Men's Ice Hockey | 2/22/2017 1:16:00 PM

SUNYAC Men's Hockey / First-Round
Wednesday, February 22, at the Buffalo State Sports Arena
Fredonia Blue Devils at Buffalo State Bengals

Live Coverage: STATS / VIDEO

Records & Rankings: Fredonia 13-10-2 overall / 7-8-1 SUNYAC (#5 seed); Buffalo State 17-7-1 overall / 9-6-1 SUNYAC (#4 seed) … In addition to their #4 seed, the Bengals are ranked No. 13 by D3hockey.com and No. 14 by USCHO.com.

Playoff History: The teams have met four previous times in the SUNYAC Tournament. Fredonia won the first three meetings – 2-1 in double overtime in 2007, 4-2 in 2008, and 3-2 in 2011. Buffalo State won the last meeting, 6-0, in 2013. The only game of the four played in Fredonia was in 2008 … Fredonia's 2007 triumph was the first of three straight road wins resulting in the program's third SUNYAC championship.

All-Time Series: Fredonia leads the all-time series 42-16 with eight ties, which includes post-season and non-conference games. It also includes the Blue Devils 4-2 in Fredonia on Nov. 4. That ended a string of 11 straight games without a win over the Bengals (0-7-4). The teams then met again the following night in Buffalo, resulting in a 1-1 tie.
 
Earlier This Season: Four different Blue Devils had one goal each in the 4-2 home win Nov. 4. Tommy DeFelice had a two-point game with one of the goal and an assist. Other Fredonians with goals were Oskar Gerhardson, Samuel Wilbur, and Todd Schauss. Buffalo State goals were scored by Colin O'Connor and Anthony Passero. The goaltenders were Eric Bogart for Fredonia (37 saves) and Mike DeLaVergne for Buffalo State (26 saves) … The same two goaltenders were back in the nets the following night in Buffalo and each finished with 42 saves in the 1-1 tie. Marcus Ortiz scored for the Blue Devils on a power play early in the first period. Jake Rosen's power-play goal early in the second evened the score for the Bengals.

Blue Devils on National Lists: The Blue Devils are No. 7 in NCAA D3 scoring offense with 4.32 goals per game. Their scoring margin of plus-1.48 per game is tied for No. 15 and their power play is No. 13 (31 of 132/23.5 percent) … Wilbur is Fredonia's leading scorer with 34 points (14 goals, 20 assists). His points-per-game average of 1.42 is 19th in D3 … Left winger Jacob Haynes has 10 goals and 15 assists. His 1.25 PPG is No. 7 among NCAA freshmen … Mac McAvoy's two short-handed goals are tied for ninth nationally … Bogart is No. 18 in save percentage (.928).

The Puck Stops Here: Buffalo State goaltender Mike DeLaVergne is No. 11 nationally in goals against average (1.84), No. 14 in save percentage (.931), and No. 13 in winning percentage (16-6-1 / .717). His three shutouts is tied for fourth. His back-stopping is key to Buffalo State's No. 13 ranking in scoring defense. The Bengals average 2.24 goals against per game.

Upcoming: Tonight's winner travels to Plattsburgh for a semifinal round game 7 p.m. Saturday at the Stafford Arena. The Cardinals (15-9-1 all / 10-5-1 SUNYAC) are SUNYAC'S No. 2 seed and have a first-round bye … On the other side of the six-team bracket, No. 6 Brockport meets No. 3 Geneseo in the first-round with the winner advancing to No. 1 Oswego. The SUNYAC championship game is Saturday, March 4, on the home ice of the highest remaining seed. All SUNYAC Tournament game times are scheduled for 7 p.m.