AHL Coach goes Nuts in Losing Cause

The Abbotsford Heat and the Hamilton Bulldogs got together Saturday night in Abbotsford. Hamilton won the game 4-0 but Heat Head Coach Jim Playfair goes nuts after a call that the refs blew. Here is the video courtesy of Hockey Night in Canada

Oswego Ousted by St. Norbert 4-3

With the score knotted at 3-3, St. Norbert’s Cody Keefer scored the game-winning goal with 39.4 seconds remaining to give the third-ranked Green Knights a 4-3 win over the second-ranked Oswego State men’s ice hockey team in the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championships on Friday at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, N.Y. The Lakers tied the contest on three separate occasions, including Jon Whitelaw’s goal with 2:32 left to play in regulation. Oswego State finished the season with an overall record of 26-3-0, while St. Norbert advanced to the NCAA Championship with a record of 24-3-3 overall.
Few scoring opportunities existed in the first period as both teams gained a feel for each other and the Olympic-size rink.  Oswego State went on the only power play of the frame in the early stages, but was unable to apply any pressure.  At the end of the penalty, Mike Bernardy (Jr., Sandy, Utah) came out of the penalty box, picked up the puck at neutral ice to create the first scoring chance of the game.  He ripped a wrist shot on the breakaway, but Laker goaltender Kyle Gunn-Taylor (Sr., West Seneca, N.Y.) made a right pad save to keep St. Norbert off of the scoreboard.

Late in the period, an Oswego State turnover at neutral ice resulted in Johan Ryd (So., Sodertalje, Sweden) picking up the puck for a 1-on-0 breakaway.  He rifled a shot past Gunn-Taylor into the lower right portion of the net to give St. Norbert a 1-0 lead with 1:59 remaining in the first period.  The Green Knights turned up the pressure on the Lakers in the waning seconds of the stanza, but the defense was able to keep St. Norbert from scoring as the score stood at 1-0 heading into intermission.

After play went back-and-forth for the majority of the second stanza, Eric Selleck (So., Spencerville, Ontario) carried the puck to the blue line before dumping the pass to Justin Fox (Jr., Whitby, Ontario) on the far right side.  Fox laced a cross-ice to Neil Musselwhite (Sr., Burlington, Ontario), who gathered the puck before firing a wrist shot into the upper left-corner of the net over Green Knight goalie B.J. O’Brien’s (Jr., Lakeville, Minn.) stick at 17:14.  It was Musselwhite’s 23rd goal of the season as the score was tied at 1-1 after two periods.

Whatever scoring was lacking in the first 40 minutes was made up for in abundance in the final frame.  Early in the third, St. Norbert took advantage of an Oswego State boarding penalty when Matt Boyd’s shot for the slot ricocheted off the crossbar into open space where Tyler Allen (Sr., Midhurst, Ontario) flipped the puck into the net at 4:18.  Less than a minute later, the Lakers evened the score when Fox received a pass on the right side from Chris Laganiere (Jr., Owego, N.Y).  He faked a slap shot near the left face-off circle before sending a wrist shot into the left side of the net at the 5:12 mark.

The Green Knights regained the lead at 7:02 when they capitalized on an Oswego State turnover in the defensive zone.  Scott Pulak (Jr., Green Bay, Wis.) fed Sam Tikka (Sr., Soldotna, Alaska) with a pass as he sent an uncontested shot through Gunn-Taylor’s five-hole to make the score 3-2. 
Oswego State continued to fight until it tied the game again with 2:32 remaining when Paul Rodrigues (Fr., Etobicoke, Ontario) played the puck from behind the net to Jon Whitelaw (Fr., Huntsville, Ontario), who was in front of the net to pound home the goal.

The game appeared to be headed into overtime until another turnover at center ice lead to Cody Keefer (Fr., Grayling, Mich.) skating in for the breakaway and the game-winning goal with 39.4 seconds remaining on the clock.  Head coach Ed Gosek called timeout after the score and pulled Gunn-Taylor for the extra attacker, but the Lakers were unable to put a shot on goal in the final seconds.

Oswego State’s Kyle Gunn-Taylor finished the game with 16 saves as he finished the season with a record of 18-2-0.  St. Norbert’s B.J. O’Brien improved to 24-2-3 after registering 20 saves.  The Lakers were 0-for-4 on the power play compared to the Green Knights, who were 1-for-2. 

Notes
-Oswego State ended the year with one of the most successful seasons in school history as it set a new mark for highest winning percentage in school history at .897 after going 26-3-0.  The previous mark was .883 (26-3-1), which was set in 1980-81.
-The Lakers are now 2-1-0 all-time against St. Norbert as Oswego State defeated the Green Knights 4-3 in overtime in the 2007 NCAA Semifinals and 4-3 on November 28, 2008 in DePere, Wis.

Box Score

Photo: Mike LeBoeuf (Oswego Palladium Times) 
Story: Oswego State Sports Information  

Oswego and St. Norbert meet in Semifinals from Lake Placid

The Oswego State Lakers and St. Norbert Green Knights will meet for the second time in the last 4 years in the NCAA D-III National Semifinals for the shot to play for a national championship. Oswego won that game back in 2007 in OT on a goal by former Laker Captain Ryan Woodward. This year's battle will get underway at 4:00 pm Friday afternoon from the Herb Brooks Ice Arena in Lake Placid, NY, the site of the 1980 "Miracle on Ice".

St. Norbert comes into the matchup with a record of 23-3-3. The Green Knights defeated Gustavus Adolphus 3-1 last Saturday to make the Frozen Four. St. Norbert is led offensively by Senior forward Shane Wheeler. Wheeler has 31 points (13 G, 28 A) in 29 games played. Fellow Senior Tyler Allen has 30 points (14 G, 16 A) and Senior Matt Boyd has 28 points (9 G, 18 A). The Green Knights are led in net by Junior BJ O'Brien. O'Brien is 23-2-3 with a .923 save percentage and a Goals Against Avearge (GAA) of 1.58.

Oswego's road to Lake Placid only had one stop on the way... the Campus Center Ice Arena. The Lakers went perfect at home this season and that includes last Saturday's 9-2 defeat over Bowdoin in the Quarterfinals. The Lakers are 26-2-0 and Champions of the SUNYAC Conference. Oswego is led offensively by the line of Eric Selleck, Chris Laganiere and Justin Fox. Selleck has 53 points (21 Goals, 32 Assists) in just 27 games played. Owego's Chris Laganiere has 45 points (16 G, 29 A) as does Justin Fox (13 G, 32 A). The Lakers are led in net by West Seneca, NY native Kyle Gunn-Taylor. KGT has an overall record of  18-1-0 with a .918 save percentage and a Goals Against Average of 2.00

The winner of this matchup will meet the winners of the night cap game between Norwich and Plattsburgh for the National Title at 5:00 pm Saturday from Lake Placid. The game between Oswego and St Norbert will be webstreamed live through 88.9 FM WNYO Oswego. The contest will also be webcasted courtesy of FastHockey.com.  Sign-up registration is required by logging on to http://www.fasthockey.com/login.php, but the video is free.

Lakers Oust Bowdoin 9-2, Head to Lake Placid For Frozen Four

The second-ranked Oswego State men’s hockey team posted a convincing 9-2 win over sixth-ranked Bowdoin on Saturday night at the Campus Center Arena to advance to the NCAA Division III Men’s Hockey Semifinal round. Senior assistant captain Neil Musselwhite paced the Laker offense with four goals, while sophomore defenseman Hank Van Boxmeer broke out for two goals and two assists in the victory. Oswego State, which improved to 26-2-0 overall, will face third-ranked St. Norbert on Friday, March 19 in Lake Placid, N.Y. at a time to be announced. The Polar Bears finished the season with an overall record of 19-7-1.
Bowdoin struck first by capitalizing on a pair of Oswego State charging penalties at 5:14 in the first period when Mike Corbelle’s (Sr., Byfield, Mass.) blast from the right point got past Laker netminder Kyle Gunn-Taylor (Sr., West Seneca, N.Y.).  Captain Colin MacCormack (Sr., Bedford, Nova Scotia) was credited with an assist on the play as the Polar Bears quieted the crowd.

The Lakers evened the game two minutes later as both teams skated 4-on-4.  Brad Dormiedy (Sr., Ajax, Ontario) moved the puck from the defensive zone to neutral ice before finding Neil Musselwhite (Sr., Burlington, Ontario), who was skating up the right side.  Musselwhite got around the Polar Bear defender, moved through the crease, and got the backhand past Bowdoin goaltender Chris Rossi (Sr., Barrington, R.I.).  The Polar Bears gained another two-skater advantage later in the period, but Oswego State was able to kill both penalties and keep the score knotted at 1-1.

It would not be until late in the period when the Lakers seized the lead for good.  Luke Moodie (Fr., Burlington, Ontario) carried the puck deep into the Bowdoin defensive zone before finding Eric Selleck (So., Spencerville, Ontario) at the right face-off circle.  As a Polar Bear player went down to block the shot, Selleck passed over to Hank Van Boxmeer (So., Orange, Calif.), whose blast from the blue line found its way through traffic at 14:38 to put Oswego State ahead 2-1. 

Van Boxmeer struck again early in the second period with six seconds remaining on a Laker power play when he ripped a slap shot that popped Rossi’s water bottle off of the top of the net.  Matt Singleton (Fr., Brooklin, Ontario) and Moodie received assists on the goal that gave Oswego State a 3-1 edge.  The Lakers took advantage of a Bowdoin line change at the 7:34 mark with seven seconds left in another Oswego State power play when Musselwhite’s slap shot from the left face-off went off of Rossi’s glove, and bounced into the air behind Rossi into the net.  Gunn-Taylor was credited with an assist on the play for his first career point.
Minutes later, Dormiedy carried the puck across the blue line, ripped a slap shot past Rossi after faking a pass to Musselwhite on the left side to give the Lakers a four-goal lead midway through the second period.  The goal prompted Bowdoin head coach Terry Meagher to call timeout and switch Rossi for Richard Nerland (So., Calgary, Alberta).

However, the change did not slow down the Oswego State offense as Musselwhite completed the hat trick at 17:47 in the middle stanza when Dormiedy drew the Bowdoin defender on a 2-on-1 rush before passing to his linemate for the tap-in goal. The Lakers closed out the second period with their third power-play goal of the game when Justin Fox (Jr., Whitby, Ontario) deflected a Tyler Lyon (Sr., Foxboro, Ontario) slap shot past Nerland to give Oswego State a 7-1 lead at intermission. 

Midway through the third period, Musselwhite tacked on his fourth goal of the game when he and Chris Laganiere (Jr., Owego, N.Y.) traded passes back-and-forth during an odd-man rush. B owdoin answered seconds later, though, when Rob MacGregor (Fr., Collegeville, Pa.) flipped the puck over Gunn-Taylor’s left shoulder at 10:49 with assists going to Kyle Shearer-Hardy (Jr., Montreal, Quebec) and Brendan Reich (Jr., Montvale, N.J.) to make the score 8-2.  The final Oswego State goal came at the 12:50 mark when Van Boxmeer laced a two-line pass through center ice to Tyler Leimbrock (Fr., Bolton, Ontario) in stride, as he skated in on Nerland unabated for the goal.  Michael Gilchrist (Fr., Rochester, N.Y.) also earned an assist.

The Lakers finished the game 3-for-7 on the power play compared to the Polar Bears, who went 1-for-8 with the skater advantage, including 1-for-6 in the first period.  Oswego State out-shot Bowdoin 33-23, but that differential occurred solely in the second stanza as the Lakers owned a 16-4 shot advantage.
Oswego State’s Kyle Gunn-Taylor improved to 18-1-0 on the season after stopping 21 shots and allowing two goals.  The Polar Bears’ Chris Rossi recorded 17 saves on 22 shots, while Richard Nerland finished with seven saves on 11 shots.  Musselwhite’s four-goal performance tied the NCAA championship record for most goals in a single game, which has occurred on four previous occasions with the most recent taking place in 1997 when Norwich’s Curt Healy posted four goals against Plattsburgh.

The Lakers, who are advancing to the NCAA semifinal game for the first time since 2007, will face St. Norbert on Friday, March 19.  St. Norbert defeated Gustavus Adolphus 3-1 to earn a spot in Lake Placid.
Fans looking to attend Friday’s contest can find ticket information at NCAA.com. 

Box Score

Courtesy of Oswego State Sports Information  

Oswego vs Bowdoin... Winner Heads to Lake Placid

The Oswego State Lakers are hosting the NCAA D-III Mens Ice Hockey Quarterfinals for the first time since their 3-0 shutout of Norwich in 2007 on their way to the National Championship. The Lakers are just one win away from heading to Lake Placid and represent the SUNYAC in the frozen four.  The one team that is stoping the Lakers to head to Lake Placid, the Bowdoin Polar Bears. The matchup at the Campus Center Ice Arena at SUNY Oswego will start with the puck drop, around 7:00 pm Saturday night.

The Polar Bears, 19-6-1 are representing the NESCAC Conference and recieved one of the at large bids to get into the national tournament. The Polar Bears are 6th according to the USCHO D-III Polls and are led offensively by Junior Defenseman Kyle Shearer-Hardy with 8 goals and 21 assists for 29 points in 24 games played this season. Leading forward is freshman Daniel Weiniger with 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points in 21 games played. Bowdoin is led between the pipes by Senior Chris Rossi. Rossi is 14-1-1 with a 2.08 Goals Against Average (GAA) and a .919 save percentage.

Oswego State enters this contest after winning the SUNYAC Championship for the first time since 2003 as they defeated arch-rival Plattsburgh 6-3 last Saturday night in Oswego for their third win this season over the Cardinals. The Lakers, 25-2-0 were 2nd in the final USCHO D-III Poll of the season. Oswego is led offensively by the top line of Eric Selleck, Justin Fox and Chris Laganiere. Selleck, has 21 goals and 31 assists for 52 points to lead all scorers for Oswego. Chris Laganiere and Justin Fox both have 44 points each. Laganiere has 16 goals and 28 assists while Fox has 12 goals and 32 assists. Between the pipes, Kyle Gunn-Taylor leads the way for the Lakers. Gunn-Taylor is 17-1-0 with a 2.00 GAA and a .916 save percentage.

This game will be broadcasted through the Student Media Groups at SUNY Oswego. WTOP-10 and Central NY Time Warner local access 96 will have the game starting with their pregame show "Hockey Night in Oswego" at 6:30 pm. WNYO-FM 88.9 will broadcast the game starting with their pregame show, "Countdown to Faceoff" at 6:00 pm. WNYO-FM and WTOP Webstream will be doing a webstream of the 7:00 pm contest from the Campus Center Ice Arena on the shores of Lake Ontario. Live stats will also be available for the contest through the Oswego State Sports Information Department.

Neil Musselwhite is Heading to the Motor City

Oswego State senior men’s ice hockey player Neil Musselwhite of Burlington, Ontario has been selected as one of six players to represent the men’s East squad in the fifth annual NCAA Frozen Four Skills Challenge on April 9 at Ford Field in Detroit. The competition will be conducted in an East versus West format with each team having six male position players, six female position players, two male goaltenders and two female goaltenders as part of the festivites at the 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Frozen Four. Musselwhite, who was the only Division III men’s hockey player to be named to the East and West final roster, will compete in the fastest skater challenge.

Musselwhite has been known around the league for his speed during his four-year career at Oswego State, but made a national splash on December 4 when he tallied three short-handed goals in a span of 2:59 against Brockport. He is believed to be just the third player in college hockey history to achieve a natural short-handed hat trick. Musselwhite is currently second on the squad with 18 goals and leads all NCAA Divisions with six short-handed goals. Musselwhite was speechless when told the news at practice on Wednesday, but would like to thank all of the Oswego State fans who voted for him over a two-week period as selection to the team was partially based on those fan votes.

Other members of the men’s East squad include Sean Backman, Yale; Bobby Butler, New Hampshire; Owen Meyer, Army; Ben Smith, Boston College and Brandon Wong, Quinnipiac. The two goalies are: Jared DeMichiel, RIT and Ben Scrivens, Cornell.

The No. 2-Lakers will host No. 6-Bowdoin in the NCAA Division III Men’s Hockey Quarterfinals on Saturday, March 13 at 7 p.m. at the Campus Center Arena in Oswego. Tickets are available for the contest and may be purchased by calling 315-312-3073.

Courtesy of Oswego State Sports Information Department 

Final Seconds of SUNYAC Championship

Audio: Mike Keeley - Home PxP Announcer Oswego State Lakers - WNYO FM
Video: Joe Crahan - WNYO-FM Personality and OSU Fan

SUNYAC CHAMPS... Your Oswego State Lakers

For the first time since 2007, the Oswego State men’s hockey team will be headed back to the NCAA Division III Men’s Hockey Tournament after defeating visiting Plattsburgh 6-3 for the SUNYAC Championship on Saturday night in Oswego. The Lakers displayed a balanced attack as six different players scored goals in front of a sold-out crowd. Oswego State, which earned its eighth conference title overall and first since 2002-03, improved to 25-2-0 on the season, while the Cardinals dropped to 18-5-4.
Paul Rodrigues (Fr., Etobicoke, Ont.) got the scoring started at 9:32 in the first period when he netted a wrist shot from the left side over the glove of Plattsburgh goaltender Ryan Williams.  Luke Moodie (Fr., Burlington, Ont.) and Michael Gilchrist (Fr., Rochester, N.Y.) were credited with assists on the goal. Owen Kelly (Jr., Plattsburgh, N.Y.) stretched the lead to two when he scored on a pass from Andrew Mather (So., Ottawa, Ont.) at 13:26 in the first period. The Lakers would carry their two-goal lead until midway through the second period when the Cardinals ended the shutout bid.  Andrew Willock was able to push the puck in the net after a long scramble at 9:17 in the second period.  Eric Satim recorded an assist on the play.  Kevin Huinink (Jr., Whitby, Ont.) positioned himself behind Kyle Gunn-Taylor (Sr., West Seneca, N.Y.) during the scramble, saving several scoring chances before the eventual goal.

Huinink got Oswego State back on track at 16:11 when he blasted a slap shot from just inside the blue line that beat Williams up high. Mather pushed the score to 4-1 when he fired a wrist shot that beat the Cardinal goaltender stick-side at 18:04 in the second stanza.  Mather received a pass from Kelly, switching roles from their combined effort on a first period goal.

Just 22 seconds later, Taylor Farris (Fr., Oakville, Ont.) received a pass from Tyler Leimbrock (Fr., Bolton, Ont.) and took it down the left side before letting go of a wrist shot. The shot trickled between Williams’ legs and into the net, making the score 5-1 for Farris’ first collegiate score.

Momentum continued to be on the side of Oswego State at the start of the third frame when Justin Fox (Jr., Whitby, Ont.) scored 51 seconds in when he took a pass from Chris Laganiere (Jr., Owego, N.Y.) and beat Josh Leis, who had replaced Williams at the start of the third, with a wrist shot over his glove from the middle of the ice.  It was the fourth Laker goal in a five-minute span.

Plattsburgh continued to fight late into the game, scoring two goals 2:16 apart to bring the lead down to 6-3 with less than three minutes remaining. Eric Satim and Dylan Clarke scored for Plattsburgh, both on power plays, but it would not be enough as Oswego State went on to hoist the championship trophy.
In goal for the Lakers, Kyle Gunn-Taylor (Sr., West Seneca, N.Y.) registered 35 saves on the night.  The Plattsburgh goalies combined for 17 saves, as Williams had nine and Leis had eight.

After the game, the SUNYAC All-Tournament Team was announced. Oswego State’s Kyle Gunn-Taylor was selected as the top goalie and Tyler Lyon (Sr., Foxboro, Ont.) was chosen for play at the blue line. The three forwards chosen were Morrisville’s Chris Cerbino, Plattsburgh’s Dylan Clarke, and Oswego State’s Tyler Leimbrock.

Oswego State’s Kevin Huinink was named the SUNYAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, after recording two goals and an assist in two Laker games and a +5 rating. With the win, the Lakers avenged last year’s defeat in the title game against the Cardinals. This was the team’s third win against the Cardinals this season, as they swept the regular-season series.

Oswego State will await word from the NCAA selection committee on when and where it will play when the national tournament bracket is released at NCAA.com on Sunday at 6 p.m.  Plattsburgh will wait to see if it receives one of the three at-large bids for the 11-team tournament.

Box Score

Story Courtesy of SUNY Oswego Sports Information 

GCC's Cheer Team Wins Grand Champion at 'Cheer for a Cure' Competition

The Genesee Community College Cougar Cheer Team and Cougarette Dance Team have returned from a very successful first time showing at the annual Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's (JDRF) Cheer for a Cure cheerleading and dance competition. On Sunday, February 28, cheer and dance teams throughout Western, New York met at the University of Buffalo's Alumni Arena to compete and raise funds for the JDRF's annual fundraiser. The GCC Cheer Team placed first in the College Co-Ed Limited Division and won Grand Champion in the College Division. The Cougarette Dance Team also took home first place in the Hip Hop Open Division.

The Cougar Cheer Team and Cougarette Dance Team are off to a great start for their first year as competing squads. Formed in the fall 2009 semester, the teams have had less than a year to get their teams and routines in shape for competition.

"I was so proud of the teams", Coach Jennifer Newell said. "We competed against some outstanding squads who have a long tradition of being tough competitors. Our teams worked really hard and came out on top."
The Cheer for a Cure competition raised funds to benefit JDRF and was co-sponsored by Buffalo's Kiss 98.5 radio station. Cheer for a Cure is one of the largest cheerleading competitions in Western, NY with approximately 141 teams gathering to compete from elementary age to college level. The Cougar Cheer Team beat out Jamestown Community College, Erie Community College, University of Buffalo (all-girls team) and Daemen College to take the top honor in the College Division. "There was so much energy in that arena, what an incredible moment it was when they announced our name as Grand Champions," Newell said. "We were all stunned, it was unbelievable!"

Coached by Jennifer Newell, Dean of Students at Genesee, the Cheer Team is made up of: Lisa Ames, Frankie Brumsted, Alyssa Brunette, Danielle Colvin, Allyson Galens, Shaday Gibbs, Amaryllis Labue, Michel'le Marable, Sheena Murray, Mark Nichols, Jessalyn Payne, Rebecca Piechowiak, Mindy Pilon, Kelly Rugar, Jacquay Wilder, Genna Wiseman and Lizzy Zacher. Members of the Cougarettes Dance Team include: Shartanay Gibbs, Iasiah Jones, Delores O-Boateng, Kyla Preston, Kiara Davis, Jacquay Wilder, Alexa Berry, Farah St. Cloud, Skylar Perry, Jasmine Giles, and Faatima Muhammed.
For further information please contact Genesee Cheer Team coach, Jennifer Newell at 585-343-0055 x6314.

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