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A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

njcaa

A final NJCAA hockey champion is crowned

March 7, 2017

Hockey is quite a unique sport – it is fast, has a lot of technical skill, and there is a lot of physicality. Depending on the level of hockey, it can be really good, really bad, or somewhere in between.

When I was a kid, we’d play on the local rink around here as much as we could. Our boards were snowbanks and our skills were nothing special. I’m shocked to this day that none of us lost any teeth or broke any bones.

OK, so I did get a concussion once, but that wasn’t during “game action,” though it came on the ice.

Shooting hockey for a weekend was a lot of fun, especially when getting creative.

When in graduate school, I went to a Division I school – Quinnipiac. At that time, they played at a local rink (I still need to make my way to the school to see a game at the new rink) and I loved it. Since then, I’ve kept tabs on QU, attending games yearly in the Albany area when they make their trip to play Union and RPI.

Because my niece was a member of the SUNY Broome CC women’s soccer team (a team, mind you, that won a national championship this past fall), I see updates from the school and such on occasion. Something caught my eye early in the winter season – that the school would host the final NJCAA hockey championship in late February.

I marked it on my calendar, hoping I’d get a chance to watch. As it worked out, I had taken the Friday of the tournament as a vacation day and had the weekend pretty free. So, I went.

One thing I rarely get to do is shoot hockey. For the majority of the weekend, I was pretty close to the action, taking photos in different ways and seeing what I could capture. There was some good hockey. There was some sloppy hockey. And, again, there was some in the middle.

But it was hockey.

Action on the ice!

On the line was the final NJCAA championship. It’s the last championship because the NJCAA is eliminating the sport from its competition. That makes sense, though, as there are just five schools remaining that have hockey in the NJCAA – four in New York and one in northern North Dakota.

The tournament was played as a round-robin, so for three days Broome’s rink played host to two games each day. The final game proved the seeds were correct as Dakota College at Bottineau faced off against Erie CC for the second straight yet. Dakota, the reigning national champs, were the top seed.

But for three days – hockey lived in Binghamton. Hudson Valley and Mohawk Valley were the other two teams involved. There was physical play, some pretty play, and some … “did that just happen?” sort of things.

I’ve long been a supporter of community college/JUCO athletics. For 20 years, my hometown school – SUNY Delhi – hosted the NJCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament. I worked at that tournament for many of those years and always loved it. I’ve seen other national championships at this level and there’s something pure about it.

I had never watched the NJCAA hockey championship before, so this was the perfect time. Broome has a tremendous rink, with bright lighting and a crisp surface. It’s perfect for photography, which I found out.

Quick stop.

I can’t lie, though – I’m not a fan of a certain Division I North Dakota college hockey team. Can you blame me, though? They whitewashed Quinnipiac in the national championship in 2016, so I have hard feelings.

That being said, there was something to like about this North Dakota team playing in Binghamton. They knew how to really play the game. Not to take anything away from the other three teams – but it was easy to cheer for Bottineau. They had skill, and speed, and could get physical. The goalie play was excellent. They also seemed to have a joy to be on the ice.

That says something about a program, too.

When you can be out there and seem like it’s not work – that it’s still fun, yet still be that successful – you’ve found your payday.

I don’t know any of the player’s names. I only know the coaches name by sight, because I saw it in the program and in a few other things I saw. I looked up the history of the school and this championship was their 10th overall – pretty cool to have the final NJCAA title be your 10th.

Not having a vested interest in the tournament wasn’t a bad thing – it actually allowed me to watch, take photos and enjoy what unfolded.

The championship game ended about 35 seconds short when an Erie player dashed out of the box and shoved an official to the ice with a lot of force, the one black eye to a really good weekend of hockey. The two other officials, once everything was settled (you can Google this incident to see video and followup), had the remaining time run off the clock, allowing the Dakota players to have their well-deserved celebration in a 7-4 victory.

Champions!

Nothing will take away what this team achieved this past weekend. Three straight days of hockey isn’t easy, especially when you consider most of these teams don’t have the plethora of lines major teams might have. This Dakota team did something truly special by winning the back-to-back crowns and giving their school the 10th title. And no matter what happens with junior college hockey in the future, it’s something they can carry with them for a lifetime.

And being able to be there and watch was pretty cool, too. It allowed me to do some hockey photography close to the action, as well as challenge myself not just in the action sports sense, but in the creativity side as well. Oh, and I got the newspaper feel again, too, as I was contacted by a newspaper in North Dakota to

Eventually I’ll have all the photos processed and up on Flickr and will link back to this post, as well as mention it on other social media. Mind you a lot of times when shooting sports, I am on rapid fire and get a lot of sequences and hope to get just one shot out of it — but for the weekend, I shot just under 10,000 images (remember, one sequence can be anywhere from 4-5 photos to 25 or more), so that’s a lot to sift through!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Filed Under: My world, Photography, Sports Tagged With: broome, Dakota college, Dakota College at Bottineau, Dakota College at Bottineau Lumberjacks, erie, erie cc, hockey, njcaa, njcaa hockey, njcaa hockey championship, north dakota bottineau, suny broome, suny broome cc

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National champions!

November 15, 2016

There are 76 colleges that play women’s soccer in Division III for the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Of those 76 teams, only one will stand at the end of the season crowned National Champion. Just one.

Over the course of three or so months, teams will battle in leagues and divisions and regions just to have the chance to get to the national tournament. For some teams, they’ll get there several times and never win a title. And, as with many other sports, the best team doesn’t always win.

Celebration time!

Celebration time!

But other times, the best teams do win.

I’ve been lucky the last couple of years to have the chance to see quite a few of my niece’s soccer games. As a freshman last year, she earned All-Tournament honors when her team – SUNY Broome – took third place at nationals.

Mind you, this is a gal who has experienced a lot of success in soccer. She went to two state championship games in high school, winning one. Her first year of college soccer ended up in a regional “B” title (the region her school plays in gets two bids to nationals) and that third-place finish.

This year, the team was quite impressive. They were ranked second in the nation for the first five polling periods, and took over the No. 1 spot for the final five ranking periods. The only loss Broome suffered was against Division I Asa.

That’s solid.

Not everything came easy. In a regional semifinal against a .500 team, Broome faced a scary position. No goals were scored in regulation as the opponent packed the box and it sure seemed like they wanted to take their chances with a penalty kick shootout. Broome scored in the second sudden-victory period to advance. In the final, the Hornets faced a big rival and trailed, 1-0, midway through the second.

As they say, though, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

Number 1!

Number 1!

A shot came in from the right of the goalie – it was soft and on the ground. The goalie went to one knee to scoop the roller and … it somehow got through her legs and trickled into the goal.

All I could think about was Vin Scully in 1986 … “The ball gets behind Buckner!”

A little bit later, a direct shot went to the goalie… she seemed to have it, but it bounced out of her arms and my niece was there to pop the ball into the goal for the winner.

Then nationals came around. Broome earned the top seed and faced No. 8 Anoka Ramsey. It was 3-0 in the blink of an eye and the Hornets rolled to a 6-0 win. Then they faced No. 4 Brookhaven and, again, scored early. That goal held up for a 1-0 victory.

The championship game started a little late, but the quick start theme continued as Broome went up 1-0 within the first five minutes and won, 3-0.

It was the third national championship in school history all under coach Bill Rich, who notched his 299th career victory with the title.

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In the beginning of the year, my niece was one of hundreds of young ladies around the country who had a goal of winning a national championship. Many will dream about it. Few will ever achieve that level. This team was filled with a bunch of talented young women who had skills to play at levels above a junior college – and hopefully many will go on to do that. A strong defense, a crazy good offense (including the leading scorer in the country), and a solid bench gave this team an extremely well-rounded group.

Over the years, I’ve covered a lot of soccer when I was in newspapers. I was part of a group that had the chance to cover one other national championship (Oneonta State) for a local newspaper, and I also watched many NJCAA Division III men’s basketball championships over the years.

This one, I wasn’t reporting or anything like that. Over the past two years, I’ve had the chance to watch this team blossom and fulfill a dream that many won’t. The excitement on their faces as that final horn went off is something to always remember. Teams like this don’t come along every day, so it’s cool to know that my niece was part of something special.

Memories like this are ones you can never lose.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Filed Under: My world, Sports Tagged With: broome, national champions, njcaa, soccer, suny broome

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Regional finals!

October 28, 2016

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My niece, Nicole, plays in the NJCAA Region III championship on Saturday.

Her team,  Broome Community College is No. 1 in the country.

Here’s hoping for a great game so they can make nationals for the second straight year!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Filed Under: My world, Sports Tagged With: broome, njcaa, regionals, soccer, sports

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March Madness not the same without NJCAA tournament

March 10, 2016

Every year in early March, it feels like something is missing.

In March 1991, the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) held its first Division III national tournament in men’s basketball.

The site selected for that was SUNY Delhi. Still a senior in high school at the time, I was excited for this. Large crowds were expected and I had the chance to be there, see it, and even volunteer for a few little things.

Over the next 20 years, the tournament grew, then lost some interest in the community and, despite a new field house for the home team, crowds dwindled. After 20 years, SUNY Delhi gave up the tournament and it moved to Sullivan County CC in 2012 and has been there ever since.

The final NJCAA game at Delhi -- I  was the announcer and this was the setup.

The final NJCAA game at Delhi — I was the announcer and this was the setup.

Delhi isn’t even NJCAA anymore, switching at the start of this academic year to an organization many had never even heard of until this move – the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). This is a four-year organization, unlike the two-year NJCAA, as Delhi continues moving toward more and more four-year programs.

The only reason I mention that isn’t to discuss the thoughts of that move, rather to point out that the school wouldn’t have been a good host for a tournament for an organization none of their teams compete in.

But the 20 years the NJCAA Tournament was at Delhi was pretty wild. I had the chance over the years to be part of the tournament, be it as a volunteer, on a committee, or announcing. I had the chance to meet many people, cover games for newspapers from around the country, and watch some great junior college basketball.

Unfortunately, the home team never reached the title game. In the early days of the tournament, Delhi had an automatic berth to the tournament if it had a .500 record. When that went away, if the Broncos didn’t make it, the crowds were sparse. If you went to a 1 p.m. game on the weekend (consolation games), it felt like a ghost town.

Better crowds were OK if one of the Region III teams made it far, but that was rare, too. Only two teams (Herkimer in 1991 and Onondaga in 1993) from the Region have won a national title, and only two others (Corning in 1995 and Jefferson in 1997) have even made the final game. That 1993 game wasn’t actually played in Delhi, anyway. It was in Oneonta as the weekend of the tournament brought a massive snowstorm. The teams stayed in Oneonta (most of them, anyway) and with the two in the final game there, they finished the tournament a day later than scheduled.

Snow was often part of the tournament. It won’t be this year as it’s this weekend and weather is supposed to be quite warm, so I’m sure there will be no issues at Sullivan.

But each year when the tournament comes around, I miss it. I can’t say I always went to every game – I didn’t. There were times when I was working and such and would only see a few games, but I tried to get up there and see some of the action. I always enjoyed the years I had the chance to announce games. I hadn’t done it in a few years, but was asked to do the national championship game for the final tournament in Delhi, which was a thrill. Though the last couple of years they shifted things a bit, there were three people over the years who were “mainstays” when it came to announcing the games, and I was always proud to be part of that.

I went down one or two years to Sullivan when Delhi made the tournament. It was nice to watch the Broncos play, but it didn’t have the same feel to me. But, let’s be honest, when you’ve watched something grow for 20 years, it’s not easy to see it move. Sullivan looked like they did a wonderful job, though, and they have a nice facility with plenty of parking (the one issue Delhi always had was parking!), so that’s a good thing.

Still, I miss going to the games here and seeing teams from all over the country converge on this small town in quest of the national title. I’m a big fan of the NJCAA and its mission and it was awesome to watch this tournament start and blossom in my town. So, there’s no doubt, it’s missed.

In the end, the tournament ran its course in town and at this college. It was a wonderful thing while it was around, but the reality was it would eventually move. I still miss it a little bit as this time of the year rolls around as it was nice to have a local “March Madness.”

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please Like HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Filed Under: My world, Sports Tagged With: hoops, march madness, njcaa, njcaa basketball, njcaa division III basketball, sports

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Live for making moments

November 17, 2015

Life is full of moments.

Let’s be real here for a moment — life has ups and downs. There’s a lot of negative out there and everybody goes through times when they wonder if life is ever a good thing.

But the moments …

I know many people will be obsessively happy. I try and consider myself — for the most part — a pretty upbeat and positive person who is more often than not pretty happy. But life isn’t easy.

The shot that ended up in the goal for Nicole.

The shot that ended up in the goal for Nicole.

It’s the moments that get you through it.

A few weeks ago, while working on a personal project, a friend spoke with me about making moments. Now, that talk was about professional wrestling, but it can easily be shifted over to life itself.

Moments is what get people through life.

When talking about moments, it can be anything — big or small. There are those times that people can never take away from you, no matter what.

This past weekend, my niece played in the NJCAA Division III national tournament for women’s soccer. The end result wasn’t what they wanted as they didn’t win the championship.

Obviously, there were some upset people with this result.

However, it’s the moments you’ll remember 20 years from now.

Life — like sports — is full of wins and losses. Despite society and youth sports making sure everybody should get a blue ribbon, it isn’t reality.

Not even close.

Everybody won’t win. Everybody doesn’t get a trophy. But everybody has a chance to make moments.

The women’s soccer team for SUNY Broome made moments this weekend by being at nationals. The team made a moment by winning a breathtaking 1-0 game in their opener to reach the semifinals. The team made another moment by finishing third in the country.

And my niece, Nicole, had a moment nobody can ever take away from her. In that opener, she scored the lone goal to give the team the 1-0 victory in the first game. I couldn’t have been more proud.

The second game, in the national semifinals, didn’t go as well with Broome falling to Brookdale, 3-0. Brookdale, by the way, made a moment on Sunday by winning its third straight national championship. If you are going to lose to a team, it might as well be to the national champs.

Battling for a ball during nationals.

Battling for a ball during nationals.

Life is all about the moments.

In the third-place game, Broome dominated regional rival Herkimer (which entered the tournament as the No. 1 team in the nation and the top seed) to win, 3-0. Nicole had two assists in the game and earned all-tournament honors.

Moments.

Sure, there were some tears after losing in the semifinals. But what this team accomplished this weekend is something to be amazingly proud about. Nobody can take the moments away from them and what they did. Twenty years from now, the moments will remain vivid. The results are a fact of history. But the moments will be what you continually smile about and always remember.

Live for the moments.

Always.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Filed Under: Family, Life, My world Tagged With: broome cc, family, life, life and moments, life is all about the moments, life moments, making moments, moments, moments in life, nationals, niece, njcaa, soccer, women's soccer

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I look at her and sometimes still can’t believe I look at her and sometimes still can’t believe I have her. It’s been a year and four months and she makes me smile and laugh more each day. It’s amazing how much a dog changes your look on life, and how much joy they can bring. 

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I’ve recently realized how many photos I have to I’ve recently realized how many photos I have to post here, as well as on Harper’s (@harper_dublin) account). So, as I start to transfer photos, I’ll try and catch up. So photos coming could be from all seasons and who knows when. 🤣

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