Jake Hangen loves penalty shots. He’d told teammate Jared Milley so at Saturday’s Hamburg team dinner. “Yesterday at our team dinner, Hangen told me how much he loves penalty shots,” said Milley after Sunday’s 5-2 quarterfinal win over Lewiston-Porter. “That’s the truth. That actually happened.” So when Hangen was tripped up on a shorthanded chance with 34 seconds left in …
‘Kept battling back’: Hamburg comes back twice for successful weekend
Hamburg’s weekend couldn’t have started out any worse. And it couldn’t have ended any better. The Bulldogs played Canisius on Saturday afternoon and Lancaster on Sunday. Both are Division 1 teams, and the Bulldogs hoped to earn a point or two over the weekend. They fell behind early on Saturday to Canisius but came back for a 4-4 tie before …
‘Neu’ stick, quick start key for Williamsville East in win over Hamburg
The key for newcomer Spencer Neu was a broken stick. The Williamsville East junior broke the stick he’d been using for years and was forced to use his backup for the Flames’ games Thursday night against Timon and Saturday afternoon against Hamburg. Neu scored in both games for his first two Fed goals, and he credited the new stick. “I …
‘That family feeling’: Close-knit Hamburg team gets first league win
The family vacation might be over, but the season isn’t. Last weekend, Hamburg took a trip to Cicero, New York for the Fayetteville-Manlius Pride Tournament. The Bulldogs came home champions for the third consecutive year, but that was just the icing on the cake. They spent the trip growing closer as a team, and by the end no one was …
Timon earns first win for new coaching staff
The Timon Tigers found themselves down 3-1 to Hamburg after two periods of play Monday night, but they wanted a win, especially with new head coach Matt English behind the bench for the first time. “We went in and had a nice talk after the second period and just told them we expected more,” English said. A Timon power play …
Hamburg’s Coppola is ‘best goalie in the game’
The boys of Hamburg hockey don’t mind getting up for 5:30 am practices. In fact, they love it. “It’s the best before school,” said goaltender Griffin Coppola. “Then we go into first period, and we’ve got all the energy in the world.” “It is the best part of the whole season, honestly,” agreed defenseman Owen Gonter. The Bulldogs’ hope is …
A rivalry among friends: Hamburg and Frontier tie on Senior Day
Some of the Hamburg and Frontier players have played together since they began their hockey careers at age 4. Many are still teammates on travel teams, and before Saturday’s game, seniors from both teams were honored. But then it was time for each player to put friendships aside and instead use what he knew about his friends and travel teammates …