Men's Hockey Hosts Potsdam in SUNYAC Playoffs

Third-seeded Buffalo State will host a SUNYAC Quarterfinal game against No. 6 Potsdam at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 22, in the Ice Arena. 

The game will be the third home playoff game in school history, and second in as many years.

Buffalo State finished the regular season 12-11-2 overall and was 8-7-1 in SUNYAC play, clinching the third seed by defeating Fredonia 3-2 on Friday. Potsdam is 8-15-2 overall and was 6-10-0 in league play. The Bears got in the playoffs despite losing Saturday's season finale at Oswego, 3-0, when Morrisville rallied for a 2-1 win to eliminate Brockport.

Potsdam swept the regular-season series against the Bengals, winning 3-2 in Buffalo on Nov. 11, and then prevailed 5-1 in North Country on Feb. 3.  Buffalo State and Potsdam have never met in the postseason.

Buffalo State is led offensively by junior Trevor McKinney (pictured, Oakwood, ON/Sinclair) who has a team-high 29 points on 16 goals and 13 assists.  Senior Justin Knee (Centralia, ON/S. Huron) has 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points, and junior Drew Klin (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) has tallied 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points.  Sophomore Kevin Carr (Unionville, ON/Unionville) has been between the pipes for 10 victories and in 23 appearances, he has a 3.01 GAA and a .907 save percentage.

This is Buffalo State's seventh SUNYAC playoff appearance, including its sixth in the past seven years under Head Coach Nick Carriere. The Bengals have never advanced to the conference semifinals.  Their only playoff victory came in 2002 against Cortland, but the previous playoff format featured a two-game series, and the Red Dragons won Game 2 and advanced after a “mini-game”.

If Buffalo State wins on Wednesday, it will travel to No. 2-seeded Plattsburgh for the semifinals on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Tickets for Wednesday's game will be available at the door for $5 for the public and $2 for students. The first 200 Buffalo State students with valid ID will be admitted free.