Dear Reader: There was a period of time last summer when it was thought that Erie Community College would lose their men’s hockey program. Budget problems had forced the ECC Board of Trustees to possibly eliminate the hockey as well as men’s baseball programs.
But as history shows, both programs were spared and the Kats hockey program is flourishing as an independent team in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). But that’s not the story I’m writing about today.
This is the story of two men who have built the Kats men’s hockey program into one of the finest in the United States. That’s right, I’m talking about a two-year community college hockey program.
Ralph Galanti, Jr. and Gary Rost have built this hockey program into one that is now in its 42nd season of play. Galanti served as the Director of Athletics at ECC from 1975 until 2005. He began his tenure by combining the struggling athletic programs at three campuses into a one-college concept.
Over his 31 years the athletic program grew from seven to 22 varsity sports and captured 45 NJCAA national championships. Along the way he took over as hockey coach (1976-2000), posting a 449-306-42 record and capturing five Region III championships.
He received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award in Professional Service in 1998 and is a member of the Greater Buffalo Sports and NJCAA Hockey Coaches Association Halls of Fame. Interestingly, Galanti never intended to be a hockey coach.
“I had two other guys who were supposed to coach the team,” recalled Galanti. “But a couple of weeks before the season began, they bowed out.
“So I took over as coach. The rest, as they say, is history.”
For Galanti, there was more to hockey than winning championships.
“It’s all the young men I coached,” stated Galanti. “They were more than just hockey players to me.
“They became great young men in the community. They contributed to their communities and families.
“That’s what hockey has been for me.”
Rost has been on the bench for ECC’s hockey program since the 1978-79 season, serving as an assistant from 1978-2001 and again from 2003-2007 and as the head coach from 2001-2003 and 2007 to the present.
He has been a part of all 10 Region III titles, including leading the Kats to the 2011 and 2015 regional championships, as well as the two National Championships as the head coach in 2011 and 2015. Rost joined Galanti as a member of the NJCAA Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame last year.
Another interesting fact is that the ECC men’s ice hockey program outlasted the NJCAA men’s ice hockey program. The NJCAA dissolved the men’s ice hockey program after last season.
They sited the fact that at least eight teams were needed to survive. Only seven had played for the past two seasons. ECC is the lone New York State-based junior college team that remains playing from the NJCAA.
“I don’t know why the NJCAA did what they did,” concluded Rost. “We all knew it was coming last year.
“But we’re the only ones who still have a team that is still active this year. We play for it to continue to be active for years to come.”
With the foundation and program that Galanti and Rost have built there is no question ECC men’s hockey will be around for a long time.
Until Next Time, Randy Schultz
