New England Hockey Conference Semifinal
#3 Skidmore College Thoroughbreds (17-6-2) vs. #6 UMass Boston Beacons (9-14-2)
Saturday, Feb. 17; 7 p.m.; Saratoga City Rink; Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
 
TICKETS:

• General admission tickets can be purchased at the door. Tickets are $5, and $3 for students.
• Fans under five years of age are free.
• The first 100 Skidmore students are admitted free courtesy of Student Affairs.
• A free fan bus will depart campus from Case Center at 6:30 and return after the completion of the game.

 
GAME COVERAGE:
LIVE VIDEO
LIVE STATS
 
MATCHUP:

• Skidmore and UMass Boston meet in the NEHC Quarterfinal for the third time this season. Skidmore swept the regular season matchup.
• Skidmore is looking for its third straight semifinal appearance and to return to the conference title game for the second time in three years.
• It is Skidmore's first home playoff game since 2012: a 3-2 win over UMass Boston.
• Skidmore's goalie Tate Brandon was named the NEHC Goaltender of the Year on Thursday. He was joined on the First Team by Danny Magnuson. Kaeden Patrick earned All-NEHC Second Team honors.
• For UMass Boston, Kevin Sadovski represented the Beacons on the Second Team.
• Patrick is Skidmore's leading scorer with 13 goals and 13 assists.
• Everett Wardle is second with seven goals and 17 assists. Magnuson (8-15—23) is third.
• Between the pipes, Brandon is 17-4-2 with a 1.72 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage.
• Skidmore, ranked 13^th nationally, is eighth in the nation in scoring defense allowing just 1.92 goals per game. The Thoroughbreds are also seventh in assists (164) and eighth in points (254).
• Jude Kurtas paces the Beacons offensively. He has eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points. He leads the team in all three categories.
• Jack Mortson is tied for the team lead with eight goals and is second with 16 points.
• Sam Best is 7-8 as UMB's primary netminder with a 2.85 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.
• UMass Boston is in the top half of the NEHC with a 76.3 percent penalty kill.
• Nationally, Skidmore enters play this weekend ranked 12^th in the Feb. 12 Pairwise Rankings. Hobart is #1, Elmira is #6, Norwich is #15, and UMB is #44.
• After the nine automatic berths are handed out, four additional teams will be awarded with at-large selections to the upcoming NCAA Tournament. 

SERIES/POSTSEASON:

• Skidmore closed the regular season last weekend with a road split on a 3-1 win at #5 Elmira and a 5-1 loss at #1 Hobart.
• UMass Boston also split last weekend with travel partner Johnson & Wales.
• This year, Skidmore beat UMass Boston both times. It was a 7-3 Skidmore win in November in Boston followed by a 4-0 home triumph by the Thoroughbreds in January.
• Skidmore has won each of the last five meetings with UMass Boston.
• In the head-to-head series dating back to 2000, Skidmore leads 20-17-5.
• The teams last met in the postseason in 2022 in Boston. Skidmore came up with a 5-3 win before upsetting Hobart to make it to its first NEHC title game.
• UMass Boston is winless in its last five postseason games, including an NCAA Tournament game against Manhattanville in 2019.  

 
ALSO/NEXT:

• The other quarterfinals feature #8 Castleton at #1 Hobart, #7 Southern Maine at #2 Norwich, and #5 Babson at #4 Elmira.
• The winner advances to the NEHC Semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 24. All teams are reseeded after each round.