BUFFALO, NY – The Buffalo State men's hockey team will host Alvernia University in a pair of non-conference contests to open 2023. The weekend begins with a matchup at the Ice Arena on Friday evening at 7 pm, and concludes with the Outdoor Classic on Saturday at 4 pm at Buffalo RiverWorks.
GAME COVERAGE LINKS (The same for Friday's and Saturday's contests)
LIVE STATS
VIDEO
EYES ON THE BENGALS
- Buffalo State will enter the weekend with a 7-6-0 overall record after skating to a 4-2, come-from-behind victory over Cortland in SUNYAC action in the final contest of the 2022 year. Nick Stuckless (Orangeville, ON/Skidmore College) netted the first two Buffalo State goals, and Joe Glamos (Baldwinsville, NY/New Jersey Titans) scored on a short-handed breakaway for the game winner.
- Defenseman Chris Blango (Chadds Ford, PA/Philadelphia Little Flyers) has recorded at least one point in five of his last seven games played. The freshman has 10 points on one goal and nine assists this season.
- Tyler Vanuden (Fort Frances, ON/Finlandia University) leads Buffalo State with nine goals, and his 0.69 goals per game rank him 17th in the nation.
- Nikita Kozyrev (Tallinn, Estonia/Springfield Jr. Blues) leads the SUNYAC with 15 points on eight goals and seven assists.
- Buffalo State has been excellent on the power play this season, converting on 12 of 40 opportunities, and the Bengals' 30.0% conversion rate is the seventh-best mark in the nation.
ABOUT ALVERNIA
- The Golden Wolves come into the weekend with a 5-6-1 overall record, dropping a pair of contests to Wilkes in their final games of 2022.
- Logan vande Meerakker leads Alvernia with 11 points on a team-high five goals and six assists.
- Three players have spent time between the pipes for Alvernia this season, combining for a 3.49 goals against average and .893 save percentage.
THE HISTORY
- This weekend will be the first meeting of the squads all-time, with Alvernia playing in its first season of competition this year.
