D3 men: Confident Fredonia should compete for a SUNYAC championship

Fredonia forward Ryan Dunner (Photo credit: Ron Szot)

The 2017-2018 Fredonia men’s ice hockey season was on a rather predictable path. After finishing the previous season 13-11-2, the Blue Devils were predicted to finish fifth in the SUNYAC standings, which was exactly where they landed. What wasn’t expected was that the Blue Devils would score several upsets and reach the championship game of the conference tournament.

The deep playoff run didn’t just make the end of that season memorable; it also gave the returning players confidence heading into the new season, confidence that would help them jump out to a 5-1 start in conference play and an 8-2-2 start overall.

“I think when we got to the conference championship game last year, I think that reset what our expectations were heading into this year,” head coach Jeff Meredith said. “I think that was a great opportunity for the program and for our guys. The whole belief, confidence, that really took us to another level of thinking in the offseason in our training and preparation and what we wanted to accomplish this year. That, combined with our leadership, we got off to a great start.”

Fredonia’s place in the standings is impressive – they are ranked first in the conference and were ranked No. 14 in both the D3hockey.com and USCHO polls through December 7 – but what really stands out is how they are winning games.