Flags all in on 'fast start'............

Hello again. 

September was kind of a blur this year.  It seemed that it went by in no time.  This semester I have quite a tough schedule so I am going to have to bare down and make sure I stay on top of my work. 

Since it is my second year I have found myself more comfortable in the classroom and just in general I feel much better around campus.  Not only did September fly by, but we are getting that much closer to October 20th when coach finally steps on the ice with us.  That's a day I can't wait to arrive as that means our first game is just right around the corner.  This year we have a very talented and skilled group of individuals and I can't wait for us to gel into a team.  This year for the Blue Devils I would be lying if I didn't expect great things from us.  Expecting great things is one thing, going out and doing it is another.  Come October 20th I am going to be ready to go and I can guarantee, so will the other men that I share the dressing room with. 

This year it's all about the "quick start", as we plan on being all in from the very beginning.  We owe it to the school and to our family and friends to do well this year, but mostly we owe it to ourselves.  Last year we had more to offer and this year I don't plan on having any regrets.  Well hopefully you enjoyed my blog and till next time folks, take care and keep making new memories.

Flags

Johnny saves the puppy.........

Hey there everyone! Hope everything is going well. It's hard to complain around here these days. The weather has been great, classes are going swell, and all the boys are really coming together and having some fun here before we get to work on the start of the season. 

The other day we all went on the vineyard run. It's a great run around a couple vineyards in Fredonia that takes us a little over 3 miles for the trip. As we got to about 1 mile in I was running with my good friend, John Defeo when he noticed a puppy running towards the road to come play with us. As John looked over his shoulder he saw a car coming and decided to cross the road. He was able to grab the puppy before it got to the road and keep everyone safe. Is was pretty cool to watch John save the puppy and it made the run a pretty memorable one too. 

That was my excitement for the week. Until next time folks! 

 

Ryan Wilkinson #25

Kauf and the boys enjoying the beautiful weather......

Kauf back here for my second blog installment of the year on this beautiful Sunday afternoon!

I gotta say that I can't complain about how nice this past week has been weather wise; although the rumor is that snow is coming early, (knock on wood* it doesn't), this fall weather couldn't get any better. A few of the boys came over this afternoon for some Sunday Buffalo Bills football which is coming down to the wire, but I think we may take off here after the game and head up to Arkwright for a hike!

I'll try and get some pictures for you guys but for now that's it for me.

 

Cheers,

 

Kauf

Time to reflect on the great career of Derek Jeter.........

Hey bloggers, just thought I would take the time to reflect on the great professional career of Derek Jeter. He has been my favorite athlete from the time I started watching sports. The guy has done everything right throughout his career whether it was on the field or off the field. As an athlete I tried to model myself after him all the time.  And this Thursday night watching it with Doust and Wynia he couldn't have ended it any other way. The walk off winning hit he had to win the game left me in tears, the ultimate send off to a great career.

I'm hoping to take what I've learned from him in his final season as a Yankee and translate that into our season here in Fredonia, which is work harder then anyone else out there.

Until next time bloggers

 

Cappy #21

It's been a good week..........

Hey folks, the 'Technician' checking in for another blog entry. I think it's safe to say this week has been a roller-coaster of emotions between being excited to have completed four years of advance conditioning and then having to buckle down and study for 3 tests and a quiz. Overall I'd consider it a good week of hard work. Skates have been going great and the boys are having some good heated battles. We're getting more and more prepared as we get closer to October 31 and ready to take on Cortland in the Steele Hall Ice Arena. Well it's time to hit the books again to get ready for another test I have coming up.

Here's a picture of some of the boys in the Athlete Lounge doing a little number crunching... 

Teck #22

The early bird gets the honey cruller...........a picture of a solid study session last night with my roommate Brian Doust

A solid study session last night with my roommate Brian Doust

Good morning everybody!

Jared Wynia here, up early for class and to get the day rolling. Thursdays are my longest day by far considering I add an extra night class for 2 hours later tonight so my first stop of the day shouldn't surprise you since it's the wonderful on campus Tim Hortons. 

 

A coffee in me and I'll be good to go, but then still an eventful day with a couple classes before noon followed by a workout then on the ice. 

It's nice to be back into the flow of things around here and having a busy schedule keeps me on the go, which I actually don't mind. However, one nice little note to add is as I woke up here this morning I am officially done with Advanced Conditioning so I'd like to give a shout out to all the the seniors on the team as we'll!

I'm almost to the front of the line and maybe I'll mix in a nice honey cruller today too since I've earned it! Until next time! 

Jared Wynia #20

An ode to Advanced Conditioning Class.......

Captain Corey ready for the Triathlon.

Advanced Conditioning Class

Tomorrow will be a sad, sad day. Every Fall semester we get together and take Advanced Conditioning class. With a cross fit type feel, of high intensity workouts, of an array of exercises. Through the years we have seen high temperatures, rain, wind and this year even smoke. We've seen the class size drop from upwards of 50 when the whole basketball team was in the class, down to a small group of warriors ranging from 30-35 college men and women. Guys have dropped due to  heat and high intensity, while others have felt the tight legs and hamstrings the next day. Hydration and preparation has proven key to get through the 4 years of AC. That all being said, I would like to highlight a couple events. 

A highlight from AC, is the annual Fredonia Triathlon with a twist. Swimming 10 laps in the pool, 2 laps around the track holding a cinder block, and then a mile run around Tin Man Hill on campus. In previous years we ran the mile tin man with the cinder block, which seems like an impossible feat looking back on it today. Still today proves to be an intense test of every ones physical abilities. 

This all comes to an end today with a 3 mile run around the vineyards of Fredonia.  Getting outdoors and running with the fellow students that battled each fall semester will be a nice day. Working on some cardio to cap off a long 4 year course. I can proudly say that I tackled all obstacles thrown my way with a group of AC veterans in my seniors, pushed and been pushed by all the other competitors in the underclassman. To all those with time left, good luck and keep grinding.

Cheers,

#23 Brian Doust

Melky giving the boys love for a quick start to the year......

Hey everyone Melky here checking in for another blog post.

 

I know in the past I've blogged about certain people who are important to me. Today is no different and I want to give a shout out to all the boys on the team this year who are making my job as smooth as possible. Everyone from the seniors to the incoming freshman have been great to this point and I appreciate all the effort they are putting in on the ice and off the ice. We are all an optimistic group and hope to do special things this year and it started from day 1 when we arrived at school. The boys and I know the importance of a quick start this year and we've all been putting in the effort to achieve that.I cant wait for October 20th when the season starts leading up to our first game Halloween night against Cortland. 

 

Pictured is all the boys from last year in the team photo.

Until next time, all the best.

 

Cory Melkert #2

Damo on life the first month in Fredonia..........

Hello everyone, freshman, forward, Damien Kulynych checking in for my first ever blog post.

Just to give you all a little introduction, I’m 20 years old and from Calgary, Alberta. I've spent the last few years playing junior hockey so I’m one of the older freshman around campus. It'

s been pretty eye opening jumping back into school after taking three years off. I think I’m starting to get a hang of it now a month in.

I’m living the dorm life this year and so far its been great. Only a short walk away from all of my classes and the rink. All the first year players and second year player Marcus Ortiz all live in the same wing at Igoe hall. Although we’ve only been living together for about a month now, we have developed some rituals early. The annual Sunday night football party is currently taking my place in my room. Somehow my bed got taken over and I got a chair. All the older guys on the team have been really welcoming and have made me feel right at home. Its nice to have some fellow Alberta boys on the team.

I’ve really enjoyed my time so far here at Fredonia and I’m eager to get the season going! Well that's all from me for now. Until next time!

#14 Damien

Daniel says "Hejsan allihopa, everybody!"........

Hejsan allihopa, everybody!

I just want to introduce myself, my name is Daniel Martensson and I am 21 years old. I am born and raised in Malmö, Sweden. I first came to the US two years ago and started my education at Monroe Community College, I transferred here this year and plan on spending my last two years finishing my bachelor’s degree in Sports management.

This first month there has been a lot of stuff going on, for example golf tournament, the senior citizen day, triathlon, teaching kids how to skate, meetings to get everything set up for the season and so on. To top it off all of the new people I have met. The guys on the team have made my transfer so much easier and to make Fredonia and Steele Hall Arena my new home.

Daniel Martensson #18

Marcus and the other freshmen building ties to the community..........

Hello everybody!
 

This is another new Swede signing in for his first blog post of the year. My name is Marcus Andersson, I’m 20 years old and I came straight to Fredonia from Sweden and the Swedish junior leagues. On the ice I’m a forward and outside the ice I’m a Communication – Journalism major. It feels great to be a part of SUNY Fredonia and the Blue Devils. This is my first time in America and I’m very happy and excited to be here.

The first weeks in Fredonia have been everything I hoped for. All the boys in the team have been very welcoming which made it easy to adjust to life here. It’s a great group of people who will do great things on the ice this winter. The fact that we are four Swedes on the team right now – Oskar, Daniel, Erik and I – has made it even easier. It feels good to be able to speak some Swedish now and then, even though I’m pretty sure that the rest of the boys on the team don’t always appreciate it… Sorry about that!

Right now in Steele Hall Arena, a couple of our players are in charge of ice practices for the children of the Fredonia community. Tomorrow it’s my turn to help out. It will be great to see all the children who try to improve their skating and it’s great that we on the team can help the children to enjoy the game. And when we play our first game for the season, on Halloween, we also promise to do everything we can to make our audience enjoy the game. Of course, we hope that you will be part of that audience!

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great weekend,

Marcus Andersson #11

Nick and the boys helping Lucy out..........

Hello everyone, Nick Harper here with my first blog post of the year. I am a Sport Management major and I can't believe that we are already almost four weeks into the fall semester. I am 18 years old from Baldwinsville, New York where I have played on the Baldwinsville High School hockey team for four years. You could say it's quite a transition from high school hockey to Division III hockey. All the boys have been nothing but helpful however to make me feel comfortable especially Blake Forslund, Cory Melkert, Jeff Flagler, and Chris Eiserman.

Living in Igoe Hall with the other first year players and second year player Marcus Ortiz has been a great time so far. When we're not studying, a lot of Xbox 360 is being played in Jamie Young's and my room. It's safe to say that Damien Kulynych is the best at NHL 14 as he beats me everyday and is currently beating me right now. Living with Jamie Young has been great. Since he's a Cleveland Browns fan, it's safe to say that he's going to be miserable most Sundays. However my New York Giants are off to a rocky start but they'll shake it off.

This past weekend was our annual senior citizen work day. I was fortunate enough to work with senior Jared Wynia and sophomore Chris Eiserman. We helped sweet Lucy trim her bushes, spread mulch, and tried to stay away from her creepy cat.

That's enough from me, thanks for reading!

-Nick Harper #30

Matt Cessna finds a home and family in Fredonia.......

Hello everyone, my name is Matt Cessna and I am a Business-Management Major here at Fredonia. I am going to be turning 21 in my freshman year because I played 2 years of Junior Hockey after I graduated High School in Chicago, IL. I have lived away from home since the age of 16 so that I could pursue my dream of one day becoming a student-athlete. Now 4 years later Fredonia and Coach Jeff Meredith gave me the chance to make my dream come true.

My first month here has been nothing but the best. All the hockey guys, starting with our captain, Cory Melkert were very welcoming and have made me feel right at home. Also playing junior hockey with Hunter Long, Marcus Ortiz, Erik Moberg, and Oskar Gerhardson helped a lot because Hunter, Marcus, and Erik have been here for a year so they know what is expected in the class room and on the ice. To have them give me such helpful information right at the beginning of my college career helped me get right into the swing of things.

The first week of classes did feel a little weird since I haven't been in a classroom for 2 years. All the teachers are more than helpful and really dedicate their time to help not only me but all the students in their classes succeed. Going from Junior hockey where you have all the time in the world to college where it feels like you don't have enough time in the day was a transition that went very smoothly due to everyone on campus being so friendly and helpful. Everyone on the hockey team have given me pointers and tips that they have learned to make them successful and did not hesitate to pass that along to me. I am very thankful for this once in a lifetime opportunity at a great school to live out my dream of being a student-athlete.

Not only does Coach Meredith make sure we are successful in the classroom and on the ice but also in the community. So last weekend we all went out for Senior Citizen Work Day and helped senior citizens with any work they needed done around their home. It felt great to go out and help such a wonderful community that has welcomed me with open arms. I am very excited for my future here at Fredonia and hope to help the hockey team raise a few more banners in Steele Hall, to succeed in the classroom and also be active in this great community.

Thanks for reading and hope to see all of you around campus and at our games.

Matt Cessna #19

Jamie Young posting for the first time.......

Hello there everyone,

Jamie Young here checking in for my first blog post of the year, I figured a small introduction would be nice for all the readers:

I am from Cleveland, OH.  I attended Gilmour Academy for high school, after Gilmour I played two years of junior hockey in Walpole, Ma for the Walpole Express, I am a Business Administration major here for my freshmen year, and I am a die-hard Cleveland Browns and Texas A&M Aggies football fan!! 

The beginning of my freshmen year here at Fredonia has been everything I could have ever wanted coming to college. All the boys have been great, classes are going well, and getting settled in was a breeze especially living with all the other freshmen (Plus Marcus Ortiz and Daniel Martensson)!! 

The team welcomed all the Freshmen with a Golf tournament the first weekend of the year and I'm proud to say I was a apart of the winning group, no help from me though…

This past weekend I had a great time with Zach White and Stephen Castriota during Senior Citizen Work day. Whitey led the charge pulling down vines and breaking up trees that Steve had cut down for him while I spent the morning weeding. It was great to get out in the community and help out in anyway we could.

Alright fans, that's enough from me for now.

Until next time,

Jamie Young #3

Oskar on his first month at Fredonia.......

Hello there,

Freshmen, Oskar Gerhardson here signing in for the first time. I think a little introductory would be in order so I am just gonna post some quick facts about me.

Age: 21

Position: Defensemen

Nationality: Swedish

Major: Business Management

Family: Mom, Dad and an older brother

Favorite NHL team: Washington Capitals

Favorite sports: Hockey, soccer, golf

Enough of that…..

Coming here to Fredonia has been a great experience so far. All the boys on the team have been very welcoming and helpful.  I live up in Igoe Hall with all the other freshmen from the hockey team. All of whom you will get to know in the next few days here on the blog. We all live in a dorm-suite so it´s four rooms with two people in each, and a shared bathroom. I have the honor to share room with our triathlon champion, and fellow Swede, Marcus Andersson. Fun fact here; Marcus is actually a world junior champion, not bad huh? If you wanna know what sport you should ask him when you see him running around campus!

On Senior Work Day me, Melky and JD had the opportunity to help 92 year old, Mrs. Crise.  We cleaned her windows and pulled a lot of weeds!

Here is a picture of Melky and JD working hard!

That’s all from me

Until next time, or as we would say in Swedish “Tack och hej leverpastej”

#9 Oskar Gerhardson

Have a good day !

Oskar

Melky watching the Jays go down the tube........

Cory here, checking in for my second blog of the year already. With three weeks passing rather quickly here in Fredonia things are starting to heat up school-wise. I usually tend to do my school work during the week so I have my weekends to relax. Sunday's here at 26 Forest consist of a lot of sports watching. Currently I am switching back and fourth between football, golf, and my Toronto Blue Jays. Speaking of the Blue Jays there is still a glimmer of hope for that second wild card position.

My girlfriend and I at Yankee Stadium

I was lucky enough to watch them play this year at Yankee Stadium with my beautiful girlfriend which was a pretty cool experience. My roommate Jared Wynia and I are avid Blue Jays fans and we are still hoping for the playoffs. The Blue Jays have a tendency of getting all of Canada's hopes up by starting off quick and then always falter down the stretch and it seems like its much of the same this year.

Well I am going to get back to my sports so until next time stay classy.

Melky #2

Kurt and Bourney work for Mrs. Coon........

Hello all,

 

It's Kurt Gottschalk here signing for my first blog post of the year. My summer started off with working for a landscaping company which consisted of wheel barrowing and working with stone much like Mr. Forslund. Later on in the summer I had a commitment to work at a hockey school teaching kids the fundamentals of hockey, from learning to skate to doing mohawk turns. As for the work out portion of my summer I worked on my skating and shooting with NHLer's such as Mark Giordano, Cody Hodgson and Mike Cammalleri. 

 

It's nice coming back to Fredonia with a year of experience under my belt. I am now living off campus with Frankie Hart, Mac McAvoy and Garrett Moore. 

 

As you may know from Darren Trebes' blog post from yesterday we had our annual Senior Work Day. Taylor Bourne and I teamed up and were fortunate to do some work for a sweet woman named Mrs. Irene Coon. Taylor and I helped clean up her garage and reorganize tools. We also took out a bunch of grass from her front yard so she could lay down some mulch. It was fun working with Mrs. Coon, she was happy with the fact that she had two experienced men working for her, Taylor having golf course maintenance experience and myself with both golf course maintenance and landscaping experience.

 

Until next time thanks for reading,

 

#6 Kurt Gottschalk

Darren and the boys helping out in the community today.......

Hello there hockey fans, this is Darrin Trebes signing in for today’s portion of the blog. 

Today I started my day by waking up at 7:00 AM to meet all of the boys in the Student Athlete Lounge area for our annual Senior Citizen Work Day. Cessna, Ortiz and I left at 8:15 to head to our location where we would be helping an elderly couple paint their shed. It was a great day to paint outside since it wasn’t too hot or too cold. Also, it wasn’t raining so that helps with being able to paint. 

L to R: Matt Cessna, Marcus Andersson, Marcus Ortiz, Hunter Long, Darren Trebes and Mr. and Mrs Bingham

There was more work that needed to be done so Hunter, Forslund and Marcus came to the house that we were working on once they were done working on the house they were assigned. Together we would paint a table, pull some weeds and take down a tree. It is strange to think that we are already three weeks into the year and the hockey season will be here before we know it. I hope everyone has a great day today.

Until next time,

Darrin Trebes #4

Eisey works out with his brothers over the summer

Hello everybody, Chris Eiserman signing on for my first blog of the year.

My summer this year was one to remember. When I went back home I was given the opportunity to train with my brothers. What was special about it was my brother Shane was getting ready for the NHL combine. My other brother, Billy, led the workouts and we followed. We pushed each other day in and day out. We had a routine that we followed. Some days we woke up early and started our training in the pool, others we would race each other around a track. Billy would set the bar on what weight we would use, it was always heavier than what we could do but Shane and I tried until we could get it up. I'm bigger, faster, and stronger this year because of them. I can't wait to get the season underway to showcase what I have worked for.

Mac makes us envious of being in Aruba............

Hey there folks, this is sophomore, Mackenzie McAvoy, signing in for today's portion of the blog.

I must say it was a very tough morning to wake up today since we had our class triathlon yesterday which consisted of 10 lengths of the pool, then running around the inside track twice with a cinder block, then after that battling a mile run. I must say it was a battle doing the entire thing, but it was definitely a great workout, and my favourite portion of the entire triathlon would be the swimming.

It feels like just yesterday we all just arrived here, but now being 3 weeks into the year and the season quickly approaching, it really feels like time is just flying by.

Since this is my first entry on the blog, I must say I had a great summer back home, I did a lot of flying while I was home, enjoyed the beach and also hit the gym pretty hard,but my favorite part about summer, was definitely my vacation down south to Aruba. 

 

But its back to reality now, having school work to focus on, and also hockey to give our minds a break from studying and also having fun with the boys. Anyways, I hope everyone has a good week, and even better weekend. Here is a picture of me away on vacation wishing I was back on the 

beach... ha ha. 

Mackenzie McAvoy #2

Andersson; Future Track Star?

Hello again bloggers, this is sophomore, defenseman, Zach White back for my second season here at Fredonia State.  

At this point the future of the team looks promising with a lot of talent and a solid work ethic.  Yesterday gave way to the annual event that all of the boys look forward to the most every year, the class triathlon.  This triathlon is not the typical triathlon; the race starts in the pool, followed by 2 laps around the indoor track with a cinder block, and finishing with the run around campus.  A lot of the boys lack talent in the swimming department and fall behind in this leg, especially my roommate Erik Moberg who could benefit from a pair of floaties in the pool.  After finishing the swim its time to toss a cinder block over your shoulder and grind out the 2 laps on the indoor track, in my opinion this is the worse part for me.  My shoulder is definitely feeling the aftermath of the cinder block today.  The last leg of the race is the run, this portion of the race is where future Swedish Olympic track star, Marcus Andersson emerged.  Andersson won the race in dramatic fashion circling the field as if he was on the home stretch of the Kentucky Derby.  

All in all the boys worked hard and finished well in the race.  However, today is a sore day for the boys so I’m sure a few ice baths will be mixed in as well as the foam rollers will get a lot of use.

Until next time,

Zach White #5

Forsey spent the summer working for the man.............

Hey guys Forsy signing in here for my first blog of the new school
year. It seems like just yesterday I was leaving campus to head back to
the Motherland for another summer with family and friends in Canada. I’m pleased to say I had a great summer at home as I trained with my best buddy Flags, if you didn’t know he is one of our goalies here at Fredonia.

I worked for a contracting company over the summer and I'm pleased to say that I would trade this saw in for a hockey stick any day of the week.

Now that I’m back at school its been great catching up with the boys and hearing about their summers. Since being back at school I have begun to settle in with my classes which includes a couple of mandatory math courses, so if any of you are math geniuses don’t be afraid to help me out! Anyways I’m off to class, hope you all have a great week.

Forsy

Hunter trying to keep Mobey from the neighbors........

Hey there, Hi there, Ho there hockey fans,

We are back at it here in Fredonia. My name is Hunter Long and I am returning as
a sophomore this season. Things are little different this year, my roommate and I
are living off campus and it has treated us well so far. We are neighbors with some
of the other boys, and the rest of them live a block away, so you can always find
something going on whether it’s a football game, or some NHL on Xbox.

Sometimes going to and from places you will catch Moberg out on his patio wearing his robe and reading a book, we have had some neighborhood complaints about him, so we are going to have to look into some blinds for his windows or something.

Great weather here in Fredonia so far, can’t wait for my favorite part of the season...Fall!!

GO Tennessee VOLS!

#26 Hunter Long

Sausage links or patties....such a decision.....

Hi everybody,

Garrett Moore here, back in Fredonia starting my sophomore year.  Being home was nice for a couple of months but it feels good to be in the school environment again. With a year of school and NCAA hockey under my belt I'm a little more prepared now than when I came in as a freshman last year. Summer was good though as it involved a cross country trip to California with some friends and a lot of rehabilitation for my ankle that I broke in the spring.

Things are going well here at school so far.  All settled in with my classes and in my new house.  Its also nice to be back on the ice with the guys too.  Even though our team lost in the skate the other day, its all in good fun and to prepare for the season.  We have a great group of guys that work hard and compete to win on the ice.

As for today, I had a good Saturday that involved sleeping in and getting some things done around the house.  In the afternoon, Frank, Kurt and myself went to Bob Evan's for a feast.  Kurt had a hard time ordering because he couldn't decide between sausage links and sausage patties. 

Thanks for reading,

Garrett Moore #17

JD here checking in on the Blog,

First week down of my Junior Year and it feels like yesterday I was pulling up for my first time at the Fred Campus.  As you can see we had an eventful weekend with our first annual golf outing and four of us took a trip up north to see the Jays play the Yanks.  Bourny really stole the spotlight on the ball game posting a whole album of photos.  But anyway it was my first trip to Toronto and I really enjoyed the experience.  Coming from Long Island I am use to traveling into Manhattan and seeing New York City, but Toronto was a very gorgeous city.  Everything was very clean and full of life.  My favorite part was being able to see the CN Tower while watching the game.  Apparently you can go to the top of the tower and walk around, but I am not a big fan of heights.  Now on to the golf outing.  The outing was my second ever appearance on a golf course.  The boys said my play was very good for a rookie, but my etiquette on the course was sub par.  Celebrating after a good shot down the fairway is frowned upon, Happy Gilmore steered me wrong.  But it was a beautiful day and an awesome time hanging with all the boys, getting to know the Freshman even better.  I would like to thank Doust for setting it all up, he did a fantastic job. Hopefully we can continue it as another tradition here for Fredonia State Hockey.

Hang Loose, JD #15

Mobey not excited about "Cheesy Friday"....

Hello,

 

Erik here again. I hope that all of you Fredonia Hockey fans enjoyed your summer, I certainly did... However it is great to be back, seeing all the boys again, and getting the feet moving. This year I also have company by three other fellow Swedes which is always nice. 

 

While I am writing this my financial advisor, Darrin Trebes, and I are researching potential stock investments.  Well since I am a very busy man I am afraid that this will be it for today. I have to go and get my daily meal of pasta, unfortunately it is cheesy Friday, so no Alfredo for Erik. I really need to fuel up today so I can kill penalties and block shots in our skate this afternoon.

Have a nice weekend,

 

 Erik

Frankie loves living off campus.................

Hi all!

It has been a great first week and a bit back in Fredonia. It's been nice getting to know the Freshmen as well as catching up with teammates that I have not seen over the summer. From what I have seen thus far, it is very encouraging seeing how determined and prepared everyone is. Even in the first couple skates the tempo has not taken long to speed up to a competitive pace.

It has been a nice adjustment living off campus this year. It is nice to get away and come " home" after a long day of classes. It took a little while to get everything cleaned and organized but my three roommates that consist of Garrett, Kurt and Mac conquered it. 

Classes have also been great, considering I have many teammates in each of my classes. My Stats class on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:30- 8:50 pm has Bourny, Garret, Mac, Ortiz, Moby, Hunter, Forsy, Flags and Eisy, .... lucky teacher! Tonight consists of a little homework followed by some TV time with the boys. I am looking forward to tomorrows skate and even more excited for Fridays.Team black won the first round of games on Tuesday, hopefully we can keep that up.  

Looking forward to October to start the season!

Bye for now,

Frankie Hart #8

JD gets his first taste of Toronto.........

JD here checking in on the Blog,

First week down of my Junior Year and it feels like yesterday I was pulling up for my first time at the Fred Campus.  As you can see we had an eventful weekend with our first annual golf outing and four of us took a trip up north to see the Jays play the Yanks.  Bourny really stole the spotlight on the ball game posting a whole album of photos.  But anyway it was my first trip to Toronto and I really enjoyed the experience.  Coming from Long Island I am use to traveling into Manhattan and seeing New York City, but Toronto was a very gorgeous city.  Everything was very clean and full of life. My favorite part was being able to see the CN Tower while watching the game.  Apparently you can go to the top of the tower and walk around, but I am not a big fan of heights.  

 

Now on to the golf outing.  The outing was my second ever appearance on a golf course.  The boys said my play was very good for a rookie, but my etiquette on the course was sub par.  I found out that celebrating after a good shot down the fairway is frowned upon, Happy Gilmore steered me wrong. 

But it was a beautiful day and an awesome time hanging with all the boys, getting to know the freshman even better.  I would like to thank Doust for setting it all up, he did a fantastic job. 

 

Hopefully we can continue it as another tradition here for Fredonia State Hockey.

Hang Loose, JD #15

A great day at the ballpark watching the Jays beat the Yanks in Jeter finale in TO.....

I can’t believe it is my Junior year already, I am halfway done with my college career here at Fredonia State.



John having a nap on the ride up 

After my first week it was great to be back with the team again and meet all the new freshman.  On Sunday our Junior class, which consists of John DeFeo, Mitch Kaufmann, Ryan Wilkinson and myself made a trip up to Toronto to watch the Blue Jays take on the Yankees.  John was a bit outnumbered with us three Canadians going up to cheer for the only Canadian baseball team and he being from New York.



Derek Jeter at bat

It was a great experience for my first MLB game, we left the house just after 8:00 and grabbed a quick bite at Tim Horton's for the road, we got into Toronto just after 11:00 and thanks to Forslund who gave us a heads up on a train station to park at to take the train in and avoid the game day traffic.  We arrived at Union station and had no idea where to go to get to the game, so the four of us followed a group of people wearing Jays jerseys hoping they were going to the game.  We came out of Union Station at ACC the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs and quickly found the diamond a couple blocks away.  It was a new experience for me to walk downtown in such a busy city.  We walked in and had some minutes to spare before the game started, so we took a tour around the Jays store where Mitch bought a new Jersey for himself before we located our seats.



Our seats

We got to our seats right before the Jays were honoring Yankees Derek Jeter for his last game in Toronto by donating $10,000 to his foundation.  The game started off strong with the first batter for the Yankees hitting a home run, then the game slowed down until the 6th inning and the Yankees being up 3-0, the Jays then hit back to back home runs to wake up the crowd.  Then in the 7th with another home run and a run, the Jays took the lead.  We left the game at the top of the 9th because we had to get to Hamilton to pick up Wilky’s truck and avoid the traffic getting out of the stadium.  After we picked up his truck it was a quick 2 hour drive back home.  Everyone was pretty tired after all the traveling but was a great day for us to hang out and do something a little different than the homework we are going to have on Sundays normally.

Taylor Bourne #29



The crowd from the lower bowl

 





Week #1 in the books says Flags.......

Well the first week here at Fredonia is over and it is time for week two to start.  The first week went by very fast and the work has already began to pile up.  Since they are mostly second and third year classes for me, syllabus week didn't go quite as easily as last year. The freshmen this year are great so far.  I could tell like I was the first year, they were a little hesitant at first.  Although this was true at first they have all seem to come around and are starting to embrace the Fredonia atmosphere. 

                Now that the week is over its time to buckle down and get into things.  Skates are going to start heating up as hitting comes into the equation from this week out.  Luckily for me, all I need to do is stop the puck and don’t need to worry about getting hit.  Sounds pretty easy, right?  It looks like this year most people have come back in even better shape, which is great because to me that just shows me that the boys are ready to work that much harder this year because they want to be that much more successful.  It’s going to be Captain, Cory Melkert leading the charge this year and I couldn't be happier with that.  With all the hard work that everyone has put in over the summer, Cory is the right person that is going to make sure that the boys don’t lose that over the year.

                Our team made some goals at the end of the season, reachable goals.  It’s time to get down to business and this week will be the beginning of it.  Everyone is fairly settled in now and there is no time for excuses.  It’s time to push each other to be better and we will.  I don’t think the guys want a first round exit this year in the playoffs and we are going to just see what we can do about that.

Until next time, Go Devils Go and keep it classy.

 

Flags