ESG - Girls hockey
Seniors-to-be hoping for golden finale
by JASON NADOLINSKI Reporter

Western Region goalie Kimberly Sass of East Amherst stopped 57 of the 62 shots she faced in three games at last year's Empire State Games, helping her team earn the silver. File photo

The end of the line is approaching for multiple members of the Western Region's scholastic girls hockey team, and there's nothing more they'd like to do than avenge last year's second-place finish and reclaim the gold they earned as Empire State Games rookies two summers ago.

Given all the veteran leadership and skill that comes with this year's squad, a golden finish is very real possibility once the Games commence Thursday, July 26 at the Playland Ice Casino in Rye.

"This group of players has been really excited to go to this Empire State Games for a long time," Western coach Kristen Steele said. "I've been talking to a bunch of them throughout the year about it, and they're all excited about having the chance to fix what happened last year, at least in their own minds. Don't get me wrong, earning a silver was great, but these girls want to go out on a high note."

Western went 3-1-1 last summer en route to claiming the silver medal. The squad's lone loss came at the hands of Long Island (3-2), the team that Western defeated (4-0) to clinch the gold medal in 2005. Western also recorded a 1-1 tie with Central last year to go along with lopsided wins over Hudson Valley (4-1), New York City (9-0) and Adirondack (5-1).

"My first year there, we got a taste of the gold, but last year we felt like we let ourselves down getting the silver," said Cheektowaga resident Pamela Zgoda, a defenseman who had three assists last summer. "We'd like to get the gold again, and I think we've definitely got the talent on the team, if we work together, to have a great chance at getting the gold again."

"With it being some of the girls' last year playing in the Empire State Games, we definitely want to get gold," said Clarence resident Jacquie Greco, a defenseman who had two assists last year. "We're going to work hard to get that, and with almost everyone back with a year of additional experience, we should be in good shape."

Western's roster is somewhat of a rarity when it comes to the Games' girls hockey teams in that nearly every player is a member of the same travel squad, the Bisons 16U. A handful of those players also compete for Nichols' girls squad, so Steele is able to forego using too much practice time getting the girls to know one another and can instead focus on what it's going to take to reclaim the gold.

"There's definitely a lot of kids used to playing with each other, and there's a lot of familiarity even with the Rochester players because some of them also play for the Bisons," Steele said. "The nice thing about it is that there's no split between the Buffalo and Rochester kids."

"I was on the same line both my first and second years, so I know how the girls are going to play, I know what their moves are," said Snyder's Grace Waters, a forward who had two goals and an assist last summer. "Last year we came out a little weak and that hurt our chances at gold, so we know we've always got to put out our best effort right from the first game."

Orchard Park resident Maggie Giamo echoed Waters' sentiments about not looking past opponents or feeling that the gold would just be handed to the Western team. Like her teammates, Giamo knows that earning the gold medal is going to take hard work and non-stop effort.

"I think last year we thought the gold would be ours, but then we lost to a team we shouldn't have," said Giamo, a center who had one assist last year. "We need to be more focused and not goof around before the game, because that reflected on the ice a little bit last year. We have to give 100 percent all game and never coast on any shift."

Goalie Kimberly Sass of East Amherst is looking to play as much, if not more, than she did last summer in compiling a 1-1-1 record. Sass stopped 57 of the 62 shots she faced in those contests, and she knows that at least the same effort will be required this time around if she and her teammates want to close out the Games on top.

"We want to finish strong and make up for last year," said Sass. "We have a pretty talented group, so hopefully if we stay focused, everything will click."

The team isn't entirely made up of Games' veterans, however.

Depew resident Brianna Murphy is a newcomer to the Games, making the roster on her second attempt. Murphy is one of the myriad of Bisons players, though, so she's not too worried about trying to learn the ins and outs of new teammates.

"I know most of the girls really well from the Bisons, and they've already told me what to expect at the Games," Murphy said. "I didn't know what to expect, so I'm just happy to make the team. It's still a little nerve wracking to play in a tournament like the Games, even though I've played in national-level tournaments before."

"Brianna's one of the scorers from our Bisons team, so she should make our Games' team that much better," said West Seneca resident Brigitte Cellino, who had a goal and an assist last summer. "It's just nice to finally be one of the older players so I can keep up with the competition better."

Western opens the Games by taking on Adirondack at 2 p.m. Thursday. Western then plays Hudson Valley at 10 a.m. Friday, July 27 before a Saturday doubleheader has Western taking on Central at 8 a.m. and New York City at 5:30 p.m. The Games conclude for Western at 11:30 a.m. Sunday with a contest against Long Island.

"Adirondack and Central are always tough, and Long Island should be in the running too," Steele said. "Hudson Valley should be stronger than it has been in the past as well, but you never know how things will go until you get there and play the games. We are going to have to change our style a little bit because we're playing on a smaller rink. We're going to have to prepare for physical play, so we have to learn pretty quick how to play off of bodies and how to not get knocked off the puck."

e-mail: jnadolinski@beenews.com