SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Cooper Rice scored his third goal of the game at the 7:49 mark of overtime to send the Skidmore College men's hockey team to the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) Semifinal with a 4-3 victory over Salve Regina University on Saturday night.

• Rice crossed the blue line and took a few strides in before snapping a wrist shot inside the far post to complete his hat trick and send the Thoroughbreds into celebration mode.
• Skidmore (14-12) will make its fourth-straight semifinal appearance next weekend as the fourth-seeded Thoroughbreds will take on second-seeded Norwich on Saturday, March 8 at neutral-site Hobart. The Thoroughbreds and Cadets split last weekend in Saratoga Springs.
• Skidmore is seeking its third championship game appearance in the last four years.
• Rice's three goals represented the first hat trick for a Skidmore player this year. He put the host Thoroughbreds up with his seventh of the season at 10:16 of the first after stripping the Seahawk defenseman at the blue line.
• Oscar Worob doubled the Skidmore lead at the 13:51 mark on a rebound after another Salve defensive-zone giveaway. Matthew Franzoi, who picked the puck off, got the assist.
• Salve tied it with one in the second and another early in the third. Quinn Tavares and Logan Calder scored for the visitors.
• Rice hit a one-timed bomb to finish off an end-to-end Skidmore rush with 4:23 remaining in regulation to give the Thoroughbreds a 3-2 lead. Linemates Coleman Jenkins and Evan Brown assisted on the go-ahead tally.
• Then, with the Salve net empty, Tavares scored his second after a cluster in front of the Skidmore net left him open in the slot. There was 1:46 left when the Seahawks scored the equalizer.
• Skidmore led 6-3 in shots in overtime before Rice's winner.
• Both teams had chances in the extra session, but Joshua Seeley kept the game and season alive for Skidmore with a point-blank glove save on Salve's Matthew Brunton.
• Seeley finished with 26 saves for Skidmore.
• Warren Selby stopped 40 for the Seahawks including 14 in each of the first two periods.
• Skidmore's penalty kill went a perfect 3-for-3, while Salve killed its only penalty of the night early in the third period.

UP NEXT

• Fourth-seeded Skidmore will battle second-seeded Norwich next Saturday, March 8 in Geneva in the semifinal round. Start time is TBD.