General | 12/1/2025 1:00:00 PM
Below are the Empire 8 Players of the Week, released on December 1, 2025, for games played from November 24 – November 30. It is the 14th Empire 8 weekly honors release of the 2025-26 season. Sports featured include men’s and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s ice hockey.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Robert Pericolosi, SUNY Geneseo, Jr., F, Rockville Centre, NY/South Side
Pericolosi led SUNY Geneseo to an impressive 87-60 win over Alfred State on Tuesday, dropping 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, as well as eight rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Tyson Clark, Houghton, Fr., G, New Hampton, NY/Nottingham Academy
Clark tallied a career-high totals of 25 points and eight rebounds against SUNY Morrisville on Tuesday. He was 9-of-12 from the field, 2-for-5 from 3-point range and 5-for-7 from the free throw line.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jaidyn Chest, Alfred, Jr., G, Mayfield, NY/Mayfield
Chest racked up a season-high 23 points, one point short of matching her career high, in Alfred’s 79-41 victory at Pitt-Bradford on Tuesday. She shot a season-high 9-of-14 from the field and a career-high 5-of-9 at the 3-point line. Chest has now recorded back-to-back 20-plus point performances. She also added four rebounds, three assists and three steals. It is her second E8 weekly accolade this season.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Vanessa Hall, Utica, Jr., G, Independence, NY/Whitesville Central
Hall powered the Pioneer offense to a 75-67 victory over Norwich in a pre-Thanksgiving showdown Tuesday. Hall led the Pioneers with 22 points while shooting 64.3 percent from the floor (9-of-14), 67 percent from 3-point range, and was 2-for-2 in her attempts from the free throw line. Hall also managed to haul in nine total rebounds, as well as nabbing a steal and posting a block.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – Madison Marusic, Utica, Fr., G, Herkimer, NY/Herkimer
Marusic was a key piece of the Pioneers offense in the team’s 75-67 win over Norwich on Tuesday. Marusic managed 12 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor (5-for-10), along with a made 3-point basket. Marusic dished out a pair of assists in the contest, as well as nabbing three rebounds.
MEN’S ICE HOCKEY
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Sean Melso, SUNY Geneseo, Jr., D, Philadelphia, PA/
Melso exploded for a season-high five points on two goals and three assists and was plus-2 in SUNY Geneseo’s 7-3 win over Williams College on Sunday. He opened the scoring 5:33 into the contest and added two first period assists, as the Knights jumped out to a 4-0 lead after one period of play. Melso earned his third assist of the game on the power-play early in the third period and closed out the scoring for his second goal and fifth point of the game with 2:55 left in the final stanza.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Tyler Schwindt, Elmira, Sr., F, New Hamburg, Ontario
Schwindt tallied seven points on four goals and three assists and fired seven shots on goal in three games for the Soaring Eagles. He exploded for his first collegiate hat-trick and a pair of assists for a five-point night in Elmira’s resounding 10-4 win over King’s College on Friday. Schwindt scored his first goal of the game in the first period and scored power-play goals 4:35 apart midway through the second period, including the eventual game-winning tally. He also assisted on Elmira’s sixth and ninth goals. Schwindt also scored on Saturday against Wilkes.
GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK – Dylan Grover, St. John Fisher, Fr., G, Canandaigua, NY/Victus Academy
Grover backstopped the Cardinals to a dominant weekend sweep, allowing just two goals across two games in victories over SUNY Brockport and host Castleton, as the Cardinals won the Terry Moran Invitational Tournament at Vermont State Castleton. He turned aside an impressive 62-of-64 shots overall, posting a stellar .966 save percentage. Against Brockport, Grover stopped 27-of-29 shots for a .931 save percentage in a 4-2 win, then followed it up the next day with a flawless 35-save performance against Castleton, recording a perfect 1.000 save percentage as the Cardinals earned a 5-0 win. His shutout versus Castleton also stands as the first in program history.
WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY
PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Anna Lugge, Elmira, Jr., F, Freeburg, IL
Lugge scored Elmira’s lone goal midway through the third period in a 3-1 road loss to SUNY Cortland on Tuesday. She tallied with 10:23 left in regulation off a feed from MK Boyle to cut the Cortland lead to 2-1. She also led Elmira with nine face-off wins and four shots on goal.
GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK – Sara Sevcikova, Elmira, So., G, Český Krumlov, Czech Republic/Stanstead
Sevcikova made 19 saves on 21 shots, as the nationally-ranked Soaring Eagles fell to SUNY Cortland, 3-1 in a road non-conference contests on Tuesday afternoon. She made nine of her 19 saves in the second period. It is Sevcikova’s second E8 weekly accolade.