FOUR NATIONS FACE-OFF CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW: USA VS CANADA
Hockey fans in North America got their wish: a rematch between Canada and the USA is set in the Championship of the Four Nations Face-Off.
With so much dividing the two countries politically, Saturday’s duel on the ice matched the energy in the arena. After ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ was booed by the Montreal crowd, and ‘Oh Canada’ sung fervently, the game began with three fights in the opening ten seconds. The players met the moment right away, galvanizing the two nations online, with world leaders chiming in on X to show support for their country’s hockey team, drawing more eyes to the tournament than the NHL may have expected. After record-setting viewership across both countries, the Championship game will be the Americans’ chance to host their rivals from North of the border.
Tomorrow night, TD Garden in Boston is likely to be a mad house, with the Championship on the line. For Canada, it’s their chance at redemption for the 3-1 loss they suffered less than one week ago. For the USA, it’s their chance at revenge for the overtime loss to Canada in the Gold Medal game at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
Who will suit up for both teams is a question that’s been speculated all week long, with injuries being accrued by both countries over the course of the tournament. Team Canada saw the return of top defensemen Cale Makar on Monday after he missed the battle with team USA over the weekend. Team USA was without Matthew Tkachuk for their all-but meaningless game vs Sweden on Monday, with his brother Brady leaving the game with an apparent injury after playing just under two minutes.
Puck-drop for the Championship game from Boston is slated for 8PM on Thursday night, airing in the US on ESPN, and in Canada on Sportsnet.
DAEMEN MBB BECOMES FIRST EVER WNY SCHOOL NATIONALLY RANKED #1
For the first time, a Western New York basketball team has been ranked #1 nationally at their level. The Daemen Wildcats men have been ranked the top team in the country by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
With a staggering 23-0 record, the Wildcats are the only undefeated NCAA DI or DII men's team remaining in the country this season. Perhaps their exhibition win over UB back in October wasn’t as much an indictment on the Bulls, but rather a tone-setter for the record-setting season ahead for the Wildcats. Damen has been terrific, beating down on their conference foes by 25 points on average, but it’s the Wildcats’ non-conference performance that has earned them top-billing in the latest coaches poll. In their three games against ranked opponents this season, Daemen has won by an average of 20 points, including a 111-77 shellacking of then-#10 ranked California (PA) back in late November.
With the “1” beside their name, Daemen is the first top-ranked DI or DII team in New York State since the Syracuse men were #1 nationally in 2017.
The Wildcats aren’t leaving WNY for a while, as they close the regular season with a rivalry game downtown at D’Youville on Saturday at 3:00, before hosting Roberts Wesleyan on March 1st. After that, Daemen will get to rest up and await the opening round winners in the East Coast Conference Tournament before the other three remaining teams make the trip to Amherst for the semifinals and finals the second weekend of March. From there, it’s likely that Daemen will be hosting NCAA Tournament games at Lumsden Gymnasium as March rolls along.
WEDNESDAY WHIP-AROUND
Time to check in on the local college basketball scene with the ‘Wednesday Whip-Around’. With the regular season winding down, rather than going through each team in WNY, let’s take a look at each conference represented in the area and see who is gearing up for a run in the postseason.
DII - East Coast Conference - Daemen, D’Youville
We begin with the program most likely to be playing late into March. Out of the East Coast Conference at the Division II level, the Daemen Wildcats men are ranked #1 in the country, and are the clear kings of the ECC, with a 14-0 league record. As mentioned before, in conference play this season, Daemen has outscored their opponents by an average of 25 points. Their closest ECC game was an 11-point win on the road at St. Thomas Aquinas two weeks ago. Downtown, the D’Youville Saints men are fighting for the final postseason tournament spot, currently with a 6-8 ECC record. With six teams in the conference making the tournament, the Saints will likely need to beat Roberts Wesleyan for the second time this season and get help from the rest of the conference to clinch a postseason berth. Daemen has already clinched the top seed in the Conference Tournament, meaning the ECC Semifinals and Championship game will be held in Amherst on March 8th and 9th.
Also with a perfect 14-0 league record, the Daemen women’s team can clinch the top seed and hosting duties for the Conference Tournament with one more win, either over D’Youville or Roberts Wesleyan. The Saints of DYU are in the thick of the log jam in the league standings, currently 5th in the ECC with a 6-8 record.
DI - Mid American Conference - Buffalo
The DI team from WNY with the best chance at an NCAA Tournament Appearance is the UB Women’s team, currently tied for second place in the Mid American Conference standings. With a 9-2 league record, the Bulls’ postseason seeding will likely be determined in the next seven days. Buffalo has the next three teams behind them in the standings on the schedule in the next week, beginning tonight at 6PM vs Kent State, before meeting Miami (OH) and Toledo in the next seven days.
The UB Men lost to Western Michigan last night, severely hurting their chances at making the MAC Tournament. With a 3-10 conference record, the Bulls sit three games out of the 8th and final seed, with three teams separating them from postseason ball. While not impossible, Buffalo’s next two games are must-wins, against Ball State and Central Michigan, before they wrap the season schedule against the top three teams in the conference consecutively.
DI - Atlantic 10 - St. Bonaventure
In the Atlantic10, all fifteen member teams qualify for the postseason, so the Bonnies of St. Bonaventure can already have their bags packed for the nation’s capital. The BONA men are 6-8 in league play, having cooled off since their blistering hot start, just snapping a three-game losing streak with a win at UMass last Saturday. With four games remaining, each one against a team right around them in the standings, St. Bonaventure has the chance to sneak into a top four seed.
The Bonnies women are also guaranteed a postseason berth, but as the lone one-win team in the A10, St. Bonaventure’s odds of making a deep run are quite slim.
DI - Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference - Niagara, Canisius
With a new tournament set up this season, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is only inviting ten teams to Atlantic City for the postseason. The Niagara Purple Eagles men currently sit 10th in the standings with a 5-9 league record, meaning that if the season ended today, NU would claim the final spot in the tournament. With six games left in the season, it’s way too early to predict where teams will slot in the bracket, but even despite the number of games left, it’s fair to say that the Canisius men’s odds of making the trip to Atlantic City are slim to none. The Griffs sit in last place with a 2-12 MAAC record.
The roles are reversed on the women’s side of things in the MAAC, as the Canisius women are currently tied for 8th in the standings with a 6-8 league record. Niagara’s women’s team is in last place, winless at 0-14.
DIII - Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference - Hilbert
This Saturday, the Hilbert Hawks men take on Mount Aloysius with the final seed in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Postseason Tournament potentially on the line. Currently with a 6-9 league record, the Hawks are one game up on Mount Aloysius in the standings, and did defeat the Mounties earlier this season. The Mounties play tonight, with their season on the line, as a loss this evening for them would punch Hilbert’s ticket to the AMCC Tournament. If they are to win tonight, it would be a win-or-go-home situation for Saturday afternoon.
The Hilbert women’s team is currently 3.5 games out of the final postseason spot in the AMCC, with just one game left to play this season.
DIII - State University of New York Athletic Conference - Buffalo State, Fredonia State
Just one local team in the SUNY Athletic Conference is still alive in search of a playoff berth, as the Buffalo State men’s team remains in the hunt. The Bengals have a 6-10 league record, currently sitting 7th in the conference standings. The top six teams make the postseason tournament. Buff State will need to sweep their final two games of the year (at 9-7 Plattsburgh and at 5-11 Potsdam) to give themselves a chance at the final playoff spot. Currently sitting at 8-8, SUNY Morrisville needs just one win to clinch the 6 seed and eliminate Buffalo State.
Both Fredonia men’s and women’s teams, along with Buffalo State’s women, have been eliminated from the SUNYAC Postseason Tournaments.
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