UTICA, NY – Junior forward Conor Landrigan (New Tripoli, PA/Binghamton Jr. Sens (NAHL)) of the Utica College men’s ice hockey team has been selected as the United Collegiate Hockey Conference Player of the Week. The honor was announced by the conference offices in Rochester.
Landrigan earns the award for his brilliant performance in a Friday win against Nazareth. He had four points on two goals and two assists while guiding the Pioneers to victory in a 9-1 rout. He is on a six game point streak, and has nine goals and fifteen assists for 24 points in just twelve appearances. This is Landrigan’s second time winning the award in a four week period. He previously received the honor on January 14th.
Landrigan is now ninth in school history with 33 career goals after his performance this weekend, as he passed Adam Graff and Matt Fitzgibbons. His next goal will tie him for seventh alongside assistant coach Jon Ames, and All-American Roman Ammirato (Williamstown, NJ/Union College (ECAC)).
The Pioneers are 15-2-2 and have won their last ten games en route to a fourth place ranking in the latest US College Hockey Online Men’s Top 15. Utica returns to the ice in search of payback for an early season loss on Friday night as they visit No. 15 Elmira College.
Elijah Gonsalves – RIT Freshman, Forward – Scarborough, ONT/Wellington Dukes
Elijah Gonsalves repeats as the Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week after tying for the league lead in rookie scoring and leading RIT to a split with Holy Cross. He scored a goal and an assist in both of the Tigers’ games at Holy Cross last week. He scored a power play goal early in the second period to push RIT to a 4-2 victory on Saturday. Gonsalves is on a four-game goal scoring streak, totaling five goals and two assists during the stretch.
BROOKE STACEY TO MAKE FINAL APPEARANCES OF SEASON AT NWHL ALL-STAR WEEKEND
All-Star forward Brooke Stacey will be sidelined for the remainder of the Buffalo Beauts’ season, and everyone around the NWHL could not be happier. Brooke and her partner, Dylan Smith, announced today that Brooke is expecting their first child. “We are extremely grateful,” said Stacey. “Although I will miss being around my team, I’m overjoyed to share this news with everyone.” Stacey will make two final appearances as an NWHL player this season. Announced as an All-Star last month after scoring 8 goals and adding 8 assists in 14 games in her rookie season, the Quebec native will participate in the Skills Challenge on Saturday in Boston. Stacey will be one of the passers in the Accuracy Shooting competition. She will also join her teammates on Team Packer for the introductions at the All-Star Game on Sunday. “We felt this was a perfect way to celebrate with Brooke, and for her to be around the players and fans one last time this season,” said NWHL Commissioner Dani Rylan. “Brooke and Dylan have our complete support. They are part of the NWHL and Beauts families.” To fill her spot in the All-Star Game, Brooke and the league have invited Riveters forward Cailey Hutchison – Brooke’s best friend and former teammate at the University of Maine. “I was really touched by the gesture,” said Hutchison. “It’s an honor to step in for my best friend. I’m going to go out there, play my best, and represent Brooke with pride.” Stacey, the Beauts, and the NWHL were counseled by the medical team at NYU Langone in the decision for Brooke to immediately stop participating in games and practices. Although there are different guidelines for different sports, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology is clear that ice hockey should be avoided during pregnancy. Per the agreement between the NWHL and NWHL Players’ Association, Stacey will be paid for the entire season. “My thanks go out to the Beauts’ staff, players and fans, and to everyone connected with the NWHL for a great first season,” said Stacey.
The WNYGVIH #4 Hamburg/Eden/West Seneca team closed out its season on a fairly successful run. While they only won two of their 14 games, they made a mark in the playoffs when they up set #3 Monsignor Martin in the Federation quarterfinals and moved on to play in the semis. There they lost 5-1 to #1 Lancaster/Iroquois/Depew.
In the Section VI quarterfinals they lost to Kenmore/Grand Island, who placed second this year and lost the Championship to Williamsville in a 3-2 overtime game.
Coach Tom Ferro will lose four seniors this season with Annika Balk, Bella Cervoni, Maddy Ferro and Emma Tambacas graduating.
This was Balk’s first season on the team. The forward from West Seneca High School will be attending, and playing hockey, at SUNY Potsdam. While there she will major in biochemistry with a minor in environmental science on her way to becoming an orthopedic surgeon. Balk played in 16 games and garnered 7 goals and 4 assists for 11 points.
Cervoni is a four year varsity player, played defense and served as an assistant captain. She will graduate from Hamburg Central School, attend The SUNY College at Buffalo focusing on criminal justice as she works toward a career as a police officer.
Assistant Captain Maddy Ferro, daughter of coach, played four years for HEWS. She will be attending Canisius College after graduating from Hamburg High School, where she is a member of the National Honor Society. Ferro plans to major in sports management as she looks toward a front office job with a sports team. She is also planning to revive the women’s club ice hockey program at Canisius.
Tambacas has played defense for HEWS for four years. The Eden Jr/Sr High School student will attend SUNY Albany, majoring in biochemistry, followed by medical school, as she works towards a career as a medical examiner.
The WNYGVIH Section VI Champions, Williamsville, will head to Lake Placid to defend their State title. They beat Kenmore/Grand Island 3-2 in overtime last night at Cornerstone Arena in Lockport.
The first period found Williamsville getting on the scoreboard at 4:30 with a goal by Senior Captain Emma Roland. Kenmore’s Isabelle Bourgeault, a seventh grader, dropped one in for Kenmore at 13:04; assisted by Kaylynn Savoy. First period ended 2-1 in favor of Kenmore.
The second period opened with two penalities before Williamsville’s Emma Roland scored, assisted by Vanessa Willick. That was the tie goal and seconde period ended all tied. up.
Third period seemed to follow the pattern of the league with no scoring sending the game into overtime.
Williamsville’s Emma Roland gets a hattrick and the winning goal, assisted by Willick just a minute into overtime.
As seen for most of this season goaltending was the story. In this game it was Williamsville’s Mia Wendell and for Kenmore/Grand Island Carolyn Bourgeault.
Following the game Emma Roland talked to the media.
“They are a good team that gave us a great battle,” said Roland. “It feels great!”
Kenmore’s Abby Blair moved to #14 on the All Time Scoring List in the WNYGVIH Federation with 94 points in 93 games with 51 goals and 43 assists.
Singing the national anthem was Kenmore East student Esther MacDonald.
Williamsville will face Plattsburgh in the semi-finals of the NYS Regional Championship (not called State Championship because not every section is represented) on Friday evening at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid. Clinton takes on Salmon River.
Faceoff for the Clinton/Salmon River game is 6 p.m.; Williamsville vs Plattsburgh, 8 p.m. and Finals will be Saturday at 6 p.m.
Tickets are $8 online and $10 on site. The game will also be streamed at Watch Events Live NFHS Network (nfhsnetwork.com).
Canada Defeats U.S., 3-2, In Overtime In Third Rivalry Series Contest
Two teams to meet in Vancouver Wed.; Game live on NHL Network
VICTORIA, British Columbia – Hilary Knight (Sun Valley, Idaho) recorded her 200th career point as a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team with a second period power play goal, but Canada’s Victoria Bach scored at 3:22 of the five-minute three-on-three overtime period to give the hosts a 3-2 victory here tonight in game three of the 2019-20 Rivalry Series.
The U.S. leads the best-of-five series two-games-to-one heading into Wednesday’s (Feb. 5) contest in Vancouver. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. PT and the game will be televised live by NHL Network.
“It was a great atmosphere here tonight,” said U.S. head coach BobCorkum of the at-capacity crowd at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. “We certainly didn’t play our best game and overall, I thought it was a sloppy game by both teams. In the end, hats off to Canada. We’ll re-focus our efforts and be ready to go on Wednesday in Vancouver.”
Netminder NicoleHensley (Lakewood, Colo.) made several key stops in a scoreless first period, including one at the 9:27 mark of the frame when she slid across the crease to make the save on a close-range shot.
Blueliner MeganKeller (Farmington, Mich.) contributed with a key blocked shot that foiled a Canada scoring chance with under six minutes to play.
Canada opened the scoring 5:33 into the second period thanks to a shorthanded goal from Brianne Jenner, but the U.S. responded on the power play when AlexCarpenter (North Reading, Mass.) found Knight at the right circle who fired the puck off the pipe past Canada goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens to even the score at 1-1 at 12:01.
SavannahHarmon (Downers Grove, Ill.) gave the U.S. a 2-1 lead early in the third period. DaniCameranesi (Plymouth, Minn.) passed to Harmon in front of the net who wasted no time in shooting it past the blocker of Desbiens. The goal was Harmon’s first as a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team.
Canada scored on the power play with just under seven minutes to play to tie the game at two. After gathering the puck at the top of the circles, Brigette Lacquette fired a shot that deflected off a U.S. body in front of the net and past Hensley.
Hensley and Desbiens each finished with 20 saves.
NOTES: Canada outshot the U.S., 23-22 … The U.S. finished 1-for-6 on the power play, while Canada was 1-for-5.
Rochester opens the first full week of February beginning on Wednesday when they travel to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for a North Division showdown against the Cleveland Monsters at 7:00 p.m. The Amerks will then close out the weekend as they welcome back the Syracuse Crunch back to The Blue Cross Arena on Friday, Feb. 7 before facing the Toronto Marlies on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 4:00 p.m.
Rochester shows a record of 29-7-3-4 since the start of the 2011-12 seasons against Cleveland and a 11-5-1-1 record in their last 18 games against Syracuse, which includes a 5-1-0-0 this season.
Saturday’s contest with Toronto will be the 124th all-time meeting between the Amerks and Marlies. The Amerks hold a 50-69-4 lifetime record versus Toronto and have posted a 6-2-1-0 record over the last nine games. In 15 of the last 21 meetings dating back to the 2016-17 season, the team that scored first has gone on to come away with the victory.
BUSY FEBRUARY
The month of February is by far the busiest for the Amerks, who in all, will play a total of 14 games. The highlight of the month is a season-long six-game homestand over a 13-day span that follows a four-game road swing. Of Rochester’s 14 games this month, 11 will be played against North Division opponents with the only exceptions being a two-game road set in Charlotte against the defending Calder Cup champion Checkers and the final meeting of the season against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday, Feb. 21.A LOOK AT THE WEEK AHEAD
AMERKS STREAKING INTO FEBRUARY
Beginning with their 3-2 overtime win against Cleveland on Jan. 22, the Amerks are currently riding a five-game winning streak. In each of the five contests, the Amerks have held the opponent to two goals while outscoring them by a combined score of 18-10.
During Rochester’s second five-game win streak of the season, the club has used the goaltending trio of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Jonas Johansson, and Andrew Hammond.
In addition to relying on the goaltending trio, the Amerks have had five different game-winning goal-scorers during that stretch.
SHARING THE CREASE
Anchored by the goaltending tandem of veteran Andrew Hammond and third-year pro Jonas Johansson, who’s currently on recall with the parent Buffalo Sabres, the Amerks own one of the top defenses in AHL having allowed only 118 goals through the first 45 games of the season, the third-fewest in the AHL coming into this week. The duo has also combined for six shutouts and continue to rank among the AHL’s goaltending leaders with 12 and 13 wins on the season, respectively.
Hammond (12-9-2) ranks second among all netminders after notching his fourth shutout of the season back on Dec. 14 in a 5-0 win over Laval, a new career-high. With four shutouts through 25 games this season, he’s on pace to tie the franchise record for most shutouts in a season (8) set by Ryan Miller during the 2004-05 campaign.
Johansson, whose first NHL recall came just days after representing Rochester at the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic in Ontario, Calif., owns a career-best 13-3-3 record with two shutouts this season. He had the third-best goal-against average in the league (2.19) and ranked fourth among all netminders with a .925 save percentage in 20 games leading up his NHL promotion. Dating back to Nov. 13, the third-year netminder boasts an impressive 11-1-1 record with two shutouts, a 2.11 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage while allowing just two goals or less in eight starts over that span.
TEAM LEADERS
Prior to earning his second recall of the season to the Sabres last Friday, Jean-Sebastien Deabecame the first Amerk to reach the 30-point plateau in 41 games and is tied with Andrew Oglevie for the team lead in goals (13). Coming into week, Dea, who is also second among all Amerks forwards with 84 shots on goal, has 12 points (3+9) in his last 16 games dating back to Dec. 20.
THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE
Rochester owns three of the AHL’s top point-producing defensemen in Zach Redmond, Casey Nelson and Lawrence Pilut, all of whom have been mainstays on Rochester’s blueline this season.
The 2019-20 season is just a different chapter in the same story for the 31-year-old Redmond, who hasn’t gone more than five games without a point all season. The two-time AHL All-Star and reigning Eddie Shore Award winner is presently 13th in scoring amongst all defensemen with 27 points and ranks 10th with a team-high 22 assists, nine of which have come on the power-play.
Back with Buffalo for his third recall of the season, Pilut has 17 points (5+12) over his last 22 games dating back to Nov. 15, including goals in four of his last eight outings. Having already established a new AHL career-high in goals (6), the former SHL Defenseman of the Year is also on pace to set a new career-high in points.
Nelson is tied for ninth among all blueliners with a team-best plus-18 on-ice rating through 41 games while rookie Jacob Bryson is tied for 13th among all first-year players with a plus-9 on-ice rating.
The Buffalo Sabres announced that Chris Panek has been named the recipient of the 2020 J. Michael Duffett Memorial Award, presented each year to the coach whose contributions to amateur hockey in Western New York “best exemplify the knowledge, teaching, love of the game and gentle humanity of Mike.”
Panek is the 35th recipient of the J. Michael Duffett Memorial Award and will be presented with the award on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at the Sabres’ game against the Colorado Avalanche.
Panek’s coaching career has spanned 25 years, with his experience ranging from the midget to high school levels. Several of his players have gone on to have successful collegiate careers at the Division I and III levels. Additionally, three of Panek’s former players have reached the professional level: NHL and AHL alumni Tim Kennedy, Chris Mueller and Mike Ratchuk.
A former hockey player himself, Panek played at SUNY Plattsburgh before graduating to the ECHL and AHL ranks. He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings with the seventh pick in the 1987 NHL Supplemental Draft. Panek’s father, Frank, was the sixth recipient of the J. Michael Duffett Memorial Award, earning the recognition 30 years ago.
Mike Duffett was a student of the game and a coach with the Buffalo Bisons and the Amherst Hockey Association. A standout player at Nichols School and Clarkson University, Duffett was working in the Sabres’ hockey department under Scotty Bowman and Roger Neilson at the time of his death following a battle with cancer. The Sabres established the J. Michael Duffett Award in 1984 in his memory.
ELMIRA, N.Y. — Elmira College Department of Athletics, in conjunction with the City of Elmira Fire and Police Departments, is pleased to announce that the Murray Athletic Center will serve as the host site for this year’s charity hockey game between the two emergency service branches on Saturday, February 15, at 3:30 p.m.
Tickets will be available on the day of the game in the main lobby at the Murray Athletic Center, located at 170 Huck Finn Road in Horseheads. A $5.00 entrance fee will be charged, and all proceeds raised from ticket sales will be donated to the charity of the winning team’s choice.
In addition to the Elmira Fire-Police charity game on February 15, the Elmira College men’s ice hockey team will honor all local law enforcement, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel with First Responders Night. All first responders with a valid ID will receive free admission to watch the Soaring Eagles take on SUNY Cortland at 7:00 p.m.
General admission prices for the EC men’s ice hockey game against SUNY Cortland are $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for students and seniors. All funds raised from ticket sales will be donated to the charity chosen by the winner of the Elmira Fire-Police game. Fans who hold onto their ticket stubs from the Elmira Fire-Police charity game can present them at the gate for free entry to the EC men’s ice hockey game against SUNY Cortland for free as well.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — For the first time as a senior, Elmira College forward Connor Powell ’20 was named the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) Player of the Week, as announced by the league office.
The Merrimack, New Hampshire, product led the Soaring Eagles to a pair of conference wins over the weekend, as EC made easy work of King’s (Pa.) in a 9-0 victory before edging Wilkes by a 3-2 final score. In those two contests, Powell produced a combined six points on two goals and four assists, three of which were earned on the power play.
In the lopsided win over the Monarchs on Friday, Powell potted two goals and added two assists for a single-game season-high four points. The following night he dished out two helpers, including the primary assist on the game-winning power-play goal from Anthony Parrucci ’20 early in the third period.
Through 17 games, the former All-America selection sits one point shy of the team lead with 24 (9g-15a). Within the UCHC, Powell is tied for fourth in power-play points (14), sixth in points, and eighth in assists.
Three Canisius hockey players have been named candidates for the 2020 Hobey Baker Award, foundation officials announced on Thursday.
Seniors Matt Hoover, Nick Hutchison and Matt Stief are three of 79 players representing 45 NCAA Division I schools to be nominated for phase one of the award process.
The Hobey Baker Award is awarded annually to top NCAA men’s ice hockey player in the nation. In addition to their performance on the ice, candidates must exhibit strength and character on and off the ice, contribute to the integrity of the team, display outstanding skills in all phases of the game and show scholastic achievement and sportsmanship.
A native of Brantford, Ontario, Hoover leads Canisius in scoring with 19 points (7g, 12a) in 20 games played. Heading into the weekend riding a point-scoring streak that stands at a career-best seven games, Hoover finds himself part of a three-way tie for fifth in the league’s scoring race with 17 points and sits ninth in the league in assists with 10. The forward also finds him ranked among the league leaders in both power-play goals (5/T-2nd) and points (11/3rd).
Hutchison leads the Griffs with 11 goals and is third on the team’s scoring chart with 17 points in just 15 games played in 2019-20. The Hicksville, N.Y., product is tied for eighth in Atlantic Hockey in scoring with 16 points and sits fifth among all league players with 10 goals versus conference competition. Hutchison ranks favorably among active Division I players for career goals, as his 53 tallies are fifth most, while his 24 power-play tallies have him second only to Minnesota State’s Marc Michaelis (29) in that category.
Stief is enjoying career year in his final season in Blue and Gold as he paces Canisius with 16 assists and is second on the squad with 18 points, surpassing his previous career high of 14 set a season ago. The Weston, Fla., native has done most of his damage while the Griffs have been on the power play, as 15 of his 18 points have come while Canisius has had the man advantage, third-most among Division I players this season. Stief ranks second in Atlantic Hockey in assists (15) and is tied for eighth in league scoring with 16 points.
The first phase of fan balloting runs now through March 8. Fans can cast their vote daily by going to the Hobey Baker website at
http://www.hobeybaker.com/vote.
Following the conclusion of Phase I, the list of players will be narrowed to a Top-10 and that announcement will be made on March xx, 2020. Phase II voting on the Top-10 will take place from March 19-29. The fans’ vote accounts for a full one percent of the total ballot in each phase in selecting this year’s award recipient.
The Hobey Hat Trick will then be announced on April 2 and the Hobey Baker Memorial Award will be presented to the winner on April 10, 2020 during the NCAA Frozen Four Championship in Detroit, Mich.
History remains consistent in the WNY Girl’s Varsity Ice Hockey Federation. No one can predict a winner. So for those of you wanting to, let’s look at the history of these two teams.
Kenmore and Williamsville are both season members of this league, coming in the first season. Later, Grand Island joined Kenmore.
Williamsville took the Federation Championship in that Inaugural Season, playing Orchard Park/Frontier in both Federation and Section VI championship games.
Season 2 brought Kenmore a Section VI Championship.
In the third season, Section VI Girls Hockey was brought into the NYS Championship series. That’s when this rivalry became real.
Kenmore beat Williamsville 2-1 in two overtimes to move on to the NYS series. There they lost in the first round.
But they had to come back home to face Williamsville in the Federation Championship series. They lost to Williamsville and then Williamsville lost to Monsignor Martin in the finals.
Kenmore maintained its championship status in Season Four by winning both the Section VI Championship and the Federation Championship.
Now a look at Kenmore/Grand Island facing Williamsville. In Season Five Kenmore (no Grand Island yet) beat Williamsville 6-1 for the Section VI title and then moves to the States where they made it to the Finals. They lost to Massena 3-0.
In the Federation finals they lost to Monsignor Martin.
Season Six found Kenmore/Grand Island playing Williamsville in the semi-finals of the Section VI series and beating them 4-1 to advance to the finals against OP/Frontier. Kenmore/Grand Island wins, goes back to the States and loses 3-2 to Alexandria Bay in the Championship.
Williamsville made it to the finals of the Federation Championship and lost to Monsignor Martin.
2016-17 marked the seventh season of the WNYGVIH Federation and once again Kenmore/Grand Island faced Williamsville in the semi-finals of the Section VI series. KGI beat Williamsville 4-2 but loses the championship to FLOP. Then FLOP defeats Williamsville for the Federation title.
FLOP was the power to beat in Season 8 and Williamsville lost to them for the Section VI title; FLOP also took the Federation title
Last season Williamsville beat FLOP 4-3 in the Section VI race, took the Championship and went on to win the NYS Championship 5-4 in overtime over Skaneateles.
In the Federation playoffs FLOP dominated with Williamsville and Kenmore losing to LID and FLOP, respectively, in the semi-finals.
Now you have the history, what’s your prediction.
Here’s how the semi-finals ended Thursday night.
Kenmore/Grand Island upset Lancaster/Iroquois/Depew in an amazing 3-0 shutout. No scoring in the first period and the first goal of the night coming in the second period, scored by Carissa Buyea, assisted by Kaylynn Savoy. Second period ends 1-0 in favor of Kenmore.
Abigail Blair did not disappoint as she dropped the puck in at the beginning of the third period and then Savoy secured the win by scoring an unassisted goal. The game ends 3-0 in favor of Kenmore/Grand Island. Blair also had an assist and Savoy had two assists.
Carolyn Bourgeault takes the shutout with 31 saves. In goal for LID, Dylan Gorski stopped 29 of 31.
It may sound as if I am repeating myself, but the Frontier/LakeShore/Orchard Park vs Williamsville game went the same way in the first period. No Score.
Williamsville game back on the ice in the second on the Power Play and they then got on the scoreboard first with a PPG by Jenna Cavalieri. Second period ends 1-0.
Williamsville’s Emma Roland put her mark on the game by scoring the second goal of the evening and then dropping in an unassisted empty-netter and the final is 3-0 Williamsville.
Mia Wendell gets the shutout for Williamsville, stopping 28 shots. In goal for FLOP was Kerrigan McCarthy, stopping 18 of 20 shots.
Williamsville is also the 2019-2020 Federation Champion after upsetting LID 8-1 last week.
Williamsville will face Kenmore/Grand Island at 7 p.m. at Cornerstone Arena in
. The winner of this Championship will move on to the States to face the Section VII victor, who at this point is unknown. There is an admission charge of $5 for adults for this game.
For those not familiar with Cornerstone, it is on Market Street in Lockport, just off Main Street. There is a restaurant in the building as well as a snack bar.
Come support these ladies!
(Editors Note: All photos are available for purchase by contact [email protected]. She can provide prints, enlargements, posters and also on flash drive, depending on your needs. Preview contact sheets can be provided. Janet has been photographing the WNYGVIH League since the days of the Showcases.)
Penn State's James Gobetz (6) against Wisconsin in the 3rd period on Nov. 1, 2019. No. 12 Penn State defeated No. 7 Wisconsin, 4-2, to sweep the series. Photo/Craig Houtz
By Warren Kozireski —
When you Google Penn States senior defenseman today and
maybe for eternity, one of the things he may be forever known for in hockey is
that he helped kill his own penalty on Halloween night against Wisconsin.
That was due to a mistake by the on and off-ice officials
and will likely be part of future referee training modules.
“The refs said I kind of got them in trouble and I laughed
and said I’m sorry and I just got confused, Gobetz said. “People were Tweeting
about it and the guys had a laugh too which is great. In the heat of battle,
stuff can get mixed up.”
But the St. James native is approaching 100 career games
played for the Nittany Lions as a steady defensive and physical presence on the
blueline. Most fans won’t notice him while on the ice, and that’s a good thing.
“You know when you’re doing a good job, I guess, when you
don’t get noticed,” Gobetz said after a January game against Michigan. “That’s
what a lot of people say; I don’t mind it.
“The guys in there expect the best from you no matter if
you’re playing one game or 25 games. That’s the mindset I have. Being a senior
now I know what these games are all about and you have to be ready first
shift.”
Now standing 6’2” and 209 lb. Gobetz got his first taste of
success helping win a state Catholic High School Athletic Association
championship while playing with St. Anthony’s in 2010-11. A season with the
Long Island Royals followed before prep school at Salisbury in Connecticut for
three years and one year in the USHL in Des Moines before taking his game to
State College, PA.
As with most defensive defensemen, he doesn’t pile up a lot
of points with two career goals as of mid-January (but one was a game-winner
against Ohio State as a sophomore and the other came in an NCAA playoff game)
and 14 points.
But he has used his time in college as a Supply Chain
Management major and Finance minor wisely as a two-time (so far) Academic
All-Big Ten selection. And he has already secured post-graduate employment with
Honeywell Aerospace in Phoenix following an internship last summer.
“Penn State has I think the number one program (for my
major), so I got recruited at the Career Fair and it worked out.”
But there is still the rest of the regular season,
conference playoffs and, hopefully, the NCAA tournament yet to worry about
before Gobetz pulls off the Nittany Lions jersey for the last time.
“You look at the few weekends we have left, especially here
at Pegula (Ice Arena) and it’s crazy how fast it goes. I remember the seniors
saying you won’t believe how fast it goes and I kind of rolled my eyes, but of
course they were right. I need to enjoy these last few months here.
And the memories…
“The Big Ten championship was so special being a freshman. A
lot of guys play four years and don’t get to hoist that trophy so that was
awesome and making the NCAA tournament twice was pretty cool and I’d like to go
a little bit deeper. It’s definitely been a blast here with some good memories.
“People said it would take forever for us to win a game, but
we’ve been competitive for a while now so definitely proven a lot of people
wrong.”
#1 Cornell Men’s Hockey Dealt 5-0 Loss By #18 Quinnipiac
HAMDEN, Conn. — Quinnipiac scored three goals in a span of 2 minutes, 36 seconds in the first period Friday, and the Cornell men’s hockey team never recovered in a 5-0 loss at People’s United Center.
The loss ended an eight-game unbeaten streak for Cornell (14-2-4, 9-2-2 ECAC Hockey), which is ranked #1 in the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll for a third straight week. Keith Petruzzelli posted a 22-save shutout for 18th-ranked Quinnipiac (15-9-1, 8-4-1). It marked the first time the Big Red has been blanked in a regular-season game since Feb. 9, 2018, and it was the first time Cornell yielded more than three goals this season – let alone four.
“It was about as ugly as it gets,” said Mike Schafer ’86, the Jay R. Bloom ’77 Head Coach of Men’s Hockey at Cornell.
While it didn’t take long for the Bobcats to seize control, the hosts needed some quality saves from Petruzzelli to keep the Big Red from drawing first blood. Junior forward Morgan Barron had a clean shot from the right circle on the rush just 29 seconds into the game, but Petruzzelli got just enough of the puck to send it wide of the near post.
A little shy of the game’s 4-minute mark, junior forward Cam Donaldson forced a turnover behind the Bobcats net to set up freshman forward Ben Berard for a wide-open shot from the low slot, but Petruzzelli again made the save. Next up was senior forward Jeff Malott’s shot on a two-on-one that was turned aside by Petruzzelli’s stick.
Quinnipiac took over from there. Nick Jermain scored twice around Zach Metsa’s goal, and the Bobcats went from absorbing body blows to flexing a 3-0 lead.
“We obviously had a couple scoring chances early on, but then we turn a puck over and they score. We don’t pick up (a player) in front of the net; they score,” Schafer said. “Now we’re behind the 8-ball for the rest of the night chasing a team that can stay above you. For the rest of the night, they did a great job of beating us to loose pucks, winning puck battles. They beat us in just about every facet of the game.”
It was unchartered territory for the Big Red, which had yet to face a deficit of multiple goals this season. The start of the second period showed hopes of a spark when sophomore forward Michael Regush rang a shot off the post from the slot, then freshman defenseman Sam Malinski took a shot 17 seconds later that bounced off the base of the net just outside the near post.
Quinnipiac added a fourth goal from Alex Whelan in the second, then TJ Friedmann’s first of the year early in the third capped the scoring.
The only question remaining was if Petruzzelli could hold on for a shutout, and it looked like he had lost the bid when Barron was ruled to have scored a goal with 10:46 remaining. But Quinnipiac challenged the play, and the referees waived off the goal upon video review with a ruling that Barron had pushed Petruzzelli’s pad into the net to cause the puck to go over the goal line.
Frankly, it was just that kind of night for Cornell.
“It’s a disappointing night all around,” Schafer said. “Credit to (Quinnipiac). They played well. But we’ve got some things that we’ve got to get back to to find out what our true identity is.”
