SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College men's hockey team closes the regular season this weekend at home with a pair of New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) matchups. The Thoroughbreds will host Johnson & Wales Friday evening at 7 p.m. and close with UMass Boston on Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
There will be a free fan bus departing from campus at Case Center for Friday's game versus Johnson & Wales. The bus will depart at 6:30 p.m. All fans in attendance at both games must be fully vaccinated (boosted if eligible) and wear a mask. KN95 masks are strongly encouraged.
 
Skidmore can finish anywhere between fourth and seventh place in the NEHC. Currently, the Thoroughbreds are in sixth place with 25 points and an 8-7-1 conference record. To move up to fourth, with the right to host a quarterfinal matchup, Skidmore needs to win both games in regulation with Babson earning one point or less and Norwich earning two points or less. It can also be attained with one regulation win and one overtime win, and two regulation losses by Babson and Norwich earning one point or less. Skidmore can pass Norwich for fifth place with any of the above or four points this weekend and zero points from Norwich.
 
Skidmore can dip to seventh, forcing a Wednesday, Feb. 16 opening round game at home versus the #10 seed, only by earning one point or less this weekend and New England College winning both of its games, and at least one in regulation if Skidmore loses both in regulation.
 
Click here for this weekend's full conference schedule.
 
Skidmore's overall record sits at 13-9-1 entering the weekend. The Thoroughbreds split on the road against this weekend's opponents back on Jan. 7 and 8. After losing to UMass Boston, 5-0, Skidmore bounced back with its own 5-0 shutout of JWU the following afternoon.
 
Johnson & Wales enters with a 4-19 record and 2-14 (5 points) in the league. The Wildcats are led in scoring by Breck Crawford (3g, 8 a) and Kodi Legassie (6g, 4a). JWU also has three players with nine points.
 
UMass Boston (14-7-2, 10-4-2 – 33 NEHC) may come into Saturday's game with the chance to win the league's regular season crown and #1 seed in the tournament. Currently, the Beacons are second in the league and four points behind Hobart. Chris Peters (11g, 21a) and Ethan Nitkin (16g, 13a) pace the Beacons' high-powered offense.
 
For the Thoroughbreds, Kaeden Patrick leads the way with 21 points (11g, 10a), while Everett Wardle follows close behind with 20 (8g, 12a). Skidmore boasts seven players with double digits in points. Tate Brandon is 8-9-1 between the pipes for the Thoroughbreds with a 2.28 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage.   
 
The NEHC Tournament will commence with opening round games on Wednesday, Feb. 16 before the quarterfinal round on Saturday, Feb. 19. The semifinals will take place the following Saturday, Feb. 26, and the title game one week later on March 5. All teams will be reseeded after each round.