2019 NECHL Championship Weekend Is Here
Photo Credit: Geoff M. Schneider | Sports Union
The 1st round matchups are set for this Friday in Buffalo, NY as the 2019 NECHL Championship Weekend kicks off.
The University at Buffalo (10-0-1-3) has clinched their 2nd straight regular season title and a 1st round bye into the semi-finals. The Bulls suffered just 1 regulation loss all season in league play – a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Niagara University in November. UB also posted a very impressive +37 goal differential in their 14 NECHL games this season. Buffalo’s Wesley Austin led the NECHL in scoring compiling 44 points (14-30-44) in 32 ACHA games.
Canisius College (9-1-3-1), who will host this weekend's tournament, also earned themselves a 1st round bye finishing just 3 points behind Buffalo. Linemates Ryan Logar (18-25-43) and Justin Durkee (18-24-42) led the way for Canisius this season finishing 2nd and 3rd in the NECHL in scoring. Canisius’s Dominick Tallarico also put together an impressive campaign in net posting 17 wins with a 3.27 GAA in 25 ACHA games played.
ROUND 1 Matchups
#3 Oswego State vs. #6 Niagara University | Friday, March 1st 6:00 PM
Oswego State (7-1-5-1) and Niagara University (4-2-6-2) will meet in the 1st round on Friday evening. The two teams met twice this season – 2 back and forth 1 goal games that both ended in 5-4 decisions in favor of Oswego. More recently Oswego edged NU in overtime this past weekend on home ice.
#4 RIT vs. #5 Cornell University | Friday, March 1st 9:00 PM
RIT (6-0-7-1) and Cornell (4-3-7-0) will meet in the 2nd game of the 1st round on Friday night. In their 2 meetings this season Cornell beat RIT in overtime 4-3 back in November and then followed it up with a 3-1 win at home later in the month.
University at Buffalo will take on the highest seed remaining after round 1 on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM. Canisius College then plays the lower seed in the 2nd semi-final game at 5:00 PM. The NECHL Memorial Cup Final game will be played on Sunday, March 3rd at 1:00 PM. All games this weekend will be held at the North Buffalo Rink in Buffalo, NY. For the first time in the league’s history it will be the winner of the 2019 NECHL Championship Weekend that will receive an auto-bid to the 2019 ACHA National Tournament in Frisco, TX March 21st-31st (in year’s past the regular season champion would represent the NECHL at Nationals). For scores and updates throughout the weekend be sure to follow along on Twitter (@TheNECHL).
