Sophomore forward Dan Bosio attempts to take a shot in the Knights’ national DIII semifinal matchup against Norwich University on Friday March 22. Bosio recorded an assist in the team’s 4-2 loss (Courtesy of Ben Gajewski ‘07).
The road to the NCAA Division III men’s ice hockey semifinals was long in more ways than one. While Geneseo didn’t take any roads at all en route to Wisconsin for their semifinal game against the Norwich University Cadets from Vermont, it was every game played, every goal scored and every mile traveled leading up to it that put them in this illustrious position.
Beginning in October 2018, the Knights battled their way to a 25-2-2 record, their highest win total in program history. They scored 142 goals and only allowed 37 to be scored on them. The Knights played in front of a cumulative home crowd average of 20,396 fans. Geneseo also rode a 23-game unbeaten streak to the Frozen Four, making them one of the hottest teams entering the NCAA tournament.
Only one more game stood in the way of Geneseo’s first appearance in the National Championship game. Just representing Geneseo in the Frozen Four was an honor for the players.
“It’s pretty incredible,” first year defenseman Chris Perna said. “To work hard all year and go that far with the constant support from the community and fellow classmates is definitely a special feeling.”
Geneseo represented the community well in the first period of play, staying neck-and-neck with a very skilled Norwich team. Both teams were unable to score for the first 20 minutes.
Norwich burst out in the second period with two goals to take a demanding two-goal lead heading into the final period of play.
Geneseo’s chance at the championship game grew dimmer when Norwich tacked on a third goal to seemingly punch the Cadets’ ticket to the championship game.
Geneseo then showed amazing heart and resilience in the last 14 minutes of the game and ultimately, their season. First-year forward Henry Cleghorn scored a few minutes after Norwich took their 3-0 lead. Only 61 second later, sophomore forward Carson Kelley brought the Knights within a goal of the lead with a shot assisted by sophomore forward Dan Bosio and senior forward Joe Serpico.
Geneseo was doing the improbable and mounting a very late comeback in the biggest game of the season, facing elimination. To complete the comeback, they would have to score a third goal under enormous pressure.
The fact that Geneseo was never completely ruled out of contention for this game, despite originally being down 3-0, speaks volumes to their talent. With two of the nation’s leading scorers in junior forward Andrew Romano and junior forward Conlan Keenan, not to mention the best power play unit in DIII hockey, Geneseo always had a chance. Reinforcing Geneseo’s comeback potential is Geneseo’s astonishing 4.90 goals a game, which leads DIII hockey.
Geneseo was forced to pull their senior goaltender Devin McDonald after he made 20 saves in order to put an extra skater on the ice to try and complete the comeback.
An unlucky bounce off the boards sent the puck into the empty net for Norwich, giving the Cadets a 4-2 lead, securing their victory.
Geneseo’s trip to Wisconsin came up short of the championship, but according to first-year forward Brendan Miller, the Knights did not leave empty handed.
“[A big takeaway was how] important every shift is in those games. You need to play with a lot of desperation and focus every shift in the playoffs,” Miller said.
The Knights will be returning with all but nine of their players from this season and have already added top-level recruits for their 2019-20 campaign.
Despite losing in the semifinals, Geneseo made an entire community proud of the name on the front of their jerseys. The nine graduating seniors on this Geneseo team poured their heart into this season for the Knights and that is shown by the product they put on the ice each game and the amazing statistics evident in the scorebook.
With all the experience and success Geneseo accumulated this season, they will be poised for another deep run at the championship next year.