SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Coming off a thrilling two-game victory over Sacred Heart last weekend in its home opener, the Union College women’s ice hockey team begins a three-game road trip this Saturday against the University of Connecticut. Faceoff is at 7 p.m.

Live stats and live video streaming will be available through uconnhuskies.com

HOLLIDAYSBURG - Josh Porta's 67 broke the old school record by three strokes to lead Bishop Guilfoyle to a 325-370 win over Altoona in high school boys golf Monday at Sylvan Hills Country Club.

BG also got a 79 from Kevin Condrin, while Altoona's Alex Elliot carded an 80.

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (325): Porta 67, Condrin 79, Madey 87, Ingram 92.

This name change was announced at the Bishop Guilfoyle Ice Hockey Club’s holiday showcase event that attracted more than 300 fans. The event included scrimmage games involving its primary-elementary players and its two junior high teams along with the annual Alumni game.  For the event, free refreshments of cookies brought by the BG Hockey Family and made-to-order hot chocolates were provided.

Lavoie was a French Canadian who attended Bishop Guilfoyle and played hockey for the Marauders his senior year.   He had returned to his home following graduation and went on to college. In April of 2008 he lost his battle with cancer.  He was twenty-three years old.

 

No admission was charge for the showcase event but a free-will offering was taken. The $201.00 donated was presented to Sister Paula’s food pantry and soup kitchen by Varsity Head Coach Antesberger on Tuesday, Dec. 30. 

            The Bishop Guilfoyle Ice Hockey Club received a $1,500.00 grant on Dec. 16, from the Altoona Rotary Club and its community oriented Rotary Radio Days promotion.

            The check was presented by Kate Shaffer to Ken Partner who is acting as a liaison for the hockey club this year. The money is earmarked for the purchase of hockey equipment to be provided as “loaner” gear to any student in Blair County who wants to try the sport.

            “We’ve found that the major obstacle for parents of children who have expressed interest in ice hockey is the cost of equipment,” Mr. Partner explained. “By having equipment available on a loaner basis that obstacle is removed.”

            The club began its promotion of the “loaner” program in October making use of equipment that was donated by those who have been playing the sport and grew out of it.

            “We opened our membership to all those wishing to participate and we had an explosion of interest, I believe because of the cost free nature of equipment,” Rick Barrett, hockey club president pointed out. The program grew from 28 players last year to more than 80 this year.

            “The Rotary grant was a key piece of our developmental hockey pie,” he added. “Because of the high number of participants and the availability of the loaner equipment, the cost is kept to a minimum.”

            Following meetings among Head Coach John Antesberger, Partner and former Johnstown Chief and Russian Dynamo product Dmitri Tarabrin the program was structured to include basic skating instruction headed by Galactic Ice Skating Director John Kauffman, several on-ice clinic sessions by Tarabrin and a weekly staff of about eight on-ice instructors, along with Marauder Varsity and Junior High players acting as on-ice counselors.

            For the youngest group the classes are set up to include skills and drills and small-area games to allow more meaningful time for participants to develop as hockey players.

            “The key to the success of the program has been the ratio of about one on-ice instructor for every five or six players at the primary grade, elementary grade and junior high levels,” Antesberger commented.

            There are more than 30 participants in grades K through 5, another 30 plus in grades 6 through 9 and 18 at the varsity level. There are boys and girls and they are home-schooled or enrolled in the area parochial schools and public schools in the Altoona, Bellefonte, Bellwood-Antis, Tyrone, Hollidaysburg, Spring Cove and Williamsburg.

Playing Experience:
• Product of Dynamo Moscow Olympic Program, began skating at the age of six
• Played major tournaments all over Europe and Asia
• Coached by one of the leading specialists of Junior hockey in the world, Yan Kaminesky, who runs over 200 camps worldwide, current director of Spartak.
• Attended over 20 youth and Elite League camps in Russian Federation
• Member, Russian Junior National Team that finished second in IIHF European Junior Championship
• Member, Vuteck Ruzan, Russian 1st Division
• Member, North Battleford Stars, Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League where he was a two-time Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League All-Star and was named Most Valuable Player and Fan Favorite for two seasons
• Member, ECHL Wheeling Nailers from 1997-99 where he scored 28 points in his first season as a professional and was a Fan Favorite award winner
• Member, ECHL Johnstown Chiefs from 1999-2007 where he is the all-time franchise leader in games played with over 500 professional games played and is the team's Alternate Captain/Captain for the 2006-07 season.
Coaching Experience:
• Has worked with Johnstown and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania youth hockey programs and conducted high level camps and clinics with a focus on not only on-ice hockey skills but also hockey-specific off-ice training.

 

BG holds the tie-breaker if it ties Central PA at season’s end. The teams played to a tie in their first meeting, Central PA took the second game by a 4-2 count and the Marauders rebounded with a 10-2 win to give them the edge in goals allowed, goals scored and goal differential in the series.

The Marauders will need help if they hope to overtake league-leading Conemaugh Valley because the Jays hold the tie-breaker edge, having won the first two games of the three-game season series.