Boxscore

CORTLAND, N.Y. - Zach Blake's first Cardinal goal turned out to be a big one as his goal at 4:04 of overtime lifted the Plattsburgh State men's hockey team to a 3-2 win at Cortland in the regular season finale. 

Plattsburgh (17-4-4, 12-3-1 SUNYAC) had to play catch-up after Nick Zappia gave Cortland (6-18-1, 4-11-1 SUNYAC) an early 1-0 lead with just 1:27 gone in the opening period. Adam Bevilacqua assisted on the Zappia's 11th of the year.

Mark Constantine evened the score at the 3:00 minute mark of the second period, deflecting Barry Roytman's shot in front of the net. Kyle Kudroch also assisted on the Constantine's first goal since Nov. 11.

Just three and half minutes later, Vick Schlueter's shot hit the crossbar and fell in the net to give Plattsburgh a 2-1 lead. Blake and Jared Docking would pick up assists for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals clung to the one-goal lead until 12:36 of the third period when Cortland's Michael Lysyj tied it up. Cortland goaltender Mike Reilly denied an Alex Brenton breakaway late in the third to send the two teams to overtime. 

Plattsburgh dominated in overtime, outshooting the Red Dragons 5-1. It looked like the Cardinals' offensive struggles may get the best of them again, but Blake was able to find the back of the net to give Plattsburgh the victory. Vick Schlueter and Kyle Kudroch were credited with assists on the game-winning goal.

The Cardinals outshot Cortland by a wide 52-29 margin. Reilly finished the night with 49 saves. Plattsburgh's Mathieu Cadieux recorded 27 stops to improve to 14-4-3 on the year.

Plattsburgh enters the SUNYAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed and will receive a first-round bye with top-seeded Oswego. The Cardinals will host a SUNYAC semifinal game against the highest remaining seed on Saturday at 7 p.m. Their opponent will be determined on Wednesday following the two quarterfinal games which will feature No. 6 Potsdam at No. 3 Buffalo State and No. 5 Fredonia at No. 4 Geneseo.