Tag Archives: niagarauniversity

13 March 2009

CHA Hockey Tournament

By Nicki

Last year at this time, I was ensconced at Niagara University for the College Hockey America tournament at Dwyer Arena.  While I would love – at least for the hockey that is going to be taking place – to be in Bemidji, Minnesota this weekend, I will be keeping tabs on the Purple Eagles via internet while I enjoy Big East and MAC basketball on television.

 

CHA is a hockey league that is in sad shape, having lost one team last year when Wayne State stopped sporting a men’s ice hockey team.  Niagara is poised to possibly take its second tournament championship, if the Purple Eagles can sneak past host and regular season champs Bemidji State.

 

The definite good news on the Purple Eagles front comes in post-season awards given out to members of the men’s ice hockey team.  Vince Rocco was named CHA Student-Athlete of the Year, a Niagara first.  Juliano Pagliero was named CHA Player of the Year, the third time a Niagara player has earned this honor in the last four years.  Read all about both honors here.

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3 January 2009

It’s A New Year…

By Nicki

… it’s another milestone.

I just made reservations in Niagara Falls for Graduation Weekend at Niagara University.  Granted this is not my first child to graduate from college.  This is the first of my six who has indicated any preference about walking in commencement.

Elise will graduate May 17th, 2009 with a degree in English and elementary education.  If any of you out there that read this know of teacher openings for the fall of 2009, let me know.

I will be heading to Niagara on May 15th.  That evening we will have a little party for Elise at her apartment which she swears is not on campus – but it really is.  Saturday is the Baccalaureate Mass and then a gala at the Castellani Art Museum on campus.  Sunday is the undergraduate graduation ceremony at UB’s Alumni Arena.

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28 October 2008

World Junior Hockey Coming to Western NY

By Nicki

I know yesterday’s blurb was pretty sure that this was the case.  Both the Buffalo News and the Niagara Gazette had articles saying Buffalo was the only of the three finalist cities to have a news conference scheduled for yesterday.

Yesterday, Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey, made the news official.  HSBC Arena, in downtown Buffalo, and Dwyer Arena, on the campus of Niagara University, will hose the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships.

I have been to many hockey games at Dwyer Arena over the past four years.  Improvements to the arena have been plentiful.  In March of 2008, Dwyer hosted the College Hockey America conference tournament.

I have spent some time in Buffalo in the past few years also.  It is not the dismal city it use to be.  It is a wonderful destination. 

If you are a hockey fan, look through the site above as you will want tickets to this event.

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27 October 2008

Western New York

By Nicki

Do you need a reason to visit Western New York – the Niagara-Buffalo area specifically?  Do you love hockey of all levels but the higher the level the better?  Stay tuned!  Your reason may appear this afternoon as USA Hockey holds a press conference in Buffalo.

Both The Buffalo News and The Niagara Gazette reported Saturday that USA Hockey, the top governing body for hockey in the US will hold a press conference at HSBC Arena today.  In attendance will be Sabres owner B Thomas Golisano, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and a representative from USA Hockey.  It is anticipated that the announcement will tell the world that the 2010-11 World Junior Hockey Championships will be played at HSBC Arena in downtown Buffalo and Dwyer Arena on the campus of Niagara University.  Buffalo is one of three finalists for this prestigious tournament, competing with Minneapolis and Grand Forks, ND for the honor.  The tournament is a ten day tourney that features the best 20 and under players in the world.

So, if you’re a hockey fan, stay tuned.  If you are looking for a reason to visit Western NY, stay tuned.

2 comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Just my Thoughts, Sports

23 October 2008

Road Trip!

By Nicki

Yes, I am off on a road trip at 7 am tomorrow morning.  My kitchen table looks like it is time for a college visit so…

… The soon-to-be 18 year old and his 14 year old brother and I head west along the Southern Tier Expressway tomorrow morning.  Initial destination – SUNY-Fredonia.  The high school senior has a 12 noon appointment with the trombone professor, a 1 pm appointment with an admissions counselor and then a tour of campus.  Hope I can keep the 14 year old entertained or at least quiet.

Then, we will hit the NYS Thruway and head to Niagara University.  It is Family Weekend.  We seldom partake in the scheduled events.  Last year, we spent Saturday in Lewiston and the Falls.  This year I haven’t quite figured it out yet but we have tickets to the 4 pm Niagara – Merrimack men’s hockey game (wish I could convince Time Warner Cable to broadcast the Niagara/Michigan game tonight but alas, my Mountaineers are playing tonight so no worries).  We will pick up the UB twin brother before the hockey game.  Not sure about meals but have had a request for me to make potato soup Friday when we get there.

So, if you see a group of people wandering around Niagara Falls this weekend and they don’t look like they live there but look comfortable, say hi!

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , | posted in Collegiate Sports, Family, Food and Recipes, Just my Thoughts, Sports

18 October 2008

October Means Family Weekends

By Nicki

No, not the kind where the whole family comes into town.  October means family weekends at the various colleges my older children attend.  That also means – ROAD TRIP!

This weekend is family weekend at the University at Buffalo.  My 21 year old son is a student at UB.  He is also president of True Blue – a fan club.  Family weekend at UB means football.  As much as I love college football, I am home this weekend as my youngest is on a scout campout and I don’t like being out of reach when he is on these. 

To substitute, my oldest took the almost 18 year old to UB for the weekend - sort of.  The 18 year old left home about 1 pm – he has a senior schedule that colleges are not going to like.  He went to Syracuse to rendevous with the oldest.  They went from Syracuse to Niagara University for the home opener for the men’s hockey team.  The 21 year old at UB has a twin sister at Niagara.  Then, back to the Amherst campus for the night and tailgating today.  The football game promises to be fantastic – UB vs. Army.

As all good parents do, I sent a bundle of food.  I spent two days in the kitchen.  There is apple cake (made two so the oldest could keep one in Syracuse),

chili (either for a meal or for tailgating), Chili

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (because everyone loves them) Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

and then fresh picked apples, some pretzels in Halloween bags and some chips that are the same.  There is also the box of requested items – a huge bottle of Frank’s Red Hot sauce, five cans of chicken breast meat, two huge bags of tortilla chips, some hamburger helper, some soup.

I start the baking and cooking all over again next Wednesday as next weekend is family weekend at Niagara University and I will take stuff with me there also.

   

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8 October 2008

A Call From College

By Nicki

I have received a lot of phone calls from my daughter who is a senior at Niagara University in the four years she has been there. 

There was the distraught call her first week at school that I missed and was on the answering machine when I got home from an outing with her younger brothers.  She was in tears as she had not gotten up in time to get the package sent from home.  It was a long weekend.  She was homesick.  She was at school and wanted to be at home.

There was the call later that same semester about how cool it was to meet Ben Folds as a member of NUSGA – the student government.  She has gone on to be a class senator and class vice-president in the four years and a very active member of the Campus Programming Board.

There was the happy call at the end of freshman year to tell me she got the Resident Assistant position for her sophomore year.  There was the not so happy call about her RA placement for junior year.

Then, there was the call today.  She isn’t on campus during the day this semester as she is student teaching.  It was lunch time for her kindergarten class.  Why did she call?  She wanted me to go to the Niagara web site and tell her about this morning’s press conference announcing a $10 million dollar gift to the university.  B Thomas Golisano has gifted the university with monies for a new science building.

Why do I find today’s phone call worthy of a blog post?  As parents, we often wonder if we have done all we can to help raise responsible adults.  We often wonder if we should influence their decisions or intervene when these decisions don’t look at first like they are going to work out.  Today’s phone call, on top of alerting me to good news about the university family that we have come to call a part of our own extended family, helped me know that the college years of my daughter’s life have been a success.  She is interested in things other than herself.  She loves where she is and will, undoubtedly, give back to the university that has given her so much over these past few years at some point in the future.  She has learned to work out those things in life that are not going the way she wishes and to not depend on Mom to help from afar (with the exception of calling for me to read her the press release).

1 comment   |  tags: , , | posted in Family, Just my Thoughts

29 March 2008

Niagara versus Michigan

By Nicki

If there is to be a Cinderella in a hockey tournament, it would be Niagara.  Of the 16 teams playing in the NCAA tournament this year, Niagara is seeded 15th.  They are up against the number one team in their region, a team that had only five losses all season and 32 victories.  Pretty daunting!

 Sea of Purple

A sea of purple showed up just about the time Niagara took the ice for warmups.  The fan bus and student bus from Niagara had left about 10 am Friday morning and didn’t come over to the Times-Union Center for the early game as there was a 5 pm Pep Rally at the Hilton Garden Inn, where the team and fans were staying.  While a great idea – a pep rally, that is, Elise and I were in town to see hockey so had skipped the pep rally to watch the early game.

Monty

The N-Zone gang even brought Monty, the Purple Eagle, with them.

The game was really intense.  Niagara was holding their own against a much larger and much faster team.  The big question, as the first period ended in a zero tie, I put to Elise was how long could they continue to hold their own.

 Pre Game Psych UP

Unfortunately, Niagara took some very unnecessary penalties at the end of the first period of play.  One of these carried over into period two and Michigan finally drew first blood by scoring.  It was like a different Niagara team, with the exception of Pags – the goaltender, had taken the ice at the beginning of period two.  Unfortunately, this team lost the game as there is only so far that good goal tending will take you.  When your team is held without a shot on goal for almost a whole period’s time, you are not going to go far.

The third period didn’t look much better, until Matt Carounas took the shut out away from Michigan with Niagara’s only goal of the game.  With 2:48 left to play and down by 3, Dave Burkholder, the Niagara head coach, tried his best to get his team closer.  He pulled Pags to give his team a scoring advantage, hopefully, by putting six skaters on the ice.  Unfortunately, this is not a great idea.  Niagara’s man up situation had not been all that effective all game so this was an issue.  Michigan scored its fifth and final goal into an empty net.

 

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29 March 2008

Clarkson versus St Cloud State

By Nicki

End of Hockey

Lei and I wound, literally, our way through the will call line to get our tickets.  There was a slight problem as they had been purchased using Ed’s credit card but he was not there so we had a copy of it.  He had spoken to the ticket company and they had said this would not be an issue.  Only problem was, they didn’t tell the box office that.

The first game, which the students who came from Niagara didn’t go to as they were waiting for a pep rally at the team hotel, was Clarkson versus St Cloud State.  I have known a lot of really smart engineers who have come out of Clarkson but hadn’t really thought much about their hockey team until last night.  I didn’t realize that there were one of the 10 (I think that is the right number) at-large bids to this tournament of 16.  Niagara has played some of the same teams that both St Cloud and Clarkson have played.  Lei and I couldn’t decide who we wanted to win.  Fortunately, there were a few obnoxious Michigan fans behind us who had bet on St Cloud so we decided Clarkson was who we would cheer for.

The game was not particularly great hockey.  Neither team was very fast.  Neither team was very physical.  My father, who had tickets on the other side of the arena, called it “finesse” hockey.  I am not sure if either of these “finesse” teams can beat a Michigan or a Niagara.

I was introduced to a new hockey “thing.”  I have never heard a hockey pep band until yesterday.  Of the four teams at the Times-Union Center, three brought pep bands.  Niagara brought theirs, though it didn’t seem to understand it was not like basketball and there were no cheerleaders.

The game ended with Clarkson advancing to play the winner of the late game – Niagara versus Michigan.

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27 March 2008

Road Trip Coming!!

By Nicki

My college-aged daughter and I are heading on a road trip.  Yes, the trip is set to satisfy both of our college hockey fanaticism.  We may even get some shopping in on Saturday.

Tomorrow morning, in what is suppose to be snow so very appropriate for hockey weather, my daughter and I will head to Albany for round one of the NCAA Hockey Tournament.  We are heading to the Times-Union Center in Albany for two games on Friday – #2 St Cloud State vs. #3 Clarkson and then, the reason for the trip, #4 Niagara vs. #1 Michigan.  The games are suppose to be broadcast on ESPNU so look for me if you get this channel.

I have many reasons to cheer on Niagara.  That is where my daughter attends college.  That is the team I am going to call “my” team this tournament.  But more importantly, I am always, first and foremost, a WVU Mountaineer and at this moment in time, we all still hate the University of Michigan.  We hate that their basketball coach is John Beilein, straight from the Mountainners.  We hate even more that their new football coach is none other than Rich Rodriguez.  Some things are not easily forgiven.

Elise attends Niagara University.  When she left for college three and a half years ago, she was not a big hockey fan.  She has become a huge hockey fan since living in the Greater Niagara Frontier.  We have seen two Niagara vs. Cornell games this year that were at Cornell during her between semester break.  At that time, I also went to one game in Niagara.

Two weeks ago, at the beginning of her spring break, I went to Niagara for the College Hockey American Tournament.  Niagara hosted this in “fan friendly” Dwyer Arena.  They also won the tournament, earning themselves an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

The NCAA Hockey Tournament, unlike March Madness where 65 teams start, starts with sixteen teams.  There are four regional locations – Albany, NY; Worcester, Massachusetts; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Madison, Wisconsin.  We were going together if Niagara played in Albany or Worcester.  Elise was probably going if the team played in Madison.

Look for more details on the road tomorrow.

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Family, Just my Thoughts, School Sports

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