The No. 12-ranked Geneseo Ice Knights won their first two SUNYAC games of the season, defeating Buffalo State College and SUNY Fredonia on Oct. 28 and 29, respectively.
Geneseo won on Saturday, defeating Buffalo State 4-3 in overtime. Junior Corbin Rosmarin gave Geneseo an early lead, scoring on a rebound off a quick shot from sophomore Zachary Vit.
The Bengals came back, however, scoring one goal each in the first, second and third periods to take a 3-1 lead.
Senior David Arduin put home a rebound on the power play with six minutes left to pull within one. Junior Ryan Bulach and senior Jake Yard picked up assists on the play.
With an extra attacker and time running out, Yard threw a puck on net and Vit tipped in the game-tying goal with just nine-tenths of a second left in the third.
"You're going to get a player like [Vit] once every eight or nine years if you're lucky," head coach Chris Schultz said. "He's in the right place at the right time an awful lot of times."
In overtime, senior Clint Olson found the back of the net with a backhand shot just 17 seconds into the extra frame. Bulach and Arduin earned assists on the play.
"They stayed mentally tough, they never gave up, and they just found a way to get it done and it's a beautiful thing to see," Schultz added. "I'm happy especially for Arduin and Olson who put the team on their backs in terms of leadership."
Senior Cory Gershon made 26 saves in goal to pick up the win.
Geneseo then defeated Fredonia, 2-1, on Oct. 29. The Ice Knights' defense played better than in their previous games, as junior Adrian Rubeniuk made 29 saves and allowed just the one goal.
"I thought [the defensive core] had a very strong game," assistant coach Kris Heeres said. "We were making quicker decisions with the puck. We were keeping it simple."
Rosmarin again scored the first goal of the game, but this time on the power play in the second period. Sophomore Rich Manley had a two-on-one with Rosmarin who took the pass and finished for the goal.
Fredonia tied the game early in the third, but Geneseo responded as Arduin scored the game-winning goal just three minutes later.
"The bottom line is these were two character wins," Heeres added. He also praised penalty killers like Bulach, Olson and sophomore Carson Schell for blocking shots.
The Ice Knights are now 2-1 on the season and travel to No. 2-ranked SUNY Oswego on Nov. 4.