A recap of how women’s hockey has been shaping up in January as most Leagues are moving toward their playoffs.
New York State Womens College Hockey
Cortland
Chelsea Allain (Saratoga/Canterbury School) was named
NEWHL goalie of the Week for January 13. She made a career-high 40 saves to
earn her second shutout of the season as Cortland beat Nichols. She was also chosen as
the Northeast Women’s Hockey League (NEWHL) Goalie of the Week, and
sophomore Grace Schnorr (Camillus/Little Caesars) has been named
the NEWHL Rookie of the Week for the week ending Jan. 17. This is Allain’s
second selection, while Schnorr has earned the honor three times this season.
Allain recorded a 2-0 record with a 0.50 goals-against
average, 64 saves, a .985 save percentage and one shutout as the Red Dragons
swept a pair of home conference games
versus Buffalo St. During a 3-0 win she
stopped 32 shots to register her third
shutout of the season, tying the program single-season
mark set during the 2001-02 campaign. Allain followed up with another 32 saves
in a 2-1 victory the next day. For the season, she has a 6-1-1 record with a 1.38 GAA
and a .953 save percentage. She ranks sixth nationally in save percentage and
14th in GAA.
Schnorr, who is playing her first year of collegiate
ice hockey, leads the Red Dragons in scoring with 14 points on a team-best 11
goals and three assists. In the two wins, she collected two goals and one
assist. Schnorr opened the weekend by assisting on Cortland’s second goal and
adding a breakaway goal in the third period in the Red Dragons’ 3-0 win. She
then netted the game-winning goal in the third period when she converted a
breakaway as Cortland registered the 2-1
come-from-behind victory.
The NEWHL is in its second season of existence in
2018-19. The conference consists of Cortland, Buffalo St., Oswego, Plattsburgh
and Potsdam – all previously members of the ECAC West. Canton and Morrisville
will join the NEWHL in the
2019-20 season.
Cortland is 9-7-3 overall and 2-7-3 as the season winds down.
Elmira
With their latest win Elmira moved into sole possession of first place in the UCHC standings with 24 league points. They extended their winning streak to an NCAA Division III-best 10 games. Not only did they set a new single game program record, they also had all 19 skaters produce at least one point in the game against King’s College.
A three-goal effort
by Katie Granato (Chicago Mission)’19
and a career-high 33-save performance from Stephanie Martin (Ontario Hockey
Academy) ’22 was more than enough for the No. 3/5-ranked Elmira College women’s
ice hockey team to defeat No. 1/2-ranked Plattsburgh State, 4-1, and claim the
East-West Hockey Classic Championship. With the win, Elmira collects its third
victory over a nationally-ranked team this season and it’s second against a No.
1-ranked team.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Elmira’s Ariella Haas (Albany/Canterbury
School) ’22 and Martin were both selected to the All-Tournament Team, while
Granato was voted as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
For the first time this season Elmira College
women’s ice hockey team swept the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC)
weekly awards on January . Shannon Strawinski (Loomis
Chaffee School) ’19, Eliza Beaudin (Hebron Academy) ’22
and Stephanie Martin ’22 collected
UCHC weekly honors after helping Elmira earn a pair of crucial league wins
against Nazareth.
Strawinski, who was named the UCHC Player of the Week,
paced the Purple and Gold with five points on three goals and two assists in a
pair of UCHC wins against the previously unbeaten Golden Flyers of Nazareth
back in mid-December. The Toms River, New Jersey, native extended her point
streak to four consecutive games with a two-point and a three-point performance
on December 14 and 15, respectively.
The UCHC Rookie of the Week,
Beaudin, produced her first career point and goal streak with strong
performances in back-to-back games against Nazareth. For Beaudin, it marked her
second UCHC Rookie of the Week accolade of the 2018-19 campaign.
Martin secured her second UCHC Goaltender of the Week
accolade of the season behind two impressive performances between the pipes.
She made 15 saves and held Nazareth scoreless, a team that averaged 7.30 goals
per game prior to the contest, in a 4-0 Elmira victory. The win in game one
handed the Golden Flyers their first-ever loss and shutout in program history.
Then in game two of the series, Martin totaled 18
saves, nine of which were made in the final 20 minutes of action, to help EC
secure the sweep and remain perfect within the UCHC at 6-0-0. Across the two
game series, Martin allowed just one power-play goal on five chances.
The nationally-ranked Elmira College women’s ice hockey team received two weekly awards on January 8, as the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) crowned Katie Granato ’19 Player of the Week and Ariella Haas ’22 Rookie of the Week.
On January 11 seniors Katie Granato ’19 and Meg Lahey ’19 were selected to the D3hockey.com National Team of the Week.
Ariella Haas ’22 was named Player of the Week and Stephanie Martin ’22 was tabbed the conference’s Goalie of the Week for January 29 after a series sweep of William Smith.
Syracuse
Syracuse freshman forward Lauren Bellefontaine (Nepean Jr Wildcats) is College Hockey America’s Rookie of the Month for the second time this season. She earned the honor for her play in the month of December, the league announced Monday, Jan. 7. She leads all CHA freshmen in scoring through the first half of the season, ranking first in goals (5), second in assists (6) and first in points (11). In addition, her five goals and 11 points both rank as second most on the Orange.
Syracuse freshman defenseman Shelby Calof (Nepean Jr. Wildcats) was named College Hockey America Rookie of the Week for the second time this season, the conference announced Monday, Jan. 28. She received the honor after her two-point performance in the Orange’s win over Penn State last weekend.vCalof earned the first and second assist of her career in Syracuse’s 2-1 win over the Nittany Lions Friday, Jan. 25. She recorded her first assist on sophomore defenseman Jessica DiGirolamo’s (Oakville Jr. Hornets) first-period goal before providing her second assist on redshirt senior forward Brooke Avery’s (St Pauls/Assabett Valley) game-winning goal in the second period. The first-year newcomer, who has three points (1 goal, 2 assists) in 25 games played this season, was also named the league’s top rookie of the week in early December. The recognition came after she scored her first career goal and earned her first career point against then-No. 10 Colgate.
Syracuse is 6-18-2 overall and 6-5-1 in the conference.
Utica
Utica has secured a playoff spot in the UCHC after a sweep over Stevenson University. They are 14-5 on the year and 11-3 in UCHC play. Utica is just two wins shy of matching its single-season record for conference wins with the 2015-16 Pioneers.
Freshman forward Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School) of the Utica College women’s ice hockey team has been selected as the United Collegiate Hockey Conference Rookie of the Week. For January 29. Santullo played a significant role in Utica’s sweep of Stevenson this weekend that clinched a UCHC playoff spot for the Pioneers. It will be their seventeenth playoff appearance in eighteen seasons as a program. Santullo scored two goals and added an assist in the 4-2, 5-2 sweep of the Mustangs this weekend at home.
Colgate
Three Raiders have been drafted by the NWHL in the 2019 entry draft including Bailey Larson, Jessie Eldridge and Olivia Zafuto. Larson was chosen by the Boson Pride and both Eldridge and Zafuto were selected by the Buffalo Beauts.
Jessie Eldridge rewrote history as the Colgate Women’s Hockey all-time leader in NCAA Division I scoring Janaury 26 at Lynah Rink, but the Raiders fell 4-2 to Cornell. It was the 20th goal of the year for Eldridge and the 142nd point in her Raider career, which passed Sam Hunt ’09 for the program record for points I NCAA DI hockey.
At the 5:51 mark of the first period of the Cornell game Julia Vandyk made history and became the program’s all-time leader in minutes played at 6072:38, passing Rebecca Lahar ’05.
On January 21 Freshman Forward Rosalie Demers was tabbed Rookie of the Week after she had a point in both games against Harvard and Dartmouth. She had the game-winning goal in a 4-2 victory over Harvard and then an assist on Bailey Larson’s goal in a 5-1 victory over Dartmouth.
Eldridge has
been named a nominee for the 2019 Hockey Humanitarian Award. She is just one of four female
nominees in the group of 17 that spans both divisions in NCAA hockey. She is
also the only nominee in ECAC Women’s Hockey.
The award is given each year to college hockey’s
finest citizen – a student-athlete who makes significant contributions not only
to his or her team but also to the community-at-large through leadership in
volunteerism.
Oswego
Kate Randazzo (Burlington Barracudas) and Mikaela Ditonto, of the women’s ice hockey team, were selected
to the D3hockey.com National Team of the Week and as the North East Women’s
Hockey League (NEWHL) Goalie of the Week, respectively, for the week ending Jan. 20.
Randazzo, the captain of the Lakers, tied herself in the record book for most
assists in a single contest, posting four in the team’s
5-1 win over Plymouth State last week. The junior originally posted the
recorded on Oct. 27, 2017 as Oswego downed New England College 5-0. While
dishing out an impressive amount of helpers, Randazzo also led the team in the
plus/minus category, recording a plus-3. The four
assists tripled the defensemen’s tally for the season (6), placing her second
on the team for most assists.
Ditonto (Orchard Park/Frontier Orchard Park Girls Varsity) recorded her
first-career win, stopping 32 of Plymouth State’s shots, helping the Lakers to
a 2-1 victory on Jan. 17. This was the senior’s fourth career game played, in
which she let up just one goal, a Panthers’ power play goal. This is the first
time the Orchard Park, N.Y. has been recognized by the league.
Oswego is 8-6-3 overall and 3-5-2 in the conference.
Cornell
Senior goaltender Marlène Boissonnault (Dundee) of the Cornell women’s hockey team was tabbed the Mac Goaltending Goalie of the Week January 21. Boissonnault picked up her 13th career shutout against Harvard, as the Big Red cruised to a 6-0 win over the Crimson on Saturday. The shutout put Boissonnault in sole possession of No. 3 on Cornell’s all-time list. She had been tied with Kathryn LoPresti (1985-88), who recorded twelve in her career. This marks the second time this season that Boissonault was tabbed the league’s goalie of the week with the other time coming on Oct. 29.
Cornell is 14-2-5 overall after extending its winning streak to six following a win over Syracuse.
Hamilton
Sidney Molnar had her first collegiate shut-out in a 2-0 victory over Morrisville. She denied all 16 sog.
Hamilton is 10-6-2 overall and 4-4-2 in conference play.
William Smith
Coming off a seven-point weekend, sophomore forward Julia Mings (Clarence/Amherst/SweetHome Girls Varsity) was named the United Collegiate Hockey Conference Player of the Week by the league on January 5.. She led William Smith College to a pair of shutout victories over King’s College, scoring six goals and adding an assist.
In the first game against the Monarchs on Saturday, Mings broke the Heron single game record with four goals, scoring once in the first period, once in the second and twice in the third as William Smith cruised to a 9-0 win. The following afternoon, she opened the scoring and assisted on another goal as the Herons jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead. Mings tacked on her final goal of the weekend in the second period in a 10-0 triumph.
Mings has played in all 15 games this season, recording 13 goals and five assists for 15 points. She is tied for the national lead with four game-winning goals and is second on the team and eighth in the nation in goals per game (0.87).
The William Smith hockey program is in its fifth varsity season. Prior to this year, the Heron season record for goals was 12. This season, three William Smith players have equaled or surpassed that mark. First-year Abbey Luth (Portsmouth Abbey)leads the team with 14 goals followed by Mings and sophomore Jules Kennedy, (Buckingham Browne & Nichols)
who has 12 goals. Mings needs one more game
winner to equal the Heron season record that she matched last season.
Mings has played in 41 games at William Smith, logging
22 goals and 14 assists for 36 points. She holds the Heron career record for
game-winning goals (9) and ranks fifth in career goals and eighth in career
points.
William Smith is 13-6 overall and 11-3 in the conference
Morrisville
Morrisville is 11-6-1 overall and 3-2-1 in the conference as they have games against Canton, Becker and Endicott before the end of the season.
Maddison Devlin is leading the scoring with 11 goals and 15 assists followed by Jessica Ujcik with 11 goals and 9 assists.
WEST
Buffalo
Buffalo State faced some weather problems in January and had to reschedule a home stand against Potsdam twice. The game will now be held Sunday, February 17 at 3 p.m.
Buffalo State
forward Lila Toczek (Pendleton,
NY/Starpoint) has been named the Northeast Women’s Hockey League’s Player of
the Week. For January 8. Toczek played for the Niagara Junior Purple
Eagles 19U team.
The junior biology major was named to the
All-Tournament Team at the St. Michael’s College Classic over the weekend after
netting her first collegiate hat trick in a 5-1 victory over the host Purple
Knights on Saturday. Toczek is second on the team with eight goals and
13 points in 13 games this
season.
Buffalo State is 5-11-2 overall and 2-8-1 in the conference, with NEWL games against Oswego and Plattsburgh, and the rescheduled Potsdam still left.
RIT
Kendall Cornine has been drafted by the NWHL Metropolitan Riveters.
Senior forward Kathryn Kennedy (Hamilton, Ontario/) of the RIT
women’s hockey team was named the College Hockey America Player of the
Week on Tuesday, for the week ending Jan. 21,
2019. It is Kennedy’s first weekly honor of her collegiate career.
Kennedy recorded her second straight
multiple-point effort with a goal and an assist in RIT’s 4-2 win over
Mercyhurst Friday. She assisted on Ellie Larson’s (Hutchinson, MN/Hutchinson
Tigers) game-tying goal early in the third period and put the game away
with an empty-netter in the final minute. She now has career-best totals of six
goals, four assists and 10 points and is plus-6 in 23 games this season.
Junior goaltender Terra Lanteigne (Hatchet Lake, Nova Scotia/Charles P.
Allen) of the RIT women’s hockey team was named the College Hockey America
Goaltender of the Week on Monday, for the week ending Jan. 13,
2019. It is Lanteigne’s fifth weekly honor of the 2018-19 season and eighth
overall of her collegiate career.
Lanteigne stopped 38 of 40 shots as RIT won its
third straight game, 4-2 over Syracuse on Friday night. She made 13 saves in
the opening period, 12 in the second and 13 more in the third, as RIT moved
into a tie for third place in the CHA standings with the win. Lanteigne, who leads all of Division I with 701 saves,
has a 2.12 goals against average and is seventh nationally with a .938 save
percentage in 22 games this season.
RIT is 9-12-4 overall and 5-6-0 in conference play.
Nazareth
Nazareth is 14-3-1 and 10-3-0 in their conference as they move to the end of their inaugural season. Left to play are UCHC rivals Utica, Manhattanville and William Smith.
Hailey Redders (Wisconsin) is leading the scoring with 11 goals and 18 assists for f29 points and closely behind her is Keeley Rose (Clayton/Northwood Huskies) with 11 goals and 14 assists. WNY’s Emily Kromer (Angola/Frontier/Orchard Park/LakeShore girls varsity) has 24 points on 10 goals and 14 assists.
Minding the nets for Nazareth are Adrianna Brehm who played in 16 games and has a .945 save percentage and 6 shutouts. Backing her are Noelle Giroux with 3 games played and Emily Smith who started and played a single game.
University of Buffalo
UB’s Maddy Norton leads the ACHA DII women’s program in points with 49 on 36 goals and 13 assists. Along with her at #14 is Frangelica Bautz (9g 19a)
In Team Scoring its Maddie and Frangelica followed by Mamie Talty (7g 16a); Megan McCluskey (5 g 10a) and Mia Feola (6 g 7 a)
UB has 12 wins and 1 loss with 5 games left.
UB plays Penn State at Pegula Arena on February 1 and 2 and then returns home on February 10 for a one-game stand against SUNY Oswego at 1 p.m. They then play Liberty and the University of California (Pa) at Mercyhurst on February 15 and 16.
NORTH
Potsdam
The following weekly reports are provided by the Potsdam Sports Information Department.
Jan 21-17
Sophomore goaltender Samantha White (Oceanside, N.Y./Anaheim Lady Ducks) picked up her third career shutout as the women’s hockey team defeated SUNY Canton 3-0 on Tuesday night. Junior forward Miranda Kolb (Watertown, N.Y./SUNY Cortland), sophomore forward Natalie Wasielewski(Carnegie, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) and sophomore defenseman Keira Thacker (Oakville, Ontario/Hamilton Hawks) each scored for the Bears. At 12:06, a Kangaroo was whistled for tripping and Potsdam took advantage. Junior defenseman Delphine Léonard (Anjou, Quebec/Dawson College Prep) kept the puck in the zone at the left point and fed it to senior forward Tatum Walber (Orchard Park, N.Y./Buffalo Regals). Walber put the puck into the slot and Kolb scored as she fell. Just 31 seconds later, Wasielewski knocked home a loose puck at the left side of the net to make it 2-0. Sophomore forward Allie Banas (Buffalo, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) and junior forward Lucy Condon (Waterloo, Ontario/Waterloo Ravens) each assisted on the goal. Potsdam added to its lead with an even-strength marker at 7:03. Thacker scored her first collegiate goal from the right point after a pass from freshman forward Stephanie Dunlap (Bath, Mich./Meijer U19 AAA) deflected to her. White stopped all 17 shots she faced and Canton junior goalie Brooke Susac (Bowmanville, Ontario/Clarington Flames) finished with 20 saves. Potsdam was 1-for-4 on the power play and the Kangaroos were 0-for-4.
January 14-20
Sophomore forward Natalie Wasielewski (Carnegie, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) scored twice as the women’s hockey team defeated Buffalo State 3-1 on the road. Sophomore Alex Clark (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) also scored for the Bears and junior assistant captain Alexa Pfeiffer (Sylvania, Ohio/Little Caesar’s) made 30 saves to pick up her 18th career win. It was all Bears in the second period as they fired 18 times on Buffalo State goalie Bri Gawronski and only allowed four shots on Pfeiffer. Wasielewski gave Potsdam the lead back at 6:44 with an assist from junior forward Lucy Condon (Waterloo, Ontario/Waterloo Ravens). Almost 10 minutes later Clark made it 3-1 at 16:12 with assists from freshman forward Stephanie Dunlap (Bath, Mich./Meijer U19 AAA) and sophomore defenseman Emily Burke (San Jose, Calif./San Jose Jr. Sharks). The score was unchanged at the second intermission. The Bengals picked up the pressure in the third period. They created several chances on two power plays, but couldn’t solve Pfeiffer. Buffalo State pulled Gawronski with 38 seconds left, but got no closer. Gawronski finished with 27 stops. Potsdam was 1-for-1 on the power play and the Bengals were 0-for-3.
Plattsburgh
The Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team remains ranked at No. 2 in both the D3hockey.com Women’s Top-10 Poll and No. 3 in the USCHO.com Division III Women’s Top-10 Poll, as announced Monday by both organizations. The Cardinals received 137 points and three first-place votes in the D3hockey.com poll and 126 points and one first-place vote in the USCHO.com poll.
Senior forward Ashley Songin (Springville, N.Y./Nichols School) of the Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team has been named the Northeast Women’s Hockey League (NEWHL) Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 27, 2019, as announced Tuesday by the conference office. This marks Songin’s first-ever NEWHL Player of the Week honor. Songin recorded three points on two goals and an assist while registering a +2 rating in a conference sweep of Oswego State over the weekend. She scored on the power play at 3:23 of the third period in a 6-1 win over the Lakers on Friday before scoring the game-winning goal and adding an assist in a 4-0 victory against Oswego on Saturday. For the season, the alternate captain has nine points on five goals and four assists
Sophomore defenseman Erin McArdle (Macomb, Mich./Belle Tire) of the Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team has been named to the D3hockey.com National Women’s Team of the Week for the period ending Jan. 20, 2019, as announced Thursday by D3hockey.com. This marks McArdle’s second D3hockey.com Team of the Week honor this season, as she was also selected on Nov. 28.
Freshman forward Taylor Whitney (Livonia, Mich./Little Caesars) of the Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team was been named the Northeast Women’s Hockey League (NEWHL) Rookie of the Week for the period ending Jan. 20, 2019, as announced Tuesday by the conference office.This marks Whitney’s first-ever NEWHL Rookie of the Week honor.
For the second straight week, sophomore forward Annie Katonka (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) of the Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team was been named the Northeast Women’s Hockey League (NEWHL) Player of the Week, as announced Tuesday by the conference office. She earned the award for the period ending Jan. 20, 2019. This marks Katonka’s third NEWHL Player of the Week honor this season, as she also earned the distinction on Nov. 20 and Jan. 15. She was also named to th eD3hockey.com National Team for January 18.
Freshman forward Moe Tsukimoto (Sapporo, Japan/Northwood School) of the Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team was been named the Northeast Women’s Hockey League (NEWHL) Rookie of the Week for the period ending Jan. 13, 2019. This marks Tsukimoto’s second NEWHL Rookie of the Week honor this season, as she also earned the distinction on Dec. 4.
For the sixth time this season and for the fifth consecutive week, senior Kassi Abbott (Medford, Mass./Boston Shamrocks Elite) of the Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team was been named the Northeast Women’s Hockey League (NEWHL) Goalie of the Week, earning the distinction for the period ending Jan. 6, 2019. This is Abbott’s 10th career NEWHL Goalie of the Week honor.
Clarkson
One week after becoming the Golden Knights’ all-time leading scorer, Loren Gabel enjoyed another milestone-setting weekend at Cheel Arena. For her efforts in the sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth, Gabel was named ECAC Hockey Player of the Week. Highlighting Gabel’s seven-point weekend was the senior left wing’s 100th career goal for the game-winner in Friday’s 4-2 victory over the Crimson. She opened the scoring on Friday and also added a pair of assists to figure in on all the Green and Gold’s offense in the win over Harvard. Gabel followed on Saturday with another game-winning goal (her sixth of the season) and also earned two assists in the 4-2 victory over The Big Green. Gabel, who has earned ECAC Hockey Player of the Week honors three times this season (10/22, 11/26, 1/28), leads the NCAA in scoring with 25 goals and 49 points through 24 games. Gabel has been drafted by the Buffalo Beauts of the National Women’s Hockey League.
In her first season of ECAC Hockey play, Kassidy Sauve is certainly making her mark in the conference, and closed out a highly successful first half by being honored as the league’s Goaltender of the Month for December. A graduate transfer from Ohio State, Sauve led all ECAC Hockey goaltenders, who played in more than one game for the month, in save percentage (.963). The Whitby, Ont. native earned ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week honors for the third time on December 10 after backstopping Clarkson to a weekend sweep of St. Lawrence in the final games before the break, making 47 saves on 48 shots. She posted her third shutout of the year with 21 saves in the 4-0 win at St. Lawrence on December 7.
Clarkson is 20-5-1 overall and 11-3-0 in the ECACH.
St Lawrence
Justine Reyes scored her 100th career point I her 131st career game with an assist on the Saints’ first goal of the game in a 3-2 OT loss to RPI.
St Lawrence is 12-11-3 overall and 7-5-2 in the ECAC as they move into February and the end of the season.
Canton
After an impressive weekend on the road, sophomore Ashley Gillies was been named the Colonial Hockey Conference (CHC) Player of the Week on January 28. Gillies had a big weekend posting three points on two goals and an assist as the Roos picked up a huge CHC sweep on the road at University of New England, who came into the weekend ranked first in the conference standings. The sophomore scored the game-winner in Canton’s 4-2 win on Saturday to complete the weekend sweep, while also assisting registering the primary assist on the team’s second goal. She also netted the team’s opening goal in Friday 2-1 win.
The Roos are now third in the conference standings just one point out of first place after a four point weekend.
Canton’s Sports Information Department provided the following weekly updates.
January 7
Junior Brooke Susac had a monster weekend stopping 85 shots in two contests to lead the Roos to the cusp of the WSYB/Catamount Radio Invitational championship as they fell 4-3 in overtime to Endicott in the championship game. The junior goaltender broke a seven-year-old SUNY Canton single-game record by stopping 54 shots in the OT contest v. the Gulls (8-2-3). She made 16 or more saves in every period including an astonishing 20 in the third period. Susac also made 31 saves to lead the Roos to a 4-3 win in overtime v. host Castleton in Saturday’s first semifinal. Hannah Brady scored twice including the overtime game-winner 3 minutes, 20 seconds into the extra session on Saturday. Susac, Brady and Noelle Niemiec were all named to the All-Tournament Team.
January 14
Brooke Susac combined to stop 29 of the 30 shots she faced (.967 save percentage) while allowing just a single goal (0.5 GAA) as the Roos swept New England College with a pair of one-goal victories on Friday (2-1) and Saturday (1-0). The junior opened the weekend by stopping 19 of the 20 shots she faced including turning aside a Pilgrims penalty shot with 1 minute, 36 seconds remaining to keep Canton on top by a goal and secure the win. She recorded her third shutout of the season with 10 saves on Saturday. Lily Cullen and Kelly Leathem scored in Friday’s win, while Breanna Bedboroughfound the back of the net on Saturday.
January 21
Breanna Bedborough gave the Roos an early lead on her team-leading sixth goal of the season but SUNY Cortland scored two unanswered goals for a 2-1 win on Tuesday. Brooke Susac made 19 saves in the loss.
January 28
The women’s hockey team earned a crucial weekend sweep by scores of 2-1 and 4-2 at the University of New England last weekend, a team previously atop the Colonial Hockey Conference standings. Ashley Gillies scored and Jessica Pelenetted the game-winner with 5:03 remaining in Friday’s win. Brittany Miner, Sarah Kosnaskie, Gillies and Breanna Bedborough all scored in Saturday’s victory. Brooke Susac combined to make 39 saves on 42 shots on the weekend. The Roos dropped their only other game of the week, 3-0, at SUNY Potsdam on Tuesday.
EAST
Manhattanville
Sophomore forward Tianna Lopes (West Vancouver, British Columbia/Pacific Steelers (JWHL))of the Manhattanville College women’s ice hockey team picked up three weekly honors for the Valiants for her play last week. She was first selected as the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Offensive Player of the Week, the conference announced today, Monday, Jan. 21. Then, Tuesday, Jan. 22, the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) named her the Player of the Week. Most recently, Lopes was selected to the D3Hockey.com National Team of the Week Thursday, Jan. 23.
Goalie Rose Pijaca (Worcester, Mass./Worcester Academy) of the Manhattanville College women’s ice hockey team was selected as the Defensive Player of the Week by the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC), announced today, Jan. 14. The Valiants’ starting netminder posted four solid performances last week in United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) play and boasted a 1.55 goals against average and a .951 save percentage.
For the third time this season, Manhattanville College women’s hockey forward Nicole Mensi (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Northwood School) was named Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Player of the Week, as announced by the conference Monday morning. Mensi started off her week with two shots in a 1-1 tie with Endicott College at the WSYB/Catamount Radio Invitational Saturday, Jan. 5. In the second round of the tournament, Mensi scored both goals for Manhattanville in a 2-1 victory over Castleton University and was named to the All-tournament team for her efforts. The senior finished the week with two goals, five shots and was a plus-one in two games played.
Union
Union is 3-21-2 overall and 1-12-1 in the ECACH with 8 games to play.
Leading the team in scoring is Arianna Kosakowski with 4 goals and 7 assists. Katelynn Russ has 4 goals and 5 assists for 9 points.
RPI
RPI took the snow-delayed Mayor’s Cup with a 2-1 victory over Union College. Junior Lauren Seversopn recorded a goal and an assist to lead the college to victory. The Engineers are 11-10-5 overall and 8-5-1 in ECAC hockey.
ECAC Hockey has announced its weekly award winners from women’s hockey and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athlete Lovisa Selander has been named MAC Goaltending Goalie of the Week, after leading the Engineers to an unbeaten road weekend January 25-27. Selander has been drafted by the NWHL Boston Pride.
RPI also had weekly award winners including Blake Orosz, named Player of the Week after leading the Engineers to a victory over area-rival Union College. A junior forward from Chase Mills, N.Y., Orosz recorded four points, including her first career hat trick in RPI’s 4-1 win over the Dutchwomen. She led the team with a +4 rating and eight shots, scoring one goal in each period, including the eventual game-winner – 5:05 into the second. She finished off the game by providing the primary assist on the team’s fourth goal. The multi-point game was her fifth of the year and she now has six points (4 goals, 2 assists) over the last two contests. Orosz has played in all 23 games for the Engineers and leads the team in a number of offensive categories, including goals (10), points (19), power play goals (2), game-winning goals (4) and plus/minus (+9). She is second in shots (72) and third in assists (9). Through 11 ECAC Hockey contests, the former Nepean Wildcats standout has seven goals and five assists for 12 points, with a +6 rating. Through 89 career games at RPI, Orosz has 19 goals and 20 assists for 39 points. She collected seven goals and five assists as a sophomore and two goals and six assists in her rookie campaign.
WNYGVIH JANUARY WRAP
The ninth season of the Western New York Girls Varsity Ice Hockey league is coming to a close.
Once again the naming of a champion was up in the air for a lot of the season, with Frontier/LakeShore/Orchard Park defending their League, Section and State Championship with lots of passion. They played hard know that on any given night someone could have toppled them.
However Coach Bob Klimowicz kept the girls focused and they ended their season with a loss and a tie and 12 wins; 37.5 points. FLOP gets a bye for the Section VI playoffs.
With NYS rules the way they are, Monsignor Martin has to sit out the Section VI playoffs and that moves Williamsville into second place with 33 points on a 11-3-0 season.
A team that in the early years of this league sat at the bottom has moved to third. Lancaster/Iroquois/Depew with a 6-7-1 season.
Clarence/Amherst/SweetHome, Hamburg/Eden/West Seneca, Kenmore/Grand Island follows and in last place, but making strides on the ice is our 2018-19 expansion team, Niagara County made up of Starpoint and Niagara Wheatfield Central Schools.
In regular seasons play Emma Roland of Williamsville is sitting at the top of the league scoring with 27 goals and 21 assists for 48 points. She is followed by Emma Faso, CASH, with 20 goals and 14 assists for 34 points. Emma also moved to third place in League history with 84 goals and 65 assists in 72 games for 149 points. Brooke Becker takes third with 19 goals and 12 assists and she hit her 100 point mark this season.
Goaltending stats put Kristen Heard at the top with a 1.00 Save percentage; but bear in mind she played 45 minutes for FLOP.
Seeing the most action in net was Annie Riek keeping Niagara County’s net protected in every game with 629.17 minutes.
Monsignor Martin’s goalies Sophia Will and Isabella Battaglia have the best save percentages with .943 and.960, respectively. Will played 131 minutes and Battaglia saw 264 minutes of action making 119 saves on 124 shots.
Now we head into the playoffs. Of course, its Western New York so we had to deal with snow closings that are pushing the playoffs right to the limit with NYS Championships being held February 8 and 9 at HarborCenter.
The current schedule is Quarterfinals on Monday, February 4 at three different locations. First game is 4:30 p.m. when #8 Niagara County meets #2 Williamsville; then its 5 p.m. at Holiday with #6 Kenmore/Grand Island against #3 LID and at 6 p.m. at HarborCenter it will be #5 Hews vs #6 CASH.
Sectionals will be held at two sites on Tuesday, February 5. It will be the lowest seed vs #1 FLOP at 3 p.m. at Hamburg Nike and 4:30 p.m. #3 will take on #2 at Amherst Northtowns Center.
The Section VI Championship will be held at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 5d at Amherst Northtowns Center.
The NYS Championships will be held at HarborCenter on February 8 and 9. On Friday it will be Section VI (WNY) against Section X at 6 p.m. and then Section III vs VII at 8 p.m.
The Championship game will be at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
WNYGVIH Honors Seniors
NYHOL congratulates the Class of 2019 for all their efforts in making the WNYGVIH League a success and providing one of the most interesting and competitive hockey experiences around.
CASH:
Sam Czora (Sam has been out all season with an injury but played 5 years) (Amherst)
Caroline Yoder (Amherst) A three-year member of the team Caroline will attend St. Bonaventure and play lacrosse.
Kylie Nelson (Amherst) A six year player, Kylie will be playing lacrosse at Greenville University.
Charleigh Rondeau (Amherst) A six year player, Charleigh has been accepted into the honors college at Slippery Rock College and will play lacrosse.
Emma Faso (Clarence) Emma played four years, since Clarence joined, she is going to play hockey at Plattsburgh and study criminal justice.
Anna Ablove (Clarence) Anna played three years for CASH and will attend the University of Michigan for engineering physics.
Chloe Esch (Clarence) A four-year member of the team, Chloe is undecided on her college but has plans to study biology.
Amanda Freiheit (Sweethome) Amanda played four years for CASH and will attend Erie Community College to study criminal justice.
FLOP:
Maggie Spyche (Orchard Park) This goaltender is headed to study bio-medical engineering in hopes of attending medical school. She is undecided about the college and her plans for hockey at this time.
Jessica Peters (Orchard Park) Jessica is undecided on her college but plans to become a nurse. She has been a top scorere on the varsity team and has played since 7th grade and played youth hockey for many years.
Abigail Lillis (Orchard Park) Abigail will play DIII hockey at Utica College where she will be studying criminal justice. Abby has seen a State Championship and National Championship during her many years of hockey.
Tori Cottrell (Orchard Park) Tori will attend Buffalo State College where she will be playing for the Bengals at the DIII level. She will be studying early childhood education. Tori has played in goal since she was 12 years old and was named Second Team All Fed in her second year of play.
Niagara County: (comments by Coaches Grosskpf and Dunlop)
Julia Gerspach (Niagara Wheatfield) Julia captained this team in its Inaugural Season and was noted as one of the most hard working and outspoken players on the team. She showed tremendous leadership on and off the ice and showed outstanding effort every shift and proven herself to be a strong two-way forward.
Sarah Jackson (Niagara Wheatfield) This forward captain displayed great skill and playmaking abilities and has been a catalyst for the offense all season. Her calm demeanor helps settle the team when things start to break down.
Jordan Pearson (Starpoint) Another captain, Jordan is one of NC’s outspoken leaders on and off the ice. She brings a great attitude to the rik every game and is someone that the girls look up to. She has been a rock on the back end leading a group of very young defensemen.
Paige Keelty (Starpoint) Also a captain Paige is one of the most hard working and dedicated players on the team. She shows great leadership by never taking a shift off and never complains. She also pushes the others to work hard and has been a great influence on the younger players.
Williamsville
Elisabeth Sidorski (South) Elisabeth is a 6 year player and two-time captain. She is a three-sport athlete who has earned 16 letters. She will be playing field hockey for the University of Rochester and majoring in applied mathematics and computer science.
Kylie Rosen (North) Kylie played four years for the Williamsville varsity team and intends to major in special education. She also played field hockey for Williamsville North.
LID (we were unable to obtain future information for LID players)
Jeanette Szefler (Lancaster)
Anna Pitz (Iroquois)
Madelyn Moran (Lancaster)
Alexis Missel (Iroquois)
Jillian Blas (Lancaster)
Emily Hoeflich (Lancaster)
Morgan Zaccarine (Lancaster)
Monsignor Martin
Emily Matthew (Mt. St. Marys) A senior assistant captain, Emily is a three-year player for MM and plans to attend the University of Boston or Castleton in hopes of playing college hockey and majoring in history or computer science.
Marcella Rodgers (Cardinal O’Hara) Marci is a three-year player who plans to play club hockey at either SUNY Buffalo, Kettering University, or Grand Valley State University while focusing her career on mechanical engineering technology.
Mackenzie Blake (Sacred Heart) Mackenzie played four years with MM and is planning on attending Cortland, St. John Fisher or Syracuse to play club hockey and softball while majoring if sports management. She served an an assistant captain.
Ava Towers (Mt. St. Marys) Ava, a four year varsity player, is planning to attend the University off Alabama, William Penn or Chatham to play hockey or lacrosse. She is going to major in psychology.
Isabella Battaglia (Cardinal O’Hara) Izzy has minded the nets for MM for four years and plans to attend the University of Buffalo or Penn State to play club hockey and softball while majoring in sports science.
Izzy Friedman (Nardin Academy) Izzy is MM’s senior captain and will be attending Hobart and William Smith College to paly DIII hockey and majoring in biology.
Kenmore Grand Island
Jaclyn MacVittie (Kenmore East) Julie has played varsity for five years and will study Pre-med at Penn State.
Hannah Munley (Kenmore East) Hannah played six years of varsity hockey and is choosing between Penn State and St. Bonaventure.
Chloe Moore (Kenmore West) A six year player, Chloe is heading to Buffalo State College to play volleyball. She served as Captain this season.
Emma Epstein (Kenmore West) Emma played for four years and is headed to the University of Miami of Ohio.
HEWS
Sissy Harman (Eden) Sissy played five years of girl’s varsity ice hockey, served as an assistant captain and plans to study nursing while playing DIII hockey at Morrisville College.
Kaitlyn Morris (West Seneca) Kaitlyn is a four-year girls varsity player who served as co-captain and plans to play lacrosse and study finance.
Around New York State Varsity Girls Hockey
In Section X semi-finals it was Potsdam 6, Canton 1 and Massena 3, Salmon River 2 in Overtime. Potsdam now takes on Massena for the Section championship and a trip to the States. The game, however, has been delayed due to weather, it is scheduled for Feburary 1 at 1 p.m. at Potsdam.
Massena moved on after a 3-2 victory in overtime. They were down 2-0 going into the third when they tied on goals from Meg Wilmshurst and Katy Underwood. Hannah Chilton shot the winning goal 1:40 into overtime.
In Section VI semi-finals it was Saranac/Lake Placid 4-1 over Malone and Plattsburg 4 over Beekmantown 2. Plattsburg is playing Saranac/Lake Placid for the Section VII title on February 3 at 12:30 p.m.
Section III playoffs saw Oswego defeating Alexandria 5-0. Oswego now takes on Canton on February 5 at 5:15 p.m. Clinton will take on Ithaca on Feburary 2, 7:15 p.m.
Down in newly formed Section II it will be Brewster vs Proctor Academy and New Hampton vs Brewster. Those games will be played February 6 and 8. Section II is not eligible for the States in their inaugural season.
The New York State Girls High School Championships will be played at HarborCenter in Buffalo on February 8 and 9.
Regional semi-finals will be played Friday at 6 and 8 p.m. with Section VI (FLOP) vs Section X (tba) and then Section III vs Section VII.
The Championship game will be held at 6 p.m. between the winners of the two contests above.
Tickets are $10 at the door.
Buffalo Beauts January Wrap
The Beauts opened the New Year with a new coach/manager. Corey McCormick after ownership released co-coaches Ric Seiling and Craig Muni on December 7.
McCormick is the third head coach in Beauts franchise history after a professional hockey career that saw him play parts of 10 seasons in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and Buffalo Sabres. The London, Ontario native appeared in 405 career NHL contests and recorded 65 points (21+44) and 550 penalty minutes, adding 89 points (42+47) in 231 AHL games. Since retiring from the NHL, McCormick has worked with the Academy of Hockey at Harborcenter, including skills practices with the Beauts this season.
At the time General Manager Nik Fatty served as interim coach. However just after the New Year Fatty was also relieved of his duties and McCormick was named General Manager of the Beauts.
Despite the upheavals in the management area, the Beauts have logged 8 wins and 4 losses in 12 games. They are tied for second place with Boston with just four regular season games left. Three against the Metropolitan Riveters and one against the Connecticut Whale.
League honors went to Maddie Elia and Dani Cameranesi in January. Both were named VEDA NWHL Player of the Week.
Cameranesi had three points in an important 4-1 victory over Boston on January 19 and Elia had two goals and two assists in a 4-0 victory over Minnesota on December 30.
Beauts Goaltender Shannon Szabados was named VEDA Goaltender of the Week January 7 after making 30 saves in a 5-0 shutout over the Boston Pride.
The Beauts are currently on a four-game win streak, allowing only a single goal in the last two games. Buffalo is in the hunt for the home ice advantage during the playoffs. They are also seeking to get the Isobel Cup back in Buffalo.
Three of the Buffalo Beauts were selected to play on the US Women’s National Team in a three-game series vs Canada. Hayley Scamurra, selected solely on her performance in the NWHL; Dani Cameranesi and Emily Pfalzer, former Olympians. Team Canada selected decorated Olympian Shannon Szabados.
The Beauts have drafted Megan Keller as their number one choice in the 2018 draft. Keller is from Boston College. She is a native of Farmington Hills, Michigan and played for the Honeybaked 19U team. She is considered one of the most dominant and influential players in college hockey and one of the top defensemen in the world. She is a four-year member of Team USA and has a gold medal (2018) and three gold medals with the IIHF before she turned 21 years of age.
In round two they selected Clarkson’s Loren Gabel. The Kitchner, Ontario native played for the Oakville Jr. Hornets and won a silver with Team Canada in the U18 Winter games.
Third pick was Colgate’s Jessie Eldridge. The Barrie, Ontario native played for the Toronto Aeros of the PWHL and served as team captain I 2014-15. She currently has 21 goals and 13 assists for the Raiders.
Fourth round pick Oliva Zafuto is a familiar face to WNY as she grew up in Niagara Falls and played her high school hockey at Nichols in Buffalo and her youth hockey with the Niagara Junior Purple Eagles. She is currently with the Colgate Red Raiders were she has 5 goals and 15 assists on the season.
Buffalo’s last pick, and 23rd overall is Nicole Schammel from Minnesota of the WCHA. Schammel is from Red Wing, Minnesota and played hockey with Red Wing High School. So far this season she has 10 goals/26 assists for 36 points for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
