Ice Hockey 1/26/2005 12:00:00 AM Canisius College Athletics

Hockey To Battle For First Place Against Holy Cross

Canisius College Golden Griffins (10-11-3, 8-4-2 Atlantic Hockey) vs.
College of the Holy Cross Crusaders (11-7-4, 8-3-3 Atlantic Hockey)
January 28-29, 2005 - 7:30 p.m./4:00 p.m. Hart Center ? Worcester, Mass.

A Look At The Griffs Canisius returns to Atlantic Hockey action this weekend after dropping a pair of exhibition games to the U.S. National Team Development Program Under-18 squad at home last weekend. The Phil Kessel-led Team USA defeated the Griffs 7-1 and 4-2. In Friday's loss, seven disqualifications were assessed, with three of them to Canisius. Senior Fred Coccimiglio and freshmen Matt Ruberto and Greg Brown will miss Friday's game. The Blue and Gold are only one point behind this weekend's opponent, first-place Holy Cross. Freshman Joel Kitchen (13-7-20) leads the Griffs in scoring and is riding a four-game goal scoring streak. Senior goaltender Bryan Worosz currently ranks 24th nationally in goals against (2.42) and sixth in save percentage (.924). He is 10-7-3 overall and 8-3-2 in Atlantic Hockey action. In conference game only, Worosz ranks first in save percentage (.928) and second in goals against (2.33).
Scouting Holy Cross Holy Cross enters today's game with wins in eight of its last 11 games (8-2-1). The Crusaders fell in their last game, a 4-2 loss to Quinnipiac Saturday. Junior Pierre Napert-Frentte (8-14-22) leads the Crusaders in scoring, while junior Tyler McGregor posts a team-high 12 goals. Junior Tony Quesada is 6-4-3 on the season with a 2.43 GAA and a .916 save percentage. Head coach Paul Pearl is in his 10th season as head coach at Holy Cross. He has a career record of 149-131-27 behind the Crusaders' bench.

Series History vs. Holy Cross Canisius trails the all-time series with Holy Cross, 7-14-6, including a 4-2 loss to the Crusaders in Buffalo Jan. 15. Last year, Holy Cross took the season series 1-0-2, including a 2-2 draw in the Hart Center Feb. 7. The Griffs are 2-8-4 all-time against Holy Cross in Worcester. Canisius' last win against Holy Cross was a 3-2 victory on January 18, 2002 at the Hart Center.
Last Time Out BUFFALO, N.Y. ? With several NHL scouts in attendance, top prospect Phil Kessel proved his worth to the USA Hockey program, scoring a goal and adding two assists, as the US NTDP Under-18 Team defeated Canisius College 4-2 in front of 1,600 fans Saturday night at the Buffalo State Sports Arena. Kessel finished the weekend with two goals and six assists, giving his notice as a potential #1 overall draft pick to those in attendance. Canisius jumped to an early 1-0 lead at the 18:41 mark of the first period on an unassisted goal by David Ovcjak. Ovcjak's shot from the right point beat Team USA netminder Billy Blas? for the Griffs' first lead over the visitors. The lead would not last long however, as Team USA scored with 25 seconds remaining in the period on a power-play marker by Kessel, Team USA's leading scorer. Kessel snapped a shot from the slot past Canisius sophomore goalie Max Buetow to knot the game at a goal apiece after 20 minutes of action. For the second straight night, Team USA used an offensively potent second period to put away the Blue and Gold. Boston University-bound Jason Lawrence gave Team USA a 2-1 lead just 21 seconds into the period and Jack Skille, a University of Wisconsin recruit, extended the lead to 3-1 with a power-play tally at the 4:23 mark. Both goals coming through traffic from the slot in front of Buetow. The Griffs cut the deficit to 3-2 just 51 seconds into the final period on a power-play goal by sophomore Michael Cohen. Cohen took a pass from Bret Norris and beat Blas? from the left face-off circle on a 5-on-3 opportunity. Team USA restored the two-goal cushion at the 15:14 mark of the third period on their third power-play goal of the game, this time off the stick of University of Minnesota recruit Peter Mueller. Jack Johnson, heading to the University of Michigan next fall, finished the game with three assists for Team USA. Blas? posted 21 saves in the victory, while Buetow recorded 28 saves in the loss for the Griffs.

The Nation's Best On Nov. 22, InsideCollegeHockey.com named senior goaltender Bryan Worosz its National Player of the Week following Worosz's performance in the Griffs' weekend sweep of visiting Connecticut. Worosz posted a 30-save shutout in the 4-0 win over the Huskies Friday night and followed up with 36 more stops in Saturday's 5-1 win. The following day, Worosz was named the USCHO/ITECH Division I Defensive Player of the Week by the staff of USCHO.com.

Canisius Hockey... On The Air and On The Web Canisius College will broadcast a total of eight Golden Griffin ice hockey games during the 2004-05 season. All eight games can be heard live over the Internet at www.GoGriffs.com, while three games will be broadcast on CJRN 710 AM. Jay Moran will call the play-by-play for the radio broadcasts, while Joe Clifford will provide play-by-play for the internet broadcasts.

Remaining Games on Radio/Internet Date Opponent Time Medium 2-26 Bentley 7:00 pm Internet
All In The Family Several members of the 2004-05 Golden Griffins have interesting connections to the professional sports world. They include: Greg Brown - cousin of Jeff Jurek (played at Canisius in 1999-2000) Max Buetow - son of Bart “Mad Scientist” Buetow (played football for the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings and played football and hockey at Minnesota) Ryan Corcoran - nephew of Lou Nanne (player/coach/general manager with the Minnesota North Stars from 1968-78, captain of the U.S. Olympic Team in 1967-68 and inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998 and into the International Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004) Andrew Dawe - cousin of Jason Dawe (1991 second-round draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres, played with Buffalo, Montreal, and the New York Islanders and New York Rangers) son of Mike Dawe (played for Cornell University) Jon Durno - brother of Chris Durno (four-year letter winner for Michigan Tech) Jaymie Harrington - brother of Lance Harrington (member of 2001 NCAA Division III Ice Hockey National Champions at Norwich) Craig Nooyen - son of Paul Nooyen and nephew of Pete Nooyen (both played professional hockey in Holland) Jeremy Redquest - son of Greg Redquest (fourth-round selection of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1976 NHL Draft) Matt and Mike Ruberto - nephew of George Beveridge (selected 121st overall by the Minnesota North Stars in the eighth round of the 1973 NHL amateur draft) Tim Songin - son of Paul Songin (played defense for the University at Buffalo hockey team) cousin of Tom Songin (played right wing for the Boston Bruins) cousin of Ed “Butch” Songin (played quarterback for the Boston Patriots)

Home Sweet Home Enjoying a 45-22-13 record within the confines of Buffalo State Sports Arena over their six seasons, the Griffs are 3-4-2 at home this season. The Blue and Gold were 6-7-2 at home last season.
Three Times The Charm Canisius is 10-0-2 when scoring three or more in a game this season. The Griffs do not fare as well when scoring two goals or less, going 0-11-1 in those games.

Atlantic Hockey Honors Senior netminder Bryan Worosz earned his fourth conference award of the season, after being selected as the Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week after leading the Griffs to a three-point weekend against Mercyhurst. With 64 saves and stopping 29-of-30 shots on the power-play, Worosz lifted the Griffs to a 4-3 win and a 2-2 tie. Worosz earned his previous conference awards of the season, garnering Goaltender of the Week honors on Oct. 25 and Nov. 22, and Player of the Week honors on Nov. 15. Joining Worosz is sophomore Billy Irish-Baker who was named Player of the Week on Dec. 13, after scoring a pair of goals in the weekend series with Mercyhurst. Irish-Baker tallied the Griffs' first short-handed goal of the season as the Griffs reclaimed first place in Atlantic Hockey.

2004-05 Atlantic Hockey Tournament The 2004-05 Atlantic Hockey Championship begins March 8 with the #8/#9 Play-In Game at the #8 seed. The quarterfinals will be held March 12 at the home rink of the higher seed. The semifinals and championship will be held March 18 and 19 at the home rink of the highest remaining seed. This is the fifth year that the NCAA will grant an automatic berth to the winner of the conference championship into the NCAA Hockey Tournament.

2004-2005 Atlantic Hockey Standings http://www.collegehockeystats.com/0405/standings/atlantic 2004-2005 Overall Atlantic Hockey Statistics http://www.collegehockeystats.com/0405/overallstats/atlantic 2004-2005 Atlantic Hockey Conference Statistics http://www.collegehockeystats.com/0405/confstats/atlantic 2004-2005 Canisius Schedule/Results/Box Scores http://www.collegehockeystats.com/0405/schedules/cnsm
Top Of The Charts Bryan Worosz has posted 2,508 career saves to move into first place on the all-time save list at Canisius. Worosz passed former Griff Derek Slater (1991-94), who was the all-time leader with 2,100 stops on Nov. 12, with 34 saves against Sacred Heart. In 2002-03, Worosz broke the single-season marks with 2,059 minutes played (old mark - 1,509-Bob Janosz) and 36 games played (old mark - 27-Derek Slater and Janosz).

O Brother, Where Art Thou Canisius' roster boasts two pairs of brothers, the Irish-Bakers and the Rubertos. Junior Brandon Irish-Baker is a year younger than his brother, sophomore Billy Irish-Baker. Brandon joined the Griffs directly out of high school at Williamsville North, while Billy honed his skills as a member of the USHL's Chicago Freeze. Identical freshman twins Mike and Matt Ruberto joined the Griffs this season from the Cleveland Barons of the NAHL. Contrary to popular belief, the Coccimiglios (senior Fred and sophomore Joey) are not directly related, even though they hail from the same town, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and both played for the Soo Thunderbirds of the NOJHA.

Mount Buetow Sophomore goaltender Max Buetow is the tallest netminder in all of NCAA Division I ice hockey at 6 feet 6 inches. The next tallest men between the pipes are a trio of 6-foot-4-inch goalies: Northern Michigan's Tuomas Tarkki, Brown's Kevin Kliman and Harvard's John Daigneau.

Far and Away So far this season, the Griffs have traveled approximately 17,000 miles by bus and by air. While the Blue and Gold routinely have one of the longest road trips on a regular basis, the season's squad added over 11,000 miles to their itinerary by traveling to Anchorage, Alaska to compete in the season-opening Nye Frontier Classic hosted by the Seawolves.
For a complete set of these game notes, go to the Game Center, or copy this address into your browser: http://www.nmnathletics.com/fls/20500/athletics/dept/gamenotes/2003.asp

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Players Mentioned

#24 Greg Brown: F; 5' 11"; Freshman

#35 Max Buetow: G; 6' 5"; Sophomore

#21 Fred Coccimiglio: F; 5' 10"; Junior

#9 Michael Cohen: F; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#19 Ryan Corcoran: F; 5' 10"; Senior

#10 Andrew Dawe: F; 5' 9"; Junior

#15 Jaymie Harrington: F; 6' 5"; Junior

#3 Billy Irish-Baker: F; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#18 Brandon Irish-Baker: D; 5' 11"; Junior

#14 Joel Kitchen: F; 6' 1"; Freshman

#23 Craig Nooyen: D; 6' 0"; Freshman

#5 Bret Norris: D; 5' 11"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#24 Greg Brown
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: F

#35 Max Buetow
: 6' 5"; Sophomore
: G

#21 Fred Coccimiglio
: 5' 10"; Junior
: F

#9 Michael Cohen
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: F

#19 Ryan Corcoran
: 5' 10"; Senior
: F

#10 Andrew Dawe
: 5' 9"; Junior
: F

#15 Jaymie Harrington
: 6' 5"; Junior
: F

#3 Billy Irish-Baker
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: F

#18 Brandon Irish-Baker
: 5' 11"; Junior
: D

#14 Joel Kitchen
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: F

#23 Craig Nooyen
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: D

#5 Bret Norris
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: D