Saratoga Springs, N.Y.-- The Skidmore College ice hockey team will be making its second straight appearance in the ECAC East final four, when the Thoroughbreds take on Babson College on Friday, March 5 at 7 p.m. at Norwich’s Kreitzberg Arena.
The two teams played in the 2009 semifinals, with Babson pulling out a 3-2 win.
Norwich, the nation’s number one team and tournament top-seed, will play New England College at 4 p.m. The championship game is set for Saturday, March 6 at 7 p.m.
Tickets for the game are available online at Norwich.edu. There will be a live internet audio broadcast on
(www.cadetsradio.com). A live video streamed broadcast of the contest will also be available via FASTHockey
(www.fasthockey.com).
Skidmore (9-15-2) beat Southern Maine 6-3 in the ECAC East quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals. Junior F
Alex Mykolenko(5-18-23) leads Skidmore in assists and points, while senior F Matt Czerkowitz (10-10-20) and sophomore F T
Tyler Doremus (10-4-11) are the top goal scorers. Sophomore goalie
Andrew Ross returned from what was thought to be a season-ending injury to earn the win against Southern Maine. He is 2-2 in four games with 3.04 GAA and .897 save percentage. Sophomore goalie
Colin Bessey is 6-12-1 with a 3.27 GAA and .889 save percentage. Bessey earned the win in Skidmore’s 4-3 regular-season win over Babson.
Babson (13-11-2) topped UMass-Boston 4-2 to advance to the semifinals. Junior F Terry Woods (14-16-30) leads the Beavers in scoring. Freshman forwards P. T. Donato (8-11-19) and Ryan Smith (8-11-19) are also contributing to the offense. Freshman goalie Zeke Testa (2.09 GAA/.929 save percentage) and sophomore goalie Andrew Peabody (2.55, .911) have spilt time in net with Testa getting the UMass-Boston playoff win.
Norwich (21-1-4), winners of 12 straight ECAC East regular-season titles, is playing for its eighth conference tournament title. The Cadets have won five consecutive games since suffering their first and only loss of the season. NU has outscored its opponents 32-8 during the streak. Norwich enters this weekend's action boasting the ECAC East's top scoring offense (5.12 goals/game) and top scoring defense (1.42 goals/game). Norwich's offensive attack is paced by freshman F Blake Forkey (15-21-36) and junior F Chad Anderson (12-23-35). Freshman F Kyle Thomas (22-8-30) tops the squad in goals, and lists third on the team in points. The Cadets' defense is backstopped by senior G Ryan Klingensmith, who brings a stingy 1.35 goals-against average and a terrific .927 save percentage into Friday afternoon's game versus New England College.
New England College (11-13-2) began play in the ECAC East Tournament by upsetting third-seeded Castleton State College 6-1. The Pilgrims, who have won just three of their last eight games, will look to stay hot against a Norwich team that defeated them 6-2 during the regular season. NEC is led offensively by senior F Alex Muse (18-16-34), who tops the team in both goals and points. The Pilgrims are paced defensively by junior G Aaron Harvey, who has forged a 3.24 goals-against average and a .888 save percentage.