CORTLAND, N.Y. - The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) has selected its basketball and ice hockey athletes of the week honoring five athletes from four different institutions.
Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week - Frankie Kelly, Oneonta
(Gr., G - Brewster, NY)
Kelly recorded back-to-back double-doubles this past weekend in a pair of home SUNYAC wins. This past Friday he scored 18 points and dished out a career high 14 assists. Against Fredonia the next day, he scored 10 points while recording 12 assists. With his 26 assists over the two games, Kelly now has 507 career assists, which makes him only the second player in program history to eclipse the mark, the first in nearly 40 years. Kelly is currently third on the team in scoring averaging 10.6 points while leading the team and the SUNYAC in assists with 156.
Women's Basketball Athlete of the Wek - Kit Small, New Paltz
(Sr., G - Slingerlands, N.Y.)
Small guided the Hawks to a 2-0 SUNYAC weekend with wins over SUNY Fredonia (70-61) and Buffalo State (90-55), giving the team regular season sweeps over both programs. With the victory over the Bengals on Saturday, New Paltz clinched a berth in the 2017 SUNYAC Women's Basketball Tournament. Against the Blue Devils, Small shot 8-of-13 from the field and finished with 22 points while providing eight boards, three assists and two steals. Versus Buffalo State, the senior enjoyed a 21-point effort, shooting 7-of-9 from the field and 11-of-17 from the charity stripe. Small collected six rebounds and three wins. Overall, Small averaged 21.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 3.0 apg in the two contests. On Saturday in a pre-game ceremony, Small was honored as the program's all-time leading scorer, passing Robin Shields Lestrade '00. Small currently has 1,226 career points and ranks sixth in the SUNYAC with 13.7 ppg.
Ice Hockey Athelte of the Week - Ayrton Valente, Plattsburgh
(Jr., D - Woodbridge, Ontario)
Ayrton Valente recorded three assists and had a +1 rating as Plattsburgh State won twice on the road over the weekend. In Friday's 4-3 win at SUNY Cortland, Valente provided the primary assist to pull the Cardinals to an even 2-2 score at 10:49 of the second period. He then dished the primary helpers on both of Plattsburgh State's third-period goals in Saturday's 2-1 win at No. 2 Oswego State. Valente helped anchor a Cardinal blue line that kept Oswego State's offense, which entered Saturday with the nation's second-highest output (4.95 goals per game), to just the lone third-period goal.
Ice Hockey Goalie of the Week - Brady Rouleau, Plattsburgh
(Sr., G - Fort Macleod, Alberta)
Brady Rouleau went 2-0-0 and posted a 2.00 goals-against-average and a .938 save percentage as Plattsburgh State won twice on the road over the weekend. Rouleau stopped 25 of 28 shots in Friday's 4-3 at SUNY Cortland and followed up with a season-high 36 saves on 37 shots in a 2-1 win at No. 2 Oswego State on Saturday. He kept Oswego State's offense, which entered Saturday with the nation's second-highest output (4.95 goals per game), to just the lone third-period goal.
Ice Hockey Rookie of the Week - Devin Brink, Geneseo
(Fy, F - Ashburn, Va.)
Brink notched three goals in the Knights' 5-2 victory over Brockport, Friday, in Geneseo's lone game of the week. He opened the scoring with the only goal of the first period and later notched what proved to be the game-winning tally early in the third period.
