Hitting the ice this weekend, the Hobart Statesmen and William Smith Herons ice hockey teams will battle in conference tournament games for a shot at championship titles.

The William Smith Herons will make their first postseason appearance on Saturday, March 3 when they take on Stevenson in the semifinals of the inaugural United Collegiate Hockey Conference Tournament. The Herons and Mustangs will face off at 7 p.m. in Elmira’s Murray Athletic Center in Pine Valley, N.Y.

William Smith finished the regular season with a 16-5-4 record and an 11-2-3 record in the UCHC. The Herons were second in the conference standings and earned a bye to the semifinals. Top-seeded Elmira earned the right to host this weekend’s semifinals and championship thanks to a 15-0-1 record in conference play. The top-seeded Soaring Eagles will take on Utica in the first semifinal at 3 p.m. The winners of the semifinal games will meet in the championship game on Sunday at 3 p.m.

Tickets will be on sale at the Murray Athletic Center – Center Dome Lobby beginning at 1:30 p.m. on both days of competition. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for students with a college ID, and children 12 and under will be admitted for free.

The Colleges have organized a Fan Van for HWS students interested in attending Saturday’s semifinal. The van will depart from Campus Safety at 5:30 p.m. Fans can reserve a seat here.

The Hobart Statesmen will also play at 7 p.m. on March 3, making the trip to take on Norwich University in Northfield, Vt, for the New England Hockey Conference Tournament title. The game will be a battle of the top two defensive teams in the NEHC.

Hobart is the NEHC tournament’s No. 2 seed and is ranked No. 8 in this week’s D3hockey.com poll and No. 9 in the USCHO.com poll. In addition, the Statesmen are ranked No. 3 in the latest NCAA regional rankings. The Cadets, who are the No. 1 seed in the NEHC tournament, are ranked No. 11 in Division III in both the D3hockey.com poll and the USCHO.com poll.

The Statesmen bring a 17-5-5 overall record to Northfield. Hobart is riding a 10-game unbeaten streak. The Statesmen and the Cadets have met three times already this season. Hobart and Norwich battled to a 2-2 tie in The Cooler on Nov. 11. On Jan. 20, the Statesmen earned a 4-1 victory, and on Feb. 9, the Statesmen edged the Cadets 5-4.

Tickets for the Hobart vs. Norwich game are $6 for adults, $3 for students and $3 for youths. Tickets can be purchased from cadetstickets.com.

The Fan Van to the Hobart vs. Norwich game will depart at 12 p.m. on Saturday, March 3. Fans can reserve a seat here. The vans will return to campus after the game.