Ice Knights Come In Clinging To Last SUNYAC Playoff Spot

The Geneseo Ice Knights (6-13-0, 5-6-0) come to the Campus Centre Ice Arena trying to avoid a regular season sweep at the hands of Oswego State. Geneseo currently holds the sixth and final playoff spot in the SUNYAC. That's a far cry from where second-year coach Chrus Schultz had his club just a season ago. The Knights finished second in the conference standings in 2006-2007 with a 10-4-0 SUNYAC record.

Prior to that, Geneseo won the SUNYAC post-season tournament in 2005 and 2006. High-scoring forwards Mitch Stephens and Mike MacDonald were big contributors to those teams, but were lost to graduation after last season. The team has yet to fill their void as only one player, senior Matthew Cyr, is averaging a point per game this season.

Meanwhile, #14 Oswego State (12-5-2, 8-2-1) remains one of the premiere programs in the SUNYAC. They earned some breathing room in second place after their shutout win Saturday in Potsdam. The Lakers bolstered their point total to 17 in the conference standings while third-place Fredonia was unable to keep pace, losing 4-3 to Geneseo to remain at 14 points.

The Lakers can clinch a spot in the SUNYAC tournament with a win tonight and a Cortland loss in Brockport. Also, two Lakers can reach another milestone as junior line-mates Ryan Ellis and Brendan McLaughlin need one goal each to reach 50 for their careers. Face-off is set for 7 p.m. on 88.9 FM WNYO.

Ryan Maloney