By CAP CAREY
TIMES SPORTSWRITER
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2012
POTSDAM — A renovation project at SUNY Potsdam’s Maxcy Hall Ice Arena has some members of the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team reliving old times on the ice.
The men’s team is conducting practices this season at Clarkson University’s Cheel Arena, a building that holds fond memories for Bears coach Chris Bernard, a former Clarkson goalie who graduated in 1998.
“It’s a little surreal,” said Bernard, who was a backup for the Golden Knights. “It really hit me at a practice last Saturday. I don’t think I’ve skated on this ice very often since I’ve graduated, let alone on a Saturday. It was a (Clarkson) game day. It had special feel, I think, for me. I was the first guy on the ice skating around, just kind of taking it all in. There were some memories flooding back.”
Another member of the program who can reminisce about his new practice site is freshman goalie Jon Hall, a Dexter native who was a key factor in Thousand Islands winning the Section 10 Division II championship there in 2008.
“It’s a lot of fun to be in Cheel,” Hall said. “It’s a great arena and I remember playing here in the Section 10 championship a few years back.”
SUNY Potsdam, which is coming off an 8-16-2 overall record and a 6-10 record in the SUNYAC, may be practicing at Cheel Arena, but the Bears games will take place at the Massena Arena.
Some coaches might look at traveling 20-to-30 minutes by bus to every home game as an inconvenience, but Bernard sees an opportunity.
“It gives us a chance to cultivate a potential new fan base by being (Massena’s) adopted hometown team for one year,” Bernard said. “I think it gives us a chance to connect with them in the hopes that when our renovation program is done we have a new audience that comes to Maxcy Hall.”
The memories of Massena Arena aren’t as good for Hall, who squared off against Massena’s Division I state championship team in 2008.
“They were always a good team,” Hall said. “We took quite a few beatings up there. It’s a great barn. They always had good fans up there. Hopefully we can get some fan support.”
The one-year inconvenience is tempered by the fact that Bernard has a new place to sell to recruits.
“We’re really blessed to think we’re going to have an opportunity to play in a building that is really second-to-none in (NCAA) Division III,” Bernard said of Potsdam’s new facility. “It’s not only the ice surface, and the locker rooms, and the state-of-the-art nature those are going to be, but couple it with the Maxcy Hall facility. It’s a showpiece that we are starting to see pay dividends now, with recruits from this class, and classes that continue in the future.”
The Bears were picked to finish sixth out of nine teams in the SUNYAC preseason poll.
“Preseason polls don’t mean a whole lot,” Bernard said. “It’s an indication that people have a degree of respect for us and aren’t going to take us lightly. Being positioned where we are gives us a chance to have motivation to say we think we’re capable of a whole lot more. Last year, we were competitive with everybody. We had a couple of one-goal games with (SUNY) Plattsburgh and (SUNY) Oswego. We narrowed the gap.”
PREVIEW: DIVISION III COLLEGE HOCKEY
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SUNY Potsdam Bears
Coach: Chris Bernard (4th year).
2011-12 records: 8-16-2 overall (6-10 SUNYAC).
Roster: Jon Hall (Fr. G), Kevin O’Connor (So. D), Max Fogel (So. D), Kevin Carpenter (Jr. D), Nick Avgerinos (Jr. D), Ryan Miller (So. F), Matt Viola (Sr. F), Adam Place (Jr. F), Billy Pascalli (Fr. F), Ken Simon (So. F), Dan McCarney (So. D), Jake Rivera (Fr. F), Mike Arnold (Jr. F), Matt Thompson (Fr. F), Zach Blake (So. F), Brad Campagna (Fr. D), Mike Riley (Fr. F), Brett Waters (Sr. D), Vinny Buttitta (So. F), Todd Thomas (Fr. F), Erick Ware (So. D), Austin Keiser (Fr. G), Andy Groulx (Sr. G), Shane Talarico (Jr. G), Trevor Cope (So. F).
