Hockey Gearing Toward Playoff Push

SNC Hockey is right where they want to be heading into the final two games of the regular season. The Knights are two points up on second place St. Scholastica College. They will need to win one of the final two home regular season games to be the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) regular season champions. The Knights just finished a tough two-game road trip where they tied games against St. Scholastica and UW-Superior. The Knights may have tied those teams, but they played very good hockey on each night. Senior defensemen Jason Nopper felt those games were very important and the game against St. Scholastica is a possible preview of the Peters Cup Playoff Championship final.

"This game was a great test for our team walking into their home rink. We played a great road game and scored early to take the life out of the arena. The tie was very important and we felt good about the game and we might see them down the road in the Peters Cup Championship at home," said Nopper.

Heading into this final regular season weekend the Knights will host UW-Stout and UW-River Falls. Against UW-River Falls, the Knights will be honoring the seniors, as it will be their last regular season home game as Green Knights. There are seven seniors on the team, and they all have had a very successful career. These seniors have a career record of 88-16-10, a winning percentage of .816, two NCAA frozen four appearances and one national championship. Not only have they been great on the ice this season, they have been great in leading the team to their record of 17-3-3. Senior forward Tyler Allen feels the seniors have been great leaders this season.

"With the preseason NCHA league pool not expecting us to do much, we always felt like we had good upperclassmen leadership. We have shown good leadership with our top three scorers being seniors. Coach has leaned on us and challenged us every game to perform and so far I feel we have done a good job."

The team is playing some of its best hockey leading into the last four games of the season, including an 8-1 win against UW-Eau Claire, who had beaten the Knights at UW-Eau Claire for their only loss of the new year.

Since Christmas break, the Knights are 7-1-2 overall and 5-1-2 in conference play. Even though they are playing well as of late, the key games are coming later on in the season when playoffs begin. Associate Head Coach A.J. Aitken knows that what you did means little but home ice advantage come playoffs.

"Playoffs are a whole new game with a single elimination format. In a one-game setting, preparation is key for any team. Having home ice is a distinct advantage, but any team can come out and win on any given night in the NCHA, so you have to be focused and ready for a battle."

SNC will be gearing up for the NCHA playoffs and hope to be playing at a high level heading into the second season. The team describes the playoffs as single elimination Saturday and you have to be playing your best to keep playing late into the playoffs. The Knights are in a position to win the NCHA regular season and host all their playoff games. By winning the league championship, the Knights would earn a first round bye and only have to win one game to advance to the Peters Cup Playoff Championship. Coach Aitken believes playing at home in front of the student body has been a key to successful playoff runs in the past.

"Being comfortable with the crowd support and playing in your own building is big for any team. You strive all regular season for home ice advantage in the playoffs. We have put ourselves in a good position and hope to fulfill our yearly goal of NCHA regular season champions.