SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – With the NEHC Tournament on the horizon, the Skidmore College men's hockey team looks to battle for position this weekend, ending the regular season on the road against Castleton and Norwich. The Thoroughbreds will face Castleton on Friday at 7 p.m., ending the regular season against Norwich on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Skidmore (5-17-1, 3-12-1 NEHC) looks to move up the standings, after winning three of the last four games over the previous two weekends. The Thoroughbreds are in a tie with Castleton for seventh place with seven points, so Friday's matchup could likely determine the seventh seed in the upcoming NEHC Tournament. Both teams could move as high as sixth, with Southern Maine sitting two points ahead with nine points.
The Thoroughbreds split a pair of games last weekend in dramatic fashion. Last Friday against a ranked UMass Boston squad,
Connor Pelkey and
Kayser Raei fed
Brandon Borges with the game-winner just 1:22 into overtime, as Skidmore skated to a 3-2 upset at the Saratoga City Rink. In the home finale on Saturday, Pelkey tied the game with his goal in the third period, but Babson scored 12 seconds into overtime, escaping with the 3-2 victory.
Skidmore has upped its scoring in its last six games, getting 17 goals. That included a season-best five in a 5-2 victory over New England College on Jan. 27. Individually, Borges leads the team with 15 points on seven goals and eight assists.
Matt Muzyka is second with 12 points, on four goals and eight assists.
Tim Allen returned to action in a big way, and sits third with 10 points on three goals and seven assists despite only appearing in 18 contests. Borges and Muzyka share the assist lead with
Paul Vella, who has nine points total.
In net,
Brandon Kasel has a solid 3.30 goals against average and a .906 save percentage in 21 appearances.
Brian Kowalski got the emergency start on Saturday against UMass Boston and shone, tallying a career-high 41 saves, improving his season stats to a 3.03 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. Kowalski was named as the NEHC Goaltender of the Week for a spectacular performance in the upset.
Castleton (7-13-3, 3-12-1 NEHC) is tied with Skidmore in the league standings after a weekend split against New England College and Southern Maine. The Spartans are 4-6-1 on home ice this season.
Leading the Spartans in scoring is Caleb Fizer, who has 16 points on six goals and 10 assists. Glenn Wiswell (7-5—12) and Trevor Hanna (5-7—12) are tied for second in scoring. Fizer shares the assist lead with Ryan Smith, who has tallied all of his points on assists. In net, Ryan Mulder is the lead Spartan, with a 3.19 goals against average and a .890 save percentage in 16 appearances.
Defending NCAA and NEHC Champion Norwich (17-5-1, 13-2-1 NEHC) looks to close out another league regular season title this weekend, sitting in first with 27 points, four points clear of second-place Hobart. The Cadets are fourth in the league in scoring with 76 goals, but are the league's stingiest team on defense, allowing just 43 goals.
The Cadets have nine double-digit scorers, led by Coby Downs' 18 points on nine goals and nine assists, leading the team in both categories. Jordan Hall is second with 16 points on eight goals and eight assists, followed by Kevin Salvucci (8-7—15). In net, Braeden Ostepchuk has a solid 1.82 goals against average and a .931 save percentage in 17 starts this season, going 11-5-1. Tom Auburn is a perfect 6-0 this season in net, sporting a 1.65 goals against average and a .938 save percentage.
