Yorktown's Sullivan gets stint with Brewster Bulldogs

BREWSTER - Sean Sullivan’s first point in the Federal Hockey League was pretty routine.

Playing on the wing on an offensive zone face-off during the first period of the Brewster Bulldogs’ home game against Dayton on March 13, Sullivan got the puck off the face-off and quickly moved it back to defenseman Ralph Watts.

Sullivan then parked himself in front of Dayton’s goalie to set a screen. The puck eventually found its way to Russian import Nicolai Oklolbistyn, the team’s leading scorer. He heard Sullivan’s call to shoot, and ended up finding the back of the net.

While it was an unspectacular way for Sullivan to get his first point, it was a fine reward for the grinding, gritty way the Yorktown Heights native had been playing the last few days.

“My game is that way right now, just trying to get back into things,” he said. “I just want to go to the dirty areas, do the right things for the team, kind of pay the price.”

For Sullivan, who played high school hockey for Kennedy Catholic as well as junior hockey at Brewster, up in Collingwood, Ontario, and in Philadelphia, it is a situation he never imagined he would be in.

After two years playing NCAA Division III hockey at SUNY Cortland, Sullivan left at the end of the 2014-15 season to come back home.

For the past year, Sullivan has been coaching in the area. He helps out with the Bronxville Youth Hockey Association at the Westchester Skating Academy, and also teaches private, one-on-one lessons at the Brewster Ice Arena.

“I've always wanted to coach, I love coaching,” Sullivan said. “I've always thought I was better at coaching than I ever could be at playing.”

But once his year ended coaching-wise, he asked the Brewster coach if he could practice with the team. On March 10, with the team struggling with injuries and also set to travel out to Port Huron, Michigan, that day, Brewster head coach David Lun offered Sullivan a contract.

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“He's got a good set of hands on him. He does do clinics, so that kind of helps out, I'm sure,” Lun said. “He played Division III hockey, so he's got a sense of the game.”

While Sullivan was elated to take the offer, he had little time to prepare himself for the upcoming 13-hour road trip.

“For me, it was such a shell-shock personally. I've just been going to the rink and home every day for about a year now,” Sullivan said. “To get back on a bus and travel 12 hours, play a hockey game, take a night's rest and then get back on the bus and come home for the next game is a quick turnaround.”

Despite still trying to find his timing, adjusting to the speed and physicality of Federal Hockey League opponents as well as trying to catch up to his teammates in terms of conditioning, Sullivan was able to contribute in the team’s four-game stretch that weekend.

“There was an adjustment process for sure, but once I was able to pick up the timing and speed, I was able to make better decisions,” Sullivan said. “When that happened, I was able to find some chemistry with my linemates and some of my other teammates.”

Playing mainly on a line with Canadians Brett Hope and Dustin Jesseau, Sullivan was able to draw a couple of penalties in the team’s two games at Port Huron, helping the team come away with a win and an overtime loss.

“With the ice time I gave him and the situations I put him in, he impressed,” coach Lun said. “He's a gritty, physical player that's able to play his role effectively.”

With the season winding down and Brewster fighting for the fourth and last playoff spot in the league, every little contribution helps.

“I like Sean; He's a hard worker, he's a grinder, he opens space for me,” Jesseau said. “He's a faster player here, and he does all the little things right, which I like. It goes a long way when you got a guy like that on your team.”

On Friday’s game against visiting Port Huron, however, he paid a price for playing that way. With his team down 4-0 in the third period, Sullivan got into a fight against Port Huron’s Ryan Devine in an attempt to spark his teammates.

After the game, Lun said that Sullivan broke his arm and would be done for the year.

While Sullivan said that he didn’t know what his future would exactly be, he hopes to be able to continue playing with Brewster next season.

If he can’t, there’s always coaching.

"I'm enjoying my time now with them; I'm going to give them everything I got, and if I get the opportunity next year and I'm able to take it, you could see me back here in Brewster,” he said. “It's my hometown and I love playing here, and we got a great group of guys here who've been a great help to me. Without them, I wouldn't be able to even be here.”

Twitter: @Szkolar_Lohud