We are less then 2 months away from the opening of the 2011-2012 SUNYAC season....thoughts? comments? discuss....
My predictions....
GENESEO ICE KNIGHTS
2011-2012 PREDICTED : 1ST
2010-2011 CONF : 10 -5-1
2010-2011 FINISH : 2ND
KEY WINS : 7-3 vs Plattsburgh
KEY LOSES : 2-3 @ Morrisville, 1-7 vs Oswego, 2-3 vs Brockport
The Ice Knights return a lot of experience to the 2011-2012 season. There is sure to be a sour taste in Geneseo’s mouth after being bounced in the SUNYAC Semi Finals at home, in over time against rival Plattsburgh State 2-3. A game in which saw both teams have several chances to end the game early. Geneseo will make it a three team race at the top for the SUNYAC regular season crown. I would expect Geneseo to put at least two if not three players in the SUNYAC Top 10 scoring leaders this season as Sophomore Zachary Vit and a healthy Rich Manley will be one of the top leaders. Defense? Danny Scagnelli and Jake Yard will provide both an offensive punch and defensive line in front of the best tandem goaltenders in the SUNYAC in Gershon and Rubeniuk, who finished 3rd and 5th in SUNYAC goaltending GAA.
SENIORS LOST : 6 (RYGIEL)
SENIORS ON : 8
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS : Vit, Manley, Gershon, Scagnelli, Yard
OSWEGO STATE LAKERS
2011-2012 PREDICTED : 2ND
2010-2011 CONF : 15-1-0
2010-2011 FINISH : 1ST
KEY WINS : ALL
KEY LOSES : 2-5 vs Morrisville
The Lakers did it again in 2011. They won the SUNYAC regular season crown for the 5th time in the past 7 years, yet didn’t take home the tournament championship for the 4th time in those 5 times of winning the regular season title following a 1-2 loss at home to the 6th seed Fredonia State Blue Devils. Their only loss during the regular season was a 2-5 loss at home against Morrisville, but was challenged through out the season by everyone. Gone are senior forwards Justin Fox, Chris Laganiere and defensemen Stephen Mallaro and Kevin Huinink. The Lakers do bring back SUNYAC leading scorer Ian Boots and SUNYAC leading goaltender Paul Beckwith who was plagued by injuries last season. There will be a lot of pressure on the Lakers to return to not only the SUNYAC Championship, but to the National scene as well.
SENIORS LOST : 7 (FOX, HUININK, LAGANIERE, MALLARO)
SENIORS ON : 5
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS : Boots, Beckwith, Whitelaw
PLATTSBURGH STATE CARDINALS
2011-2012 PREDICTED : 3RD
2010-2011 CONF : 9-7-0
2010-2011 FINISH : 4TH
KEY WINS : 6-2 @ Morrisville, 3-1 @ Fredonia
KEY LOSES : 2-3 vs Morrisvlle, 2-6 vs Buff State, 0-2 vs Cortland
A tale of two seasons for the Plattsburgh State Cardinals. A team that was undefeated in its Non-Conference schedule including wins over Norwich (2), Williams, Curry, Neumann, but went only 9-7-0 in Conference play including 4 SUNYAC regular season home loses. Something that has not been done in Bob Emery’s coaching career. By my count Plattsburgh has lost 14 players from last years opening roster. Could this finally be the rebuilding year the rest of the SUNYAC has always waited for? Will Plattsburgh finally not make a SUNYAC Championship game under Bob Emery? Or will Emery prove once again why he is one of, if not the best, coach in the SUNYAC and have his team ready to compete for a 21st SUNYAC Championship.
SENIORS LOST : 5 (CLARK, SATIM)
SENIORS ON : 6
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS : Jensen, Craig, Kudroch, Leis
BUFFALO STATE BENGALS
2011-2012 PREDICTED : 4TH
2010-2011 CONF : 8-5-3
2010-2011 FINISH : 3RD
KEY WINS : Swept Plattsburgh
KEY LOSES : 3-4 at Cortland
The Buffalo State Bengals with a first round bye in the SUNYAC Tournament? The Bengals were 3 ties away from doing just that last year. Just one year after they were caught with NCAA infractions, the Buff State Bengals had a chip on their shoulder. Not many teams can say they swept Plattsburgh State on the season, let alone Buffalo. They doubled their win total ALL time against Plattsburgh. The Bengals had only beaten Plattsburgh once prior to the 2010-2011 season in 78 attempts. A new direction for Brian Dickerson. There will be 13 sophomores on this years Buffalo State team including one of the best goaltenders in the SUNYAC in Kevin Carr. The Bengals do lose Nick Petriello (4-15-19) but do return the SUNYAC Co-Goal scoring champion in junior Trevor McKinney (10-7-17). If Buffalo can continue to maintain their progress and cut down on penalties, they could make it a four-way race to the top. Who would have thunk it.
SENIORS LOST : 2 (PETRIELLO)
SENIORS ON : 3
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS : McKinney, Knee, Carr
FREDONIA STATE BLUE DEVILS
2011-2012 PREDICTED : 5TH
2010-2011 CONF : 7-8-1
2010-2011 FINISH : 6TH
KEY WINS : 6-4 at Buff St, 6-5 OT at Morrisville
KEY LOSES : 4-5 OT vs Oswego, 1-2 vs Geneseo
It was an up and down season for Fredonia that fell one game short of a great story. Never has a 6 seed won the SUNYAC title, but Fredonia almost did just that. Of Fredonia’s 8 conference loses, 6 were decided by two goals or less including 4 by 1 goal. Fredonia does lose some firepower with All SUNYAC Seniors Oye and, Rizer gone. They do return one of the best forwards in the league in Senior Bryan Ross (10-15-25) who was tied for 2nd in SUNYAC scoring in 2011. The Blue Devils will need to play like they did on their tournament run to keep pace in the SUNYAC.
SENIORS LOST : 5 (RIZER, OYE, MORTON)
SENIORS ON : 4
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS : Ross, Hehr, Waldman, Friesen
MORRISVILLE STATE MUSTANGS
2011-2012 PREDICTED : 6TH
2010-2011 CONF : 8-7-1
2010-2011 FINISH : 5TH
KEY WINS : 3-2 @ Plattsburgh, 5-2 @ Oswego
KEY LOSES : Swept by Potsdam
SENIORS LOST : 8 (RELCOFF, MATHESON, SGARBOSSA, CASS)
SENIORS ON : 3
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS : Swan, Matzel
Go into the Stafford Ice Arena, and win. Go into the Campus Center, and win. Something any team in the SUNYAC would love to have on their resume, especially the newest member in the conference, the Morrisville Mustangs. That’s just what they did last year winning at both Plattsburgh and Oswego. However, the Mustangs lose the most seniors this year out of any SUNYAC school including Mr. Mustang himself Caylin Relkoff. They do return some firepower to their line up including Junior Tyler Swan and Geoff Matzel who finished 1 and 2 on the Mustangs overall team statistics. Morrisville will have to replace Relkoff as their number one priority. If they don’t find an adequate replacement, it could be a step back for the Mustangs who have improved year after year since joining the league. Transfer sophomore goaltender Chris Azzano (Wentworth ECACNE) will look to be that savior. In 23 games last season Azzano went 13-7-3 with a 2.52 GAA and a .914 Save%. We will have to wait and see how his numbers transform into a much tougher league. Former Potsdam State standout Todd Hosmer has also transferred into the Mustangs lineup. Hosmer 2-1/2 seasons with the Bears (27-35-62) was one of the top forwards in Potsdam and was tied for 8th in overall SUNYAC points in his last full season at Potsdam. The 6'1'' 195lbs forward will bring a much needed fire power and physical presence to the Mustang lineup.
CORTLAND RED DRAGONS
2011-2012 PREDICTED : 7TH
2010-2011 CONF : 5-10-1
2010-2011 FINISH : 7TH
KEY WINS : Sweep of the North Country
KEY LOSES : 2-4 @ Brockport, 3-4 vs Oswego
The Dragons finished 4 points out of the playoffs even with a much improved season losing several key games by a goal and pushing the limits of the top SUNYAC teams. The highlight for the Dragons had to have been the North Country (Plattsburgh, Potsdam) Sweep for the first time in Cortland history. The Red Dragons only lose 3 seniors from the 2010-2011 season, and will be senior heavy in 2011-2012 with 15 seniors. Once again the SUNYAC will see an improved Cortland team, but will fall short by a point or two of that final SUNYAC playoff spot.
SENIORS LOST : 3 (GOLD)
SENIORS ON : 15
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS : Christiano, Lysyj
POTSDAM STATE BEARS
2011-2012 PREDICTED : 8TH
2010-2011 CONF : 4-12-0
2010-2011 FINISH : 8TH
KEY WINS : Swept Morrisville on the season
KEY LOSES : A lot
A team in turmoil will look to rebound from a disappointing season which saw players leaving early, suspensions and NCAA violations. The Bears lose 3 of their top 4 overall scorers. It’s also believed that now senior forward Todd Hosmer will be transferring to another school as well. The Bears will have to rely on several sophomore forwards to put some points on the board because they need it. Potsdam ranked last with Brockport for overall team defense giving up an average of 5.00 goals a game.
SENIORS LOST : 6 (SMITH, MacLELLAN, MacLENNAN)
SENIORS ON : 6
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS : Nutkevitch
The COLLGEG AT BROCKPORT GOLDEN EAGLES
2011-2012 PREDICTED : 9TH
2010-2011 CONF : 2-13-1
2010-2011 FINISH : 9TH
KEY WINS : 3-2 @ Geneseo, 4-2 vs Cortland
KEY LOSES : ALL
It looks to be another season of rebuilding for the Eagles. New name, same result. Cody will once again be the bright spot at Brockport, but with little to no supporting cast I don’t foresee Brockport winning more then 3-4 games this season max.
SENIORS LOST : 6 (NOBLEGALLIANI)
SENIORS ON : 7
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS : Cody, Finnerty, Wren
My predictions....
GENESEO ICE KNIGHTS
2011-2012 PREDICTED : 1ST
2010-2011 CONF : 10 -5-1
2010-2011 FINISH : 2ND
KEY WINS : 7-3 vs Plattsburgh
KEY LOSES : 2-3 @ Morrisville, 1-7 vs Oswego, 2-3 vs Brockport
The Ice Knights return a lot of experience to the 2011-2012 season. There is sure to be a sour taste in Geneseo’s mouth after being bounced in the SUNYAC Semi Finals at home, in over time against rival Plattsburgh State 2-3. A game in which saw both teams have several chances to end the game early. Geneseo will make it a three team race at the top for the SUNYAC regular season crown. I would expect Geneseo to put at least two if not three players in the SUNYAC Top 10 scoring leaders this season as Sophomore Zachary Vit and a healthy Rich Manley will be one of the top leaders. Defense? Danny Scagnelli and Jake Yard will provide both an offensive punch and defensive line in front of the best tandem goaltenders in the SUNYAC in Gershon and Rubeniuk, who finished 3rd and 5th in SUNYAC goaltending GAA.
SENIORS LOST : 6 (RYGIEL)
SENIORS ON : 8
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS : Vit, Manley, Gershon, Scagnelli, Yard
OSWEGO STATE LAKERS
2011-2012 PREDICTED : 2ND
2010-2011 CONF : 15-1-0
2010-2011 FINISH : 1ST
KEY WINS : ALL
KEY LOSES : 2-5 vs Morrisville
The Lakers did it again in 2011. They won the SUNYAC regular season crown for the 5th time in the past 7 years, yet didn’t take home the tournament championship for the 4th time in those 5 times of winning the regular season title following a 1-2 loss at home to the 6th seed Fredonia State Blue Devils. Their only loss during the regular season was a 2-5 loss at home against Morrisville, but was challenged through out the season by everyone. Gone are senior forwards Justin Fox, Chris Laganiere and defensemen Stephen Mallaro and Kevin Huinink. The Lakers do bring back SUNYAC leading scorer Ian Boots and SUNYAC leading goaltender Paul Beckwith who was plagued by injuries last season. There will be a lot of pressure on the Lakers to return to not only the SUNYAC Championship, but to the National scene as well.
SENIORS LOST : 7 (FOX, HUININK, LAGANIERE, MALLARO)
SENIORS ON : 5
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS : Boots, Beckwith, Whitelaw
PLATTSBURGH STATE CARDINALS
2011-2012 PREDICTED : 3RD
2010-2011 CONF : 9-7-0
2010-2011 FINISH : 4TH
KEY WINS : 6-2 @ Morrisville, 3-1 @ Fredonia
KEY LOSES : 2-3 vs Morrisvlle, 2-6 vs Buff State, 0-2 vs Cortland
A tale of two seasons for the Plattsburgh State Cardinals. A team that was undefeated in its Non-Conference schedule including wins over Norwich (2), Williams, Curry, Neumann, but went only 9-7-0 in Conference play including 4 SUNYAC regular season home loses. Something that has not been done in Bob Emery’s coaching career. By my count Plattsburgh has lost 14 players from last years opening roster. Could this finally be the rebuilding year the rest of the SUNYAC has always waited for? Will Plattsburgh finally not make a SUNYAC Championship game under Bob Emery? Or will Emery prove once again why he is one of, if not the best, coach in the SUNYAC and have his team ready to compete for a 21st SUNYAC Championship.
SENIORS LOST : 5 (CLARK, SATIM)
SENIORS ON : 6
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS : Jensen, Craig, Kudroch, Leis
BUFFALO STATE BENGALS
2011-2012 PREDICTED : 4TH
2010-2011 CONF : 8-5-3
2010-2011 FINISH : 3RD
KEY WINS : Swept Plattsburgh
KEY LOSES : 3-4 at Cortland
The Buffalo State Bengals with a first round bye in the SUNYAC Tournament? The Bengals were 3 ties away from doing just that last year. Just one year after they were caught with NCAA infractions, the Buff State Bengals had a chip on their shoulder. Not many teams can say they swept Plattsburgh State on the season, let alone Buffalo. They doubled their win total ALL time against Plattsburgh. The Bengals had only beaten Plattsburgh once prior to the 2010-2011 season in 78 attempts. A new direction for Brian Dickerson. There will be 13 sophomores on this years Buffalo State team including one of the best goaltenders in the SUNYAC in Kevin Carr. The Bengals do lose Nick Petriello (4-15-19) but do return the SUNYAC Co-Goal scoring champion in junior Trevor McKinney (10-7-17). If Buffalo can continue to maintain their progress and cut down on penalties, they could make it a four-way race to the top. Who would have thunk it.
SENIORS LOST : 2 (PETRIELLO)
SENIORS ON : 3
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS : McKinney, Knee, Carr
FREDONIA STATE BLUE DEVILS
2011-2012 PREDICTED : 5TH
2010-2011 CONF : 7-8-1
2010-2011 FINISH : 6TH
KEY WINS : 6-4 at Buff St, 6-5 OT at Morrisville
KEY LOSES : 4-5 OT vs Oswego, 1-2 vs Geneseo
It was an up and down season for Fredonia that fell one game short of a great story. Never has a 6 seed won the SUNYAC title, but Fredonia almost did just that. Of Fredonia’s 8 conference loses, 6 were decided by two goals or less including 4 by 1 goal. Fredonia does lose some firepower with All SUNYAC Seniors Oye and, Rizer gone. They do return one of the best forwards in the league in Senior Bryan Ross (10-15-25) who was tied for 2nd in SUNYAC scoring in 2011. The Blue Devils will need to play like they did on their tournament run to keep pace in the SUNYAC.
SENIORS LOST : 5 (RIZER, OYE, MORTON)
SENIORS ON : 4
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS : Ross, Hehr, Waldman, Friesen
MORRISVILLE STATE MUSTANGS
2011-2012 PREDICTED : 6TH
2010-2011 CONF : 8-7-1
2010-2011 FINISH : 5TH
KEY WINS : 3-2 @ Plattsburgh, 5-2 @ Oswego
KEY LOSES : Swept by Potsdam
SENIORS LOST : 8 (RELCOFF, MATHESON, SGARBOSSA, CASS)
SENIORS ON : 3
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS : Swan, Matzel
Go into the Stafford Ice Arena, and win. Go into the Campus Center, and win. Something any team in the SUNYAC would love to have on their resume, especially the newest member in the conference, the Morrisville Mustangs. That’s just what they did last year winning at both Plattsburgh and Oswego. However, the Mustangs lose the most seniors this year out of any SUNYAC school including Mr. Mustang himself Caylin Relkoff. They do return some firepower to their line up including Junior Tyler Swan and Geoff Matzel who finished 1 and 2 on the Mustangs overall team statistics. Morrisville will have to replace Relkoff as their number one priority. If they don’t find an adequate replacement, it could be a step back for the Mustangs who have improved year after year since joining the league. Transfer sophomore goaltender Chris Azzano (Wentworth ECACNE) will look to be that savior. In 23 games last season Azzano went 13-7-3 with a 2.52 GAA and a .914 Save%. We will have to wait and see how his numbers transform into a much tougher league. Former Potsdam State standout Todd Hosmer has also transferred into the Mustangs lineup. Hosmer 2-1/2 seasons with the Bears (27-35-62) was one of the top forwards in Potsdam and was tied for 8th in overall SUNYAC points in his last full season at Potsdam. The 6'1'' 195lbs forward will bring a much needed fire power and physical presence to the Mustang lineup.
CORTLAND RED DRAGONS
2011-2012 PREDICTED : 7TH
2010-2011 CONF : 5-10-1
2010-2011 FINISH : 7TH
KEY WINS : Sweep of the North Country
KEY LOSES : 2-4 @ Brockport, 3-4 vs Oswego
The Dragons finished 4 points out of the playoffs even with a much improved season losing several key games by a goal and pushing the limits of the top SUNYAC teams. The highlight for the Dragons had to have been the North Country (Plattsburgh, Potsdam) Sweep for the first time in Cortland history. The Red Dragons only lose 3 seniors from the 2010-2011 season, and will be senior heavy in 2011-2012 with 15 seniors. Once again the SUNYAC will see an improved Cortland team, but will fall short by a point or two of that final SUNYAC playoff spot.
SENIORS LOST : 3 (GOLD)
SENIORS ON : 15
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS : Christiano, Lysyj
POTSDAM STATE BEARS
2011-2012 PREDICTED : 8TH
2010-2011 CONF : 4-12-0
2010-2011 FINISH : 8TH
KEY WINS : Swept Morrisville on the season
KEY LOSES : A lot
A team in turmoil will look to rebound from a disappointing season which saw players leaving early, suspensions and NCAA violations. The Bears lose 3 of their top 4 overall scorers. It’s also believed that now senior forward Todd Hosmer will be transferring to another school as well. The Bears will have to rely on several sophomore forwards to put some points on the board because they need it. Potsdam ranked last with Brockport for overall team defense giving up an average of 5.00 goals a game.
SENIORS LOST : 6 (SMITH, MacLELLAN, MacLENNAN)
SENIORS ON : 6
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS : Nutkevitch
The COLLGEG AT BROCKPORT GOLDEN EAGLES
2011-2012 PREDICTED : 9TH
2010-2011 CONF : 2-13-1
2010-2011 FINISH : 9TH
KEY WINS : 3-2 @ Geneseo, 4-2 vs Cortland
KEY LOSES : ALL
It looks to be another season of rebuilding for the Eagles. New name, same result. Cody will once again be the bright spot at Brockport, but with little to no supporting cast I don’t foresee Brockport winning more then 3-4 games this season max.
SENIORS LOST : 6 (NOBLEGALLIANI)
SENIORS ON : 7
KEY RETURNING PLAYERS : Cody, Finnerty, Wren
Comment