(Canton, N.Y.)- The SUNY Canton men's ice hockey team has five regular season games remaining including two big league games this weekend at home against Niagara University.

The 11th-ranked Roos enter the weekend third in the Eastern Collegiate Hockey League with a 5-2 record with 10 league points.  They trail first-place Mercyhurst University (9-0, 19 points) and Niagara (7-1, 15 points).  The Roos need to sweep the Purple Eagles Friday night (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday afternoon (1:30 p.m.) to have a chance at second place and a first-round bye in the league tournament that will be held at SUNY Canton at the end of February.  Although the Roos can't win the regular season title and the automatic bid to the ACHA Division I national tournament that goes with it, they do have an outside chance of earning an at-large bid.  If Niagara wins both games this weekend they'll be tied with Mercyhurst and the regular season title will come down to a goals differential tie-breaker between the two teams.

The Roos (22-2-3 overall) continue to be one of the highest scoring teams in the ACHA averaging nearly seven goals per game and they have several players among the national statistical leaders.  Junior forward Corey Frizell (Orleans, N.Y.) leads the ACHA in assists with 38 and is tied for 12th with teammate, senior forward Rob Liggio (Canton, N.Y.) in total points with 46.  Freshman defenseman J.R. Lafferty (Williamstown, N.J.) is fourth in assists (36) and fifth in total points (50) and freshman forward Dave Schneider (Indianapolis, Ind.) has tallied a team-leading 24 goals which ranks eighth in the country. 

Freshman goalie Morgan Barr (Almonte, Ontario) is tied for fourth in save percentage (.930) and is 11th in goals-against average (1.81) and sophomore goalie Michael Pittman (Amarillo, Texas) is 15th in goals-against average at 1.86.

The Roos will face the University of Rochester on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 12:30 p.m., Syracuse University on Friday, No. 10 and then close out the regular season against the Tigers on February 11.  The ECHL tournament will be Feb. 24-26.