Zucker Named Conference Rookie of the Week

Vicki Zucker of New City is currently a freshman basketball player at Stevens Institute of Technology was just named the Empire 8’s rookie of the week. Zucker picked up a career high ten points in the Ducks win over the College of Staten Island on Friday as the team snapped a four game losing streak. Zucker and the Ducks will be back in action tomorrow as they host Rhode Island.

The Orangetown Mighty Midget Athletic Association is looking for more athletes to join up for their girl’s team this season. The team is open to girls born in 2003 and the indoor soccer team is aiming to help kids work on their skills throughout the season. Registration details can be found on the OMM Soccer site.

With the majority of high school sports still on holiday hiatus many local fans turned their attention to professional hockey and basketball. Unfortunately for Time Warner Cable customers their beloved Knicks and Devils were blacked out yesterday thanks to an ongoing feud between MSG and Time Warner. If you didn’t get to see it, the Knicks lost to Toronto 90-85, and New Jersey fell in overtime to Ottawa 3-2.

Billionaires and millionaires fighting over money was a common sports theme of 2011 and it seems as it may have carried over into the New Year. As of right now there are no negotiations between MSG and Time Warner Cable and MSG President Michael Blair continues to urge sports fans to switch providers. 

The feud is currently affecting over a million people in New York City and the surrounding area and with no end in sight it could cause diehard fans to miss more of the teams they love this season.

Huskies continue to howl

Justin Daniels of Suffern, a junior forward, has helped the Northeastern University men’s hockey team build a six-game winning streak, the longest currently in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The Huskies, who have bounced back from a slow start to reach the .500 level at 7-7-2, return to non-conference action at the Mariucci Classic Holiday Tournament in Minneapolis, MN, today (Dec. 30) at 5 p.m.

Justin Daniels, playing on the team with twin brother Drew Daniels, has recorded 10 points this season on the strength of six goals and four assists. He is also among the Huskies’ premier face-off specialists.

Northeastern, making its third trip to the Mariucci Classic, which it won in 1997, will face Princeton (4-9-2) in the first round of play. In the other contest, Minnesota (14-5-1) faces Niagara (5-5-6). The winners will meet for the title on Saturday.

Minnesota beat Northeastern 3-2 in overtime in the championship game a few years ago.

“I was sicker than a dog and up in the press box,” recalls Minnesota coach Don Lucia. “It was going into overtime and I said, ‘If we do not win this early, I am going home.’  I did not feel very good. Luckily we scored early in overtime, because I was one and done.”

As for the Huskies and the Tigers, they have a lengthy history that dates back to the early 1950s with Northeastern winning 25 of the 39 encounters (25-12-2).

In the two clubs’ previous meeting, Princeton ended the Huskies’ 15-game unbeaten streak over the Tigers in the only tournament contest between the two programs. NU and Princeton met at the RPI Tournament on Nov. 28, 2008 where the Tigers emerged as 5-3 victors. Before that game, Northeastern had not lost a game to PU since Dec. 6, 1975.

The Huskies defeated Princeton eight straight from Dec.  6, 1975 to Dec. 4, 1982 before a 4-4 tie on Dec. 3, 1983 gave way to another six-game win streak for Northeastern (Dec. 16, 1989 – Dec. 13, 2003).

It has been more than three years before Northeastern and Princeton faced off. Today’s contest will be the second-consecutive game in which Coach Jim Madigan faces a first-year head coach as Princeton’s Bob Prier is in his first season in that capacity.

--

Today’s Schedule:

In Boys' Basketball, Clarkstown South heads to Pearl River at 4 p.m.

In Wrestling, Pearl River heads to Clarkstown South at 6 p.m.

In Gymnastics, Suffern and Clarkstown North will square off at Galaxy Gymnastics at 6 p.m.

--

The Daily Sports Digest is Patch’s way of increasing reader involvement in sports coverage. We encourage you to add your best photo and/or video to share. If you see anything in our scores, standings or schedule that requires updating, please e-mail us directly at HVDailySportsDigest@gmail.com or like us on Facebook and post updates on our wall.