The William Smith ice hockey team begins its quest for its first SUNYAC title Wednesday, Feb. 25, when it welcomes Canton to The Cooler for a first round game. Faceoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
Tickets for Wednesday's game are $5 for adults, $3 for children 5-12 and children 5 and under are free. Students from any of the SUNYAC member schools are admitted free with a valid ID, HWS students included. Tickets will go on sale one hour before the opening faceoff.
 
William Smith finished the regular season with an 11-14-0 overall record. The Herons earned the No. 4 seed after going 7-7-0 in SUNYAC play.
 
Canton went 13-8-4 this season, finishing with a 5-6-3 mark in the SUNYAC. The Roos are the No. 5 seed.


MEDIA COVERAGE

• Live Stats
• Video 

ABOUT THE HERONS

• Sophomore Bella Hacker leads the Herons' offense with 13 points on seven goals and six assists.
• First-year Finley Crosby is right behind her with 12 points on seven goals and six assists.
• Crosby, Hacker and senior captain Kelly Howe share the team lead with six assists each.
• Junior Mia Iwicki has played the majority of minutes in goal. She is 7-12-0 with a 2.46 GAA, a .933 save percentage and three shutouts.

ABOUT THE ROOS

• Danika Lalonde leads the team with 19 points on five goals and 14 assists.
• Riley Andzel leads Canton with eight goals on the season. With her seven assists, she is second on the team with 15 points.
• The Roos have three players with 10-plus assists.
• Molly Lenihan has played the majority of minutes in goal. She is 7-5-4 with a 1.60 GAA, a .943 save percentage and two shutouts.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• This will be the fourth meeting between the Herons and the Roos and the third this season.
• William Smith has a slight 2-1-0 edge in the series and has one the only matchup at The Cooler.
• The teams split the regular season series with both teams winning on their home ice.

 
SUNYAC TOURNAMENT

• Cortland will host Potsdam in today's other first round game.
• Plattsburgh and Oswego earned the top two seeds and earned first round byes.
• The winners of today's first round games advance to Saturday's semifinals. The field will be reseeded with the Cardinals hosting the highest remaining seed and the Lakers hosting the lowest remaining seed.