Ice Knights bounced from SUNYAC tournament
After a great regular season, the Ice Knights were eliminated from the SUNYAC tournament following a 3-2 loss to Cortland on Saturday, Feb. 24 (Photo courtesy of geneseoknights.com).
The Geneseo Ice Knights were defeated by the Cortland Red Dragons on Saturday, Feb. 24, in the SUNYAC Semi-Final round. The game was a tightly contested affair with the Ice Knights narrowly falling 3-2. The Knights' defeat at Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena was only their third home loss of the season, as Geneseo’s overall season record stands at 21-5.
The first period was fairly even, with both teams getting their fair share of scoring chances. The Ice Knights started the period with two opportunities on the powerplay, but unfortunately, the Red Dragons penalty kill units fended off both of Geneseo’s attempts. Freshman goalie Jacob Torgner saved all ten Red Dragon shots while Geneseo held a 12-10 shot advantage after the first period.
The Ice Knights opened the scoring with 12:55 remaining in the second period as freshman defenseman Sean Melso sent a shot past Red Dragon goaltender Jack Riedell. Freshman forward Luke Pancisin and first-year defenseman Dakota Zarudny provided the secondary assists. Unfortunately for Geneseo, they racked up multiple penalties in the period, forcing the penalty kill unit to step up. Still, they seemed to be gaining momentum after successfully killing off two Red Dragon power plays in the middle of the period, however, Cortland answered back with two quick goals before the end of the second frame. The first goal, which worked to tie the game at one, came off a breakaway with 7:43 remaining, and the go-ahead goal came just before the end of the second with 1:14 left to play. Shot on the goal totals were even at twelve apiece between both teams during the 20-minute stretch.
The game didn’t remain 2-1 for long, as junior forward Zach Purcell blasted a slap shot into the back of the net just over three minutes into the third period. Senior defensemen Diarmad Dimurro and Nathan Poolman assisted on the tying goal. Cortland quickly regained the lead just minutes later with a goal at 7:11 of the final frame. Despite a valiant effort from the Ice Knights, the goal became the game-winner as the score remained 3-2 until the final buzzer. At the end of the game, the Ice Knights held the total shot advantage with 37 compared to Cortland's 29—with Geneseo outshooting the Red Dragons 13-7 in the final period of the game. Riedell stopped 12 of 13 shots to maintain Cortland’s one-goal victory, however.
Torgner finished the game with 26 saves on 29 shots for a respectable .897 save percentage. Melso's second-period goal was his third goal of the season, while Purcell's third-period goal was his eighth of the year. Fortunately for the Ice Knights, their season still has a chance at continuing as they wait to see whether they will receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Before the game against Cortland, Geneseo was ranked among the top-five teams in Division III. The Selection Show to determine their fate will be held on Monday, Mar. 4 at 10 a.m. on NCAA.com.