Despite their shortened season, UB’s Men’s Amatuer Athletic Union (AAU) hockey team (18-5-1) competed in the AAU D1 National Tournament in Jacksonville last Wednesday. The Bulls swept pool play with wins over the Quinnipiac University Bobcats (9-12-2), the Florida Gators (5-12-0) and Tennessee (4-2-0), advancing to the semifinals before falling to top-seeded Tampa (26-0-0).
The Bulls first took the ice against the Bobcats. Scoring opened halfway through the first period when sophomore defenseman Owen Brady netted his first goal of the season. Keeping their momentum going, junior left-winger Cole Belt, sophomore forward Matt Bielinski, closed out the period, with the score at 3-0.
The second period saw a hard fought battle but no changes to the scoreboard, with both teams trading penalties. The third was a tight battle, but with only five minutes left in the game, graduate center Matt Tullo scored and secured the 4-0 shutout win.
On day two, Buffalo took on last year's tournament champions, the Gators. Senior forward Anthony Coty scored the first and only goal of the period 27 seconds in. Florida responded halfway into the second on the penalty kill to tie the game. The Gators secured one more goal to leave the Bulls in a deficit at the end of the period.
In the third, an unassisted goal from Bielinski gave Bulls the 3-2 lead. With only 52 seconds left, Coty scored his second of the game, with Bielinski earning his second assist to secure the 4-2 win over the Gators.
The final day of pool play was against the Volunteers. Scoring opened with only one minute left in the first from Peterson. The Vols evened it at one on a penalty kill in the second and netted another to take the 2-1 lead. Coty tied it at two leaving the second, and in the final period Peterson scored on a power play only 15 seconds in. Sophomore defenseman Luke Sacilowski netted the game winning goal with four seconds left, securing Buffalo’s spot in the semi-finals.
On Saturday, Buffalo took on the top seeded Tampa Spartans for the semi-final game. Tampa kicked off with two successful powerplay goals. Williams on the powerplay brought Buffalo within one goal and Bielinski tied the game up at two with less than half of the second period left. A close battle in the third with the spot in the finals on the line, Tampa netted their game winning goal, concluding Buffalo’s season.
Following the conclusion of the tournament, the AAU College Hockey announced their Men’s D1 All-Tournament 1st Team with Matt Bielinski earning himself a spot on the six slot roster. The team was based on pool play in which Bielinski performed spectacularly for the Bulls with six total points, with three goals and three assists.
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Photo: Ryan Johnson / Wikimedia Commons
