Army is setting their sights on doing something never done before in the Super East, win their 4th consecutive SECHL Championship. After securing the #1 seed in the region and receiving an auto-bid to the National Tournament in March, the Black Knights are poised to capture another SECHL title. Standing in their way will be a mixed bag of opponents, all of which are capable to oust the top seed. Playoffs kick off on Valentine's Day with some interesting matchups between seeds 3-6.

The first game will feature the host team Marist as the 6th seed and the 3rd seeded Clarkson Golden Knights. Early this season the teams split their season series in Potsdam with a 3-1 win for the Red Foxes in game one of the back-to-back while Clarkson put down the pedal in the second game taking that one 11-0. While Marist has struggled of late and they will be on the away bench, they are the host team with home ice advantage and strong support from their student fan base. Clarkson has shown the ability to dominate some opponents with a high-powered offensive punch led by Ty Hlywa and freshman Griffin Shaheen. That game will be played at 3:30 PM on Friday 2/14/25.

The second matchup will feature another pair of teams that split the regular season series as fourth seeded Siena will face fifth seeded Montclair State. The Saints bested Montclair on the road in a high scoring and power play filled affair 7-5. The Red Hawks needed overtime to defeat the Saints in Albany as junior Greg Oliveri was able to capitalize in overtime. Players to watch in this game and beyond for either team would be both goaltenders, Matthew McCarthy for the Saints, and Cam Carmen for the Red Hawks, both named to the All-Conference teams. Both goalies have singlehandedly won games for their teams this season. Freshman Daalten DeMarsh has been a huge impact on Siena's blueline and is a vital piece of the Saints power play in addition to keeping the puck out of their end. Lastly, Antonio Crispino who leads the Red Hawks with 17 goals in 21 games and sits as the 3rd leading goal scorer in the league. That matchup will take place at 7:15 PM following the early contest on Friday.

Army, as the top seed, will face the lowest remaining seeded team which will be Marist, Montclair, or Siena depending the outcomes of Friday evening. The defending champions will receive a bye into the semi-finals on Saturday 2/15/25 and their game will be the early slot at 4:15 PM. While Army swept the season series against both Montclair and Marist, Siena has taken the Black Knights to overtime in both games and outed them in a shootout in the second game. The Black Knights have been led by the SECHL Player of the Year Bobby Staring who has 42 points in 23 games this season as one of best defensemen at the ACHA DII level. The Knights have also received tremendous contributions from Charlie Aronov (35 points), Caleb Kaiser (35 points), and James Delia (21 points) who lead one of the most potent offenses in the ACHA.

Sacred Heart has also firmed up their spot in the northeast regional tournament where they will play for a spot at the national tournament alongside Army as they enter the playoffs. The Pioneers will take the ice in the second semi-final matchup against either Clarkson, Siena, or Montclair State, again pending Friday's outcomes. Clarkson split with the Pioneers in their season series and swept Siena. They only played Montclair once and took that game 3-0 as the second game was canceled due to weather and didn't need to be played based on standings. Matthew Milko leads all Pioneers with 31 points in his 26 games, while James O'Toole (29 points) and Michael Cardoza (24 points) round out the top offensive performers for Sacred Heart. They also have received strong goaltending from Matt Dworkowitz who has earned 11 of the 15 wins for his team this season.

The weekend will conclude with the championship game on Sunday at 11:30 AM. Again, all games will be played at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, home of the Marist Red Foxes.