Amherst, NY – The Center State Youth Hockey “Stampede” 18-U Team is now (1-1) at the USA Hockey National Championships, in Amherst. The Stampede, winners of the 2015-16 New York State Championship, are one of sixteen (16) teams from across the United States competing for the National Championship.
Pool play began on Friday, when the Stampede dropped a hard fought, 4-3 loss to the Geneva (IL) Cyclones. Geneva entered the tournament as the #9 ranked team in the country by USA Hockey.
Center State, based in Morrisville, NY, rebounded nicely on Friday, with an equally hard fought victory over the Warwick (PA) Wildcats, by a final score of 4-3.
The Stampede (1-1) round out Pool “A” play on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m., when they take on the Florida Gulf Coast Flames (1-1), with the winner advancing to quarterfinal play on Sunday.
The Center State Stampede is made up some of Central NY’s best high school and college hockey playeres. The 2015-16 roster is: Sean Gaffney, Jacob Hyer, Joey LaGuardia, JoVon Mucitelli (Whitesboro), Tommy Bianchi, Kyle Terzini, Steven Kozikoski (Liverpool), James Holmes, Zach Cole (New Hartford), Matt Eccles, Matt Frye (Syracuse Cougars), Eddie Allen (Clinton), Jameson Simmonds (Oswego), Austin Vashaw (Fulton), Ben Kilian (Mohawk Valley Raiders), Ryan McGuire (CBA), Logen Field (Cicero-North Syracuse), Ryan McCann (SUNY Morrisville), Matt Morreale (MVCC) and Kaiden Tubbert (Auburn).
The Stampede was also a National Championship Tournament team in 2015, in Texas, after finishing second in NY State.
EDITOR’s Note – The Stampede dropped a 4-1 decision to the Gulf Coast Flames of Florida on Sunday, 4/3/16 and were eliminated from the tournament.
Congratulations to the Stampede on a fantastic post season run! You made Central New York very proud!
