Box score
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Alex Brenton tallied four points to help the top-ranked Plattsburgh State men's hockey team defeat Hamilton College, 5-2, in the first day of the 2014 Buck Supply Winter Classic Friday night at the Stafford Ice Arena.
The Cardinals (10-0-2) scored four unanswered goals to secure their spot in Saturday's championship game where they will meet Hobart, who picked up a 3-2 overtime win over Williams in game one.
Plattsburgh State took the lead at 10:52 of the first period on Brenton's first of the night. Nick Jensen, who was appearing in his first game since Nov. 1, made a pass from down low that found Brenton in the slot. Brenton's shot went through the five-hole of Hamilton goaltender Joe Quattrocchi to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.
The Continentals (3-4-1) picked up some momentum late in the opening period when a Plattsburgh State turnover led to a partial breakaway for Hamilton's Mike DiMare. DiMare worked his way around a diving attempt by a Cardinal skater and beat Mathieu Cadieux top shelf off the backhand to tie the game at 1-1 with 27 seconds left in the first.
Back-to-back penalties on the Cardinals opened the door for Hamilton early in the second and the visitors quickly cashed in the 5-on-3. DiMare dropped a pass to Pat Curtis before Curtis fired a high shot from the top of the slot past Cadieux at the 1:52 mark to give the Continentals a 2-1 lead.
The Cardinals drew even at 7:24 of the second on Kyle Hall's third of the year from Brenton and Jensen before Brenton scored the eventual game-winning goal less than two minutes later. Brenton worked the puck away from the boards and scored on a backhanded shot from the right circle that passed through a Hamilton defender before beating Quattrocchi to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead.
Plattsburgh State took a timeout with 5:30 left in the second after another pair of penalties gave Hamilton a two-man advantage but the Cardinals were able to hold off the Continentals this time and take the one-goal lead to the locker room after two periods.
The Cardinals created some breathing room at 7:49 of the third when Dillan Fox knocked in Alex Jensen's rebound to make it a 4-2 game. Brenton completed the hat trick with two seconds left in the period with an empty-net goal to reach the 5-2 final.
Plattsburgh State finished the night with a 42-31 advantage in shots on goal. Hamilton went 1-for-6 on the power play while the Cardinals came up empty in five chances.
Cadieux recorded 29 saves in the win for the Cardinals. Quattrocchi turned away 37 shots in the loss for Hamilton.
Hamilton and Williams will meet in the consolation game of the Buck Supply Winter Classic at 4 p.m. The championship game between Hobart and Plattsburgh State is set for 7 p.m.
Hobart Upsets No. 7 Williams to Open Buck Supply Winter Classic
Box score
No stranger to overtime this season, Hobart came out on the winning end Friday afternoon as the Statesmen defeated nationally-ranked No. 7 Williams, 3-2, in overtime at the Buck Supply Winter Classic hosted by Plattsburgh State.
Mac Olson scored the game-winning goal just nine seconds into overtime to give Hobart a spot in Saturday's championship game. With a lot of traffic in front of the net, Olson was able to sneak one past Williams' goaltender Sean Dougherty for his fourth of the season.
A lucky bounce gave Hobart a quick 1-0 lead in Friday's matchup. Robert Sovik took a shot from the goal line that hit Dougherty before deflecting off the near pipe and with just 19 seconds off the clock in the first period. Tommy Fiorentino picked up an assist on Sovik's team-leading fifth of the year.
The Statesmen (3-4-4) were able to hold off the Ephs (5-1-2) until the 10:25 mark of the second period with a one-timer from Nick Anderson tied it up at 1-1.
Hobart regained the lead at 6:10 of the third stanza on a power-play goal from Tommaso Traversa. Carl Belizario took a shot from the right point before Traversa tipped in the shot to make it 2-1 in favor of the Statesmen.
Williams evened the score at 2-2 a little over five minutes later on Sam Gray's first collegiate goal. Greg Johnson's rebound found Gray and the Ephs' freshman fired a shot from just inside the left circle to send the game to overtime.
The overtime win marked the first of the season for the Statesmen. Prior to tonight's game, Hobart was 0-2-4 on the year in overtime.
Hobart finished the afternoon with a 36-26 advantage in shots on goal while going 1-for-3 on the power play. Willams went 0-for-5 with the extra man.
Lino Chimenti had a solid outing in net for the Statesmen, making 24 saves to improve to 3-3-3 on the year. Dougherty recorded 33 stops for the Ephs.
