TEAMS / SCHEDULES
NEWSLETTERS
TGHA TOURNAMENT
DIRECTIONS / RINKS
TGHA KEY LEADERS
TRY HOCKEY / JOIN US
REGISTRATION INFO
ALUMNI
CUB CLUB
 


Page updated 8/16/05

Former TGHA and IYHA Players Continue to Play in NCAA

What do these four hockey players have in common? 

One scored the game-winning goal in the Women’s Division 3 National championship game last season. Another was the third-leading scorer for the UConn Men’s team last season. A third made it to the NCAA Men’s playoffs last season. The last was the leading scorer for the Wesleyan Women’s team.

 The answer – They all grew up in Ithaca, New York, and got their starts playing youth hockey with Tompkins Girls Hockey Association (TGHA) and Ithaca Youth Hockey Association (IYHA). 

 Elizabeth Yale-Loehr got the game winner when her Middlebury (D3) team beat Wisconsin-Stevens Point in their D3 National championship.

 Chris Uber, a junior, is the UConn (D1) player. He was also their team leader in plus/minus.

 Marc Bianchi, also a junior, played defense for Holy Cross (D1)and played against then top-ranked North Dakota in the first round of last year’s NCAA playoffs.

 Senior Anna Siliciano led the Wesleyan (D3) Women’s team in scoring last year, and the previous year as well. Anna is also the Wesleyan Captain this year.

Above – Anna Siliciano leads her Wesleyan team against Chatham. Her leadership on the team earned her the captain’s spot this year.

They aren’t the only ones with Ithaca roots playing college hockey this year. In addition to the four listed above –

-        Jake Schwan is a freshman on the squad at Union College (D1).

-        Christina Valescente is in her sophomore season at Clarkson (D1). Her dad, George, is the Head Baseball Coach at Ithaca College.

-        Frances Jacobus-Parker is a senior at Wesleyan (D3).

-        Matt Caren is a junior at Geneseo (D3).

-        Darryl Pace and Janie Byrd are first- players at Cortland State (D3).

-        Mark McCutcheon is a sophomore at Cornell (D1). Mark’s Dad is former Cornell player and Head Coach Brian McCutcheon. Brian is now an Assistant Coach with the Buffalo Sabres

-        Kaley Ostanek is a senior, and Dave Wrisley a junior at RIT (D3)

Above – Chris Uber (6) prepares to take the faceoff in a game last month against Atlantic Hockey rival Holy Cross. To his right, former Ithaca teammate Marc Bianchi (24) prepares to defend his goal.

Next Season, there could be as many as eight locals playing Division 1 Hockey.

For a small town like Ithaca to have a player at the Division one level is usually noteworthy.  Five at one time is extraordinary. It could have been higher. At the start of the season, Christina Siliciano (Anna’s sister) was on the roster at Harvard, but elected to give up hockey and concentrate on academics. It seems there was a direct conflict between when science lab courses were offered, and practice times. Christina opted for the academics over the athletics. The number will increase ext year when RIT changes to a D1 status. That means Dave Wrisley will be a sixth, and Maura Grainger a seventh at Providence. There could be still another, depending on where current Apple Core player Brandon French ends up.

IYHA and TGHA have done a remarkable job of giving athletes the opportunity to play beyond their youth hockey careers. Dustin Brown is by far the best known player to come out of Ithaca in the past few years. The LA Kings’ first pick in the 2003 draft played through in Ithaca through “Bantams” (14 years and under). Like many others who have gone on to play at higher levels, players leave Ithaca to join teams from larger towns, to play a higher level of competition, and to play with teammates who have similar talent levels.

Such is the case now with Maura Grainger, Lucy Schoedel, and Jill Cater-Cyker. Grainger, who has committed to Hockey East power Providence for the 2005 academic year, played with TGHA until two years ago. Prior to jumping to Syracuse Stars she competed in USA Hockey’s national select program, where as a 14 year-old, she took honors as the leading scorer for that event. Schoedel and Cater-Cyker spent time with both local programs before going to Syracuse. Both are high school juniors and likely to play college hockey after next season. Several IYHA products are now with Syracuse for the same reasons. These three girls and several other TGHA members have competed for Central in the Empire State Games Scholastic Girls Ice Hockey Tournament (Zia Anger, Christina Siliciano, Christina Valesente, Elizabeth Yale-Loehr, Barbara McElwee, Jennifer Gold). 

 

While most of the girls can go right to college after their high school years, the boys tend to take a longer route. A handful of very elite male players can make their way to a D1 program right after grade twelve, but most find it necessary to play one, two, or sometimes three years of Junior Hockey before finding a college spot. It’s very competitive and college coaches want a “freshman” who can step into the lineup and contribute right away. The 21 year-old freshman is not uncommon in men’s college hockey.

The two organizations are also good training grounds for athletes who end up in other sports. Before she was a lacrosse player at UConn, Kate Wadach was a Shooting Star. Dave Grossman is an all-star goaltender in hockey, but will play lacrosse at Cornell next year. Maggie Taylert played for TGHA through her senior year in high school, but decided to take a “warmer” path and accept a golf scholarship at SUNY Albany. Mary Kate Wheeler played defense for Bowdoin as a freshmen. As a sophomore she decided to try pole vault with the indoor track squad. The good athletes seem to bubble to the top one place or another.

© TGHA, 2003/2004
>ABOUT THIS WEB SITE