February 10, 2008
NCCC Women’s Hockey Ousts Rochester
Saranac Lake -- The North Country Community College Lady Saints hockey team won their final home game of the 2007-2008 season in style with a 12-1 victory against the University of Rochester on Saturday at the Saranac Lake Civic Center. After struggling on offense throughout the second half of the season, the Saints exploded with four first-period goals, lead by assistant captain Cristie Heath of Saranac Lake. Heath began the outburst recording a hat trick in the first period and finishing the game with four goals and an assist. Heath leads the team with eight goals and fourteen points overall. Joining her was fellow assistant captain Janelle Charland, playing wing for the first time this year. Charland, second on the team in points, completed her own hat trick by the close of the second period with three unassisted tallies before adding three more assists along the way. First-year forward Tekonwakwenni Nanticoke became the third Saints player on the day to record a hat trick, notching her sixth goal of the season. Nanticoke also added an assist. First year forwards Tsiawente Jackson and Diane Ralyea each had a goal and an assist to add to the Saints suddenly explosive offense.
Though the Saints were down to three defenseman, Captain Michelle Jondo (an assist), Chelsie Geelser and Ericka Heath (two assists) shut down the Rochester offense, limiting the Yellow Jackets to twenty-five shots on goal and few good scoring chances. Backstopping their effort was first-year goaltender Loretta Mundy. With the Saints only other goaltending option out with an injury, Mundy, who has played wing for the past few contests, returned to the net with her best effort of the season. The victory evened Mundy’s record to 3-3-1. Despite the lopsided score, the Saints, playing with only eight skaters, took eight minor penalties. But Mundy was at her best during those penalty killing situations, turning away each successive attack and leading to two shorthanded goals (Charland, C. Heath) while stopping 24 of the 25 shots she faced. It was a welcome victory for the Saints who snapped a four-game losing streak.
With their confidence riding high after Saturday’s win, the Saints look forward to their final road trip of the season before entering the NEWCHA league playoffs. The Lady Saints close out their regular season with road games against the University of Brockport and the University of Rochester on February 22 and 23.
February 4, 2008
NCCC Women Lose Pair at Home
Saranac Lake -- The North Country Community College Lady Saints hockey team fell to North East Women's Collegiate Hockey Association (NEWCHA) rivals Syracuse and Brockport in two recent home games.
On January 26, the Lady Saints opened their home schedule with a 3-2 loss to Syracuse in overtime. First year wing Tsiawente Jackson scored a shorthanded goal to open the scoring early in the first period but the Saints quickly found themselves trailing 2-1 going into the third. Fellow first-year Chelsea Meyer scored her team leading fifth goal of the year off a feed from defender Janelle Charland to send the game to overtime where both teams had multiple scoring chances. Syracuse was able to sneak a rebound past first-year goalie Loretta Mundy to avenge two earlier losses to the Saints in front of their home crowd.
On February 3rd, the Saints traveled to Potsdam’s Maxcy Hall Arena to take on visiting Brockport. After falling behind 2-0, the Saints rallied behind Saranac Lake native Cristie Heath who scored her fourth goal of the year to cut the deficit in half. Following a number of opportunities to tie the game in the third period, an unlucky deflection found its way past goalie Chelsea Meyer making the score 3-1 in favor of Brockport. An empty net goal with seconds left extinguished any hope of a miracle comeback and dropped the Saints record to 2-5-1 overall. Meyer had stopped 29 of 32 shots before being pulled.
The Lady Saints season continues with a home game against Potsdam on February 6th followed by a weekend series against Rochester and Colgate at the Saranac Lake Civic Center.
December 5, 2007
NCCC Women edged by Potsdam in OT
SARANAC LAKE -- The North Country Community College Lady Saints hockey team traveled to Potsdam on Wednesday night to take on the SUNY Potsdam Bears, losing 2-1 in overtime.
North County first-year player Diane Ralyea opened the scoring at the eleven-minute mark of the first period with her team-leading fifth goal of the season. Taking a pass from fellow freshman Loretta Mundy, Ralyea slid the puck beneath the sprawling Potsdam goaltender to give the Saints a 1-0 lead.
Saints goaltender Chelsea Meyer held the Bears scoreless with an array of acrobatic saves and preserved the lead until midway through the third period. With the score tied at 1 at the end of regulation, the teams entered a sudden death overtime period where the Bears’ offense capitalized, netting the game-winner just fifty seven seconds into the extra period during a scramble in front of the Saints net to seal the victory.
Despite the hard fought loss, the Saints played their strongest all around game of the season. Making her first start of the season, Meyer stopped 41 of 43 shots, most of which were from close range to keep her team in the game. First-year centers Tekonwakwenni Nanticoke and Diane Ralyea each lead their lines with strong offensive games, posting a respectable total of 28 shots on goal.
Head Coach Michael Fisher was pleased with the team’s effort despite the result. “Our offense created a number of chances against what was probably a stronger and deeper team. After the first goal I really thought we might score in bunches. We just barely missed on a few chances in close. Hopefully when we see this team again in February we’ll make those chances count.”
Fisher added, “Late in the game I thought we played a bit too conservatively, almost as if we were surprised by the score. There’s no question our goaltending kept us in the game and that Chelsea was outstanding from start to finish. Our players are already looking forward to playing them again later in the season.”
The loss dropped the Saints to a record of 2-3-1. Their next game will take place on January 26 when they host Syracuse University at the Saranac Lake Civic Center.
November 19, 2007
NCCC Women Split Weekend in Central New York
Saranac Lake -- The North Country Community College Lady Saints hockey team traveled to Ithaca and Syracuse this past weekend to take on North East Women's Collegiate Hockey Association (NEWCHA) foes Cornell University and Syracuse University.
On Saturday, the Lady Saints fell to a deep and talented Cornell squad 11-1 in the opener. North Country freshman center Diane Ralyea tallied her fourth goal of the season on assists from fellow first-year Tekonwakwenni Nanticoke and second-year defenseman Janelle Charland for the Saints only offense.
In Sunday’s game the Saints dominated Syracuse University from the opening face-off and skated to a 10-2 victory. Assistant captain Cristie Heath of Saranac Lake added to her team leading seven points with two goals and three assists and freshman winger Chelsea Meyer provided a hat trick to lead the Saints to victory. The defensive trio of captain Michelle Jondo, assistant captain Janelle Charland and Chelsie Geelsler of Lake Placid combined to add four goals and four assists from the blue-line, with first-year winger Tsiawente Jackson adding another goal in the Saints largest offensive outburst of the year. First-year goaltender Loretta Mundy stopped 22 of 24 shots to earn her second win of the season and pull the Saints to a record of 2-2-1.
Head Coach Michael Fisher was pleased with the weekend split adding, “We ran into a pretty strong Cornell squad and just came out flat after a three week layoff. Unfortunately they had the talent and depth to take advantage of that and we weren’t able to recover. What really impressed me was the way our young women bounced back on Sunday. Despite our unusually short bench they demonstrated plenty of offensive firepower and played a gritty, physical game in their own end. When we add the solid goaltending to that combination that we got against Syracuse we’ll be pretty tough to beat. Everything came together and the team showed what they’re capable of.”
The Lady Saints play another road game against SUNY Potsdam on December 3rd before their home opener against Geneseo on December 8th at the Saranac Lake Civic Center.
For more information, contact
Michael Fisher, Head Coach
Office – (518) 523-5600
October 29, 2007
NCCC Women take Second in pre-Season Hockey Tournament
Saranac Lake -- The North Country Community College Lady Saints hockey team traveled to Rochester, New York, last weekend to participate in the Northeast Women's Collegiate Hockey Association’s (NEWCHA) pre-season Jamboree.
Fielding just four returning players, the Lady Saints tied 1-1 in their first outing Saturday against Niagara University. Freshman Tekonwakwenni Nanticoke from Akwesasne, NY, scored the NCCC women’s lone goal.
In the second match Saturday against Syracuse University, the Saints scored early and often on their way to a 7-2 win. Diane Ralyea, a freshman from McGraw, NY, racked up a hat trick and an assist. As she crossed into the Syracuse zone, Nanticoke fired an impressive slapshot which nicked the pipes as it passed the SU goalie. She also earned an assist in the game. Freshman Chelsea Meyer of Interlaken scored a goal and two assists. Tsiawente Jackson, a freshman from Akwesasne, and Cristie Heath, a sophomore from Saranac Lake, scored one each, and Heath earned an assist. Also earning assist points were Captain Michelle Jondo, a sophomore from Baltimore, Md., and Kristin Jock, a freshman from Akwesasne. Freshman goalie Loretta Mundy of Kittanning, Penn. allowed just two goals on 20 shots in her team’s victory.
In the championship game Sunday morning, the Saints were shut out 6-0 against SUNY Brockport.
At his team’s 1-1-1 finish, Head Coach Michael Fisher was upbeat. “These young women have been practicing together for only a couple of weeks, while some of the teams we saw this weekend had already played up to half a dozen games together. This was a good test for most of them as new college players and, especially, as a team. We have a lot to work on as the season progresses, of course, but they performed very well in their first outing.”
The other NEWCHA teams participating were Colgate University and University of Rochester.
The Lady Saints go on the road again in three weeks to meet Cornell University on November 17 and Syracuse University on November 18.
Fisher Named Head Women's Hockey Coach
The Saints Athletic Department is happy to announce that Michael Fisher will be taking over the women’s hockey program.
Fisher was most recently involved with the National Sports Academy’s (Lake Placid, NY) boys’ hockey program as an assistant coach and goaltending coach during the 2005-2006 season. Prior to his move to Lake Placid in 2005, Coach Fisher was the Head Women’s Ice Hockey Coach at Mount Holyoke College (South Hadley, MA). He turned his first season record of 1-3-1 around quickly, going 10-9-2 in his second season with the team. While in Massachusetts, he also coached the Bay State Lions, a women’s team comprised of both high school and college students which competed in tournaments throughout western Massachusetts. He also served as a hockey instructor and Assistant Facilities Manager at a local arena.
Coach Fisher is excited about his new role with the hockey program. “As the only community college to support a women’s ice hockey team, NCCC possesses the tradition and excellence every hockey fan admires. I am honored to become a part of that,” states Fisher. “Through education and communication we will foster a strong team atmosphere and create an environment that will allow our student-athletes to reach their absolute potential, both on the ice and in the classroom.”
“Coach Fisher brings with him a passion and wealth of enthusiasm for the game of hockey,” said Heather Conger, North Country’s Athletics Director. “The Saints Athletic Department welcomes his addition to our staff.”
“I am especially looking forward to the team’s return to the Northeast Women’s Collegiate Hockey Association in the upcoming 2007-08 season, where our players will compete against a number of well established women’s hockey programs,” adds Fisher. “With the support of the athletic department, dedication of the coaching staff, and determination of our players, I am eager to continue building on the program’s past successes, and to help return the program to a level of national prominence befitting women’s hockey in the Adirondacks.”
Fisher went to Colgate University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1997. There, he was a three year member of the Colgate Ice Hockey Club team as a defenseman. He then went on to graduate from Fordham University with a Juris Doctor in 2000. Fisher currently is an attorney in Lake Placid, NY.
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