States Begin in New York

It's time for championship playoffs to begin in New York. I asked for teams to let me know where they are playing and who is hosting to that Hockey New York State can provide some coverage of what is happening across the State. We are hoping to run a complete rundown in our April issue. So here is what you have provide me with.

First from Alexandria Bay, hosts of the NYSAHA Tier III 16U Midget States.
Action begins there on Friday, March 16 when Great Neck takes on Niagara in Game 1. Other teams taking part in Division I are Louisville and NCYHAA, along with Great Neck and Niagara County. In Division II it will be Bear Mountain, Valley, Alexandria Bay and Batavia. Competition continues on Saturday and Sunday.

The Westchester Vipers have a number of teams going to the States including their Squirts, who are seeded #2 and will be playing in Niagara on March 2-4; PeeWees, also seeded #2 in the East Section, will be in Oswego, March 9 through 11. At the same time as the PeeWees, their Bantams will be in Clinton after being seeded #2 in the East and their Midget U16's were seeded #3 from the East and will play in Massena March 16-18.

The Niagara Junior Purple Eagles will host the final Squirt Tier II tournament March 3-5 at Dwyer Arena on the Niagara University campus. Seven teams from Niagara were Tournament Bound this season and five of them have qualified for states including their Squirts, PeeWees, Midget 18U and Girls 12U and 16U teams.

Among the teams coming to Niagara are the PAL Blue Knights, Clarence, Bethlehem, Syracuse, Westchester, Hartford and Saratoga.

Amherst Youth Hockey is hosting the Girls 16U Tier II Tournament to the Brewster Lady Bulldogs, Buffalo Hornets, Potsdam Ice Storm, Adirondack Northstars, Amherst Knights, Binghamton Blizzard, Troy Albany Ice Cats and West Seneca Wings on March 9, 10 and 11.

Amherst is also hosting the Girsl 14U Tier II Tournament with teams from the Brewster Lady Bulldogs, Buffalo Regals, Lake Placid Lady Bombers, Chazy Lady Flyers, Amherst Knights, Ithaca Shooting Stars, Potsdam Ice Storm and Rochester Edge.

The Buffalo Bisons are hosting the NYS Girls Tier I Hockey Championships for 12U, 14U and 16U. Games will be held at the newly renovated North Buffalo Rink on Tacoma Street in Buffalo. They will welcome teams from Syracuse Nationals, Long Island Lady Islanders and their own 12U, 14U and 16U teams.

In other notes:

The Buffalo Regals 19U team will be going to Potsdam for the State Tournament and their 14U will be heading to Amherst.
The Regals 14U team had a 10-2 record in Q games and will play in Tier II States.

The West Seneca Wings Girls 12U team will play at the State Tournament in Saranac Lake after placing first in the Great Lakes Girls Hockey League U12 TB division.

If you're team is heading to states, boys or girls, please email hockeynys@gmail so we may follow the progression of these tournaments, and perhaps cover the event.

WNYGirls Varsity Quarterfinals--Kenmore, West Seneca and Orchard Park Move On!

            In the Second Annual WNY Girls Varsity Ice Hockey Federation Quarterfinals Kenmore, West Seneca and Orchard Park/Frontier will move on to Semi Finals on Wednesday (February 29).

            Kenmore upset Amherst/Sweethome (Katz) 4-0 in game one at Northtowns Ice Center. Brianna Mathias put the first goal in the net with assists from Alyssa Dollendorf and Emily King at the 6:03 mark of the first period.

            After that it was Kenmore’s Kate Miller, unassisted to bring the first period to a 2-0 game.            

            No pucks got past goalies Lauren Pray and Maddy Utz in the second period but the Katz tried with 10 shots on goal and Kenmore with 8 sog.           

            Kate Miller opened the scoring for Kenmore unassisted and the final one went in off the stick of Alyssa Dollendorf, also unassisted.

            Kenmore Goalie Pray made 34 saves and Katz Goaltender Utz made 21.

            In game two it was West Seneca overpowering Lancaster 12-0. Lancaster, who has not won a game all season, put in a lot of effort in this game but just couldn’t get the puck past West Seneca’s Alyssa Gates.

            Opening the scoring for West Seneca was Erin Gehen at the 3:21 mark of the first period. Four more goals went in from Jessica Dolac, Nicole Kirchberger and Molly Sikorski. Assisting in those were Emily O’Shei, Kristein Dikorski and Gehen.

            In the second period West Seneca put in five more with Jillian Schrader getting her first for the night, Kirchberger with two, Gehen with number two, M. Sikorski with her second and Brianna Carlin with her first.

            Assisting in the second period were O’Shei, Jordan Weisenberg, Dolac and Gehen.

            West Seneca tallied three more in the third period with Carlin, Kathleen Zimmer and Kristen Sikorski assisted by Gehen, K. Sikorski, O’Shei and Kirchberger.

            Lancaster had 5 shots on goal while West Seneca had 76.

            The third and final game of the series saw Williamsville face their same foe from last year’s championship games. Williamsville took the 2011 League Championship and Orchard Park/Frontier took the 2011 Section VI championship.

            Orchard Park came up the winner and will move on to the semi-finals after defeating Williamsville 2-1 in overtime.

            The first period remained scoreless but at 9:45 of the second Bernadette O’Connell shot one past Williamsville’s Theresa Meosky, unassisted.

            Second period ended 1-0 but Williamsville answered back at the 12:31 mark of the third period when Sarah Scolnick, assisted by Emily Koestler and Alexis Skibitsky, put one in the net. With 23 shots on goal for Williamsville and 20 for OP/Frontier, they moved into overtime.

            At 1:55 of the fourth period O’Connell shot one in assisted by Ava Simoncelli and Katie Page to end the contest at 2-1.

            In the semi-finals on Wednesday it will be #1 seeded Monsignor Martin facing Kenmore at 7 p.m. and West Seneca facing off against Orchard Park/Frontier at 9 p.m.

            The Championship game will be held Friday, March 2 at 8 p.m. at the Northtown Arena.

Captions:

Kenmore and Amherst/Sweethome face off in Game One of the WNY Girls Varsity Ice Hockey Quarterfinals.

Kenmore celebrates a victory.

Lancaster Goalie Madeline Norton faced 76 shots on goal; making 64 saves.

West Seneca celebrates a victory.

Orchard Park/Frontier meet Williamsville, a repeat from last season's Championship game.

Orchard Park/Frontier girl's celebrate a victory and move on to the Semi-finals.

(Photographs by Janet Schultz)

Super Sunday XVIII Results

Super Sunday XVIII was held yesterday (Feb. 26) at First Niagara Center. Here are the results:

Mixed School Championship: It was Iroquois/Alden over City Honors/Cardinal O’Hara 9-3. This was Iroquois’ fifth consecutive league title.

Large School Club: Hutch Tech 5; St. Francis 3. This was Hutch Tech’s 22nd appearance and their second consecutive win. They are 13-9 in Super Sunday overall action.

Small School Club: Starpoint took Cheektowaga 5-2. This is Starpoint’s 2nd consecutive win.

In Federation play:

Large School Championship went to Niagara Wheatfield as they shutout Williamsville North 4-0. Niagara Wheatfield now faces West Genesee on the road to the States.

The Small School Championship went to Kenmore East as they beat Williamsville East 9-2. Kenmore now faces Batavia Notre Dame.

In the Private School Championship St. Francis beat Canisius 4-1. It was St. Francis’ first Federation win since 1999 and they move on to facer St. Anthony’s in the State final at Nassau Colisieum on Sunday.

WNY Girls Varsity Playoffs Set

The WNY Girls Varsity Ice Hockey Federation playoffs begin Monday, Feb. 27, at Northtowns Ice Arena in Amherst.

With Monsignor Martin drawing a bye for the first round with a 16-1-1 record for 33 points. the play opens with #4 Kenmore playing #5 Amherst/Sweethome at 4 p.m. Kenmore went 7-10-1 on the season and Amherst/Sweethome (Katz) went 6-12-0.

In game two it will be #2 West Seneca facing #7 Lancaster. West Seneca was 16-2-0, one point shy of the first place position and Lancaster went with no wins this season. Game two begins at 6 p.m.

At 8 p.m. it will be Orchard Park/Frontier (#6) against Williamsville (#3). Orchard Park/Frontier has a 6-12-0 record and Williamsville had 11 wins, 7 losses on the season.

The second round of the playoffs is scheduled for Wednesday (Feb. 29)  evening at Northtowns.

Bring your girls out to watch some hard-hitting, fast-paced and skilled hockey.

Schedule for Tier I Girls Playoffs in Buffalo

Saturday, March 17

9 a.m. Buffalo Bisons 12U vs Syracuse Nationals 12U

10:30 a.m. Buffalo Bisons 14U vs Syracuse Nationals 14U

12:30 p.m. Buffalo Bisons 16U vs Long Island LAdy Islanders 16U

2:30 p.m. Syracuse Nationals 12U vs Buffalo Bisons 12U

4:30 p.m. Syracuse Nationals 14U vs Buffalo Bisons 14U

7 p.m. Long Island Lady Islanders 16U vs Buffalo Bisons 16U

State Champions in each group will proceed to the USA Tier I National Championship in Marlborough, Massachusetts on March 28.

All games will be held at the North Buffalo Rink on Tacoma. This rink has been refurbished and welcomes all visitors.

Bisons host girls state hockey championships

The Buffalo Bisons Hockey Organization is hosting the New York State Girl’s Tier I Hockey Championships for the U12, U14 and U16 age groups.

The Bisons will host 6 teams and 200-plus visitors from across New York State on the weekend of March 17^th.  Games will be on Saturday starting at 9a.m. and continue throughout the day at the North Buffalo ice rink on Tacoma Avenue.

The State Champions in each age group will proceed to the USA Hockey’s Tier I National Championship in Marlborough MA beginning on March 28^th. 

The Bisons U16 team is currently ranked number one in the nation and is hoping to keep their momentum through the state event and on to the national tournament.  The team recently won the highly regarded Connecticut Polar Bear Holiday Invitational at the U19 age level.  A majority of the Bisons U16 team played at the U14 level last year that won the state event.  They went on and participated in the US nationals losing in the semi-finals in overtime.

The U14 team is currently ranked 6^th in the nation and is looking to redeem themselves from last year’s state event where they finished second to rival Syracuse.   The two teams have played four times this year with the Bisons outscoring the Syracuse team by a total of 18-2 in the games.  The U12 team is currently ranked 17^th in the nation and will also be facing rival Syracuse for the State title.  These two teams have played four times this year with each winning two games.

Coaches Named for Team USA Womens U18

Jeff Kampersal, head women's ice hockey coach at Princeton University, will serve as head coach of the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team for the 2012-13 season. Meanwhile,Courtney Kennedy, assistant coach at Boston College, and Steve Guider, head coach of the Blaine Girls' High School Team in Minnesota, will serve as assistant coaches.

"We've got a terrific staff, each who brings something a little bit different to the table," said Reagan Carey, director of women's hockey for USA Hockey.

The 2012-13 season includes the USA Hockey Women's National Festival (August 2012/Blaine, Minn.), the 2012 Women's Under-18 Series, a three-game competition against Canada (Aug. 16-19/Blaine, Minn.) and culminates with the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World U18 Championship in the winter.

Kampersal is serving as coach of the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team for the first time after having been involved in multiple USA Hockey Women's Select Festivals and Player Development Camps. He has been the head coach for 15 years at Princeton and his teams have averaged better than 17 wins per season, more than four wins more per season than in the first 17 years of the women's program. In 15 seasons, he has amassed a 233-184-41 record behind the Princeton bench.

A 1992 graduate of Princeton, Kampersal served as the captain of the men's hockey team as a senior. An All-Ivy League and All-ECAC selection, Kampersal shares the school record for consecutive games played with 107. Kampersal played high school hockey at St. John's Prep in Danvers, Mass., and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2009. A 10th-round selection of the New York Islanders in the 1998 National Hockey League Entry Draft, Kampersal played for the East Coast Hockey League's Richmond Renegades and the American Hockey League's Capital District Islanders.

Kennedy is currently in her fifth season on the Boston College coaching staff after serving as the head coach of women's ice hockey at Buckingham Browne and Nichols School in Cambridge, Mass., for three years. A mainstay on the U.S. Women's National Team from 2001-06, Kennedy was on the U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Teams in 2002 (silver) and 2006 (bronze). She also played for Team USA when it captured the gold medal at the 2005 IIHF Women's World Championship. She currently sits on the Executive Board of USA Hockey as an Athlete Director. Kennedy began her collegiate career with Colby College before transferring to the University of Minnesota. In 2001, she was a top-three finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given annually to the most outstanding women's college player, after making the top-10 in 1998. In 2008, Kennedy was inducted into the Minnesota Hall of Fame. 

Guider has over two decades of coaching experience. Currently in his 10th season as head coach of the Blaine Girls' High School Team in Minnesota, Guider has accumulated multiple coaching awards including the Charlie Stryker Coach of the Year in 2004 and Butch Nash Outstanding Assistant Coach of the Year in 2008. He has been the head goalie coach at the USA Hockey Girls' Player Development Camps for the last 11 seasons. Additionally, Guider has been involved in a number of the U.S. Women's National Team camps and events.

Colgate's Autism Awareness Project is Successful

The Colgate women's hockey team kick-off weekend for its 2012 Autism Awareness Project that was held on Friday, Feb. 3 and Saturday, Feb. 4 was a success.
 
The Raiders held their annual Light Up Starr Rink Blue event on Friday, Feb. 3 and wore special autism awareness jerseys designed by 11-year-old Christian Mast in both their games against Union and Rensselaer last weekend.
 
So far, the team has raised $8,334.50 since the launch on Friday, through raffle tickets, the player puzzle fundraiser and donations at the Light Up Starr Rink Blue event. In addition to the raffle and the player puzzle fundraiser, the team will continue to raise money through its online auction that will close on Feb. 18.
 
PLAYER PUZZLE FUNDRAISER
Each player has created their own individual online puzzle on the Web site for Autism Speaks, North America's largest autism science and advocacy organization. Fans can purchase a piece of a player's puzzle for just $10 and help support Autism Speaks U. These digital puzzle pieces can be sent to family, friends and supporters of the Colgate women's hockey to help put the pieces together and raise money for autism research. To purchase puzzle pieces, or for more information about the project and its events, please visit www.colgate.edu/autism.
 
RAFFLE AND AUCTION
The Colgate men's and women's hockey teams are hosting a raffle and auction that will begin on Feb. 3 and end on Feb. 18 to benefit Goals for Good and the Autism Awareness Project. Fans can purchase raffle tickets in the lobby outside of Starr Rink for five dollars each during men's and women's hockey home contests, and can bid for auction items atauction.colgateraiders.com. With the raffle, fans can select which raffle item they want to play for. Winners of both the raffle and auction items will be notified on Feb. 20.
 
Raffle items include a Syracuse Crunch signed jersey, a Jim Craig 1980 USA signed personalized jersey, a voucher for one pair of Bauer APX skates, gift baskets from the Colgate Inn and Bookstore, and a Bauer Autism Speaks stick signed by the men's and women's hockey teams, to name a few.
 
The live online auction will also take place from Feb. 3 until Feb. 18. Auction items include the Colgate women's hockey autism awareness jerseys, signed sticks by Ryan Kessler and Eric Stahl, signed NHL jerseys, a signed NBA jersey, and a Jim Craig 1980 USA signed personalized jersey.

All proceeds will be split between Goals for Good and the Colgate women's hockey Autism Awareness Project.

Potsdam Victory

The SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey team (9-8-3, 6-8-3 ECAC West), scored 2
late goals in the first, and added two quick ones in the second to take a
5 goal lead in route to a 10-0 victory over the Chatham Cougars, (0-15,
0-15 ECAC West).  Senior co-captain Annmarie Lewis, (Newmarket,
Ontario/Aurora Panthers), finished with a 5 point night on three goals and
two assists, freshman Izzy Fayerman (Calgary, Alberta/The Edge),
contributed with four points of her own with two goals and two assists.

Fayerman started the scoring at 5:15 of the first on the power play from
Lewis, then added a second at 19:07 on assists from Lewis and sophomore
Jenn Crawford (Burlington, Ontario/Stoney Creek Sabres). Sophomore Jessica
Silviera, (Brampton, Ontario/Brampton Thunder), scored an unassisted goal
37 seconds later at 19:44 to break open a close game and give the Bears a
3-0 lead after the first. Potsdam outshot Chatham 18-3.

Junior Brittany Westlake, (Georgetown, Ontario/Brampton Thunder), scored
just 53 seconds into the second on a screened shot form the point, senior
Breanna Roy,  (Orleans, Ontario/Nepean Wildcats), with the helper. Less
than a minute later Lewis tallied from Fayerman, at 1:26 to all but end
the suspense. Crawford got into the act, scoring from Lewis and Roy on the
power play. Lewis increased the lead with a ricochet from the slot
assisted by Fayerman, and she completed her hat trick scoring her third of
the period, unassisted, to give the Bears a 8-0 after the second. Potsdam
outshot Chatham 10-2.

In the third senior assistant captain Caitlyn Manahan (St.
Albans,VT/Elmira College) added to the lead from Silviera , and Freshman
Alexandra Holowka (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Balmoral Hall. Silviera finished off
the scoring with her second of the night from Roy. The Bears outshot the
Cougars 9-5 in the third, and finished with 37-10 shot advantage for the
game.

“All in all we’re happy to have the two points” coach Jay Green said, “and
we have to be sharp when playoff time comes”.

Oswego Drops to Sacred Heart

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - The Oswego State women's ice hockey team (9-11-2) dropped a 3-2 decision to Division I Sacred Heart University (9-14-1) Friday night. The Lakers held a two-goal lead, but the Pioneers answered with three straight goals for the comeback win. 

Oswego State got off on the right foot in the first, as Jocelyn St. Clair (So., Cambridge, Ont.) netted her fourth goal of the season at the 5:30 mark. Melissa Seamont (So., North Bay, Ont.) was credited with the assist. Sophomore Carly Henderson (Markham, Ont.) doubled to the Laker lead with her seventh goal of the season at 15:19 in the first with Olivia Boersen (So., Stratford, Ont.). Less than a minute later, though, Brianna Connolly put Sacred Heart on the board with a goal to make the score, 2-1, at the break.

After an uneventful second period, Tara Kent tied the game 1:32 into the third. She was assisted by Nicole Palazzo. Nearly five minutes later, Alex Davis scored the game-winner with assists going to Natasha Klinoff and Brianna Connolly to complete the comeback. 

Catie Ladner of Sacred Heart was awarded her first win of the season, as she stopped 36 shots. Oswego State's Megan Amlinger (Sr., Mississauga, Ont.) posted 23 shots in the losing effort.  

West Leads ESWG

Lake Placid, N.Y. - Katie Stack, of Batavia, led Western New York to a win over New York City, 4-0, with two goals in women’s ice hockey in the Empire State Winter Games in Lake Placid. Western New York now has a perfect record of 3-0.

Elizabeth Gemmiti, of Rochester, opened the scoring with a goal for Western New York, 1:41 into the contest. Annmarie Cellino, of West Seneca, also provided another goal for Western New York in the first period.

Ashley Schneegold, of Tonawanda, continued an impressive streak in net, achieving a shutout and only allowing one goal in two games.

Adirondack has two wins and no losses.

West and Adirondack Take Opening Hockey Games

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - Deanna Ventura, of Liverpool, had a three goal hat trick Friday leading the Western New York team to an opening round victory, 9-1, against Long Island in women’s ice hockey at the Empire State Winter Games in Lake Placid.

Teammate Shawnee Oberholtzer, of Middleport, contributed three assists, while Katie Stack, of Batavia, added two goals and one assist. Morgan Beikirch, from Livonia, also added two goals and two assists for the winners.

Western New York outshot Long Island 54-8. Western New York opened up the game with a four goal lead in the second period. Before, Long Island’s Maryann Knot, of Levittown, tallied their only goal of the contest.

 

###

 

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - Adirondack defeated Central, 4-1, on Friday, in an opening round women's hockey game at the Empire State Winter Games in Lake Placid.

 

2002 Olympian Andrea Kilbourne-Hill, of Saranac Lake, scored the first goal for Adirondack in the first period, followed by Christin Powers, of Canton, and Danielle Lennox, of Lisbon, both scoring in the second period.

 

Trailing 3-0, Melissa Lomanto, of Syracuse, scored Central's lone goal, cutting the deficit to 3-1. Late in the third period, Kristine Faffley, of Potsdam, scored the final goal for Adirondack.

 

Lauren Dahm, of Liverpool, made 44 saves to keep her Central team in the game.

 

Rochester Launches Women's Junior Hockey Team

Rochester Youth Hockey, in partnership with Maksymum Hockey, is pleased to announce the formation of the Maksymum Edge Girls' Junior Hockey Team.

The Edge will provide a full season format for players looking to showcase their skills and build a competitive experience with expectations of moving on to college hockey. The team will mirror the development model of both the Maksymum Junior B Hockey Team and the Rochester Stars Junior A Team of the Eastern Junior Hockey League. The team will practice four times a week, along with off-ice conditioning provided by Athletic Republic.

"Having the ability to offer girls junior hockey in Rochester is both exciting and timely," said Ray Cardella, director-at-large with Rochester Youth Hockey (RYH) and long-time director of the Rochester Edge Program. "We have seen a lot of talent leave Rochester to pursue high level competition and exposure. This venue will allow us to effectively compete with the other junior programs and academies."

"It is extremely important to keep our talent local," said Morgan Beikirch, director of girls hockey for Maksymum LLC and a former college coach. "Our younger girls need role models to connect the dots to college hockey. If our best girls always leave, it is a disincentive for some little girls."

Although priority is given on developing local talent, the Edge will also expand their reach to competitive players throughout North America.

"We expect to see some players from all over involved in our program," continued Beikirch. "This will be a great stepping stone for high school players and graduates looking to improve their exposure to college hockey scouts.

"We expect that every game will attract college attention," she concluded.

The Maksymum Edge Girls' Junior Hockey Tam will explore affiliation with several junior leagues but will focus mostly on college campus showcases and major showcase tournaments.

The team will have at least one weekend per month without games and travel. A new logo and color scheme will be announced prior to the Inaugural Season of 2012-13. Announcement of a Head Coach and tryout schedule will be announced within the next several days.

Information can be obtained by emailig Beikirch at morgan@maksymum.com

Empire State Gams Open Tomorrow

With 967 athletes in Lake Placid the Empire State Winter Games will hold opening ceremonies at 6 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 2) in the Herb Brooks Arena. And it is there that women's ice hockey will compete as well.

Twenty young ladies from Western New York will work to secure the gold.

This group includes Alexandra Talbot, Ashley Schneegold, Amanda Todd, AnnMarie Cellino, Deanna Ventura, Jaz Marcucci, Julie Freeland, Amanda Johnston, Katie Stack, Kylie Mazetta, Liz Gemmiti, Mallory Giambra, Marissa Domvovy, Melissa Jeckovich, Morgan Beikirch, Nicole Scuteri, Shara Hannon, Sam Veihdeffer, Shawnee Oberholtzer and Erin Whitford.

These girls come from such organizations as the Rochester Edge, Buffalo Hornets, Wheatfield Blades and the University of Buffalo.

We wish them all the best.

If other NY Teams would like to post their roster, please email me at JDSchultz3663@gmail.com.

Hockey NYS will try and keep its readers posted on the progress of the hockey games.