AIDAN POLLARD
Staff Writer
We’ve come a long way from Pink the Rink.
Just a couple weeks ago, the Fredonia men’s hockey team had to rally to make it into the SUNYAC playoffs, and now they’re two huge wins deep and looking to go on to best Geneseo for the SUNYAC title on March 3.
Fredonia hockey has come into this SUNYAC tournament on fire, and they’re showing no signs of settling down. On Wednesday, Fredonia traveled to Plattsburgh to start off the SUNYAC tournament and bested the Cardinals in a 4-3 game.
Victor Tracey, Tommy DeFelice, Ryan Dunner and Jacob Haynes scored goals.
Ryan Dunner scored the game-winning goal.
“Scoring that goal was definitely one of the coolest experiences of my hockey career,” said Dunner.
This was Dunner’s first collegiate playoff game, and he came through in a big way with both a goal and an assist against Plattsburgh.
“That whole game was a team effort. We played a full 60 minute game and executed our style of play perfectly,” said the freshman.
This was a big win for the Blue Devils, as it advanced them to the next round of the playoffs against Oswego. Once again, Fredonia traveled to an away game to try to keep themselves in the playoffs.
Going into the game on Saturday, Fredonia was a major underdog. In the Pink the Rink game, they lost to the Lakers in a shutout 5-0 game.
“I think we all feel good going into Oswego, especially after they had a tough weekend with getting shutout,” said Dunner before the game. “And I know if we come in and play our game like we all know we can, we will win this game.”
Fredonia delivered on that promise with a 3-1 win against the Lakers.
Jacob Haynes, Kyle Jelinski and Josh Biasillo Goals scored goals. Fredonia was up with a 3-0 lead going into the third period, and although Oswego was able to pull together a goal in the last period, they couldn’t rally past the Blue Devils.
Fredonia has gone from zero to hero very quickly in this postseason, and it’s incredibly exciting to watch an unranked team go and take down the fifth best team in the nation.
Fredonia will now go on to play the Geneseo Knights in the SUNYAC final.
On Saturday, the Knights crushed the Buffalo State Bengals 5-2, so Geneseo will likely be coming into this game with a lot of momentum.
It will be another away game, so Geneseo will have the crowd advantage, just like Plattsburgh and Oswego did.
So far the Blue Devils have been proving themselves over and over in this postseason, and now they have a shot at the championship. Everyone is looking for them to pull off another major upset for the title and bring home some glory for Fredonia.
Fredonia has not won the SUNYAC title since 2006, and Geneseo is another nationally ranked team at seventh in the nation. If Fredonia can make this win happen, it will be an incredible “Cinderella story” for the Blue Devils.