By Warren Kozireski —
Buffalos State senior forward Zach Remers left home at 16 years of age to pursue his dream of playing hockey. After four seasons at various levels with the Wilkes Barre-Scranton junior program, he returned home to play for the Bengals.
Fast forward four more years and he is in his final year playing college hockey. But it has all gone as most would hope.
He has stood among the top-six scorers on the team in each of his first three campaigns and this year entered Thanksgiving weekend atop the scoring chart and tied for seventh nationally with six goals over the first six games. That also put him second in goals in the SUNYAC conference.
And he has been consistent with at least one goal in four of those six games.
“Zach is a senior, he wants to play pro hockey and he knows where he’s at,” Buffalo State head coach Steve Murphy said. “We’re trying to put him in positions to succeed and obviously it’s up to him, but he’s off to a good start this year.
“He’s an undercover skater, he’s quick and has learned a lot. I’ve been real hard on him for four years because you see potential in guys and he’s had to learn to roll with that a bit. He knows what we expect of him now and he’s just taken off.”
Remers was recently switched and was playing on a line with Estonia natives junior Vadim Vasjonkin and freshman Nikita Kozyrev and the unit has found chemistry. With 67 career points heading into the Skidmore Tournament, Remers was just six points away from joining the top-12 scorers in program history.
“They are so easy to play with, makes the game so simple and it’s a lot of fun,” Remers said about his new line-mates. “It really rallies up the bench and stuff and gets everyone going, so it’s been good so far.
“Things are clicking and you just keep driving the net and playing with those guys makes it so easy; just do the simple things and sometimes it works out in your favor.”
Remers had 67 points over his first 79 collegiate contests and is more than aware that this is his last trip around the SUNYAC.
“When you play at places you kind of reminisce about the four years. It’s bittersweet…and I’m definitely going to miss it after this year, but I’m just trying to enjoy it as it goes along.
“I’d love to play after this (pro); I’m just trying to get through this year and not try to think about it too much, play my game and at the end of the season, we’ll see what opportunities present themselves.
“It would be a dream for me to play professional hockey—it’s been quite the journey as my family would tell you.”
