Let’s not beat around the bush. Last season was a complete disaster for Brockport. Brian Dickinson took a leave of absence, and in his place, James Eccles was named interim head coach. For whatever reasons, the team and new coach never gelled. The team opened up 0-9, and after some brief winning moments against lower … Read more
Questions Unanswered A few weeks ago, I filed what I expected to me be my last column for 2005-6. I already said my thank you and farewells. However, two key items have developed since then which I felt was necessary to talk about now instead of waiting six months. Unfortunately, there are two questions that … Read more
After a one-year leave of absence, Brian Dickinson will return to the Brockport bench for the 2006-07 season. The announcement was made Wednesday by athletics director Lin Case. Dickinson “We are pleased to have Brian return to our coaching staff,” said Case. “He has a wealth of experience and is an asset to the hockey … Read more
All Rookie Team and Defensive Awards For years, the SUNYAC has issued first and second All SUNYAC teams as well as Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year awards. After a suggestion from the coaches, it was felt that there was also a need to name an All Rookie … Read more
The Cat Can’t Catch The Bird The Buffalo State Bengals great turnaround season came to an end as they were not able to keep up with the Plattsburgh Cardinals. The first game was as most expected, a tight, hard fought contest with the teams trading goals all the way till the third period. Ben Kemp … Read more
It’s Decided … For Now One of the wildest seasons in SUNYAC history is finally decided, with some positions coming right down to overtime. When all was said and done, the top four were just like last year with Oswego taking the regular season title followed by Geneseo, Fredonia, and Plattsburgh. The Lakers didn’t make … Read more
A Grand Farewell What better way for Oswego to say goodbye to the Romney Field House than with an emotional roller coaster shootout 7-6 victory over archrival Plattsburgh and then blowing out Potsdam, 9-3, to wrap up the sold out weekend. However, it wasn’t easy. Despite the bravado Oswego coach Ed Gosek put on during … Read more
Crank Up The Stress “For all the coaches, I’m sure it’s stressful,” Plattsburgh coach Bob Emery said. I have always written that I believe the SUNYAC playoff system is the best in all of college hockey because it allows for every team-no matter what position they are in-to fight for a spot in the standings … Read more
Strong Performances There were some strong performances by SUNYAC teams in their final week of nonconference play. Topping the list was Oswego’s 4-2 triumph over Division I RIT. Oswego used forechecking, coupled with a strong game in net by Ryan Scott, who made 30 saves to beat their rivals despite being outshot 32-23 in front … Read more
SUNYAC Expansion Plans The SUNYAC hockey league has been set at eight teams since 1993-94 when Buffalo State joined as a provisional member moving up the next year to a full-fledged participant. That number will change in a few years as the SUNYAC as a whole will be welcoming in a new member-Morrisville-who has a … Read more
Midseason Awards Most USCHO writers provide their midseason reports, reviews, and rewards in their last column before the holidays. Me? I’m doing it in my first column back from the holidays. Why? No reason except I sat down in front of the computer realizing I have no idea what I was going to write about. … Read more
Call The Labor Department Someone should file unfair overtime labor practices for the sake of the Potsdam players. The Bears have played five consecutive overtime games, and in their 14 games this year, 50 percent of them have gone to the extra period. Potsdam is 1-2-4 in those seven games. Three of those overtimes came … Read more
Break Up The Bengals! It is extremely difficult for any team–no matter how good they are–to take the trip all the way up to the North Country, walk into always tough Stafford Arena and difficult Maxcy Hall and beat both Plattsburgh and Potsdam in the same weekend, no matter how good or bad those teams’ … Read more
The Unwanted Shootout Three SUNYAC teams participated in two tournaments over the holidays, and it was Brockport that came away with the best result. Though technically the Golden Eagles “lost” in the PAL Cup championship game in a shootout, their official record shows they didn’t lose a game. “Mixed feelings,” Brockport coach James Eccles said … Read more
Ryan3 Two games away from the midway point of the season, Oswego is in first place with a perfect 5-0 conference record thanks to the Ryan show-Ryan Ellis, Ryan Woodward, and Ryan Scott. First, Oswego scored a 4-2 victory over the Cardinals in front of a huge crowd at Stafford Arena. Woodward led off the … Read more
Some Answers But More Questions So, after the first full weekend of conference play, some questions were answered. However, as is typical, even more questions got raised. Heading into this past weekend, the questions to answer were when was Oswego going to wake up, how bad of a start would Potsdam get, is Geneseo prepared … Read more
I suppose it’s fitting that the two westernmost teams in the east decided to go further west for a pair of games against two Wisconsin schools. Fredonia and Buffalo State took a long bus trip to St. Norbert and Marian. Each came away with a split, some fond memories and a chance to get to … Read more
You can’t tell the coaches without a scorecard. Three teams sport new men at the helm, and the teams affected range from the champion to the non-playoff entities. After guiding Geneseo to their second SUNYAC title in school history, Brian Hills decided to join his friend, Wayne Wilson, at RIT as an assistant coach helping … Read more
Brockport head men’s hockey coach Brian Dickinson has taken a leave of absence from his coaching duties to act as the director of the Seymour College [nl]Union on campus. He will also remain as the director of the Tuttle North Ice Arena. Assistant coach James Eccles will act as interim head coach for the 2005-06 … Read more
It’s Been A While February 15, 2000, to be exact. That was the last time that Brockport won a league game. Since then, it has gone 0-25-3 in SUNYAC regular-season play (and 0-1-1 in the playoffs right after that last win). With that kind of streak, you set modest goals. Brian Dickinson told his players, … Read more