Devils hockey clinches playoff berth
Fredonia is returning to the SUNYAC Men's Hockey Tournament after a three-year hiatus.
The Blue Devils nailed down a playoff berth with a 3-2 win Saturday over the Brockport Golden Eagles. Samuel Wilbur (Saginaw, ,Mich.) had two goals, including the game-winner to break a 2-2 tie.
Eric Bogart (London, Ont.) made 44 saves in the Fredonia net.
With the win, Fredonia improved to 13-8-2 overall and 7-6-1 in the conference. Their 15 points currently puts them into fifth place, four points ahead of Cortland and Morrisville and two points behind Buffalo State. The top six teams qualify for the SUNYAC Tournament. The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds earn first-round home games.
The Blue Devils took a 2-0 in the first period. Brandon Spognardi (Warrington, Pa.) had Fredonia's first goal, his third of the season, at 9:33. Wilbur scored on a power play at the 4:06 mark before Brockport's Jake Taylor cut Fredonia's lead in half with a power-play goal of his own.
Zac Sikich scored the only goal of the second period, also on a power play, as the Golden Eagles pulled even, 2-2. Wilbur's game-winner game at 13:58 of the third period when he gathered in a rebound and scored into the open side of the net. It was his team-high 12th goal of the season.
The Blue Devils close out the regular season next weekend on the road: Friday at Oswego, Saturday at Cortland. Then it's on to a SUNYAC Tournament which begins Feb. 22 with first-round games.
Fredonia's last post-season appearance came at the end of the 2013-14 season.
