This weekend is a big one for the hockey team.
The Golden Eagles have a home-and-away split with our biggest rival, Geneseo. The Ice Knights come to Tuttle North on Friday night while Brockport makes the 40-minute trip to Ira Wilson Arena on Saturday. Hockey fans should love the split, because any bad blood created on Friday will spill over into Saturday’s game – and we know how spirited the games have been with Geneseo in recent years.
Geneseo is on fire this season. They are second in the SUNYAC with 16 points, 4 behind conference-leading Plattsburgh. The Knights are 8-2 in SUNYAC play and 14-5 overall. Among their big wins: 7-4 over Oswego, 4-3 OT against Hobart, and last week’s 5-3 win over Plattsburgh.
They have the tenth-best offense in DIII, averaging
3.89 goals per game, ahead of Brockport’s 3.16 (which is 35th). They
allow just 2.79 goals per game, which is good for 31st in DIII. So,
they manage their games well, with the 17th best margin in the
nation.
If they have a weakness, it’s their special teams: they
have the 47th ranked power play and 63rd-ranked penalty
kill. The latter bodes well for Brockport’s arsenal that has the 6th-best
power play in the country.
This is the last weekend Brockport fans will see
Geneseo’s Zach Vit, who has been a thorn in Brockport’s side the past 4 years.
He’s living up to his top billing yet again with 15 goals already on the
season. Tyler Brickler has been stellar this year, too, with 10 goals, 4 of
them were game winners --- so, he’s clutch.
Bryan Haude will likely see the start in net. He
comes into the weekend with a .899 - 2.99 line.
This weekend is more than hockey.
It’s about giving, too.
The College at Brockport will host the seventh
annual Saves For a Cure game on Friday.
Saves for a Cure is a non-profit, charitable
organization started by Todd Sheridan ('11), a former Brockport goalie -- and
one of Brockport's all-time greatest players -- and the College's
all-time leader in goals-against average (3.07), career wins (29) and saves
percentage (.904). He also holds the 4 best single season
goals-against-averages for Brockport.
In 2005 Todd was diagnosed with cancer, given a 70% chance of survival and told he’d never play hockey again. Todd beat cancer and the odds and then had quite the career at Brockport, as made evident by his career numbers and the team's only 2 playoff seasons -- both of which occurred while he was in net.
With his success story as its backdrop, Saves For a Cure oversees a variety of fundraisers, including the annual Saves For a Cure game. All proceeds from any Saves For a Cure event or activity go to the children’s cancer clinic at Strong Memorial Hospital.
Among the charity’s donations was a $15,000 check
that led to the replacement and upgrade of the play deck at Strong:
http://brockporthockey.blogspot.com/2011/09/saves-for-cures-first-project.html
The highlight of the game is an auction whereby
fans can bid on the special jerseys being worn during the game. The auction has
begun and will continue through 4 PM (Eastern), Saturday. The winners will be
listed on the auction web page and will be notified via email. Bids will be
updated as often as possible on the auction page.
If you would like to support Saves for a Cure and
get your own Brockport hockey jersey, the auction webpage is:
The piece de resistance is a luncheon on Saturday
that will further benefit Saves For a Cure:
