College Hockey Stats Box Score

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The fourth-seeded Plattsburgh State men's ice hockey team saw its season come to an end with a 4-3 loss to fifth-seeded Fredonia in the first round of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament Wednesday evening at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena.
 
Fredonia netted the eventual game-winner with 13:20 gone in the third. Freshman forward Ryan Dunner snuck up behind a Plattsburgh State defender who had the puck and forced a turnover in the Cardinals' defensive zone. The takeaway allowed Dunner to have a clear shot at the goal, and he went five-hole to give the Blue Devils the lead.
 
While the odds appeared stacked against the Cardinals after sustaining a slashing penalty with 2:47 left in regulation, the Blue Devils were whistled for a tripping penalty to make it 4-on-4. That gave Plattsburgh State a 5-on-4 advantage when it pulled freshman goaltender Jimmy Poreda (Tonawanda, N.Y./Connecticut Jr. Rangers) with 1:19 left in the third period, and the Cardinals had a 6-on-4 opportunity for the 21 seconds in which it was on the power play.
 
Freshman forward Liam Lawson (Vancouver, British Columbia/Powell River Paper Kings) took a shot from the left face-off circle that Fredonia's sophomore goaltender Anton Rosén covered up with 33.8 seconds left, and Lawson took another shot from the same spot shortly thereafter that was blocked by senior defenseman Jamie Young. Senior forward Matt Quilty (Midland, Ontario/Caledonia Corvairs) had a chance to poke the puck in at the doorstep with about 10 seconds left and was denied, and the Cardinals were unable to generate another scoring chance as time ran out.
 
Plattsburgh State finishes its season at 13-12-1 overall. Fredonia rises to 12-10-4 overall with the win and visits top-seeded Oswego State in the semifinal round of the SUNYAC Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m.
 
Quilty put the Cardinals on the board 4:25 into the game. Freshman forward Rich McCartney (Hershey, Pa./Philadelphia Revolution) took control of the puck in the defensive zone and passed forward to Quilty. Quilty skated into the offensive zone, beating two defenders before having a third close in on his right. Quilty then unleashed a shot that went top shelf glove side to give Plattsburgh State an early 1-0 lead.
 
Fredonia answered just 38 seconds later. Dunner forced a turnover in the Blue Devils' offensive zone and took a shot that was saved by Poreda. Freshman forward Victor Tracy jabbed at the puck before sophomore forward Tommy DeFelice poked it in low glove side in traffic in front of the net.
 
Lawson, the hero of the Cardinals' regular-season finale against Oswego, made it a 2-1 game 1:21 before the first intermission. Sophomore forward Joe Drabin (Rochester, N.Y./Wenatchee Wild) dropped the puck off for sophomore defenseman Philip Middleton (Vail, Colo./Salmon Arm Silverbacks) in the offensive zone along the right boards, and Middleton skated behind the goal line before passing the puck into the slot. Lawson then one-timed a shot past the Blue Devil goalie, scoring glove side.
 
Junior forward Cole Stallard (Atlanta, Ga./New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs) scored 3:56 into the third period to give the Cardinals a 3-1 cushion. Stallard won an offensive-zone face-off and sent the puck back to sophomore defenseman Andrew Pizzo (Thorold, Ontario/Niagara University). Pizzo threw the puck ahead to sophomore forward Antoine Desnoyers (Quebec City, Quebec/Cégep de Saint-Laurent), and Desnoyers took a shot that was saved by Rosén. Rosén was unable to freeze the puck, and Stallard poked it past the goal line.
 
Fredonia scored back-to-back goals midway through the second period to tie the game at 3-all. Tracy accounted for the Blue Devils' second goal of the game with 8:54 elapsed in the second, scoring top shelf blocker side from the top of the circle after DeFelice won an offensive-zone face-off. With 11:19 gone in the second, sophomore forward Jacob Haynes scored. Junior forward Jimmy Morgan handed the puck off to sophomore defenseman Brandon Spognardi in the left corner, and Spognardi wrapped the puck along the boards to Haynes. Haynes tried to tuck the puck inside the right post and was initially denied by Poreda before jabbing in the rebound to tie the game.
 
Plattsburgh State finished with a 58-40 edge in shots on goal, while both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play.
 
Poreda turned aside 36 shots in the loss for the Cardinals, while Rosén made 55 saves in the win for the Blue Devils.