Geneseo, Hobart to meet in DIII semifinals

SUNY Geneseo and Hobart will meet in the NCAA Division III men’s ice hockey semifinals after they each picked up dramatic wins on Saturday night.

Geneseo trailed by as many as three goals to Aurora before Alex Dameski and Luke Panchisin found the back of the net one minute apart to cut the deficit to 3-2 after two periods. Aurora got the scoring started in the final period, to put the Spartans back up by two. Less than a minute later, however, Panchisin scored his second of the night. Jack McDonald scored the equalizer with 10 minutes left before assisting on the go-ahead goal by Alex Dameski. Filip Wiberg put in a pair of empty netters before the clock hit zero. Geneseo is 24-4-1 on the season.

The Knights’ semifinal opponent will be back-to-back reigning national champs Hobart. The Statesmen trailed Trina 2-0 after two periods, but a power play goal by Luke Aquaro 27 seconds into the third period got the Statesmen on the board. Three minutes later, Dominic Schimizzi found the back of the net to tie the game up at two goals apiece. Nearly 10 minutes passed in the overtime period before Aquaro scored unassisted, hitting the top shelf to secure the victory. Hobart is 27-1-1 on the season.

The two will meet on Friday at 3 pm with the winner advancing to Sunday’s championship. Curry College and Utica will play on the other side of the bracket. The Frozen Four will be played in Utica.