Box Score
OSWEGO, N.Y. – After defeating nationally-ranked No. 3 Oswego State twice during the regular season, the Plattsburgh State men’s hockey team was unable to make it three in a row as the Cardinals fell 4-0 in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championship game Saturday night at the Campus Center Ice Arena.
With the victory, Oswego State claims its ninth SUNYAC crown and first since 2010. The Lakers will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament where Oswego will be making its fourth-straight appearance. The win pushes Oswego’s record to 23-4-0 while Plattsburgh drops to 19-7-1 on the year.
Tyler Leimbrock put the Lakers on the board at 15:12 of the first on a 3-on-2 rush with David Titanic and Matt Singleton. Singleton carried the puck up the far boards before sending a pass to Titanic as the Lakers entered the Plattsburgh zone. Titanic found Leimbrock on the near side and Leimbrock lifted his shot over the left should of Plattsburgh goaltender Mathieu Cadieux, giving the Lakers a 1-0 lead.
The Cardinals had one of their best chances of the night on a second period power-play opportunity but SUNYAC Tournament Most Valuable Player Andrew Hare kept Plattsburgh off the board with a big stop. In the 11th minute of the period, Hare made a glove save as the puck slid towards the goal line before an Oswego defenseman cleared the puck out of the crease. A few minutes later, Hare turned away Plattsburgh’s short-handed attempt with a sliding pad save.
The Lakers squashed any momentum the Cardinals had gained when Luke Moodie scored on a delayed penalty with 1:31 left in the second period. Moodie’s shot from the left circle was stopped in front of Cadieux, but the rebound bounced off a Plattsburgh player and over the goal line to make is 2-0 in favor of Oswego.
Moodie scored his second of the night at the 7:54 mark of the third period off assists from Chris Muise and Chris Brown, putting the Cardinals down by three.
With 9:45 left in regulation, the Cardinals went on the power play, prompting Plattsburgh to call a timeout and pull Cadieux to create a two-man advantage. The Plattsburgh net remained empty for over three minutes but the Cardinals were unable to chip away at the Lakers’ lead. The final blow came at 13:59 when Oswego’s Jon Whitelaw scored an empty-net goal from Paul Rodrigues and Jesse McConney.
Oswego finished the night with a slight 33-30 edge in shots on goal. Neither side was able to take advantage of its power-play chances with the Cardinals going 0-for-7 and the Lakers going 0-for-6.
Cadieux made 29 saves in the loss for Plattsburgh, dropping to 15-7-1. Hare turned away all 30 shots he faced.
Senior defenseman Mike Grace and senior forward Jared Docking represented Plattsburgh State on the All-Tournament Team. Oswego’s Bobby Gertsakis, Chris Muise and Matt Singleton also received All-Tournament honors.
Saturday’s loss will likely mark the end of the 2012-13 season for the Cardinals and the final game for the senior class of Docking, Grace, Paul Puglisi, Patrick Jobb and Josh Leis. The five seniors have compiled a four-year record of 77-26-10, won two SUNYAC Championships, made four trips to the SUNYAC Finals and three appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
The field for the 2013 NCAA Division III Men’s Hockey Tournament will be announced Sunday night at 10 p.m. with a live selection show on NCAA.com.
