By Gavin Lindahl
Sports Assignemnt Editor
With seven points (four goals and three assists) in his last five games, freshmen forward Andrew Farnham has been one of the club hockey team’s bright spots in an otherwise forgettable and bleak season. According to Farnham, his goals come the old fashioned way by getting to the dirty areas.
“I like to control the puck down below the goal line and [I like to] crash the net,” Farnham said.
Farnham hasn’t been alone in his production. Along with his linemates, senior Jordan Ashman and fellow freshmen Joe Piegay, the trio has notched an impressive 19 points in their last five games.
“My line, I feel, is one of the [team’s] strongest,” Farnham said. “I don’t know what it is, but we like to just get shots on the goalie and crash the net, and that has been really working. I like the line that I am on; we have been successful.”
This isn’t the first time that Farnham’s work has come to fruition. Farnham’s travel team, the Jamestown Lakers, won the state championship in 2013.
However, a state title is just one moment throughout a nearly 15-year career. Farnham, a native of the Jamestown, New York, suburb, Bemis Point, has been playing since he was five. Farnham attributes his start in the sport to his family.
“When I was little, my uncle would pull me and my brother in sleds on a frozen pond. Also, my brother played, so I guess that is why I started.”
His brother, Jordan, currently is a senior at Bona’s and plays on the club hockey team with Andrew. According to Andrew, Jordan has always made playing together fun and inspires Andrew to perform to his best ability.
Being part of a crop of freshmen and young players that have been stepping up offensively for the Bonnies’, Farnham believes that the team – that has gathered a reputation for losing in the past few seasons – is moving in the right direction for the future.
“Personally, my first season here hasn’t been the best, but I have had a lot of fun. I like my team,” Farnham said. “I think that, in the future, [we] will be a lot better than we are now. We have a lot of talent, and I am excited for what’s to come.”
Farnham and the rest of his team will wrap its season up this weekend in another marathon performance including a game tonight, tomorrow and its season finale on Sunday.
Tonight, the Bonnies will kickoff their weekend with a road trip up to Buffalo where they will faceoff against the UB Bulls. The game will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Northtown Center. Following Friday’s tilt, the Bonnies remain on the road to face Binghamton at Chenango Ice Rink. Puck drop will be at 8:15 Saturday night.
Finally, the Bonnies will wrap it all up in their own barn; the William O. Smith Recreation Center in Olean. The Bonnies will play Cortland State at 3:30 p.m. to close out their 2014-15 season.
