Fredonia pulled its biggest upset of the season Saturday, a 3-1 victory over nationally ranked Oswego in the semifinals of the SUNYAC Men's Hockey Tournament.
Goals by freshman Josh Biasillo (Orchard Park) and sophomore Jacob Haynes (Whitby, Ont.) late in the first period were the turning point in the game, which featured another strong outing by sophomore goaltender Anton Rosen (Orsa, Sweden).
Kyle Jelinski (Edmonton, Alberta) scored Fredonia's third goal late in the second period.
The Blue Devils (13-10-4) advance to the SUNYAC championship game next Saturday at Geneseo. The Knights defeated Buffalo State, 5-2, in the other semifinal Saturday.
Fredonia Athletics has obtained a block of 100 student tickets for the game at Geneseo.
In addition, Director of Athletics Jerry Fisk said the department will provide bus transportation for students to and from the game.
Registration is underway at the Williams Center Box Office (hours of operation: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily) through the close of business Thursday.
Cost to all students -- bus riders and non-riders alike -- is $10 and is payable at the time of registration. The fee is non-refundable.
A valid Fredonia ID card is required to register for a ticket and the bus ride.
Game tickets will be distributed Saturday at the Will Call window at Geneseo's Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena, which is located inside the Myrtle A. Merritt Athletic Center.
Geneseo officials plan to open Will Call at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
The bus taking students to Geneseo will leave from the Dods Hall parking lot at 4 p.m. Saturday and will return to Fredonia immediately after the game.
Rosen finished with 33 saves following a 55-save performance in a first round win Wednesday at Plattsburgh. He withstood a barrage of shots in the early going. He made 10 saves in the first period, including several on Oswego one-man rushes. One of those came while the Lakers were killing a penalty, one of two power-play opportunities the Blue Devils were unable to convert during the period.
The momentum shifted to Fredonia in a hurry.
Biasillo put the Blue Devils on top 1-0 with a short shot which the Oswego goaltender David Richer stopped, then appeared to kick into his net. Haynes scored 11 seconds later when he tucked the puck into the same corner of the net. After a discussion for apparent goaltender interference, the goal stood and the Blue Devils led 2-0.
It was the sixth goal of the season for Biasillo, the eighth of the year for Haynes.
Oswego held a huge territorial advantage in the second period, yet Rosen was again equal to the task. One of the few times Fredonia was able to clear the zone, Jelinski intercepted an Oswego breakout pass just inside the blue line, skated into the right circle, then connected with a wrist shot for a 3-0 lead. It was Jelinski's second goal of the season.
Oswego's Mitch Emerson scored a power-play goal at 4:26 of the third period, ending a scoreless drought by the Lakers spanning four games and stretching over 165 minutes. Yet that was all the Lakers could muster, their No. 5 national rank notwithstanding.
Instead, the Blue Devils -- without a single 2018 all-conference player -- will play for the SUNYAC title for the first time since 2011 and the seventh time in program history.
