New York Hockey Journal

April 2020 www.nyhockeyjournal.com 19 for a total of 56 points, leading the nation in points. For the second straight season, Romano led the na- tion in assists, and he is the first Geneseo player to compile back-to-back 50-point seasons since Aaron Coleman did it in 1998 and 1999. He was recognized as an All-American for the second con- secutive season and earned his first selection to the first team. Displaying the leadership that Schultz lauded him for, Romano credited his success to his desire to win and his teammates. "I think I tried to approach it game by game and not think of the big picture," Romano said. "I was just doing my role to help the team win. I wasn't trying to do anything out of the ordinary. I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates. There's a lot of special guys on this team. I wouldn't have the success without them. Also, the coaching staff puts me in positions to be successful like that." A native of Drexel Hill, Pa., Romano was espe- cially successful in the SUNYAC tournament. In addition to the assist against Oswego, he scored a goal and added three assists in the team's 7-0 vic- tory over Potsdam, a game Romano called one of his best during the season. "That game, I was really in the zone," he said. "I was dialed in. Being a senior, it's special to play in a SUNYAC final. We were playing a hot team. I wanted to play my game and not let anything stop me. That night was prob my best game. I really went after it. We got the win and got home ice in the finals. I was feeling really good." Romano is part of an impressive senior class that includes fellow forwards Tyson Empey, David Szmyd (Elmwood Park, N.J.) and Keenan (Roches- ter, N.Y.). All four forwards eclipsed 100 points for their careers. Despite all the success, Romano said something was missing: a national championship. After not appearing in the tournament as freshmen, Gen- eseo had been building a playoff résumé, losing in the second round in 2018 and going to the semi- finals in 2019. The team earned the third overall seed and a first-round bye in the 2020 tournament before the season came to an abrupt end, as the NCAA tournament was canceled due to growing concerns over COVID-19. "I don't want to take away from it," he said. "We had a great year, and I don't want to take away from it, but this is what we were built for, to play in March. It's upsetting to not get that opportunity. We've been chasing the national championship for four years." Romano did not get the ending he hoped for, but there was still plenty to feel good about. Indi- vidually, Romano climbed to third in Geneseo his- tory in career assists (132) and a tie for eighth for career points (171, one behind Keenan for seventh all-time). As a team, the Knights won 20 games for the third consecutive season, and with the 4-1 victory over Oswego in the SUNYAC tournament cham- pionship game, the team became only the second program in conference history to win three con- secutive championships (Plattsburgh won six con- secutive titles from 1997 to 2002). Even more important to Romano, his last game was played at Geneseo's home barn, Ira S. Wilson Arena, in front of 2,100 people. It was an environ- ment that Schultz said was especially special. "There is no better feeling than watching your players celebrate after all the hard work and dedi- cation they give you all year," Schultz said. "It was a very good hockey game. (Oswego is) such a good hockey team. They are well-coached and re- ally tough and physical to play against. They're the easiest games to coach because both teams know their players are going to show up. This game was no different. They did a great job killing off our power-play attempts, but we capitalized even strength, including a great four-on-four goal that put us up for good. The atmosphere was electric as usual in our rink. It's tough to beat us in our rink. Our record at home over the last four years is pretty gaudy." For all this, Romano is nothing but thankful. "I thank my coaches for giving me an opportu- nity to play here," he said. "It's been an amazing four-year career here. Playing at home, it's so spe- cial to play at Geneseo. I'm lucky I got to experi- ence it. Thank you to my teammates, my coaches, my family, the fans here. There's nothing but posi- tive memories." feedback@nyhockeyjournal�com Keith Walters/SUNY Geneseo Athletics Along with seniors Andrew Romano, Tyson Empey and David Szmyd, Conlan Keenan eclipsed 100 points for his career. Conlan Keenan David Szmyd (Elmwood Park, N.J.)

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