The William Smith College ice hockey team will host its first ever playoff game at The Cooler on Saturday, Feb. 23, when it welcomes Neumann to Geneva, N.Y. The game will be the Herons' second conference tournament appearance in five varsity seasons.
 
Faceoff at The Cooler is scheduled for 4 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the main entrance and will be $5 for adults and $3 for children. HWS students, faculty and staff will be admitted free with a valid student ID. The first 30 students at Saturday's game will receive a Herons winter hat.
 
William Smith finished the regular season with a 16-7-2 overall record and a 12-4-2 mark in conference play. The Herons were third in the UCHC standings with 26 points. Elmira went 18-0-0 in conference play, clinched the No. 1 seed and will host the semifinals and finals next weekend, March 2-3. In its first season as a varsity program, Nazareth went 13-4-1 and earned the other first round bye, finishing second. The Knights are the sixth seed and were 7-10-1 in conference play. Fourth-seeded Manhattanville will host fifth-seeded Utica at 3 p.m. in the other first round match.
 
William Smith's 16 wins this season match the program record for wins in a season. The Heron offense has amassed a program record 106 goals, 174 assists and 280 points so far this season. William Smith is one of eight teams to score 100 times this season. The Herons are seventh in the nation in scoring offense (4.24 gpg), 10th in scoring margin (+2.20 gpg), 11th on the penalty kill (90.1%), 14th in winning percentage (.680), and 17th on the power play (20.2%).
 
Individually, the Herons are led by a trio of 30-point scorers. Junior forward Gina Scibetta has a program record 36 points on 20 goals and 16 assists this season. Scibetta is the first Heron to reach the 20-goal plateau. Sophomore Jules Kennedy is second on the team with 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points and first-year Abbey Luth is third with 17 goals and 13 assists for 30 points.  Senior Stephanie Hampton leads the team with 19 assists. Sophomore Olivia Williams has played a majority of the minutes in goal for the Herons. She is 12-7-2 overall with a 2.08 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. Williams has four shutouts this season which is a new William Smith single-season record.
 
Neumann wrapped up the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament with a pair of wins over King's to conclude the regular season. The Knights were 8-16-1 overall this season with a 5-7-1 record on the road. Jackie Schneider leads the team with 21 goals and six assists for 27 points. Katelyn Brown is right behind her with 26 points on 13 goals and 13 assists. Helen Cooney has played a majority of the minutes in goal this season. She is 7-14-1 with a 2.71 GAA and a .938 save percentage.
 
The Herons swept the regular season series between the two teams in Geneva. On Nov. 30 the Herons posted a 4-0 victory over the Knights with four different skaters finding the back of the net. Luth and sophomore Lexi Nottke had a game-high two points and Williams made 14 saves in the shutout. On Dec. 1, William Smith skated to a 6-1 win. Luth led the way with a pair of goals and senior Laura Rollins had a pair of assists. Saturday's game will be the 11th all-time meeting between the two teams. The Herons hold a 4-2-4 edge in the series.
 
Fans unable to make it to The Cooler can follow the action online with Live Stats and All-Access Video. The game will also be broadcast on WHWS-FM (105.7 in Geneva).