Box Score

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.-- Freshman goalie Jack McDonald stopped 29 shots, including 14 in the second period, to lead the Skidmore College hockey team to a 3-1 win over Fitchburg State in the Eighth Annual Skidmore Invitational Hockey Tournament, Saturday at the Saratoga City Rink.
 
The Thoroughbreds (3-3-2) advance to Sunday's championship game at 4 p.m. against Buffalo State (4-2-2).  The Falcons (4-5) will play Elmira College (5-5) in the 1 p.m. consolation game.
 
Buffalo State beat Elmira 3-0 in the other semifinal.
 
Skidmore struck first, when Aaron Beck deflected a cross-crease pass from Anthony Bird for his team-high sixth goal of the season at 18:52.  Brad Schuler had the first assist.
 
Fitchburg took advantage of an early second period power play, when Ryan Bedard scored off a scramble in front from Max Lorenzen and John Celli at 1:39.   The Thoroughbreds went back in front at 6:05 when T.J. Schneider took a pass as he came off the bench and fired a shot home from at the top of the left circle for his first goal of the season. Tony Giacin and Schuler assisted.
 
Skidmore scored a hard earned insurance goal at 16:31 of the third when Giacin forced a turnover in the offensive zone and scored his fourth of the season from Marc Cibelli.
 
McDonald recorded 29 saves for the win.  He had 14 in a hectic second period and eight in the third, including four during a pair of Fitchburg power plays.   Ryan Wysocki had 22 saves for Fitchburg. Three of those came when the Falcons killed a 5-on-3 Skidmore power play to start the third period.
 
In the other semifinal, Buffalo State goalie Kevin Carr kept Elmira off the board with 34 saves, including six during a five minute Elmira power play to start the third period.
 
Ryan Salkeld and Mike Zannella scored second period power-play goals for the Bengals, who went 2-7 on the power play. Dan Turgeon scored his seventh of the season at 14:58 of the third for the 3-0 final.
 
The shutout is the first in 34 games against the Soaring Eagles.  It was Carr's eighth career shutout.
Elmira had a 34-32 edge in shots with Soaring Eagle goalie Sal Magliocco stopping 29 shots, including 18 in the second period.
 
The win snaps a three-game Elmira win streak and extends the Bengals unbeaten streak to four.