Skidmore skaters playing for first ECAC East championship

For the first time in program history, the Skidmore hockey team will play in the ECAC East final four. The Thoroughbreds will take on Babson College at 3 p.m. Friday, March 6, in one semifinal, while Henniker, N.H., host New England College will play UMass-Boston at 6 p.m. The winners play at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 7, for the championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament.

Audio for tournament games will be here and live stats may be accessed here.

The sixth-seeded Thoroughbreds advanced to the ECAC semis with a 4-3 win at number-three Salem State last weekend. Skidmore is 13-9-3 and unbeaten in its last six games (3-0-3). Babson (11-13-1), seeded seventh, beat number-two Castleton State 4-1. This will be the third meeting of the season between the two teams. The Thoroughbreds beat the Beavers 5-2 Jan. 3 in the Oswego State Tournament and 4-1 Jan. 31 at the Saratoga Springs City Rink.

Brett Bandazian '11 leads a balanced Skidmore offense with 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points. Hunter Thayer '11 (9-10?19), Alex Mykolenko '11 (10-6?16), and Mike Gibbons '09 (9-6?15) round out the top four scorers. Goalies Colin Bessey ?12 and Andrew Ross '12 have split time in net. Bessey is 6-5-2 and owns a 2.65 goals against average and .920 save percentage. Ross is 7-4-1 with a 2.88 GAA and .898 save percentage.

This is Skidmore's 11th season in the ECAC East and 26th year overall in ECAC hockey.

Click here to read The Saratogian's March 6 story on sophomore forward Brett Bandazian.