Ice Knights open SUNYAC play in dramatic fashion

The Geneseo Ice Knights won their first two SUNAYC games of the season last weekend, defeating Buffalo State and Fredonia.

Geneseo won a dramatic game against on October 28, defeating Buffalo State 4-3 in overtime. Junior Corbin Rosmarin gave Geneseo an early lead, scoring on a rebound off a quick shot from sophomore Zachary Vit. The Bengals came back, scoring one goal in the first, second, and third periods to take a 3-1 lead.

Senior David Arduin put home a rebound on the power play with six minutes left to pull within one. Junior Ryan Bulach and senior Jake Yard picked up assists on the play. Geneseo kept trying to tie the game but the Buffalo State defense blocked shots and first team All-SUNYAC goaltender Kevin Carr stopped kept everything else out of the net.

“He’s an outstanding goaltender, he’s a Division-1 goaltender in my mind,” head coach Chris Schultz said. “You have to go to the traffic areas to get goals.”

With an extra attacker and time running out, Yard threw a puck on net and Vit tipped in the game tying goal in dramatic fashion with 0.9 seconds left in the third.

“You’re going to get a player like Zach once every eight or nine years if you’re lucky,” Schultz said. “He’s in the right place at the right time an awful lot of times.”

In overtime, senior Clint Olson found the back of the net with a backhand shot just 17 seconds into the extra frame. Bulach and Arduin earned assists on the play.

“They stayed mentally tough, they never gave up, and they just found a way to get it done and it’s a beautiful thing to see,” Schultz added. “I’m happy especially for Arduin and Olson who put the team on their backs in terms of leadership.”

Senior Cory Gershon made 26 saves in goal to pick up the win.

Geneseo then defeated Fredonia, 2-1, on October 29. The Ice Knights defense played better than their previous games and junior Adrian Rubeniuk made 29 saves and allowed just the one goal.

“I thought they (the defensive core) had a very strong game,” assistant coach Kris Heeres said. “We were making quicker decisions with the puck. We were keeping it simple.”

Rosmarin again scored the first goal of the game, this time on the power play in the second period. Vit caught Fredonia on a slow change and made a long pass to sophomore Rich Manley. Manley had a two-on-one with Rosmarin, made a great pass and Rosmarin finished for the goal.

“This is what we’ve wanted out of him (Rosmarin),” Heeres added.

Fredonia tied the game early in the third, but Geneseo responded as Arduin scored the game winning goal just three minutes later.

“The bottom line is these were two character wins,” Heeres added. He also praised penalty killers like Bulach, Olson, and sophomore Carson Schell for blocking shots.

Vit and Arduin contributed to every goal on the weekend and are the two leading scorers on the team so far this season.

“That is what we expect out of them,” Heeres said. “They know they are go to guys and they’re taking their game to the next level.”

The Ice Knights are now 2-1 on the season and travel to Oswego on November 4.