Kozyrev, Petizian and Zarudny Honored with SUNYAC Men's Ice Hockey Weekly Awards
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The SUNYAC has selected Nikita Kozyrev from Buffalo State as the Men's Ice Hockey Athlete of the Week and Geneseo's Matt Petizian and Dakota Zarudny as the Goaltender and Rookie of the Week respectively.
Kozyrev recorded five points in two games last weekend on two goals and three assists to lead Buffalo State, recording a point on five of the six Bengals' goals. On Friday, he redirected a shot into the net to give Buffalo State an early lead over #8 Geneseo, then recorded a goal and three assists in a victory over Brockport. Kozyrev recorded the primary assist on the game-tying goal, scored the game-winning goal late in the second period, and also assisted on two crucial insurance goals in the third period to help Buffalo State hold on for a 4-3 win.
Petizian posted a pair of wins as the Knights went 2-0 against conference opponents over the weekend, defeating Buffalo State, 3-2, before shutting out Fredonia, 4-0. At Buffalo State, Petizian made 23 saves to earn the victory. On Saturday against Fredonia, the senior goalkeeper notched 27 saves for his second shutout of the year. He helped the Knights kill off a crucial 5-on-3 power play in the third period to seal the victory.
First-year defenseman Zarudny was vital to the Knights' two-win weekend, posting three points on three assists as the team defeated Buffalo State and Fredonia. Against the Bengals, Zarudny earned an assist on the Knights' game-tying goal in the second period as the squad came from behind for a 3-2 win. Against Fredonia, Zarudny added two more assists, setting up teammates for a pair of important third period insurance goals as the Knights defeated the Blue Devils, 4-0. Zarudny leads Geneseo and ranks second in the SUNYAC with nine assists on the season.
