by Janet D Schultz, NYHOL; Photos from 2019-10 by Janet Schultz & Damian Adams
Game One of the Western New York Girls Varsity Ice Hockey League is in the books. Respecting all COVID protocols the games were played with no spectators, social distancing and masks when needed by all those who were in attendance.
Monsignor Martin (MM) hosted Clarence/Amherst/Sweethome (CASH) in the Season Opener at North Buffalo Arena.
Monsignor Martin has opened the past two seasons with a loss last year to Williamsville and a win over Niagara County in 2018-19. This season they opened with a 5-0 win over CASH under new Head Coach Mark Brownschidle.
Erin Prendergast scored the first goal of the 2020-21 season just three minutes into the game, with an assist from Grace Russo. Lara Beecher scored her first goal of the season, unassisted, and the first period ends 2-0 in favor of MM.
Beecher dropped in her second of the game with an assist from Russo. Two minutes later Abby Marion scores, assisted by Beecher and Camryn Brownschidle. The third closes with MM up 4-0.
The final tally of the night came off the stick of Ryann Hondale, assisted by Beecher and Brownschidle and Monsignor Martin goes in the record books as having the first win in the year of The Pandemic.
CASH Goalie Hannah Barrett, who just signed with Potsdam for next season, faced 28 Shots on Goal and MM’s Sophia Will is recorded with the season’s first shutout after stopping all 16 SOG.
Players to watch on these two squads include Beecher and Brownschidle who control the puck well and have put numbers up in scoring. Beecher, a junior, had 17 goals/10 assists in 2019-20 and Brownschidle scored 4 goals and 6 assists as a sophomore last season. Monsignor Martin will be relying heavily on Will as their goalie after graduating Grace Harrington. Will played 323 minutes, stopped 152 of 154 sog. MM brings in ninth graders Reece Gail, a forward; Honadle, defense; Mia Provenzo, forward and Rebecca Sander, forward. On defense Brownschidle plays both forward and defense and Kasprzak is also a defender to watch.
CASH lost no players last season to graduation and comes in with the talents goalies Kylie Paige and Avery Hall, who both saw considerable action last season. Page playing 483 minutes and stopping 310 of 353 shots and Hall playing 240 minutes and stopping 177 of 212 shot. Also in goal is Barrett, who is a senior this year, and coming onto the team is a seventh grade goalie, Melissa MacLeod. Another seventh grader joining this season is Maya Adimey. Allison Green will be looked to put the puck in the net and they should be looking at Sydney Spear, Isabella Zivis and Kylie Nolan to step up their shooting the puck. Defensively Isabella Clary and Emma Guzdek have the experience.
Next up is Hamburg/Eden/West Seneca at Niagara County on Monday, February 15, 4 p.m. at Hyde Park.
Both teams are looking to rise to the top after placing sixth in the league for HEWS and 8th for Niagara County in the League. Both teams lost their season openers last season.
HEWS can look to Olivia Wade for scoring and Seniors Shaelyn Szabala and Emma Cooper on Defense. HEWS has some experienced goaltenders with Seniors Lauren Brown and Natalie Davidson. They also carry a third goaltender, sophomore Allison Jurusik. HEWS was 2-9-2 last season. (Note: NYHOL did not have an updated HEWS roster at this writing).
Niagara County returns with Natalie O’Brien to put the pucks in the net along with Kayla Persinger and Amanda Jackson. They have Natalie Ponzi and Persinger for a defensive team.They also carry three goalies with experience coming from Annie Riek, who showed she can withstand anything during NiCo’s first season. This season she has backup with sophomore Mariela Mulready and new to the seen to learn the ropes, seventh grader Kennedy Ruest.
On Tuesday the League features of its three game days with Niagara County at Lancaster/Iroquois/Depew (LID) at 3:45 p.m. at Holiday; HEWS at Williamsville, 5:10 p.m. Northtowns and then the traditional 7:40 p.m. puck drop at Lincoln with Kenmore/Grand Island (KGI) facing LID.
Looking at LID, who went 13-0-0 last season and lost in the league playoffs to Williamsville, they are returning with Senior Dylan Gorski between the pipes, along with Junior MacKenzie Walkowiak. Gorski stopped 314 shot out of 334 and Walkowiak stopped 85 of 100 last season. Goals will be sought Morganne Dee who has a chance to break League records in that area. She had 21 goals and 13 assists last season. Even though they lost Jersey Phillips they still have scoring power in Dee, Amanda Cole and Sydney Radecki. On defense LID has Brook Warren and Hayley Keppner returning.
Williamsville also lost some scoring power in the Roland twins, along with Jenn Cavaleri. However still putting pucks in the net will be Vanessa Willick with 14 goals/18 assists and Ellie Schau, 10 goals and 14 assists last season. Between the pipes and back for their final year are Sydney Olschewske and Elizabeth Timby with Seventh grader Brynn Bacak learning. Their defensive experience comes from Elizabeth Jackson, Aizah-Rose Thompson and Diana Martucci, along with Molly Martin.
Williamsville went 10-2-2 last season, beat LID and Kenmore in League and Section VI play, headed off to the NYS Championship where they lost to Clinton. At this point they will be looking to defend their WNYGVIH Championships but won’t be able to seek at State Championship, due to cancellation at this point of those tournaments due to Covid.
A look at the final two teams is a look at championship material. FLOP claimed a State Championship and Kenmore/Grand Island was the first WNYGVIH team go to the State Championships, and did it two years in a row.
FLOP took 4th in the League and 3rd in the Section with Kenmore/Grand Island right behind them at 5/4 respectively. FLOP went 8-5-1 last season and KGI ended with a 4-8-1 record.
FLOP’S roster looks a little light but that might be because names like Mary Kromer and Brooke Becker are off doing their collegiate thing this year. They were stables on that team for so long it looks funny not seeing their names (editors opinion). FLOP’S problem this season may be with goaltending. They are carrying only one in Kerrigan McCarthy, but the ninth grader played last season and stopped 250 of 272 shots. With that said FLOP will seek revenge and is hungry for the win. Playing defense for FLOP will be Emery Fitzery and Kathleen Doughtery, who is also a forward.
Kenmore/Grand Island will also be seeking the road to the top. They have been there and they know what it feels like. They lost scoring with the graduation of Abby Blair and Kaylynn Savoy so will have to look to Carissa Buyea, Emiliane Cassillo for more scoring and leadership. On defense Molly Leggett and Ava Incorvaia will provide the leadership. In goal Carolyn Bourgeoult has been the go-to-goalie with 754 minutes of play last season. If there is one thing KGI has its a goaltending “stash” with Allison Hill, Jordan Hofschneider, Samantha Horne, Juliet Chadima and Bourgeault.
It wouldn’t be a season without a coaching change or two, and we have two.
Tom Ferro, HEWS and Chris Malicki, MM have stepped down and heading to the bench are Eric Cooper for HEWS and Mark Brownschidle for MM.
Cooper has been a chemistry teacher at Eden High School for the past 24 years. He played hockey from age seven through college at Geneseo. He has coached both boys and girls hockey at the initiation level through 16U with both the Hamburg Hawks and the Buffalo Bisons organizations. He has served as assistant coach and head coach prior to this. He is also the varsity baseball coach at Eden.
Brownschidle is a hockey name in Buffalo, so let’s answer your first question to Mark. Yes, he has two brothers who played in the NHL. John with the St. Louis Blues and Hartford and Jeff for the Hartford Whalers.
Now on to Mark. Mark is currently the vice president of Solution Consulting with CROSSFUZE in Buffalo. Last season he served as an assistant coach with Monsignor Martin and was in charge of defense and special teams. Mark is also the assistant coach for the Buffalo Bisons Girls Tier I Hockey program and has done so since 2013. His playing days included Amherst Youth Hockey and then on to St. Joe’s. Following high school he played for Boston University’s D1 team where he played in two frozen four’s and won three Beanpot Tournaments. He was selected 64th in the 1989 NHL Draft, played for the Muskegon Fury and still plays in the USA Adult Hockey National Championships.
We welcome both Coach Eric and Coach Mark to the WNYGVIH family.
