The Ice Knights skated to a 4-2 victory over the neighboring SUNY Brockport Golden Eagles on Friday Nov. 13, securing their first win in SUNYAC play and continuing a three-game winning streak. Both teams played a fast and physical game, but it was the Ice Knights’ offense—putting up 49 shots to Brockport’s 25—that stole the show.
Sophomore forward Sotiris Athanasopoulos put the first point on the scoreboard off of a rebound just 11:25 into the first period. Brockport answered just 26 seconds later after first-year forward Tim Kielich flicked the puck over first-year goalie Devin McDonald for his first collegiate goal to even the game at one goal apiece.
With just 20 seconds left in the first period, senior forward David Ripple tallied his first goal of the season from a low-angled shot along the far boards. The Ice Knights outshot the Golden Eagles 16-7 in the first period, only allowing the Eagles to get one shot off after their goal.
The second period gave Brockport a chance to tie the score. The Ice Knights still outshot the Golden Eagles 17-12, but Brockport sophomore forward Ryan Kangas took the only goal of the period at 13:03 to tie the score at 2-2. Brockport also gave the Knights three separate power play opportunities, which signaled the beginning of their penalty trouble for the rest of the game.
It would be the third period once again for the Ice Knights to find their footing and surge ahead for the win, putting up two unanswered goals. The pair of goals were courtesy of junior forward Stephen Collins at 10:02 to put the Ice Knights ahead 3-2 and Ripple with 2:55 remaining in the game to hammer the last nail in the coffin for the win. The Knights outshot the Eagles 16-6 in the third period.
McDonald put up a solid performance, stopping 23 of Brockport’s 25 shots to improve to 3-0-2 on the season; sporting a 1.67 goals allowed average per game and a save percentage of .933.
This matchup marks the Ice Knight’s first win in SUNYAC play, putting them tied for fourth place with four points—1-0-2 in conference games. Geneseo remains one of the two teams that have only played three-in-conference games—the majority of other SUNYAC teams have played five or six.
SUNY Potsdam is currently at the top of the conference with 12 points, sporting a 6-0 record. One of these wins notably came on Saturday Nov. 14 when Potsdam won 4-1 over the SUNY Oswego Lakers. The Lakers have lost three straight conference games and will most likely lose their national ranking for the first time in six seasons.
“We aren’t looking at where the other teams lie in conference right now,” assistant coach Kris Heeres said. “We’re taking this season game by game, period by period … with the [amount of] upsets so far this season, we want to remain a focused team that plays our own hockey.”
Geneseo plays two more conference games in November and will look to further propel themselves up the conference ladder. The Ice Knights host the Buffalo State Bengals at the Ira S. Wilson arena on Friday Nov. 20 and travel to SUNY Fredonia to faceoff against the Blue Devils on Saturday Nov. 21. The puck drops at 7 p.m. for both games.