Ice Knights lose to #2 Oswego, find offensive mojo vs. Cortland

The Geneseo Ice Knights split two SUNYAC games last weekend. They lost to #2 Oswego, 4-1, on January 27 and defeated Cortland, 8-3, on January 28.

Geneseo came out strong early against Oswego, taking a 1-0 lead in the first period on first year Zach Martin’s second goal of the year. The Ice Knights maintained offensive zone pressure and outshot the Lakers 9-8 in the period.

Geneseo’s defense held strong for most of the second, before Oswego tied the game with six minutes left in the period. Oswego then took the lead three minutes later on a five-on-three power play.

“We moved away from our game plan,” head coach Chris Schultz said. “You have to play a perfect game when you are playing Oswego. We were perfect for a while but it’s a 60 minute game.”

Oswego took a 3-1 lead early in the third before putting the game away with their fourth goal with three minutes left. Senior Cory Gershon made 21 saves in goal, taking the loss.

“I like the way Gershon played,” Schultz added. “We had some good looks but we are playing the best team in the country. It’s not easy to score goals on Oswego.”

Geneseo responded to the loss with an 8-3 win over Cortland the next night. Seniors Danny Scagnelli and Jonathan Redlick scored early goals to give the Ice Knights the lead. First year Justin Scharfe scored later in the period as Geneseo took a 3-1 into the intermission.

Redlick added his second goal of the game in the second period and senior David Arduin found the back as Geneseo held a 5-1 after two periods.

Sophomores Zachary Vit and junior Ryan Bulach tallied goals in the third before Cortland scored twice within seven seconds about halfway through the period. Sophomore Jonathan Sucese notched his first career goal later in the third. Vit led Geneseo with four points on one goal and three assists. Arduin had two assists to go along with his goal for three points.

“Anytime you have a breakout night with goal scoring it’s always good for the team’s confidence,” Schultz said. “But the thing we are preaching the most is defense. We got a little loose there in the third period when the game was blownout. You have to maintain focus for 60 minutes to win the big games.”

Junior Adrian Rubeniuk made 19 saves to earn the win in net. Geneseo scored three power play goals and didn’t allow a goal while shorthanded, including taking nine penalty minutes early in the third period.

“I think our special teams was the reason we won,” Schultz said.

Geneseo is now 5-7-0 in SUNYAC play and 11-10-0 on the season. Geneseo travels to Brockport on February 3.

Ice Knights continue road woes at Buff St and Fredonia

The Geneseo Ice Knights lost a pair of SUNYAC games last weekend, falling to Buffalo State, 4-3, in overtime on January 20 and losing to Fredonia, 4-2, on January 21. Geneseo drops to 10-9 overall and 4-6 in SUNYAC play.

“Teams go through this and unfortunately we’re going through this now,” head coach Chris Schultz said. “They’re doing a lot of good things, but we’re not getting rewarded.”

Geneseo came out strong against Buffalo State, taking a 2-0 lead after the first period. Two defensemen, senior Jimmy Powers and junior Blake O’Connor scored on shots from the point. The Ice Knights took a 3-0 lead early in the second when sophomore Carson Schell tipped the puck into the back of the net for his seventh goal of the year.

Buffalo State came back with three goals later in the second, to tie the game at three. Neither team scored in the third period and Geneseo opened overtime on the power play after a penalty on the Bengals near the end of regulation.

The Ice Knights failed to convert with an extra man and Buffalo State scored the game winning goal with just 19 seconds remaining. Senior Cory Gershon made 30 saves in goal.

Geneseo traveled to Fredonia on January 21 and suffered a 4-2 loss. Geneseo created numerous opportunities in the first period but were unable to convert and went into the intermission tied at zero. Several shots deflected off of the post and crossbar.

“We didn’t finish our chances in the first period. I think I counted six posts,” Schultz added. “When your team’s struggling to win games and you’re not getting those goals early, it goes to your head a little bit and I think it hit us mentally when we didn’t come out of the first period with a three goal lead.”

Fredonia scored first midway through the second period, less than a minute after a Geneseo shot hit the post. Junior Corbin Rosmarin tied the game at one late in the second, but Fredonia retook the lead with a goal in the last minute of the period.

Fredonia extended the lead with two goals early in the third, off of two defensive zone mistakes by Geneseo.

“We made two major mistakes in the defensive zone,” Schultz said. “It’s two mental lapses in the third period that killed us.”

Rosmarin scored his second goal of the game and eighth of the year on the power play in the last minute of the game. Junior Adrian Rubeniuk made 26 saves between the pipes.

“From a working standpoint, if you look at possession we dominated the game in my opinion,” Schultz said. “The guys are busting their butts and they’re doing a lot of good things, but we’re just not getting rewarded. Pucks just aren’t going in right now. It’s our job to get ourselves out of this and if there’s a team that can do it it’s ours.”

Geneseo hosts number 2 ranked Oswego on January 27 and Cortland on January 28.