Bobcats Honor River Yearwood with Win Against Canisius on Senior Day

Lake Placid, NY ~ The Paul Smith's College men's hockey team celebrated senior River Yearwood (Bethesda, MD) with a win on Sunday, January 21st against Canisius College.  Yearwood was involed in the first and last goal to commemorate his Senior Game as Paul Smith's College won 7-2.

"It's pretty magical to play in one of the biggest meccas of hockey in the entire world," said Yearwood, referring to the Olympic Center's 1980 Herb Brooks Arena.  "Growing up in Maryland hockey wasn't a thing and college hockey wasn't a thought - it was a dream that might be possible.  To be able to play my senior game in such a historic venue made it that much sweeter," noted Yearwood.

The Bobcats scored just 14 seconds into the game as Kyle Davis (Canandaigua, NY) shot a seeing-eye puck into the back of the net.  After a nice forecheck from Yearwood, linemates Sean Wright (Wappingers Falls, NY) and Julien Shafer (Queensbury, NY) found each other down low behind the net.  Shafer then sent a pass up to Davis whose shot from the point passed by Yearwood who had set up a perfect screen on the Golden Griffins goaltender, thus putting the home squad up 1-0.  

After giving up two goals to go down 2-1, the Bobcats poured it on and never looked back.  Kevin Zamazal (Opava, Czech Republic) would stop the next 25 straight shots as Zach Thoren (Raleigh, NC), Colin Palmer (Clifton Park, NY), Larry Parece (Woburn, MA), Hazen Stoufer (East Montpelier, VT), Niko Reimann (Spring Lake Park, MN), and River Yearwood all scored as the team dominated at both ends of the ice.  Attila Quesnel (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) and Mike Hansen (New Hartford, NY) had three and two assists, respectively, while Tristan Côté (Shannon, Quebec, Canada), Ryen Janus (Frederick, MD), Owen Kime (Waterloo, NY), Shafer, Wright, Reimann, Stoufer, and Parece picked up solo helpers.  Zamazal finished with 27 saves on 29 shots in the victory.

Rather poetically, Yearwood buried the final goal of the game on a back-door pass from Kime.  "Scoring the final goal after missing and missing the entire game gave me appreciation for the game of hockey and life," reflected Yearwood.  "Not everything comes the first time but when you keep grinding good things do come about eventually in your favor."

Yearwood's father, Rev Yearwood, was in attendance and commented on how special the game was for his family and his son, who is graduating in May with a degree in Baking & Pastry Arts.  "This senior game is actually doubly beautiful because River's grandmother, Dr. Myrtle Yearwood, graduated from Canisius College," commented the elder Yearwood.  "So today while my mom, River's grandmother, wanted me to tell you, that on all other days she's pulling for Canisius College, but on this day, she says 'GO BOBCATS, GO BOBCATS, GO BOBCATS!'" bellowed Yearwood, as the home crowd erupted in applause.  

Head Coach Casey Gerrish praised Yearwood, stating "River is a team guy through and through.  He does whatever it takes game after game to help the team and he's always someone I can rely on in any situation.  We're going to miss River's calm, cool, and collected leadership both on and off the ice and I will personally miss his advanced palate when making culinary decision on road trips" joked Gerrish.  "River - you have been a consummate teammate and we are going to miss you dearly," he added.

You can follow the men's hockey team on Instagram at @pschockey or follow the general athletics account at @smitty_nation for schedules, updates, photos, and much more!

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At Paul Smith's College, it's about the experience. As the only four-year institution of higher education located in the Adirondack Park in upstate New York, Paul Smith's provides real-world, hands-on learning in fields such as business and hospitality, culinary management, forestry, environmental sciences, and natural resources. We can draw on industries and resources available in our backyard while preparing students for successful careers anywhere. Our community of resourceful, enterprising, supportive, and adventurous individuals collectively provides experiential education, student support in the classroom and beyond, and meaningful opportunities for our alumni. We pride ourselves on research and advocacy on issues that improve our planet and the lives of the people who inhabit it. Learn more at www.paulsmiths.edu.