Friday, December 6, 2019

Brockport heads to Geneseo tonight

The College at Brockport men's ice hockey team will travel to nationally-ranked No. 5 Geneseo on Friday to take on the Knights in a key SUNYAC Conference contest to wrap up first semester play. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7 p.m.

Follow the Action Live: Live stats and video will be provided by the Geneseo Athletic Communication office.
Live video: https://geneseoknights.com/links/dbm3d3
Live stats: https://geneseoknights.com/sports/mice/2019-20/boxscores/20191206_dqrf.xml

How We Got Here: Brockport has played more SUNYAC games than any other team in the league at this point in the season and the Golden Eagles have not disappointed.  Brockport currently sits atop the league standings with 10 points and a 5-3 league record.  The Golden Eagles began the season on a tear, winning three straight against SUNYAC opponents as they topped Plattsburgh, Potsdam and Morrisville in consecutive contests, outscoring their opponents 12-3 in the stretch.  Brockport then dropped two straight to Morrisville and national-power Oswego, before posting two thrilling one goal victories over Cortland and Fredonia. Brockport's most recent conference contest was a loss against Buffalo State at home back on Nov. 23rd. Brockport has a 5-5 overall record this season. Geneseo is currently 7-2-1 overall and recently dropped from fourth to fifth in the latest USCHO Div. III poll. The Knights sit in second place in the conference standings with a 4-4-1 record in league play.

Skidmore Invitational: Over the Thanksgiving break, the Golden Eagles headed to Saratoga Springs for a weekend tournament against two non-conference opponents. On Saturday, they narrowly missed on a win versus Skidmore College, falling 2-5. Hunter Laslo opened up the scoring with his first goal of the season and Ryan Romeo, later added a power play goal. Sunday, the Green and Gold met Buffalo St., one of the two teams that have handed Geneseo their only losses. Both Romeo and Laslo added another goal each and Jordan Renaud tacked on one of his own, his fifth of the year. All three of Brockport's goaltenders saw action through the two games and stopped a combined 43 total shots.

Brockport's Leaders: Both Renaud and Romeo have hit the double-digit point mark, with 10 apiece. Romeo is tied for third in overall points for all defenseman. Anthony Hora is also tied for third in the SUNYAC with three power play goals. 16 Brockport players have registered multiple points already this season in only 10 games played. Junior defenseman Casey Winn leads the team in blocked shots with seven. Goaltender Matthew Schneider has nine of the 10 possible starts and has secured a shutout as well as 198 total saves. His current save percentage is .896% as he turns toward the second half of the season.

Top-Ranked Geneseo: The Knights have only dropped two matchups this year, coming at the hands of Buffalo State and Williams College. They also ended their season opener against Potsdam in a draw 2-2. Currently ranked fifth in the nation, Geneseo lost in the semifinals last year to Norwich and will look to have another top finish in the 2019-2020 season. Five of their players have reached the double-digit point plateau, led by Senior Andrew Romano with 20. Their two goaltenders, Aaron Mackay and Matt Petizian have five starts apiece but neither have been able to capture a shutout despite the team's hot start.

What Comes Next: The Golden Eagles don't take the ice again until after New Year's, when they begin a five-game non-conference stint. They have back to back home games starting Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. and then Jan. 4 at 4 p.m. both against Pennsylvania opponents.