Bennett Schneider graduates early from Hamilton, signs with Pensacola Ice Flyers of SPHL

Bennett Schneider (courtesy of Richard Davis Photo)

Hamilton defenseman Bennett Schneider (D, '13.5) has graduated early and recently signed with the Pensacola Ice Flyers of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). The 6' 3" 218 lb. defensive minded blueliner had six points (0-6-6) in 73 games as a Continental.

Schneider, a Fort Myers, FL native, made his pro hockey debut on Sunday, December 29th in the Ice Flyers 3-2 overtime win over the Louisiana IceGators. He had a +/- of -1 and one shot on goal for the evening. The Ice Flyers currently sit in second place in the ten team SPHL with a 15-9-2 record through 26 games. Louisiana (16-7-3) is in first.

This is Schneider's first professional hockey gig, but it is not his first experience playing with pro hockey players. The former Hamilton Continental spent the past three summers as an invitee to the New York Islanders development camp.

Schneider's last collegiate game ends up being the Continentals' 4-3 upset win over Middlebury on December 7th. Hamilton now enters 2014 with no upperclassmen ('14 or '15) on the blueline. One solution to even out the seven man d-corps and add experience could be to move senior Dom Jancaterino (F/D, '14) back on D when he comes back from injury. The Hawaii native has not played since the Conts opening weekend losses against Amherst.

The SPHL is an independent professional hockey league, roughly equivalent to "A" in minor league baseball, with ten teams spread across eight states across the southeast and Illinois. Besides Schneider, five NESCAC alumni call the SPHL home, including recent alums Nick Craven (Wesleyan, '13) ,  Brandon Hew (Amherst, '13) and Scott Harff (Colby, '13).

The Ice Flyers return to action on New Year's Day against the first place Ice Gators in Louisiana. Hamilton returns to action without Schneider on Friday in the opening round of the Buck Supply Winter Classic against top ranked Plattsburgh.