OT (sort of): Jason Kuczmanski

I was re-reading an old Daily Sun article which recapped the 2-1 win over Hahvahd in 2001, and it mentioned Jason Kuczmanski's GWG. Suddenly, I said to myself, hey, did Jason transfer out of Cornell? (I vaguely remember a thread on this; a quick check of the student directory seems to reveal that he must have stopped playing to concentrate on his AA&P major.) So, a quick Google search turns up a Jason Kuczmanski playing goalie at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. Soccer kind of goalie, that is.

I did not think Kuczmanski is a common name, but two Jasons in college about the same time?!

OK, as you can see, it is definitely the OFF SEASON....

According to the Pitt-Bradford site he is from DePew, NY, while the Cornell Hockey Database thing lists him from Cheektowaga, NY. A quick Mapquest search reveals that these two towns are both suburbs of Buffalo that look to be right on top of each other. Thus, unless two Jason Kuczmanski's live in neighboring towns, which is even more unlikely, it is the same guy.

One of the Google search sites was an article from a few years back on the incoming freshmen for the 00-01 season, that is, the class of '04. As a fellow '04, I've always wondered what is was with this class that there's so little left. I mean, we got Vesce (Vesce!!!), Hornby, and Wallace, but besides that what was it with the rest of the class - both Hughes, Krahn, and Kuczmanski? Hell, I didn't even know who David Hughes was looking at this article - did he even play a game? It's just sorta disappointing that my graduating clas has only three players out on the ice (though they've each become important palyers nevertheless), while '03 has such an amazing group of 7. On the plus side, I guess, is that we won't have such a big hole after next year as we do this year.

[Q]Hell, I didn't even know who David Hughes was looking at this article - did he even play a game?[/Q]

Other than the Red/White, I don't think so. David Hughes is the son of John Hughes, captain of the '70 squad, and older brother of Sarah Hughes. David's younger sister, Emily, saw more ice time than he did. She skated during an intermission.

[q]Thus, unless two Jason Kuczmanski's live in neighboring towns, which is even more unlikely, it is the same guy.[/q]

In most cases you would be 100% right, but Depew/Cheektowaga (they are indeed neighboring suburbs) both have an enormous Polish population. Kuczmanski is actually a fairly common name in Western NY.

Of course, the chances are still around 95%

It's even more interesting considering that according to USCHO, "Jay Kuczmanski" was 17-14-31 for SUNY-Geneseo this past season. The team roster lists his last team as Cornell.

[www.uscho.com]

The SUNY-Geneseo JK is the same one as played at CU.