The staff of NY Hockey OnLine would like to thank “Howell Motors Ford” and Mike Landers for once again being our major sponsor for the 2023-24 hockey season.
This season marks the ninth season in-a-row that Howell Motors Ford has been the major sponsor for NY Hockey OnLine.
And our 2023 Ford F-150 is the official vehicle for NY Hockey OnLine.
Thank you to Mike Landers for continually sponsoring hockey in the Niagara County and surrounding area.
By Warren Kozireski —
Now in his 36th season as head coach of men’s hockey at Mercyhurst University, Rick Gotkin registered his 600th career coaching victory with a 2-0 shutout on the road against 20th ranked RIT Saturday night.
“It was more important that we responded the way we did tonight, and it was more important that we won,” Gotkin said. “And as I’ve said often, and I really mean this, I’ve been hanging around for a long time and I’ve been fortunate to be hanging around Mercyhurst for a long time, so 600 is far less about me and more about our program.
“I would be more than happy to accept it on behalf of our program, all of our student athletes, coaches past and present. But it’s a program milestone, that’s not a Rick Gotkin one.”
Gotkin, from New Hyde Park, NY, has coached in over 1,200 games at the same school, third all-time in Division I behind Jack Parker (Boston University) and Red Berenson (Michigan). His 600 wins leads all active coaches in Division I.
He is the only men’s hockey coach to take teams to the NCAA tournament in Division I, Division II and Division III.
One issue as freshman goaltender Simon Bucheler made 51 saves in the 600th to earn his first collegiate shutout—who gets the milestone puck?
“He gets the puck; he deserves the puck. He did a lot more than I did—I just watched.”
(Photo Image Provided by Mercyhurst Men’s Hockey Program)
By Warren Kozireski —
American Hockey League President Scott Howson was in Rochester Fri. Nov. 10th as part of visiting many of the league’s affiliates. He answered several questions, including about the National Hockey League and Canadian Junior agreement regarding players like Buffalo Sabres prospect Matt Savoie not being able to begin their professional career if they still have junior eligibility.
Q: What are your thoughts about nights like tonight (Hockey Fights Cancer) and other promotion nights in the league?
Howson: “We really like them. To have a night like this that brings cancer to the forefront and keeps it top of mind. We’ve all been affected by it, so we are very much in favor of these nights. Our teams really do a fantastic job with these nights and raising awareness and raising funds.”
Q: Are you trying to visit all teams?
A: “As many as I can; I can’t say I get to all 30. A good number between our VP of Hockey Ops, myself and Steve Thompson we’ll get to most of the market’s multiple times. If time permits, I like to offer myself up and meet with the staff to give them a state of the league. But more it’s keeping your hands and eyes on what’s going on on the ice and visit with the officials and visit with the coaches and hear what they’re saying and visit with the business people as well.”
Q: What is the state of the Carolina Hurricanes affiliate situation now that they’ve lost Chicago and is the idea to balance the number of teams in each conference?
A: We’re working on it and the goal is to have them have a full affiliate in the AHL and we didn’t accomplish that this year, but we’re working on it. Ideally that (conference balance) would be great, but I don’t think that’s going to be in the cards right now the way it looks. The way the Pacific division has grown—it started as a five-team division and now it’s a ten-team division—and it was written into the rules that western-based NHL teams could move their teams out there and that’s just the way it’s developed.”
Q: The unbalanced divisions led to the new playoff format. What went into the development of that and how do you maybe see that growing?
A: “Our NHL partners were adamant that they wanted more meaningful games at the end of the year for their prospects. So, we increased the playoffs so there are more playoff games available, but there are also more games in March and April and those games can be just as important because they are like playoff games. So, mission accomplished there, more playoffs, more meaningful games, more playoff games, more important games, better for development.”
Q: There is some frustration in Rochester with Matt Savoie’s current situation and the control the CHL has over home. Are there any discussions to potentially look at that and give them the opportunity to play in the AHL if they choose?
A: First of all, we do want as many good, young players in our league as we can, and Matt Savoie is one of those. There is nothing in our rules to prevent a player like that from playing. It’s a CHL-NHL agreement. It’s very important for the CHL and that would really need to be done at the NHL level. It’s been talked about to Bill Daly and Gary Bettman about how it would be great. We got spoiled during the covid year because we were blessed with a wide array of prospects who couldn’t play in junior and some of those got held over for the next year. But really, it’s a CHL-NHL rule and there’s not much we can do about it. Our teams, the NHL teams, would love to have more latitude in that, but it’s not in the cards right now.”
Q: Now that we’re several years into having two referees for every AHL game, are you happy with the results and is there any concern about depth?
A: “At the grass roots level, we’re all very concerned about what’s happening with umpiring and officiating and the criticism they get, and I think it’s discouraging people to join. I think the NHL has done a wonderful job; they’re taking players who aren’t long off the ice as a player (former Amerks Jordan Samuels-Thomas and Justin Kea as examples) and they’re training them and putting them right into our league and they’ve had great success and we’ve benefitted from that. So, are concerned about the depth? I would say mildly concerned, but certainly not presently and it hasn’t affected us yet. We just need to make sure that the pipeline stays full.”
Q: What is your assessment of the league several years removed from the pandemic?
A: “I think we’ve recovered very well. We had a record year last year, record playoffs, record revenue from ticket sales and we’re trending to do that again this year; it’s very early so I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but we’ve recovered quite strongly and this franchise here is a great example of it. This franchise has really taken off in the last two or three years. I’ve been in this league a long time and I remember 20 years ago when Rochester was a model franchise. It took a little bit of a downturn for a while and now it’s just rebounded tremendously. This is a great hockey city, it’s a great hockey market and I think the synergy now is working really well with the Sabres, who are in a great place in terms of their development and all the young players. I think this franchise is going to be really, really strong for the league for a long time.”
(Photo provided by American Hockey League)
CANTON, N.Y. – Graduate student Dany Donegan (Cicero/Syracuse Nationals) became Cortland’s career assist leader as the nationally 11th-ranked Cortland women’s ice hockey team skated to a 3-1 win at Canton Saturday afternoon in SUNYAC action. The Red Dragons improved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the conference. The Kangaroos dropped to 3-3 and 1-3.
With her assist on a power-play goal in the first period, Donegan surpassed Grace Schnorr’s 51 assists from 2018-2023 and now sits on 80 career points on 28 goals and 52 assists.
Graduate student Elena Eichmann (Rochester/Syracuse Nationals), senior Kait Bourgeois (Cobden, ON/Ottawa Thunder) and sophomore Alex Johnson (Montreal, QC/Dawson College CEGEP) each netted goals for Cortland. Sophomore Kayla Persinger (Lewiston/Newark Ironbound) collected two assists, while Donegan. senior Nicole Tulowiecki (Syracuse/Syracuse Nationals) and junior Mia Hlasnick (Olean/Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles) picked up one assist apiece. Junior goalie Molly Goergen (Eden Prairie, MN/Eden Prairie H.S.) made 30 saves.
Tilly Couture scored Canton’s goal with Jayme McIlveen and Kamryn Barnes earning assists. Goalie Molly Lenihan registered 29 saves.
Bourgeois gave Cortland a 1-0 lead on the power play at 10:43 of the first period, scoring on a wrist shot from the left point through traffic, giving Donegan her milestone assist. Eichmann made it a 2-0 game at 2:40 of the second period with a deflection in the slot.
Couture cut Cortland’s lead to 2-1 with a power-play goal 5:04 into the third period, but Johnson added an insurance goal at 12:58 of the period when she scored on a slap shot after Hlasnick won a clean faceoff. The Kangaroos pulled Lenihan late for an extra skater, but Cortland held Canton from scoring and secured the 3-1 final.
(Photo provided by Cortland Women’s Hockey)
BY RANDY SCHULTZ –
BUFFALO, NY – Devon Levi stopped 33 of 35 shots in goal to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild Friday night at the KeyBank Center.
Henri Jokiharju opened the scoring for the Sabres at 18:02 of the first period to give his team a 1-0 lead. It was the defenseman’s second goal of the season. The lone assist went to fellow defenseman, Owen Power.
The Wild tied the game soon after when Kirill Kaprizov scored a power play goal at 19:30 of the opening period. The score remained 1-1 going into the second period.
Jeff Skinner put the Sabres ahead, 2-1, late in the second period, scoring his seventh goal of the season on a breakaway at 19:02. Assist went to JJ Peterka.
Peterka gave the Sabres a bit of breathing room at the 3:33 mark of the third period when he scored his sixth goal of the season to put Buffalo up, 3-1. It was a big of a tic-tac-toe-type goal with Thompson and Skinner doing the tic and the tac, respectively.
That third goal also marked the 100th assist of Thompson’s NHL career.
But Minnesota cut the Sabres lead to 3-2 at 12:27 when Joel Eriksson EK scored a power play goal. The Wild continued to put pressure on the Sabres, with Levi making several key saves during the final moments of the contest.
SABRE POINTS – Scratched for the Sabres for this game were Victor Olofsson, Jacob Bryson and Alex Tuch (Syracuse, NY native)…the lone Sabres player born in NYS playing in the game was Jordan Greenway (Canton, NY)
-The three stars of the game all went to Sabres including: 3rd, Skinner (a goal and an assist); 2nd, Peterka (a goal and an assist); 1st, Levi (stopped 33 of the shots he faced).
-The only two NYS-born players playing for the Wild were Marcus Foligno (Buffalo, NY and son for former Sabre Mike Foligno) and Zach Bogosian (Massena, NY).
-The Sabres record now stands at 7-6-1.
(Photos by Janet Schultz Photography, NY Hockey OnLine)
BY RANDY SCHULTZ –
BUFFALO, NY – Zsofia Pazmandi scored two goals to lead the Plattsburgh State Cardinals to a 6-0 victory over the Buffalo State Bengals Friday afternoon in women’s college hockey action at the Buffalo State Ice Arena. It was also the first two goals in the freshman’s collegiate career.
Ciara Wall opened the scoring for Plattsburgh at 1:21 of the first period. Pazmandi followed with his first goal of the game at 9:55 of the opening stanza.
The Cardinals then exploded for three quick goals within a :50 span in the second period with tallies from Aizah Thompson (Williamsville, NY native) at 3:41, Pazmandi with her second goal of the game at 4:07 and Dani Longuemare (the first goal of her collegiate career) at 4:31 to take a 5-0 lead going into the third period.
Julia Masotta scored the lone goal of the third period at 12:25 to make the final score, 6-0. With the two assists she also had in the game, Masotta passed the 100-point mark for her college hockey career.
Goaltender Lilla Nease posted the shutout for Plattsburgh.
GAME NOTES: It was a homecoming of sorts for two of the Cardinals. Thompson, a native of Williamsville, played her high school hockey for the Williamsville girls high school hockey team.
This game also marked the return of WNY for Emily Kasprzak, a freshman from Niagara Falls, NY.
Other NYS-born players on the Cardinals roster who played include: Sydnee Francis (Canton) and Riley Calhoun (New Hartford).
Buffalo State has 10 players on their roster who have NYS connections. They include: Gabby McCrory (Buffalo), Molly Leggett (Grand Island).
Maddie Braun (East Aurora), Quinn Murray (Stuyvesant)
Sydney Radecki (Lancaster), Rylee Garrow (Akwesasne).
Bethany Horvatits (Elma), Vanessa Willick (Williamsville).
Alexa Groh (Elma), Lilli Adimey (Buffalo).
(Photos by Janet Schultz Photography, NY Hockey OnLine)
By Warren Kozireski —
During this rookie 2022-23 season, Bufalo Sabres 2021 second round draft pick Aleksandr Kisakov scored three goals with one assist over his first 11 North American professional games.
Then the rookie only managed three more goals and one additional assist over the final 37 games.
Fast forward to 2023-24 and the 5’10”, 160 lb. right wing has three goals with two assists in his first five games, but he is hoping a second year of acclimating to a new country and language and his offseason program will help him continue to produce.
“I was younger (last year) and this year I feel more confidence, Kisakov said in late October. “Last year every day I was at the gym and now it’s helping me. In every league, my first year was not good but my second year was much, much better.”
Kisakov weighed in around 158 lb. a year ago and is in the 160+ range as of the start of this season.
October 25 against Charlotte playing on a line with Lukas Rousek and Justin Richards, Kisakov scored the tying goal late in the third period to help the Amerks overcome a 3-1 deficit and win. The fact he scored standing to the side of the net was a stark difference from one year ago when he was more of a perimeter player.
“Kisakov probably wouldn’t have been on the ice with five minutes to go (a year ago) because…that play started with a d-zone faceoff and now I trust Kisa in all facets, Rochester head coach Seth Appert said.
“We talked a lot as management/player development staff last year down the stretch and I felt strongly and so did everybody else that he reached a certain point that the games were becoming a detriment to him because he wasn’t strong enough, he was getting worn down and we needed to take some games away to train him.
“His stick and his mind were really good at this level, but the body wasn’t ready. And we knew that—we brought him over here too early, and we did that intentionally. But the work that he did with Nick Craven (Strength & Conditioning Coach)…the last two or three months of the season as he wasn’t playing as much or at all set him up to have a great summer, which then set him up to have a successful start to this season.
“He’s never going to be a physical force and that’s okay, but when it’s your turn to go in and get a piece of a man on the forecheck…he’s doing a really good job of that and being rewarded for going to hard areas.”
The just turned 21-year-old (Nov. 1) is from Solikamsk, Russia, located over 1,000 miles east of Moscow. After being drafted by the Sabres, he recorded a teaming-leading 56 points (26+30) in 51 games with Dynamo Moscow (MHL) and made his Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) debut with Dynamo Moscow, appearing in four games in 2021-22. In 2020-21, he finished second in the MHL with a career-high 36 goals and 73 points.
“Last year was tough for me…too much games every day. I like my progression and it’s already good for me. I just keep working and we’ll see. I have more confidence.
“Last year was my first year in North America…it’s different hockey and much different than in Russia. There we have bigger rinks and ice.”
But when asked if he felt at any time last year that he should have stayed home to play another season in Russia, Kisakov responded with an emphatic “No.”
The second year Kisakov is off to a similar start to his rookie year in 2022-23, but he hopes to build on his second-season-in-the-same-league success he’s had to this point in his career.
(Rochester Amerks Photo)
By Warren Kozireski —
23-year-old Bailey Krawczyk played everywhere but his hometown from when he was 15 years old until he turned 20. The Syracuse Jr. Stars, Westchester Express, Buffalo Jr. Sabres and Rochester Monarchs were his jerseys over a five-year period.
Then he headed back home to Elmira to play for the Soaring Eagles.
“I’m definitely grateful for it and I don’t take it for granted so I just try to make the best of my role in every situation and super-grateful that I get that amount of ice time with this team,” Krawczyk said.
It was back in Westchester as a 16-year-old that he began showing signs of the player he would become, scoring 32 goals and 78 points in 62 games. A solid year with the Jr. Sabres followed with a combined 86 points in 95 games.
Following two more seasons with the Rochester Monarchs, he entered Elmira College as a 20-year-old freshman for the pandemic shortened 2020-21 campaign and had solid sophomore and junior seasons scoring 42 points in 52 games.
“Bailey is just a 200-foot player, and he always seems to score the big goal when we need it,” 15-year Elmira head coach Aaron Saul said. “He’s very reliable at both ends of the ice and him being an Elmira kid makes it even more special.
“He does it all and he’s been on the power play and killing penalties pretty much his whole career. He’s a very underrated player…he’s a player that goes unnoticed, but certainly not by his teammates.”
Krawczyk is now in his fourth season as a senior playing third line center through the early contests this season, but has a fifth year of eligibility that he will take advantage of to start a Master’s program in 2024-25.
His career highlight to this point is the triple overtime game-winner he scored as a freshman in the conference playoff semi-finals at Utica to help the Soaring Eagles to their first UCHC championship.
The Business/Finance major wants to play hockey as long as he can but doesn’t want to rush thinking post hockey.
“I haven’t really thought that far down the road, but we’ll see what happens when we get there. The dream is to pursue hockey for as long as I can after (college), whether that’s playing or coaching or something along those lines. But just to have the Business & Finance in my back pocket is always something good.
“I’m more of a small-town guy, so I don’t know if Wall St. would suit me so well.”
From his various roles on the ice, to helping new teammates learn shortcuts to the rink or to various destinations around the Elmira community, Krawczyk isn’t unaware of his role as local poster boy for Elmira youth hockey programs.
“It’s been amazing and the best opportunity and moments in my life,” Krawczyk said. “Growing up and coming to all the games and now seeing all my family and friends still in the same spots where we sat growing up and being able to put on that jersey every night is something I’m super grateful for and I don’t take a moment for granted, that’s for sure.”
(Photos provided by Elmira College Men’s Hockey)
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – After returning to the top of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) for their 24th SUNYAC title in program history last year, the goal remains the same for the Plattsburgh State men’s ice hockey team, with aspirations to go even deeper into the NCAA Tournament in the 2023-24 season.
Heading into the season, the team is ranked seventh in the USCHO.com Division III Men’s Preseason Poll, accumulating 193 points boasting the highest ranking amongst its SUNYAC counterparts. They were also selected as the top team in the SUNYAC Preseason Coaches poll.
Led by head coach Steve Moffat, Plattsburgh State went 20-6-2 (12-3-1) last season, earning the No. 2 seed in the SUNYAC Tournament. The team defeated the third-seeded and No. 11 ranked Geneseo Knights in a rout at home in semifinal playoff action and then defeated No. 11 ranked Oswego State on the road to win the SUNYAC title. The team’s season came to a close in the NCAA Tournament first round, where they fell to No. 9 Norwich 2-1 in overtime. After two exhibition games this fall under his belt, Moffat is eager to get the upcoming year started with his team.
“We are excited for the upcoming season. The players have been working hard on and off the ice and the newcomers are fitting in well. We have had good leadership, and the group is looking forward to playing.”
Goaltenders
The Cardinals return two goaltenders for the 2023-24 season, with SUNYAC Tournament Most Valuable Player Eli Shiller (Toronto, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) returning for his sophomore campaign after also earning All-SUNYAC Rookie team and USCHO All-Rookie team honors. Shiller set program records for goals against average (1.38) and save percentage (.946) in his inaugural collegiate campaign. He will be joined by returning junior Jacob Hearne (Ennismore, Ontario/Toronto Jr. Canadiens), who posted an 8-0-1 record in 11 games last year in goal.
First-year goalie Dominik Bovan (Bratislava, Slovakia/Boston Jr. Bruins) is the lone newcomer to the goaltending group in 2023-24, providing much-needed depth to an already talented positional group.
Defensemen
Despite losing two All-SUNYAC defenders from last season, the Cardinals should still have an excellent group anchoring the blue line in 2023-24. Headlining the returning group for the Cardinals this year is junior defenseman Jack Ring (Hingham, Mass./Northeast Generals) who earned All-SUNYAC second-team honors last year and contributed 17 points and a +/- mark of 17. Graduate student Ryan Hogg (Duncan, British Columbia/Islanders Hockey Club) also returns for Plattsburgh, helping to keep experience in the defensive unit.
Other returners to the defense include senior Kevin Weaver-Vitale (Toronto, Ontario/Markham Royals) and sophomores Spencer Bellina (Medina, Ohia/Chippewa Steel) and Brannon Butler (Toronto, Ontario/Boston Advantage).
New arrivals to the blue line include two transfers, as Lonan Bulger (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories/Hobart College) comes to Plattsburgh from the defending national champs Hobart and Ryan Poorman (Phoenixville, Pa./Norwich University) crosses the lake from Norwich to join the Cards in 2023-24. Two first-years round out the defensive group in 2023-24, as Simon Singher (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec/Navan Grads) and Sam D’Amico (St. Catharines, Ontario/Georgetown Raiders) will play their debut collegiate seasons in Plattsburgh.
Forwards
All-SUNYAC second-teamer Bennett Stockdale (Ottawa, Ontario/University of Alabama in Huntsville) will lead an experienced and gifted offensive unit in 2023-24, returning after leading the team in goals (15) and points (26) in 2022-23. He will have plenty of experience beside him with senior Paul Bryer (Clarkston, Mich./Islanders Hockey Club) and graduate student Adam Tretowicz (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres), who had 20 points and 17 points respectively last year. Junior Luk Jirousek (Whitehorse, Yukon/Alberni Valley Bulldogs) also returns after a nine-goal, eight-assist campaign last year.
Seniors Ryan Butler (Kelowna, British Columbia/Adrian College), Thomas Maia (Mississauga, Ontario/Nanaimo Clippers), and Trey Thomas (Williams Lake, British Columbia/Brooks Bandits) are also back for their final campaigns, adding to an already robust offensive group for the 2023-24 season. Juniors Jake Lanyi (North Salem, N.Y./Connecticut Jr. Rangers) and Jagger Benson (Lynnfield, Mass./Cranbrook Bucks) also return, with Joshua Belgrave (Burlington, Ontario/Burlington Cougars), Ryan Bonfield (Kemptville, Ontario/Brockville Braves), Colin Callanan (Stony Point, N.Y./New York Apple Core), and Riley Sutherland (Burlington, Ontario/St. Michael’s Buzzers) rounding out the group of returning forwards.
Aaron Catron (Middletown, Del./Philadelphia Little Flyers) and Tio D’Addario (Montreal, Quebec/Navan Grads) join the offensive unit in 2023-24 as the lone newcomers to the unit.
Schedule
The Cardinals open the regular season at Saint Anselm College on Oct. 27 before hosting Castleton University on Oct. 28. SUNYAC play begins with a game at SUNY Morrisville on Nov. 1, and Plattsburgh State entertains SUNY Geneseo (Nov. 10), SUNY Brockport (Nov. 11) and SUNY Potsdam (Nov. 17) before hosting the LayerEight Shootout from Nov. 24-25. The Cardinals’ first game at the tournament will be against St. Olaf College on Nov. 24, and they will square off with either Norwich University or Middlebury College on Nov. 25. The 2023 portion of their schedule finishes up with home games against SUNY Cortland (Dec. 1) and rival Oswego State (Dec. 2) and road contests at Buffalo State (Dec. 8) and Fredonia (Dec. 9).
The Cardinals ring in the New Year by hosting the Comfort Inn Complex Winter Classic from Jan. 5-6, taking on Rivier University on Jan. 5 before hosting either Nazareth University or Albertus Magnus College on Jan. 6. Plattsburgh State then entertains Middlebury on Jan. 12 before visiting Williams College on Jan. 13. SUNYAC action resumes with a home game against Morrisville on Jan. 20 and a pair of games at Geneseo (Jan. 26) and Brockport (Jan. 27), while a home contest versus Norwich on Jan. 31 marks a rematch of last year’s NCAA Division III Tournament first-round game that the Cadets won in overtime. Following road games at Potsdam (Feb. 3), Cortland (Feb. 9), and Oswego (Feb. 10), Plattsburgh State closes out the regular season at home against Buffalo State (Feb. 16) and Fredonia (Feb. 17).
“We have a great non-conference schedule that includes two tournaments, the Layer Eight Shootout over Thanksgiving Weekend and the Best Western Winter Classic on January 5th and 6th. The guys always look forward to the SUNYAC schedule as well, we have so many great rivalries and the intensity is unmatched.”
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The United States Hockey League is bringing the top junior hockey league in the nation to Rochester, N.Y., for the third annual USHL American Cup Powered by Wegmans from November 30-December 3 at Tim Hortons IcePlex and Rochester Ice Center. The USHL is proud to partner with Wegmans, a local grocery chain, to put on this specialty event, which features a pair of regular-season USHL games and a youth hockey tournament.
The USHL is the only Tier I Junior Hockey league in the United States and is composed of the best 16- to 20-year old hockey players from across the globe. When the USHL comes to Rochester, it will bring with it the Youngstown Phantoms and the Muskegon Lumberjacks, two of the League’s 16 Member Clubs. The Phantoms, the defending Clark Cup champions, enter the game with three NHL Draft selections including Brandon Svoboda (San Jose Sharks, 2023, Third Round, #71), Andrew Strathmann (Columbus Blue Jackets, 2023, Fourth Round, #98) and Tomas Machu (New York Islanders, 2021, Round 7, #221) while the Lumberjacks have one of the top-rated prospects for the 2024 NHL Draft in forward Sacha Boisvert.
USHL games are scheduled for November 30 and December 1. Don’t miss a second of the action and be sure to secure your seat today at https://www.timhortonsiceplex.com/.
Advance tickets are $15, and also available at the door for $18 until sold out. All sales are final with no refunds.
Event Highlights:
By Caleb Philips, Director of Athletic Communications —
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – As is the goal every season, the Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team enters the 2023-24 season with high aspirations for the upcoming season, a trip to their 11th straight national semifinal and their eighth NCAA Tournament Title in program history.
“We have lost a lot of scoring output over the last two seasons and our team is young this year.,” head coach Kevin Houle said about this year’s team, “With that said, our goals will be the same as they have been over the last 21 seasons, which is to compete at the highest level as a team and to return to the final four.”
With the legendary Coach Houle at the helm, that goal is well within reach every single season. Coach Houle currently carries a 475-57-26 record, good for a .875 winning percentage over 20 years of coaching. This year, his team will also look for its 11th straight conference title in a new conference, the third in the program’s year history, as they move under the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) banner.
Even with the losses of two All-Americans, the group returning is still strong and talented. Julia Masotta (Tewksbury, Mass./Norwich University) and Mattie Norton (Glen Carbon, Ill./St. Louis Lady Blues) each return with all-conference selections under their belt and all-rookie players last year, Taya Balfour (Moorestown, N.J./Philadelphia Jr. Flyers) and Aizah Thompson (Williamsville, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons), will return with even bigger ambitions in their sophomore campaigns. Graduate student defender Kendall Wasik (Novi, Mich./Honeybaked) will be counted on as captain this year, for her roles with the team both on and off the ice.
“We have a strong core returning this year including Masotta, Boric, Wall, and Olshansky upfront and Norton and Wasik on the blueline. We expect big years from players like McLean, Orr, Cho, Balfour, and Thompson to build off the prior season. Our goaltending is solid with Nease and Lewis for this season, as well. We are also expecting the first-year players to have a significant impact on this year’s team,” Houle said.
Goaltenders
Plattsburgh State returns just one goaltender from last year’s squad as Lilla Nease (Lake Forest, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) returns for her graduate season in 2023-24. Last year, Nease played in 19 games, working to a 17-2 record, with a 1.36 GAA and a .938 save percentage. She posted four shutouts as she holds a 26-3 record in her three seasons of work. She is joined this year by one newcomer, as Chloe Lewis (Monson, Mass. /Northwood School) begins her collegiate career with the Cardinals in 2023-24.
Defenders
Despite losing two-time All-American Sierra Benjamin to graduation, the defensive group for Plattsburgh will still be an excellent and experienced group in 2023-24. Leading the unit will be graduate student captain Kendall Wasik (Novi, Mich./Honeybaked), who posted 18 assists last year and blocked 76 shots. All-NEWHL selection Mattie Norton (Glen Carbon, Ill./St. Louis Lady Blues) is back for her junior season, serving as an assistant captain this year, and will be joined by Taya Balfour (Moorestown, N.J./Philadelphia Jr. Flyers) and Aizah Thompson (Williamsville, N.Y./Buffalo Bisons) who were each named the NEWHL All-Rookie Team. Also returning to the Cardinal roster this year is sophomore Su-An Cho (Madison, Ala./Florida Alliance).
The group will welcome two rookies to help anchor the blue line in 2023-24, with first-years Maeghan Forsyth (Billings, Mont./Notre Dame Hounds) and Adriana Urban (Monroe, N.J./Hoosac School).
Forwards
With the loss of two-time All-American Sara Krauseneck from last year’s team, a big scoring punch will need to be replaced, but the Cardinals appear to have the experience and talent to do so in 2023-24. Graduate student Julia Masotta (Tewksbury, Mass./Norwich University) is the lone returning All-NEWHL selection to the forward group, as she will be counted to lead this unit into the new season.
Plenty of experience returns to the offensive unit in 2023-24, led by graduate students Ivy Boric (Newport Beach, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) and Tatem Cheney (Ottawa, Ontario/Ottawa Lady 67s) and seniors Mae Olshansky (Wilmette, Ill./North American Hockey Academy) and Ciara Wall (Stoneham, Mass./University of New Hampshire), with the four combining for 83 points last season. Juniors Riley Calhoun (New Harford N.Y./Bishipo Kearney Selects) and Bridget Orr (Excelsior, Minn./North American Hockey Academy) should have bigger roles this year, as well as sophomores Emma McLean (Burlington, Mass/Pomfret School), Molly Riggi (Farmingdale, N.J./New Jersey Titans), and Grace Yarkosky (South Lyon. Mich./Honeybaked).
Several newcomers should expect to see plenty of time on the ice this year and could be x-factors for the Cardinals this year as the group includes Lilli Bills (Castle Rock, Colo./New Hampton School), Sydnee Francis (Canton, N.Y./Nepean Jr. Wildcats), Emily Kasprzak (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite), Dani Longuemare (Pembroke, Mass./Portsmouth Abbey School), Ava Mattaliano (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Belle Tire), and Zsofia Pazmandi (Kaposvar, Hungary/Ontario Hockey Academy).
Schedule
The Cardinals open both the regular season and SUNYAC action with a home contest against Oswego State on Friday, Nov. 3. Plattsburgh State then visits Buffalo State (Nov. 10) and SUNY Morrisville (Nov. 11) before hosting Norwich University (Nov. 14) and traveling to SUNY Potsdam (Nov. 17). At the Panther/Cardinal Classic from Nov. 25-26, Plattsburgh State squares off with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Nov. 25 before taking on either Middlebury College or Endicott College the following day. After home contests against SUNY Cortland (Dec. 1) and SUNY Canton (Dec. 2), the Cardinals go to the Norwich East-West Hockey Classic from Dec. 9-10, facing off with host Norwich on Dec. 9 before meeting up with either Elmira College or Nazareth University the following day.
Plattsburgh State opens up the 2024 portion of its schedule at Oswego from Jan. 5-6 and opens up a six-game home stand versus Middlebury on Jan. 6. The Cardinals then host Morrisville from Jan. 12-13, Buffalo State from Jan. 19-20 and Williams College on Jan. 27 before visiting Canton for a pair of contests from Feb. 2-3. Plattsburgh State closes out the regular season with a home series against Potsdam (Feb. 9-10) and a road series at Cortland (Feb. 16-17).
The top four teams in the final regular-season conference standings will qualify for the SUNYAC Tournament, with the semifinals set for Feb. 24 and the championship set for March 2.
(Plattsburgh State Women’s Hockey Photo)
By Janet Schultz, NYHOL
The Western New York Girls Varsity Ice Hockey Federation will open their 14th season on Monday, November 27. Hamburg/Eden/West Seneca will take on St. Mary’s of Lancaster at the Cheektowaga Rink at 4 p.m.
While no new teams have come into Section VI of the Federation, Webster (Rochester) will be icing a team this season representing Section V. They will make several appearances facing our Section VI teams. Details on this program are forthcoming.
A new coach will be behind the bench for Kenmore/Grand Island/Lockport; actually he is just moving from one position on the bench to another. WNYGVIH KGIPort Assistant Coach Matt Miller will take on the Head Coaching position. Miller has been with the team since its inception and is also the Statistician for the League. (Pictured L to R below: Retired Coach Jeff Orlowski, Asst. Coach Mark Bourgeault and new Head Coach Matt Miller)
Not only does Miller have a new position but his team will be playing out of a new venue. They will head across town to Brighton Arena and play in the old facility as the new one is being build. Ice has been removed from the Lincoln Arena. the Brighton Arena is located off Parker Blvd. at 251 Brompton Road, Tonawanda.
NiCo is also making a change in locations, they are adding Cornerstone Arena in Lockport and Dwyer Arena on the Niagara University campus as home locations; along with practicing at Hyde Park Arena, their former home.
NiCo will host their annual Niagara County Tournament on Friday, December 15 and Saturday, December 16 at Cornerstone Arena in Lockport. Opponents will be named shortly.
In addition, Williamsville will be hosting Oswego Girls Varsity on Saturday December 16 and Frontier/Lakeshore/Orchard Park will host Oswego on Sunday, December 17. The Williamsville game will be at Northtowns Center and FFLOP will play out of Leisure for that game.
Moving forward to playoffs. The Section VI quarterfinals, as well as semis and Championships will be played at Buffalo State University’s arena.
Quarterfinals are scheduled for Tuesday, February 6 at 4:30 p.m.; 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Semis will be played Thursday, February 8 at 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.
The Private School Championship will be played Monday, February 12 at 6 p.m. and the Section VI Championship will be played at 4 p.m. The Section VI champion moves on to the New York State Championship. The NYS Championship will be played at the Nexus Center in Utica February 16 and 17.
The Niagara Frontier Officials Association are once again this year presenting the Derek Cline Scholarship to one female and one male player in the Section VI ice hockey federation. Last year Trinity Kehoe of Monsignor Martin was the recipient of a $1000 scholarship. This year the scholarship will be $1500. Application information will be available in all arenas (a QR code on a poster will take you to the website) or at www.DClinefoundation.com Deadline for applications will be in January.
In related official news, neckguards and mouthguards will be mandatory for all players in the Federation.
You can follow WNYGVIH Federation on NY Hockey Online’s Facebook, NYHockeyonline and Twitter @NYHockeyOnline accounts as well as www.nyhockeyonline.com We also have an Instagram account, nyhockeymag.
Also the WNYGVIH website: www. wnygirlshockey.com and the Twitter account @wnygvih and Facebook page, WNY Girls Varsity Ice Hockey
WNY Athletics will be streaming several girl’s games, as well as boys. You can subscribe by going to https://www.nfhsnetwork.com Once again this year NYHOL’s Randy Schultz will be on the WNY Athletics broadcast team.
NYHOL will be posting the schedule and providing a 2023-24 WNYGVIH Preview once everything is ready to go. Get ready for another great season of girl’s varsity ice hockey in Western New York.
