Geneseo Men's Ice Hockey To Host Salve Regina In NCAA Tournament First-Round
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GENESEO, N.Y. – The SUNY Geneseo men's ice hockey team will host Salve Regina (R.I.) in the first round of the NCAA Divison III Tournament this Saturday, March 12, at 7:00 p.m.
The Knights earned an automatic bid to the tournament after winning the fourth State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title in program history with a 7-1 victory at No. 3 Plattsburgh on Saturday in the tournament championship game. It was the team's first conference title since winning back-to-back crowns in 2005 and 2006. The Knights won their first SUNYAC Championship in 1986.
Geneseo (18-4-6) is making its fifth NCAA Division III Tournament appearance, including its second in three years. The Knights earned an at-large bid to the 2014 postseason, taking down Nichols (Mass.), 3-2, and Norwich (Vt.), 3-2, for the first two NCAA Tournament victories in program history. Playing in its first-ever Frozen Four, Geneseo fell to eventual national champion St. Norbert (Wisc.), 6-2, in a game played in Lewiston, Maine.
The SUNYAC Tournament saw Geneseo out-score its three opponents by a combined 17-3 margin. The third-seeded Knights defeated sixth-seeded Potsdam, 4-1 (Feb. 24), at home in the quarterfinals, before upending second-seeded Buffalo State, 6-1 (Feb. 27), in the semifinals, and the top-seeded Cardinals on the road.Â
Salve Regina (17-10-1) also earned an automatic bid to the tournament after posting a 4-0 shutout over Endicott in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Northeast Championship game last weekend. This Saturday's game will mark the Seahawks' first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
Saturday's winner will advance to play either Williams or Salem State in a second-round contest on Saturday, March 19 at a time and site to be determined. The winner will advance to the NCAA Frozen Four, to be hosted in Lake Placid, N.Y. at Herb Brooks Arena, on March 25. The national championship game is slated for March 26.Â
