ASTON, Pa. – The Neumann University Men's Hockey team has qualified for the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) playoffs and will visit Stevenson University on Saturday for a 3:00 PM puck drop.
Neumann earned the number three seed thanks to their 13-5-3 record in conference play for 41 points in the standings. Stevenson earned 43 points with their record of 13-6-2 in MAC games, giving them the second seed.
The teams met three times in the regular season. Stevenson won twice and Neumann won once. On January 10
th, in Maryland, The Knights fell 6-1 with
Lucas Culhane scoring the only goal. The next day, it was a 4-2 Mustangs win. Culhane and
Matt Dimaline got on the board. The final meeting was on February 11
th at IceWorks and Neumann dominated by a final score of 6-2. Dimaline picked up a hat-trick and Culhane notched a goal and two assists to help the Knights earn the win.
Dimaline has helped carry the torch offensively with 12 goals and a team-high 22 assists for a conference best 34 points, to go with a +20 rating, which also the best in the MAC.
Zack Smith is the leading goal-scorer with 15, four on the power play, adding 10 assists. Culhane also has double-digit goals on the year with 11 to go with his 14 assists. He also has four goal on the man advantage.
On the defensive side,
Judd Katz leads the squad with 29, with
Tyler Kennedy and
TJ Ezzard right behind with 23. Kennedy is also second on the team and the conference in plus/minus with a +16 rating. The same as
Tyler Ray.
Cole DeFazio has gotten the call in goal 17 times with a 9-5-3 record and one shutout. He has a 2.76 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
The winner of Saturday's semifinal with take on either No. 1 Wilkes or No. 4 Alvernia in the championship on Saturday, March 8
th, at the home rink of the highest remaining seed. Tickets for the semifinals will be sold on site. Ticket pricing is outlined below:
- Adults: $8
- Senior Citizens (65+): $6
- Children aged 6-17: $6
- Children under 6: FREE
- Any MAC student with school ID card: FREE
