GENESEO, N.Y. — SUNY-Geneseo weathered all kinds of pressure from Norwich throughout their game Sunday, and when it mattered most, junior sniper Tyler Brickler provided the counterattack to help the home-standing Knights fend off the Cadets, 3-2, in their NCAA Division III hockey quarterfinal.
The Knights (23-6-0) advance to the Division III Frozen Four in Lewiston, where they will square off against St. Norbert of Wisconsin in the 4 p.m. semifinal at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
Norwich peppered Geneseo goalie Nick Horrigan with 13 shots in the opening frame, and the last one beat him with one second remaining on the clock to put the visitors ahead 1-0.
Norwich extended its lead to 2-0 at 9:20 of the second when Shane Gorman sent another puck past Horrigan.
That would be the last puck to get past the sophomore keeper, who stopped 15 shots the rest of the way.
Brickler got things rolling for the Knights on the power play at 17:47 of the second on a feed from Zachary Vit, giving the home team life as they broke for the second intermission.
Brickler struck again 1:34 into the third, again on a power play, to knot the game at 2-2, setting up his game-winner at even strength at 6:28.
Lewiston’s Connor Anthoine dressed but did not factor in the scoring for the Knights.
Oswego State returns to Final Four
WELLESLEY, Mass. — The Oswego State men’s ice hockey team dominated Babson College from the start of the game Sunday to earn a 3-0 win and advance to its fifth-straight Division III Frozen Four. With the win, the Lakers will face the University of Wisconsin at Steven Point at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
Oswego set the tone early, controlling the action in the first period. For their efforts, the Lakers (22-6-2) scored twice to seize control.
They tallied their first goal at 13:58 when they capitalized on a Babson penalty. Bobby Gertsakis rifled a shot from just inside the blue line and teammate Shawn Hulshof tipped the puck past Babson goalie Jamie Murray to give Oswego the lead.
The Lakers added another just 1:13 later when Matt Galati put a wrister top-shelf past Murray. Galati was assisted on the play by Alex Botten and Nick Rivait. Oswego outshot the Beavers 12-1 in the period.
After the break, Brandon Adams broke in on Murray shorthanded and scored to push the visitors’ lead to 3-0. The shorthanded goal was just the second the Beavers had allowed all season The Lakers were just the eighth team this year to put three goals up on Babson.
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