hockey

Claire Pfalzer describes her husband Andrew as "hockey crazy." For the past six years, he's had his own ice rink next to their home on Sliker Road in Pembroke.

Last year, it was cold enough to use the rink for only five or six days all winter.

This year's cold snap was well timed to allow the Pfalzers to invite all of their friends over for a daylong skate on Andrew's birthday. Andrew even has lights installed above the rink so the sun going down doesn't mean the end of hockey.

To purchase prints: These photos along with some others from the ice rink today (along with other Saturday photos) are in this gallery (click here).

Alexander High School has never had a hockey team, but starting this season, players there will get to play varsity level hockey for the first time.

Batavia HS is facing a shortage of varsity level players this year, so Alexander and Batavia will come together to form the Batavia/Alexander Ice Devils.

Batavia Athletic Director Mike Bromley said when school officials realized there would be a shortage of players this year, the school held a meeting with the parents of hockey players and the parents took the initiative to get the puck rolling on a possible merger with Alexander.

Once the idea was raised, things came together pretty quickly, Bromley said.

"Several students (in Alexander) expressed an interest," Bromley said. "We expect that anywhere from five to 10 students may try out."

The problem the Ice Devils faced, Bromley said, is that several seniors graduated after last season and then three varsity players elected to play in another, more advanced, hockey league.

That left Batavia not only with fewer players but also with a team of mostly ninth- and 10th-graders.

"There's a lot of hitting in hockey," Bromley said. "Hockey can be just as tough physically as football, but where you play only one game a week in football, with hockey sometimes you play two or three games a week, and trying to play ninth- and 10th-graders out there could be tough."

For Alexander, the opportunity is welcome by administrators, parents and players alike, said Athletic Director Ben Whitmore.

"All of these kids play together in youth leagues and they always dreamed of playing high school hockey, so to be able to give them that chance is very exciting," Whitmore said.

The Pellegrino Auto Sales White Lightning are the 2012 Batavia Men's Hockey League champions after beating the Alabama Hotel Ducks this morning, 6-3.

Goalie Scott Fauth was the game's MVP.

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Genesee County will be well represented in the 8th Annual Scotty Bowman Showcase, a hockey tournament sponsored by the Buffalo Sabres, with five local players making the junior and senior squads.

Named to the teams are three players from Notre Dame High School-- Zach Blew, Tyler Kessler and Brett Perfitt -- and two from Batavia HS -- Tom Grammatico and Josh Marr.

The games will be played March 20 at First Niagara Center. Tickets for the event are $5.

The first game begins at 6 p.m. and pits all-star squads from Buffalo and Rochester made up of players in their junior year of high school.

The senior game is at 7:30 p.m. and the winner of that match will be awarded the Bowman Cup. Buffalo has a 6-1 advantage in the tournament.

All five Batavia-area players will be on the Rochester teams.

Scotty Bowman, a former head coach, notched more NHL wins than any coach in history. The coach will be on hand to present the Bowman Cup to the winning team.

Notre Dame Head Coach was also named a Bowman team coach.

Playing a number-two seed with a reputation for getting physical and skating fast, Notre Dame Head Coach Marc Staley had a plan: Bottle up the neutral zone and force Churchville-Chili to pass.

"We forced them to dump the puck," Staley said. "They don’t want to dump the puck and grind it out. They want to score on the rush and use their speed. We took their speed out of it."

For three periods, the eight-seeded Fighting Irish skated as a team, and when they got power play opportunities in the third period, they made the most of it, turning a 1-1 tie into a 4-2 victory and a Class B Section V crown.

Josh Johnston scored all three third-period goals, giving him seven total for the post-season, and securing the game's MVP trophy.

"We came in thinking, 'we’re not the underdogs,' " Johnston said. "Clearly, seeding-wise we were, but we just stuck together as a family and played together as hard as we could."

Three post-season wins have moved the once break-even Irish to 11-8-3 and a chance to play for a regional title.

"Nobody thought much of us three or four weeks ago, but we pulled this thing together," Staley said. "As we put one good game against another good game against another good game, these kids feel like a completely different team than they did three weeks ago. I’ve seen that transformation and it’s been very special to be a part of it."

The first goal in the game for Notre Dame came with 1:11 left in the second period on a shot by Zack Blew to tie the score at 1-1.

Johnston scored on a power play at 7:47 in the final period. Seconds after the next faceoff, Johnson scored again to make the score 3-1.

The nail in the coffin for the Saints (16-4-3) came with under two minutes left in the game, only 13 seconds after Churchville-Chili pulled into a point of a tie on a goal by Dan Kuter.

Tyler Kessler zipped a pass to Johnston who was skating just ahead of his defender giving him a one-on-one match with goalie Dylan Niewiemski.

Johnston faked to his left, and then flipped the puck from his right past the outstretched glove of Niewiemski, giving Johnston the hat trick and putting the game pretty much out of reach with time quickly winding down.

"We've been practicing that blow-out play," Staley said. "We always like to run this play right after a big emotional play because you tend to have a let down. They scored that one goal, we called that play, Kessler picks it up, hits Hosh and we go right back after them.

"Sometimes the best defense is to throw another punch," Staley added.

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The Fighting Irish won! The Notre Dame Boys Hockey Team beat Churchville this afternoon 4 to 2 to nab the Section V championship. Josh Johnston scored three goals.

The Fighting Irish just won their semi-final hockey game, played at Monroe Community College, against Irondequoit by a score of 2-1.

Mason Versage shot the game-winning goal at 5:36 in overtime.

We're expecting to have a few pictures and more information available later, hopefully tonight.

UPDATE 11:32 p.m.: Received a message from Coach Marc Staley. This is the third time in 20 years Notre Dame hockey advances to the Section V title game, which will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at RIT against Churchville-Chili.  This will be the first time in Section V hockey history that the #8 seed has made it to the finals. "Cinderella still has the slippers on!" Staley said.

UPDATE 11:52 p.m.: Photo added, Versage scores the winning goal. Photo by Bare Antolos.

(Second and fourth photos above by Bare Antolos)

The Brockport Blue Devils Ice Hockey Team came into the Section V playoffs as the number-one seed, and were stunned Saturday night in an overtime loss to number-eight seed, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

So stunned, that as Irish players skated toward the victory celebration one Brockport player gave a Notre Dame player a shove and another started yelling and gesturing toward cheering Le Roy fans.

"I think I'm about one of 30 people in the world that's not surprised by this (victory)," said Coach Marc Staley after the game. "In the playoffs, it's all about momentum and we've really been building the past three or four weeks with this team."

Josh Johnston, who had two goals in the night, slipped passed defenders with a pass from Mason Versage and flipped the puck over the glove of Brockport's goalie Justin Keene at 1:03 into overtime to give Norte Dame (9-8-3-1) a 4-3 victory.

Brockport (16-3-2) jumped to a quick 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Carlos Ross and Tyler Hill, but Notre Dame also scored two first-period goals, one by Johnston and the second by Versage on a penalty shot.

"This is the fifth time this season we’ve come back from a two-goal deficit, so the kids didn’t panic," Staley said. "I’m very proud of them for that. We just went about the game plan."

Brockport took the lead at 3-2 in the second period, but Notre Dame continued to skate tough and held the Blue Devils in check until Zach Blew managed to tap in a goal at 8:15 left in the third period to tie the score and set the stage for overtime.

"We played better as team and ran our systems better in the game than they did," Staley said. "That ultimately was the difference."

Being number one seed kind of worked against Brockport, Staley suggested.

"They were off for 10 days," Staley said. "They got a bye and sometimes that hurts you. You get a little flat. I think we took advantage of that layoff they had tonight."

This isn't the first time Notre Dame has entered the playoffs as the number-eight seed and still managed an upset victory.

"The last time Notre Dame was the eight seed was five years ago and we upset Canandaigua, which was the number-one seed at the time," Staley said. "We’re developing a little bit of a reputation as a giant killer."

Next up for Notre Dame, number-five seed Irondequoit, who beat the four seed, Canandaigua, on Friday, 6-4.

The hopes of a Batavia vs. Notre Dame final were dashed in Webster last night when the Blue Devils dropped their playoff game to Webster, 2-0.

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One year ago, then-Board of Education President Andy Pedro proposed a resolution creating a review committee for all city school field trips, with the hope of instating some sort of moratorium or strict criteria for all trips. Pedro was looking ahead to the dark days under a possible property tax cap, and thinking creatively on how to save money with cuts to non-mandated programs.

The resolution passed, and the committee was formed.

That committee has not met one time since. But its vision was realized Monday night, as the board voted 5-2 to deny the Batavia High School hockey team its annual trip to play in an out-of-area tournament.

“It’s got nothing to do with the hockey program, nothing personal against hockey,” Pedro said. “My opinion was no field trips, period.”

But what will make the ruling frustrating for players, parents and coaches is that the trip would not have cost the district a dime. All of the money was raised by the players and the Hockey Boosters club, to completely fund the cost of the tournament.

“If these organizations are raising this kind of money…our district is in a tough financial situation right now, and it’d be nice if that money could help alleviate the pain the district is feeling,” Pedro said.

In other words: have the sports teams at least partially pay for themselves.

Senior Board Member Patrick Burk echoed that sentiment.

“We’ve been given a directive to cut all of our interscholastic athletics, as well as clubs and activities for students, by a large amount,” Burk said. “When you’re looking at sports…in order for (them) to even be in the district next year, they may have to raise this amount of money just to save their program.”

Burk noted that imposing “pay-to-play” restrictions on high school athletes is illegal in New York. But, it’s not illegal to have a sports boosters' club raise the money to fund a program. Burk pointed to the Elba Central School District, which cut football out of its budget in the middle of the last decade. A football boosters club was able to adequately fundraise and save the program that year.

“At some point, somebody’s got to be the ‘bad guy,’” Burk told his colleagues, or all sports and other extracurriculars could suddenly disappear simply because they’re not mandated.

The two board members voting to approve the hockey team trip were Amy Barone and Steve Mountain. Mountain saw no reason to deny the kids a trip they’d worked toward throughout the year.

“To me, it’s giving the kids the opportunity to do what they want to do,” he said. “I think that they deserve the opportunity to go.” But he also expressed that he never hears much feedback from area parents, which may have skewed his decision.

Pedro says he does hear a lot of feedback from parents, who say enough is enough when it comes to fundraising.

“I had two kids who played sports all through high school, and the fundraising just gets out of control,” Pedro said. “I think (the hockey team) can accomplish what they need to accomplish by staying in our area, playing competitive teams.”

PHOTOS: inset top, Patrick Burk; inset bottom, Amy Barone, left, and Steve Mountain.

Connecticut got a chip shot 40 seconds into the championship game in Portland, Maine, this afternoon and the Batavia Ramparts spent nearly all of three periods chasing the lead.

The Ramparts lost 3-0.

Goal two for Connecticut was a rebound off the goalie, said coach John Zola.

Goal three came on an empty net play at the end of the game.

"Everyone played their heart out," Zola said. "Both teams played very, very hard."

The coach said he doesn't believe a Batavia team has ever advanced as far as the Ramparts did this season. At the age level of the Ramparts, the northeast regional championship would have been as far as they could have advanced.

Shawn Beachy and Ken Beachy led the Beachy Cabinet Maker Wild to a 3-1 championship win over Genesee Orthopedic Blues on Sunday morning.

Both Beachys scored goals, with Shawn picking up two assists and his father Ken getting one.

Ryan DiFilippo also scored for the wild.

The Wild's third goal came with less than a minute into the game when the Blues emptied their goal to put an extra offensive player on the ice.

Dave Holtz, with no assist, scored the Blues only goal.

Blues goalie Jason Molino faced 27 shots and Wild goalie Scott Fauth faced 32.

Molino was named the game's 3rd star, Fauth, 2nd star and Ken Beachy was named MVP.

In the consolation game, Batavia Legal Printing Sharks beat the
Kelly's Holland Inn Stars 7-5.

For the Sharks, Jeff Reuter and Dan Hudson each scored three goals  
and Andy Pfalzer had one.

For the Stars, Nick Bush, Dave Bogue, T.J. Peca, Nick Martell and Cal Rice scored one goal each.

Top photo, Ken Beachy hoists the championship trophy. Third photo, Wild goalie Scott Fauth snags a shot. Bottom photo, Ken and Shawn Beachy.

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More pictures after the jump:

After a big 6-0 win in their semifinal playoff game against the number one Massachusetts, the Batavia Ramparts will play for the northeast championship at 3:30 p.m.

The games are being played in Portland, Maine.

The Ramparts didn't score their first goal until the second period on a power play, with Cam Chamberlain making the shot with an assist from Richie Francis.

Mason Versage scored next on a power play with an assist from Chris Walker.

In the third period, Francis scored with assists from Kris Bank and John Sallome.

Point four came on a power-play goal by Joey Saraceni with assists from Versage and Francis.

Versage notched his second goal with assists from Francis and Bank.

The final goal was put in the net by Bank unassisted.

That was Bank's second goal of the year. Overall, Bank, a defensive player, was involved in three points in the game.

The Batavia Ramparts won two games in Portland, Maine, today and will play a semi-final game Sunday in a northeast regional hockey tournament.

If the Ramparts can win Sunday morning, they will play a regional championship game in the afternoon.

The Ramparts beat the Massachusetts team 8-0 on Saturday morning and beat New Hampshire 2-1 in afternoon play.

In game one, Joey Saraceni scored twice as did Will VanAuken. VanAuken had two assists and Saraceni. 

Also scoring were Zack Laird, Richie Francis, Sean Olin, Jack Simpson. Olin, and goalie Tyler Stroud each had an assist.

The Ramparts out shot their opponents 28-18.

In game two, Mason Versage scored first with an assist from Francis, who also knocked in the game-winning goal with an assist from Zach Laird.

The Batavia Ramparts won their first round game this afternoon against the host Maine Huskies in a championship tournament under way at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.

The Ramparts, who out shot the Huskies 30-9, won 4-2.

The Huskies scored a late goal, according to John Zola.

Richie Francis notched a hat trick and Joey Saraceni added another goal and had an assist. Will VanAuken had two assists.

Tomorrow, the Ramparts play two games -- one each against the teams for Massachusetts and New Hampshire. If they make it into the top two seeds of their bracket, they'll play a semi-final game Sunday morning. The championship game is Sunday afternoon.

Sunday morning, four teams from Batavia's Adult Hockey League met in two playoff games.

The Beachy Cabinet Maker "Wild" and The Genesee Orthopaedic "Blues" won their games and will now face each other for the league championship this Sunday.

Below are details of the games provided by Charles Mahler.

7 a.m.: The Beachy Cabinet Maker "Wild" vs. The Kelly Holland Inn "Stars." The Wild defeats the Stars 9-3 with the winner advancing to the championship game.

Scoring for the Wild: Todd Meier 3 goals and Rich Baskin 3 goals (w/ the game winner), Shawn Beachy, Tom Antinore and Ryan Diflippo each 1 goal. Assists: Rich Pearson with 2, while 1 each to Todd Meier, Tom Antinore, Shawn Beachy and Ryan Diflippo. Scott Fauth was in net facing 28 shots

Scoring for the Stars: Adam Luckenbach, Nick Martell and TJ Peca.     Assists: Nick Busch with 3, TJ Peca, Rick Piazza and Nick Martell with 1 each. John Grande was in net facing 27 shots

9 a.m.: The Genesee Orthopaedic "Blues" vs. The Batavia Legal Printing "Sharks." The Blues defeats the Sharks 6-3 advancing to the championship game.

Scoring for the Blues: Shawnee Oberholtzer with 2, Bill Kusmierski, Cory Stearns, Dave Holtz and Joe Mahler each having 1 goal with Mahler's being the game winner. Assists: Brian Schrader with 2, Greg Ames, Kevin Hamilton and Joe Mahler with 1 each. Jason Molino faced 24 shots in the win.

Scoring for the Sharks: Dan Reuter had a natural hat trick with 3 goals and the only assist going to Andy Pfalzer. Bill Hertel faced 25 shots in net.

Sunday March 20th at 7:30 a.m. will be the "Consolation Game" with the Sharks going against the Stars. At 9 a.m. the "Championship Game" with the Blues taking on the Wild.

Then on Sunday March 27 at 8 a.m. the "B-Line" All Star Game. Followed at 9:30 a.m. by the "A-Line" All-Star Game.

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Submitted by Pam Zola:

March 4 – 6, 2011 wasn’t an ordinary weekend for the Batavia Ramparts Bantam III team. Vying for a state title, the team traveled to the Onondaga Indian Reservation to play in the 2011 NYSAHA Championships. The team was led by Coach Duane Olin and Assistant Coaches John Zola and Jeff Bower and is sponsored by T. F. Brown’s.

In their first game during round robin play the team faced the Great Neck Bruins, the second seed out of the East. Winning with a score of 10 – 2, Batavia never looked back. Led by Captains Richard Francis and Sean Olin and Assistants Joe Saraceni and Will VanAuken, the team faced the number-one seed out of the North, The Norfolk-Norwood Icemen. 

Zachary Laird, John Sallome, Jake Bower, Tyler Andrews and Cameron Chamberlain as well as Goalie Tyler Stroud proved instrumental in the 6-2 win. The Cortland Flames faced Batavia in the last round robin game.  Playing well for the Ramparts were Jack Simpson, Tristan Aldinger and Julien Schimley as well as Kris Bank and Josh Preston. 

The 4 – 2 win propelled the Ramparts into the crossover game where they faced Canandaigua. Mason Versage, Kris Walker, Francis, Saraceni, Sallome and Laird led the team to the 6 – 1 win and put Batavia in the finals to once again face the Norfolk-Norwood Icemen.

With a 9 – 2 victory, the Batavia Ramparts Bantam III team won the State Championship – the first in 12 years for the organization. The team will travel to Portland, Maine March 18 – 20 for the Regional Tournament.

Area youngsters were able to get in a little hockey practice today on Harvester Avenue, where resident Kevin Hamilton built a small hockey rink. Hamilton, who coaches two youth hockey teams, said he constructed the rink out of a wood frame, a plastic sheet base and slowly builds up the ice over time, adding a little water over several days.