GENESEO, N.Y. – SUNY Geneseo senior forward Stephen Collins totaled three goals and an assist to lead the Knights to a 7-0 shutout over visiting Brockport in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament Quarterfinals, Wednesday.
Junior defenseman Pat Condon notched four assists while senior goalie Matt Leon was credited with 24 saves to advance the third-seeded Knights (17-6-3) to Saturday’s semifinals at second-seeded Plattsburgh at 7:00 p.m.
Collins put the Knights on the board with 51 seconds left in the first period with a power-play tally following a Golden Eagle hooking penalty. Collins got the puck at the top of the right face-off circle directly off a face-off win by first-year forward Anthony Marra and shuffled a pass to Condon at the top of the zone. Condon slid the puck right back to Collins, who scored on a one-timer through a crease in the Brockport penalty kill for the lone goal of the opening period.
Geneseo broke the game open with three goals in the first seven minutes of the second period. Condon cleared the puck to center ice where senior forward Trevor Hills tipped a pass forward to a streaking Collins, who beat Brockport first-year goalie Matt Schneider with 18:53 on the clock. Twenty-two seconds later, senior forward Jack Ceglarski was credited with a goal after a Brockport defenseman mistakenly scored on his own net after attempting to send a loose puck around the boards following a face-off win.
Collins completed the hat-trick at the 13:30 mark on a close-range finish inside the right post after taking a short feed across the Brockport crease from sophomore forward Arthur Gordon, who had collected a loose puck off a shot from the point by Condon that deflected off the back boards.
Geneseo put the game away in the third period with three goals in the final five minutes of action. Brockport looked to mount a comeback by pulling Schneider for an extra skater with 5:33 left in regulation, but first-year forward David Szmyd was on the finishing end of a Knights’ tally after a Golden Eagle turnover with 4:02 remaining. Collins later flipped a shot on goal from the right wing that senior forward Connor Anthoine deflected in on the crease before sophomore forward Zach Lynes closed the game out by finishing a break with 34.4 seconds left in the game.
With the victory, the defending SUNYAC Champion Knights advance to the tournament semifinals for the third time in four seasons. Last year, third-seeded Geneseo advanced past sixth-seeded Potsdam, 4-1, in the quarterfinals, before hitting the road for a 6-1 win at second-seeded Buffalo State in the semifinals and a 6-1 win at top-seeded Plattsburgh in the finals.
