Men's Hockey Impresses at East Coast Showdown

Aston, PA ~ The Paul Smith's College men's hockey team had a monumental weekend in southeastern Pennsylvania just before Thanksgiving break, taking two of three games against top-tier out-of-conference opponents at the East Coast Showdown. 

The Bobcats lost to AAU D2 Neumann University before taking the next two games against AAU D2 Salisbury and AAU D1 Fordham to close out the showcase.  The Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference (DVCHC) sponsored the tournament, with teams coming from all over the eastern United States to compete in the three-day event.

On Friday, it was a tight game with shots almost even before hometown Neumann University pulled away late in the second period after PSC had some defensive breakdowns as the early-morning game and travel had an affect on their focus.  Neumann would go on to win the game 6-2 in a much more even game than the score would suggest.  

Saturday was a different story, as the Bobcats absolutely dominated their DVCHC opponent Salisbury from the first drop of the puck.  The first period saw four different Bobcats score goals as Zach Thoren (Raleigh, NC), Attila Quesnel (Montreal, QC, Canada), Hazen Stoufer (East Montpelier, VT), and Omar Uqdah (North Adams, MA) put PSC up 4-0.   It was more of the same in the second, as Tristan Côté (Shannon, QC, Canada), Colin Palmer (Clifton Park, NY) and Uqdah would put the Bobcats up 7-2.  The domination continued in the third as Sean Wright (Wappingers Falls, NY) would add two more and Stoufer would net his second of the game.  Picking up solo assists for the Bobcats were Kyle Davis (Canandaigua, NY), Larry Parece (Woburn, MA), Owen Kime (Waterloo, NY), Joe Beaudoin (East Falmouth, MA), Ryen Janus (Frederick, MD), Tristan Côté, and Sean Wright.  Hazen Stoufer, Omar Uqdah, and Colin Palmer all added two assists as Caden Engle (Clinton, NY) and Quesnel contributed three helpers each. 

Senior River Yearwood (Bethesda, MD) was named Player of the Game for his physical presence as he moved back to the blueline to help shut down the opposing offense.  Kevin Zamazal (Opava, Czech Republic) secured the win with 46 saves on 49 shots.  The power play was on fire all game for PSC as the Bobcats converted 5/8 on power play opporunitites - an unbelievable 62.5% success rate.  

"Huge accomplishment, great feeling, and a big win for the team," said Zamazal.  "It just goes to show all the hard work we put in so far - and there is more to come."

On Sunday, the toughest matchup of the weekend against AAU College Hockey D1 Fordham saw the Bobcats play the best team hockey of their season so far.  After giving up a goal in opening frame, the Bobcats would completely shut down the Rams for the rest of the game enroute to a 2-1 upset.  Zach Thoren got the Bobcats on the board after a nice offensive zone pass play from Attila Quesnel and Omar Uqdah which leveled the game at 1-1.  Ryen Janus would then bury the game winner on the penalty kill as captain Dylan Jannarone (Brick, NJ) made a key block with defensive pair Mike Hansen (New Hartford, NY).  Janus gathered the puck and took it the length of the ice and buried the shorthanded goal past the Fordham keeper as the Bobcat bench and fans in attendance celebrated loudly. 

The rest of the game was never in doubt as "Brick Wall Zamazal" completely shut down the Rams offense with help from the PSC defensive core of Hunter Erwin (Kenai, AK), River Yearwood, Caden Engle, Joe Beaudoin, Owen Kime, Kyle Davis, Mike Hansen, and Dylan Jannarone.  Zamazal finished the game with 32 saves on 33 shots faced.  He leads the nation in minutes played (963) and assists (3) for goalies in all divisions of AAU College Hockey.  

Zach Thoren was named Player of the Game for his strong performance over the weekend as a two-play player and his ability to shutdown opposing power plays as the Bobcats' #1 penalty killing forward.  "Beating Fordham was one of the best team wins I've been a part of since I've been at PSC," said Thoren.  "Kevin stood on his head in net, the penalty kill stayed hot, our defense took care of business with some huge plays, and we capitlized on offense.  The boys really came together as a unit and left a statement down in Philly."

Junior captain Dylan Jannarone echoed the sentiments from Thoren, stating "The (East Coast) Showdown proved to everyone, including people at our school, that you can't count us out.  The turn around this program is having is astonishing and that's thanks to our coach and of course my teammates.  We are a new team and one that is on everyone's radar."

The Bobcats are 11-7 overall and sit atop the Upstate New York Collegeiate Hockey League's (UNYCHL) East Division in first place.  They are currently ranked 31st in the nation and continue to climb the AAU D2 rankings as they look for a chance to play in the AAU College Hockey National Tournament in West Chester, PA in March.