Geneva, N.Y. — It’s a cliché because it’s so often true — playoffs produce unlikely stars. That was the case as Geneseo defeated Hobart, 4-2, in the Play-In round of the NCAA Division III playoffs in a game that was played at a frenetic pace at times.
It was the Ice Knights’ fourth line that were the stars of the game.
“The most beneficial part was our fourth line getting us on the board,” Geneseo coach Chris Schultz said. “When you can get offense from a line that is supposed to keep pucks out of your net and they are putting pucks in their net, that lifts the team up big time. The bench gets really happy. They’re happy for the guys who put the time in all year doing s job that doesn’t show up on a score sheet.”
Dan Bosio came into the game with four goals and five assists on the season. Tonight, he factored in the first three scores.
“Obviously, everyone wants to produce in the playoffs,” Bosio said. “It just happened to be going in for us tonight. Can’t ask for much more than that.”
Sotiri Athanasopoulos and Joe Serpico only had a goal apiece coming into the game. They each scored in the first five minutes to give Geneseo a quick 2-0 lead.
Athanasopoulos scored first, tipping in a rebound while in the crease. Joe Serpico scored next as he fought to control the puck in the slot before letting off a shot that snuck through a defender and the five-hole. Bosio assisted on both.
Bosio then took a shot from the right dot, catching the goalie out of position as it bounced off of him into the far side, making it 3-0 in the middle of the second.
“It wasn’t our plan to spot them three goals,” Hobart coach Mark Taylor understated.
Hobart applied tremendous pressure late in the second, finally scoring with 13.3 seconds remaining. After a mad scramble in the crease, Andrew Silard finally banged it home.
“It meant a lot,” Silard said. “We didn’t come out of the first period the right way. After scoring that goal, it really energized our team.”
The Statesmen came out in the third period firing on all cylinders. It didn’t take long to cut the lead to one. At 2:34, Cam Shaheen took a quick pass from Mike Faulkner and just as quickly redirected it past Devon McDonald.
Suddenly, the game most D3 observers predicted to be the hottest contest in the first round became just that.
The hitting intensified yet it remained clean. The defenses got even tighter. And the goalies were put under intense pressure.
Carson Kelley alleviated some of that pressure at 15:08. He took a drop pass from Arthur Gordon and then ripped a shot past an out of position goalie’s glove with a rocket of a one-timer.
“As everyone on the team knows, I don’t have the hardest shot,” Kelley laughed. “It felt good. We played with a lot of confidence in that last four minutes.”
“It was a little exhausting,” McDonald admitted. “We shut it down defensively. I had to make a couple of saves, but I thought the boys did a good job blocking shots, especially in the six-on-five. I got lucky on a couple of bounces, but that’s how the game goes.”
McDonald and his defense withstood the last 2:04 of six against five, winding up with 36 saves, 15 in the third.
“I just wanted to watch that clock tick down,” McDonald said. “When it hit zeroes, it was a good feeling.”
Hobart’s season comes to an end with a final 18-6-5 record and a NEHC championship.
“It was a hard game,” Taylor admitted.
Geneseo (20-5-3) moves on to host the quarterfinal round against Colby, which defeated the University of New England, 4-2.
All thanks to a fourth line and rare goal producers which gave Geneseo the initial spark.
Schultz said, “It makes me feel good that guys who aren’t necessarily recognized are now on the score sheet.”
