Mike Modano Retires after 21 NHL Seasons

After 21 NHL seasons, and 20 in the Stars organization, Mike Modano has officially hung up his skates. The first overall pick in the 1988 entry draft, Mike Modano became a household name across America. A three time Olympian and eight time All-Star had quite the career, including the 1999 Stanley Cup Championship.

Modano has the most goals (561), points (1374) and games (1499) played by an American born player. Modano also has the most career playoff points by an American born player with 145. He also holds Minnesota/Dallas franchise records for games played in the regular season, games played in the playoffs (174), goals in the regular season (557), goals in the playoffs (58), assists in the regular season (802), and assists in the playoffs (87).

He is definitely a candidate for the Hockey Hall of Fame.


Below is the video of his retirement ceremony...

Jim Thome Joins 600 HR Club

Thome hitting career HR 600 in a 9-6 victory over the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park Monday Night                

Monday night in Detroit, Minnesota Twins DH Jim Thome hit career home runs 599 and 600 to join the prestigious 600 club. He became the 8th player to reach this milestone. Thome joins Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Henry (Hank) Aaron and Barry Bonds in the elusive 600 club and Thome was only the fourth lefty to reach this milestone.

Thome joining the 600 club is special for many reasons. One reason, only Ruth got to 600 in fewer at-bats than Thome. For another, Thome did it as quietly as the overwhelming silence around his whole 21-year career. For another, those who know this Minnesota Twins designated hitter the best keep delivering testimonials on how he prospers through the combination of physical talent, mental toughness and hard work. According to Terence Moore from MLB.com, "In other words, Thome isn't linked to performance-enhancing drugs, which has been the case for 600-club members Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa. Which means Thome joins only Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr. and Ruth among the untainted at 600."

Thome has played for Cleveland, Chicago (White Sox), Philadelphia and Minnesota during his 21 year MlB career. When Thome hangs up the glove, don't be suprised when you see his name in Cooperstown in the near but not far distant future. 

Nazareth Ice Hockey Program Set to Debut 2012-2013

From Nazareth College Athletics Department

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Nazareth College will add men’s ice hockey to its intercollegiate athletic offerings with competition at the NCAA Division III level slated to begin with the 2012-13 season. With no on-campus playing venue, Nazareth is still in negotiations to determine the best location for its newest team. Athletic Director Pete Bothner also said that the athletic department would move forward in the next few weeks to conduct a nationwide search to hire a head coach.

George Roll

According to a report in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, former Oswego State bench boss George Roll will be named head coach in a press conference on Thursday. Roll, 48, coached at Clarkson for eight seasons, compiling a 130-142-33 record before being relieved of his duties in April. He guided the Golden Knights into the NCAA tournament twice, including in 2006-07 when the East Regional was played at Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester Community War Memorial.Before taking over the Clarkson program, Roll coached seven seasons at Oswego State and was named the NCAA Division III coach of the year in 2002-03.

Nazareth also has petitioned the ECAC West Division to join that conference. Elmira, Hobart, Manhattanville, Neumann and Utica are current members.

“We think this will be a great new program for Nazareth College and for the larger Rochester community,” said Nazareth president Daan Braveman. “Hockey is a popular sport at the collegiate level and we think this will be received as a good addition to our athletic landscape.” In deciding to add ice hockey, Nazareth has used the assistance of local resident Craig Dahl, who has nearly three decades of hockey coaching experience, including 19 as a Division I head coach at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. “We feel fortunate that we can utilize Craig as a great resource in this overall process,” Bothner said. “He has a lot of experience and can bring forth some great insight.”

Men’s ice hockey will be Nazareth’s 24th intercollegiate team. The Golden Flyers are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and recently won the Division III national championship in men’s volleyball.

Amerks Sign Purchasing Agreement With the Sabres

From Amerks.com

The Rochester Americans announced today (Friday June 24th) that the team has signed a purchase agreement with the Buffalo Sabres Hockey Club. The AHL Board of Governors approved the sale earlier today.

The Sabres expect to hold a public press conference in Rochester next week to set forth their plans for the franchise.

Current Amerks owner Curt Styres will retain ownership of the Rochester Knighthawks franchise of the National Lacrosse League.

RIT Announes 2011-2012 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule

RIT Men's Ice Hockey Schedule 2011-2012 

ROCHESTER, NY – The three-time defending Atlantic Hockey Association regular season champion RIT men’s hockey team unveiled its 2011-12 schedule on Monday. The Tigers, now entering their seventh season at the Division I level, will play 34 regular season games and one exhibition contest. RIT, just two years removed from a Frozen Four Appearance in 2010, will play 16 regular season home games at Ritter Arena on the campus of RIT and one regular season contest at the Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester.

The Tigers will play ECAC rival St. Lawrence University at Blue Cross Arena during Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend on Saturday, October 15 at 7:05 p.m. It is the third straight year RIT will be home during its annual homecoming weekend. Last year, RIT drew a sellout crowd of 10,556 fans during Brick City Weekend against UMass Lowell. It was the largest regular season crowd RIT has ever played in front of and just the fourth sellout at Blue Cross Arena for any sporting event since 1995.

On Saturday, October 1, RIT hosts Brock University of Ontario in an exhibition contest at 7:05 p.m.

RIT jumps right into Atlantic Hockey Association regular season play with a home contest against rival Niagara on October 8 at Ritter Arena, starting at 7:05 p.m.

RIT will host its annual Skate With the Tigers event on October 29 at 5 p.m.

The Tigers will play AHA western pod foes Air Force, Canisius, Mercyhurst, Niagara, and Robert Morris three times, and play two games apiece against eastern teams American International, Army, Bentley, Connecticut, Holy Cross, and Sacred Heart. In all, 27 of RIT’s 34 games will be against Atlantic Hockey Association opponents.

Out of conference, The Tigers host ECAC foes Union on Oct. 22 and Rensselaer on Nov. 25. Both teams appeared in the 2011 NCAA Division I Tournament. RIT travels to Burlington, Vermont on December 29-30 to play in the prestigious Catamount Cup hosted by the University of Vermont. There, RIT will play CCHA foes Lake Superior State and Ferris State for the first time.

RIT will ring in 2012 with two games against Wisconsin of the WCHA on January 6-7, at the Kohl Center, which holds 15,237 fans. It will be the first meeting between the two schools since Wisconsin ended RIT’s dream season at the Frozen Four in 2010 in front of 34,954 fans at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. RIT could play in front of its largest regular season crowd in program history that weekend.

RIT plays one game at Ritter Arena against Air Force, the defending Atlantic Hockey Champions on November 11 at 7:05 p.m. The Tigers then travel west to play two games at Air Force on February 3-4. The Tigers play rival Canisius in Buffalo on October 20 and February 9, and conclude the season series at home on February 11. The Tigers play single road games at Mercyhurst, Niagara, and Robert Morris, while hosting each team twice at Ritter Arena.

RIT plays its final 14 games against conference foes. The Tigers host AHA competitors Army, Holy Cross, and American International, and travel to Connecticut, Sacred Heart, and Bentley. The two games against Sacred Heart on January 14-15 will be played at Harbor Yard at Bridgeport, home of the American Hockey League’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

The Atlantic Hockey Association playoffs begin with a best-of-three series for the fifth through twelfth place finishers from March 2-4. The top four teams get a first round bye. Quarterfinal action will be held at the top-four sites from March 9-11. The Atlantic Hockey Association Tournament Semifinals and Championship will be held on March 16-17 at the Blue Cross Arena for the sixth straight season.

RIT will look to earn its second berth in the NCAA Tournament as a Division I program. The 2012 NCAA Division I Tournament begins on March 23, and ends with the Frozen Four on April 5 and April 7 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida. The Tigers are just two seasons removed from a magical run to the 2010 Frozen Four.

Season and single game ticket information will be released at a later date at www.ritathletics.com.

From RIT Sports Information

My Thoughts for the Sabres for the 2011-2012 offesason

The Sabres had a season that was memorable. Terry Pegula became owner on February 22nd and not long after that, we lost the great Rick Martin. Buffalo comes back from a horrid start to the season to get bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Philadelphia Flyers. 

the 12 players under contract. Thomas Vanek, Ryan Miller, Tyler Myers, Jordan Leopold, Brad Boyes, Jochen Hecht, Shaone Morrisonn, Tyler Ennis, Paul Gaustad, Jason Pominville, Derek Roy and Pat Kaleta eat up just under $41-million. Last season the salary cap was $59.4-million. It will go up next season. Maybe up to around $61-million. Let’s take Drew Stafford next. I'll go high and say add $5-million to the cap. That brings us to 13 players signed for just under $46-million.
You now must sign 8-10 more players for about $15-million. Guys you know they will bring back are Chris Butler, Andrej Sekera, Jhonas Enroth, Marc Gragnani, Mike Weber, Cody McCormick and Nathan Gerbe. 


Signing the young players are important but we should think about who is "trade bait" or not. You have to keep Vanek, Myers and Miller. If you don't, the franchise will suffer for it majorly since those three players are considered the heart and soul of the franchise. You can buy out the contract of Jochen Hecht and Shaone Morrisonn. Get them to Portland for some veteran leadership and then you could even bring up Luke Adam, Zack Kassian, Marcus Foligno & Braden McNabb as they will give the Sabres a lot of talent, toughness & size. Something that was missed tremendously during the playoff series against Philadelphia.

The Sabres need a top line center. Can they bring in Brad Richards? I want them to but knowing the Sabres front office, they will bring in players that will beneficial to the Portland Pirates and not the Sabres.

So hypothetically speaking, the Sabres will have enough room to pick up maybe 1-3 top caliber players. I say bring in Erik Cole, Alex Tanguay and Sami Salo. Two forwards and a solid defensemen that has played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and have experience and leadership that could lead the Sabres to finally lifting Lord Stanley.

Sorry for all the ranting but I think it is needed.

Casey's TQ Midget Series 2011 Schedule

MONTH DATE DAY TRACK DETAILS MAY 7 SATURDAY DTRP PRACTICE MAY 13 FRIDAY SPENCER PRACTICE MAY 14 SATURDAY DTRP FIRST RACE MAY 21 SATURDAY DTRP RACE MAY 22 SUNDAY HOLLAND MAY 28 SATURDAY HOLLAND JUNE 4 SATURDAY ERIE JUNE 10 FRIDAY WCIS JUNE 11 SATURDAY HOLLAND JUNE 18 SATURDAY HOLLAND JUNE 25 SATURDAY HOLLAND JUNE 28 TUESDAY DTRP JULY 8 FRIDAY WCIS JULY 9 SATURDAY HOLLAND JULY 16 SATURDAY DTRP JULY 23 SATURDAY HOLLAND JULY 30 SATURDAY HOLLAND AUGUST 5 FRIDAY SPENCER AUGUST 6 SATURDAY HOLLAND AUGUST 13 SATURDAY HOLLAND AUGUST 20 SATURDAY HOLLAND AUGUST 27 SATURDAY HOLLAND SEPTEMBER 3 SATURDAY HOLLAND SEPTEMBER 4 SUNDAY WCIS SEPTEMBER 10 SATURDAY DTRP SEPTEMBER 17/18 SAT/SUN DTRP US OPEN SEPTEMBER 24 SATURDAY WCIS OCTOBER 1 SATURDAY WCIS

US OPEN

Enroth Nets 1st NHL Shutout - Sabres beat Rangers 1-0

Rookie Jhonas Enroth proved the Buffalo Sabres can win even without star goaltender Ryan Miller. Enroth stepped in for last season's Vezina Trophy winner and made 23 saves as the Sabres beat New York 1-0 on Wednesday, moving Buffalo past the Rangers into seventh place in the East.


Tim Connolly's second-period power-play goal was the only one of Buffalo's 35 shots to beat Henrik Lundqvist, but it was enough to give the Sabres 87 points, the same as the Rangers.  Buffalo has the edge because it has one more non-shootout win. Both teams are three points ahead of ninth-place Carolina, a 6-2 winner at home against Montreal, with five games remaining for all three teams.

The Sabres were forced to start Enroth when Miller, the NHL’s First Star last week, was a late scratch due to an upper-body injury -- possibly sustained when he took a shot near the collarbone during Tuesday's 4-3 loss at Toronto. Enroth, who lost an overtime decision to the Rangers in New York on Nov. 11, stepped in with his first NHL shutout.

The Sabres scored the game’s only goal at 5:28 of the second period. With Rangers defenseman Marc Staal in the box for interference, New York had a 3-on-1 shorthanded break only to have a pass blocked by rookie defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani -- triggering a 3-on-2 rush the other way. Connolly took a pass from Thomas Vanek, opted to shoot from inside the left circle and beat Lundqvist high on the blocker side to send the sellout crowd of 18,690 into a frenzy.

Lundqvist, who had allowed just one goal in New York's last three games, was sharp throughout, routinely steering shots to safety, covering loose pucks in his crease and dictating the tempo in his own end. He received help from his teammates, including a diving block by Brian Boyle late in the first period to deny Vanek on a slap shot from close range.

Enroth did some of his best work in the final minute, after Lundqvist left for an extra attacker. He also benefitted from a first-period crease-interference call against call that negated an apparent goal by Artem Anisimov.

The Rangers have seen three of their last four games end 1-0 -- they sandwiched wins against Florida and Boston around a 2-1 shootout loss to Ottawa last week. The Rangers travel to Long Island to visit the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum Thursday night. The Sabres are off until they play at Washington on Saturday night.

from NHL.com

Oswego is in the NCAA's

The Oswego State Lakers will be playing for the NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championships as they will be hosting a quarterfinals matchup on Saturday night March 12th at the Campus Center Ice Arena on the campus of SUNY Oswego.

The NCAA released that "Seven conferences have been awarded automatic qualification. The remaining four teams were selected at-large by the committee. The championship playoff format involves three first-round games and four quarterfinal games that are played on the campuses of the participating institutions. All games in the championship are single elimination. The four quarterfinal winners advance to Minneapolis, Minnesota, at Ridder Arena for the semifinals and championship game, which will be conducted March 25-26. The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association will host the championship".

Conference	School
ECAC DIII Men’s East Hockey League	Norwich University (20-5-3)
ECAC DIII Northeast Hockey League	Curry (16-8-3)
Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association	Adrian (23-3-1)
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Hamline University (16-6-5)
New England Small College Athletic Conference	Bowdoin College (17-7-1)
Northern Collegiate Hockey Association	St. Norbert (22-4-1)
State University of New York Athletic Conference	Plattsburgh State  (20-7-1)

Elmira College, Neumann College, State University of New York at Oswego and University Wisconsin, Superior, enter the field as the four at-large selections.

Oswego will await the winner of the Bowdoin/Neumann matchup. Plattsburgh will play either Norwich/Curry on Saturday as well. The other play in game on Wednesday night will feature Wis-Superior/Hamline. 

GCC Women's Basketball Region III Champions

The Genesee Women’s Basketball team won the 2010-11 NJCAA Region III Division II Tournament Sunday with an 83-65 victory over Mercyhurst NE. The win propels the Lady Cougars to the 2010-11 NJCAA Division II National Tournament hosted by Illinois Central College March 15-19, 2011, in East Peoria, Illinois.
Leading the way for the Lady Cougars was Tournament MVP freshman Kayla Golden (Lackawanna, NY) who was one assist shy of a triple double in the championship game. Golden had 24 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assist; which led the team in each category. Sophomore De’Vara Burrell (Rochester, NY) was close behind with her own double-double, registering 20 points and 11 rebounds. Genesee started the game with a pressure defensive that proved to be too much for the Saints as they took a 16 point lead at halftime (39-23). The Lady Cougars kept the pressure up in the second half, ensuring the victory and improving them to 18-10 on the season.

From GCC Sports Information

Oswego Has Up and Down Saturday on the Ice

Saturday was an up and down day on the ice for the Oswego State Lakers. The two hockey programs were on the ice at the same time, but one team was in Oswego and the other was about 82 miles down the road in Henrietta, NY.

The Oswego State Lakers Women's Hockey team traveled to the Frank Ritter Memorial Arena on the campus of the Rochester Institute of Technology and the Lakers defeated the Tigers by the score of 2-1, handing RIT its first loss of the season. Mackenzie Lee and Olivia Boersen scored for the green and gold while Batavia native Katie Stack scored the lone talley for RIT.  Laker netminder Emi Williams was outstanding again as she made 46 saves for the win over the number one ranked team in the country for D-III Women's Ice Hockey. The women return to the ice on Tuesday February 22nd at 3:00 pm as they take on Castelton State at the Campus Center Ice Arena

While back in Oswego, the number one ranked team in the country for D-III Men's Hockey were set to take care of business against the "little ponies that could", Morrisville Mustangs. However, the Lakers were simply outworked Saturday night as they returned home for the first time in a month, dropping a 5-2 decision to Morrisville. Taylor Vince and Bobby Cass scored the first 2 goals of the game at the 5:45 and 12:03 marks of the 1st period, respectively. Paul Rodrigues would score late in the period to get Oswego on the board. Tyler Swan, who scored twice in the last head-to-head matchup back in November, made it 3-1 as he trickled one past Beckwith following a 5 minute penalty kill by Oswego for a Dan Bremner hit from behind.  Jamie Nelson made it 4-1 just 1:11 into the 3rd period and although Justin Fox scored his first goal in 2 months and the Lakers had several powerplay opportunities, Oswego could not rally. Jame Jarvis would add the Mustangs' 5th goal at 12:02. The Lakers are next in action Friday as they play host to the Brockport Golden Eagles.

Oswego Drops First Game vs #1 RIT

ROCHESTER, NY - Kolbee McCrea (Wawa, Ontario/Burlington Barracudas) and Sarah Dagg (St. George, Ontario/Hamilton Hawks) scored third period goals to break a 1-1 tie and lift the No. 1 RIT women’s hockey team (21-0-2, 14-0-2 ECAC West) to a 3-1 win over SUNY Oswego (11-9-3, 7-7-3 ECAC West) at Ritter Arena on Friday afternoon. The Tigers are now unbeaten in 23 straight games.

McCrea broke a 1-1 tie with 9:29 left in regulation, taking a perfect feed from Dagg on the power-play and slamming a shot past Oswego goaltender Emil Williams into a wide open net for her team-best 17th goal of the season. Kristina Moss (Webster, NY/Buffalo Bisons) also assisted on the goal.

Dagg gave RIT a 3-1 lead with 3:42 left, after Kim Schlattman (Stratford, Ontario/Cambridge Fury) caused a turnover at the Oswego blue-line. The puck caromed to Ariane Yokoyama (Van Nuys, CA/LA Selects), who feathered a perfect pass to Dagg on a 2-on-1. From in tight, Dagg roofed a shot under the crossbar and past a sliding Williams for her 15th goal of the season.

With the two points, Dagg now has 148 for her career, five shy of the school record. She leads the squad with 36 points (15-21-36) this season.The Tigers out-shot Oswego, 37-20. RIT was 2-for-5 with the power-play, while keeping Oswego scoreless on five power-play attempts. The Tigers have now killed off 67 of their last 68 attempts while shorthanded.

Kourtney Kunichika (Fullerton, CA/LA Selects) also scored for the Tigers. Moss tallied two assists.
Freshman goaltender Laura Chamberlain (Norco, CA/LA Selects) was strong in net for RIT, stopping 19 shots to improve to 14-0-2 this season.

Jillian Bergeron scored for Oswego, just 29 seconds into the game. Williams stopped 34 shots in defeat.
The Lakers stunned the Ritter Arena crowd, scoring just 29 seconds into the contest, as Bergeron stuffed in a loose puck after Chamberlain made two stops on Mackenzie Lee in tight. RIT gave the puck up behind its own net, and was unable to clear the crease.

RIT answered right back at the 8:53 mark, on the power-play, as Kunichika came out from the side boards, went to the front of the net and slid a shot between the legs of Williams for her seventh goal of the year. Moss and Katie Stack (Batavia, NY/Rochester Edge) also assisted on the goal.

Chamberlain made a two huge saves on Megan Howe late in the period, as Howe came in on a breakaway. Howe tried to go over the blocker, but Chamberlain made a great save, and was able to dive and rob Howe on the rebound attempt.

Neither team scored in a tight, defensive, second period.  RIT held the puck in for the full two minute power-play midway through the frame and had five good chances, but could not get the puck past Williams. Kunichika nearly had RIT’s second goal of the afternoon, looking to have an open net after a shot caromed off the back boards, but Williams dove back to make a sensational save, keeping the game tied at 1-1. Chamberlain made a big save on Lee late in the period, sliding across to keep the puck out after Lee went around a Tiger defenseman.

The Tigers have now out-scored its opponents, 126-19 this season. They have allowed one goal or less in 19 games. RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 17-6-0, and have won all seven meetings between the two schools, since Oswego re-established its program in 2007.  The two teams meet once again on Saturday at Ritter Arena, beginning at 7 p.m. RIT will honor its four seniors before the game.

 

- From RIT Sports Information

Oswego is in WNY for a pair of SUNYAC Contests

The top ranked team in all of D-III Men's Ice Hockey makes a return to the ice tonight as the Oswego State Lakers make the trip to snowy Western New York for a showdown with the Buffalo State Bengals at the Buff State Ice Arena on Friday night. On Saturday, Oswego travels to Fredonia to take on the Blue Devils at Steele Hall.



The Oswego State Lakers are coming in as the top team in the land according to the latest USCHO D-III Poll. Oswego (15-2-0, 8-0-0)  is on a three game winning streak, including two shutouts by goalies Andrew Hare and Dan Jones. The Lakers potent offense is led by Junior transfer Ian Boots with 22 points (9 G 13 A), Sophomore Luke Moodie with 19 points (10 G 9 A) and Senior Justin Fox also with 19 points (8 G 11 A).

As already mentioned, the goaltenders for Ed Gosek's squad have been hot lately as they put back to back shutouts between the pipes. Dan Jones (3-1-0) comes into the weekend with a Goals Against Average (GAA) of 1.68 with a save percentage of .944 Andrew Hare picked up his first win as a Laker since transferring in from Niagara University and Hare (1-1-0) has a save percentage of .896 and GAA of 2.76 Starting goaltender Paul Beckwith (11-0-0) may or may not be ready to go this weekend as he is coming back from an injury. Beckwith has a GAA of 1.37 and has a save percentage of .949

The Buffalo State Bengals (8-7-2, 4-2-2) are coming in after a weekend sweep of Johnson and Wales last weekend. The Bengals are led offensively by Senior Nick Petriello with 21 points ( 7 G 14 A), Sophomore Trevor McKinney with 19 points (11 G 8 A) and Sophomore forward Justin Knee with 15 points (7 G 8 A). Between the pipes, Freshman Kevin Carr has had most of the load playing 16 games for the Bengals. Carr has a record of 7-7-2 and has a GAA of 2.66 and has a save percentage of .924

On Saturday, the Lakers will travel to Steele Hall in Fredonia to face off against the Fredonia Blue Devils. Fredonia (8-9-0, 3-5-0) is coming off a sweep of Franklin Pierce last weekend. The Blue Devils are led by Senior forward Jordon Oye with 30 points (13 G 17 A), Junior Brian Ross with 29 points (8 G 21 A) and Senior Alex Horton with 19 points (8 G 11 A). Fredonia's netminders include three Freshmen. One of the Freshmen is Hark Friesen who has played 11 games (5-6-0) in his first season in the Southern Tier. Friesen's GAA is 2.63 and has a save percentage of .917

Oswego's WNYO-FM 88.9 will have the play by play action of both games this weekend.

Notes: top picture left - Buff State Ice Arena, right - Steele Hall Ice Arena at Fredonia

PREVIEW: Bentley Falcons at RIT Tigers

The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Tigers will be hosting the Bentley Falcons in a pair of Atlantic Hockey Assoiciation (AHA)  showdowns starting with a 7:00 pm faceoff on Friday night at the Frank Ritter Memorial Arena on the campus of RIT. The two teams will conclude their weekend series with a 7:05 pm face-off on Saturday night.


The Tigers are coming into the weekend's action with a win and a tie over the Army Black Knights at West Point last weekend. RIT has a record of 11-8-3 and a 10-3-2 conference record so far this season. Leading the way offensively for RIT is Senior Forward and team Captain Andrew Favot with 27 points (7 G 20 A). Juinor Tyler Brenner has 24 points (16 G 8 A) and Sophomore Adam Hartley has 17 points (8 G 9 A). Between the pipes for RIT, Sophomore Shane Madolora has a record of 9-0-1 with a goals against average (GAA) of 1.68 and he has a save percentage of .947 The Tigers are coached by Wayne Wilson (12th season)

Bentley (5-10-3, 4-7-2 AHA) comes into the weekend looking to snap seven-game winless streak (0-5-2). Senior Erik Peterson leads the team in scoring with 13 points (6-7-13) in 15 games this season. Brett Gensler is tied for the team lead with six goals, while Dustin Cloutier and Jamie Nudy have seven assists. Senior goaltender Joe Calvi has played the majority of games in net this season, and is 4-6-1 with a 2.62 goals against average, and .921 save percentage. Kyle Rank has a 2.72 goals against average and .927 save percentage in five contests so far this season. The Falcons are coached by 8th year bench boss Ryan Soderquist.

Bentley was the last team conference opponent to defeat the Tigers at Ritter Arena, winning 5-4 on Jan. 30, 2010. RIT leads the all-time series between the two teams, 10-4-1. RIT was 1-1 against Bentley last year, winning 4-1 and losing 5-4. RIT is 8-3-1 against Bentley since the 2006-07 season. RIT is leading the AHA with 22 points, six points ahead of local rival Niagara and Robert Morris. Also on the line this weekend is RIT's eleven game home-unbeaten streak against conference foes. The Tigers are also riding a six game conference unbeaten streak as well.

PREVIEW: Curry Colonels at #2 Oswego State Lakers on Saves For a Cure Night

The Oswego State Lakers will play host to the Curry College Colonels out of the ECAC Northeast Conference in a non-conference contest at 7:00 pm Saturday night at the Campus Center Ice Arena. The Lakers will be sporting a gold jersey that helps supports Saves For A Cure. Saves For a Cure is a non-profit organization founded by former Brockport men's ice hockey goaltender Todd Sheridan aimed to help children with their battle against cancer in the Rochester area.

The Lakers are coming off a 2-0 victory over Skidmore on Tuesday night behind a 25 save shutout for Dan Jones (first of career) and goals from Jon Whitelaw and Dan Bremner to bump their record up to 14-2-0 overall. Oswego is led offensively by Junior Ian Boots with 20 points (8 G 12 A). Senior Justin Fox is one point behind Boots with 19 points (8 G 11 A) and Sophomore Luke Moodie is just one point behind Fox with 18 points (9 G 9 A). Between the pipes, Dan Jones has a record of 3-1-0 with a goals against average (GAA) of 1.68 and a save percentage of .944 Sophomore transfer Andrew Hare has not fared well in net for the green and gold. Hare has a save percentage of .839 and a GAA of 6.15. Overall, Oswego averages 3.88 goals per game (stat is in conference only).

The visiting Curry College Colonels come into the Port City after a game at the historic Utica Memorial Auditorium against the Pioneers on Friday. Curry comes in with an overall record of 5-3-2. The Colonels are led offensively by Juniors Christopher Atkinson with 15 points (5 G 10 A), Payden Benning with 11 points (7 G 4 A) and Steven Mohler with 9 points (3 G 6 A). In net for Curry, Freshman Travis Owens has a record of 4-1-1 with a GAA of 3.04 and a save percentage of .904 Sophomore Robert Dawson has a record of 1-2-1 with a save percentage of .852 and a GAA of 4.29 (stats are before Utica game)


Oswego State's Student run radio station WNYO-FM 88.9 will be carrying the contest live starting with their pregame show "Countdown to Faceoff" at 6:30 pm with the puck drop shortly after 7.The Oswego State Sports Information Department will be doing live stats for that game and the links can be found below.

LIVE STATS
LIVE AUDIO

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Before the day comes to an end I would like to wish everyone a safe and joyous new year as we kick off 2011 so from my family to yours, Happy NEW YEAR!!!!!

Pathfinder Bank Oswego Hockey Classic Finals

The Hamilton Continentals and the Hobart Statesmen will play for the Pathfinder Bank Oswego Hockey Classic Championship today at 1pm at the Campus Center Ice Arena on the campus of SUNY Oswego. The host Lakers will play UW Stevens Point at 4pm in the third place game. Hamilton comes in to the championship game with a convincing 5-1 win over the Lakers on Thursday and Hobart took care of UW Stevens Point in the other game on Thursday to reach the Championship game.

Oswego's Sports Information Department will take care of the stats for each game today and WNYO-FM 88.9 will take care of the play by play action from the Port City.Stats and audio for the games can be reached by clicking on the links below.

LIVE STATS

LIVE AUDIO

Oswego LOSES in Pathfinder Tournament, Plays UW Stevens Point Friday at 1pm

The Oswego State Lakers suffered a 5-1 beat down tonight at the hands of the Hamilton Continentals at the Campus Center Ice Arena in Oswego, NY. Hamilton's victory has them playing the Hobart Statesmen at 1:00 pm New Years Eve and the host Lakers will play in the third place game at 4:00 pm against UW Stevens Point.

The Lakers saw its 25-game home winning streak come to an end on Thursday in front of an estimated crowd of 2300. Hamilton stormed out of the gates in the first period capitalizing on an Oswego State boarding penalty midway through the frame. Bryan Kelly carried the puck up the left side of the rink before being checked off the puck. Anthony Ruberto picked up the puck and laced a pass through the slot to Joe Houk, who was crashing to the net. Houk slid the puck under Laker goaltender Andrew Hare to give Hamilton a 1-0 lead at the 10:03 mark.  The score stood at the first intermission. 

Midway through the second period, Oswego State's Joe Hall  ripped a shot that clanged off the pipe and crossbar.  The rebound went to the Continentals, who created an odd-man rush the opposite direction.  Thomas Williams and Nick Anderson had a 2-on-1 opportunity as Williams fed Anderson for his third goal of the season at 12:24 in the frame to put Hamilton ahead 2-0.  Anderson added another goal in the final two minutes of the stanza to make the score 3-0 with 20 minutes remaining.

The Lakers got on the scoreboard at 5:13 in the third period when Ian Boots crashed the net for a loose puck. Hank Van Boxmeer and Paul Rodrigues were awarded assists on the goal.  However, the Continentals quickly responded with a pair of goals in under 30 seconds in the ninth minute of the frame to bring the score to 5-1.Hamilton's Scott Hefferman registered 27 saves for the victory.  Oswego State's Andrew Hare suffered the loss with 26 saves in 48:45, while Dan Jones posted three saves in the final 11:02.

The loss marked the first time that the Lakers suffered a home loss since February 21, 2009 when they fell to Potsdam, 4-2.The loss also marks the first time that the Lakers suffered losses in back to back contests since that weekend in February 2009 as they lost to both Potsdam and Plattsburgh.

story courtesy of Oswego State Sports Information

Petty's Point: Bad play all night and spending most of the time in the pelenty box. Oswego spent 22 minutes in the sin bin including a ten minute misconduct pelenty. Also, the Lakers were 0-5 on the Powerplay. Sloppy play in their own end and sloppy passes led to this pathetic loss tonight. 

Syracuse Orange wins Pinstripe Bowl

Syracuse (8-5) amassed an SU bowl record 498 yards total offense to defeat Kansas State, 36-34, in the inaugural New Era Pinstripe Bowl on Thursday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. SU improved its overall bowl record to 12-9-1, while securing its eighth overall victory and sixth road win, the most since 1992. It marks the first bowl victory for the Orange since it captured the Insight.com Bowl title with a 26-3 win against K-State in 2001. The Orange is now 2-1 against K-State and 4-2 against Big 12 Conference opponents in bowl games.

Oswego State Hosts Pathfinder Bank Oswego Hockey Classic

The PathFinder Bank/Oswego Hockey Classic enters its fifth edition already steeped in a tradition of providing one of the most entertaining tournaments in Division III ice hockey.  Since its inception in 2007, three of the four previous Classic Champions have gone on to reach the NCAA Division III Frozen Four, including two national champions (Oswego State, 2007 and St. Norbert, 2008). Defending Champions Oswego State went to the Frozen Four last season in Lake Placid.

The four teams in this year’s tournament field – Hamilton College of the New England Small College Athletic Conference, Hobart College of the ECAC West, the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, and host Oswego State – would like to continue this tradition of post-season success.

The Lakers, who are the defending Classic champions, enter as the nation’s top-ranked team as garnered by US College Hockey Online (USCHO) on December 13 with an overall record of 12-1-0.  Oswego State started the season winning twelve straight decisions before falling to Hobart, 5-2, on December 11 in the final contest for both squads before the holiday break.  More importantly, the Lakers finished the first half of the season with a conference record of 8-0-0, which is five points ahead of the second-place squad.

Oswego State’s early season success can be attributed to contribution up and down the lineup as eight different skaters have recorded game-winning goals.  The Laker offense ranked 13th in scoring in NCAA Division III on December 18, averaging 4.08 goals per game.  The Lakers are paced by senior Justin Fox who has tallied 17 points on eight goals and nine assists.  He is followed closely by linemate Ian Boots at 16 points (five goals and 11 assists). 

Special teams have also played an important role as Oswego State has the sixth-ranked power play in the country, converting 28.6 percent (20/70) of its opportunities with Fox scoring six power-play goals.  On the penalty kill, the Lakers sit tied for 12th in Division III at 87.3 percent (62/71).

Another reason for Oswego State’s success has been the goaltending efforts of junior Paul Beckwith and sophomore Dan Jones, who have combined for a goals against average of 1.62, which ranks fifth in the nation.  Beckwith is 11-0-0 on the season with a 1.37 goals against average and a .949 save percentage, but suffered an injury early in December that will likely keep him from playing during the Classic.  Jones appeared in his first collegiate contests in the final two games before the break posting a 1-1-0 record.  His win came against 12th-ranked Utica in a 2-1 decision where he made 27 saves.   

The Lakers will be tested immediately in the opening round when they face Hamilton College (4-3-0).  Each of the Continentals’ four victories have been by two or more goals, but have not been able to replicate their offensive production on a consistent basis as they average 3.29 goals per game, which is 36th in Division III.  Sophomore defenseman Joe Houk paces the squad with five goals, while forwards Anthony Scarpino and Anthony Ruberto are tied for the team lead in points with seven on two goals and five assists each.  Defensively, Hamilton is tied for 30th in goals allowed at 2.86 with senior goaltender Scott Hefferman posting a 2.50 goals against average in six appearances.  Execution on special teams will be critical for the Continentals as they rank 38th in the country on the penalty kill at 81.2 percent (26/32) and 58th on the power play at 14.6 percent (6/41).

This year’s West Region representative comes to Oswego State from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point with an overall mark of 5-8-0.  The Pointers started the season 4-1-0 and was ranked as high as 10th in the USCHO.com Poll on November 8, but suffered a seven-game losing streak before recording a 3-2 win over then 14th-ranked UW-Eau Claire.  Seven of UW-Stevens Point’s losses have been by two or fewer goals versus four ranked opponents.  The Pointers have a balanced offensive attack with no player tallying more than four goals, but have struggled to score goals as the 53rd-ranked offense in Division III at 2.84 goals per contest.  Sophomore goaltender Nick Graves has logged the majority of minutes between the pipes with a 2.34 goals against average to keep UW-Stevens Point in contests.  The Pointers have a solid penalty kill unit that ranks 22nd at 84.3 percent having killed off 59 of the 70 power plays they have faced.

UW-Stevens Point will square off against Hobart College in Thursday’s first matchup.  The Statesmen enter the Classic on a high note riding a three-game win streak after handing Oswego State its’ lone loss of the season on December 11 in a 5-2 win on their home ice.  Hobart has played particularly well against SUNYAC teams having posted a 3-1-1 record with the loss coming at the hands of Geneseo (5-2) and the tie versus Cortland in a 2-2 stalemate.  The Statesmen rank in the top 20 in goals scored and goals allowed.  Offensively, Hobart ranks 16th in scoring at 3.85 goals per game behind 12 points from senior Matthew Wallace and junior Greg Ciciola.  Both have also provided a spark to the 16th-ranked power-play unit (13/54 at 24.1 percent), as the skaters have combined to record seven of the team’s 13 power-play goals.  Defensively, the Statesmen have gone to sophomore Nick Broadwater in goal all season.  Broadwater carries a 2.33 goals against average and a .927 save percentage.  

There is live Stats and Oswego's Student run station, WNYO-FM has all the action live from the Campus Center Ice Arena on the campus of the State University of New York at Oswego.

Picture and story courtesy of Oswego State Sports Information