Box score
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Plattsburgh State men's hockey team was unable to overcome a three-goal second period by Williams College as the Cardinals suffered a 5-1 loss at the hands of the Ephs in a non-conference game Saturday night at Lansing Chapman Rink.
The Cardinals, who came into Saturday's game ranked third in the country, registered a handful of shots during a long possession early in the contest but Williams' goaltender Sean Dougherty was up to the task to keep Plattsburgh State off the board in the first.
The No. 12 Ephs also had their chances in the opening frame, including Greg Johnson's shot from the point that rang off the post and was covered by Plattsburgh State netminder Mathieu Cadieux.
After a scoreless first period, Plattsburgh State gained some momentum early in the second with a few chances by Dillan Fox and Michael Cassidy but the Cardinals were unable to get anything by Dougherty to take a lead.
Williams broke through at the 10:40 mark of the second when a Plattsburgh State turnover led to Luke Stickel's first collegiate goal to give the Ephs a 1-0 lead. The Ephs quickly extended the lead when Sam Gray scored on a rebound exactly one minute later to make it 2-0 in favor of the home team.
The Ephs added to their lead with just under one minute to play in the second when Craig Kitto beat Cadieux through the five-hole, putting the Cardinals down by three at the end of two periods.
The Cardinals got an opportunity to get on the board early in the third as sophomore Zander Masucci was sent to the box for tripping. After what appeared to be a Plattsburgh State goal, Williams' Paul Steinig was whistled for a delay of game penalty after knocking the net off the hinges before the puck crossed the line. Despite the disallowed goal, the Cardinals gained another chance to score with a brief 5-on-3 power play but were unable to capitalize.
Later in the period, Plattsburgh State saw another goal waived off after the officials declared that Nick Jensen's shot from inside the blue line was deflected with a high stick.
Still trailing by three with 3:04 to play, Plattsburgh State pulled Cadieux for the extra skater. The aggressive move paid off as Mark Constantine buried a rebound to make it a 3-1 game with assists to Barry Roytman and Dillan Fox.
The Cardinals' hopes of a rally were quickly squashed as Williams came right back with a pair of empty-net goals from Kitto to give the Ephs' leading goal-scorer the hat trick.
Plattsburgh State held a 20-8 edge in shots on goal in the third period, finishing the night with a 36-21 advantage. The Cardinals went 0-for-3 on the power play while the Ephs were 0-for-1.
Cadieux made 16 saves in the loss for the Cardinals, falling to 13-2-2 on the year. Dougherty turned away 35 of the 36 shots he faced in his ninth win of the season for the Ephs.
The loss drops Plattsburgh State to 14-2-2 overall and gives the Cardinals a 7-2 mark against non-conference opponents. Williams improves to 10-2-2 on the year.
With the non-conference portion of their schedule now complete, the Cardinals turn their attention back to league play with a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) matchup at Potsdam Friday night at 7 p.m. Plattsburgh State opens the second half the SUNYAC schedule in first place with 16 points in the conference standings. Geneseo follows in second with 14 points while Buffalo State rounds out the top three with 10 points.
