The William Smith College hockey team begins its quest for its first United Collegiate Hockey Conference Championship Saturday, Feb. 29, when it takes on Nazareth in Rochester, N.Y. The Herons are making their third straight conference tournament appearance. Faceoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Bill Gray's IcePlex.
 
William Smith concluded the regular season with a 17-8-0 overall record and a 13-3-0 mark in UCHC play and will be the No. 3 seed. The Golden Flyers were 18-4-3 overall and 12-2-2 in the conference and are the No. 2 seed. The teams finished tied for second in the UCHC's North Division standings. Nazareth earned the right to host Saturday's game by virtue of sweeping William Smith in the regular season. No. 1 seed Elmira will host No. 4 seed Utica in the North's other quarterfinal. In the south, top-seeded Manhattanville will host Chatham and No. 2 seed Neumann will host Stevenson. The winners will advance to the final four site which will be hosted by the highest remaining seed.
 
William Smith enters the weekend ranked eighth in the nation in scoring offense (3.96) and total goals (99), 14th in scoring margin (+1.44), 16th in winning percentage (.680), and 22nd on the power play (17.2%).
 
Individually, Gina Scibetta leads William Smith with 16 goals, 23 assists and 39 points. She is third in the nation in points per game (1.56) and fifth in assists per game (0.92).  Her 23 assists this season are a new single-season record and her 39 points are one behind her own season mark set in 2018-19. First-year Julianna Gong has made an instant impact on the lineup. She is second on the team with 32 points on 13 goals and 19 assists. With a goal against Utica, Gong set William Smith's rookie scoring record. She is third in the nation in rookie scoring (1.28 ppg). Junior Jules Kennedy is third on the team with 31 points on 11 goals and 22 assists
 
Junior Olivia Williams has played a majority of the minutes in goal. She is 12-6-0 with a 2.63 goals against average and a .917 save percentage.  Sophomore Amanda Aalto is 5-2-0 with a 2.13 GAA and a .917 save percentage.
 
Nazareth enters the weekend fifth in the nation in scoring offense (4.36 gpg), sixth in scoring margin (+2.92) and on the power play (23.5%) and 11th in scoring defense (1.40) and winning percentage (.780).
 
The Golden Flyers are led by Abbey Luth's 35 points and 20 assists. She is second on the team with 15 goals. Hailey Redders is right behind her with 32 points on a team-leading 16 goals and 16 assists. Adrianna Brehm has played a majority of the minutes in goal. She is 12-4-3 with a 1.70 GAA and a .920 save percentage. Noelle Giroux is 6-0-0 with a 0.32 GAA and a .952 save percentage. She has four shutouts.
 
Saturday's game will be the sixth meeting between William Smith and Nazareth. The Golden Flyers lead the all-time series 3-1-1, including a 1-0-1 mark in Rochester. The Herons have the edge in the postseason. William Smith defeated Nazareth 2-0 in the UCHC semifinals last season in Pine Valley, N.Y. The Golden Flyers won 2-1 in Rochester on Nov. 23 and completed the sweep with a 4-1 victory to close out the regular season.
 
Fans can watch the game and follow live stats online via Nazareth's website. The game will be broadcast on WHWS-FM (105.7).