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February 19, 2025

BY Janet Schultz

The Professional Women’s Hockey League will be bringing their Take-Over Tour to Buffalo this weekend (February 22-23).

The Take Over Tour is a way for the PWHL to promote professional women’s hockey, build their audience and bring the league to new fans and generate excitement for the league and for the future of women’s ice hockey.

The league is made up of six teams including the New York Sirens and Boston Fleet who will be playing in Buffalo.

Ella Shelton and Allyson Simpson of the New York Sirens and Jill Saulnier and Sydney Bard of the Boston Fleet met with members of the media via Zoom this week to discuss the Tour.

Bard, a native of New Hartford, NY, is very excited to be bringing the PWHL to Buffalo.

“I am super excited. Being from upstate New York it will be exciting to have family and friends here,” said Bard. “Plus New York is our rival.”

“Hockey is part of the culture of Western New York,” said Shelton. “We expect a great, rowdy crowd.”

Fans will see an intense, fast-paced game. There is a rivalry between Boston and New York, with Boston coming out on top, that will make the game more intense.

“We all bring our A game to each game and are refreshed every morning,” said Saulnier, who played for Cornell University.

“Fans will see a fast game, defense to offense,” continued Saulnier. “Shots are fast, puck passing is fast and it is physical.”

They all agree that this is a way to bring young girls, and boys, to see a hockey game played by the best women players.

It’s also a way to show young players that you can have fun, chase your dreams in a sport you love.

There is no harm in trying something you love, have fun and if you fail, you get back up and try again.

This is the story that reflects the PWHL. Several tries for a professional women’s league were made and while they didn’t succeed the organizers kept trying.

The PWHL was launched January 1, 2024, after Mark Walter and the Kimbra Walter’s Mark Walter Group purchased the PHF (formerly NWHL) in June 2023. The league is made up of six teams in Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa and Toronto. The PWHL has broken multiple attendance records and holds the worldwide all-time record for a women’s hockey game.

Players are paid to play and the average salary is $56,500.

The teams coming to Buffalo are rivals, as mentioned.

Statistically Boston Fleet are in the middle of the pack after playing 17 games they have a 9-8 record and the New York Sirens are 9-8; but with overtime wins and losses they are six points apart putting New York at the bottom of the standings.

Boston is carrying three native New Yorkers with Olivia Zafuto of Niagara Falls; Bard from New Hartford and Aerin Frankel of Chappaqua. Bard and Zafuto played at Colgate University.

New York has Goalie Abigail Levy of Congers. Add to that their coaching staff has recognizable names in Greg Fargo, who coached the women’s team at Colgate University and assistant coach Josh Sciba who coached the women’s teams at Niagara University and Union College.

Siren’s Micah Zandee-Hart played at Cornell and Kayle Osborn played for Colgate.

The Buffalo schedule includes the New York Sirens holding an Open Practice on Saturday, February 22 from 10 a.m. to Noon at LeCom HarborCenter followed by an autograph session from 12:20 to 12:40 p.m.

The Fleet take to the ice for an Open Practice Noon and upon that ending at 2 p.m. they will hold an autograph session from 2:20 to 2:40 p.m. This will also be held at LeCom HarborCenter.

The Boston Fleet vs New York Sirens game will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, February 23 at Key Bank Center.

Tickets for the event can be obtained by going to https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0000617194991C52?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAn9a9BhBtEiwAbKg6fjP9C1UEUyQOZOWlcFeDlq89KM5LzUqm8wo51oXHRsbookPpEv_MPRoCB7kQAvD_BwE

FFLOP Takes 2024-25 WNYGVIH Federation Championship

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February 19, 2025

Photos and Story by Janet Schultz, NYHOL

Frontier/Franklinville/LakeShore/Orchard Park (FFLOP) has returned to the victory platform in the WNYGVIH Federation by defeating Hamburg/Eden/West Seneca (HEWS) and taking the Championship. It’s been six years since their last Championship, a three-peat after winning in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

However, this is not the end of the road. FFLOP faces Webster for the Western Regional Championship and a spot at the NYSPHSAA States. Who they will face is still being determined due to a weather cancellation of two games.

FFLOP took the NYS Championship (then known as a Regional Championship) in 2017-18, their third appearance in the States. Williamsville won it in 2018-19.

FFLOP battled all season with KenGiPort and LIDA to make it to the finals. At the end of the regular season they placed second to KenGiPort with LIDA in third. Only 2.5-3 points separated them. In Quarterfinals FFLOP beat Williamsville, moved on to play LIDA and then to the Championship against HEWS.

The game opened with the first period ending in 0-0, much like the game previously played for the Private School Championship. In the second period Sophia Phillips scored an unassisted goal at 9:51 and the period ends 1-0 HEWS, and with a penalty that carried over.

After the teams returned to the ice for the third period. FFLOP came out flying and determined to take a win for their Assistant Coach Chelsie Sereday, home recovering from surgery. It was all FFLOP when just 24 seconds in Peyton Forcucci scored. Seven minutes later Gabby Sojda scored, unassisted and then sank in a second one. Chloe Gearhart scored an empty netter and the game ends 4-1 FFLOP. Credit goes to both goaltenders who “stood on their heads” at times to stop the puck from entering…Rachael Fix for FFLOP and Ella Buczynski for HEWS. (Sorry I was unable to obtain the stats for this game).

FFLOP ends the season with a 11-2-3 record. Maya Griffin and Gabby Sojda lead the scoring this season with 26 goals and 27 assists for Griffin and 25 goals and 26 assists for Sojda. In addition to leading the league this season, Griffin has moved to #8 in the WNYGVIH All Time Scoring list with 58 goals and 70 assists in 80 games played. Also in the top ten this season are Peyton Forcucci with 13 goals, 17 assists and at #10 Jocelyn Smaczniak with 4 goals and 24 assists.

FFLOP’s goaltending has Rachael Fix with 907.12 minutes played, stopping 346 of 376 shots for a .920 save percentage. She served as goalie for all games played this season.

HEWS Sophia Phillips comes in at #6 with 18 goals and 14 assists. HEWS goaltender Ella Buczynski is in the top of the goaltender list for this season with 867.20 minutes played, stopping 417 of 451 shots and a .925 save percentage. She also played in all games this season.

FFLOP heads to Webster Ice Arena to face Webster in the Regional Quarterfinals. The game is scheduled for Wednesday, February 19 at 7 p.m.

In other regional games Potsdam is facing Beekmantown.

Section 5/6 (FFLOP or Webster) has to play Section 3/4 (Skaneateles) and Section 2 (Adirondack) has to play Section 7/10 (Potsdam or Beekmantown) in the State Semi-finals on Friday, February 21. Those games are at 4 and 6 p.m. at the Utica Nexus Center, respectively. For those who have followed the girls varsity leagues, all of these teams have been in the States and all but Webster have taken home a State Championship at some point, most recently Adirondack last season.

The NYS Championship game is scheduled for Saturday, February 22 at Noon at the Nexus Center.

Tickets are required for all of these games. Go to https://gofan.co/app/school/NYSPHSAA and that will direct you to the ticket page.

Photos property of NYHOL, Janet Schultz© Photographer

To obtain copies or permission to use email [email protected]

St. Mary’s of Lancaster Takes WNYGVIH Title

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February 19, 2025

Photos and Story by Janet Schultz, NYHOL

St. Mary’s of Lancaster is the 2025 Private School Champion in the WNYGVIH Federation. They didn’t get it easily with Monsignor Martin keeping the puck moving and Goalie Kate Kelley stopping 48 of 51 shots on goal.

Monsignor Martin and St. Mary’s played to a 0-0 tie after the first period and throughout most of the second. Avery Szczesek dropped in the first goal, assisted by Lauren Gilano, with 5:21 left in the second period to go ahead 1-0. Just seconds into the third period Danielle Cottrell gave St. Mary’s their second goal, assisted by Meghan Donnelly and Shea Hall. It looked like that may have been the end but with 6:56 left in the third, Shea Hall, assisted by Cottrell and Gilano, added the third and the season ends with St. Mary’s 3, Monsignor Martin 0.

Goalie Avery Hall stopped 7 of 7 for the shut-out victory.

St. Mary’s ends the season 6-6-3-1 and the Championship. Szczesek was their leading scorer with 17 goals and 3 assists for 20 points. In goal Hall shared duties with Betsy Accurso. Hall played 217.23 minutes with a .917 save percentage and Accurso played 608.43 minutes with a .895 save percentage.

Kelley was the only goalie who played for MonMar with 775 minutes between the pipes. She faced 825 sog/saving 735 for a .891 save percentage. MonMar’s leading scorers were Addison Cherry with 3 goals and 3 assists, Ellie Black and Gabby Kazmark, each with 3 goals and 2 assists.

Looking a head, St. Mary’s had six seniors this season and Monsignor Martin graduated one.

St. Mary’s is coached by Marty Gilano, assisted by Bri Colucci, Rich Hall and Deanna Ventura. Colucci played for Lancaster/Iroquois in the first season of the WNYGVIH Federation. Mt. St. Mary’s took the Private School Championship last season.

Monsignor Martin is coached by Darren Palezewski, assisted by Ed Guzdek, Joe Kazmark, Julia Duquette and Guy ModicaAmore. Duquette played for Monsignor Martin in the first year of the WNYGVIH Federation. Monsignor Martin won Federation Championships in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2021 and 2022.

St. Mary’s of Lancaster vs Monsignor Martin

All Photos Property of NY Hockey OnLine, Janet Schultz©, Photographer

To use or obtain copies email for permission [email protected]

HEWS and FFLOP Face Off in League Championship; St. Mary’s takes on Monsignor Martin for Private Championship!

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February 16, 2025

WNYGVIH February 10-15, 2025

by Janet Schultz

Hard to believe that it’s playoff time already and the season comes to an end in another week. As always, no one can predict what team will advance to the Regionals. That question won’t be answered until after Monday night and then off to Section V to play for the State position.

Monday night’s Quarterfinals pitted #7 Williamsville against #2 Franklinville/Frontier/LakeShore/Orchard Park; #7 Niagara County vs #3 Lancaster/Iroquois/Depew/Alden and #5 Clarence/Amherst/SweetHome against #4 Hamburg/Holland/Eden/West Seneca. #1 Kenmore/Grand Island/Lockport had the Bye.

FFLOP opened the scoring four minutes into the game and then struck five more times with Williamsville’s Gen Illos getting their single goal at 3:50 of the first period, assisted by Scarlet Canna and Jaylee Kochan. First period ended 6-1 FFLOP and stayed that way through the second period. FFLOP added three more in the third, including one with 47.4 seconds left in the game and ended with a 9-1 victory. Rachael Fix took the “W” stopping 13 of 14 SOG and for Williamsville Anna Bacon stopped 7 of 12 and Olivia Lookman came in to stop 20/24. FFLOP moves on to the semi-finals.

Scoring for FFLOP were Gabby Sojda (2), Hannah Favata (2 including the game-winner), Chloe Gearhart, Maya Griffin (2 including an unassisted), Kayli Tefft and Olivia Waterman. Assisting were Griffin, Lilah Cudney, Jocelyn Smaczniak, Gearhart, Waterman, Campbell Rutz, Susanna Hollander, Sophia Quinn, and Peyton Forcucci.

With a 4 point night, Maya Griffin moved to 8th overall in Scoring for the WNYGVIH Federation with 52 points.

NICO faced LIDA in game two with LIDA victorious. Emily Lysiak opened the scoring for LIDA with just 39.5 seconds left in the first period. Just over 2 minutes into the second Caitlin Sinclair dropped one in and that stayed with LIDA leading 2-0 after two. NICO’s Molly Martin scored the first goal on a powerplay, assisted by Abbey Zimmerman, in the third period to stop a possible shutout. LIDA’s Leah Dowling answered back with an unassisted goal with 1:18 left and then scored an empty-netter with 19 seconds left to seal the victory 4-1. Iris Schimenti stopped 16/17 SOG for the “W” and Lilia Jones stopped 10/13 for NiCo. LIDA moves on.

The third Cashew Bowl (CASH vs HEWS) of the season and it was a HEWS victory. HEWS Sophia Phillips, assisted by Brynn Holland, scored the only goal of the night at 5:33 of the first period. It was up and down the ice for the rest of the night with the outcome 1-0 HEWS. Ella Buczynski stopped 11 of 11 for her fifth shutout of the season. In goal for CASH, Ella Celej stopped 26 of 27.

After a day off, the Semi’s had HEWS facing KenGiPort and LIDA facing off with FFLOP.

Holland opened scoring for HEWS, assisted by Morgan Cooper and the first comes to a 1-0 end in favor of HEWS. Alexa Denning scored for KenGiPort minutes into the second period, with Phillips answering back with an unassisted goal two minutes later. Second period ends 2-1 HEWS. Once again Phillips found the back of the net and then added two more in the third, one an empty-netter, for a 5-2 win and a four point night for herself. KenGiPort’s Isabella Burt scored, assisted by Isabella Jayme and Isabella Bourgeault. Buczynski stopped 25 of 27 for the W and for KenGiPort, Ella Johnston stopped 17 of 21. HEWS moves to the Championship round.

Next up LIDA faces FFLOP with that game ending in a 5-1 victory for FFLOP.

First period found FFLOP’s Waterman, P. Forcucci and Gearhart scoring, assists by Smaczniak, Gearhart, Sojda and Favata. P. Forcucci’s being the game-winner. In the second period, FFLOP’s Cudney scored, assisted by Sojda and Rutz. LIDA answered that goal with one by Leah Dowling, assisted by Lucia Lawrence. Second period ends 4-1. The final goal of the night was scored by Kayli Tefft, assisted by Brooklyn Forcucci and Smaczniak. In goal Fix stops 17 of 18 and for LIDA Schimenti stops 21 of 26. Game ends 5-1 FFLOP and they move to the Champions round.

On to the Championships. Yes, two.

First up on Monday, February 17 is the Private School Championship pitting St. Mary’s of Lancaster against Monsignor Martin. St. Mary’s ended in sixth place in the League with a 6-6-3-1-0 record (Wins, loss, ties, overtime win, overtime loss) and Monsignor Martin was in the basement with 14 losses and 2 ties.

The top scoring for St. Mary’s came from Avery Szczesek (16g/3a), Meghan Donnelly (5/11) and Lauren Gilano (6/7). With two goaltenders St. Mary’s has stopping power in the net with Betsy Accurso and Avery Hall. Accurso played 608.43 minutes stopping 314 of 351 shots. Hall played just 172.23 minutes but stopped 104 of 114.

For Monsignor Martin their power is in Goaltender Kate Kelley who has faced 439 SOG and stopped 389 in 730 minutes of play. Their scoring comes from Addison Cherry, Ellie Black and Gabby Kazmark.

The Section VI Championship will find HHEWS facing FFLOP.

HEWS has fire power in Sophia Phillips with 18 goals and 13 assists this season followed by Brynn Holland, 11/9 and Clare Sokolowski, 6/5. Ella Buczynski has protected the net for the entire season, playing 823 minutes and stopping 395 of 426 shots on goal. They do have a back up in Madelyn Wojcik, but she has played in no games this season.

FFLOP is no stranger to the championship round and has also won a State Title. They have goal scoring in Maya Griffin, who has had 26 goals and 26 assists putting her in second place in All-Time Scoring in the League. Adding more goals to their record are Gabby Sojda with 23/26, Peyton Forcucci 12/17 and Jocelyn Smaczniak with 4 goals but 23 assists. Their goaltender has also been a key in their victories. Rachael Fix has played 862.12 minutes and stopped 330 of 359. FFLOP also has a back-up goalie in Keira Keaton, but she has not played in a single game this season. This game will be a nail-biter.

Tickets are needed for these games, which will be played at Buffalo State’s Ice Arena at 6 p.m. for Private and 8 p.m. for Section VI. There is a fee of $7 Presale and $10 at the Gate. Your ticket will be on your phone! You can stay for all games. https://www.section6.e1b.org/Page/1436?fbclid=IwY2xjawId4v9leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHZwCHLWIB1sUlLSGOElOXl34j7lZxbB8eDk1aW3ZVPwS4whomm1lRTRQ0Q_aem_BoQ8Vcdpc1Csy6zURaYR_A#calendar175/20250212/month

Note that this is not the end-all for a State Seed. The winner of the HEWS/FFLOP game must play Webster in Section V to determine who goes on to represent Section V and VI at the States. The Far West Regional will be played Wednesday, February 19 at 7 p.m. at the Webster Arena.

The Winner of that game will move to the NYSPHSAA Championships in Utica on February 21 and 22.

The semi’s are Friday at 4 p.m. with the winner of Section 5 playing winner of Section 6 and at 6 p.m. its Section 2 Adirondack playing winner of Section 7 and Section 10.

The Championship is scheduled for Noon on Saturday, February 22.

Tickets are also required for the States at the Utica Nexus Center. Visit NYSPHSAA Ticketing FAQ page or contact [email protected].

Niagara’s Ahearn Still Proving Them Wrong

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February 10, 2025

By Warren Kozireski —

“I’ve been an underdog my whole life; I was never drafted to any junior leagues and never made any festival teams. Always the alternate, so I definitely have a chip on my shoulder.”

Niagara captain Jay Ahearn is more than proving everyone wrong as he sits atop the Purple Eagles scoring list with 15 goals and was a point-per-game player with 30 points over the first 29 games this season.

But college hockey did not start well.

“My first year I had to medically redshirt; I tore my labrum and they had to put nine anchors in and I was out for nine months,” Ahearn said. “And then my second year I played four games before I broke my arm in practice off of a slapshot. Freak accident so that was unfortunate.”

Last season, wearing the “C,” Ahearn posted 26 points in 34 games. Now he is listed as a senior on the roster, but due the time lost with injuries, he has one year of eligibility remaining next season. He will use that to enroll in a finance graduate program.

“My dad works on Wall St. and my grandfather worked on Wall St. so that has potential.”

Before Niagara, the Staten Island native split three years between his Monsignor Farrell high school team and Mercer Chiefs in the AYHL before moving away from home to play with the North Jersey Avalanche for two seasons.

“They allowed that (playing for two teams) back then. My Mercer team was good; we were always a top 20 team, but my high school team wasn’t very good but I got to play with some of my best friends and those are memories that I’ll have forever.”

“My 18-U team (North Jersey) lost in the national championship and then the next year we were number one all year and covid shut us down.”

Then came a breakout campaign in the NAHL with the Johnstown Tomahawks where Aheran netted 31 goals and 31 assists over 52 games that put him on many coaches’ radar.

“I got a call from (assistant) coach Mark Phalon on I believe it was Dec. 8, 2020, and we talked up until February. I got my offer February 8^th and then I committed February 17^th of that year. It was a really cool process.”

Aheran also leads the team this season in shots and first goals and is tied for the team lead in shorthanded tallies as he sees ice time in all situations.

Still proving them wrong and maybe one of the few in Niagara hockey history to wear the “C” for three seasons.

(Photos by Niagara Athletics)

KenGiPort Takes League Championship

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February 8, 2025

2024-25 WNYGVIH Federation League Champions — WNYGVIH 2024=25 Season 15

WNYGVIH February 3-7, 2025

Story/Photos by Janet D Schultz

KenGIPort has taken the 2024-25 Federation League Championship after posting a 13-2-1 record and 40.5 points. Coming in second was last year’s Fed Champion, Niagara County with a 11-2-3 record for 37.5 points.

This also means the seeding for the Section VI Championship is set. KenGiPort gets a bye in the first round. The schedule for Tuesday, February 11 at Buffalo State College’s ice arena is #2 FFLOP takes on #7 Williamsville at 4 p.m.; #3 LIDA faces #6 Niagara County at 6 p.m. and #4 HEWS plays #5 CASH at 8 p.m.

Winners of those games move to the Semi-finals on Thursday February 13 with KenGIPort playing the fourth seed at 4:30 p.m. and the 2nd and 3rd seeded facing off at 6:30 p.m.

Finals for the private schools, St. Mary’s of Lancaster vs Monsignor Martin will be played Monday, February 17 at 6 p.m. and the Section VI finalists will play at 8 p.m.

With the addition of a team from Section V, Webster, there will be a Far West Regional to determine if a team from Section V or Section VI will present the West in the States. That game will be played in Webster on Wednesday, February 19 at 7 p.m.

A team from Section 5/6 will face a team from Section 3/4 at 4 p.m. on Friday, February 21 at the Utica Nexus Center. At 6 p.m. Section 1/2 will faceoff with Section 7/10. The winners of those two games will play for the NYS Championship at Noon on Saturday February 22.

This past week proved to be a very busy one, especially for LIDA, who played every night to make up some rescheduled games and play a scheduled one.

On Monday it was LIDA at MonMar with a 7-2 victory for LIDA. They played at Northtowns. LIDA scored in the first two periods but MonMar made a mark in the third with two goals, one from Captain Addison Cherry and the other from Claire Kloetzer. Cherry’s was unassisted and Ellie Black and Avery McDonald assisted on Kloetzers. For LIDA it was Claire Whiteford, Brynn Cafferty(2), Leah Dowling, Anna Maki, Caitlin Sinclair and Emily Lysiak scoring. Iris Schimenti faced 10 SOG, stopping 8, for the W. MonMar’s Kate Kelley faced 48SOG.

FFLOP played HEWS and took away a 3-1 victory with Jocelyn Smaczniak and Maya Griffin scoring. Griffin had the game-winner plus one and Smaczniak managed to assist on both Griffin goals. Rachael Fix stopped 22 of 23 for the W. Brynn Holland had a power-play goal for HEWS to put them on the boards. Ella Buczynski stopped 33 of 36.

CASH headed to Cheektowaga to play St. Mary’s of Lancaster and they ended in a 1-1 overtime tie. For CASH it was Cecilia Bizub, assisted by Georgia Mango and Polina Stremiakova and for St. Mary’s Danielle Cottrell on the power-play, assisted by Gabe Lowell. Stopping 46 of 47 for CASH was Ella Celej and for St. Mary’s Avery Hall stopped 25 of 26.

Tuesday KenGIPort headed to NiCo to solidify their League Championship. They did that with a 6-1 victory. Three goals in the first, three in the second and no scoring in the third and they brought home the trophy. NiCo’s single goal came in the second off the stick of Abbey Zimmerman, assisted by Myla Chopyak. For KenGiPort it was Isabella Jayme with two, including a power-play; Erin Krawczyk with the game-winner, Madelyn Jagow, Isabelle Bourgeault and Zoey Dettbarn. Ella Johnston stopped 16 of 17 and for NiCo, Jaylin Beaver stopped 13 of 19.

Williamsville beat Monsignor Martin in as 4-0 shutout with Anna Bacon stopping 18 shots. Putting the puck past Kate Kelley (22/26) were Genevieve Illos, Sophia DePrima and Allison Besancon with two.

A tight came between LIDA and HEWS and it was a LIDA 3-2 victory. LIDA’s Caitlin Sinclair had two goals, including the game-winner and Lysiak had the other. Schimenti stopped 17 of 19 for the W. For HEWS it was Holland scoring, along with Morgan Cooper; while Buczynski made 21 of 14 saves.

Webster and Williamsville braved the elements in a cold, windy day at Riverworks on Wednesday. The visitors took home the 4-1 victory with scoring from Fanale(2), Cullen, Maddie Meyer. In goal Wambach stopped 8 of 9 SOG. (Apologies for no first names, no roster). Besancon scored for Williamsville, assisted by Jaylea Kochan. Lookman made 30 saves on 34 SOG.

Across town, KengiPort faced NiCo for the second consecutive night and came out with a 4-0 shutout victory. Scoring were Bourgeault with the game-winner, shorthanded and unassisted. Alexa Denning, Isabella Burt, Teagan Willats. Hadley Dahlgren played 30 minutes and took the W stopping 9 SOG and Jillian Hager played 15 minutes stopping 5 SOG. Lila Jones was in for NiCo and faced 33 SOG, stopping 29.

Jayme moved to #2 in All Time Scoring in the WNYGVIH with her assist in this game.

CASH took a 2-0 win from LIDA with Mila Dominik scoring the game-winner, assisted by Celia Watson and then Watson scored an unassisted for the W. Celej made 31 saves for the shutout. Schimenti stopped 21/23.

CASH celebrated Georgia Mango on Senior Night but came away with a 5-2 loss to LIDA. CASH scored both goals in the third, one with 1:28 left and the final goal of the night with 9.2 seconds left, stopping LIDA from a shut-out. For LIDA it was Lysiak, unassisted; Lawrence, at 41 seconds of the second period; Cafferty with the game-winner and Whiteford and the last from Lysiak. Schimenti stopped 21 of 23 for the W. For CASH it was Jenny Wild, assisted by Watson and Maya Adimey; Adimey from Wild and Kiley Breeze. Celej faced 33 shots.

FFLOP shut out MonMar 8-0 with the game-winning goal scored by Favata, Griffin had two goals; Gabby Sojda had a hattrick and goals were added by Olivia Waterman and Peyton Forcucci. Fix stopped the two shots by MonMar. MonMar’s Kelley stopped 65 of 73 SOG.

HEWS took an 8-1 victory from NiCo with scoring by Holland (2, one on the power-play), Waszkielewicz (a hattrick), Sophia Phillips(2) and Ellie Grabowski on the power-play. Buczynski stopped 40 of 41 for the W. For NiCo it was A Lawrence scoring, assisted by Mainstone and Jones splitting goaltending with Beaver. Jones played 4 minutes stopping 3 of 6 and Beaver played 41 minutes, stopping 24 of 29.

In regular season play, FFLOP’s Griffin and Sojda sit at top of the Scoreboard with 48 and 41 points respectively. Griffin has 24 goals and 24 assists; Sojda, 19 goals and 22 assists. The top five are rounded out by NiCo’s Sam Latini, 20/15 for 35; NiCo’s A.Zimmerman with 23/11 and LIDA’s Lysiak with 17 goals and 14 assists.

KenGiPort’s Hager sits with a 1.00 save percentage after playing 105 minutes. KenGiPort also has Dahlgren on top in second with a .958 save% in 120 minutes of play. CASH’s Celej has a .931 save% with 555.90 minutes of play, stopping 326 of 350 shots. HHEWS Buczynski has played 733 minutes with a .925 save%, stopping 359 of 388.

In related WNYGVIH news, two of the alumni are now New York State Troopers. CASH’S Emma Faso and FFLOP’s Abbey Lillis just completed and graduated from the NYS Troopers Academy. We congratulate them and wish them well, as well as thank them for their service.

February 3-7 Photo Gallery

Rob Ray Is Unique

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February 7, 2025

BY RANDY SCHULTZ –

As I sat in the press box located in the upper level of the KeyBank Center watching Rob Ray being inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame, I found my mind wondering back some 37 years. That’s how long Ray has been with the Sabres organization.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 37 years. During that time I watched Ray become an enforcer with the Sabres for 14 of his 16 seasons in the NHL, brought fans in Buffalo to their feet every time he fought while accumulating 3207 minutes in penalties.

The one other thing I remember about Ray the player is that, win or lose, he was always available for a comment after a game. And usually a good one.

That’s why I wasn’t totally surprised when the late Sabres broadcasting great, Rick Jeanneret, talked Ray into becoming his broadcast partner and continue his career with the Sabres.

During his acceptance speech, Ray spoke of the legendary broadcasting great saying, “I miss you buddy. We all do.”

Probably the most important side of Ray that fans saw Friday night was Ray the husband, father and son. On hand for the celebration were Ray’s wife, daughter, son as well as his mother and father, who travelled to Buffalo from the Rays hometown of Stirling, Ont.

And if there was one thing that Ray made clear to those in attendance is that Buffalo is now his home and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

His charity work in the area is well known, especially with the Sabres alumni association and always being a part of the distribution of toys to underprivileged children on Christmas Eve. And over the years Ray has made and still makes unscheduled visits to local hospitals, arriving unannounced in many cases.

If there was one thing I saw in Ray Friday night is a soft side. Following standing ovations as well as verbal tributes to Ray, there came a moment when Ray quickly wiped his eyes. Crying is not a part of Rays makeup.

But the Hall of Fame tribute brought him very close to tears. But in typical Ray fashion, he “fought” them back. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Syracuse’s Kinsler, Gendron, Kelley, and Costabile Earn AHA Player of the Week Honors

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February 6, 2025

BOSTON, Mass. – – Atlantic Hockey America is proud to honor four student-athletes as AHA Players of the Week for their outstanding on-ice performances in games of Jan. 31 – Feb. 1, 2025. This week’s winners are Syracuse sophomore Jackson Kinsler (Forward), Syracuse junior Sami Gendron (Defenseman), Syracuse graduate student Allie Kelley (Goaltender), and Syracuse freshman Stella Costabile (Rookie).

AHA FORWARD OF THE WEEKJackson Kinsler, So., F, SyracuseSyracuse forward Jackson Kinsler collected six points on three goals and three assists this past weekend to lead the Orange to a sweep over Lindenwood. Kinsler put together a career-best four-point effort on Friday and a two-point effort on Saturday. In Friday’s contest, Kinsler had a hand in four of Syracuse’s five goals by scoring two goals and dishing out two assists in a 5-2 win. She scored the eventual game-winning goal on the power play at 15:20 of the 2nd period. Then on Saturday, the sophomore forward scored another power play goal and dished out another assist in a 5-0 Syracuse win. Kinsler was efficient with the puck, scoring her three goals over the weekend on just four total shots. On the season, the Madison, Wisc. native is up to eight goals and is tied for the team lead with 12 assists.
AHA DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEKSami Gendron, Jr., D, SyracuseSyracuse junior defenseman Sami Gendron tallied five points on a pair of goals and three assists this past weekend vs. Lindenwood. Gendron orchestrated her first three-point game of the season in Friday’s contest, as she scored her second goal of the season and dished out two power play assists. In addition to finding the back of the net again on Saturday, Gendron picked up another power play assist, giving her three power play helpers on the weekend. Additionally, Gendron finished the weekend with three blocks, a +2 rating, and led a Syracuse defensive unit that allowed just two goals all weekend. The Rockland, Ontario native is now riding a three-game goal streak, and is up to three goals and 12 assists for 15 points on the season.
AHA GOALTENDER OF THE WEEKAllie Kelley, Gr., G, SyracuseThis past weekend, Syracuse goaltender Allie Kelley picked up two wins and made a total of 58 saves on 60 shots, good for a save percentage of .967. Kelley stopped 28-of-30 shots (.933 save percentage) in Friday’s 5-2 win, then stopped all 30 shots she faced en route to her third shutout of the season in Saturday’s 5-0 win. The East Berne, N.Y. native has now led the Orange to three straight AHA wins, and has allowed two goals or fewer in four straight starts. On the season, Kelley leads Atlantic Hockey in saves (971), saves per game (33.48), and time between the pipes (1,714:21). In addition, her 971 saves on the season are tops in the nation.
AHA ROOKIE OF THE WEEKStella Costabile, Fr., F, SyracuseSyracuse freshman Stella Costabile put together the best weekend of her collegiate career with four points on two goals and two assists vs. Lindenwood. Costabile collected a goal and an assist in each game, giving her the first multi-point games of her career. Costabile opened the scoring in both games over the weekend, as she found the back of the net just 61 seconds into Friday’s contest, then scored at 5:50 of the 1st period in Saturday’s game. The Belmar, N.J. native assisted on Sami Gendron‘s 3rd period goal on Friday, and on Nea Tervonen‘s 1st period goal on Saturday. Costabile now has three goals and five assists for eight points so far in her rookie campaign.

Future Sabres: Luke Osburn

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February 5, 2025

By Warren Kozireski —

When Buffalo selected defenseman Luke Osburn in the fourth round of the 20124 NHL Entry Draft, they knew that 1) he only qualified age-wise for the draft by six days meaning he was one of the youngest eligible players and 2) that they were getting an offensive-minded player who finished third in the USHL last season among rookie defensemen in scoring.

That has not changed this season as he is now the top-scoring defensemen with Youngstown with four goals and 15 assists through his first 30 games. He stood tied for 11^th in the league in scoring by defensemen and tied for eighth in power play assists.

“I think I’ve tried to develop my offensive game, and I think my defensive game still needs some work,” Osburn said in late-January. “Just focusing on developing both of those and as the season goes on, I’ll have a lot of time to improve, so that’s what I’ll keep working on.”

Youngstown Phantoms at USHL Media Day at the Marriott Pittsburgh North in Cranberry, PA on September 19, 2024. Luke Osburn, 13

The 6’1”, 185 lb. left shot was born in Plymouth, Michigan and developed in the Compuware program in the Detroit area.

“Youth hockey in Detroit in general is pretty strong, so just playing against a lot of guys you’re going to play against in later years and just a lot of good hockey players come out of there, so I think it was great to play there in a hockey powerhouse.”

He did attend Development Camp with Buffalo immediately after the draft, which is always an eye-opening experience the first time around.

“It was good to just learn from the players who have already been there and learn from the guys who played pro, so it was great. I really didn’t care when I was picked in the draft. It just happened to be the fourth round, and I was excited for the place I was going and super-pumped.”

Youngstown has had a short USHL history (since 2009), but he is currently second all-time on the Phantoms for defensive scoring with 12 career goals—two behind current New York Islander Scott Mayfield.

The Youngstown Phantoms win 2-1 against Team USA NTDP at the Covelli Centre on November 17, 2024. Luke Osburn, 13

Next year Osburn is likely to begin his collegiate hockey career at the University of Wisconsin, but he has the rest of this year to try to bring Youngstown another championship.

“It’s a long journey and I try not to think ahead too much. I always wanted to go to college and this place (Youngstown) has been unbelievable. The coaches here give us all the resources we need; it’s an awesome place to play hockey.”

(Photos by Koz, NY Hockey OnLine; Scott Galvin, Youngstown Phantoms)

WNYGVIH: Rolling Into The Final Week of Regular Season Play

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February 2, 2025

January 27-31, 2025 Recap

by Janet Schultz, NYHOL

KenGiPort has the lead as the WNYGVIH Federation moves into its final week of regular season play. With 34.5 points on 11 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie they are ahead of FFLOP by just 3 points. FFLOP sits firmly in second at 31.5 points with 9 wins, 2 losses, 3 ties. Both teams have played 14 games with each having two more games this coming week.

HEWS is at third place tied in points with LIDA, 25.5; but HEWS has played 13 games and LIDA, 12. LIDA has four games to be played and HEWS has three to play, including a make-up game from earlier this month.

The rest of the standings are St. Mary’s of Lancaster, CASH, NiCo, Williamsville and Monsignor Martin.

There has been a lot of movement on the scoring front with FFLOP’s Maya Griffin leading the group with 19 goals, 20 assists for 39 points. Her teammate Gabby Sojda has 16 goals, 19 assists for 35 points. Close behind in third is NiCo’s Sam Latini with 17 goals and 14 assists.

The league has some strong goaltenders who are making their mark in various ways. HEWS Ella Buczynski has played 600 minutes, faced 287 shots and made 265 saves for a .923 save percentage. Monsignor Martin’s Kate Kelley has seen 608.43 minutes of play and faced 627 shots, stopping 561, with a .895 save percentage. CASH’s Ella Celej has played 460.60 minutes, faced 262 shots, stopped 247 giving her a .915 save percentage. She also has 4 shutouts. KenGiPort’s Jillian Hager has a perfect 1.00 save percentage after playing 90 minutes, facing and saving 8 SOG and getting 2 wins.

After a four-point night, FFLOP’s Griffin moved ahead of NiCo’s Latini on the All-time scoring list putting her at #10 and Latini at #11, moving past Emma Roland (Williamsville ‘20). Isabella Jayme sits at #3 All Time just behind CASH’s Julia Mings (2017) and Erin Gehen (HEWS 2014). Gehen sits in first with 189 points.

NYHOL also congratulates KenGiPort’s Erin Krawczyk who registered a hattrick this week and Zoey Dettbarn who had her first varsity goal.

A week with one postponement and a chance to make a few up.

Monday KenGiPort played CASH at Northtown and came away with a 4-0 shutout victory. Teagan Willats, with the help of Madeline Jagow and Alexa Denning scored first followed by a goal by Isabelle Bourgeault and two by Isabella Jayme. Assists that evening came from Jayme, Bourgeault, Savanna Shaft and Denning. Ella Johnston stopped 20 SOG for the shutout victory. In goal for CASH, Celej with 13 saves on 17 shots.

LIDA visited St. Mary’s and took the W 5-2. LIDA’s scoring came from Leah Dowling, Brynn Cafferty, Emily Lysiak, the game-winner; Caitlin Sinclair with a power-play goal and Claire Whiteford. Whiteford, Cafferty, Dowling, Sinclair also picked up assists as did Layla Osinski and Lucia Lawrence. For St. Mary’s it was Lauren Gilano and Avery Szczesek, assisted by Shea Hall, Riley Kumrow and Emma Babcock. Iris Schimenti was in goal for LIDA stopping 24 of 26 and for St. Mary’s Betsy Accurso stopped 15/18.

Williamsville traveled to the Cattaraugus Arena to play FFLOP. FFLOP took a 9-0 shutout victory with Rachael Fix stopping all 10 SOG for the W. Griffin had four goals and an assist for five points on the night. Adding to the scoreboard were Alyssa Starkey, Hannah Favata, Sophia Quinn (2) and Sojda. Putting assists on the record were Sojda (3), Peyton Forcucci (2), Favata, Brooklyn Forcucci, Jocelyn Smaczniak(2), Lilah Cudney (2) and Griffin. In goal for Williamsville, Anna Bacon stopped 27 of 36.

NiCo hat HEWS was postponed due to road conditions in Niagara County and has been rescheduled for Thursday, February 6 at Niagara University’s Dwyer Arena at 4:15 p.m.

It was Senior Night for NiCo on Tuesday as they celebrated and then played LIDA. The outcome was a 8-2 victory for LIDA. NiCo opened the scoring on a goal by Sam Latini, assisted by Madelyn Martin with 3:10 left in the period. However LIDA came back to tie it on a power play goal by Lucia Lawrence, assisted by Dowling and Osinski. LIDA scored 5 goals in the second period off the sticks of Emily Lysiak (2), Mia Hauser, Brynn Cafferty and two by Whiteford. Giving assistance were Natalie Domagala, Georgia Kozell, Lysiak(2), Osinski, Sinclair, Dowling, Cafferty, Hauser and Emily Rodriquez. In the third NiCo came out with Madeline Remus scoring unassisted at 13:41. Then LIDA sealed the 8-2 victory with two more goals including an unassisted final goal by Whiteford. The other was scored by Lysiak, assisted by Dowling and Sinclair. In goal LIDA’s Schimenti stopped 21 of 23 for the W and NiCo’s Jaylin Beaver stopped 17 of 25.

NYHOL headed over to the Paddock Ice Arena for KenGiPort’s Senior Night and a match-up with Williamsville. Senior Goaltender Jillian Hager took the shut-out victory by stopping all 5 SOG for the 9-0 victory. Goal scoring came from numerous members of the KenGiPort team including Jayme with a hattrick; Erin Krawczyk with her first hattrick; Zoey Dettbarn, Alexa Denning and Isabella Bourgeault. Assists came from Riley Kumrow, Willats, Savannah Samplinski, Natalie Kopf, Kiley Burke, and Krawczyk. Williamsville Anna Bacon faced 46 SOG, stopping 37.

CASH and HEWS played the Second Nut Bowl and CASH came out the victor with a 2-0 shutout. The first goal was scored by Kiley Breeze, assisted by Cecilia Bizub and the second was scored by Maya Adimey, assisted by Gabriella Lindell. Celej stopped all 18 SOG for the shutout. HEWS Ella Buczynski faced 31 SOG.

FFLOP took a trip to North Buffalo to take a 9-1 W from Monsignor Martin. Scoring for FFLOP were P. Forcucci, Griffin (2), Gearhart, B. Forcucci, Smaczniak, Favata, Cudney and Sojda. Assists were credited by Griffin, Sojda(3), Smaczniak (2), B Forcucci, Adeline Weber (2), Kamryn Filighera, Campbell Rutz(2) and P Forcucci. Fix stopped 7 of 8 for the W. Addison Cherry scored Mon Mar’s single goal on the powerplay, assisted by Avery McDonald. In goal Kate Kelley stopped 45 of 54 SOG.

Williamsville faced off against HEWS on Wednesday night at Northtowns, in a HEWS home game. It was a 3-0 shutout for Goaltender Buczynski after stopping all 17 SOG. A hattrick for Sophia Phillips included the game-winner, a powerplay goal and the third for the Win. She was assisted by Ellie Grabowski twice, Brynn Holland and MacKenzie Benker. In goal for Williamsville, Olivia Lookman stopped 22 of 25.

Thursday was Senior Night for FFLOP at Nike and they came out with a 3-0 shutout victory when Fix stopped all 16 SOG. The Forcucci sisters dropped in a goal each with Griffin adding the third, as well as an assist on the second goal. Gearhart assisted on the first, and Smaczniak on the third. Avery Hall stopped 39 of 42 for St. Mary’s.

NiCo played Monsignor Martin and came out with an 8-1 victory. Goal scorers included Olivia Terranova; Abby Zimmerman, the game-winner on the powerplay plus one more; Natalee Lawrence, two on the night and Sam Latini with a hattrick night. Lawrence, Latini and Zimmerman also assisted as did Sam Draper, Remus and Ella MacKey. In goal Beaver stopped 5 of 6 for the W. Isabella Kosich had the long goal for MonMar, unassisted. Kelley faced 51 shots, stopping 43.

KenGiPort faced LIDA at Riverworks and came out with a 4-3 win. Bourgeault, Jagow and Denning have goals. Jagow with the unassisted game-winner. Johnston stopped 30 of 33 for the W. Assists came from Jayme, Willats, I. Shaft. For LIDA it was Sinclair, Whiteford with two, assisted by Dowling, Cafferty twice and Osinski twice. Schimenti faced 17 shots.

Final game on Thursday was CASH at Williamsville, both with home advantage! CASH took a 3-2 victory over Williamsville on goals by Jenny Wild, Breeze, both goals unassisted and Lindell with the game-winner assisted by Wild. Grace Elliott was in goal for the W stopping 21 of 23. Williamsville’s Quinn Wolf scored on the powerplay, assisted by Allison Besancon and Addison Stachura scored, assisted by Wolf. In goal Lookman stopped 28 of 31.

The final regular season week looks like this:

Monday, February 3: CASH heads to St. Mary’s; LIDA is at Monsignor Martin and FFLOP will play at HHEWS.The LIDA/MonMar game will be played at Northtown Arena.

Tuesday, February 4: HEWS is at LIDA and KenGiPort will travel to NiCo.

Wednesday, February 5: CASH is at LIDA, playing at Northtown; Webster will be coming in from Section V to play Williamsville at Riverworks (a rescheduled game) and NiCo will play KenGiPort at Dwyer, another make-up game.

Thursday, February 6: LIDA is at CASH, Monsignor Martin is at FFLOP and NiCo will play HEWS at Dwyer to make up the January 27 game.

All games are open to the public at no charge.

Nine NY Prospects on Central Scouting Midterm List For 2025 NHL Draft

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February 1, 2025

By Warren Kozireski —

NHL Central Scouting released their Midterm Rankings for the 2025 NHL Draft and there are nine New Yorkers including three among the top-35 North American skaters and two goaltenders in the top-20.

Hauppauge’s James Hagens is ranked second among North American skaters. Thought by some to be the best player and possibly the first overall selection next year, he is in his freshman campaign with Boston College. Despite missing time to be a key cog for Team USA’s gold medal effort at the recent IIHF World Junior tournament in Ottawa, the 5’10”, 178 lb. forward is second in the nation in scoring among freshmen and second on the Eagles with five goals and 16 assists.

Last season Hagens led USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program Under-18 team with 63 assists, 102 points and 1.76 points-per game in 58 games.

East Greenbush’s Jack Murtagh was slotted as a “B” draft prospect indicating a projected second or third round selection in the preseason rankings and is now 25^th among North American skaters. The 6’0”, 200 lb. left wing is committed to Boston University in 2025 after completing this, his second season with the USNTDP.

He spent two seasons with the Bishop Kearney Selects prep program in Rochester prior to heading to Plymouth, Michigan. This season he had a combined 15 goals and 35 points in 37 games.

Ithaca’s Will Moore was projected to be selected in the first round in preseason but has dropped to 32^nd at midterm. Moore stands 6’2” and 175 lb. and is playing in his second season with the U.S. National Team Development Program. In a combined 19 games against college programs and in the USHL, the Boston College commit had a combined 41 points in 48 games after registering 68 points in 85 games a season ago.

Matthew Lansing of Tonawanda is ranked 97^th. The 6’0”, 188 lb. center spent four seasons with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres program with his final year split between there and Waterloo in the USHL. This season with Waterloo and the USNTDP he had 13 points over the first 32 games.

Ithaca’s John (Jack) Parsons, passed over in last year’s draft, is slotted 17^th among North American goaltenders The former USNTDP goaltender is committed to Providence but is with Chicago in the USHL this season where he has a 3.78 goals against average and a .898 save percentage in 19 games.

Greece native Ethan Phillips is one slot behind Parsons at 18^th. The Bishop Kearney Selects 6’2”, 205 lb. goaltender had an 11-8-2 record with a 2.39 GAA and .910 save percentage in 21 games with two shutouts. He is committed to Providence College in 2026.

New York City-born Dylan Lee-Stack is ranked 30^th among goaltenders. The 6’2”, 176 lb. product of the Ramapo Saints and Westchester Express is playing in his second season with the Yale Jr. Bulldogs 18-U team where he has played in 14 games with a 5-4-5 record.

Northwood Prep and Camillus’ William Schneid is ranked 202^nd among North American skaters. The 6’0”, 174 lb. left wing and former West Genesee HS player already had 42 goals and 70 points in 46 games this season. He is committed to the University of Connecticut in 2026.

And Roslyn’s Ethan Wyttenbach is 222^nd. The 5’10”, 170 lb. forward is playing this season with Sioux Falls in the USHL where he had 13 goals with 18 assists over 30 games. The Long Island Gulls product is committed to Quinnipiac University in 2026.

East Greenbush native Donato Bracco, Locust Valley’s Matthew Grimes and Brooklyn’s Jess Orlowsky were listed as “W” prospects in preseason indicating a sixth or seventh round projection., but all were left off the midterm rankings.

Unofficially the draft is reported to be held in Los Angeles in late June.

WNYGVIH: Weather Hampers Varsity Games

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January 28, 2025

January 20-24, 2025 Recap

by Janet Schultz, NYHOL

The WNYGVIH was severely impacted by our WNY weather pattern this week. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday’s game were all postponed, then one on Thursday postponed due to a Zamboni break-down at North Buffalo.

On Thursday, January 23, FFLOP played KengiPort to a 3-3 overtime tie. Scoring were Isabella Jayme, assisted by Isabella Burt; Isabelle Bourgeault, unassisted and Jayme with Burt on the last goal for KenGiPort. Ella Johnston stopped 23 of 26. For FFLOP it was Chloe Gearhart, assisted by Olivia Waterman and Brooklyn Forcucci; Lilah Cudney assisted by Waterman and Maya Griffin, assisted by Peyton Forcucci and Waterman. Rachael Fix stopped 20 of 23.

CASH played NiCo to a 6-5 overtime victory at Northtowns. Scoring for NiCo were Abbey Zimmerman with a hattrick plus one and Sam Latini adding one. Assists came from Madeline Remus (2), Madelyn Martin, Latini (2) and Olivia Terranova. Lila Jones stopped 25/31. For CASH it was Georgia Mango, Kiley Breeze, Celia Watson (the game-winner plus one), Alexandria Reed and Maya Adimey. Assisting were Breeze, Gabriella Lindell,(2) Cecilia Bizub, Adimey and Polina Stremiakova. Ella Celej stopped 31/36. Celej was also named First Student Athlete of the Week on WKBW TV.

HEWS took a 3-1 victory over St. Mary’s of Lancaster with Brooke Vetter scoring, assisted by Lilliana Smardz, the game-winner scored by Kylie Wegrzynkowski, assisted by Meghan Waszkielewicz and Kayla Pelc and a power-play goal by Brynn Holland, assisted by Sophia Phillips and Clare Sokolowski. In goal Ella Buczynski stopped 24 of 25 for the W. For St. Mary’s it was the tieing goal by Alanah Pagano, assisted by Meghan Donnelly and Riley Kumrow. Avery Hall stopped 9 of 10 and Betsy Accurso stopped 16 of 18.

The following day HEWS faced St. Mary’s once again and it ended in a 2-2 overtime tie. Avery Szczesek had both goals for St. Mary’s. Teammates Samantha Hatt and Lauren Gilano assisted on the first and second, respectively. For HEWS Pelc scored both goals, the first assisted by Waszkielewicz and the second was unassisted. Buczynski stopped 31 of 33.

As noted Celej of CASH was named First Student Super 7 Athlete of the Week and leads the league in Save Percentage with at least two games played.

Maya Griffin (FFLOP) hit the 30 point mark in regular season play and joining her on that list is NiCO’s Zimmerman and Latini.

It’s KenGiPort, FFLOP and St. Mary’s at the top of the scoreboard in League play as we move into the final three weeks of regular season action.

Griffin (FFLOP) has 35 points (as of 1/28/24) and sits in first place with teammate Gabby Sojda sitting in second with 31. Zimmerman and Latini are vying for that top spot at 30 each.

Strong goaltending by KenGiPort has the top three spaces on the leaderboard going to their three goaltenders Jillian Hager (played 45 minutes with 3 shots, 3 saves); Hadley Dahlgreen (played 90 minutes with a 1 GAA) and Ella Johnston (452.75 minutes played and a .920 save percentage).

The goaltender with the most minutes in the net is Betsy Accurso of St. Marys with 608 minutes between the pipes and a .895 save%.

As of this writing three of four games scheduled for Monday, January 27 have been played. NiCo at HEWS at West Seneca was postponed due to weather conditions in Niagara County. Four games are scheduled for Tuesday (tonight), one for Wednesday and four for Thursday. Check https://wnygirlshockey.com/schedule.html for the complete updated schedule.

Follow WNYGVIH Facebook and Twitter for any schedule changes that may take place at the last minute.

WNYGVIH: Moving Into Position; Coach Logs 275th Game

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January 21, 2025