BUFFALO — Nationally-ranked No. 14 Buffalo State enters the SUNYAC playoffs as the No. 4 seed and will host fifth-seeded Fredonia in a SUNYAC quarterfinal tomorrow at 7 p.m.
Buffalo State finished the regular season with a school record for wins, going 17-7-1 overall and was 9-6-1 in the SUNYAC, earning the program’s seventh-consecutive SUNYAC playoff berth. The Bengals have advanced to the conference semifinals in each of the past five seasons, but have never played in the title game.
The Bengals have been backstopped by senior goalie Mike DeLaVergne (Pawling, NY/Pawling) who leads the conference with a .931 save percentage and is second in the league with a 1.84 goals against average. Buffalo State features a balanced offensive attack, led by freshman Anthony Passero (Fort Erie, ON/Lakeshore) who leads the team with 28 points on nine goals and 19 assists. Taylor Pryce (Newmarket, ON/Cardinal Carter), Mac Wood (Simcoe, ON/SCS) and Anthony Beaumont (Lester, PA/Interboro) lead the team with 10 goals apiece.
Fredonia is making its first playoff appearance since 2013-14. The Blue Devils have captured three SUNYAC titles, including two in the mid-1990s and their most recent championship in 2006-07. Junior Samuel Wilbur leads Fredonia with 34 points (14 goals, 20 assists) in 24 games.
This will be the fifth postseason meeting between the two programs. Fredonia won the first three meetings, but Buffalo State claimed the most recent clash in 2013, winning 6-0.
The Blue Devils were 1-0-1 against Buffalo State this season. Fredonia claimed a 4-2 in in Buffalo way back on Nov. 4, and then the teams skated to a 1-1 tie in Fredonia the next night.
No. 3 Geneseo will host No. 6 Brockport in Wednesday’s other quarterfinal. The semifinals will take place on Saturday, Feb. 25, with top-seeded Oswego hosting the lowest remaining seed, and the highest remaining seed traveling to No. 2 Plattsburgh.
Tickets for Wednesday’s game will go on sale one hour prior to faceoff at 6 p.m. Adult tickets are $5, students are $3, and students from SUNYAC schools with valid ID are free.
from BuffaloStateAthletics.com via IFTTT
