Buffalo State will host an ECAC West playoff game for the second-consecutive season when it welcomes Potsdam to the Ice Arena for a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday at 7 p.m.
The Bengals finished the regular season 16-7-2 overall and made a late push to secure the No. 3 seed entering the postseason with an 11-6-1 mark in league play. After returning from semester break, Buffalo State won 11 of its next 12 games and then closed out the regular season last Saturday with a 3-3 tie against nationally-No. 1-ranked Plattsburgh to guarantee home ice for just the second time in school history. The Bengals are playing in the postseason for the fourth-consecutive year and seventh time overall and are still seeking their first-ever playoff win.
This year’s Bengals have been led up front by junior Erin Gehen (W. Seneca, NY/W. Seneca West) who has tallied 18 goals and 28 points in 25 games and has climbed to second in school history with 76 career points. After struggling to find secondary scoring early in the season, three players have provided significant secondary scoring down the stretch. Junior Rachel Lenard (Orchard Park, NY/Nardin) is second on the team with 22 points on 11 goals and 11 assists, including netting six goals in the last seven games. Bri Carroll (Peoria, AZ/AZ Virtual Academy) has 10 goals and eight assists for 18 points, all coming in the last 16 games after starting the season pointless in her first nine contests. Freshman Natasha Steinle (Morrison, CO/CIHA) has also poured it on after a slow start. She had just one assist in her first eight games, but has since scored 11 times and added is third on the team with 16 points in 24 games.
On the back end, the Bengals rank fourth in the league in goals allowed, and have once again heavily relied on junior Justine Silva (Baldwin Park, CA/Arroyo) between the pipes. Silva has played in 24 games and has a 1.77 goals against average with a .930 save percentage.
Potsdam is making its first playoff appearance since 2014. The Bears earned the No. 6 seed with an overall record of 12-12-1 and a league mark of 8-9-1, despite winning just once in their final seven regular season games. Senior Jordan Ott leads the Bears with 14 goals and 23 points, followed by Anna-Rose Bertin who has 12 goals and 16 points.
The two teams split the regular-season series in Potsdam. Buffalo State won the first game by a 3-1 count, but the Bears bounced back with a 3-0 win the next night despite being outshot 31-17.
No. 4 Utica is hosting No. 5 Oswego in Thursday’s other first round contest. Top-seeded Plattsburgh awaits the lowest remaining seed and No. 2 Oswego will host the highest remaining seed in Sunday’s semifinals. The championships game will be held at the highest remaining seed on Saturday, March 4.
Admission to Thursday’s game is free.
