that scored early and often to blow out the Golden Griffins, … Read more
A First and a Return Last year, I used the above headline after the play-in round. It is just as appropriate this year. Last year, it was Brockport making it to the semifinals for the first time after their first ever playoff win and Geneseo returning. This year, Brockport is the team returning to the … Read more
It was déjà vu all over again. Brockport hosted Potsdam in a rematch of last year’s SUNYAC play-in game. Brockport scored three goals just like last year. Brockport played solid defense with excellent goaltending — just like last year. Brockport equaled their win total from last year. The only difference is this time Brockport got … Read more