Carriere brings pedigree to the bench

Not many people can say their father is an assistant general manager in the National Hockey League.

Buffalo State's men's hockey coach Nick Carriere can, and that's just the start.

The enthusiastic coach's positive energy filled the room as he reminisced about old times. He grew up watching his father, Larry, skate as a member of the Buffalo Sabres, as well as four other teams (Atlanta Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings and the Toronto Maple Leafs).

Larry Carriere scored 148 goals and had 463 assists in 367 career games and was named to the all-star team eight straight times.

While his impact on the ice was huge, his importance to his son is immeasurable.

When asked what NHL player he looked up to as a child, Nick Carriere immediately responded with his father, saying he really respected the way he played.

Carriere's love for hockey began because of his family and their ties with the NHL, but it's led to him excelling as a head coach of the Bengals, where he's been for seven years.

Carriere began his career playing for Niagara University, twice being named the team's most improved player. His hard work ethic didn't go unnoticed and his coaches and teammates were aware of his team-first attitude.

"He was one of the most selfless players we ever had," Niagara University head coach Dave Burkholder said.

"He truly cared about the Niagara hockey program. He accepted his role with pride, did what the coaches asked him to, and executed it."

After graduating from Niagara, Carriere went on to play professional hockey in the United Hockey League.

A short time later, he was offered an assistant coach position at Fredonia State, which he readily accepted.

"I had never really thought about coaching until then," Carriere said.

He then spent three seasons as the assistant coach and became an important piece of the coaching staff.

"He's a great guy and a tremendous coach," said Jeff Meredith, who is in his 24th season as head coach at Fredonia State. "He was involved in every aspect of the program: recruiting, strength training, video breakdown."

Carriere said that the hardest part of it all for him was recruiting. He's traveled to many different states and a couple of countries to scout hockey players.

"I went to a lot of games in Toronto, Toledo, Quebec. You name it, I've been there," Carriere said. "You make your name by being on the road a lot."

Though he's now a head coach, Carriere said he still believes recruiting is the toughest part. However, he said that it wasn't finding the players he wanted, but it was finding the ones that wanted to come to Buffalo State.

"Other places offer incentives, so we are not only competing with other schools and the quality of their facilities, but also the cost of going to school," Carriere said.

He also said that he doesn't solely scout for talent.

"The way (the athletes) act off the rink is more important to me than how they are on the ice," he said. "It's a huge part of recruiting, seeing how comfortable they are. We ask that players come on the ice with an attitude they can control, and that carries over to our play."

Carriere said he's taken what he learned as an assistant coach at Fredonia State and applied that to what he is doing now at Buffalo State.

With Fredonia and Buffalo in the same division, Carriere has the challenge of facing off against his former team and coaches.

"He always has very prepared teams, making him exciting to compete against," Meredith said. "His team is always so ready to play, which has really raised the rivalry between Buffalo State and Fredonia State. He knows some of my tricks."

Fredonia defeated Buffalo State by a 3-2 score in the SUNYAC quarterfinals last season, and that is something that Carriere said he wants to overcome.

The Bengals have come close to winning in the first round, but have been unable to complete that task.

"I'll never forget the double overtime loss we had in the first playoff game that Buffalo State ever hosted," Carriere said of the Bengals' game against Fredonia in 2006.

Both teams had 43 shots, but it was the Blue Devils' Wil Barlow who'd net the game winner. Buffalo State failed to capitalize on any of their power plays, going 0-10 and falling by a 2-1 score.

Fredonia has become a nemesis for the Bengals, who have gone 1-9-2 against them since that double overtime loss.

It took nine games after that postseason defeat against the Blue Devils before Buffalo State was able to pull off a win, a 2-1 overtime victory on the road.

In the past six seasons, Fredonia has knocked the Bengals out of the postseason three times, twice by one goal.

"We both believe that we have the strongest Division III league in the country," Meredith said.

"It's always a battle when we face Buffalo State. He always has hard workers and they keep coming after you."

Undeterred, Carriere is still aiming for the Bengals to go further into the postseason.

"My goal is to make it past the first round of postseason play and win that SUNYAC Championship," he said.

As the season continues for the men's hockey team (3-2), only time will tell as to how far Carriere will take them.

"He was always willing to learn as a player," Burkholder said, "but I think that goes for him as a coach as well."

With six years under his belt, Carriere's experience and positive coaching mentality could lead his Bengals farther than they ever have been.

Kevin Freiheit can be reached by email at bscrecord@gmail.com.