Playoff prognostications can be positively perilous. After all, who would have thought last summer that the Los Angeles Kings would win the Stanley Cup as a lowly No. 8 seed. Yet that turn of events did happen, with the subsequent message being that if high seeds are going to take lesser ones lightly, they do so at great risk. Such is not likely to be the case this Saturday, when the SUNYAC semifinals take place on two fronts. Will No. 4 Buffalo State write its own Cinderella story en route to a SUNYAC crown? Will form hold serve, with No. 1 Oswego adding a tourney title to it’s regular season championship? Or will No. 2 Plattsburgh or perhaps No. 3 Geneseo be the last men standing two Saturday’s from now. We will, as they say, know when we get there.
Saturday, Feb. 23
No. 4 Buffalo State at No. 1 Oswego
The Bengals threw a scare into Oswego early in the year before the Lakers prevailed, 5-4. Oswego, ranked second in the nation, had little trouble in the rematch two weekends ago, shuffling out of Buffalo with a 4-0 whitewash. Expect this one to be close, but expect the Lakers to prevail. Oswego 4-2
No. 3 Geneseo at No. 2 Plattsburgh
Geneseo has racked up the most wins (17) of bench boss Chris Schultz’s seven-year tenure, but will need to pick up this one against the Cardinals to keep hopes of an NCAA berth alive. Plattsburgh, ranked ninth in the nation, is the stingiest defensive team in the SUNYAC (1.59 goals per game allowed), a full goal better than Geneseo. Defense wins in the playoffs, and will probably decide this one. Plattsburgh 2-0
