Ice Knights hope to regain momentum

So far this season, the Ice Knights have skated themselves to a record of 5-3-1. The team has been unable to put together a full, 60-minute game this year, but they have shown the skills to prove that they’re a sound hockey team. Despite an excellent start, the Ice Knights couldn’t make the 60-minute effort to put away the winless SUNY Cortland Red Dragons when they faced off on Nov. 21. Geneseo took a disappointing loss that will no doubt come back to haunt them in the conference standings at the end of the year. Despite solid pressure on offense through the first 30 minutes, unnecessary penalties and the inability to finish against a hungry team resulted in a loss. With that loss, the Ice Knights have proven that if they don’t come out and play hard every night, they can lose to anyone.

After the loss to Cortland, the Ice Knights showed their potential as a team. With a rematch of last season’s SUNYAC Tournament finals, Geneseo won a 2-1 battle on the road with the 2013-14 SUNYAC champion SUNY Oswego Lakers on Nov. 25.

Handing the Lakers their first loss of the season, senior forward Tyler Brickler and sophomore forward Connor Anthoine each scored goals to lead the Ice Knights to victory. With all the goals being scored in the final period, the Ice Knights showed their ability to defend and counter a high-flying, fast-paced Laker attack. They played 60 hard-fought minutes, something they couldn’t do against Cortland.

If the Ice Knights took the attitude and determination they had against Oswego and used it against Cortland, they would’ve probably blown Cortland off the rink. The win at Oswego proved that the Ice Knights have the skills to beat anyone.

Geneseo ended a three-game road stand with a trip to Nazareth College to take on the Golden Flyers on Tuesday Dec. 2. While attempting to come out with a winning re cord on the road trip, the Ice Knights once again fell short with a 1-1 tie—the first tie for Geneseo since 2012. Although it’s not a loss, the Ice Knights could’ve taken another step in the right direction with a win. The inability to fire on all cylinders as a squad led to a draw with a very mediocre Nazareth team.

With home games against SUNY Fredonia on Friday Dec. 5 and Buffalo State University on Saturday Dec. 6, the Ice Knights must use the home ice advantage they have been unable to harness thus far this season. There is no doubt that head coach Chris Schultz and company will prepare one game at a time, like they have done all season. If the Ice Knights fail to earn wins at home at these two games, it may doom them when it comes to playoff time.

If the Ice Knights can earn two wins at home and find their stride, they can take off and will find themselves in the same spot they were last year—with a chance at the SUNYAC conference title.

Away from home, Ice Knights land in Geneseo

Going to an Ice Knights’ game is a tradition. The home-ice advantage created by students at the Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena is particularly notorious around the SUNYAC conference. There wouldn’t be integrity and tradition in Geneseo hockey if it weren’t for its fans. Oftentimes, however, fans know very little about the players themselves. Just like everyone else, they are members of the Geneseo community. Unlike the rest of their peers, however, they get to go out and to lead the way to one of the most booming atmospheres on campus.

Stemming from all corners of this side of the northern hemisphere, the individual journeys these guys have taken to get to Geneseo are extremely unique. Every player has a story.

Raised in Winter Springs, Florida, junior forward David Ripple started playing hockey when he was young. With the lack of youth ice hockey in Florida, Ripple started playing a little differently than most.

“I played roller hockey until I was 11,” he said. After roller hockey, Ripple took to the ice knowing that it was his only way to seriously play competitive hockey. He noted that it took him about two or three weeks to get accustomed to the ice.

After spending 2007-2010 playing junior hockey in Jacksonville, Florida, Ripple joined a junior hockey team in Wisconsin. “It was the first time I lived in [snow],” he said. “It was like negative temperatures every day.”

After learning how to adjust to the cold in Wisconsin while playing for the Coulee Region Chill, Ripple took his talents to Geneseo. Along with playing hockey, Ripple helped to start a Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter here on campus. He leads Bible studies—talking about how the Bible can be referenced in correlation with sports. After Geneseo, Ripple will look to possibly join the United Hockey League and watch his beloved Boston Bruins.

Being born and raised in North Vancouver, British Columbia, junior defenseman Matt Hutchinson started playing hockey at a young age in his driveway. Upon his arrival to Geneseo, Hutchinson noticed many differences. “There are no mountains here,” Hutchinson said. Despite being from Canada, he says the environment at Geneseo hockey games is like nothing he’s seen before.

“The building was filled during warm-ups,” Hutchinson said about the Nov. 22, 2013 game against SUNY Oswego. “It was unlike anything else.” Hutchinson and the rest of the Ice Knights will never forget that night. “I still haven’t watched the game film,” he said.

In his spare time, Hutchinson is a volunteer in the Geneseo Fire Department. “Being from Canada, I got jived a little bit [at first],” he said. Now, he has found a new love for firefighting and is thinking about pursuing a career in professional firefighting after his time here at Geneseo. Working in the International Student & Scholar Services Office as well, there is always something going on for Hutchinson. “I appreciate free time,” he said. “Free time is extremely valuable.”

The Ice Knights are more than a tradition here at Geneseo. They are a group of guys that want to come out and to win a championship for the fans. Every one of them wants to leave the same legacy here: they aim to be good guys, to be role models for the local youth and to have fun. “We’re students too,” Hutchinson said.

Head coach Chris Schultz takes trips around the United States and Canada for recruitment every year. “Academically, [Geneseo] sells itself,” he said. Schultz gave credit to building relationships with recruits to his assistant coach Kris Heeres, who won two consecutive SUNYAC Championships as an Ice Knight in his playing days. Schultz calls Heeres a “warrior” when it comes to recruitment.

The Ice Knights are undefeated thus far in away games. Their next game will be at SUNY Cortland when they take on the winless Red Dragons on Friday Nov. 21.

Ice Knights disappoint in home openers

The Ice Knights started off the season well, overpowering an under-matched SUNY Morrisville squad two nights in a row. On Friday Nov. 7 and Saturday Nov. 8, however, Geneseo fell to SUNY Potsdam 2-1 and SUNY Plattsburgh 7-4. The Ice Knights fell in a close battle against Potsdam with nearly 5,000 fans in attendance for their home opener.

“I think we had a false sense of play,” head coach Chris Schultz said in an email interview. “Too many individuals were trying to do things they aren’t capable of doing.” Geneseo was outshot 35-30 and clearly could not keep up with the Potsdam’s level of play. Junior goalkeeper Nick Horrigan––who played on his toes with a notable sense of urgency the entire game––stopped a total of 33 shots. Despite poor and lazy defense, Horrigan played an excellent game.

“Nick is playing with confidence and our team believes in his abilities,” Schultz said. “He will give us a chance to win every night if we learn how to play defense correctly”

After their tough home opener, the Ice Knights came out looking to bounce back against Plattsburgh. Just like the slick, alternate white jerseys they came out in, the Ice Knights’ play out of the gate was clean and crisp. After getting a 3-0 lead on the seventh ranked team in the country, the Ice Knights failed to put the Cardinals away.

The Ice Knights’ inability to keep the puck out of their own zone led to six unanswered goals. Plattsburgh’s quick forwards took advantage of another lackluster defensive performance by the Ice Knights. “We learned the lesson that we can’t play offense without being great defensively” Schultz said.

Despite a 2-2 start, there’s a lot of hockey to be played. Individually, the Ice Knights show potential in some of their offensive performances. Senior forward Tyler Brickler has netted three goals in four games and has applied offensive pressure—taking a team high of 16 shots this season. Sophomore forward Stephen Collins has also started out hot for the Ice Knights—scoring two goals in four games. “[Collins] is a special player in that his skill set creates opportunities,” Schultz said.

The Ice Knights need to simply play better as a team. Their pride will be tested this week, as they will pay a visit to SUNY Brockport on Friday Nov. 14 to take on the 1-3 Golden Eagles. This is a must-win game––three losses to SUNYAC opponents can put them in a deep hole to the start the season. Schultz is calling on his captains to bring the team together early on.

“We won’t be successful until our leaders realize that the season is dependent on them being team players on and off the ice and leading by example,” Schultz said. “There is nothing easy about leadership. You have to sacrifice yourself in many ways to be a leader. When you have success, all of the sudden you think you know everything. True leaders desire to learn more even after success comes.”

The Ice Knights’ play at Brockport on Friday Nov. 14. Their next home game will be Saturday Nov. 15 when they host Franklin Pierce University.

Correction: In the Nov. 13 issue of The Lamron in “Ice Knights disappoint in home openers,” we said that there were “over 5,000 fans in attendance for their home opener.” It should have said that nearly 5,000 total fans attended the Ice Knights’ first two games.

Caradonna set to lead Ice Knights in 2014-15

Ice Knights team captain Jack Caradonna has taken the ice in his senior season with hopes to bring Geneseo back to the Frozen Four. This will likely be Caradonna’s last season playing competitive hockey; he has applied to medical school and will hang up the skates at the end of the season. “I try not to think about it,” he said. “It’s a really a sad thing.” The 24-year-old defenseman was born and raised in Markham, Ontario—just north of Toronto. Growing up a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, he picked up the game at a young age. “It’s what you play in Canada,” Caradonna said.

Geneseo is not Caradonna’s first college. Before coming to western New York, he attended the University of Toronto while playing junior hockey.

“The curriculum is different, it’s more like high school,” Caradonna said. He explained that the work here is more spread out—much different than standard midterm-final format that he found in his studies in Toronto.

When it comes to his play prior to Geneseo, Caradonna has a history of leadership in junior hockey. “Some of the best teams I ever played on were in junior hockey,” he said. After leading his hometown junior team with a close childhood friend, he changed uniforms. During his last year of eligibility in 2010, Caradonna took the ice as a member of the Stouffville Spirit where he took more of an offensive approach to his game. As a member of the Spirit, Caradonna had a career high of 10 goals in one season. After finishing his eligibility, he decided to combine his athletics with his academics and come to Geneseo.

“This team now would beat any of the junior hockey teams I have seen,” Caradonna said. The game comes to him in the same speed for both leagues, but a higher level of play is clearly visible in college. He has matured his game in the process of leading the Ice Knights and the Geneseo community since his 2011 first-year season.

The Ice Knights frequently host youth clinics and practices for the children in the community in order to give back to the town. “Whenever there is an extra slot for a practice, I usually fill that spot,” Caradonna said. “I want to be a positive role model and communicate well with the team.”

Caradonna led the Ice Knights to a quick 2-0 start this season. The team overwhelmed its opponent Morrisville State College in its first two games on Friday Oct. 31 and Saturday Nov. 1. Reiterating the words of head coach Chris Schultz, Caradonna added that “the only thing we can control is how hard we work.”

The Ice Knights will look to continue the hard work and consistent play on Friday Nov. 7 as “Captain Jack” and the Ice Knights open at home against SUNY Potsdam.

Ice Knights Preview: New leadership style could propel Geneseo

Following a 23-7 season and a trip to the Division III Frozen Four, the Geneseo hockey team is ready to take the ice again for the 2014-15 season. Head coach Chris Schultz and his staff will look to once again make it back to the SUNYAC conference finals, as well as the NCAA tournament. The team will institute a new style of leadership this year, as it will differentiate its senior captains for home and away games. Senior captain defender Jack Caradonna will split his duties with senior forwards Zach Martin and Ryan Stanimir on the road, and senior forwards Tyler Brickler and Justin Scharfe at home.

“I wasn’t crazy about the idea at first,” Schultz said. “[But] after seeing a couple of professional teams doing it, I thought it would be a good idea.”

The Ice Knights are trying not to let last year’s success allow them to stay content in their work ethic.

“We’re going to play in the moment, get the little things right and build off of that,” Schultz said. “We’re going to take it game by game.”

This strategy will allow the Ice Knights to stay focused in their efforts of getting to a championship, while not allowing last year’s trip to the Frozen Four add pressure on the team.

Schultz has surrounded himself with Geneseo alumni on his staff. He called himself “extremely blessed” to be able to work with them.

“I love being around this coaching staff,” Schultz said. He also noted that the group is good friends outside of the rink. Schultz is the kind of coach who uses his quiet demeanor and expertise of the game to allow his team to truly support his system. Schultz became only the seventh SUNYAC coach of all time to win 100 games last season, and he and his staff will look to continue to break records as they coach their team to SUNYAC championship.

During the preseason, Schultz and his staff noticed how ready their team was on the very first day of practice. “The efficiency of how we practiced was incredible,” Schultz said. “The players were efficient, crisp and had great hockey IQ.” The Ice Knights have focused their preseason practices on system play and player development as they look to master the system that Schultz and his staff have created.

Schultz not only wants his team to be excellent on the ice, but off it as well. “I believe our guys are under the microscope here,” he said. “We just want to be good guys.”

By serving others around the campus and community by holding youth hockey events where the players participate with youth players, they are able to give back to future players of the sport they love.

With players that are ready to play after embracing a system that proved successful last year, the Ice Knights will look for a fast start out of the gate to open the season. They will open up their 2014-2015 campaign on the road at Morrisville State College on Friday Oct. 31. Their home opener will be against SUNY Potsdam on Nov. 7.

Q&A: Ice Knights leaders assess season

Sports Editor Joe Leathersich sat down with the seniors of the hockey team and head coach Chris Schultz for a Q&A session on their recent historic season. - The Lamron designed by John Cordova '19

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