Buffalo State will open its season this weekend with a pair of “Battle by the Lake” contests against Interstate-90 –rival Fredonia.
The Bengals will host the Blue Devils in the season-opener on Friday at 7 p.m. and are looking to keep the momentum from last year’s school record-setting season that ended with an overall record of 15-7-4 and saw the team finish second in the SUNYAC regular season standings. Buffalo State will then travel to Fredonia on Saturday for another 7 p.m. faceoff.
The Bengals are ranked 13th in the D3Hockey.com national poll. The Bengals will be backstopped again this season by first team All-SUNYAC goalie Mike DeLaVergne (Pawling/Pawling) who enters his senior season with a school-best .926 career save percentage and a 2.31 goals against average. Senior Taylor Pryce (Newmarket, ON/Cardinal Carter) will be a leader of the Bengals’ offensive attack. A third team All-SUNYAC pick a year ago, he led the team with 15 goals and 30 points last season and has 69 points (27 goals and 42 assists) in 77 career games. In addition to a solid core of returners, coach Steve Murphy has brought in 13 newcomers in his first full recruiting class.
Adding to the importance of opening the season, this weekend’s home and home series is critical for Buffalo State in the season-long Battle by the Lake competition between the two schools. Fredonia holds and 8-2 lead after the fall seasons with this weekend’s games carrying one point each toward the final standings.
from BuffaloStateAthletics.com via IFTTT