FREDONIA, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team traveled to western New York to take on the Blue Devils in a SUNYAC battle, outlasting Fredonia 4-3.
Kevin Emmerling got the Cardinals out to an early 1-0 lead 4:24 into the first period.
The lead would be short lived as Fredonia would net the next two goals to take a 2-1 advantage.
Blue Devils' Samuel Wilbur would rush down the right hand boards and crash the Cardinals net. In came freshman Kyle Jelinski, gaining the loose puck before beating Plattsburgh State goaltender
Brady Rouleau to tie it 1-1.
Fredonia would seize a Cardinal turnover that sprung Taylor Bourne onto a break, beating Rouleau and making it 2-1 with just 34 seconds remaining in the opening period.
The Cardinals would strike an equalizer of their own 4:10 into the second period when
Chris Taff netted his second of the season on the power play.
Freshman,
Pat Egan would give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead just past the midway point in the second period. Egan rushed into the zone with the puck on the left wing, sneaking one by Blue Devils' goalie Jeff Flagler low glove side.
With a 3-2 game in the third period, the Cardinals would extend their lead to 4-2 just 1:12 into the final frame.
Cole Stallard would slam home a rebound being unmarked on top of the crease on the power play off an initial
Rich Botting shot.
Bourne would cut the Cardinal lead in half, converting the second of two-straight 5-on-3 power plays for the Blue Devils. Bourne's second goal would come off a rebound deflecting from Rouleau to make it 4-3 Plattsburgh State.
However, that's as close as the Blue Devils would get as in the waning seconds of the game, Fredonia got three shots off but none found the back of the net.
Rouleau finished with 27 saves on 30 shots from the Blue Devils, improving to 6-1-0 on the season. Fredonia goalie Jeff Flagler made 31 saves on 35 Cardinal shots.
Each team took seven penalties with Cardinals going 2-7 on the extra man while Fredonia went 1-7.
Emmerling and Stallard remain tied for the team lead in goals with 11 as each lit the lamp Friday night.
Third-ranked Plattsburgh State improves to 15-3-1 and remains first in the SUNYAC at 8-1-1. Fredonia shuffles to 5-10-3 (2-7-2 SUNYAC).
The Cardinals will travel to Buffalo State on Saturday to tackle the Bengals at 7 p.m. to conclude their western New York road trip.
