hockey

When Elba high school junior Addison Warriner was six, he pulled on a pair of skates and gripped a hockey stick for the first time.

He comes from “a big hockey family,” and his favorite team is the Boston Bruins, with Czech professional ice hockey right winger David Pastrnak as his preferred player.

Before Addison’s grandmother died, she had set aside money for him to play the sport. Addison, 16, quickly glided in line with the family's passion.

“I fell in love with it,” he said Wednesday to The Batavian. “It’s fun, and I love playing with the guys, it’s the bond you share over the years.”

And now, a decade later, in addition to having spurred her grandson on to enjoy hockey as a youngster on the Ramparts and now on the Batavia Notre Dame United team, which plays at the McCarthy ice arena in Batavia, Grandma Diane has invested in a member of the Power City Bruins 16U, which is playing in the five-day USA Hockey National Championships beginning Thursday.

The tournament begins with three round-robin games and then goes on to elimination matches.

Addison joined the Niagara Falls-based Bruins two years ago when they were looking to replace a couple of players. He decided to try out and was selected as one of about 20 players from Western New York and the only one from Genesee County that he knows of.

It was a step up on the competitive front, he said, and will lead him toward another goal.

“I would love to play in college, that’s my number one dream,” he said.

The team has been putting in the heavy lifting, some of it literally — with weightlifting and practices two to three times a week and playing games one to two times on the weekends to prepare.

Addison feels confident in the team’s chances of ending on top, given that it already beat the best-ranked team in the nation, the Wheatfield Blades. “So I don’t see why we can’t beat the rest of them,” he said.

“When the team was formed, the goal was formed to make it to this tournament,” he said. “I’m a little nervous but pretty confident overall. For the last two years, we’ve been preparing.”

The first game is at 5:50 p.m. Thursday in Buffalo, and Addison, a 2022 Wayne D. Foster Award recipient, expects his family to be in the crowd cheering him on. And he thinks Grandma Diane would be smiling in her seat.

“I think she’d be really proud,” he said. “I don’t think she ever expected that this would happen.”

Submitted photos of Addison Warriner with the Bruins on the ice, and above, receiving the Wayne D. Foster Foundation Award in 2022 for "his ceaseless display of good character, including his wisdom, determination, and his fortitude and for his achievements both on and off the ice." 

Beachy Cabinet Makers Wild won the Batavia Mens Hockey League Championship at the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena on Sunday, defeating the Kelly Holland Inn NorthStars, 5-4 in overtime.

Shawn Beachy scored the first goal in the opening period.  Wild led 1-0 after 1.

The Stars tied the game with 4:51 left in the second period on a goal by Nick Bush.

Two minutes later, Ken Beachy scored to give the Wild back the lead 2-1.  A couple of goals were disallowed by the Wild in the next two minutes.  Twenty-one seconds before the end of the second period, the Wild scored again to increase the margin, 3-1 on a goal by Shawn Beachy, assisted by Ryan DiFilippo, who had two assists in the game.

After a Zamboni clean, the Wild carried the momentum from the locker room to score a goal by Jason Harasimowicz and gave the Wild a commanding 4-1 lead.

However, the Stars did not give up, seven minutes left in the third period,  Mason Versage scored two goals within a minute apart, including one on the power-play to cut the lead to one.

Then minutes later, at 4:14 left, the Stars' James Kujowski tied the game on a loose puck in front of net-minder John Bermel for the Wild.

The game went to a ten-minute sudden death overtime after a 4-4 tie.

Both teams had opportunities to end the game, and play got scrappy and challenging.  With four minutes left in the overtime, Wild caught a roughing penalty. Stars were on a 5 to 4 power play opportunity. 

Jason Harasimowicz from the Wild said “I stepped up to the faceoff circle, was aggressive and wanted to see where it goes.  I am just going to start picking up speed and hope I can get the puck in their zone.  I came down the right side, took the shot in the corner and scored. I have scored on the goalie like that during the regular season.  So, if I score, I score.  I know I have done it before and hoped it would get in the net. It did and could not believe it."

Harasimowicz scored the game winning goal short-handed with 3:35 left in the overtime to give the Beachy Cabinetmakers Wild the men’s league title.  Harasimowicz was named MVP.

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

Jason Harasimowicz named MVP

Beachy Cabinet Makers Wild 2023 Mens Hockey Champions

Three Beachy family generations, photo left to right Ken, grandson Sawyer, son Shawn

Press release:

The Genesee Amateur Hockey Association (GAHA) Timbit Beginners will be participating in their end-of-the-year “Jamboree” on Saturday, March 18, starting at 9 a.m. at the David McCarthy Memorial Arena. 

The world has the Olympics, Buffalo has pond hockey, but we have the Beginner Cross-Ice Event – ‘THE JAMBOREE”.  The draft has taken place, and the teams are set.  Game schedules are confirmed, and the blue lines are waiting for the hockey players to stand on them for the National Anthem.  The Rink will be divided into three areas, and two teams will play against one another in two-minute shifts for 12 minutes; then, they move on to play more “games” with other teams – a total of four games.  Since there are five teams, the team not scheduled for a “game” will participate in skill drills in the middle section. 

At 9 a.m., the players will be introduced one by one as they step onto the ice and proceed to the Blue Line for the National Anthem.  This year the National Anthem will be played by Miles Meyer on his electric guitar.  Miles is the grandson of the late Dave Meyer, who had a long history with GAHA serving as President for several years and coaching from the Mite level right up to being Assistant Coach with the Notre Dame Hockey team.  We’d love to have you join us and capture the progress of the little players' ages 4 to 12.  This year the Beginner Program consisted of 69 registered players.  They are coached by Brian McCarthy along with Nick Harris as well as many other dads and family members, plus several GAHA Student Coaches serving as on-ice helpers.

Without all of this support, it would be impossible to run this program.

Most of the players have been on the ice since early October thru today.  About 23 joined the program in early January after participating in the November USA Hockey – Try Hockey for Free Event.  At practices, they run through drills established by USA Hockey’s American Development Modules – six stations are set up around the rink, and a different drill is introduced at each station.  The players move from station to station.   GAHA is thankful for the sponsorship of its Beginner Program by the local Tim Horton Shop managed by Dave Lumberg.  They provide the jerseys for all of the players as well as Timbit donuts for our special functions throughout the year.

For this Jamboree, the players are divided into five teams (featuring the Black Team, the Royal Blue Rockets, the Navy Team, the White Lightnings and the Red Hamsters)  denoted by the color of their jerseys and will play five 12-minute games with shifts of 2 min.  A great time is had by all.

At the end of the Jamboree, the GAHA organization will offer a free family skate for the Beginner Program until Noon and the McCarthy Rink Staff and Management will be providing “free” rental skates for those participating.

It was a full house Saturday at the David McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena, with 40 registered and seven additional walk-in youngsters laced up and ready for some "Try Hockey For Free," event Coordinator Sharon Valyear Gray says.

The event was hosted by Genesee Amateur Hockey Association as part of USA Hockey Week Across America. Local youth, ages 4 to 9, were welcomed at the rink to experience getting on the ice, learning fundamentals of how to skate, how to get up after falling, basic skills with a hockey stick and shooting pucks into a hockey net, with the guidance of a head coach and on-ice helpers, Gray said.

This year the youngsters had the experience of shooting at actual goalies Rhyss Tanner of the Varisty Batavia Notre Dame team as well as Leo Gray of the Junior Varisty BND team.

“We welcomed families to McCarthy Ice Rink from Batavia, Albion, Alexander, Stafford, Medina, LeRoy, Caledonia, Pavilion, Rochester, Corfu, Freedom, Warsaw, Honeoye Falls, Castile, Oakfield, Darien Center, and Holley to try our great sport of ice hockey,” Gray said. “Our goal is for these families to enjoy watching their kids learn new skills with big smiles on their faces and for the youngsters the on-ice experience.”

Head coach Erik Triftshauser, along with Fred Hamilton – both with more than 30 years experience as GAHA  and high school players and coaches -- and on-ice helpers from the United high school teams, worked with the kids, who all seemed "so excited to be coached," and skating with local athletes, Gray said.

The event is hosted by the Try Hockey for Free Coordinators Sharon and Bob Gray and the GAHA Beginner Player Coordinator Marcia Barnes on behalf of the Genesee Amateur Hockey Association, which provided the ice, and the McCarthy Rink staff – General Manager Katie Murray, Rink Operating Manager Matt Gray and their "great staff," Sharon Gray said. 

The team’s goal is to provide the hockey experience to area youngsters free of charge and encourage them in October to become a player in the GAHA Beginner Program, which begins the first week of October. The Beginner Program consists of two sessions (October to December and January to March) with a total of 15 on-ice hours per session.

The GAHA Beginner Program started Session II in early January and added 17 out of 23 new players from the November “Try Hockey for Free” Event. Gray encourages folks to mark your calenda for this fall, as the next try hockey for free event is the first Saturday in November.

Skates used by the youngsters were provided free of charge by the McCarthy Rink Management Group.

USA Hockey’s Try Hockey program, with the support of the National Hockey League and NHL member clubs, among others, is designed to provide youth hockey associations with a national platform for introducing children to the sport, free of charge.

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

Press release:

The Batavia Ramparts played a strong weekend of hockey earning two championships and a 2nd place finish in the Gateway to the Adirondacks Tournament. Mite Team Sprague was the first team to get in on the winning, taking 2nd place to a strong West Hartford Wolves team in what was many players’ first-ever hockey tournament. Carley Grice picked up a shutout award and Duke Defreeze added a Hat Trick award puck on their way to the 2nd finish.

Pee Wee III earned their way into the championship game with a tough come-from-behind win against league foe, West Seneca, in an early Sunday morning matchup. Later that afternoon, with all of their Ramparts family cheering them on, they faced off against Lysander who beat them 7-1 earlier in the tournament. Lysander got out to a quick lead but the Ramparts never gave up and battled back to a 6-4 victory and a tournament championship. This was a total team effort led by Aaron Kujawski in goal, with big games coming from Joey Pellegrino, Gunner Hale, and Arlo Hoisington.

Up next was the Squirt III team with their chance to add another championship. They played to a tie in an early morning game to secure a spot in the finals against Navy Elite, who they also lost to early in the tournament 3-1. In this revenge match-up, Batavia started out with a quick 2-0 lead in the first period with goals from Dylan Reidmiller and Cole Woodward and never looked back. They took that lead into the third period until Hunter Sprague added a third goal.  Jack McCarthy put it away with an empty netter making it a 4-0 final score. Sammy Calletto was awarded two shutout pucks for the tournament and Hunter Sprague picked up a playmaker puck with three assists in the championship game.

In a tightly fought battle, Batavia Notre Dame United picked up a quarterfinals Section V win on Thursday over Brighton/HFL, 4-2.

Jameson Motyka led the way with a hat trick, scoring two goals in the second period (both with assists from Ivan Milovidov, and one on a power play), and then the icing on the cake at the 10:39 mark in the third period with an assist from Cooper Hamilton.

Brady Johnson also scored an unassisted goal in the second period.

United had 30 shots on goal.

Goalie Rhys Tanner blocked 16 shots.

United is the #3 seed in the tournament and plays #2 seed Victor in the semifinal on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the Rochester Ice Arena.

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

The Empire State Winter Games Torch Relay passed through Batavia on Tuesday, with a visit to the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arenda during a Ramparts practice.

One of the Ramparts coaches, Mark Kuntz, carried the torch around the rink and Rampart players skated along with him.

This is the second year the torch has been brought to The McCarthy.

Batavia Notre Dame United posted a pair of wins over the weekend, beating Canandaigua 5-1 on Friday and Webster Thomas 4-2 on Saturday.

In Friday's game: 

Period 1

• Canandaigua Academy - DJ Spychalski (Josh Barnes) 9:24

Period 2

• Batavia Notre Dame United - Ivan Milovidov (power play) (Cooper Hamilton, Alex Johnson) 0:07

Period 3

• Batavia Notre Dame United - Brady Johnson (Ivan Milovidov, Jameson Motyka) 2:47
• Batavia Notre Dame United - Jameson Motyka (Ronin Hofmaster) 7:42
• Batavia Notre Dame United - Jameson Motyka (Ivan Milovidov) 10:54
• Batavia Notre Dame United - Cooper Hamilton (power play) (Ronin Hofmaster, Brady Johnson) 12:46

In Saturday's Game:

Period 1

• Batavia Notre Dame United - Jameson Motyka (Brady Johnson, Ivan Milovidov) 3:27

Period 2

• Webster Thomas - Jason Tucker (Greg VanHeusen) 9:49
• Batavia Notre Dame United - Ivan Milovidov (Ronin Hofmaster, Jameson Motyka) 10:54

Period 3

• Batavia Notre Dame United - Jameson Motyka (Noah Whitcombe, Brady Johnson) 2:04
• Webster Thomas - Brady Hall (Evan Shaw) 10:02
• Batavia Notre Dame United - Cooper Hamilton (Brady Johnson) 16:37

“We had a solid weekend," said Head Coach Marc Staley. "The Power Play went 2 for 6.  The penalty kill was a perfect 4 for 4.   We got some great defensive play and excellent goaltending.  That’s the formula we need to win the big games down the stretch

“With only 4 games remaining before sectionals, it’s important that we are continuing to gel as a team," Staley continued. "I don’t think these kids have peaked yet.  They are continuing to improve -- individually and as a unit”.

BND United will next face the Portside Royals (Spencerport/Brockport) on Tuesday Night at 5 p.m. at SUNY Brockport.

BND is now 12-4 on the season.

Photos by Steve Ognibene Photos are from Friday's game To view or purchase photos, click here.

Press release:

The Genesee Amateur Hockey Association will host at The David McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena on Evans Street on Saturday, Feb, 25,  a USA Try Hockey For Free clinic as part of  USA Hockey  Week  Across  America.  Starting at 11:40 a.m. to 12:50 p.m., local youth, ages 4 to 9, are welcome at the rink to experience getting on the ice, learning how to “skate”, getting up after falling, basic skills with a hockey stick and shooting punks into a hockey net (all by being guided by the head coach and on-ice helpers).

“We look forward to welcoming families to the David McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena to try our great sport of ice hockey,” said Sharon Gray, Coordinator of the “Try Hockey for Free” event.  “Our goal is for these families to enjoy watching their kids learn new skills with big smiles on their faces.”

The head coach for the event is Erik Triftshauser, along with Fred Hamilton – both with more than 30 years on the ice plus starting out as GAHA players, high school players and GAHA coaches over the years.  Their on-ice helpers are mostly from this year’s United high school teams, along with the coaches’ sons.

The event is hosted by the USA Try Hockey for Free Coordinators – Sharon and Bob Gray, and the GAHA Beginner Program Player Coordinator – Marcia Barnes.  It is the team’s goal to provide the hockey experience to area youngsters free of charge and to encourage them to enroll in October to become a player in the GAHA Beginner Program, which starts the first week of October.  The Beginner Program consists of two sessions (October to December and January to March) with a total of 15 on-ice hours per session.

All the participants need is a helmet (hockey or bike) and winter gloves.   Skates are available at the rink if needed and will be provided FREE by the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena Management Team.

USA Hockey’s Try Hockey program, with the support of the National Hockey League and NHL member clubs, among others, is designed to provide youth hockey associations with a national platform for introducing children to the sport, free of charge. 

Batavia police officers and Batavia firefighters battled for supremacy on the ice on Sunday at the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena in a first-ever charity game between the two departments.

Batavia PD came out on top, 5-2.

Proceeds benefited the David M. McCarthy Memorial Foundation.

Photos by Philip Casper.

Press release:

This Sunday, Jan. 8, at 6:30 p.m., the City of Batavia Police Department and Fire Department are squaring off for a hockey match-up. 

The two agencies have battled it out on the softball diamond in years past. 

The game will take place at the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena. 

The board of directors at the ice rink has gone above and beyond to make this event both successful and memorable.

Robbie Nichols (owner of the Batavia Muckdogs) brought this idea to both departments.  Nichols hosted similar events in Binghamton.  Marc Witt (employed by Nichols and the Muckdogs) has taken lead on organizing the game. 

The doors at the ice rink will open at 5:30 p.m.  Patrons will be welcomed by some high-energy music to set the tone for the evening.   The teams will take the ice for warm-ups around 5:50 p.m.

At around 6:30 p.m., the show starts.  Team introductions will have all patrons on their feet.  The National Anthem is being played by Miles Meyer on electric guitar.  Puck drop is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., directly after the ceremonial puck drop. 

The ice rink secured a one-day liquor license and will be stocked with your favorite food/beverages.  The night will include 50/50 drawings.  Staff is still trying to work out the logistics of the fan favorite “chuck a puck.”  The Batavia Rampart Mite Teams will keep fans entertained by playing during intermissions. 

All proceeds will benefit the David McCarthy Memorial foundation.    

Submitted photo.

Batavia Notre Dame United captures the David McCarthy Memorial Hockey Tournament with a 6-5 victory over Section VI powerhouse Niagara Wheatfield.  

United found themselves in unfamiliar territory early in the second period trailing 3-1.

“We were playing well. We just needed to stick with it and stay positive," said Head Coach Marc Staley. "They are a great team. We knew this would be a battle.”

BND rattled off four goals in the second period, flipping the lead in the game from down by one to up by one.

“Our PowerPlay has been so strong this year," Staley said. "They took a few undisciplined penalties and made them pay”

BND went 4-6 on the PowerPlay during the game.

BND was only called for three minor penalties in the game and outshot NW 41-22.  

"This was a great night for the program," Staley said. "Winning your home tournament is always fun, but beating one of Section VI’s top teams in the meantime gives a nice confidence boost moving forward”

Now onto the next challenge.

Next, United takes on 2022 Section V Class A Champion Victor (7-1) on Friday night at the Rochester Ice Center.  

“This is the schedule we want," Staley said. "We want to play the top teams and see how we stack up.  Taking care of Bethlehem (8-0) from Section II, now beating Niagara Wheatfield (7-1-1) from Section VI, now another huge test with Section V’s best, Victor.

“The kids are hungry," he added. "They are focused.  And I love that they aren’t content.  We are still getting better.  I know we have another level up from here.  Our biggest tests are still in front of us.  We are building nicely towards those games”

Photos by Erin Staley.

Story based on submission by BND  

BND started slow, but gained stream as the game went on exploding for six goals in 30 minutes to completely erase a 2–0 deficit after the first period.

"This was the first time all season we were trailing at the end of the first period, and we were down by two," said Head Coach Marc Staley. "But the kids did a really nice job gathering themselves and starting fresh in the second period.”

United scored four goals in the first eight minutes of the second period to go from down by two, two up by two.

“Executing on the power play like we did there in a second period gave us a huge boost," Staley said. "We are going to be a difficult team to beat if teams are going to take penalties against us.”

The Storm were called for three penalties in the early portion of the 2nd period, and BND capitalized on all three.  

Senior Cooper Hamilton scored on the power play only 29 seconds into the period, followed by another power-play goal from sophomore Brady Johnson.  A mere five minutes later, Junior forward Joe DiRisio buried a rebound and made it three power-play goals on three chances.

“Specialty teams are huge in hockey nowadays," Staley said. "We converted three of our four chances on the power play, and we killed off all five of the penalties called against us. I thought the kids did a great job executing in the big moments.”

Junior goaltender Frankie Falleti made 21 stops on 24 shots against. Also scoring for BND was sophomore Ivan Milovidov, sophomore Jameson Motyka, and sophomore Brady Carney, who registered his first ever Varsity goal. 

Senior, Ronin Hofmaster linished with three assists on the evening.

Junior, Defensman, O’Rian Lama chipped in two assists as well.

United out shot the Storm during the game 37 to 25.

“Greece has an excellent program and they are a huge school district," Staley said.  "All four of their high schools combine to create one varsity team. I’m really proud of our kids for going into their home barn and coming away with a victory. This is the bounce back we needed after the loss to McQuaid, and hopefully this gives us some nice momentum heading into “The McCarthy” this weekend”

BND United will be hosting the annual David McCarthy Christmas Tournament on Friday and Saturday.  Iroquois/Alden (4-1) will face off against Niagara/Wheatfield (5-0) at 6 p.m. on Friday evening. Following this game BND (4-1) will take on WFL Geneva (0-3) at 8 p.m.  The consolation game will take place at noon on Saturday, with the championship game scheduled to face off at 3 p.m.

United won the Tournament last year fending off a tough Webster Schroeder squad 5-4.  

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

United carried a 2 - 1 lead into the third against McQuaid on Friday night but were unable to hang on for the victory at The McCarthy. 

Scoring for United were sophomores Jameson Motyka, and Ivan Milovidov. 

Goaltender Frankie Falleti made 21 saves on 24 shots.

McQuaid tied the game with just under nine minutes to play, knocking in a rebound goal to level the score at 2.  With only four minutes to play in the game, they struck again to take the lead, and eventually added an empty net goal to seal the game at 4-2.

Shots in the contest were virtually level at 25-24, with a slight advantage for McQuaid. 

BND was a perfect 4-4 on the penalty kill but was 0-2 on the Powerplay. 

“This is a good lesson for us early in the season," said Head Coach Marc Staley. "Against these top teams, all it takes is one or two mental mistakes, and they will punish you. We are learning.  3-1 through 4 games is not too bad.  But we were 8 minutes away from 4-0, with 2 huge wins on the road against state-ranked teams, that’s where the disappointment comes from.  But the good news is I don’t think I saw anybody handing any trophies out after the game last night. Our biggest games are still in front of us, this is going to make us better.”

BND will have Saturday and Sunday to rest, before returning to the ice for practice on Monday. 

“We have another tough test playing against Greece next Tuesday night at Lakeshore rinks in Rochester," Staley said. "Then we are very much looking forward to hosting the annual David McCarthy Memorial Christmas Tournament at our home rink next weekend.”

On Friday, Dec. 16, Iroquois Central (3-1) will face off against Niagara Wheatfield (4-0) at 6 p.m to kickoff the tournament. 

United (3-1) will face WFL Geneva (0-2) at 8 p.m.  The consolation game will be played at noon on Saturday, with the championship game set for 3 p.m. 

A special number-retiring ceremony will take place at 2:30 p.m. prior to the championship game.  Former captain David McCarthy’s #6 will be officially retired and hung in the arena.  Many of David’s family, friends, teammates, and coaches will be in attendance. 

“It’s going to be a very special and emotional afternoon, no doubt," Staley said. "Aside from Dave being a wonderful hockey player, and a great captain, he was a beloved son, brother, husband, and father to three amazing children.  He was a dear friend to my brother Jack and I, and this is something I’m honestly not looking forward to doing.  But it’s time to officially bring him back home.”  

Sharon Valyear-Gray wanted to make one thing clear: if you're in need of hockey equipment, Friends of the Rink may be able to help.

The nonprofit has six containers and then some of used goods, from skates and helmets to shoulder pads.

What she also wants to make clear -- similar to the sheen on the ice rink at David M. McCarthy ice arena -- is that these goods are available to kids in need to help them enjoy the sport. 

Friends of the Rink has brought back the used equipment and skate collection with the sole purpose to "help make the sport of hockey more accessible to local families," the group states.

After a free trial session, called Try Hockey For Free, Genesee Amateur Hockey Association introduces families to its beginner program of 15 sessions (from October to December) and again from January to March.  This program is sponsored by Batavia's Tim Horton franchise. Thanks to access to free used equipment and skates, "we can help out the families from the initial purchase of hockey equipment and skates," Valyear-Gray said.

"There is always the anxiety of spending that money and then the youngster becomes disinterested," she said. "Now, once again, we have a collection of gently used equipment and skates totally free of charge to ease that financial burden."

GAHA families have generously been donating items after their own children grow out of the items, she said, which include hockey pants, shoulder and elbow pads, gloves and skates. Supplies of helmets are limited, as they are date-coded with a five-year lifespan. Items are stored in metal bins at the end of the bleachers in the arena. 

"Families are welcome to help themselves to needed items," she said, or for assistance, call her at (585) 344-2248 or email svgray@rochester.rr.com.

To donate helmets with the code and date within five years old or less, or other clean ice hockey equipment, drop it off in a bin between the two entry doors. Donations are always welcome and needed as well, she said.

i

Top Photo: Sharon Valyear-Gray of Friends of the Rink shows the shelves of ice hockey items, above, available for free at the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena on Evans Street, Batavia. Photos by Howard Owens.

Batavia United got its season off to a fast start on Tuesday, scoring three goals in the first period on its way to a 6-1 win over the WFL-Geneva Panthers.

The first goal came at 2:02 on a power play with Jameson Motyka and Brady Johnson feeding  Cooper Hamilton.

Later in the quarter, both Motyka and Ronin Hofmaster would score with assists from Hamilton and Jake Hutchins.

Brady Johnson, Motyka assist, scored in the second period.

Motyka scored on another power play in the third period with assists from Hofmaster and Johnson. 

The Panthers scored their lone goal at 7:34 in the third period and Hofmaster capped off the scoring at 12:06 with an assist from Hutchins.

Goalie Thys Tanner blocked 15 of the 16 shots sent his way.

“All in all, not a bad effort from the squad," said Head Coach Marc Staley. "It’s early in the season, so we are trying to gel as a team and get everybody on the same page. Not sure we have found our identity yet.  We’ve only had 10 practices together due to the storm, and the Thanksgiving holiday. And only two times did we have all of our players on the ice together.   We will learn from this game and get better.  We have a rather large test in front of us this weekend with back-to-back games against Starpoint, and Hamburg, two very strong Section VI teams.  We’re jumping right into the deep end.”

United plays Starpoint at the Northtowne Center in Buffalo on Friday at 5:30pm.  The team faces Hamburg at home at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Submitted photo.

Hockey players in Batavia have a new learning tool, one that Marc Staley, head coach of Batavia United, said will help younger players improve their technique and help the high school team get more proficient in its play.

Batavia Rotary Club gave a gift of a computer and large-screen monitor for players and coaches to review practices and games at the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena.

"It's an amazing gift by Rotary," Staley said. "It's obviously a pretty expensive piece of equipment, but it puts our local organization and certainly our high school program on par with anyone now in terms of having technology and ability to help these kids develop."

Staley said he's hoping youth coaches will use it to help members of their squads improve how they skate as hockey players.

"It's more technical -- how does your stride look? How's your head position, your knee, bend of your stick?" Staley said. "I mean, all those things when they can see themselves, it's a really impactful teaching tool than just telling a kid, you got to bend your knees, they don't get it, right? So this is something that right after practice, coaches can come off the ice and say, This is what I was talking about. So that's awesome."

For the high school team, which is used to reviewing a lot of film anyway, they now have a location right at their practice site to do it so the review is better synchronized with the practice.

"In particular, where we might run the power play for a couple of minutes then bring them right off, let them watch immediately what they did," Staley said. "Here's where you could have more poise. Here's the back door that's open. Here's where we need more movement. And then they get back on the ice and it can happen in some training. It just speeds up that learning curve for kids instead of waiting two days later when we can get the guy to the high school and they go, 'oh yeah, I remember that.'"

Photo: Marc Staley, head coach of Batavia United, Marlin Salmon, Batavia Rotary Club president, and John Kirkwood, assistant coach. Photo by Howard Owens.

Press release:

This coming Sunday at Amalie Ice Arena in Tampa FL, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Will and Paul Barton, two brothers Batavia born and raised will be taking the ice in the Sk8 to Eliminate Cancer 3v3 Ice Hockey Tournament. All players who’ve entered the tournament are raising money for the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation – an organization dedicated to changing the future of cancer by funding advanced, innovative research that treats the cancer while sparing the patient

The Barton boys both played for the Batavia Ice Devils and Batavia Ramparts growing up. The two brothers are the only sons of the late local businessman and husband, Batavian born and raised Bill Barton, who passed away on Oct. 14, 2020, after living with Multiple Myeloma for 13 years.

Bill volunteered as a coach and fundraising for the Ice Devils and Ramparts when his sons were playing in the early aughts, and was a fixture down at the Royal Rink (David McCarthy Ice Arena) at all of both his son’s games. He loved everything about the game, especially the people and life-long friendships that were forged on those teams growing up.

Reached for comment, Will and Paul offered the following statement:

“Unfortunately, with cancer, everyone knows someone in their family or friend circle that has been directly impacted by this terrible disease. Our father lived to be 63, is gone too soon and is dearly missed – but so often, tragically, cancer happens to young people. We were lucky. Teenagers, children, cancer doesn’t discriminate by age. This is the truly tragic nature of this disease, and this is why it’s so important to support organizations like Scott Hamilton CARES, people working on solutions.

When we found out about the Sk8 to Eliminate Cancer tournament in Tampa being held near two years to the date we lost our Dad, there wasn’t much back and forth, we knew it was time to lace up the skates and pay tribute to our father and everyone who has lived with cancer by doing what he loved to watch us do most, playing hockey.

We want to express our love and gratitude to everyone who has supported our fundraiser to this point, we’re currently in 1st place…and with the continued support of our fellow Batavians, we’re confident we’ll make our hometown proud and finish in first place…in fundraising. In the tournament play…well we’re playing in the A/B division and we’re getting near 40, so we make no guarantees…but hey we’re gonna do our best and forget the rest!”

We are able to accept donations through this Sunday 10/23/22. We are asking for $25 donations, and are encouraging anyone who donates in honor or memory of a loved one from their own life to pay tribute in their comments.
 
Join the Fight, Donate and Support the Barton Boys and their team, the Gulf Coast Goons: https://fundraise.scottcares.org/tampa/Barton

Press release:

Genesee Amateur Hockey Association invites children to the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena on  Evans Street on Saturday, Nov. 5  for a Try Hockey For Free clinic as part of Hockey  Week  Across  America.  Starting at 11:40 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. local youth, ages 4 to 9, are encouraged to experience ice hockey for the first time and learn the basic skills in a fun, safe environment.

“We look forward to welcoming families to David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena to try our great sport of ice hockey,” said Sharon Gray, Coordinator of the Event.  “Our goal is for these families to enjoy watching their kids learn new skills with big smiles on their faces.”

USA Hockey’s Try Hockey program, with the support of the National Hockey League and NHL member clubs, among others, is designed to provide youth hockey associations with a national platform for introducing children to the sport, free of charge. 

All your youngster needs is a helmet (bike or sports) and winter gloves.  Skates are available at the Rink free of charge (due to  the generous offering of the Batavia Sports Facility Management LLC).  The GAHA organization does have some used hockey helmets available for the event as well as a few hockey sticks.

Players in attendance will be given a free hockey jersey to take home.

To register for this Try Hockey For Free event, please visit

www.TryHockeyForFree.com     (Use zip code 14020)

Photo: File photo by Howard Owens from 2015. Brian Gildner teaches his daughter Nora, then 3, how to shoot a puck.

Marc Staley and John Kirkwood, representing Notre Dame and Batavia high schools, respectively, made a pitch — or more accurately, a shot attempt — Monday to the city school board to establish a modified hockey team.

After noticing the number of younger students not qualified for Varsity or Junior Varsity teams, the coaches agreed that there would be enough students for a modified program, they said.

"And we can incorporate these kids already into our summer lifting program into the platform app, and also in our GroupMe app, in which we communicate with them … just to really let the kids know like, even though they're not necessarily in the program right now, that we're aware of them, we want to help start developing them,” Staley said. “And we've seen just tremendous participation from seventh and eighth graders all summer long. Now, I know they're a little younger, they don't have summer jobs and stuff like that, like some of the older kids do. But the numbers really would support a modified program.”

They had originally tallied 16 players and then found two more, a goaltender and a girl hockey player, which lends well to prep for the fastest growing collegiate sport in the country, he said, of women’s hockey.

A fee of $1,800 to cover games and referees would amount to about $100 per athlete, Staley said, not including transportation. A modified program would not compete with youth hockey, though it does “bump up against spring season,” he said.

“We don’t think it’s going to cause much of a problem with schedules,” he said.

Modified teams have one color, and this one would likely be either royal blue or white. The cost of those would be covered by the hockey boosters, he said.

There are 14 modified teams that play in Buffalo, and none in Rochester, he said. There would need to be some practices before they go and play, he said, so “there would be some expense there … less than $1,000.”

Notre Dame would share the cost, and “everything is broken down by kid,” Staley said. Eighth-graders are eligible to try out for junior varsity, however, they must pass a fitness test to do so, Kirkwood said.

“And we don't want to get in a situation where we have an eighth grader who either doesn't pass the test or may not be ready physically for the physicality of a JV team. So to have this option softens the level of effort kids who may not make the JV as an eighth grader but may be a great player,” he said. “So we're trying to mirror some of the most successful programs that are here and saying is this something that we can offer? The only other additional expense would be, maybe before these kids are all going to be in shape, they're going to just play a full hockey season. And they're going to be I think excited to come together for like a little mini-season.”

There are no more league fees, Staley said, which saves thousands of dollars, and “we run a gate now,” which should total $10,000 of admission coming into the program. They have fundraisers for those “soft goods” of gloves, shells and similar needed accessories, and have emphasized the idea of community service, Staley said. Of the 41 kids in Varsity and Junior Varsity, 28 worked at least three hours each at the annual Crossroads garage sale, loading and unloading merchandise.

“I’m a firm believer that, (and tells the kids) if you want the community to come to your games, you better get out there,” he said.

This past year students put in a collective 400 hours of service, “and counting,” he said. He and Kirkwood, a city school district teacher, have challenged the kids to reach 1,000 hours next year. It goes hand-in-hand with playing sports, which would be enhanced by a modified team, he said.

“We think this will be a great step in the right direction, and really give these young kids something to get excited about,” he said.

In his written proposal to the board, Staley offered to be coach of the "United Mod Squad" program without any compensation, as he feels it is part of his role as head coach of the United hockey program. Modified games would be played at Harbor Centre in Buffalo, and go from March 6 through April 23, 2023.

The puck apparently slid into the net. Board members John Marucci, Alice Benedict, Jean Lendvay, Barbara Bowman, Chezeray Rolle, John Reigle, and Korinne Anderson unanimously approved the request.

Photo: John Kirkwood, left, and Marc Staley present their plan to establish a modified hockey program for Batavia City Schools and Notre Dame High School. Photo by Joanne Beck.