SUNYAC MEN'S ICE HOCKEY TOURNAMENT PREVIEW 
FIRST ROUND: #5 CANTON ROOS AT #4 CORTLAND RED DRAGONS 
Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026 – 7:00 p.m.
Alumni Arena – Cortland, NY

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TICKET AND SPECTATOR INFORMATION...
-Online Ticketing ONLY – ONLINE TICKETING LINK
-Adults - $6 ($5 plus $1 service charge) 
-Children Ages 5-17 - $4 ($3 plus $1 service charge)
-SUNYAC students with ID are free 
-Doors will open approximately one hour prior to puck drop

FIRST ROUND MATCHUP… Fourth-seeded Cortland hosts fifth-seeded Canton in the first round of the 2025-26 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Men's Hockey Tournament on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Alumni Arena.

Cortland is 11-3-1 in 15 games against Canton since 2014. The Red Dragons are also riding a seven-game winning streak over the Roos that stretches back to 2017. Since Canton joined the SUNYAC prior to last season, Cortland has won all four meetings of the sides in the regular season, outscoring Canton by a 13-4 margin and not allowing more than one goal in any of the games. Cortland claimed a 2-1 victory in Canton early in February, while winning by a 6-1 margin in Cortland in December. Wednesday will be the first postseason matchup of the teams.  

The Red Dragons are making their fifth consecutive appearance in the conference tournament and are looking to win their second SUNYAC crown in the last three seasons, also winning the conference title in 2023-24. Cortland has also advanced to the semifinals of the conference in three of the past four seasons.
 
Canton is making its second straight appearance in the SUNYAC tournament in two seasons as a member of the conference. The Roos, seeded sixth in last year's tournament, dropped a 6-4 decision at Buffalo State in the first round. Canton jumps up to the fifth seed this season in the conference after an improvement in overall record from 9-16-1 last year to 12-12-1 this season.   

THE PATH FORWARD… The eight-team playoff format was approved for this season after the addition of Hobart and Skidmore as affiliate member in men's ice hockey. The tournament features re-seeding of teams after each round with the highest remaining team hosting the lowest remaining team and the second-highest remaining team playing host to the second-lowest remaining team.
 
Other first-round matchups feature eighth-seeded Fredonia traveling to top-seeded Hobart, the nation's top team and three-time defending national champion, seventh-seeded Buffalo State traveling to second-seeded Oswego, and third-seeded Skidmore hosting sixth-seeded Plattsburgh.   
 
With a victory on Wednesday, Cortland would need to wait on the results of the other first-round contests to determine its next opponent. If the seeds hold true and no seed "upsets" occur, the Red Dragons would be on the road at Hobart for the semifinals. Cortland could also host a semifinal on Saturday with a victory and losses by two of the top three seeds.   
 
The winners of Saturday's semifinal matchups will meet in the championship game the following weekend on Saturday, March 7, with the highest remaining seed hosting that contest. 
 
As is the case in all other SUNYAC-sponsored sports, the winner of the conference championship tournament will receive an automatic berth into the NCAA Div. III playoffs. 
 
SUNYAC MEN'S HOCKEY TOURNAMENT BRACKET
 
LAST TIME WE MET… JC Humphreys (Canonsburg, PA/Rochester Jr. Americans) scored the game-winning goal with 8:43 remaining in the third period, lifting Cortland to a 2-1 road win at Canton on Friday, Feb. 6.
 
Morley Phillips (Raleigh, NC/Amarillo Wranglers) tallied his fourth goal of the season, while Humphreys' goal was also his fourth of the year. Nolan Suggs (White Lake, MI/El Paso Rhinos) made 29 stops in goal for his second win of the season.
 
Trey Miller had 31 saves in a losing effort for Canton, while the Roos' lone goal was scored by Colton Alexander.
 
Cortland wasted little time opening the scoring in the first period, with Phillips giving the Red Dragons a 1-0 lead just 43 seconds into the frame. Justin Legault (Oakville, ON/Burlington Cougars) won a battle for the puck along the right boards in the Cortland offensive zone and passed back to the point to Andrew Clouden (Hamburg/Seacoast Spartans). Clouden dumped the puck in behind the Canton goal, where Phillips collected the puck, skated to the front of goal, and fired a shot past Miller.
 
Cortland continued to control play and had the bulk of the chances for the period, holding a 14-2 edge in shots on goal in the frame. Suggs stopped each of the two shots he faced, and Miller made 13 saves after allowing the goal on the first shot, as the game stayed 1-0 into the intermission.
 
The Roos came alive second period, sending 17 shots on goal that were all stopped by Suggs. Meanwhile, Cortland was unable to add to its lead despite 11 shot attempts in the second period, and the game headed to the second intermission with Cortland still holding to a 1-0 advantage.  
 
At the conclusion of the second period, a small scrum resulting in coincidental minor penalties for the sides ensued, with the third period beginning with 4-on-4 action.
 
The Roos believed that they had equalized in the opening minute of the third period, but Suggs made a save on Canton's Alexander on a breakaway, and the referee's whistle had blown well before the puck ended up in the back of the net.
 
Canton did tie the game 8:40 into the period, as a centering attempt from below the goal line by Alexander took a deflection past Suggs to make it 1-1.
 
Under three minutes later, Humphreys netted the winner from the right faceoff circle, firing a shot past Miller after a feed from below the goal line from Colby Seitz (Eden/Corpus Christi IceRays).
 
With 1:52 remaining in the period, Cortland committed an interference penalty to allow Canton a chance on the power play to tie the game, but the Roos were penalized for delaying the game before the ensuing faceoff to eliminate the man advantage.
 
Canton pulled Miller for an extra attacker in the final minute, but Nate Boak (Canton/El Paso Rhinos) blocked a shot and Suggs made two saves to secure the win for Cortland.
 
THE CORTLAND CAPSULE… Cortland opened the season with a dominant 8-1 victory over Lebanon Valley, but fell to Alvernia by a 3-2 score the following night. After another 1-1 weekend the next week, the Red Dragons kicked off SUNYAC play with victories over Buffalo State and Fredonia on consecutive days.
 
A small stretch of three games without a victory right before Thanksgiving dropped Cortland back to 4-4-1, but the Red Dragons rebounded with a pair of decisive victories over Potsdam and Canton to close the 2025 year.
 
The Red Dragons opened 2026 with a victory over Misericordia, before suffering six defeats in eight games to fall below .500 for the first time of the season. Once again, Cortland rallied with back-to-back wins over Potsdam and Canton, sparking a 4-1 record over the final five games of the regular season to enter the postseason with a 13-11-1 record and 10-7-1 mark in league play.   
 
Cortland averages 3.48 goals per game, third in the SUNYAC, while allowing 2.60 goals per game, a mark that is fourth in the conference. The Red Dragons are led in scoring by sophomore forward Sam Christiano (Buffalo/Buffalo Jr. Sabres), who has 20 points on 10 goals and 10 assists for the season. The top goal scorer for the Red Dragons is sophomore forward Nathan Garnier (Laval, QC/Cornwall Colts) with 11 goals, and Colby Seitz has 15 assists to lead the team.
 
A total of 11 Red Dragons have at least 10 points this season – Christiano, Seitz, Garnier, Conor Humphrey (Penfield/Rochester Jr. Americans), Garrett Krieger (Skaneateles/Utica Jr. Comets), Thomas Rockey (Mullica Hills, NJ/Rochester Jr. Americans), Justin Legault, Morley Phillips, JC Humphreys, Brady Hildreth (Lockport/New Jersey Titans), and Alex Zakrzewski (Orchard Park/Rochester Jr. Americans),
 
Three Red Dragons have split time in between the pipes this season. Shane Shelest (Pointe-Claire, QC/Wellington Dukes) has a 6-6-1 record with a .910 save percentage, while his 2.17 goals-against average is fourth in the conference and 29th in the nation. Nolan Suggs has started each of the past five games, and has a 5-3-0 record with a .906 save percentage and a 2.27 goals-against average.
  
CLOSING IN ON 100… Colby Seitz enters Wednesday just one point shy of reaching 100 points for his career. The senior is currently riding a six-game point streak, with two goals and six assists in those games. Seitz could be the 13th Cortland player in program history to reach the century mark for points.
 
WINNER WINNER… Conor Humphrey has scored five game-winning goals for Cortland this season. He leads the SUNYAC and is tied 3rd nationally in game-winning goals as one of just seven skaters in the country with five or more game-winning goals. Humphrey's game winners came against Manhattanville, Canton, Misericordia, Oswego, and Morrisville.
 
ALWAYS IN FROM DAY ONE… JC Humphreys is the only member of Cortland's freshman class to have played in all 25 games this season. The forward has totaled 12 points on six goals and six assists, while recording 70 shots on goal.
  
NEED MORE POWER… Nathan Garnier and Sam Christiano have combined for 45% of Cortland's power-play goals for the season. Garnier leads Cortland and is third in the SUNYAC with five power-play goals, while Christiano has contributed four power-play goals.  

SUNYAC WEEKLY HONORS… Cortland has claimed SUNYAC weekly honors two times during the season. Nathan Garnier was selected as the conference Athlete of the Week once, while JC Humphreys earned Rookie of the Week honors one time.  
 
RESEARCHING THE ROOS… Canton carries a 12-12-1 record into Wednesday's contest with wins in four of its last five games. The Roos catapulted into the fifth seed by securing nine of a possible 10 points over the final five games following the defeat against Cortland to finish with an 8-9-1 league mark.  
 
Canton averages 2.68 goals per game, a mark that is sixth in the SUNYAC. The Roos are also sixth in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 2.80 goals per game. The scoring has come primarily from six players in the lineup who each have 18 or more points – Niko Schoner, Spencer Sasenbury, Evan Pringle, Logan Kelly, Colton Alexander, and Scott Cremen. Schoner leads the team with 24 points on nine goals and 15 assists. Meanwhile, Kelly is at the top of the team with 12 goals, including a SUNYAC-high six power-play goals, and Cremen leads the team with 16 assists.
 
Trey Miller has solidified the goaltending position for the Roos, registering a 10-6-1 record, a .933 save percentage, and a 2.30 goals-against average. Miller's save percentage is third in the SUNYAC and 13th in the country.
 
Canton owns one of the most impressive penalty-kill units in the country. The Roos have an 89.9% success rate, killing off 89-of-99 opportunities on the penalty kill. That mark ranks second in the conference and fifth in the country.
 
Canton also comes into the week with impressive, but surprising, home-away splits. The Roos are just 4-8-0 in home games this season, and averaging 2.41 goals per game at home. Canton has been significantly better on the road, playing to an 8-4-1 record and scoring 2.92 goals per game in those contests.

SCHEDULES/RESULTS (click team to access online schedules)…

CORTLAND RED DRAGONS: 13-11-1 (10-7-1 SUNYAC)

CANTON ROOS: 12-12-1 (8-9-1 SUNYAC)