By Warren Kozireski —
West Genesee HS and Northwood Prep product Dan Colabufo did not register a single point in 15 games with Division I Holy Cross last season, but this year he stands tied for third in goals and assists and alone in third in scoring after a transfer to SUNY Oswego for this season.
“I committed to Holy Cross when I was a junior in high school and then one year in junior, the coaching staff that I committed too was fired and they got a new coaching staff,” Colabufo said. “I still went in as a freshman and it was going well; I was playing and really like the guys, but I ended up hurting a disc in my back in October and my game really wasn’t the same. And with the coaching change it just didn’t feel like the right spot for me.
“I needed to make a change and not just hockey wise, just to be happier on the ice and off the ice, so I talked to the coaches here (Oswego) and went into the transfer portal and it really was a no-brainer.
The sophomore is seeing both power play and penalty kill unit time for the nationally ranked Lakers and has added needed scoring with his seven goals and ten assists. He is tied for the team led in power play goals and has taken the third most shots on the team. Despite his 5’9”, 175 lb. frame, you can often find Colabufo camped out at the side of the net in the offensive zone.
“I always say everything that you get you have to work for and I just want to prove to them that I’m worthy of those minutes and keep elevating my game. (I’m) a little guy that’s going to go to the dirty areas…and I think that’s part of the reason that makes my game successful is I go to those areas and it’s not a fight that I’ll back down too.”
After three seasons at West Genesee playing for his father, now 20-year head coach Frank Colabufo where they lost the state championship as an eight-grader, lost in the state regional championship as a freshman and sectional semi-final in a shootout, he moved to Northwood Prep for two years under Chadd Cassidy.
“I can’t thank that guy enough for what he did for my hockey career. He’s a great coach and my junior year we had a great team with, I think, 12 Division I commits. He knows how to develop players, he knows when to be hard on you and when to let the systems take over and I can’t thank him enough for those two years at Northwood.”
Then Colabufo headed to the NAHL and Maryland for one season before college.
“I was actually signed in Canada by the Bonnyville Pontiacs (AJHL) because the previous Holy Cross staff have a pipeline between there and we decided it would be a good spot for me to develop. And then with Covid, the border closed so I couldn’t go and then the NAHL draft happened.”
And now he is experiencing the pressures of a battle for first place in the SUNYAC conference for the 13th ranked Lakers in his backyard.
“Oswego is close to home and I grew up going to camps here and I loved this staff. They have a winning tradition here and that’s something that I want to be a part of and hopefully contribute to that.”
(Oswego Athletic Hockey Photos)
