NCCC hockey earns a pair of division wins
Niagara County Community College improved to 12-3 on the season with a pair of big wins this past weekend over UNYCHL Metro Division rivals SUNY Brockport and Buffalo State. The Thunderwolves, winners of six straight, have clinched home-ice for the play-in round of the UNYCHL playoffs.
Niagara CCC 8, SUNY Brockport 3
The Thunderwolves got off to a 3-1 lead after the first period in front of a large crowd at SUNY Brockport. Defenseman Jason Kuchey opened the scoring with a beautiful shot off the post. Additional first-period N-Trip goals were scored by Anthony Miller and Gavin Cerrillo. Brockport's leading scorer, Sean McCarthy, got the lone Golden Eagles goal in the opening 20 minutes.
NCCC extended its lead with four goals in the second period. Anthony Miller scored 37 seconds into the frame while falling in the slot after being tripped by a defenseman. Gavin Cerrillo completed his hat trick with a pair of goals and Will Casullo put NCCC up 7-1 with 1:41 to play in the period.
Captain Chuckie Schmidl scored the lone NCCC goal in the third period. Brockport's second leading scorer, Thomas Catanese, was able to score twice on Thunderwolves goaltender Evan Kopp to make the final score 8-3.
Kopp earned his fifth UNYCHL win in net for the T-Wolves, stopping 19 of 22 shots he faced. Joey LoBrutto and James Robinson had multi-assist nights, each earning two primary assists.
Niagara CCC 9, Buffalo State 0
N-Trip clinched home-ice advantage in the play-in round of the upcoming UNYCHL playoffs with a home win over long-time rival Buffalo State College. Eddie Jetter set the tone with a goal in the first two minutes before NCCC found themselves killing three consecutive penalties. During the six minutes of penalty killing, Matt Stewart scored a short-handed goal on a two-on-one with Spencer Hrynczak. LoBrutto scored off a rebound left in the crease by Bengals goaltender AJ White and Casullo gave NCCC a commanding 4-0 lead after the first.
Jason Kuchey and Anthony Miller added goals for the Thunderwolves in the second period. NCCC didn't stop scoring in the third period with LoBrutto scoring twice to complete his hat trick. Robinson scored his first UNYCHL goal with 1:58 to go in the game to round out the scoring. Trevor Goodyear earned his third win in as many starts in net and his first UNYCHL shutout. Captain Chuckie Schmidl had three assists on the night, while both Jetter and Hrynczak had two assists.
NCCC plays its final divisional game at 8:45 p.m. Friday vs. top-ranked Niagara University (18-4) at Hyde Park. The final regular-season game is at 8 p.m. Monday vs. University at Buffalo (15-4-1) at Northtown Center.