Posted: Mar 26, 2022
Geneseo Sports Information Department
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – The SUNY Geneseo Men's Ice Hockey team fought to the final whistle, but came up just short of a national title, falling to Adrian, 5-2, in the national championship game on Saturday night at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Adrian capitalized on a major penalty whistled on Geneseo in the first period. The Bulldogs tallied first, scoring on the power play, but senior defenseman Matthew Doran responded with a short-handed goal, tying the game, 1-1, with 11:44 to play in the opening frame.
- Adrian tacked on another power play goal during the Knights' major and took advantage of a Geneseo turnover in the defensive end to take a 3-1 lead into the first intermission.
- In the second period, senior forward Levi Wunder scored his second goal of the season, finishing a breakaway to bring the Knights back to within one score, 3-2, just over four minutes into the frame.
- The Knights had a 5-on-3 opportunity early in the third period but Adrian killed off both penalties and answered with a goal just minutes later to take a 4-2 lead with 10:55 to play.
- With 2:20 remaining, the Knights pulled junior goaltender Matt Petizian for a sixth skater, but couldn't find the net as the Bulldogs put in an empty-net goal with 11 seconds to go, making it 5-2.
QUICK FACTS
- The Knights advanced further in the NCAA Tournament than any team before them in program history, reaching the NCAA Championship round for the first time.
- Doran scored fourth goal of the season, tallying in consecutive games for the first time this season. The short-handed goal marked the Knights' fourth shorty of the campaign.
- Wunder netted his second goal of the year, while senior forward Henry Cleghorn and junior defender Alex Wilkins each recorded an assist.
- Senior forward Dan Bosio and senior defenseman Matthew Doran earned All-Tournament Team honors as the Knights were named NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey National Runner-up.
- The Knights finished the season with a record of 24-4-1, marking the program's fourth-consecutive campaign of 20 wins or more.