POTSDAM, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team hit the road to face off with North Country rival SUNY Potsdam, slaying the Bears 2-1.
 
Plattsburgh State would take a 1-0 lead when Matt Quilty was left alone for a wrister in the slot, beating SUNY Potsdam goalie Brendan McMenimen over the blocker. The puck reached Quilty after squirting out of a scrum from behind the net inbetween the two circles.
 
SUNY Potsdam would open the second period with a 5-on-3 power play goal, converting 54 seconds in to tie the game up 1-1. Todd Thompson would receive a cross ice pass for a one-timer, beating Cardinals goalie Spencer Finney before he could slide over.
 
Late in the middle period, Anthony Calabrese would net his second goal in his second consecutive game to regain the Cardinal lead, 2-1. Plattsburgh State would go on the power play and win the offensive zone faceoff back to the Bridgeton, N.J., native. The senior defenseman would send a quick wrister from the right point by McMenimen.
 
As Plattsburgh State tried to add to its lead and SUNY Potsdam looked for the equalizer, the Cardinals and Bears would stay steady at 2-1.
 
Finney improved to 12-2-1 making 30 saves on the night while McMenimen made 36 saves on 38 shots.
 
Second-ranked Plattsburgh State improve to 19-3-1 and 12-1-1 in the SUNYAC. With the win, the Cardinals clinched the top seed and home ice in the SUNYAC tournament. SUNY Potsdam drops to 11-84 overall and 7-5-2 in the SUNYAC.
 
The Cardinals will close out the regular season with a pair of games at the Stafford Ice Arena against Brockport and Geneseo on Friday and Saturday respectively.