| Friends Only |
[01 Jan 2025|12:01am] |
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Friends Only.
You should know that I update almost every day, or if not, very frequently. I post about hockey a lot, but also about real life, including problems I'm having or fun things I'm working on.
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[11 Apr 2010|02:23pm] |
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX BURROWS! ♥
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[18 Mar 2010|11:22pm] |
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Upon entering 976 Elmwood Ave., an array of pizzas is laid out on the stone countertop, waiting to be devoured by hungry customers. The scents of pepperoni, sausage and Italian food fill the air, and mouths start to salivate.
Welcome to the newest location of Zetti’s Pizza & Pasta at the corner of Bidwell Parkway and Elmwood Avenue.
“I like the fact that they put all their pizzas out so you can see them,” Edward Tierney said. “It’s like a candy shop.”
Zetti’s is different from other Buffalo pizzerias, as it specializes in New York-style pizza. That pizza is usually thin, wide and “foldable,” with a puffy outer crust tapering down to a thin, crispy middle.
Tierney, 47, lives on Bidwell Parkway, right across from Zetti’s, and has now visited the new location three times since it opened just under two weeks ago.
Aside from the scent and display of pizzas, the dining area of the restaurant holds 13 wooden tables of various sizes. The cream and purple walls and lighting are modern, bright and open. Large windows in the front of the building offer diners a view of Elmwood Avenue.
“I think they did a good job of utilizing the space,” Tierney said.
Customers will find a variety of options on the menu, which offers more than just pizza and pasta.
A slice of cheese pizza is $1.80, and since the slices are New York-style, a slice is the size of two slices at other pizzerias in the area.
Zetti’s also has several gourmet pizza options, including a Penne alla Vodka pizza, which includes penne pasta, vodka sauce and mozzarella cheese.
In addition to pizza, there are hero sandwiches, calzones and entrees.
While the menu includes traditional Italian dishes, other unique options are also available, including pasta a coure, which includes shrimp, chicken and artichoke hearts sauteed in a white wine lemon butter sauce over pasta.
Zetti’s isn’t the first pizzeria to open in this location. Just Pizza was housed there before it moved to the corner of Elmwood Avenue and Summer Street. Uncle Joe’s Pizzeria was also located in the building, which was built in 1895.
“It’s good to have it in the Elmwood area,” Bill Nimelman said.
Nimelman, 50, also lives on Bidwell Parkway across from the restaurant.
This is Zetti’s third location in the Buffalo area. They have restaurants across from both SUNY University at Buffalo campus locations, including one at 3500 Main St. in Amherst. The other location, at 4621 Maple Road, opened in November 2009.
Hours for the Elmwood location aren’t solidified yet, but an employee said the restaurant is likely to be open until midnight on weeknights and 2 a.m. on weekends. Customers can eat in, take out, or call for delivery.
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| My first track & field article |
[10 Mar 2010|01:09pm] |
National Championship in reach
Track and Field
MELISSA KANIA
Associate Sports Editor
Three Buffalo State student-athletes were invited to this weekend’s NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships in recognition of their accomplishments this year.
Erica Johnson, Latoya Edwards and Jessica Walker will take part in the competition at Depauw University.
Johnson will compete in the 55-meter dash and currently holds the fourth fastest seed time run this season. Edwards, who is seeded 12th in the event, will also compete in the 55-meter. Walker will compete in the triple jump, in which she is currently seeded 10th.
“I’m so excited. I know it’s going to be a lot of pressure because all of the girls I am jumping against are all neck and neck. It can go either way,” said Walker who garnered Athlete of the Week status for the second straight week. “I’m just going to focus my best and have fun with it. I’m just so happy that I made it.”
The top eight finishers in each event will earn All-America honors, a title that Edwards also achieved last year.
Edwards received top honors and was named the SUNYAC Women’s Runner of the Meet on March 2, after she posted strong individual performances in the 55, 200 and 400-meter dash at the SUNYAC Championships.
The senior sprinter finished second-place in the 55-meter, with an NCAA provisional time of 7.22 seconds, while also taking second in the 200 with a time of 25.65 seconds, and fourth in the 400 after crossing the finish line in 1:00.59.
The women’s track and field team won the SUNYAC Championships for the second straight year, edging out SUNY Geneseo by two points.
“Whenever you’re defending a championship, you kind of expect everybody to be coming for you and to try to beat you,” said head track coach Eugene Lewis. “To be able to withstand that, to basically accomplish that goal again was very exciting.”
In addition, Lewis was recognized as SUNYAC Women’s Coach of the Year after he guided the Bengals to their second-straight conference title.
Five other Bengals athletes were named to the first-team All-SUNYAC after winning individual race titles. Neshay Maxwell, Taniqua Hollingsworth and Justin Allen were named to the team.
Several new school records were set during the meet. Johnson won the 55-meter and set new school and SUNYAC records with a qualifying time of 7.11 seconds, while Maxwell set a new record time of 8.50 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles. Walker also set a school record in the triple jump (11.61m).
“Our girls, we just really work hard,” Walker said. “We find a place to focus and throughout the meet we always make sure if we’re not warming up or preparing for our events that we go out and cheer (our teammates) on as much as we can just to create team unity and everybody loves to be cheered on to get that extra push.”
Allen, a freshman, was the lone individual champion on the men’s side, garnering a first place finish in the 200 (22.40 seconds.)
The men’s team earned third place in the SUNYAC Championships.
“Our coach told us that was the best performance by both women’s and men’s side, so that was good to hear from our coach,” said Ray Peoples, a junior sprinter. “We’ve been known just for our sprinters, but recently it’s been our jumpers and long distant runners and other field events that have come through in the clutch for us, specifically for the girls’ squad in winning back-to-back conference championships.”
Coach Lewis said all three girls competing this weekend have put in a lot of hard work, and each expect to do well at the meet.
“What I like about the three is they’re all ranked pretty high nationally, so they are in a very good position to become All-Americans,” Lewis said. “With a little luck, a national championship could definitely be in the discussion.”
The preliminaries of the 55-meter will take place on Friday at 5:35 p.m. with the finals scheduled for Saturday at 3:25 p.m. The triple jump is slated for Saturday at 9:45 a.m.
• Melissa Kania can be reached by e-mail at kania.record@live.com.
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| My article from this week's issue. |
[04 Mar 2010|11:11am] |
Hockey's roots run deep for BSC bench boss
Some people might say that Nick Carriere has hockey in his blood.
Men’s ice hockey head coach Carriere was born in Brampton, Ontario, and moved to Mississauga shortly after, where he lived for the first three years of his life.
After this, his family moved to downtown Montreal until he was seven, before moving north of Montreal. Carriere had a very athletic youth; in Montreal, he was largely involved in skiing and snowboarding in the winter. He also played baseball during the summer.
“I was really focused on hockey,” he said.
He played hockey on a regular basis throughout his youth. His father Larry – a former NHLer who spent parts of seven seasons playing in the NHL, including 207 games for the Buffalo Sabres – never pressured him into playing hockey.
“I had plenty of opportunities,” he said. “We had a rink in the backyard, and I played on other outdoor rinks in Canada.”
Carriere said there was a point between the ages of 11 and 13 when he quit skiing, and started snowboarding. Success in snowboarding led him to allow hockey to go to the side for a while, but he said it was always there.
When he was 14 or 15, Carriere and his family moved to Buffalo. Since Buffalo has very few hills for skiing, Carriere began focusing more on snowboarding and hockey.
“Hockey is something that’s a big part of me,” Carriere said.
Carriere played junior hockey in Canada while attending high school in Buffalo, and went on to attend Niagara University, graduating in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in commerce.
After playing one year of professional hockey, he had various opportunities to play overseas in Germany. However, as an in-your-face grinder type of player, Carriere said he wasn’t the type who scored a lot of goals and therefore, the money wasn’t great.
Carriere then received an offer for the assistant coach position at SUNY Fredonia. Just days after interviewing, he locked up the position, and ended up coaching a team that included three players who were older than he was.
In 2005, Carriere was hired at Buffalo State. He was named SUNYAC Coach of the Year that inaugural season, and has mentored nine All-SUNYAC players since.
Carriere still plays hockey once in a while, though most of his time nowadays is focused on the Buffalo State team. During the season, there are practices and games, while the offseason involves more focus on recruiting and the fitness of returning players.
Occasionally, he plays among other Buffalo State staff when they rent out the ice rink at the Sports Arena.
According to the Buffalo State athletics website, Carriere has more than 10 years of experience teaching at various hockey schools. He has worked for the Can/Am Hockey Schools, the European Development Camp and the Buffalo Sabres Hockey School. Carriere also served as an assistant coach for the Western Team in the 2007 Empire State Games, where the team won a gold medal. He also acted as assistant coach in the 2003 Eastern College Division Senior All-Star Game.
When he’s not coaching, Carriere enjoys being active, such as playing racquetball.
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| My article from this week's issue. |
[24 Feb 2010|02:34pm] |
MELISSA KANIA
Associate Sports Editor
Men's Hockey
Although the Bengals men’s ice hockey team ended its season on a low note, the team is moving forward.
Buffalo State ended the season in last place in the SUNYAC standings with an overall record of 6-18-1. In 25 games, the team allowed 109 goals and scored just 71. In addition, Buffalo State was 2-14-0 against SUNYAC opponents this season, recording just four points in conference play.
SUNY Oswego claimed first place in SUNYAC standings this year, with a 15-1-0 SUNYAC record, a .938 win percentage, and 30 points on the season.
Despite the less-than-perfect season, the team is focused on the positive aspects of its game.
“We’ve been good at showing resilience and sticking with it through a lot of adversity,” said head coach Nick Carriere.
Carriere also previously commented on how the team has done little things well, including shooting on goal more often.
Junior Nick Petriello led the team with 15 goals, 13 assists and 28 points this season in 25 games. Senior D’Arcy Thomas was second on the team in scoring, with nine goals and 12 assists.
Eight seniors are now finished with their collegiate hockey careers, as Connor King, Tyler Soehner, Shareef Labreche, Mike Luzarraga, Daniel Carey, Ryan Ramage, Johnathan Sourwine and Thomas played their final game for Buffalo State on Friday.
This leaves just 20 returning players on the roster, meaning this year’s recruiting class will have to fill in those spots.
The Bengals lost the last game of the season to the Morrisville Mustangs, losing 4-2. Morrisville scored an empty net goal with seven seconds remaining to secure the win. Thomas and Nick scored the only goals for the Bengals, and Sourwine made 25 saves in the loss.
Three of Morrisville’s goals came on the power play, as the Bengals took 12 penalties throughout the game. Buffalo State ends the season with a .177 power play percentage. The team was able to take advantage of 23 out of a possible 130 opportunities.
The Bengals end the season on an eight-game losing streak that dates back to Jan. 22, when SUNY Oswego beat Buffalo State by a score of 10-1. The Bengals’ last win came during a road trip to Providence, Rhode Island on Jan. 16 with a 7-4 win over Johnson & Wales.
Throughout the season, the Bengals never had a winning streak longer than two games. The season also saw a five-game losing streak from Nov. 6 to Nov. 21.
“The season was a disappointment to myself and many of the guys on the team,” said goaltender Alan Fritch. “I knew heading into the year that we were going to have to battle to make the most of what we had, but did not think it was going to end up unraveling like it did. After having a few teammates quit, then the NCAA sanction, it made it tough to stay the course, and although we never gave up, it definitely made it tough.”
Now, the team has a few months off before the players get back to work for next season. New recruits interested in playing for Buffalo State can fill out a form on the Buffalo State Athletics website.
Fritch said he plans to spend the next seven months preparing for his last season as a Bengal, and Carriere said the team plans to focus on getting bigger and stronger over the off-season.
“We’re going to evaluate guys on what they’ve done in the time frame and in different circumstances,” Carriere said.
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[01 Jan 2010|07:16pm] |
One of my goals is to see the Sabres play each of the 29 other teams :)
( The list......... )
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