FREDONIA, N.Y. – If Fredonia men’s hockey coach Jeff Meredith has one regret in his 28 seasons behind the Blue Devil bench, it’s this: He has missed most of his son Matt’s college hockey games.
“That is the saddest thing to me,” the elder Meredith said. “I haven’t gotten to see him play a lot.”
The Merediths will have a mini-reunion Friday when Matt and his Brockport teammates come to Fredonia to play his dad’s team. Game time is 7 p.m.
Matt Meredith, a sophomore winger, was in the lineup against Fredonia two other times – both times in Brockport. That makes Friday’s game his first time back on the Steele Hall, where Jeff Meredith has coached since 1997.
There’s a lot on the line Friday, especially for the Blue Devils, who trail the Golden Eagles by three points for the sixth and final SUNYAC playoff berth.
A Brockport win or a tie would be damaging to Fredonia’s chances.
It is the third straight weekend blood has run thicker than Steele’s frozen water. When Potsdam was here Jan. 30, it was a rematch of the Rivera brothers from Pacific Palisades, Calif. – freshman Luke of Fredonia vs. senior Jake of Potsdam. They also met earlier this season in Potsdam.
Last weekend, the Casales from Lewiston, N.Y. were on opposite sides – Benjamin, the Fredonia freshman, against Joe, a senior for SUNY Canton – both Friday and Saturday nights.
Fredonia and Potsdam split their two games. So did Fredonia and SUNY Canton. Having lost at Brockport 4-3 last Nov. 20, Jeff Meredith will be happy with a split against his son’s team – a game which leaves his wife, Joanne, in an unenviable place.
“She told me she wants Matt to do well, she wants him to score a goal,” Jeff said. “But she wants us to win. After all, she had to live with me.”
Updated Pink The Rink dollar totals are in. The sale of game-worn pink Blue Devil jerseys, officials shirts, and other donations netted $7,461, bringing the total since 2008 to $67,529.16. Collections made in 2007 – the first year of Pink The Rink – are not included. All proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society of Western New York … After playing at home Friday, the Blue Devils are on the road Saturday when they travel to Geneseo.
