FREDONIA, NY--The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) announced its 2005-06 Ice Hockey All-Conference teams today, and Sean Burke (Barrie, ON/St. Peter's), Sean O'Connell (Buffalo/St. Francis) and Sean Sheehan (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) all represented Buffalo State on the First Team. In addition, Bengals' bench boss Nick Carriere was dubbed the conference Coach of the Year.

Burke, a senior criminal justice major, leads the Bengals in scoring with 34 points. His 24 goals set a new Buffalo State single-season scoring record and ranks him tied for the lead among NCAA Division III players. Burke was named the SUNYAC Player of the Week on three separate occasions this season.

O'Connell has five goals and 14 assists for 19 points to lead all Bengal defensemen. He led the league among blueliners with 15 points in 14 conference games. The junior communication major is tied for the school record for points in a career by a defenseman with 54.

Sheehan was named SUNYAC Goalie of the Week three times during the regular season. The junior criminal justice major set a school record for wins (11) and shutouts (2) in a season. Sheehan has an .889 save percentage and a 3.72 goals-against average.

In his first season at the helm, Carriere led the Bengals to their best-ever conference record at 8-6, compared to a 1-10-3 mark last season. His team also qualified for the SUNYAC playoffs for just the second time in school history. At 11-12-1 overall, Buffalo State has already improved by six wins over the 2004-05 team.

Buffalo State, the fifth-seed, will travel to No. 4 Plattsburgh for the opening round of the conference playoffs this weekend. The two-game series with begin tomorrow at 7 p.m. The second game will be played on Saturday at 7 p.m.