The Fredonia State men's hockey team takes its annual trip to northern New York State this weekend.
The first stop is Friday at Potsdam, where the Blue Devils (3-2 overall, 2-1 SUNYAC) will look to extend their winning streak to three games. They have defeated Brockport, 1-0, and Morrisville, 2-1, in their most recent outings.
The host Bears (2-1 overall, 1-1 SUNYAC) lost to Plattsburgh, 6-4, last Saturday.
Fredonia State's trip resumes Saturday with a visit to Plattsburgh. The Cardinals enter the weekend 2-0 prior to facing Buffalo State on Friday.
Both games begin at 7 p.m.
Picked to finish second in the SUNYAC pre-season coaches poll, Plattsburgh is ranked No. 4 nationally by USCHO.com - behind No. 1 and SUNYAC rival Oswego, No. 2 Norwich, and No. 3 St. Norbert.
Fredonia State head coach Jeff Meredith said the Blue Devils will need to play air-tight games at both venues this weekend.
"Potsdam is a team that is fairly similar to us," he said. " A key for us will to be staying out of the penalty box as their power play is going at a 28 percent clip. Potsdam likes to open it up offensively and it will be important for us to buckle things down.
"Plattsburgh is one of the top teams in the conference each year and this year (the game plan) will be the same: Get in there, keep things under control early, and give yourself a shot at the end."
Coverage of both games will be available by visiting the Fredonia State athletics website at www.fredoniabluedevils.com.
Wynia featured on Sabres' website by senior Brown
Fredonia State sophomore hockey player Jared Wynia is the subject of a feature story - written by another Blue Devil student-athlete - on the Buffalo Sabres' official website.
Women's senior soccer player Madison Brown (Wheatfield), in her role as a Sabres' digital media intern, wrote the piece - entitled "Eastbound and Down" - whch was posted Wednesday afternoon on the NHL team's' website.
It was the second story assigned so far to Brown by Kevin Snow, the Sabres' manager for digital content. "Because of the lock-out," Brown said, "he (Snow) wanted to focus more on the colleges."
Among the topics Brown covers is the connection between Wynia - the 2011-12 SUNYAC Rookie of the Year - and Sabres' defenseman Tyler Myers. They were peewee hockey teammates while growing up in Calgary.
"We see each other a couple times over the summer, that's it," explained Wynia. "If the NHL was going on right now we would definitely be able to see each other here and there."
Brown, a 2009 graduate of Niagara-Wheatfield High School, played four years of soccer for the Blue Devils as a defender. A dean's list student, she is a double major in Communications-Public Relations and Sport Management, with a Business minor.
In addition to her current internship with the Sabres, Brown was an intern over the summer for Triple A baseball's Buffalo Bisons.
Cross Country
Lineup announced for Atlantic Regional meet
Fredonia State head coach Tom Wilson has chosen seven men and seven women for the NCAA Division III Atlantic Regional cross country championship meet Saturday.
Both races - hosted by the University of Rochester - will be held at Genesee Valley Park in Rochester, the men at 11 a.m. and the women at noon.
Wilson will send out seniors Pete Francia, Jack Bennett, and Jake Krautwurst; junior Steve Whittemore; sophomore Zakk Hess; and freshmen Collin Mulcahy and Kyle Collins for the men's 8,000-meter race.
Francia ran his personal-best time in last's year regional and qualified for the national championship race. Hess has been coming on strong and Bennett will look to close out his collegiate career on a high note as the Blue Devils look to improve upon their 10th place finish last year.
"This has been," Wilson said, "a very strong seson thus far for the men's team. They were ranked as high as 34th in the nation and eighth in the region."
For the women's 6,000-meter race, Wilson has chosen seniors Leslie Beaton and Kateri Walsh; juniors Alissa Conti (Fredonia), Kim Foltz, Anna Hourihan, and Becca List ; and sophomore Amanda Cocchiara.
Foltz has emerged as the Blue Devils' top runner followed closely by Cocchiara and Beaton.
"The women's racing team is very tight," Wilson said. "We need to continue to do what we have been doing all season and we will move up the regional rankings."
Final results will be available one hour after each race at at the scorer's website (www.leonetiming.com) and on the University of Rochester website (www.uofrathletics.com).
