Z, KG Bid Bon Voyage

Two key components of the Syracuse Crunch hockey club's successful 2007-08 campaign have signed on with new teams. Goaltender Karl Goehring and captain Zenon Konopka will not don Al the Gorilla on their sweaters next season.

The Manitoba Moose signed Goehring to an AHL deal this week effectively ending the backstop's second stint in the Salt City. Goehring had a 7-6 record during the 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs, earning four of those victories against the Moose. During the regular season, Goehring went 15-8-2 with a 2.12 goals against average while stopping 93% of the shots he faced.


Konopka signed a two-year contract with the NHL's Tampa Bay Lighting on Thursday. He had been offered $265,000 by Columbus to remain the Crunch captain for the 2008-09 season. However, Konopka told The Post-Standard's Lindsey Kramer that, after speaking with new Lightning coach Barry Melrose, he feels he has a batter chance at making the NHL with his new club.


Konopka will earn $100,000 if he spends the entire first year of the deal with Tampa's AHL-afiliate Norfolk. The second year of the deal is one-way, meaning he'll make the same amount of money no matter which level he plays at. Kramer reports the salary of the second year of the deal to be in the $450,000-$500,000 range.


Ryan Maloney

Oswego Native Cole Dealt to Edmonton

Oswego native Erik Cole was traded to the Edmonton Oilers today in exchange for defenseman Joni Pitkanen. Cole, 29, had spent his first six NHL seasons with Carolina after the Hurricanes drafted him in the third round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. He helped lead Carolina to a seven-game Stanley Cup Finals victory over Edmonton in 2006.

Edmonton also acquired former Syracuse Crunch forward Gilbert Brule from Columbus in exchange for Raffi Torres. Brule scored three goals and had two assists for Syracuse in the 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs.

That's Our Boy

ESPN personality and SUNY Oswego graduate Steve Levy's name is seldom found on sports blogs. He seems to keep his nose clean despite being from Long Island (the southern tip, at that). But today Busted Coverage has posted some pictures of the Campus Center press box's namesake with a pair of cougars, and they were not taken at the zoo.

Mariah Carey's First Pitch

No translation needed....

-Matt Armstrong

In Memoriam: Memorial Cup

The Spokane Chiefs beat the host Kitchener Rangers 4-1 Sunday to capture their second Memorial Cup. The Memorial Cup is the most prestigious trophy in Canadian major junior hockey. Columbus draft pick Steve Mason was on the Ranger roster but did not play as he is recovering from knee surgery. Mason will likely see time in net for the Syracuse Crunch next season.

Cortland, Le Moyne Fall in Lax Championships

New York Tech defeated Le Moyne and Salisbury beat Cortland in today's NCAA Division II and III lacrosse championship games today in Foxborough, MA. Highlights to come...

Mirasty Featured on ESPN.com

ESPN.com's E-ticket features Syracuse Crunch enforcer Jon "Nasty" Mirasty this week. The article is titled "Men Who Love Goons" and delves into the world of hockey fighting. You may remember hearing Mirasty fight on WNYO airwaves when the Crunch met Rochester in an October exhibition game at the Campus Center in Oswego. The entire article can be found here. A fan video of Mirasty's Oswego fight can be found here.

ESPN.com Picks Up Paino Story

ESPN.com writer Wayne Drehs published a piece on the Oswego State Lakers baseball team today. The article touches on the accident during a recent game in which coach Frank Paino was struck in the head by a line drive. Click here for the story. Here is an excerpt:

The ballpark fell eerily silent, the only noise a wailing siren from an ambulance that couldn't arrive fast enough. Players fell to their knees. Parents and fans did the same. No one said a word, but nearly everyone feared the worst.

"I didn't think he was going to make it," said St. John Fisher pitcher Justin Lutes.

"It was a no-brainer that this could end up real bad," added Fisher coach Dan Pepicelli.

And then there was State University of New York at Oswego junior Dan Pecora. Said Pecora: "I thought I had killed my coach."

Slumpbuster?

Yankee slugger Jason Giambi has been in a slump of sorts. Many major leaguers implore numerous different tactics to help get out of this funk. Giambi rocks the gold thong.

You can imagine my reaction when I heard this watching today's New York Mets vs. New York Yankees game. Personally, I believe this to qualify as " too much information". The story gets even crazier...apparently he lends this g-string to other team mates to help them exercise those demons...According to the story published in the New York Daily News, he placed piece of paper on Yankee pitcher Mike Mussina's locker reading, "Pitchers need thongs too."

Apparently, the booty floss worked. Giambi hit a homerun off an 0-2 pitch from Johan Santana in the 8th inning.

-Matt Armstrong

Kimmel vs. Sports Guy

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

Crunch-Marlies Game 7 Tonight

The Syracuse Crunch and Toronto Marlies meet in Game 7 of the North Division Championship Series tonight at 7:30 p.m. The game will be televised on Time Warner 26.

Lakers Win ECAC Upstate Title

Tom Benedetto's three-run homer to left field in the eighth inning put the Lakers in front and they went on to the championship game victory. The back-and-forth game saw the Lakers take leads of 1-0, 5-1, and 8-3 until Brockport exploded for six runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 9-8 lead. More here...

Lakers Win Pair Without Paino

The Oswego State baseball team won a pair of games today to advance to the ECAC Tournament Championship. Their head coach, Frank Paino, was not present as he is recovering from being hit in the head by a foul ball during Thursday's game. More on this story here.

Our 500th Post: Happy Bridge Street Run

Today is Oswego's ever-popular Bridge Street Run. There will be no further posts on this day. Updating a story we ran yesterday, Laker baseball coach Frank Paino has been released from the hospital. More on that here. Enjoy BSR.

Sulking Like It's 2004

This school year marks the first since 2003-04 that the Oswego State Lakers failed to win a SUNYAC title in any team sport.

Ryan Maloney

Paino Struck By Foul Ball, Game Called

Today's baseball game between Oswego State and St. John Fisher was cut short after Laker coach Frank Paino was struck in the head by a line drive. More on the game here.

Magagna Gets The "C"

The Oswego State Lakers have selected Peter Magagna as the men's ice hockey team captain for the 2008-09 season. More to come...

Also, here are some dates from the tentatvive 2008-09 season schedule:

Oct. 18 @ Elmira

Nov. 1 Elmira

Nov. 7 @ Fredonia 7 p.m.
Nov. 8 @ Buffalo State 7 p.m.

Nov. 28 @ St. Norbert 7 p.m.
Nov. 29 @ St. Scholastica 3:30 p.m.

Dec. 5 @ Plattsburgh 7 p.m.
Dec. 6 @ Potsdam 7 p.m.

Jan. 30 Fredonia 7 p.m.
Jan. 31 Buffalo State 7 p.m.

Feb. 20 Plattsburgh 7 p.m.
Feb. 21 Potsdam 7 p.m.

Ryan Maloney

Dramatic Chipmunk

Can't really say anymore.

Posted by Pat Morgan

Cortland Sweeps SUNYAC Spring Titles

Cortland beat Buffalo State 3-1 today to win the 2008 SUNYAC Softball Championship today in Plattsburgh. Jamesville-DeWitt graduate Amanda Barnett hit a two-run home run in the third inning to plate the game-winning run. The Red Dragons went 4-1 on the weekend in the double-elimination tournament to earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.

Cortland also beat Brockport 12-5 in today's SUNYAC Baseball Championship in Cortland. The Dragons went 3-0 on the weekend to earn their fourth straight NCAA Tournament bid. Cortland has won 16 SUNYAC baseball titles since 1991 and 27 overall.

The Red Dragons made it a clean sweep of the weekend by claiming the SUNYAC men's and women's lacrosse titles with wins over Geneseo and Brockport respectively.

WTOP Regains Golden Pitcher With 12-4 Softball Win

The Golden Pitcher changed hands Saturday for the first time in more than a year as WTOP television topped WNYO radio 12-4 at the Lee Hall East softball field. WNYO's Loni Krauss allowed seven runs in the first inning as WTOP jumped out to an early 7-0 lead.

Benjamin Amey jumped ship this season to play for WTOP, but was not missed in the WNYO lineup as he twice failed to get the ball out of the infield. WTOP Sports Director Andrew Rohlin won in his debut as the head of Team WTOP, while WNYO Sports Director Ryan Maloney lost for the first time as head of Team WNYO and is now 2-1 in WNYO-WTOP contests.

Jackson Shelled As New Paltz Eliminates Oswego

Oswego State pitcher Michelle Jackson allowed eight runs on eight hits while walking four as New Platz beat the Lakers 8-0 in the fourth game of the SUNYAC softball tournament. The game marked the second of the day for each squad, the Red Hawks were no hit by Cortland earlier while the Lakers lost to Plattsburgh on a walk-off home run. The Lakers are now eliminated from their first-ever SUNYAC tournament.

Ryan Maloney

Cortland's Finch No-Hits New Paltz

Cortland pitcher Katie Finch has no-hit the New Paltz Red Hawks in the opening round of the SUNYAC tournament. The Red Dragons won the game 3-0 and advance to play Brockport tomorrow at 11 a.m.

The shutout was Finch's seventh of the season. She had pitched a pair of one-hit shutouts, including one against Oswego State, earlier in the year before today's no-hitter.

New Paltz will now face Oswego State today at 3 p.m. The loser of that game will be eliminated from the SUNYAC tournament.

Ryan Maloney

Walk-Off Home Run Spoils Laker Upset Bid

Laker hurler Michelle Jackson threw six shutout innings of two-hit ball, but surrendered a two-run blast in the seventh to Amy Woo as Plattsburgh topped the Lakers 2-1 in the SUNYAC tournament opener.

More to come...

BOX SCORE

Women's Softball Departs For SUNYAC Playoffs

Neither the world wide web nor the SUNYAC Commissioner's Office could tell me the last time the Oswego State softball team qualified for their conference tournament. Head coach Chyrisse Conte cleared that up for me with one word.

"Never."

Yes, for the first time in their 58-year history, Birnie Bus Service, Inc. is transporting a playoff-bound Oswego State softball team. The Lakers finished sixth in the conference with a 12-10 mark. They'll play top-seed, and host, Plattsburgh bright and early tomorrow at 9 a.m. The Cards recently swept a doubleheader from Oswego at Laker field, but that did little to quell the confidence of the playoff rookies.

"We can totally beat Plattsburgh," said senior catcher Sarah Castaldo. "We came close in the first game. If we can hit tomorrow, we'll be fine." Castaldo's demeanor is mirrored in her teammates according to coach Conte.

"I said to the kids we have to be up at six and onto the bus at seven. They all shrugged and said, 'Bring [Plattsburgh] on," said Conte. "We played them tough, so I think we have a real good shot at being competitive with them." Just moments before the team bus (pictured) departed, no one seemed more poised than pitcher Michelle Jackson. The junior has yet to defeat the Cardinals in her Laker career, but felt that her offense wouldn't need to give her much to change that.

"I'd say three or four runs. Three or four and we'll get the win," said Jackson. The ace may not feel as though she needs much from her teammates at the plate, but they'll need plenty from her on the rubber.

"I think she's gonna [pitch] about 98% of the post season," said Castaldo. "We're pretty much relying on her." The Lakers may be saying the same about Castaldo in the top half of each inning this weekend. The Oswego native leads the Lakers in batting average (.456), home runs (7), RBI (30), total bases (73), on base percentage (.500), and is second on the team in steals (5 in 6 chances).

"Every coach this year has mentioned Sarah Castaldo to me during the game," said Conte. "Her skills are amazing. I can't replace her. She catches every single game, her legs are bruised, she's a mess, but she plays hard all the time. She's the toughest kid I've ever coached."

Castaldo's toughness may meet its greatest test this weekend. Should the Lakers lose their early-morning game with Plattsburgh, they'll play again Thursday at 3 p.m. If they win, it's back to the field Friday for another 9 a.m. contest. The tournament is double-elimination format and could last until Sunday.

Ryan Maloney

Fun With Subtitles

We're not sure who made this, but it definitely rivals the guys at Knob Hockey.

It Ends Tonight?

We'll be at the War Memorial at OnCenter tonight for game six of the Calder Cup Playoff series between Manitoba and Syracuse. The Crunch hold a 3-2 lead and look to advance to the second round tonight. The game will be broadcast on Time Warner 26, faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Crunch beat writer Lindsey Kramer says the Crunch may be playing for more than the Calder Cup.

Laker Baseball Falls Six Outs Short Of SUNYACs

Brockport swept today's doubleheader from Oswego State to move into the fourth and final playoff spot in the SUNY Athletic Conference. The Lakers were a game up on the Golden Eagles entering today. After an 11-1 rout in game one, the Eagles put up four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning for a come-from-behind 7-6 victory in game two. Laker hurler Dustin Lefave (4-1) suffered his first collegiate loss in relief.

Pem-Choke! Lumber Kings Lose Page Cup

The Pictou County Weeks Crushers defeated Pembroke 4-1 in today's Fred Page Cup Championship in the Canadian Junior "A" Hockey League. The Lumber Kings had destroyed the host Crushers 7-1 just days earlier in round robin action. Laker recruit Eric Selleck had two markers and an assist in that game, but was held scoreless today. Fellow Laker recruit Paul Beckith stopped 28 of 29 shots in the initial meeting, but allowed four goals on 28 shots this afternoon. The game was tied 1-1 before the Crushers scored the game-winner with seven minutes remaining in the third period.

Ryan Maloney

Storm Throttles Lakers in Season Finale'

The Keuka Storm beat Oswego State 15-8 in men's lacrosse action at Laker Field today. The Lakers end the season with a record of 3-12, their sixth straight losing season and fifth straight with 10 or more losses. During that stretch, head coach Dan Witmer's (pictured) career record has fallen from 130-118 to 169-199. The Lakers' 12 losses tie them with the 2005 team for most losses in program history.

Brohm Hits Century Mark

Oswego State senior Mike Brohm became the 19th member of the Oswego State men's lacrosse 100-point club just moments ago in a 20-5 Laker victory over Morrisville. Brohm reached the milestone with a goal late in the fourth quarter. Oswego is now 3-11 on the year and will close out their fifth-consecutive double-digit loss season tomorrow when they host Keuka at 1 p.m. The Mustangs fell to 0-11 with the loss.

UPDATE: I am retarded. Mike Strohm reached the century mark on Saturday. No word on what Mike Brohm did that day.

NOW ON AIR: Laker Baseball

Mike Toper and Ernie Acosta are live at Laker Field for today's doubleheader between CCNY and Oswego State. The Lakers have lost four of their last five and will look to right the ship with three games against the Beavers in two days.

WNYO Sports Exclusive: 2008-09 Hockey Recruits

WNYO has just learned the names of several Oswego State Lakers men's hockey recruits. Here is part one of this six-post series.

Paul Beckwith - Starting goaltender for Canada's #1 ranked junior team, the Pembroke Lumber Kings. Beckwith earned a shutout on Apr. 15 in Game 5 of the CJHL championship to help the Kings clinch their second-straight Bogart Cup.

BIO: After leading the Cleveland Junior Lumberjacks to the National Championships in 2006, he once again proved himself as a "big game" goalie as he was nearly unbeatable during the Kings 2007 championship run which saw him get recognized as the MVP of the CJHL playoffs.

YEAR	TEAM	GP	W	L	T	SO	GA	GAA	SV%
2007/2008	Pembroke	44	29	9	2	6	100	2.40	0.911

BIO & STATS COURTESY OF PEMBROKE LUMBER KINGS WEBSITE

Ryan Maloney

Hockey Recruits: Eric Selleck

Eric Selleck - Forward for the Pembroke Lumber Kings. Selleck assisted on the game-winning goal in the Kings' Game 5 CJHL Championship victory. He may be called upon to fill the role vacated by the graduating C.J. Thompson as a "power" forward.

BIO: Eric returns to the Kings after scoring 23 goals last season and developing into one of the top power forwards in the CJHL with a reputation as a tough and competitive player. He was named the Lumber Kings rookie of the year for the 2005-2006 season.

YEAR	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	PPG	PPA	SHG	SHA	GWG
2007/2008	Pembroke	49	43	38	81	120	14	14	1	0	6

BIO & STATS COURTESY OF PEMBROKE LUMBER KINGS WEBSITE

Hockey Recruits: Andrew Mather

Andrew Mather - Forward with the Nepean Raiders who has the near-identical listed build of Derrell Levy (Levy listed as 5-10, 187 lbs while Mather listed as 5-10, 185 lbs). Currently plays center and could be a valuable addition to a Laker power play group that struggled in 2007-08 (18.7 % success rate), although Nepean wasn't any better (18.4 %).

YEAR	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	PPG	PPA	SHG	SHA	GWG
2007/2008	Nepean	57	28	43	71	64	10	14	2	2	4

STATS COURTESY OF NEPEAN WARRIORS WEBSITE

Hockey Recruits: Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson - Captain defensemen for the Wellington Dukes. Anderson was an OHPHL All-Star this season and will join a strong Laker defensive unit that returns all of its members from the 2007-08 season. That means Anderson will have his work cut out from him if he is going to earn ice time as a freshman.

Bio: Steady, mobile and tough, Jared makes a great first pass and is a gifted skater.

Season	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		+/-	PPG	SHG	GW
2007 (R)	31	2	11	13	57		0	0	0	0