Exams almost over.....

Another relaxing day. Without hockey now for the break its hard to find things to pass the time that was once filled by practice or games. Had a nice breakfast with a couple of the guys and took advantage of this crazy weather and got out the running shoes for a jog around Fredonia. Jared Wynia just reminded me of the 5 more days till the end of the world, so not really sure if I should continue studying or not, but as a precaution that the world isn't really going down I cracked open the books for a few hours today. Decided to take it easy tonight and rent a couple of movies from the Family Video enterprise, bringing home the new Batman and the new Bourne flicks. Getting some good relaxation lately finding some quality time to heal the bumps and bruises, must interrupt my thought and say the Knicks got away with a win tonight some how as a Cleveland player doesn't know how to sink free throws? That really blows my mind that these pros can drain three points and fade away jump shots with a defender in their grill but cant hit a FREE throw to save their lives. Im not upset with that performance, signing off to watch Batman! Cheers.

Brian Doust 23

Hooping it up before exams.....

Its always nice to add some change to your regular routine. Instead of keeping hockey, hockey, hockey on the mind, the guys of Temple brought out their skills of another sport. We found the time between studying, laundry and cleaning the house to make our way to the gym and shot the basketball around. After a few games of 21 the Fredonia men's basketball team came in inviting us to test our skills and play a pick-up game. Unfortunately we had to refuse the offer to keep from getting embarrassed out on the courts today, rain check. But its always nice to get out and do something other than the constant routine, which I think really helps keep hockey exciting and fresh, realizing your true talents and getting your mind off your competitive sport with a casual game. With the holidays quickly approaching I was able to sit down and finish some last minute gift ideas, hopefully they show up on time, I'll have to keep my fingers crossed for that though. Getting back to the books now and working to get up on the higher side of the GPA rankings this year. Pleasure to have the blog this week, thanks for checking in! Happy holidays!

Brian Doust 23

Secret Santa.....

Another fun time with the Fredonia State Blue Devil family. The boys got together again today in a rematch of yesterday's Canada/US scrimmage. I was pleased to get the call once again to mind the net for Team Canada. Brad Nunn, #17 this season, was the opposing goaltender. He was the best goal tender I must admit as I could not close my 5-hole if my life depended on it! Tonight was out Annual Christmas get together, no gifts were shared as of late but stay posted for our secret Santa updates! Happy Holidays, I hope Santa spoils you better than my secret Santa this year!

Brian Doust #23

Feels weird not being on the ice...

Stephen Castriota adn Jared Wynia have lunch at Cranston Marche'

Feels weird not being on the ice everyday, have had troubles finding something to do to fill the time. Today the boys got together and jumped on the ice for a scrimmage of 3 on 3. I mixed things up and strapped on Holloway's goalie gear and dusted off some old skills I've been hiding. Ill admit it took about 5 minutes to get the rust off but after Andrew Christ took a full power slap shot off my face in a half-moon warm-up, followed by a shot of the inside of the foot, my skills were awoken and live in action. It made for a fun afternoon as the team of Wynia, Tecki, Christ and Kauff won the best of 3 series in a game 3 nail biter. Enjoyed another few meals at the local cranston and sitting back watching the big Lakers Knicks game. Watching Kobe do his thing, enough said big win for the Lakers coming, got to run to watch em do it!

Good battle against Penn State

Tough loss last night, the boys battle hard just didn't have the bounces, story of our first semester. On a positive note the boys spirits are high and hopefully for a strong second half finish of SUNYAC play. Classes winding down now really starting to get into holiday mode, ready to throw on the lounge gear and relax. Did some Christmas shopping tonight at the galleria in buffalo tonight, hopefully all finished now as the wallets feeling a bit light this time of year. Looking forward to the break and coming back regenerated to make a strong run in puck!

Brian Doust 23

Today was a good day

Today was a good day.

Today was a nice change in pace from a stressful, work filled semester. Turns out that the usual morning microeconomics class was cancelled for the this wonderful Monday morning and myself and three teammates, two housemates, were able to catch another much needed hour of sleep before cracking a book. Got a quick lunch with a couple of the boys on the squad at the always nutritious Cranston Marché. I was able to enjoy a nice entree of perogies a healthy salad and some fruit to cap off a great lunch. Class in the afternoon was nice and easy gearing down for dead week we continued our presentations in Epic and Romance where I was able to score an A+ on last Friday, so today I got to kick back and just listen and review. I concluded my day by finishing up on some Performing Arts performance critiques and re-watching the HBO TV show Entourage. Time to get some rest for the big game tomorrow against Division I, Penn State, should be a good match-up before Christmas break. Can't wait to get out there, hope to see you all out on the ice come game time tomorrow!

Brian Doust 23

 

The performing arts brochure I'm writing a critique on for class and the HBO hit TV series Entourage I'm watching!

 

The boys getting the bus legs out, walking up the hill to Elmira's Dome

Enjoying a nice Sunday with the boys of 102 temple street today reflecting on a positive weekend. A big home and home weekend against the Elmira Eagles proved to be a positive sign of good things to come. After starting the season pretty slow the boys were able to rally and come out flying friday with a big win 4-2. Saturday was a hard fought loss 4-1 but the score really did not reflect the play, commitment and attitude displayed by the boys on our squad. We battled hard putting pressure on them out shooting them and tallying 17 on their net with 37 for the game. Looking to take the positives out and look forward to playing the Division 1 Penn State at the Steele Hall on tuesday night! 

Nothing much exciting going on in the famous 102 temple house, we spent it relaxing watching some football games, basketball games and going over some notes gearing up for finals in just a weeks time. Excited to get at the ice tomorrow as we get set for Penn State which we look to build on a strong second half as a team to beat in the SUNYAC. Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend, stay tuned for more exciting news from the Blue Devils this week!

Ready to go this weekend......

Thursday night here in Fredonia. Another great day of practice earlier today and I can say the boys are definitely ready to go tomorrow. With a big home and home coming up we're going to have to take it one period at a time. I'm sure Matty Owczarczak will be ready to go tomorrow night and getting the 'W' will make playing Elmira that much better. I've heard they have a big team, but with our physical/grinding style of play we will just havwe to give it right back to them. Other than getting ready for this weekend of hockey, I'm just finishing up an essay here in the library before I head back to the apartment for another NHL 13 matchup with Declan aka Dekey Gunovski. Looking forward to being done with classes for the week, the last couple weeks before finals are always the most stressful. Luckily we have a good group of guys here who keep up with the schoolwork so there's always somebody to hangout with on these long nights in the library.

Until next time,

Ian Ellenberger 27

Dinner at Cranny

Christ in action.

It's Wednesday night in Fredonia and I just had a nice Cranny dinner with a few of the fellas. It's always nice to wind down with the guys after a good day of practice, we've been building momentum all week for this upcoming home and home with Elmira. In just 48 hours we'll have already started this coming weekend of hockey, and after a disappointing  loss to Buff State we're all anxious to get back at it. Also just found out my finals schedule for this semester. Not looking too difficult, with only four finals to prepare for. At the moment I'm in the library with junior power forward Andrew Christ working on some chemistry. Last, but not least, I heard a rumor today that the NHL is close to a deal between the owners and the players union. Hopefully they'll have a deal done and hockey will be back soon, I can't stand watching the NBA.

Warm in Fredonia

Before my 12:30 class so I'm not swamped with work tonight. Being in the library makes me appreciate my junior hockey days of just having hockey to worry about. It's a pretty odd day here in Fredonia thus far, its about 60 degrees or so and I'm in sandals, jeans and short sleeve shirt. Keep in mind it's December here in western NY, pretty strange weather for us especially at this time of year. Earlier today I had made plans to visit my older brother in Washington, DC over Christmas break. Although he's already coming back to Hershey to visit for Christmas, it's always great to get down to DC to visit he and his wife. I'll be making the three hour trek from my hometown of Hershey, PA with two of my good friends from home so it should be a good time. That's all I have for now here in Fred.

Ian Ellenberger

'A' successful day.....

It's about 10:30 here in Fredonia and I'm just about to wind down another long school day. I just got back to the apartment from working on homework with a few of the fellas at the library. Overall it was a pretty successful day, getting an 'A' on my Chemistry quiz and another 'A' on a history exam. Hard work pays off, but I can't wait to put the books aside for a bit when Christmas break begins. I've already been making some plans with some friends back home in Hershey, it's always great to catch up with family, friends from high school and past hockey teams. It seems like just yesterday I left home for the first time at 17 to begin my junior hockey career. But for now its time to focus on school and hockey and finishing out the semester strong. Also, had some pretty abnormal weather here today. Hopefully everybody on the team was able to soak it in, the brutal j-term weather will be here before we know it.

Ian Ellenberger

The Bergler

The Bergler here, with my first blog post of the school year. I'm sitting here in our apartment with my good buddy Declan watching "The Walking Dead." It's the first time I've ever seen this show and I have to admit I think I just got addicted. I'm not a big TV guy, but it's nice to relax on the couch for a bit before another big school and hockey week begins. Once this episode is over I'll most likely get to work for my music class, I have to have two papers written for the class before Dec. 13. I have to admit I'm looking forward to getting all of these CCC's out of the way. It's hard to believe its already December 2nd, seems like the semester had just started and its also hard to believe that we only have three games until Christmas break. A sweep of our home and home with Elmira would be huge this coming weekend, and I'm sure former Elmira Soaring Eagle and current Blue Devil Marty Owczarczak is looking forward to this weekend of hockey.

Declan doing work on Sunday.

Ian Ellenberger