College Hockey Stats Box Score

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team picked up a crucial two points in the race for a spot in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament, defeating Fredonia, 4-2, on Senior Night in SUNYAC action at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena Saturday evening. It marked the Cardinals' final home game of the regular season.
 
Plattsburgh State moved into a tie for fourth in the SUNYAC standings with SUNY Potsdam with 12 points on the season, and Fredonia and The College at Brockport dropped back into a tie for sixth in the conference standings with 11 points. Oswego State, SUNY Geneseo and Buffalo State have locked up the top three seeds, and the top six teams in the final regular-season standings qualify for the SUNYAC Tournament.
 
Prior to the start of the game, the Cardinals honored their two seniors, forward Matt Quilty (Midland, Ontario/Caledonia Corvairs) and defenseman Ayrton Valente (Woodbridge, Ontario/Mississauga Chargers). Appropriately, the two contributed greatly to the victory, as Quilty had two assists, while Valente put the game on ice with an empty-net goal.
 
Freshman forward Rich McCartney (Hershey, Pa./Philadelphia Revolution) scored two goals in the game to help key the Cardinal attack. McCartney moved into a tie for second in the SUNYAC in goals, as he now has 17 for the season.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 12-11-0 overall (6-8-0 SUNYAC) with the win and next visits SUNY Cortland on Friday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m. Fredonia drops to 9-10-4 overall (5-8-1 SUNYAC) with the loss and next hosts Morrisville State on Friday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m.
 
After a scoreless first period, Fredonia got on the board 11:33 into the second. Senior forward Sam Wilbur fed freshman forward Colin Valentine, and Valentine passed to freshman forward Ryan Dunner in transition in the neutral zone. Dunner walked the puck in and took a shot from the slot that got deflected, and the puck sailed over the goaltender's blocker and into the back of the net.
 
McCartney countered with 16:39 gone in the second, however, scoring on the power play. Freshman forward Liam Lawson (Vancouver, British Columbia/Powell River Paper Kings) sent the puck toward the net from the high slot, and it got stuck in traffic before Quilty put his blade on it. McCartney wound up scoring in the low slot, tucking the puck inside the right post before the Fredonia goaltender could move his left pad to cover up the gap.
 
Plattsburgh State took a 2-1 lead 3:40 into the third period. Freshman forward Greg Malafronte (Colts Neck, N.J./New Jersey Titans) touched the puck along the right boards before it settled inside the right face-off circle. Junior forward Ross Sloan (Oakville, Ontario/Oakville Blades) tapped a backhanded pass to junior forward Jesse Neher (Calgary, Alberta/Cowichen Valley Capitals) in the slot, and Neher beat the Blue Devil goalie glove side.
 
Just 19 seconds later, the Cardinals struck again. Quilty sent a pass into the slot from behind the goal line, and the puck deflected off McCartney before junior forward Cam Owens (Wilmington, Mass./Islanders Hockey Club) took a shot that went wide of the net. Owens corralled his own rebound, looped around the two face-off circles and skated down to the bottom of the left circle before centering a pass to McCartney. McCartney, who was waiting in the low slot, beat the Fredonia netminder glove side to give the Cardinals a 3-1 lead.
 
Fredonia drew within one with 12:13 elapsed in the third, as Valentine scored on a penalty shot that was awarded following a slashing penalty assessed to Plattsburgh State.
 
Finally, with 46 seconds left in regulation, Valente added insurance to the Cardinals' cause with an empty-net goal. Sloan won a defensive-zone face-off before Valente immediately sent the puck toward the goal, and it traveled the length of the ice before crossing the goal line and into the unmanned net.
 
Freshman goaltender Lawson Fenton (Medina, N.Y./Coquitlam Express) earned the win for Plattsburgh State, making 37 saves. Sophomore goaltender Anton Rosén was saddled with the loss for Fredonia, turning aside 28 shots.