O Captain My Captain ! Dylan Reese follows in footsteps of Harvard Hockey Captains Kenny Smith, Noah Welch and Peter Hafner

Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Dylan Reese steps up at Harvard
By Tricia LaffertyTuesday, May 9, 2006

Harvard junior Dylan Reese kept his eyes wide open the past three years. So, when he was announced as the Harvard hockey team's next captain at the season-ending banquet, the task ahead didn't seem all that overwhelming. The Upper St. Clair graduate knew when he committed to Harvard that he eventually wanted to be captain. After years in the shadows of close friends and former Harvard captains Kenny Smith, Noah Welch and Peter Hafner, Reese was able to paint a clear vision of what he wanted to do with his team.

"I know how much a captain can mean to a team," Reese said. "You have to lead, offer criticism, build the team. I watched these guys come before me and lead in different ways and now I want to create my own leadership style."

Reese hopes to successfully defend this season's Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey League and Ivy League titles and distinguish the 2006 Crimson as a team that will advance beyond the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. Harvard is one of three teams that qualified for the tournament in each of the past five years, but it hasn't advanced past the first round.

One of Reese's top priorities will be to enhance team camaraderie. Reese, the fourth consecutive Harvard defenseman to be elected captain, arranged a team dinner within a month of the season's end. He also made numerous telephone calls to reach out to incoming freshmen.

"(Being captain) is a big responsibility, and it takes a lot out of you," said Harvard assistant coach and former Harvard captain Sean McCann, a 1994 graduate. "You have to take care of yourself and your own game and then you have the responsibility of the team and everything that goes with it. There's the pressure of success of a team and not just a player."

After missing the majority of his freshman season because of a herniated disc, Reese played in 34 games as a sophomore, leading all Harvard blueliners with seven goals and finishing second in plus/minus, with a plus-24. This year, Reese had four goals, 16 assists and was a plus-8.
"His biggest asset is the ability to take control of the game," McCann said. "When things get a little crazy and there's a lot of pressure, he's good at buckling down. He knows how to react when things are on the line."

For Reese, this season was highlighted by the Crimson's first victory at Cornell in seven years, when Harvard captured the Ivy League and ECACHL titles with the help of his goal and two assists.

Reese said his junior campaign was successful in part because he was previously molded by Welch and defenseman Ryan Lannon. After being called up late in the NHL season, Welch played four games with the Penguins before rejoining Lannon and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the AHL Calder Cup playoffs.

"I'd like to try to play professional hockey," said Reese, a first-team All-Ivy selection, who was selected by the New York Rangers as the 203rd pick in the 2003 draft. "I'll weigh my chances to play in the NHL. Part of the reason I came (to Harvard) is because I know that hockey doesn't always pan out, but it's not a pipe-dream, either."

Alumni Update: Guenin receives post-season honors

Former Hornet defenseman Nate Guenin was among several Ohio State players honored over the weekend during the team’s annual awards banquet. Guenin, who was captain this season, was voted the 'Joseph W. Smith Best Defensive Player Award Winner' by his teammates.

The Buckeyes’ captain this season, he was an honorable mention All-CCHA selection and led the Buckeye defense that ranked 12th in the nation, limiting opponents to 2.4 goals a game. He played in all 39 games and had 11 assists on the year to tie for third on the team. As proof of his unselfish, “Team first” attitude, Guenin sacrificed his body 59 times to lead his team in blocked shots. An All-Academic award winner, Guenin will graduate this spring, and will be eligible to sign with the New York Rangers of the NHL.

Pittsburgh Hornets Success as Goaltending Factory Continues !

GOALTENDER ALERT !!!!!

Over the years, the Pittsburgh Hornets Tier 1 AAA Hockey Association has gained a deserved reputation not only as one of the top Tier 1 AAA Hockey Associations in the country, but also for producing some of the best amateur ice hockey goaltenders in North America as well. It seems every year the Hornets produce top quality goaltenders that go on to success at the amateur, junior and college levels throughout North America.

Check out the updates provided below of the some of the recent accomplishments of our goaltenders and if you are a goaltender interested in taking your game to the next level, you should consider joining the Pittsburgh Hornets. Give us a call or drop us an email if you want to learn more about the Pathway to Opportunity for goaltenders you can find with the Pittsburgh Hornets Tier 1 AAA Hockey Association

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Hornets Goaltender Rob Madore Ready to Compete for Starting Job with Chicago Steel

May 6, 2006By Brian McDonough - USHL Director of Communications

The Chicago Steel auditioned five goaltenders last season while allowing the most goals against in the entire USHL. That translated into the league's worst record and an immediate search for a bona fide goaltending tandem.

The Steel wasted no time addressing the issue during Thursday's USHL Entry Draft, as Chicago jumped on two blue-chip netminders with its first two picks.
Cushing Academy's Richard Bachman, who was picked No.1 overall, and the Pittsburgh Hornets' Rob Madore, who went with the first pick in the second round (13th overall), are the only two keepers the Steel plans on using this season as second-year Chicago coach-GM Chris Imes began his assembly of a championship contender.
"He (Imes) led on to the fact that if you look at the two teams last year that were in the finals (Des Moines and Sioux Falls), both of them had exceptional goaltenders," said Madore. "I know that's a recipe for success and Richard Bachman and I will be able to fit the bill there and try to make a run at a Clark Cup."

Both goaltenders boast winning resumes. In 29 games at Cushing this season, Bachman held a 2.06 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. The Colorado College recruit also backstopped the Boston Jr. Bruins' 18-and-under midget team to the Tier 1 national championship last month (the B's defeated the Chicago Chill in overtime, 2-1).
His efforts didn't go unnoticed by NHL Central Scouting, which pegged Bachman No. 26 among North American goaltenders on its final rankings of 2006 of draft eligibles.

Madore guided the Hornets to the semifinals of the 18-and-under Tier 1 midget nationals the past two years. In 63 appearances this season (including nationals), he fashioned a 38-20-3-3 record to compliment a 1.98 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage. The Hornets lost in the national semis this year to the Chill, who had four players selected in the first two rounds of the draft.

News of his No. 1 selection didn't come as a complete surprise - Chicago told him a few days earlier that he might go first overall - but Bachman was nonetheless humbled by the recognition.
"I was at school when it happened and all my buddies told me, so I was pretty excited," said Bachman, who was drafted into the USHL last year by Tri-City but decided to finish his high school career at Cushing. "It shows that Chicago has a lot of confidence in me to come in and do the job for them. There's the pressure of being the No. 1 draft choice, but it think it will be fun to prove that I deserve my selection." Madore, on the other hand, wants to prove some people wrong, specifically the USHL teams that overlooked him in the first round of the draft.

"I was watching (the draft on the Internet) and saw team after team pass me up and that adds a little chip on my shoulder," said Madore, who talked to a number of teams prior to the draft. "Not to sound cocky, but I'm kind of surprised I didn't go higher, because I know there's a lot of teams that need goaltenders, but that's just a little added incentive to work my tail off.
"But it's very exciting. I'm just looking forward to the season starting. I've been working hard since I started playing hockey and I've been working to get to this point right here, and obviously I'm working to get to the NHL, but this is the step I have to take and I'm really looking forward to going in and competing with Bachman."

Both Bachman, who turns 19 in July, and Madore, who turns 18 on May 28, are valuing the stiff competition in anticipation of molding each other into better goaltenders."I actually like that they picked a goalie in the second round," said Bachman, a Highlands Ranch, Colo., native. "I know a little bit about Madore. It will be good to have good competition at practice and have someone there pushing me to keep getting better."

"He's definitely a very good goaltender," Madore said of Bachman. "I don't want to take anything away from him. He's the first overall pick and he's got a scholarship to Colorado College, but don't think for a second that that's going to intimidate me."Bachman's Bruins and Madore's Hornets faced off against each other at last year's national tournament. The Hornets won, 5-3, but Bachman didn't play."No one is going to give me a lot of credit because I'm the second goalie picked and Bachman was first, but I think the competition will be good for both of us," said Madore.

Both masked men are familiar with the Steel. A few of Bachman's teammates at Cushing are from Chicago and know a few of the Steel players. Madore is good friends with Chris Clackson, who just finished his second season with Chicago and is heading to Western Michigan this coming fall.With Bachman's college future secured, Madore is looking forward to garnering more attention in that department. He's confident the situation will take care of itself with a solid season between USHL pipes."I know that if I go out there and play my game I'm not going to have any problems as far as that (college) goes," said Madore, who will be a high school senior in 2006-07. "Having a good team, which it looks like we will, definitely isn't going to hurt."

Madore lived out every young Pittsburgh player's fantasy for a day this past season. With goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury out with the flu and the team's AHL and ECHL affiliates on the road, he got between the pipes during a Pittsburgh Penguins practice.
"I got the call up," Madore joked. "I was in awe with all these future Hall of Famers, players you watch on TV, but I picked up a lot of good practice habits, like going all out every time."
Madore credits much of his recent success the Hornets' strong defensive unit."I have to thank my defensemen from the last two years for helping me get this far," he said. "I wouldn't be here without them. As a goaltender, without a good defense you're up the creek without a paddle."
Regardless of where either went in the draft, both Bachman and Madore know their work ethic - and ultimately their performance - will dictate their minutes.

"I think he (Imes) expects me to come in and be the guy," said Bachman. "Obviously I have to go in and prove that, but it's a good opportunity for me.""I'm just looking forward to going all out no matter where I am - at home working out or on the ice - just because I want to win that starting job,"

Hornet Goaltender Matt Skoff and Team Bauer Selects win Prospects Tourney 1991 Birthyear Championship !

Congratulations are in order for Pittsburgh Hornet Goaltender Matthew Skoff (1991 Birth year) as he combined with Goaltender Jeff Teglia to lead his Team Bauer Selects to a 2-0 victory to capture the Prospects Tournament 1991 Birthyear Championship over the East Coast Selects last week in Toronto. The Team Bauer Selects are a collection of some of the best hockey players in the country and we congratulate Matt and his teammates on this impressive tournament victory.

Team Bauer Selects- Andre Kuchin, Sam Calabrese, Tyler Brickler, Mith Lebar, Jet Morin, Cody Murphy, Justin Baker, Beau Schmitz, A.J. Treais, Joey Tullis, Alex Bearson, Barron Smith, Brandon Pirri, Paul Phillips, Garrett Peterson, Ben Hughes, Jamie Knight, Jeff Teglia, Matthew Skoff.