Senior Night Magic leads to playoff berth
Seniors (from left) Craig McCabe, Bryce Witman, Anders Johnson, Dalton Jerzak, Antonio Demacopoulos, Ethan Kirbis and Gregg Lee.
The Fredonia State hockey team clinched the sixth-and-final SUNYAC playoff spot with a 3-2 upset of Geneseo on Saturday evening.
The Devils used a stellar game from goaltender Logan Dyck, and scores from Ryan Bailey, Jake Blackwell, and Brendan Dempsey to take down the Knights on Senior Night.
After a scoreless first period, the Devils' leading scorer Ryan Bailey connected for his 11th goal of the year a minute into the second, with help from Gregg Lee.
Geneseo's leading scorer, Stefan Miklakos, scored his 13th goal of the year to tie the game for Knights, who rank No. 8 in the most recent USCHO.con poll.
Just under three minutes later, Brendan Dempsey's first goal of the season put Fredonia back on top, 2-1. Joe Santoro assisted.
Blackwell gave the Devils some breathing room with a score early in the third. His seventh score of the season -- assisted by Kurri Woodford -- gave the home team a 3-1 lead.
At the 8:08 mark, Geneseo converted on a power play to pull within a goal, 3-2.
It would remain a 3-2 game in the final two minutes when Geneseo pulled its goalie to give them a 6-on-5 advantage. The stout defense of the Devils held off the last gasp and sent the team to victory.
Dyck would finish the game with 34 saves, while his counterpart from Geneseo, Matt Petizian, made 15 stops.
Prior to the game, the team recognized its seven seniors who were playing in their final game in Steele Hall: Ethan Kirbis, Gregg Lee, Antonio Demacopoulos, Bryce Witman, Craig McCabe, Anders Johnson, and Dalton Jerzak.
Fredonia State improves to 7-15 overall and 5-9 in the SUNYAC. Geneseo is now 16-6-2 and 10-4-1 in the conference.
The Devils have two more games left before the SUNYAC Tournament. They travel to Oswego and Cortland next weekend.
Scoring Summary
Period Time Scored By, Assisted By
2nd 01:00 Bailey, Ryan; Lee, Gregg
2nd 05:47 Miklakos, Stefan; Gilmour, Tyson; Doran, Matthew
2nd 08:38 Dempsey, Brendan; Santoro, Joe
3rd 01:52 Blackwell, Jake; Woodford, Kurri
(PP)3rd 08:08Thomas, Jared; Doran, Matthew
