D3: Brockport’s offseason commitment has translated to wins

Brockport has equaled its 2017-18 win total of 11 in just the 17th game of the season. (Brockport Athletics)

The Brockport men’s ice hockey team ended its 2017-2018 season with three consecutive losses, including its final game to the eighth-ranked Geneseo by a score of 1-0. They finished with a record of 11-13-1 and 5-10-1 in the conference; it was the program’s second consecutive season with fewer wins than losses and the third straight year they finished with exactly 11 wins. They missed a spot in the playoffs by three points.

The Golden Eagles seem to be singing a different tune in the 2018-2019 season. With a 4-2 victory over Buffalo, Brockport equaled its win total of 11 in just the 17th game of the season, with a month remaining in the regular season.

“The players worked extremely hard in the weight room this offseason,” head coach Brian said on the team’s website prior to the start of the season. “We feel we’re as strong on the ice as we’ve ever been, combined that with our overall team quickness, we should compete with every team on our schedule.”

Brockport was in sixth in the conference, holding what would be the final playoff spot, as of January 23, even though they defeated Buffalo, the team in front of them, twice. Brockport is 3-4-2 in the conference, with losses to Fredonia, Oswego, and Geneseo, the top three teams in the conference.

The game that might show just how different this Brockport team is compared to previous versions wasn’t a win, however; it was a 4-4 tie to Fredonia on the road the night after the victory over Buffalo.

Fredonia scored first and held a 4-2 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the game. Brockport scored twice in the final 3:11, however, to equalize and earn a point on the road.

Dickinson pulled goalie Matthew Schneider (Manilus, N.Y.) for an extra attacker with four minutes remaining when Jeremy Solat scored his fifth goal of the year to pull Brockport within one. Schneider was pulled again when sophomore Ryan Romeo (Fairport, N.Y.) scored with 33 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.

“It was a hard-fought battle between two very good teams,” Dickinson said in an article on the team’s website. “To battle back from being down 4-2 with less than three minutes showed what this team is made of.”

The final seven conference games of the season pose a threat to Brockport; four of the remaining games are against Plattsburgh, Cortland, Oswego, and Geneseo, who the team is a combined 0-3-1 this season and getting outscored by a 12-4 margin.

The team hopes its four-game unbeaten streak can add some confidence and momentum to their end of the season playoff push.

Team of the Week

Elmira

The Soaring Eagles snapped a two-game losing streak with an impressive 11-1 victory over United Collegiate Hockey Conference foe King’s College. The 11 goals were the most for the team this season, which has scored at least five goals in a game five times now. They followed the victory with a 4-4 tie against Wilkes three nights later, improving to a 7-3-1 conference record.

Player of the Week

Nick DeVito, Jr., F, Morrisville

The Averill Park, N.Y.-native factored into every Morrisville goal in the team’s 5-3 victory over Potsdam. He scored three goals – all within a seven minute span in the third period – and added two assists. He earned SUNYAC Player of the Week honors as well as a spot on the D3hockey.com Team of the Week.

Game of the Week

Fredonia at Buffalo, Saturday, January 26 (7 p.m.)

These two teams meet for the first time this season in a home-and-home series on back-to-back nights. Buffalo is fifth in the conference standings and will need a strong showing against the team currently in third if they want to keep their hopes of a home playoff game alive.