Every game is an away game for Solvay hockey goalie Joey Poppe. Solvay may be plastered in letters across his jersey but after hockey season it has no permanency to Poppe.

It's not a lack of loyalty. It's not a lack of pride. And it's certainly not a lack of heart. It's just that Poppe is a student at Jordan-Elbridge. Poppe, a junior, is an Eagle #- in the classroom, on the lacrosse field and on the gridiron, where he led J-E with more than 1,100 yards rushing in the fall.

About half of Solvay's hockey roster is made up of Solvay students, with the rest coming from neighboring schools Bishop Ludden, Marcellus and Westhill. Poppe is the only player from J-E.

“I was kind of skeptical to join at first,” Poppe said. “There were brand new faces and a lot of questions about how well we'd come together.”

That skepticism faded after Poppe's first few practices when he joined the team as a freshman. No one is happier about that than head coach John Campbell, as Poppe has a .900 save percentage this season. The upperclassmen made it clear to him the first day, “This is Bearcat hockey,” Poppe said. There are to be no favorites, no cliques and no fighting. It's not football season. It's not lacrosse season. It's hockey season.

The players have taken note, Campbell said, as he cannot recall one bit of animosity during his tenure.

To have a mix of players has been an advantage for Campbell's team because there's unity there that other teams don't have. At the same time, though, it's cost Solvay some early-season contests. The Bearcats are just 1-6 in league play and 3-8 overall.

In addition to coming from different high schools, Solvay's players come from different youth hockey programs. Players from schools like West Genesee have been playing together since they were 10 years old, Campbell said.

“This is why we struggle every year early on,” Campbell said. “It takes lots of ice time for a team like ours to gel and come together.”

Those early-season losses are no fault of their goaltender, Campbell said. At just 5-foot-6, Poppe doesn't fill out the net, but his quickness makes him fearful for sharpshooters. Poppe regularly beats the forwards in sprints down the ice during practice. And that's while wearing his goalie gear.

“If we lose a game, it's not because of the way Joe played,” Campbell said. “I can't ever remember him having a bad game.”

That's not to say he has never been blamed for losing. His Solvay buddies still remind him of a September football game when Solvay knocked off J-E. Solvay's defensive line included two of Poppe's hockey teammates, Matt DeGilio and Nick DeStaffan. Poppe carried the ball 12 times, scoring once, but was never tackled by his ice mates. That's all he was looking for in that matchup.

“I knew they were coming after me,” Poppe said. “It's like any friendly rivalry. It's nice to know you can go do what you have to do for football then come into hockey and be teammates.”

Even though there are no hard feelings, there's still talk about that early-season game. Poppe is reminded of it all the time in the winter, he said.

“They'll say, ‘Well at least we beat Jordan-Elbridge,'” Poppe said.

One loss hasn't stopped Poppe from showing his Eagle pride. Right after football season Poppe peeled off his interlocked J-E decals on his football helmet. He transferred the black decals to the sides of his goalie mask. Then he outlined the letters in permanent marker. They sit right below the Solvay logo on the top of his mask.

It took some getting used to by his teammates but it was a welcome reminder to the fans who come to see him play. There are as many as 30 Eagle fans at the arena when Poppe is in goal against J-E rival Skaneateles.

“Hey I go to J-E,” Poppe said. “My teammates at J-E support me and they'll say, ‘At least he doesn't play for Skaneateles.'”